picture books – Page 53

Magical, snuggly bedtime stories

Posted on February 18, 2021February 22, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Who doesn’t love a good bedtime story? And now, with virtual programming here for good, we can hold virtual pajama storytimes at any time! Here are a few adorable new bedtime stories to read to your littles, whether they’re curled up in your lap at home, or gathered around their devices for your storytime.

It’s So Quiet: A Not-Quite-Going-to-Bed Book, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, (Feb. 2021, Chronicle Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9781452145440

Ages 3-7

As the sun goes down and the night drifts in, a little mouse isn’t able to fall asleep quite yet: it’s too quiet! Mom tells the little mouse to let the sounds of nature help them drift off to sleep: a croaking bullfrog, a snoring grandfather and his dog’s tail thumping against the porch; a coyote howling at the moon, all around the little mouse, there is sound – and maybe he would like it a little more quiet after all. Sherri Duskey Rinker creates wonderful bedtime stories that play with sound, rhyme, and repetition – Steam Train, Dream Train and Good Night, Good Night Construction Site are stalwart storytime favorites with my library kids – and It’s Too Quiet continues this fun tradition. Sound effects repeat and get their own exaggerated fonts, calling attention to them and making for flannel and finger puppet storytelling. Digital illustrations are cartoony and expressive, with bold lines. A great bedtime and storytime book that’s sure to pack in the laughs.

It’s So Quiet has a starred review from Kirkus.

Ella’s Night Lights, by Lucy Fleming, (Nov. 2020, Candlewick), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536212693

Ages 3-7

Ella is a little girl with moth wings and antenna, who sleeps in the nook of a tree by day. By night, she flies around, collecting light and bringing it to anyone that needs it, repeating a gentle rhyme: “Here’s some bright light. / Here’s a night light, / a little ray to calm your fright”. Ella wants so much to see the sunrise, but her delicate wings make that impossible, until her animal friends come together with a plan to celebrate her kindness. Ella’s Night Lights is a warm story of kindness and friendship, with soft digital illustrations and quietly colorful spreads bringing life to cold, snowy landscapes. The endpapers are soft yellow, with moths flitting across the pages. Ella’s evening rhyme is a lovely way to send dreamers off to sleep, especially for those who may appreciate a little extra light in the room.

Bedtime for Albie, by Sophie Ambrose, (Jan. 2021, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536211184

Ages 3-7

It’s time for bed in the savanna, but Albie, a young warthog, still wants to play! He runs off to ask his other animal buddies to play, but everyone’s going through their night time routines. That doesn’t stop Albie, who decides he’ll just play on his own… but it’s not really much fun playing all by himself, so Albie heads back to his mother, who has the best night time routine waiting for him. Kids will relate to this story about not being ready for bed just yet, and the different animals going through bedtime stories and baths is a good way to prompt conversation about our own bedtime routines: brushing teeth, washing up, stories, what else can you think of? The phrase, “skippety trot trit trot”, used when Albie dashes off, repeats often enough that you can invite readers to chime in. Watercolor and pencil illustrations are soft, with earthy colors and friendly animal faces. Endpapers show a grayed-out area of the savanna. A fun story on which to end the day.

While You’re Sleeping, by Mick Jackson/Illustrated by John Broadley, (Feb. 2021, Pavilion), $19.95, ISBN: 978-1843654650

Ages 4-8

While you’re tucking your little one into bed, there’s a whole world hustling and bustling outside. While You’re Sleeping is all about the folx who work while the rest of the world sleeps: people who clean public transportation and offices; delivery drivers; mail sorters, bakers, shopkeepers, and more, all work through the night to get the world ready for everyone else that next morning. Even the animal world doesn’t settle in for the night: foxes pass humans on the street as they forage for food, bats and owls hunt for prey. John Broadley’s illustrations remind me of Beth Krommes’s artwork; there’s so much detail to be discovered. Colors grow warmer as the night turns to dawn, with red-orange sunlight streaking through windows and down streets. Read with Karen Hesse’s Night Shift for a storytime about night time jobs.

