New Release! March 3, 2026
JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD GOLD STANDARD SELECTION
*Kirkus Starred Review
*BCCB Starred Review
About Jane
My name is Jane Kohuth, and I write books for kids! I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, went to High School on Cape Cod, and now live and work in my old house surrounded by Great Albert Woods in Holliston, Massachusetts. I live with my husband Michael, my son Kameron, and my black and white cats, Esme and Pearl.
I graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in English and Creative Writing and from Harvard Divinity School with a Master's Degree in Theological Studies. Though not all of what I’ve studied makes an appearance in my work (no Biblical Hebrew yet), the habits of creative thought and curiosity I developed in school help me every day. I’ve worked as a children's room library assistant, a writing teacher, and a children's bookseller and organizer of author events. I am currently a Jewish educator and the director of a Jewish supplementary school at a synagogue in Massachusetts. I am represented by Bookmark Literary.
I am excited to announce that my newest picture book, THE DARK IS FOR, illustrated by Cindy Derby is for sale as of March 3, 2026! My other books include SOMETHING ON THE HILL, DUCKS GO VROOM, ESTIE THE MENSCH, DUCK SOCK HOP and ANNE FRANK'S CHESTNUT TREE, all published by Penguin Random House and WHO'S GOT THE ETROG, a Sukkot holiday story, published by Kar-Ben.
SOMETHING ON THE HILL received a starred review from School Library Journal and THE DARK IS FOR received starred reviews from Kirkus and the Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books. THE DARK IS FOR is also a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. My books have appeared on several best of the year lists, including Bank Street's Best Children's Books of the Year, The Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Children's Books of the Year, The New York Public Library's Top Ten Picture Book Read-Alouds of the Year, The American Library Association's Great Early Elementary Reads, and Parent's Magazine's Twenty Best Books of the Year. ANNE FRANK'S CHESTNUT TREE was named a NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. Both ESTIE THE MENSCH and WHO'S GOT THE ETROG are PJ Library Books. To find out more about my books, please visit the Books section of this website.
If you'd like to know a little more about me, please click on About Me.
If you might be interested in having me visit your school or organization, you can contact me at jane@janekohuth.com. You can also take a look at the Author Visits section of this website for more information.
Reviews of The Dark Is For
Kohuth’s language and Derby’s art are, by turns, rich and expansive or precise and intimate. . . . The first-person plural narration presents darkness as benevolent, sometimes mysterious, often protective. . . . Even the most dark-averse readers will take heed; here, the dark is for dreamy coziness. Bedtime (or anytime) bliss.
* Kirkus, Starred Review
“With gentle prose, Kohuth shines light on the beauty of darkness. This is as much a celebration of nature as it is of the special gifts in the darkness. Each vignette offers a poetic reflection: an owl takes flight, and “the dark is for flying.” A butterfly transforms, and “the dark is for growing.” A mother tells stories, because “the dark is for storytelling.” Derby uses soft watercolor illustrations to complement the quiet mood of the book, with muted tones touched with glimmers of light. While this works beautifully as a bedtime story, the carefully crafted poems also invite reflection and discussion with readers of all ages. Each poem could stand alone and lead to class discussions of what other things fly, grow, listen, and shine in the night. Bookended by a sunset at the opening and a sunrise at the end, the book closes with the reassuring message that “the dark is for bringing tomorrow.” VERDICT A stunning celebration of the darkness and all the wonders it holds..
School Library Journal
This lyrical picture book embraces all the magic that can be found in the dark: shading the sky when the sun finally sinks, cooling down a hot day, offering an opportunity to see the stars, and resetting the world for tomorrow. . . . Kohuth’s descriptions are dreamy and artistic, relying on a repeating refrain, “the dark is for . . . ” to connect disparate concepts (from scientific musings on plant growth to the more poetic imaginings of nighttime storytelling) under one shared umbrella. The text is paired with incredible mixed media artwork. . . . Small, surprise details, like a banjo-playing frog hidden among the heavy greens and blues of a lake at night, invite careful, repeat viewings, as does the open-ended text that allows for individual interpretation. Listeners who are afraid of the dark may well find something inspiring here to temper that concern, or they will at least store away the knowledge that, for many living things, the dark is as imperative as the light
*Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books, Starred Review
Reviews of Something on the Hill
The rural settings are rendered with the softness of pastels, lots of texture, and beautiful earth tones while always keeping the focus on the charmingly drawn animals. Text flows with equal charm as the critters interact; the scenes work perfectly with the illustrations to build suspense for the big reveal.
* School Library Journal, Starred Review
. . . a jubilant tribute to creaturely instincts as well as bonds that endure seasonal transitions.
Publisher’s Weekly