We Are Free You and Me by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab
Not only are Kaepernick’s children’s picture books thought provoking and fun to read aloud, they are an example of social entrepreneurship of the purest kind, as 100% of their proceeds go to Know Your Rights Camp, which provides over $1.75 million in partnerships and collaborative grants to Black and brown communities as well as all-inclusive camps that are conducted nationwide to educate and empower Black and brown youth to be the change they want to see.
The Importance of Repetition
If you want your kids to digest the information in a book, you have to read it more than once. And it’s always best if you read it *together*. Many teaching styles are based on engaging repetition, including those of well-known Shinichi Suzuki. My hope is that you will approach my children’s books in this way as well.
The Museum of Very Bad Smells: A Dare to Scratch 'n' Sniff Mystery by Monica Arnaldo
The Museum of Very Bad Smells will, no doubt, be interesting to children for the first read or two. It will also, no doubt, be disappointing to children who open the book to find that the smells “don’t work.” For this reason, you may want to purchase the book in a store where you can test it out, rather than online.
Mouse on the River by Alice Melvin: A Review
Mouse on the River is—in a word—delightful. This is not just a book that you’ll read once or twice. It is a book that children will want to read over and over again, with pictures they will scrutinize repeatedly on their own, and that will, no doubt, remain on many of their bookshelves until they are adults and have children of their own.
Little Turtle’s Book of the Blue (The Big Book Series) by Yuval Zommer
Despite what adults may find as its indistinctive style, the illustrations in Little Turtle’s Book of the Blue may make it a favorite book for young children who love the sea.
Little Snail’s Book of Bugs (The Big Book Series) by Yuval Zommer
... Every other page contains simple words, all in caps, that describe each insect’s movements as it is introduced. “BUZZ, BUZZ,” “YUM, YUM,” “WRIGGLE WRIGGLE”—these words draw extra attention and, perhaps, induce word recognition in little minds.
Look: A Picture Book by Gabi Snyder and Samantha Cotterill
... The ending brings simple closure to this simple story and will touch adult readers even if it doesn’t connect with the children they are reading to; and the demonstration of patterns throughout the rest of the book is sure to make it a useful tool in kindergarten and first-grade classes.
Mix A Pancake by Christina Rossetti and Monique Felix: A Review
Mix a Pancake, the latest book illustrated by Monique Felix for Creative Editions, an imprint of The Creative Company, is a kitten-filled visual feast akin to the Little Golden Books that have lined children’s bookshelves since 1942. This comes as no surprise, given that The Creative Company, itself, was founded just 10 years earlier, in 1932.
See This Little Dot by Jane Yolen and Laetitia Devernay: A Review
True to its mission of pairing clear and compelling written content with “the most brilliant illustrations,” Creative Editions—an imprint of The Creative Company, founded in 1932—can be proud of their next thought-provoking and eye-catching creation in Jane Yolen’s and Laetitia Devernay’s newest picture book, See This Little Dot.
Evil Spy School the Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs
“As with Gibbs’ other five book series, Evil Spy School is fun, fast-paced, and entertaining. Though fantastical to us adults, the plot of Evil Spy School contains precisely the kinds of twists and turns that engage elementary and young middle-school minds…”
Tomorrow's Lily by Chris Raschka
“Tomorrow’s Lily is a short, beautiful poem, written and illustrated by two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschko, that takes the reader through the days of the week as a single, magnificent, short-lived flower blooms on a long-stalked lily plant each day.”
You Are Everything — Adapted from Rumi by Omid Arabian
“Like Omid Arabian’s previous two picture books, You Are Everything is based on a poem by the mystical 13TH century Persian poet Rumi, who has been described by the New Yorker as the bestselling poet in the United States.”
Home Is Where the Heart Is (Emma Dodd's Love You Books)
“Home Is Where the Heart Is features a mother cat and her young kitten, who live in a house that clearly has human owners. The story uses simple and repetitive words to describe what “home” means to all of us, emphasizing the security that notion provides even when we are far away from our physical house and/or one another.”
This Book Is Banned: A Hilarious Picture Book about Censorship and Free Speech
“Let’s face it. Without their caretakers' insistent input, most children do not know that books are being made unavailable to them at their schools. It’s debatable whether adult caretakers who oppose book bans even want them to. But the adult-child combination who reads This Book Is Banned together will have fun discussing the issue of “banning” in the hypothetical, thanks to the busy and engaging illustrations and text that await them.”
Always Sisters: A Story of Loss and Love
“Always Sisters is a pertinent tool for both adults and children as they learn to communicate and productively process their feelings together after the loss of a loved one.”
See the Ghost: Three Stories About Things You Cannot See
“Though it is meant to be read by early elementary students, middle-grade students will enjoy reading this book to their younger siblings and classmates, thanks to the clever trickery within its pages. For the same reason, See the Ghost makes a good, non-baby-ish picture book to share with reading-challenged students in middle-school and beyond.”
Into The Forest: For Children With Feelings of Anxiety (Therapeutic Fairy Tales): A Book Review
“a book worth reading with your young child, particularly if they or you are experiencing anxiety. The story is calming and at times beautifully written.”
Mom’s Hugs and Kisses: A Review
Like Nancy Tafuri’s All Kinds of Kisses and Steven Henry’s picture book by the same name, Loupy’s story describes the different kisses given by numerous animals, in this case through a puppy protagonist who requests and receives others' kisses throughout the day. In the end, of course, “the best kiss of all is the kiss he gets from his mother.”
Q&A with Amberjack Author Melissa Rooney, Creator of Eddie the Electron
My Ph.D. advisor urged me to come back to work for him, eventually making me an offer he thought I couldn’t refuse. When I finally admitted that I hated lab work and, by no means, wanted to return to academics, he asked me, insistently, how I was going to put my degree to use. I told him I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book, he gave me a deadline, and Eddie the Electron was born.
What to do with a Stick, by Jane Yolen: A Book Review
My 1st review for New York Journal of Books is Jane Yolen's What To Do With A Stick. JY’s Owl Moon is one of my absolute favorites - I take it to elementary writing residencies. The story being written by one of my current Winston Salem students centers on a stick, which I is surely no coincidence…