Firefly Song by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Ji_Hyuk Kim - ADVISABLE

Firefly Song by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Ji_Hyuk Kim. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. McEldery (Simon), 2025. $20. 9781665931847

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SOME

Lynn loves her yearly visits to the family cabin - especially watching the fireflies come out at night with their 6 seconds on- 6 seconds off synchronous pattern.  When Lynn learned that scientists thought that none of the fireflies in her area were synchronized, she knew she had to prove them wrong.  Thus began her journey to becoming known as the Lightning Bug Lady.

I really liked how even though Lynn never studied to become an entomologist, she still put in the hours and has become an important part of the field. Citizen scientist and a woman. Look into it as a classroom support book. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Nibbles Christmas by Emma Yarlett - ADVISABLE

Nibbles Christmas by Emma Yarlett. INTERACTIVE BOARD BOOK. Kane Miller, 2021. $12. 9781684642953

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Oh No! A hungry monster is eating its way through Christmas!

I love a board book with a difference - in this case, holes of every page - including the covers! Nibbles is silly and the action is based around a countdown - so educational to boot!

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

1, 2, 3, Do the Robot written by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw - ADVISABLE

1, 2, 3, Do the Robot written by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. BOARD BOOK. EDC Publishing, 2023. $14. 9781684645664

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Layla the inventor isn’t tired enough for bed, so she stays up to create not 1, not 2, but 3 new robot friends. They dance and design the night away before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

Three is not a crowd in this book!  I thought it was a cute STEM focused story with our girl Layla and her robot friends. I’m all about women in STEM. If you read it in your class, you can have everyone design their own robot friend as a connection to the story.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

Merry Christmas! illustrated by Giovana Mederiros - ADVISABLE

Merry Christmas! illustrated by Giovana Mederiros. INTERACTIVE BOARD BOOK. Kane Miller, 2023. $15. 9781684646395

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SOME

Join Santa and the elves as they are getting ready for Christmas Eve.

Sliding scene changers will be fun for young eyes and hands, who will want to flip the pages back and forth to make the changes. The rhyming is simple and a little stiff. A good optional holiday book.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Best Daddy of All by Peter Horn, illustrated by Jessica Meserve - ADVISABLE

The Best Daddy of All by Peter Horn, illustrated by Jessica Meserve. BOARD BOOK. North South Books, 2025. $20. 9780735845671

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Little Sebastian, the turtle, is relaxing with his dad. in the grass. Sebastian wonders what kind of things dads can do. Dad then goes on to describe what animal dads can do. Sebastian then guesses which kind of animal his dad is talking about. Sebastian decides who the best daddy is in the end. 

Horn creates a sweet story all children can relate to. Meserve echoes with playful illustrations. She fills the pages with movement enough for any reader to enjoy. 

MOMMAC

 

Best Counting Book Ever by Richard Scarry - ESSENTIAL

Best Counting Book Ever by Richard Scarry. PICTURE BOOK. Penguin Random House, reprint 2025, 1975. $18. 9780593813638

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Willy Bunny is bored. His father gives him the idea to go count everything he sees and share it with the family. Willy starts by counting himself as one. As Willy walks along, he counts various things up to 20 and then by 10s to  90. At dinner he shares his counting adventure  with his family. Willy and his dad end their day by going out on the porch to continue the count to 100.

Richard Scarry takes the cake on this delightful adding and subtracting book. Along the way, children are able to categorize by color and activity also. This delightful book can be read over and over by both children and adults. It is so very entertaining!

MOMMAC

Baby Ballena written by Ben Gundersheimer, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero - ADVISABLE

Baby Ballena written by Ben Gundersheimer, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero. PICTURE BOOK. Penguin Young Readers Group (Penguin Random House), 2025. $19. 9780593624845

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Follow along with the gray whale migration from the warm sandy shores of Mexico all the way up to the cold Arctic waters with our bilingual narrator, Juana, a newly born gray whale.  

I loved the bilingual text and thought the illustrations were engaging. I could see being a great read-aloud for a dual-language immersion class. It also could be a great book to add to a science picture book collection. 

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

Charlie Mouse Cleans House by Katerina Gorelik - ESSENTIAL

Charlie Mouse Cleans House by Katerina Gorelik. PICTURE BOOK. Red Comet Press, 2025. $20. 9781636551418

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Charley Mouse keeps her house clean and immaculate at all times. She also cleans houses in the Wild Wood and the Magical Forest for other creatures. Monday through Wednesday she cleans for Moles, Frog, Fox, and Wolf. Thursday through Friday she cleans for the Witch, Unicorn, Gingerbread House, and Dragon. At each house, she is asked to collect some items that have been misplaced. She returns to her tidy house to rest before starting another work week.

If this book is an example of Katerina Gorelik's work, all her books would be best sellers! The highly detailed, adorable illustrations could keep one busy for a long time. Not only that, but the neighborhood she has created with maps and storyline are just as adorable. Each page makes the reader smile. 

MOMMAC

Snarky Sharky by Bethan Clarke and Nikolas Ilic - OPTIONAL

Snarky Sharky by Bethan Clarke, illustrated by Nikolas Ilic. PICTURE BOOK. Tiger Tales, 2025. $19. 9781664300644

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: FEW

Snarky Sharky is the biggest thing on his reef. But he is a bit tired of all of the attention, of the dull surroundings, and of the sea creatures who are constantly admiring him. But when he ventures off the reef for the first time, a surprise awaits him.

The story dragged with all of Sharky’s lines being sarcastic and a bit annoying - while I liked the surprise awaiting him, it was a one pager and the whole thing just didn’t feel finished.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Volcano Atlas by Tom Jackson and Maggie Li, - ESSENTIAL

Volcano Atlas by Tom Jackson and Maggie Li, 61 pages. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Words and Pictures (Quarto), 2024. $17. 9780711283794

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

What is a volcano?  Come along with Jackson and Li as they dive into the basics of a volcano and then tour 23 volcanic sites around the world with more detailed information.

I love this highly illustrated non-fiction book.  Each page is full of fascinating tidbits in a highly digestible fashion. I would love to buy extra copies of the book and divide the pages up for a class to investigate each site further. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

 

We're Different and It's Totally Cool! written and illustrated by Camey Yeh - ADVISABLE

We're Different and It's Totally Cool! written and illustrated by Camey Yeh. PICTURE BOOK. Random House Children's Books (Penguin Random House), 2025. $19. 9780593899847

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A simple story to illustrate how we are all different (but with a lot of similarities) and how that is something worth celebrating.  

I liked the overall message of the book, and the illustrations were cute and quirky, but it didn't have enough uniqueness to make it one that I would recommend everyone to read or add to their library right away. 

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

The Laughing Book by Kael Tudor and Daniel Wiseman - ESSENTIAL

The Laughing Book by Kael Tudor and Daniel Wiseman. PICTURE BOOK. Happy Yak (Quarto), 2025. $19. 9781836000143

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Explore the many ways and reasons why we laugh.

Wiseman’s illustrations are a joyous way to talk about all things laugh related.  From what a laugh sounds like, to good and bad reasons and situations that make us laugh, I had such a  good time enjoying Tudor’s work. It will a lot of fun to share out loud - there are pages that are guaranteed to make your audience LOL or ROFL!

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS