SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Moving Day
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.jbreinhardt.com/
CITY: Iowa City
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 363
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1963.
EDUCATION:Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator. Has also worked for advertising agencies.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Jennifer Black Reinhardt is an illustrator and author of books for children. She grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania and went on to earn an illustration degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Reinhardt worked for advertising agencies and on design technology while also selling her artwork for greeting cards, books, needlepoint kits, collector plates, and calendars. Reinhardt eventually turned her attention to both illustrating and writing children’s books.
Reinhardt’s self-illustrated volumes include Blue Ethel and Playing Possum. The former book features a black-and-white, old and fat cat Ethel, who is very stubborn. Her routine is interrupted, though, when a roll on her favorite stretch of sidewalk results in her getting covered in blue chalk. A Kirkus Reviews contributor observed that the watercolor-and-ink illustrations in Blue Ethel “are scratchy and smeary and quite detailed.” The contributor suggested that “Ethel may not win any cat marathons, but she’ll win hearts young and old.”
In Playing Possum, Reinhardt features a lovable pair of animal friends: Alfred, a possum, and Sofia, an armadillo. When they first meet, each animal adopts their typical behavior when they feel anxious. Alfred plays dead while Sofia curls into a ball. Eventually, the friends learn to relax around each other and to accept the occasional nervous withdrawal from one another. Each animal uses the friendship to bolster their confidence about interacting with other creatures in the world. Praising the “sweet, reassuring story” as well as “lively, expressive illustrations,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor called Playing Possum a “charming tale.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly critic lauded the “sensitive” and “mellow story” along with the “dappled, luminous mixed-media art.”
[open new]Offering an ode to children’s dearest objects of affection is Reinhardt’s next self-illustrated book, Always by My Side: A Stuffie Story. With a mop-haired youth and a lumpy, squishy stuffie sharing experiences aplenty, the reader eventually realizes that the stuffie is the one narrating. The stuffie declares its loyalty through thick and thin, quelling sadness, listening to secrets, and helping the youth feel less alone at school. Then a new friend appears in the youth’s life, also clutching a stuffie. The blossoming person-to-person friendship leads to the narrator getting left behind—but never forgotten and ready for a reunion. A Kirkus Reviews writer enjoyed how the stuffie’s “floppy frame instantly conjures much cuddling and love, and children will enjoy seeing it get bigger as the protagonist grows.” The reviewer was led by Always by My Side to conclude, “Some bonds last a lifetime.”[suspend new]
As an illustrator, Reinhardt has worked on books written by Chris Kurtz, Susan Vaught, and Linda Sue Park. In Kurtz’s The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, Flora’s mother tries to put the life of a farm pig in perspective for her daughter. But Flora wants to travel and expects more in life than what she is given. So Flora ventures out to the South Pole on a true adventure. Writing in Horn Book, Robin L. Smith remarked that “thirty-eight fast-paced chapters make this a perfect book for reading aloud and also assure that newly independent readers will feel successful.”
With Alice B. McGinty’s Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons, Rabbi Benjamin is gifted a Jewish holiday-themed yellow vest for Rosh Hashanah. He wears it proudly as he celebrates the holiday with members of his congregation. In a review in Horn Book, Elissa Gershowitz observed that “there’s much joy in this cheery holiday book, from the spry text’s kid-pleasing sound effects … to that bright-yellow, menorah festooned vest.”
In Vaught’s Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, fifth-graders Footer Davis and Peavine Jones investigate an elderly farmer’s murder and disappearance of his grandchildren. Covering themes of mental illness and domestic violence in small-town Mississippi, the mystery changes course many times as the pair change their theories. Booklist contributor Kathleen Isaacs said that “for middle-graders, this is a sympathetic exploration of some difficult issues.”
Suzanne Slade’s The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford is a pictorial biography of how Thomas Edison inspired Henry Ford. Although they both fail, it is learning from these mistakes that allowed them to excel later. Booklist contributor Francisca Goldsmith admitted that the book’s focus on the human aspects of invention make it “an unusual angle,” but it is “well executed, which makes it a good fit for STEM-oriented programs.”
