When my son was in third grade, he researched and wrote a one-page biography about Mae Jemison. At the time, I don’t think there were any picture book biographies about her. The information he found focused on her science-based career trajectory. Not a bad thing. He’s now studying aerospace engineering, so that worked well for him. And it showed how Jemison’s persistence paid off. But for kids who have many different interests, it didn’t reflect how someone can pursue more than one path. This picture book biography shows how Jemison did just that. Mae Jemison, the first Black female astronaut ..read more

Promise! There are no dragons in this book. Hmmmm. Every child, after seeing that dangling contradiction at the gable of the roof, will eagerly open this book and investigate for themselves. What they will find is page after page of cleverly disguised, or maybe cleverly in denial, assertions that there are no dragons. Text©️Donna Lambo-Weidner Illustration©️Carla Haslbauer TOENAILS?You see toenails? No way.Ohhh...pay no attention to those.They probably belong to the cat.It's a big cat...a really big cat.They're called CLAWS, you say?You're right.You're very smart.Smart enough to believe mewh ..read more

* First, let’s just admire that amazing cover, the rich colors and magical feel that sets the tone for the book. Gorgeous! Text©Sahtinay Abaza Illustration©Dinara Mirtalipova Hunger gripped Adam like a wild beast,twisting and turning for food.It grumbled. It stomped and roared. Poor Adam. And what a muscular opening! I know how it feels to be that hungry, like my stomach is devouring itself. But here, Adam can’t eat until sundown because he’s fasting for Ramadan. This opening illustration feels visceral, the shadow being cast not by the cat, but by Adam, who almost looks like he’s praying f ..read more

* As our world grows smaller, it is becoming more homogenous. Whether that can be attributed to mass media and/or careless disregard or intentional extermination of cultures and languages, the purpose of WHAT MAKES US HUMAN is not to address the underlying reasons behind extinction, but to raise the alarm that it’s happening and to celebrate and promote that rich diversity before it is lost. The UN General Assembly declared the decade from 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. And this book, published in partnership with UNESCO, urges kids to consider how important la ..read more

* Sometimes, I wish I had a big sister. And in my mind, she’d be just like the one in this sweet story about how that special person in your life can make even the most troubling days, not just better, but fun! Before I go on, I’d like to admire the metaphor offered up to the reader on the cover, such an apt one for the loving relationship between this pair. Big sis with her long coat shelters little sis from life’s more troubling moments. And if she can’t protect her completely, she’s there to offer comfort. Text ©Nelly Buchet  Illustration ©Rachel Katstaller "We were supposed to have the b ..read more

First published in French in 2021, Eerdman’s has brought this engaging translation to the U.S. with the help of Marion Kadi (author/illustrator) and Abram Kaplan. It’s a pleasure to welcome this book that begins like a folktale and morphs into modern day story with a subtle social and emotional theme. Text/Illustration ©Marion Kadi Once upon a time there was an old lion. He had lived a good life, hunting, eating, and sleeping, and one day, he died. He left his reflection all alone. The “once upon a time” and the idea that one can leave their reflection behind when they die enters the territ ..read more

All is well at the castle…Ghosts of Gingerbread Constructions past… I wish you peace, hope, and joy in the new year ..read more

Picture books in translation tend to fascinate me, because they expand my limited view of the possibilities of what a picture book can do or be, a view that is often restricted to what I usually see in the U.S. marketplace. And since this is the last review of the year, and I’ll be moving on to 2024 books soon, this post includes two books published in English in 2023. The first, THE SHADE TREE, is clearly a fable, one that would pair well with THE FATE OF FAUSTO by Oliver Jeffers. When a rich man lays claim to the shade of a tree he owns, denying villagers from enjoying its shade, he eagerly ..read more

* Mr. S is a first-day-of-school book that’s surprising, funny, and fresh. It’s also a book that can be read year round because it breaks the mold of 1st day books. It’s not about conquering your fear of going to school. It’s not about worrying whether you’ll make friends, or any of the other usual worries featured in 1st day books. It’s about the mystery of the new teacher. AND about how things may not be what they seem. In this case, when the students arrive, the classroom contains no welcoming teacher, because he’s been called away to the school parking lot, where disaster upon disaster co ..read more

Holy Night and Little Star is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book that offers a new take on the standard Christmas story. When the story opens, we see Little Star hovering low in the night sky. She twinkles “above the hills, small and faint.” And when newborn lambs open their eyes, she’s the first light they see. (Love the purposeful resonance later in the story when Jesus opens his eyes for the first time.) Little Star is perfectly happy with her low-to-the-horizon position in the sky, with her gentle gleam, and hopes things never change. But when Maker (the name used instead ..read more