While You’re Sleeping was originally published in the U.K. in 2020.

picture books

Gizmo Girl Geraldine is back, and taking a stand against bullies!

Posted on February 16, 2021February 15, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Geraldine and the Anti-Bullying Shield, by Sol Regwan/Illustrated by Denise Muzzio, (March 2020, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764361135

Ages 5-8

The Gizmo Girl’s third adventure has her joining forces with her friends to stand up against Jimmy, the school bully. He’s making everyone miserable, and Geraldine plans to teach him a lesson using her inventor skills! Culling bits of technology and supplies from her home and her friends’ homes, she invites everyone over where they construct the Anti-Bullying Shield: a shield with mirrors on its front, and an old cell phone on the back, so show Jimmy what he looks and sounds like when he’s at his meanest! Will Jimmy see how mean he looks and sounds, and change his ways? Geraldine is a smart kid who uses her STEM/STEAM skills to solve problems, and her idea to stand up against a bully by showing him what other kids see is a smart way to turn the tables. She also encourages her friends to stand together, forming a united front against the bully. Adults are ready to help out here, as Geraldine’s dad assists with the bully shield construction and a teacher takes a walk with Jimmy to help him work through whatever could be causing him to act out.

There are many anti-bullying resources available to share with kids and caregivers alike. KidPower.org and StopBullying.gov are both excellent resources, and this Edutopia article has more information and links available.

picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Do you live with a Wakey Bird?

Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Wakey Birds: Will They Ever Sleep?, by Maddie Frost, (Jan. 2021, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536215465

Ages 2-6

All the animals in the jungle are asleep… except for The Wakey Bird. Kids and grownups will recognize the Wakey Bird right away: “they can’t get comfortable, they’re easily spooked, they have lots of BIG thoughts”… they left out the part about wanting a glass of water and then having to go to the bathroom, but to each Wakey Bird their own. Soothing Shushers and Go-to-Sleep Leapers try to get the birds back to sleep, but the littlest Wakey Bird is still up and raring to go, and decides to wake the others up for company, including the Shrieking Monkey! What happens when Wakey wakes up… the Dreaded Jungle Beast? Adorably fun and so very relatable, this is a perfect bedtime story for your own Wakey Birds. Maddie Frost’s mixed media and digital collage artwork make for colorful animals set off against the midnight blues and blacks of the nighttime jungle. A new bedtime classic in the making. Fun grab-and-go idea: cut different shapes out of colorful construction paper, add some feathers and googly eyes, and let your Library Kiddos make their own Wakey Bird companion.

picture books, Preschool Reads

Do you know a Grumbletroll?

Posted on February 15, 2021February 12, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Grumbletroll, by aprilkind & Barbara van den Speulhof/Illustrated by Stephan Pricken, (Apr. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764361173

Ages 3-6

A cute little troll sets out to build himself a little cottage, but things don’t go the way he wants them to and gets very cranky. There’s a rumbling in his tummy that grows and grows as the angry feelings grow inside of him until they finally pour out: he’s a grumbletroll! His friends are tired of his tantrum, so they head off to play without him while he carries on. When the tantrum subsides, the troll apologizes to his friends: there are no grudges here! A story that captures the mood swings and frustrations of being a toddler and a preschooler The Grumbletroll speaks to kids respectfully about understanding big feelings and how they can take over, and how they can make people around them want to stay away. But the story also acknowledges that friends forgive and forget, and can pick up where they left off. Originally published in German in 2018, The Grumbletroll understands that childhood, and great big emotions, are universal. Colorful artwork and expressive faces and body language let kids communicate what the troll and his friends all feel. This fits in nicely with a feelings and emotions storytime: add Mo Willems’s famous Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Bob Raczka’s Niko Draws a Feeling, Laura Dockrill’s Angry Cookie, and M.H. Clark’s Tiger Days. This would be a good opportunity to use the Little Box of Emotions, if you have them, and let Kiddos identify and describe different feelings. If Grumbletroll feels like a storm when he’s angry, what do you feel like when you feel happy? Excited? Nervous? Adorable fun for a Pre-k storytime.

Educrafters on Teachers Pay Teachers has a cute Feelings Faces Craft that’s a free download, and you can have a ball with emoji crafts! Elizabeth Low on Teachers Pay Teachers has a downloadable emoji feelings charts, and Lisa Markle Sparkles, also on Teachers Pay Teachers, has emoji clipart.

Non-Fiction, picture books

So You Want to Be an Owl? Here’s a crash course!

Posted on February 12, 2021February 7, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

So You Want to Be an Owl?: Everything There is to Know About Owls!, by Jane Porter/Illustrated by Maddie Frost, (Jan. 2021, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536215212

Ages 5-9

Picture book nonfiction at its most fun! Professor Olaf Owl is here to show you, new Owl recruit, how to be an owl, as concerned as he is about your lack of feathers, inability to fly, and lack of more than one set off eyelids. Can you cut it as a member of Team Owl? So You Want to Be an Owl? is loaded with facts about owls, with bold, mixed media artwork that readers will love. Organized into nine lessons, readers will learn about an owl’s feathers (not waterproof!), how they camouflage, hunt and eat, and the different sounds they make: it’s not just “Hoot”! Professor Owl is a fun, slightly snarky, guide through the book, adding amusing commentary and despairing over whether a human student could possibly match up to the superior owl. It’s fun, it’s funny, and the artwork is bright and cheery. Absolutely fun, and begging to be matched up with one of my favorite owl crafts from my Harry Potter program; this owl treat bag craft is adorable, too! Pair with some of my favorite owl stories, like This is Owl by Libby Walden and Divya Srinivasan’s Owl books, for a fun owl storytime.

picture books, Preschool Reads

Not So Fast, Max! is all about patience and preparing for Rosh Hashanah

Posted on February 11, 2021February 8, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Not So Fast, Max: A Rosh Hashanah Visit with Grandma, by Annette Schottenfeld/Illustrated by Jennifer Kirkham, (March 2021, Kalaniot Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781735087511

Ages 4-8

Max and his sister Emily are so excited: their Savta (grandma) is visiting from Israel, in time for Rosh Hashanah! Max can’t wait to make caramel apples, but Savta has a fun day planned first. She takes Max and Emily apple picking, and while Emily enjoys every moment, Max is so impatient! He wants his caramel apples! Savta’s quiet patience wins out, though, and Max discovers how much fun a beautiful fall day with Savta can be. She juggles, she can play ball, and she tells stories about her safta when she was a little girl! At the end of the day, they head home and it’s time to make those apples. Looks like Max’s patience has paid off after all! A gentle Rosh Hashanah story about the new year, Not So Fast, Max teaches readers about the beauty of traditions and celebrates the bond between grandparent and grandchildren. Facts about Rosh Hashanah, a glossary of Hebrew words, and tasty recipes for Savta’s Apple Cake and Max’s Caramel Apples make up the back matter. Endpapers feature decorative fall leaves and crisp red apples, bringing to mind the Fall season and the sweetness of the holiday. A lovely story and a lovely addition to your collections.

picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Shhh explores the background noise of our day

Posted on February 10, 2021February 8, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Shhh, by Fred Paronuzzi/Illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson (Feb. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764361067

Ages 2-6

This mostly wordless book contains all the ambience noise that provides the soundtrack to our days: from the “brrrring brrrring” of an alarm clock, the “plop!” of a morning tea bag and the “pop!” of the toaster, through the “blah, blah, blah” and “rumble” of street sounds, a child and their family go through their day; at night, the child opens a book and, in the quiet, their imagination is unleashed. Splashed across a dark spread, the child’s imagination gives rise to mermaids, volcanoes, exotic foliage, and more. A tip of the hat to our everyday hustle and bustle and the unexpected moment when we open a book and are swept into a magical world of our own, Shhh is a story of everyday magic. The artwork is cheery, colorful, and moves across the spreads, giving a feeling of motion to go with the sounds. A fun book to invite toddlers and preschoolers to chime in with their own everyday stories and sounds.