Park’s Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs is an animal-themed homograph. Animals are partnered with verbs that have similar sounds with their own names. Hence, cranes crane their long necks and slugs slug other slugs while wearing boxing gloves. Reinhardt also illustrated another book by Park, Gondra’s Treasure. This work focuses on a young dragon coming to terms with the fact that her parents look and behave very differently—Gondra’s father breathes mist and flies with magic, whereas her mother breathes fire and uses wings to fly. Praising Reinhardt’s illustrations for the book, a Publishers Weekly critic noted that “Gondra is wonderfully imagined: … bright-eyed, adventurous, resilient … and, in her red-striped footie pajamas, utterly huggable.”
In Katherine Applegate’s Sometimes You Fly, a series of before and after scenes are presented on alternating pages. A baby cries before eating cake, but is all smiles afterward. This pattern continues through the lives of children as they mature. Booklist contributor Maryann Owen called the book “a natural successor to Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! that deals with navigating life’s ups and downs.”
[resume new]Inspired by the real-life six-block relocation of a San Francisco house, a Victorian Englander, in 2021 is Teri Roche Drobnick’s Moving Day. Stepping ont o a flatbed trailer with trepidation, a house becomes part of a joyful parade as city workers clear the way, neighbors look on, and the house’s new inhabitants greet it with aplomb. To Drobnick’s delight, Reinhardt thought to anthropomorphize the house by giving it stockinged legs and arms bearing floral-print carpetbags. This allowed her to bypass the logistics behind uprooting a house and help children empathize with the house as a character. A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that Reinhardt’s “dynamic ink and watercolor illustrations lend the house a lively personality,” and “careful readers will notice delightful details” as Moving Day proves “charming, entertaining, and full of heart.”[close new]
In an interview with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Reinhardt talked about how different working as both the writer and illustrator of a book is versus just doing the illustration work: “It’s both a blessing and a curse in my opinion. It’s great to be able to express and control my vision for the book in its entirety. But that also is like having twice as many chocolates from which to choose.”
Reinhardt told SATA: “My mother and her mother adored picture books. I always grew up thinking of them as an elevated form of art and something to be prized and cherished. When I was in second grade, I put a caption under a funny caricature drawing that I had done of my brother. It said, ‘My brother needs a haircut—NOW!’ At that moment I realized that putting pictures with words and vice versa was a way to tell and show even more of a story.
“I hear my MomMom in my head a lot. She loved details and whimsy. Once I showed her a greeting card that I had done. She nodded and I asked her what she didn’t seem to love about it. She said that there were no little critters in the grass and that seemed like a missed opportunity. I remember looking for all the little hidden details when my mother read to me and I believe that a lot of kids do, too.
“Since I’m both a writer and an illustrator my work feels often divided. I like to have writing projects constantly in progress so that I can ponder that side of it while I’m painting. When I’m working on writing a story, I often doodle on each draft. I like to have a visual idea about what the character(s) look like.
“I would be very happy if a reader felt connected to any of my books in a way that made them want to sit with it again and again. My favorite picture books have broken spines and soiled pages. I believe that’s the sign of a successful book. My artwork is wonky and imperfect, because that’s how I am. I believe that wiggly lines are much more interesting than straight ones. It’s how I see the world—and I like it that way.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2013, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, p. 116; February 15, 2015, Kathleen Isaacs, review of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, p. 86; September 1, 2015, Francisca Goldsmith, review of The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford, p. 94; February 1, 2016, Amina Chaudhri, review of Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs, p. 54; December 1, 2017, Maryann Owen, review of Sometimes You Fly, p. 67.
Horn Book, May 1, 2013, Robin L. Smith, review of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, p. 86; November 1, 2014, Elissa Gershowitz, review of Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons, p. 74; March 1, 2015, Jessica Tackett Macdonald, review of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, p. 111; March 1, 2016. Susan Dove, review of Yaks Yak, p. 75.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2012, review of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig; July 1, 2014, review of Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons; January 1, 2015, review of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy; July 1, 2015, review of The Inventor’s Secret; December 15, 2015, review of Yaks Yak; March 15, 2017, review of Blue Ethel; February 1, 2019, review of Gondra’s Treasure; April 15, 2020, review of Playing Possum; March 1, 2021, review of Always by My Side; January 15, 2025, review of Moving Day.
Publishers Weekly, November 12, 2012, review of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, p. 61; June 16, 2014, review of Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons, p. 79; January 19, 2015, review of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, p. 84; December 14, 2015, review of Yaks Yak, p. 84; December 2, 2016, review of Yaks Yak, p. 27; January 28, 2019, review of Gondra’s Treasure, p. 93; May 25, 2020, review of Playing Possum, p. 66.
School Library Journal, August 1, 2013, Helen Foster James, review of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, p. 80; August 1, 2014, Heidi Estrin, review of Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons, p. 75; February 1, 2015, Nina Sachs, review of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, p. 94; September 1, 2015, Tamara Saarinen, review of The Inventor’s Secret, p. 181; December 1, 2015, Barbara Auerbach, review of Yaks Yak, p. 94; March 1, 2016, Constance Dickerson, review of The Inventor’s Secret, p. 59; May 1, 2017, Lisa Lehmuller, review of Blue Ethel, p. 68.
ONLINE
Jennifer Black Reinhardt website, https://www.jbreinhardt.com (July 2, 2025).
Picture Book Builders, https://picturebookbuilders.com/ (March 18, 2025), Jennifer Black Reinhardt and Teri Roche Drobnick, “Moving Day, Launch Interview & Giveaway!”
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators–Iowa website, https://iowa.scbwi.org/ (May 7, 2017), interview with Reinhardt.
Let’s yak about me…
I grew up in a cozy town in the mountains of Pennsylvania, surrounded by creative artists and quirky collections. My mother was an artist and her mother was an artist (and now my daughter is an artist!). It wasn’t until I was a high school student that I realized that not everyone had an art studio as a required room in their home. I always wanted to illustrate picture books and maybe even get to write AND illustrate them. So, I went to art school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Illustration.
After working at advertising agencies and honing my skills at now obsolete design technology, I went on to have my artwork featured as best selling calendars, humor books, needlepoint kits, collector plates, and a Louie Award winning line of greeting cards.
I’ve had my childhood dream come true and have been able to write and illustrate several books for children including; (March 2025) Moving Day, written by Teri Roche Drobnick and published by Margaret Ferguson Books / Holiday House, Always by My Side, which I wrote and illustrated and published by Random House, Playing Possum, which I wrote and illustrated (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Fishtastic! written by Tess Weaver and published by the University of Iowa Press, Gondra’s Treasure, written by Newbery award winning author Linda Sue Park (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Sometimes You Fly, written by Newberry award winning author, Katherine Applegate (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Blue Ethel, written and illustrated by me and published by Margaret Ferguson Books, Yaks Yak (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) written by Linda Sue Park, The Inventor’s Secret; What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford (Charlesbridge Publishing) by Suzanne Slade, Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons (Charlesbridge Publishing), by Alice B. McGinty, and The Adventures of a South Pole Pig (Harcourt Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), written by Chris Kurtz.
I’ve traded the majestic mountains of Pennsylvania for the for the soft whisper of the midwest prairie. I now live in Iowa City, Iowa where I happily work in my comfortably messy studio. Doesn’t everyone have studio in their house?
What’s next? Keep an eye on my ‘What’s Gnu’ page for upcoming announcements and events. Also, please follow me on social media. I enjoy sporadically posting drawings like #oldphotofriday which I hope are fun to see. I also love collecting and learning about the history of objects, so check out my Fripperies page where I’ll put pictures about cool antique finds, fab art supplies, and interesting tidbits.
MOVING DAY, launch interview & GIVEAWAY!
Jennifer Black Reinhardt March 18, 2025
TOOT TOOT! That’s me tooting my own horn. Because a pretty fabulous new picture book has just been released, and I was fortunate to be part of it.
MOVING DAY, is written by the talented author, Teri Roche Drobnick, and is her picture book debut. I thought I would ask her some questions and she can ask me some, too. Like a written, “in conversation with”.
JBR: Hi, Teri, please tell us what MOVING DAY is about, and what inspired you to write it?
Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for asking me to participate. I can’t wait to see our book on Picture Book Builders. MOVING DAY was inspired by the real-life Victorian Englander house that was moved six blocks in San Francisco in 2021. A friend of mine texted me the newsreel of the move and said, “This would make a great picture book.” The video was impressive—I was immediately engaged and started scouring the internet for news about the house. By that afternoon, I had written my first draft!
When I began the writing process, I tried to think about what would make this story more kid-friendly to appeal to the target age of picture book readers. That’s when I thought of telling the story from the house’s perspective. I tried to think about how frightening it would have been to be taken from the spot where the house resided for over 100 years and tugged down the street as everyone watched. The real-life story aided in the writing, as workers had to trim trees, remove street signs, and stop traffic to make way for the house as it was slowly pulled down hills and around corners. All this was incorporated into the story. Telling the story from the house’s perspective I was able to incorporate the fears and anxieties that can accompany moving.
TRD: Jennifer, I would love to hear what your first thoughts were when you received the manuscript from Margaret.
I absolutely loved this character. You infused the house with personality and took the reader along on her worried journey. I immediately started to plan ways to bring her to life and give readers an emotional attachment to her. I was, and still am, very ‘moved’ by the message in the book. Moving can be difficult for anyone, especially a large Victorian house! It’s an important topic that many kids and families can relate to.
Artwork Copyright Jennifer Black Reinhardt 2025
JBR: Teri, this being your first picture book, were there any unexpected surprises in the book-making process?
The length of the publication process was unexpected for me. Since this is my debut book, I had no idea how long this could take. I signed the contract in 2021 and the book is not coming out until March 11, 2025. It has been an agonizing wait, but the finished product is well worth it.
But my biggest surprise was when I saw your illustrations of the house for the first time. The house had legs! I never would have thought of the house having legs, even though I had personified her. I love the striped stockings and boots. When our editor Margaret Ferguson first recommended you for the illustrating, she said that she thought you were the perfect fit. I went online to further examine your work, and I fell in love. Pen and watercolor are my favorite medium, and the colors and whimsicality of your work was the ideal marriage for my story. But when I saw the completed illustrations of MOVING DAY, I got goosebumps. Your work exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
TRD: So, my question to you, how did you come up with the idea of the legs?
Ha! Well… I knew that I didn’t want to draw a lot of trucks and make it a book about the technical side of moving a house. My biggest challenge was to anthropomorphize her in a way that she still felt like a realistic house, but had enough human qualities that a child could relate to her. I also wanted to avoid making her too cartoony and cliché. I had to stand my ground a bit for her legs, vine arms, and carpet bags. I’m happy that those ‘appendages’ have been well received. Because you, Teri, cleverly have the house narrating, I felt that she needed to visually have some unexpected human attributes to support that. I even built a model of the house to help me with perspective when I drew her.
JBR: Teri, You have done a marvelous job of infusing many layers to this story that I know will resonate with young readers and the adults as well. What are you hoping that people will take away from the book?
Moving can be difficult. My daughter did not want to move at the age of five. We only moved around six blocks (similar to the house in the story), but she was attached to the spot where we lived. My father, in his early eighties, was resistant to moving from our family home where he had raised us kids and resided for fifty years. So, moving can be stressful for both children and adults. However, any kind of change can also be positive. Moving can strengthen family bonds and teach children how to cope with new situations, how to be flexible, and how to make new friends. All this can lead to self-confidence.
JBR: Thank you so much, Teri, for writing this important and endearing book. And, for allowing me to be a part of it. Thanks too, to Margaret Ferguson, our editor, for putting us together and to Holiday House for publishing MOVING DAY.
Artwork Copyright Jennifer Black Reinhardt 2025
GIVEAWAY! Teri will be sending a book signed by both of us to one person who comments on this blogpost (within US only). The winner will be announced in my next post on Tuesday April 29 (note that I’ve switched usual time slots with Rebecca).
Thanks to all of you for coming to our launch, and we hope you love MOVING DAY as much as we do!
ALL Artwork Copyright Jennifer Black Reinhardt 2025
To learn more about Teri Roche Drobnick, please visit her website at https://www.teridrobnick.com where you can find lots of interesting links about house moving as well as related activities!
More information about me can be found on my website and I also have some fun MOVING DAY coloring and activity pages to download and print https://www.jbreinhardt.com.
Thank you!
Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Jennifer is the illustrator and author of several acclaimed picture books. Most recently is MOVING DAY, written by Teri Roche Drobnick, which she illustrated. Jennifer wrote and illustrated, Always by My Side, 'A Stuffie Story'. She also is both the author and illustrator of Playing Possum, and Blue Ethel. Jennifer illustrated Gondra’s Treasure, written by Newbery award winner Linda Sue Park. As well as, Sometimes You Fly, by Newbery medalist, Katherine Applegate. She illustrated Yaks Yak, Animal Word Pairs by Linda Sue Park, Fishtastic!, by Tess Weaver, The Inventor's Secret, What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford, by Suzanne Slade, Rabbi Benjamin's Buttons, by Alice B. McGinty, and The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, by Chris Kurtz.
View all posts by Jennifer Black Reinhardt →
Reinhardt, Jennifer Black MOVING DAY Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House (Children's None) $18.99 3, 11 ISBN: 9780823452590
It's normal to be nervous on moving day, especially when you've been in the same place for more than 100 years.
Anthropomorphized by spindly, stockinged legs and pointy boots, an ornate Victorian home on a cozy San Francisco street nervously steps onto a flatbed trailer--and so the journey begins. A parade ensues as curious neighbors gather, children ride their bikes alongside the trailer, and a police escort leads the way. Teetering and tottering, the house waits as tree trimmers cut low branches and utility workers remove street signs to make way for the oversize caravan. The bashful and bruised house wonders when this will all be over before finally spotting the new residents: a multiracial family of five who smile and wave from an empty lot. Settling in, the house misses being in the old neighborhood, but the new family's love and the comforting sound of the ice cream truck make for a sweet, empathetic conclusion to a daunting adventure. Dynamic ink and watercolor illustrations lend the house a lively personality and depict a diverse crowd of bystanders. Careful readers will notice delightful details such as flowering bushes on either side of the house that transform into giant, floral-patterned carpet bags, clutched tightly to the house's sides by curling ivy arms. An author's note discusses the book's inspiration--a real-life San Francisco home that was moved six blocks in 2021.
Charming, entertaining, and full of heart.(Picture book. 3-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Reinhardt, Jennifer Black: MOVING DAY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102212/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f71d1bf9. Accessed 9 June 2025.
Reinhardt, Jennifer Black ALWAYS BY MY SIDE Random House (Children's None) $17.99 3, 16 ISBN: 978-0-593-17382-4
A tale of devotion told from the point of view of a stuffed animal.
“I will always be by your side.” A disheveled tot with a mop of unkempt hair holds tightly to a lumpy, squishable stuffie. It’s not immediately clear who is speaking to whom. Both of them look pretty dependent on each other. But as they go on various adventures, it becomes clear that it’s the stuffie who proclaims its loyalty over and over again. “When you are sad, I will hug you.” (The two tightly embrace.) “I will listen to your secrets and never tell.” (The pals are splayed on the floor, locked eye to eye very seriously.) And on the first day of school: “When you feel alone, I will keep you company.” (The youngster and stuffie stand together on the playground, watching others play.) But a sudden tug on the stuffie’s tail changes everything. A new friend…also with a stuffie! As the pair’s friendship grows, the stuffies are gradually left behind. A particularly heartbreaking scene shows the forlorn stuffie amid an endless galaxy of black, just waiting. But that makes the joy when the two are reunited all the more sweet. The animal’s floppy frame instantly conjures much cuddling and love, and children will enjoy seeing it get bigger as the protagonist grows. The main tot presents White, and the new friend has a darker complexion and tight, frizzy black curls. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.4% of actual size.)
Some bonds last a lifetime. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Reinhardt, Jennifer Black: ALWAYS BY MY SIDE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A653125485/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=47d3b5ef. Accessed 9 June 2025.