The Snow Queen by Bette Westera and Aida de Jong - ADVISABLE

The Snow Queen by Bette Westera and Aida de Jong, 61 pages. PICTURE BOOK. Floris Books (Quarto), 2026. $23. 9781835750070

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Arne and Janna are best friends and live on neighboring farms in southern Sweden.  The children receive seven special parcels over seven weeks retelling the story of the snow queen.  A magic mirror falls into Arne's eye, he grows cold, and the snow Queen takes him away to her northern palace.  Can Janna use the items in the parcels to bring Arne back?

Westera has crafted a very unique version of the fairy tale The Snow Queen.  It contains lots of text, pages, and interesting illustrations.

PGPowers

Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please! by Ed Vere - ADVISABLE

Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please! by Ed Vere. PICTURE BOOK. Balzer + Bray (Macmillan), 2026. $19. 9781250439673

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Waffles, a dog, loves giving hugs and receiving them.  His friend Julius, a cat, does not like hugs - ever. Waffled tries all kinds of ways to get a hug, but Julius doesn’t relent. WHen Waffles finally gives up and takes a nap, Julius realizes that Waffles is also soft and warm - a perfect place for a nap, NOT a hug.

I am glad that Vere didn’t have Waffles get his way by something that he overtly does.  Instead, Julius approaches Waffles on his own terms. Could be easily used as a way to talk about consent. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Vlad is Mad by Su Moon - OPTIONAL

Vlad is Mad by Su Moon. PICTURE BOOK. Balzer + Bray (Macmillan), 2026. $26. 9781250436450

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Vlad is mad and he is taking out on everything around the castle. WIth intervention and some time to be still and breathe, Vlad turns his mood around.

Moon’s book seems ready-made to be a board book. Simple illustrations, a couple of words on each page. Vlad’s mood is turned around with a little bit of deep-breathing, no complicated or detailed explanations here. Not really a Halloween book, despite the vampire characters.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Who Knows the Way to Mr. Grimly's Classroom? by Chris Priestley and Mariachiara Di Giorgio - OPTIONAL

Who Knows the Way to Mr. Grimly's Classroom? by Chris Priestley and Mariachiara Di Giorgio. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2026. $19. 9781536245011.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (4-6) – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SOME

Grace is a new student at a spooky new school. She volunteers to return a book to Mr. Grimly’s classroom, despite not knowing her way around the building. What can happen en route? More than you’d think…

I did not love this book as much as other reviewers I’ve seen online. It was fine. But I just didn’t get the spooky vibe and I wanted it to make more sense. If it’s a magic school, that should be more clear. If it’s not a magic school, then half of the stuff that happened to Grace shouldn’t be possible. I guess I just wasn’t a fan of the ambiguity and overall mood of the book. It is very similar to Chris Van Allsburg’s works, just not as well done in my opinion.  

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

Landing in a New Pond by Marisa Ramel and Jennifer Doehring - OPTIONAL

Landing in a New Pond by Marisa Ramel and Jennifer Doehring. PICTURE BOOK. Charlesbridge, 2026. $18. 9781623545680

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

A young boy and his family have moved to a new town. The only friends he’s made so far are the ducks at his local pond.  He is very attached to the ducks and when they fly away for the winter, he struggles to accept the change. 

You can tell that the boy is very invested in the ducks - naming them and caring for them. The message is a mild one about letting go.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Bitsy Bat, Snow Star by Kaz Windness. - ADVISABLE

Bitsy Bat, Snow Star by Kaz Windness. PICTURE BOOK. Beach Lane Books  (Simon and Schuster), 2026. $20. 9781665963664

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

APPEALS TO: MANY

Bitsy Bat wakes up to see her first-ever snowfall.  She's excited to go to school and try out wintry activities with her friends.  She doesn't like being cold and wet, but she tries out making snow angels, sledding, and making snowmen.  She pretends to have fun until a snowball fight pushes her over the edge.  She retreats inside worried that her friends won't like her anymore.  Inside the school a surprise awaits her.  Enzo Owl and Mo are inside too. Will she get the courage to be honest with her friends outside?

Bitsy Bat, Snow Star is a cute story told from an autistic perspective, and celebrates emotional honesty and how individual differences make everyone shine.  I love the adorable, expressive illustrations.

PGPowers

Little Fairy Godmother : Before the Fairy Tale by Abie Longstaff and Leire Martin. - OPTIONAL

Little Fairy Godmother : Before the Fairy Tale by Abie Longstaff and Leire Martin. PICTURE BOOK. Quarto Publishing Group, 2026. $19. 9780711296381

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

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

When fairies are young they train to find out what kind of fairy they are so they can become a fairy godparent and help a human folkling. All the other fairies seem to have useful magic, except Dazzle. Other fairies practice growing pumpkins and getting mice out of kitchens; Dazzle's magic turns pumpkins into giant carriages and mice into horses. Will she ever find someone who needs her magic?

Fairy loving kids will enjoy the colorful illustrations in this cute Cinderella prequel. While it's not a spectacular book, I didn't hate it. 

The fairies are illustrated with different skin colors. 

Rachel, Elementary school librarian

Dance and Roar Like a Dinosaur by Colleen Patterson, Brenda Miles, and John Joseph - ADVISABLE

Dance and Roar Like a Dinosaur by Colleen Patterson,  Brenda Miles, and John Joseph. PICTURE BOOK. Magination Press (American Psychological Association), 2026. $20. 9781433849220.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL (4-6) – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Like the other book Calm Your Roar Like a Dinosaur in this Dino Power! series, our young dinosaur teaches readers to “up-regulate” their mood through active body movement.

I loved the first book, Calm Your Roar, and I also really liked this one. I just liked Calm more. I think this could be a powerful text for teachers to use to help students self-regulate. It’s not just about bottling things up, but learning how to manage all your emotions well, both good and bad.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes 

Kokum, Are These Moose Tracks? : Celebrating Fall by Tyna Legault Taylor and Michelle Dao - OPTIONAL

Kokum, Are These Moose Tracks? : Celebrating Fall by Tyna Legault Taylor and Michelle Dao. PICTURE BOOK. HighWater Press, 2025. $19. 9781774921470

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

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Joshua's favorite parts of fall are hunting for moose with his grandmother and eating moose stew with his family. Joshua and his Kokum walk through the forest identifying animal tracks, but will they be able to find moose tracks? 

Each page has a few words in Omushkegomowin (Swampy Cree language) and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) with English translations to the side. This would be a good addition to a fall book collection. The repetitive text will appeal to young children.

Joshua and his family are Native Canadian.

Rachel, elementary library specialist 

Oops I Just Ate You by Aevar Por Benediktsson and Joaquin Camp - OPTIONAL

Oops I Just Ate You by Aevar Por Benediktsson and Joaquin Camp. PICTURE BOOK. Barefoot Book, 2026. $18. 9798888596654

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

A zombie wants to make friends, but he keeps eating them instead. 

Definitely will elicit some “Oooh, gross!” reactions from listeners and readers, especially with the 4th wall twist at the end. The zombie does a lot of eating, which seems to be the purpose of the story right up to the end. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Elfabet ABC by Davies and Quintanilla - ADVISABLE

Elfabet ABC by Davies and Quintanilla. BOARD BOOK. Tiger Tales, 2026. $10. 9781664352261

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Elves frolic through every letter of the alphabet, celebrating the Christmas season in their silly way.

The rhyming text hits just the right note - especially because lifting the flaps slows things down, so you don’t, as the reader, feel like you are galloping through.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Merpig by Katie Kordesh - ESSENTIAL

Merpig by Katie Kordesh. PICTURE BOOK. Penguin Young Readers Group (Penguin Random House), 2026. $19. 9780593620502.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL (4-6) – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Marlon the Merpig is a STAR! He loves the spotlight and the spotlight loves him. Except his teacher doesn’t give him the lead in this year’s production, he got a background role instead. Can Marlon get his ego in time to see the opportunities to help his classmates shine instead?

I think this could be a great read-aloud and community builder text for elementary classrooms. And honestly, even some drama classes at the secondary level could benefit from it too. If you have a little diva in your life, this is the perfect book to show them how to share the spotlight every now and then.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes