7 New Picture Books for Christmas 2023

Advent is here, and I am excited about new Christmas children's books! I have received 7 Christmasy review copies this year. 

Two are in board book format. 

Be My Reindeer by Jeffrey Burton and Anna Hurley asks who will pull Santa's sleigh. Dinosaurs? Kittens? Robots? Each turn of the page reveals the face of a newly suggested character, and antlers glued onto the back cover appear to grow from each one's head. The silliness is perfect for the toddler age group, and I would have loved this for holiday story times at the library. We are sort of growing beyond the board book stage here, so I think Saint Nicholas is bringing everyone picture books this year, but we'll be sure to pass our copy along.

In the Holly Jolly North Pole by Joel Stern and Nancy Leschnikoff is a rhyming pop-up book designed in landscape format so that the book has to be turned sideways to be read. It's a pretty generic peek into life in Santa's workshop, but the fun pop-ups and cartoonish figures will appeal to little ones all the same.

The rest of these are picture books.

Merry Christmas, Strega Nona is a reprint of a 1986 Tomie dePaola favorite. During Advent, Strega Nona has so much to do to get ready for her annual feast, but while she depends on Big Anthony to help her, he schemes with the neighbors to find a way to give back to Strega Nona. I love that this book mentions the Advent wreath and Mass. I plan to give this one to my eight-year-old from St. Nicholas.

In We Disagree About This Tree housemates Bear and Mouse are getting along mostly fine until they get a Christmas tree. By turns,  they each decorate the tree the way they believe it should look, each irritating the other until the tree finally falls down. This book has a grammar error, in which a singular hypothetical referee that Bear believes would help mediate their disagreement is referred to as "they." The rhyme is also a little bit awkward in parts. Still, it's a funny odd-couple style story that will make kids laugh. St. Nicholas isn't bringing this one to anyone, I'll probably just sneak it into the stack at some point. 

The Christmas Doll by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey is based on an episode of a British television show I've never seen or heard of, The Repair Shop. Evie and great-grandma Sue bring an old doll named Lizzy to the Repair Shop. Great-grandma tells the history of the doll from her own childhood, and then the "Teddy Bear Ladies" restore her so that Evie can have the doll. It's a really sweet story, and my 6-year-old who shares the doll's name will receive this one from St. Nicholas. 

Dasher Can't Wait for Christmas by Matt Tavares is a sequel to Dasher from a few years ago. On the eve of  Christmas Eve, Dasher wanders off, takes flight and has a little adventure with a human friend, and then has the opportunity to bring gifts to that child on Christmas Eve. The appeal of this book is the beautiful use of light in the illustrations. It creates a similar magical feel to The Polar Express. My oldest daughter received Dasher when it was first released, so this one is going to her.

Finally, How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen is a surprisingly sweet book from this duo. It explores all the various silly ways Santa might have of entering our homes on Christmas Eve. My 3-year-old daughter, who has been asking a lot of questions about how Santa gets into our house, will receive this one. 

Thank you to Candlewick Press and Simon & Schuster for the review copies!

Five New Halloween Board Books

My twins, who are my youngest, are two-and-a-half now, so our board book days are dwindling, but I couldn't resist requesting these festive fall titles before our family leaves this stage of reading behind us. These are five brand-new board books perfect for celebrating Halloween with little ones under three. 

I'm a Little Pumpkin, written by Hannah Eliot and illustrated by Anna Daviscourt, is a pumpkin-themed take on the classic children's song, I'm a Little Teapot. Following the rhythm of that song, a series of cartoonish pumpkins in different shapes and colors introduce themselves and show how they greet the autumn season. The illustrations use vibrant shades of yellow, orange, red, and green to depict foliage, vines, and a barnyard setting. The text uses a couple of slanted rhymes ("am" and stem;" "striped" and "types") but it can be sung to the original tune without difficulty, which is a big plus for anyone wanting to share this book with a group.  This book doesn't directly reference Halloween, so it can be read all fall long, and it's also suitable for families who choose not to celebrate Halloween.

The text of The Monsters on the Broom, written by Annemarie Riley Guertin and illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn, is another piggyback song, this time based on The Wheels on the Bus. A group of little monsters travels down the street on Halloween night, and each one makes a signature soumd as they try out the witch's broom. This is a fun one to do in a group setting, too, because of the opportunities to make lots of fun noises. The pictures use lots of black and purple to suggest a nighttime setting, and hints of orange and gold, as well as blue, give the book just a hint of spooky Halloween flavor.  I like this one because it makes some of the spooky characters associated with Halloween look a bit silly, which helps dispel any fears little ones might have. 

Truck or Treat written by Hannah Eliot and illustrated by Jen Taylor, is a lift-the-flap book as well as a guessing game. Each truck at a construction site is dressed in costume. Using visual and textual clues, readers are invited to guess the identity of each one. The writing in some sections of this book feels a little clunky because there are too many syllables in some of the lines, but the concept is great, and even the costume ideas for the different trucks are appealing to little guys who love vehicles. Reading this book is also a fun way to introduce the names of some of the diggers kids love if they don't know them already.

Monsters Play... Peekaboo, written and illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago, is another lift-the-flap book with a guessing game format. In this one, every character, from a werewolf to a banshee, is dressed as a ghost, and readers are invited to guess, again using textual clues as well as some visual hints, who is hidden beneath each white sheet.  The refrain of "eek-a-peek-a-peekaboo" is really fun to say, and kids will enjoy repeating it. Some of the monsters have fairly common children's first names as their names, too, which means reading this in a group setting might make some fun personal connections. My daughters were tickled that my son's name in appears in the book.  The ending also has a hint of a humorous surprise which I really enjoyed.

Flavia Z. Drago is also the author and illustrator of Monsters Play... Counting. In this one, readers are invited to act like various monsters,  eating, swinging, reading, fluttering, and even brushing teeth as they do. These monsters also have ordinary first names. The rhyming text is very well done, and it's pretty obvious from each illustration which number is the focus of each spread. These monsters also aren't scary, which is great for timid little ones. 

Thanks to Candlewick for review copies of the Monsters Play... books and to Little Simon for review copies of the other titles mentioned in this post. 

New Concept Books for Toddlers

My toddler twins destroy board books like nobody's business, so I'm thankful to have a supply of five new titles generously sent to us by publishers. These are all new or soon-to-be-published concept books in board book format. 

Hooray for Snowy Days! by Susan Kantor and Katya Longhi (Little Simon, 10/19/2021) is a cheerful rhyming book featuring big-eyed woodland creatures experiencing the joys of winter. They say hooray for jumping in snow, riding on sleds, building snowmen, and other traditional winter activities. The illustrator uses lots of color in the animals' clothing and in the mountains which serve as the backdrop for every scene. The result is that even the pages featuring snow and ice have a warm and cozy feel. 

Similarly The Very Hungry Caterpillar's First Winter (Penguin Random House, 1/4/2022) describes a variety of ways to spend a winter day: watching the snow, bundling up, jumping in slush, baking treats, etc. Each spread shows a cozy scene created in Eric Carle's signature style, and the Very Hungry Caterpillar can be found hiding in each illustration. This book highlights the fun side of wintry weather and is a great introduction for little ones who might soon experience snow for the first time. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Breakfast (Penguin Random House, 12/14/2021)  uses familiar breakfast foods to introduce the concept of counting. Each spread features a different type of food: one cup of yogurt, two bowls of cereal, three pastries, etc. As in the original The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the title character makes a hole in each item as he eats through it. Little fingers can touch the holes as they count the foods on each page. In my family, we especially like the egg page because one of the six egg dishes featured is "egg-in-a-hole," which is a frequent breakfast favorite of my kids. All the food vocabulary in general is pretty unusual for a board book, and it provides some good opportunities for exposure to words young kids might not otherwise hear in everyday conversation. 

Learning with Llama Llama: Numbers (11/9/2021) counts backwards from 10 as Llama Llama cleans up his bedroom and then runs to give Mama Llama a hug. The style of the illustrations makes it a bit difficult to count each individual item, which is not ideal for actually teaching counting. As a quick slice-of-life story for toddlers, however, the book is a success. I would have gladly used this in a baby or toddler story time when I worked in the library. Learning with Llama Llama: Colors (12/21/2021) combines colors with food, as Llama Llama, in the mood to make art, creates a picture out of the fruits and vegetables on his plate. The rhyming text in this one falls a bit flat, as the rhymes aren't perfect all the time, and the rhythm is often awkward to read aloud. I'm also not personally thrilled with the idea of a book that encourages playing with food, though it's hard to know whether kids will imitate the behavior or not. 

New Picture Books for Christmas 2021

It's December, which means the Christmas books are out on our shelves, just waiting to be read! We have several new additions to our collection this year, which I will highlight today.  Every title mentioned in this post was sent to me for review from the publisher, except the Tomie dePaola titles and Jan Brett's The Nutcracker, which were purchased by my mom. 

First up is a book I received for review over at Catholic Mom, where it will be the subject of my December article. It's called The Night the Saints Saved Christmas, written by Gracie Jagla and illustrated by Michael Corsini (Our Sunday Visitor). I'll save most of my thoughts for that piece, but I will say that the idea of saints jumping in to help Saint Nicholas deliver gifts on Christmas Eve is a really clever concept, and it's the best approach to the "Santa has a crisis and can't deliver the gifts" trope that I've ever read. 

Another book I received for review is a cute interactive pull-tab book called Deer Santa, which is written by Hannah Eliot and illustrated by Kathryn Selbert (Little Simon). On each page a different sweet little animal asks for a special gift. Each one holds an envelope with a tab that can be pulled out to reveal a message to Santa that matches the qualities of that animal. (The skunk's message, for example, reads, "Jingle smells!") Because of the delicate tabs, I'm not giving this to my toddlers; my four-year-old will enjoy it, and she will be much more careful with it! 

We have several different versions of Twas the Night Before Christmas, but I couldn't resist this one illustrated by P.J. Lynch (Candlewick). The soft, dark pictures create the perfect Christmas Eve ambiance, filled with a hushed anticipation as we await the arrival of Santa. Santa himself has an ethereal quality that is very appealing. His expression as he eyes the narrator just before filling the stockings is one of the best single images of Santa Claus I have ever seen. It infuses him with such personality and impishness, turning him into the "right jolly old elf" described in the text. This is a beautiful book worth owning even if you already have several versions.

We also have a lot of versions of the Biblical Christmas story on our shelves, but The First Christmas illustrated by Will Moses (Paula Wiseman Books) is different because the text is the lyrics to O Little Town of Bethlehem. I love a good singable Christmas book and this one just jumped to the top of my list for a Christmas story time. The folk art style illustrations are also unique in our collection, and I love that Moses's paint strokes are visible, and that there is so much to look at on each page. I also like the realistic Middle Eastern setting that is the backdrop to each painting, and the joy the artist depicts on the face of each figure in his illustrations. This is just a lovely book. 

We also have two new Jan Brett books on our shelves.  In The Animals' Santa (Penguin Young Readers), a young snowshoe hare is excited to learn that, on Christmas Eve, the Animals' Santa will leave presents for him and his all his woodland neighbors. But who is the Animals' Santa? All the creatures speculate, imagining which species would be best suited to the job - in the end, they witness a special delivery and learn who truly has the task of  delivering their gifts. I love the way this story parallels the experience of real preschool kids at Christmastime - the anticipation, the questions about how exactly the magic works, and the joy of discovering their gifts on Christmas morning. I also love the idea of animals having their own Santa and their own Christmas traditions. 

The Nutcracker is a retelling of the beloved holiday ballet in which the dancers Marie and the Nutcracker encounter on their sleigh ride are portrayed as animals. Every spread is a feast for the eyes, with many details to pore over, including clothes, festive decorations, the features of various creatures, and a host of musical instruments. There are some problems with the way certain figures hold and play their instruments - something we are sensitive to with a former music teacher in the family - but this is somewhat forgivable given the fact that animals in the illustrations would not even have opposable thumbs in real life. 

The Cat on the Dovrefell by Tomie de Paola has been re-released this year with the 1979 illustrations and brand-new text. This is a Scandinavian folk tale about Halvor, who tricks the trolls into staying away from his house at Christmas by scaring them with his "cat," which is really a polar bear. The most entertaining part of the book is the wordless spread of the trolls wreaking havoc. The original text, which I listened to on YouTube, seems to have been more wordy and complex; the new text isn't necessarily bad, it's just simpler and probably easier to read aloud to younger audiences. Depending on how things work out for my Christmas-themed story time this year, I may add this to the repertoire. 

There are two more recently released Christmas-themed Tomie dePaola titles as well : a new edition of Jingle the Christmas Clown, in which a circus clown provides a holiday performance for a town that is too poor to have Christmas and Christina's Carol, the text of which is the words of "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Christina Rossetti. 

Finally, Nosy Crow has two new board books. Jingle Bells  by Nicola Slater is a vibrantly illustrated version of the popular song featuring woodland animals in winter clothes. The last page of the book has buttons to press, one of which plays music, and the other of which lights a yellow star atop a Christmas tree. Where's the Polar Bear? by Ingela P. Arrhenius is a lift-the-flap book where the flaps are made of durable felt. The imagery in the illustrations is generically wintry, but the color scheme and the presence of pine trees gives it a strong Christmas mood. 

New Picture Books for Halloween and Thanksgiving

I love seasonal picture books! Today, I have a list of brand-new titles to help young readers celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. All of these titles were sent to me by their respective publishers in exchange for honest reviews.

Here Comes Fall! written by Susan Kantor and illustrated by Katya Longhi (Little Simon) is a cheerful rhyming story about saying goodbye to summer and enjoying the crisp air, delicious apples, and crunchy leaves that come in the fall. Each page shows sweet anthromorphic creatures celebrating the season in cozy scenes of family fun. My 19-month-old son fell in love with this book instantly. He loves the faces on the little animals, as well as the shades of orange and red the illustrator used for the leaves. This is a fun book to share with little ones who might not yet be ready for true Halloween content. 

Boo! Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton (Little Simon) is a Halloween take-off on her popular Moo! Baa, La La La. There isn't much to the story other than a sort of call-and-response exchange between a cow saying Boo and a sheep saying Baa, but the rhythm of the text and the exaggerated faces of the figures really appealed to my 19-month-old daughter, who eagerly snatched the book from me after I finished reading it aloud. You truly can never go wrong with Sandra Boynton books for toddlers.

Knock Knock, Trick or Treat! by Amy E. Sklansky, illustrated by Chiara Galletti (Little Simon) is a lift-the-flap book that follows the format of a guessing game. On each page, there is a house decorated to suit its spooky occupant, and then the text invites the reader to figure out who will be found lurking behind the door. I read this aloud to my 19-month-olds and my four-year-old, and my six-year-old and almost-eight-year-old were nearby listening in. Everyone was engaged by this book! The four-year-old was able to guess most of the creatures correctly, but a few were challenging for her, and the older girls figured them out. I was disappointed that this review copy didn't come in time for my Halloween-themed story time. I'm putting it on my list for next year.

Another fun lift-the-flap book is How to Hide a Ghost by MacKenzie Haley (Little Simon). The text in this one was a bit confusing for me to read aloud, but the pictures are adorable. The child characters are all dressed in fun costumes, and the ghosts are playful and friendly. It's another great choice for kids who want to get in on the festive fun, but for whom a more traditional ghost story would be too much. 

Friendly ghosts also make an appearance in Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers). The title house worries that its strange creaking and shrieking noises mean it's haunted, and it worries that no one will want to live in it. Thankfully, a family of ghosts finds that it is just the place for them. None of my kids got from the illustrations that the family members were meant to be ghosts, so that made me realize how much scaffolding on an adult's part would be required to help this go over well in story time. Still, the onomatopoeia of the house's spooky noises just begs to be read aloud, so it's probably worth the little bit of extra explanation that might be required at the end. 

In addition to ghosts, pumpkins are also the perfect theme for this time of year. The Robin Hill School series includes a book called The Pumpkin Patch, written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by Mike Gordon (Simon Spotlight). Though this is meant to be an easy reader book, I actually think it works as a good read-aloud to prepare kids for visiting the pumpkin patch, or to help kids (read: mine) who won't get to the pumpkin patch this year understand where the grocery store pumpkins originate. A pumpkin in the story is also baked into a pie, which makes this a book you can keep out on the shelf through Thanksgiving.

Similarly, How to Help a Pumpkin Grow by Ashley Wolff (Beach Lane Books) introduces the process behind the growing of pumpkins. A dog gardener encounters a series of animals in his fledgling pumpkin patch. Though the animals at first glance seem like they might destroy the patch, the dog invites them to help the pumpkins grow instead. At the end, there is pumpkin pie for everyone, and a bunch of glowing jack-o'lanterns. This is another book that can bridge the month between Halloween and Thanksgiving. The minimalist text and bright expressive pictures make it a strong story time contender for toddler and preschool audiences.

Finally, I'll finish this list with two Thanksgiving titles. 

Thankful, written by Elaine Vickers and illustrated by Samantha Cotterill (Paula Wiseman Books), is not explicitly a Thanksgiving story, but it certainly suits the theme of gratitude. In December, a little girl and her family write down the things for which they are thankful and add them to a paper chain. The text of the book is a litany of the items the girl includes on her links of the chain: everything from her dog and her heart, to seat belts and snow. The diorama-style illustrations have really interesting and eye-catching details that are fun to pore over. The text may be somewhat abstract in its listing of random pieces of the girl's life, but the pictures are very particular and precise, and they paint a warm portrait of a loving family whose members appreciate their blessings. The only thing that would improve this book for me would be for the family to acknowledge to whom they are directing their thanks, but I know my own kids will intuit that it's meant to be God even if the author doesn't necessarily intend that. 

The other Thanksgiving book I'm really excited about is the board book version of Thanks a Lot by Raffi (Random House Children's Books), which is illustrated by Jaime Kim. This is a song I have used in Thanksgiving story times for years, but I'm so thankful to have a book to replace my poorly put together flannel board. The pictures are very bright and cheerful, depicting a young black boy who ponders all the natural wonders for which he is grateful. Again, there is no clear indication in the book that the child is thanking God, but it won't be hard to spark a discussion with my preschooler about who created the sun, clouds, moon, etc. I am planning to read this to the story time group that meets at my house at our last meeting before Thanksgiving.

New Nonfiction For Our Homeschool Library

I often tell people that I feel justified in owning a lot of books because as a homeschooler, our home library is also our school library. Over the past few weeks, I've received review copies of a bunch of new books to support our homeschooling endeavors, and I'm excited to start the new school year with them on our shelves. Here's a list of what we have recently acquired. 

The Book of Labyrinths and Mazes by Silke Vry and Finn Dean (Prestel Publishing,  9/14/2021) is a visually beautiful exploration of mazes from a variety of viewpoints. From the figurative mazes of internet searches and virus contact tracing, to real historical labyrinths and mazes in the real world today, to instructions for creating mazes, this book is about as comprehensive a title on this subject as any child could hope to find. My 5-year-old will be learning about Theseus and the Minotaur this coming school year, so this is a definite potential tie-in for her, but I actually think my 7-year-old, who loves puzzles and challenges, is going to love this book the most. It has beautiful pictures and lots of detailed information - a perfect combination.

Fourteen Monkeys by Melissa Stewart and Steve Jenkins (Beach Lane Books, 7/6/2021) arrived on the same day that my 3-year-old worked on her rainforest themed Koala Crate so that was an unexpectedly nice tie-in. Monkeys are also a favorite of our whole family so a book that introduces fourteen different species is the perfect fit for us. This book also appeals to me as a mom who frequently reads aloud to multiple ages. The main rhyming text of the story is quick and short for my little ones, but there are tons of facts about each monkey to satisfy the curiosity of my older kids. We also love Steve Jenkins and my oldest daughter immediately recognized him as "the same guy who did Actual Size." For some people, this might be too much information about monkeys; not so for the Fitzgeralds.

Barn at Night by Michelle Houts and Jen Betton (Feeding Minds Press, 9/14/2021) is a beautifully illustrated real-life look at what goes on in a barn in the middle of the night. The setting is winter and the illustrations do a wonderful job of making the reader really feel the cold and understand the feeling of being up long before everyone else in order to look after farm animals. We have quite a few books for introducing farm animals and the sounds they make, but this one adds some new layers of understanding to my city kids' image of what farm life is like. The rhyming text is perfect for my 3-year-old but I suspect everyone will want to hear it. 

Australian Baby Animals by Frané Lessac (Candlewick, 8/17/2021) is another preschool-friendly animal-centric title. The cover put all of us immediately in mind of Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? by John Butler, but this book has much more of a focus on the true behaviors of these creatures. Bold colors on solid backgrounds bring each animal to life in a visually engaging way and by selecting just one or two facts per page the author has made the book accessible to even the youngest picture book listeners. We haven't done any in-depth study on Australia yet, but if and when interest arises, we're ready.

