Raise the Roof!

Raise the Roof!
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Elwood H. Smith (Illustrator)

Booktalk: My brothers built homes and my husband is a architect, so home construction has been a part of my life for years. I used our old construction photographs to help me write this 97-word picture book poem.

When the book was being illustrated, the editor asked me if the illustrator could add a dog to the book. I said yes. (We had a dog, so it didn’t seem like an unusual request.) Imagine my surprise when the page proofs for Raise the Roof came and the dog was a builder, too!

A year after the book was published, it came out again (with another publisher) as a PreK literacy program book, making this former Kindergarten ESL teacher very happy!

It’s #ThrowbackThursday!
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)

Chronicle Books Open Call

The Chronicle Books webpage says:

“Our submission inbox is open for a limited time, May 3–17, 2026.”

And they are looking for board books to YA!

Scroll down to the Children’s Submissions section to see the guidelines for each age group.

Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.