Meet the Smushkins
By Claudia Rueda
Humorous and educational series for early readers
Candlewick, December 2, 2025; 40 pages
Series: The Smushkins
Subrights Info
- Translation rights available via Candlewick
- UK/ANZ rights available via Candlewick
- Film/TV rights available via Candlewick
- Merchandising and commercial rights available via Candlewick
Rights Sold
- Catalan, Spanish
What if you mixed the gentle spirit of Lucy Cousins’s Maisy with the offbeat world of the Moomins?
The Smushkins are looking for a house, but what makes a good house for the Smushkins? Lots of light, a big table eto sit on, and an apple tree for making pies. Oh, and a playground, puddles, an ice cream cart, and so much more! Kicking off a delightful concept book series, this picture book introduces a family of characters so adorable, so goofy, and so lovable that readers of all ages can’t help but feel that they’ve known them forever.
Reviews
“A vision of childhood that’s generous, validating, and cute as all get out.” – Publishers Weekly
“You know what’s going to save us from AI? Specifically, AI picture books? Weirdness. I’m not talking uncanny valley, AI hallucination-type stuff. I’m talking books that no machine could have thought up. Books that fill the gaps that our brains didn’t even know were there. I’m talking Smushkins, people. The kind of creations that only people like creator Claudia Rueda could come up with.” – Betsy Bird, A Fuse 8 Production
“Little ones will love poring over the light, breezy, and pleasantly jumbled pastel-colored illustrations of the characters as they demonstrate all the places and activities they believe are important to a home.” – Booklist
“Deftly taps into the fun of coming up with one’s dream home with all one’s best friends.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[The Smushkins] have pretty good taste in their choice of location; who doesn’t want to live near a park with a playground and hill for picnics AND near a library?” – YA Books Central
Awards and Accolades
- 2025: Amazon Best Picture Book of the Month
This series might appeal to fans of The Moomins by Tove Jansson, the Maisy books by Lucy Cousins, and Maybe by Chris Haughton.
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Author Bio
Claudia Rueda is a Colombian author and a New York Times bestselling illustrator of over thirty picture books for children. Rueda’s books have been published in the United States, Mexico, and Spain and have been translated into sixteen different languages for Asia and Europe. She’s a 2016 Hans Christian Andersen and Astrid Lindgren Awards nominee. Claudia went to Law and Art school and worked as a political cartoonist in Colombia. She then studied Children’s Book Illustration at UC Berkeley and she holds a MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. She currently teaches picture book storytelling at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Her most recent books include Redlocks and the Three Bears, Bunny Overboard, and Hungry Bunny. Visit Claudia at http://www.claudiarueda.com.
Languages Spoken by Creator
English, Spanish
Other Titles