picture books, Preschool Reads

Shine a spotlight on Sarah’s Solo

Posted on February 10, 2021February 7, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sarah’s Solo, by Tracy Brown/Illustrated by Paula Wegman, (March 2021, Kalaniot Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781735087504

Ages 4-7

Sarah is a little girl who’s very disappointed: she must miss her dance recital – where she was going to have a solo! – in order to attend her cousin’s wedding. Sarah dons her recital dress and squirms through the ceremony, but she can’t sit still and pout for long: as she watches the wedding guests dance the hora, she finds her toes tapping to the beat; when her cousin draws Sarah into the circle, the two dance together and Sarah finds herself getting lost in the music: she’s danced her solo after all!

One of the first new releases from Endless Mountain Publishing’s imprint, Kalaniot Books, Sarah’s Solo is a celebration of Jewish culture in one of the happiest settings: a wedding! Kids will empathize with Sarah’s plight: how many times have we made our Kiddos miss out on something they want to do because a family gathering takes precedence? Even watching the other guests dance doesn’t appeal to Sarah at first: the hora is nothing like her elegant ballet routine, after all, but sooner or later, that catchy beat and the good spirits all around her sneak in. She starts tapping her toes, and you just know she’s bopping in her seat. The fun artwork is colorful and shows a diverse crowd enjoying a joyous celebration. The author and illustrator invite readers to enjoy a moment in Jewish culture with a spread illustrating the movements that make up the hora accompanying an explanation of the dance within the context of the story; a spread showing the bride and groom hoisted up on chairs colors everyone except, the bride, groom, and Sarah bathed in shades of background reds, letting Sarah and her cousins be the stars of the spread; something that continues as Lizzy, Sarah’s cousin, invites Sarah to dance with her and allowing Sarah to perform her solo for us, the readers, as well as the wedding guests. Back matter explains Jewish wedding traditions, connecting vocabulary to moments in the story. Blue and white endpapers are a series of line drawings, filled with menorahs, Stars of David, Hands of God, flowers, cups, and musical instruments. Sarah’s Solo is a story to inspire joy.

Non-Fiction, picture books

Award winner: All the Way to the Top!

Posted on February 9, 2021February 7, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for American with Disabilities Changed Everything, by Annette Bay Pimentel/Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, (March 2020, Sourcebooks Explore), $17.99, ISBN: 9781492688976

Ages 4-8

A Schneider Family Book Award Honoree, All the Way to the Top is activist Jennifer Keelan’s story. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, Jennifer used a wheelchair to get around, but found that “buses, museums, libraries, and even schools that were accessible to my able-bodied peers were not accessible to me because there were no wheelchair ramps”. Becoming an activist at age 6, Jennifer found her voice when her family brought her to strategy meetings and protests for the right to access and to push for the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA). Most of All the Way to the Top takes place in Jennifer’s early childhood, leading up to her history-making moment in 1990, when, at the age of 9, she took part in the Capitol Crawl, where protestors left their wheelchairs and mobility aids aside and crawled up the Capitol steps to demonstrate the need for accessible architecture. All the Way to the Top is a powerful story about a major moment in history, and illustrates how important it is that children are invited to discussions about policies that affect them. Back matter includes information about activism, the access, the life before and after the ADA, timeline for both the Disability Rights Movement and Jennifer Keelan-Chaffin’s life, and a bibliography. Nabi Ali’s illustrations show expressive, diverse groups of people assembling to discuss and advocate for themselves and others. Jennifer and her younger sister, who attended protests with her, stand out in crowd scenes, with the sisters rendered in full color and the crowd in various monochromatic shades.

Britannica Kids has an entry on the ADA for students, and readers can learn more about Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins at her website. Publisher Sourcebooks has a free, downloadable Educator’s Guide available, and the book detail page has an interview with author Annette Bay Pimentel and more.