Everybody Gets a Picture Book
Welcome to Through Lines! Living creatively, thinking imaginatively, practicing the craft of storytelling, and uncovering your invisible strings
Give Picture Books!
Although my world revolves around children’s books, I understand that most grown adults associate picture books with young kids, elementary school classrooms, and the noisy rear of the bookstore where toddlers congregate.
But I truly believe that stories for kids, and specifically picture books, are for all ages.
Picture books are a unique creation, as they combine visual artistry, accessible narratives, and simple truths that can provide inspiration, guidance, grounding, and joy to readers far older than the target audience.
Picture books can serve as a form of meditation, offering a heartfelt or playful moment of respite from the adult world. The emotional directness of well-crafted stories can allow for surprisingly profound experiences, packaged in an easily-accessible 32 or 40 pages.
While nostalgic picture books have their own value, many contemporary picture books provide new experiences or perspectives that can comfort and soothe, or energize and engage. The best picture books published today contain layers of story, tackling resonant themes like identity, self-love, social justice, environmental awareness, grief, and friendship. Other picture books are simply funny or ridiculous, and can offer a well-earned laugh with their humor.
Not only do picture book narratives hit hard across the seasons of life, but the art also makes these books worthy gifts. Picture books are an exquisite gallery of fine art, not only for child readers, but for the inner child of adults. Through picture books, we have the opportunity to appreciate how different illustrators interpret the world, which in turn enhances our own creative thinking and expression.
Picture books become more than just reading material – they are vessels for expressing care, understanding, and shared experiences across generations.
I love giving picture books as gifts, and I hope that the grown recipients of these books find something special for themselves between the covers, in the artwork, or in the whimsical world imagined across the pages.
Picture Books for the Grown Readers in Your Life
I encourage all adults to spend a leisurely hour in the children’s section of the bookstore, paging through new releases or rediscovering old favorites from your youth.
When shopping for someone you care for — the friend who had a really emotionally tough year, a family member who is getting older, a colleague who loves to laugh — you might stumble upon the perfect picture book.
Or, recommendations might be ideal! Here are some picture books I think are particularly well-suited for adult gifts.
For a friend who is considering a career change: Wolfgang in the Meadow by Lenny Wen
For someone going through a life transition: In Every Life by Marla Frazee
For a New Yorker: New York Melody by Hélène Druvert
For a beachy friend: Wave by Suzy Lee
For someone with dark humor: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
For a dog owner: Hot Dog by Doug Salati
For anyone who needs hope for our world’s future: We Are the Builders! by Deepa Iyer & Romina Galotta
For a housewarming gift: Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
For an entrepreneur: What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom
For a cat lover: No Fuzzball! By Isabella Kung
For a friend who needs to remember their worth: Stardust by Jeanne Willis & Briony May Smith
For anyone: Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers












Glimmers to share
✨Oscar Wilde NYC: I’ve walked past this restaurant many times, and this year I went in at Christmastime, sharing a late lunch with my littlest. It’s just as enchanting as the IG influencers promised, and it’s definitely worth stopping in during the season.
✨Instructions for Traveling West: Poems by Joy Sullivan
“First, you must realize you’re homesick for all the lives you’re not living. Then, you must commit to the road and the rising loneliness. To the sincere thrill of coming apart.”
I couldn’t even get through those first three lines without my heart seizing and tears brimming in my eyes, and the rest of this poetry was just as impactful.
✨Harney & Sons holiday teas: perfect for getting energized first thing on a cold morning, cozying up with a good story, or taking in a thermos on holiday excursions.
About Me
I’m Christie, and I’m a story person. I work as a children’s literary & illustration agent. I’m a writer, with published essays and a novel + short stories in the works. I’m a former elementary school teacher and current homeschooling mom. I also do data analysis (stories abound!). Some of my enthusiasms are baking, urban walks, forest hikes, gothic poetry, horror movies, Taylor Swift, and cats. And books - books are my passion and stories are my mission.
Through Lines is here to examine the craft of storytelling, explore publishing industry insights, celebrate the joy of learning, and discover the magic hiding in ordinary moments.
I'm so thankful to my 8th grade ELA teacher Miss Finlon & to Mr. Guy, the long-term sub for my 11th grade ELA class for using #PB in our classes. That is truly the place where I fell in love with this incredible art form.