North and South: A Tale of Two Hemispheres by Sandra Morris (Candlewick, 7/6/2021) not only demonstrates the opposite seasons of the two halves of our world, but it really gets into the details of how things are different in the northern and southern hemispheres. This book is just teeming with information: maps, plant life, animals, weather details, information about the conservation of threatened species and their most significant dangers, lifelike illustrations of each species mentioned, and even a list for further reading. The seasons and rotation of the earth are a key topic in our science curriculum, and this book will be a great resource for diving into that subject beyond just the basics.

Is There Life on Your Nose? Meet the Microbes by Christian Bortslap (Prestel Publishing, 9/7/2021) is another in-depth look at a subject of much interest to my kids: those invisible creatures that can do everything from digest our food to infect us with a virus. This book does a great job of making sure not to suggest that all microbes cause problems. Instead the focus is mainly on the fascination one might feel about these microscopic organisms. The main text of the book is pretty straightforward and easy to grasp but I love that there is also some back matter to elaborate on any questions that might arise. This will be a really fun addition to our health curriculum.

Finally, The Weather Pop-Up Book by Maike Biederstaedt (Prestel Publishing, 9/7/2021) is a gorgeous book to look at, and it also helps to explain different weather phenomenon that occur in our world. Each of the pop-up illustrations is a unique and eye-catching depiction of a type of weather and the text does a great job of condensing the important information about each type into just a few clear sentences. The last section of the book talks a lot about climate change, which isn't a topic my kids are really studying at this point, but what is included here is not as biased and alarmist as it might be, and I'm thankful for that.  

Bonus! We were also fortunate enough to receive a set of Mad Libs Reading workbooks. Despite the reputation of Mad Libs for silliness, these workbooks are actually pretty serious about teaching phonics, grammar, spelling, comprehension and vocabulary. We were sent books for Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, and I think I'll be using grades 1 and 2 with my 5-year-old and 3 and 4 with my 7-year-old to review things we've covered in the past and to fill in any gaps where we haven't discusses a particular aspect of the English language yet. Each page at each level provides a fill-in story and a chart of parts of speech to choose from in order to reinforce the concept being taught. These exercises are interactive and low-pressure, which will hopefully make it easy for the girls to have fun with language. 

Favorite New Picture Books, January - June 2021

As the halfway point in the year approaches, I've been taking stock of all the new picture books that have been sent to me for review. Today I want to share a list of the top titles I have received in the first six months of 2021. 

Road Trip by Steve Light (Candlewick, February 2021) has distinctively intricate illustrations that portray a group of animals driving through their woodland community of Whiskers Hollow to Elephant's junk yard where they hope to find a new headlight for Bear's truck. It's hard to write a book about vehicles and tools that doesn't repeat established tropes, but this book is a unique take. The story is simple, but the illustrations provide so much detail to look at that kids can really get lost in them. We have quite a few books by Steve Light on our shelves, and they have been consistently of good quality. Road Trip is no exception. 

Baby Moses in a Basket by Caryn Yacowitz and Julie Downing (Candlewick, March 2021) is a charming retelling of the Biblical story of the infant Moses floating down the river to be discovered by Pharaoh's daughter. In this version, friendly animals protect and assist young Moses in his travels, ensuring his safe arrival at his destination. We read picture book adaptations of Old Testament stories every year during Advent when we have our Jesse tree. My second daughter (C., age 5.5) will also be studying Biblical times in school this coming year, and I plan to use a lot of picture books with her. This one will certainly be included to enrich her learning. I also just recently made the connection that the illustrator of this book is the same artist who created one of our all-time favorite picture books, Lullaby and Goodnight. 

Twenty-One Steps by Jeff Gottesfeld and Matt Tavares (Candlewick, February 2021) highlights the role of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This book, with its beautiful illustrations and poetic writing style, really inspires its readers to appreciate the sacrifices the members of the U.S. Military and their families have made for our freedoms. I want my children to grow up with a sense of gratitude for fallen soldiers, and I want them to have an emotional connection to the observance of Memorial Day. This book is a perfect stepping stone toward that goal.  

In Zee Grows a Tree by Elizabeth Rusch and Will Hillenbrand (Candlewick, March 2021), a Douglas fir tree is planted when Zee is a baby, and she and the tree grow up together. At each stage of Zee's development, the story compares Zee to her tree and also shows how Zee cares for it. Facts about trees are written in the margins of every page, making the book a fun hybrid of fact and fiction. This book is similar in many ways to Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray and Barry Root, but I like having both books on our shelves as they complement each other quite well. 

Bruno the Beekeeper by Aneta Františka Holasová (Candlewick, March 2021) looks like a story book, but is actually a nonfiction guide to everything a young reader could ever want to know about bees. The feel of the book is a bit quirky, but I have never seen so much information about any topic packed into a picture book in my life, and the diagrams of bee anatomy and the inside of a hive are just utterly fascinating. This one skews toward a little bit of an older audience; I think upper elementary readers will get the most out of it. 

 

A Midsummer Night's Dream retold by Georghia Ellinas and Jane Ray (Candlewick, April 2021) is a gorgeously illustrated Shakespeare retelling. It's a little bit disappointing that more lines from the actual play don't make it into the text, but if you're looking for a book to introduce the plot ahead of introducing the Shakespearean language, this is ideal. My oldest daughter (7.5) enjoyed the book because she was learning about Shakespeare in history at the time that it arrived, but my other kids were equally drawn to the fanciful and colorful illustrations. 

How to Apologize by David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka (Candlewick, May 2021) is a fun, kid-friendly explanation of how (and how not) to make a sincere apology. Apologizing is often hard for my kids, and I like having this book on-hand to remind them in a gentle way how to make it right after they've done something wrong.  The examples of the wrong ways to make amends are also pretty funny, especially to the sense of humor of a 5-to-7-year old. 

Let's Play! A Book About Making Friends by Amanda McCardie and Colleen Larmour (Candlewick, May 2021) is another guidebook for kids, this time about meeting new people and developing new friendships. There are quite a few books out there that explore problems in friendships, but this one takes a positive, upbeat attitude and really emphasizes the joys that friendship can bring. 

Keeping the City Going by Brian Floca (Atheneum, April 2021) is the only picture book about Covid that I have accepted for review during the pandemic, and that was solely because I love the author. This is very much a snapshot of one person's experience in one place (New York City), but it surprised me by being very child-friendly and not at all political. I think it makes a nice souvenir of sorts that will one day remind us all of how odd of a year 2020 really was. It would also work as part of a community helpers themed story time, but probably only in the very immediate future.

Early One Morning by Mem Fox and Christine Davenier (Beach Lane Books, February 2021)  is a sweet tale for preschoolers about a little boy who goes looking for his breakfast on the farm. As the boy searches, the illustrations make it clear what he is seeking and where he can find it, but the text is careful not to reveal it so that the child reader has the chance to figure it out. This book reminded me a bit of the Minerva Louise books, but less silly. 

The More the Merrier by David Martin and Raissa Figueroa (Candlewick, June 2021) features a group of animals dancing through the forest. Because each animal is built differently, each one has different signature dance moves which he shows off when his turn comes. The message that everyone has something to contribute has been done many times before, but because of the incorporation of movement into the story, this one stands out as a bit different. If I host story time at all this summer, this is one of the books I want to use. 

In Noah's Seal by Layn Marlow (Candlewick, June 2021), a little boy named Noah wants his grandma to take him out on her boat to see seals, but she's not ready to go. Noah makes himself a seal out of sand instead, which he loves, and which breaks his heart when it is washed out to sea. Things turn around, though, with an almost magical surprise ending. This is sort of a summer take on stories that deal with snowmen who melt after the cold weather passes, but this friend disappears when the tide comes in. The atmosphere of the illustrations is perfect for hot summer days, and I'll be reading this one aloud before we head to the beach in August.  

Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua (Simon & Schuster, December 2020) is the sequel to Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao. In this second book, Amy is assigned to create a dragon at school, but instead of following her own creative thoughts about dragons, she tries to conform to her classmates' ideas instead. With help from her family, however, she realizes that the Eastern dragons of her culture are just as interesting and fun to create as Western ones. My kids love Amy Wu, and they are big fans of this book.

Finally, in Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter by Jamie Michalak and Kelly Murphy (Candlewick, June 2021), a mouse named Dakota prowls around the museum at night snatching up tiny objects, which she carries home for a very special reason. After the reader learns where the treasures go, there is an invitation for the reader to go back through the book and look for more hidden objects. This book indulges kids' curiosity about what goes on at places like museums after hours and behind the scenes, and it's also just the right blend of mystery and adventure for the pre-K to grade 2 audience.