That Bird Can Draw! by Ged Adamson - ADVISABLE

That Bird Can Draw! by Ged Adamson. PICTURE BOOK. Nosy Crow, 2026. $19. 9798887772363

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Our nameless protagonist sees herself as a great artist, but that self-image is tested when her grandfather gets a new bird named Vera with some serious artistic skill. As a result, the young granddaughter considers hanging up her artist’s cap forever, until Vera the bird shows her that there is more than enough room in the world for all kinds of artists.

I adored this picture book about an artist who finds herself in competition with a talented bird. I thought the different artistic styles represented were fun, e.g. sculpture, paper art, mosaic, pencil, etc. I could see it being used in an art class as a read-aloud. I also loved the overall message that everyone can be an artist.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

 

Go Bananas! by A.B. Peele and Lala Watkins - ADVISABLE

Go Bananas! by A.B. Peele, illustrated by Lala Watkins. PICTURE BOOK. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (Simon & Schuster), 2026. $20. 9781665953566

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

Join a cast of banana characters as they take a classic chant and turn it into an infectiously fun read-a-loud, helping turn sad days and frowns upside down.

At first, I thought the author's name was a pun, and I'm still not sure it isn't. Regardless, I got a kick out of this picture book, even though when I read it aloud, it did get a little repetitive. But that is part of the fun, I suspect, for a read-a-loud book. You want the kids to know how to join along. I could see this being very popular for the K-3 crowd, and you may be able to stretch it to older crowds if you got a teacher who really got into it, but I definitely recommend it for lower elementary students. 

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

What Medicine Can Do by Gabrielle Balkan and Alberto Lot - ADVISABLE

What Medicine Can Do by Gabrielle Balkan, art by Alberto Lot. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Penguin, 2025. $20. 9798217051243

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

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Some of the animal children have different reasons why they need to see the doctor and take medicine.

Balkan does a very clear job of explaining different reasons we need the doctor, how the doctor interacts with us, and the usefulness of taking the right medicine. The book is a bit lengthy, but I liked the careful explanations and thoroughness of it. I could see reading it out loud a little at a time.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Aliens Do Not Want to Go Home by Adam Gustavson - ADVISABLE

The Aliens Do Not Want to Go Home written and illustrated by Adam Gustavson. PICTURE BOOK. Charlesbridge, 2025. $18. 9781623544942

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-2), EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Several young aliens are having the time of their lives playing together and getting up to some mischief on Earth. They do NOT want to go home and they find a million reasons why they need to stay and play more.

Adults and children alike will enjoy this never-ending playdate. The illustrations are cheeky and so much fun. Kids will love the juxtaposition of crazy alien critters alongside scenes from rural Americana, and grown ups will enjoy it knowing that parents across the galaxy deal with the same excuses. This could be used as a fun creative writing exemplar text or just a fun read aloud.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes

A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner - ADVISABLE

A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner. PICTURE BOOK Clarion (Houghton Mifflin), 2022. $18. 9780358419457 

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Something has changed in the air and leaves know something different is coming. Each of them has a different attitude about what the animals tell them is coming. 

Cute fall read-aloud for story time. The different personalities of the leaves were delightful to read. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian 

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo and Julie Morstad - ADVISABLE

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Julie Morstad. 160 pages. Candlewick, 2023. $18 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

5 puppets are given as a gift to two little girls, Emma and Martha. Emma writes a play and the girls, and their maid perform for the guests of their parents at a dinner party. 

The summary doesn't do this marvelous story justice. It is told through the voices of the puppets, who see themselves as real. The wolf won't stop talking about how sharp her teeth are, and the king is altogether pompous and demanding. They have dreams of doing what real boys and owls and girls and wolves do - the king is waiting to be revered as king. Julie Morstad's illustrations are simply marvelous, suggesting the period is Victorian England, and they remind me of Edward Gorey's style. With the short chapters and the engaging story, The Puppets of Spelhorst would make a great read-aloud or bedtime story as well. 

Lisa Librarian

The Dragon in the Library by Louie Stowell and Davide Ortu - ADVISABLE

The Dragon in the Library (Kit the Wizard #1) by Louie Stowell, illustrated by Davide Ortu, 224 pages. Nosy Crow (Candlewick), 2019. $18

Content: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

10yo Kit really doesn't like to read. She likes to actually experience danger, not read about it. But when her friends Alita and Josh bring her to the library, she discovers that she is really a wizard, and that she's part of a community grounded in the books, and yes, the building that is the library. In fact, there's a sleeping dragon in the basement! But, when an enterprising developer tries to buy the library, and destroy everything, it might be up to Kit and her friends to try to save the day. 

The Dragon in the library is a fun adventure! Lots of action, a couple of bad guys,  and a whole lot of silliness. I would love to read this aloud to a class! Ortu's black and white illustrations are plentiful and lend the perfect visuals to the story. The first in a series of 3 so far. 

Lisa Librarian

Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature’s Other Decomposers by Anita Sanchez - ESSENTIAL

Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature’s Other Decomposers by Anita Sanchez, illustrated by Gilbert Ford, 83 pages. NON-FICTION. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. $17

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Like the book Itch!, from the same series, this book covers the more unpleasant but fascinating elements of the biological world. This book moves from decomposition that happens in the world at large, and with each chapter moves closer to decomposition that happens close to you and even inside of you. There is a solid amount of reading commitment with this book, but it is broken up into small sections, making for an accessible non-fiction reading experience.

I learned a lot from this book, and even perhaps addressed some of my own fears born out of a lack of understanding. The information in this book is the perfect amount of gross that some kids crave, and not so disgusting that it will be off-putting for more sensitive readers. This would be a fun book to read as a class, aloud or in small groups.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher  

Away with Words: The Daring Story of Isabella Bird by Lori Mortensen - ESSENTIAL

Away with Words: The Daring Story of Isabella Bird by Lori Mortensen, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Peachtree, 2019. $18. 9781682630051

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Sick as a child, Isabella’s doctors prescribed fresh air. This was the start of a life of outdoor travel and adventure. When Isabella started feeling physically ill again later in life, she took to the ocean for sea air and explored new countries. After each trip, she would return home to England in order to write and publish her stories.

I was completely blown away by this woman’s story. The illustrations were a bit bland and ordinary, but Isabella’s story was enough to carry this book. The longer length of this picture book might be off-putting for someone just reaching for a picture, but this would be a great read aloud for a teacher.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris - OPTIONAL

Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris, illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe PICTURE BOOK Penguin Random House, 2019. $18. 9781984837493

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Kamala Harris tells about the people in her life who were her heroes. Her mother, father, aunts and uncles, friends and mentors. Superheroes make the world a better place, and Kamala encourages children to find them everywhere. Designed to spark discussion with the child, each superhero is introduced by an experience Kamala had with them, then the child is asked to find a hero in their own life who makes them feel special or brave or protected, or to think of someone who is kind, works hard or makes a difference. Finally the child can take an oath to become a superhero themselves. 

I'm not sure where she is going with this. Is she empowering children or introducing herself?Sometimes the question doesn't match the experience - the story about counting on her sister is really about her mom celebrating both girls. Other vignettes have similar connection concerns. The illustrations are odd - the mix of illustration with realistic faces didn't work for me. 

Lisa Librarian

Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller - ADVISABLE

Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller. PICTURE BOOK. Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt), 2018. $18. 9781250107237

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

For one day only a store is selling pants for the potatoes in town. Potato is very excited until he sees an eggplant in the store and is so upset that he refuses to go in. Potato remembers this eggplant from yesterday when the eggplant knocked him over. Potato stews for so long that all the pants sell out before he can get one. While he is fuming, eggplant comes over to apologize for yesterday and we learn that was why he was in the store, to apologize. 

This book is very quirky, but it was fun to read aloud and say “potato pants” over and over again. Also, a potato introducing himself by doing the robot was weird enough to be funny. There is a good moral in the story and I think a lot of kids will get a giggle out of the book.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Standroid and Dandroid: Sharing Does Not Compute by Michael Slack - OPTIONAL

Standroid and Dandroid: Sharing Does Not Compute by Michael Slack. BOARD BOOK. Little Simon (Simon and Schuster), 2018. $8. 9781534405691

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Two robots are going through a toy box and they keep finding the perfect pairings of toys. One finds a wand and one finds a hat and together they have magic, for example. When they find a car and a remote, things gets messy when one of them wants both items. While they are tugging on the item, it opens up and they discover a secret button that activates a dance party. 

I am so confused about this book. It seems like the message should clearly be that sharing is good, but the message ends up being that fighting over toys equals fun discoveries. The pictures are great and kids love robots, plus it is a fun book to read aloud because of robot voices. But the message is a problem.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway - ADVISABLE

Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway. PICTURE BOOK. Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt and Company), 2018. $18. 9781627794411

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

With echoes of The Gingerbread Man, this is the story of a cookie who was snatched and then discarded by a wolf because the wolf doesn’t like the way he tastes. This sends the cookie into a desperate search for his identity and the wolf helps him figure out who he is if he is not delicious. Just as the cookie is losing hope, a group of ornaments exclaims their excitement at finding him and ask him to join them on the tree. 

This book is funny, darling, and insightful all at the same time. The search for identity is a fairly unique theme when in the form of a holiday book. The illustrations of an entire town made of holiday treats are inviting and the text reads smooth. The only barrier with this book is if a kid doesn’t know what a salt dough ornament is. That would make the whole point of the story lack any luster. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo - ESSENTIAL

Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, 227 pages. Candlewick Press, 2018. $17. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Louisiana’s grandmother has abruptly uprooted them due to “the curse of sundering” that she believes they are under. They end up in a motel in Georgia and although things are dire financially and physically (granny has to have all her teeth pulled), they do cross paths with good people. Granny ends up leaving Louisiana alone in Georgia, but Louisiana realizes that she is not alone - she has made friends and she herself is stronger and braver than she once thought. 

This book was such a delight to read - both perfectly heartbreaking and hopeful. The language is beautiful but accessible to a young reader. The thing that most impresses me with this book is that the author takes difficult situations and reveals them gently to a reader who may have never been exposed to those situations. I would recommend this as a classroom read aloud novel for students around third or fourth grade. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience and Fortitude by Josh Funk - ESSENTIAL

Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience and Fortitude by Josh Funk, illustrated by Stevie Lewis. PICTURE BOOK. Henry Holt & Co., 2018. $18. 9781250155016.
 
BUYING ADVISORY: EL(K-3), EL, ADULTS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: EL(K-3), EL - AVERAGE; ADULTS - HIGH

Patience and Fortitude are the two lions who stand guard outside the New York Public Library. Early one morning--before New Yorkers are awake--Fortitude discovers his best friend, Patience, is missing! Fortitude heads into the library and discovers lots of cool features of the place while he searches for his friend. He finally finds Patience in the children's section reading stories--the very same kinds of stories Patience is always telling him!

This book is a masterpiece for those who love the New York Public Library or children's libraries, in particular. The author's dedication in the front is even to children's librarians! And I loved it. There is a wonderful flow to the rhyming text, the illustrations are beautiful, and I found myself smiling through the entire thing. I especially loved that by the end Fortitude is intrigued by the stories and wants to sneak back in the next night to read more--a great message for young readers about the power of books! This should be in every library.

Reviewer: TC

The Ghostly Carousel: Delightfully Frightful Poems by Calef Brown - ADVISABLE

The Ghostly Carousel: Delightfully Frightful Poems by Calef Brown. PICTURE BOOK. Carolrhoda Books (Lerner), 2018. $18. 9781512426618 

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is a collection of seventeen poems, all a bit spooky. The title poem is about a man who finds himself wandering around a carnival alone in the dark and coming across a ghost carousel. Another poem is about a jack-o-lantern that comes to life. One is about canaries that are angry because they have been locked up for too long and cause storms on the sea. 

The poems are all a little creepy, but not prohibitively scary. Each poem has a full illustrations that are effective at adding to and conveying the tone of poetry. This collection would be fun to read aloud during the Halloween season.   

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Pirate Jack Gets Dressed by Nancy Raines Day - ADVISABLE

Pirate Jack Gets Dressed by Nancy Raines Day, illustrated by Allison Black. PICTURE BOOK. Beach Lane Books (Simon & Schuster), 2018. $18. 9781481476645

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Jack the pirate takes us through his process of getting dressed each morning. His outfit has a lot of layers and each layer has a distinct color. Gray longjohns, black eye patch, gold earring, silver hook, yellow britches, and so forth, ending with a green parrot. The illustration are bright and crisp with lots of energy. 

This is a fun book to read aloud because of the pirate phrasing of “me” instead of “I”. I am completely charmed by the illustrations - they are cute without being “cutesy”. The concept is clearly for younger readers who are learning their colors, but might engage a few readers beyond that stage. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

There's a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long - ESSENTIAL

There's a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long, PICTURE BOOK Philomel (Penguin Random House) 2018. $18. 9780399163999 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

A twist on the song "The's a hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake" If you aren't familiar, the song starts simply with the hole in the log, and then each verse adds something. "There's a frog in the hole in the log on the bottom of the sea." 

Long has illustrated the song perfectly, but he has included a turtle and snail, with the turtle giving the most hilarious commentary! "Ew, there's really a hair on that frog?" Not just a read aloud, this book is a sing along - I can picture selecting a student to be the turtle. What fun! Includes the sheet music in case you need the guitar or ukelele chords and the notes. Now the song is stuck in my head! 

Lisa Librarian 

Amanda Panda and the Bigger, Better Birthday by Candice Ransom

Amanda Panda and the Bigger, Better Birthday by Candice Ransom, illustrated by Christine Grove. PICTURE BOOK. Doubleday, 2018. $18. 9781524768195.

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: Pre-K, EL(K-3) - HIGH

Amanda Panda is excited to invite her best friend Bitsy, and others, to her 6th birthday party on Saturday; her birthday tomorrow will make her the first kid in class to turn 6 and have a birthday! But when she discovers that its Bitsy's birthday today--complete with being sung to, cupcakes, and a Saturday birthday party of her own--Amanda feels like all her own birthday plans will be "leftovers" by tomorrow. Amanda's disappointment leads to hurt feelings between the best friends, but Amanda and Bitsy eventually work out how to have both of their birthday celebrations on the same day in a "bigger, better birthday" than they could have had alone.

I'm a big fan of Amanda Panda and this new book does not disappoint. The story is so relatable to any kid who has felt their own birthday overshadowed by a friend or really any other event. I love the voice of the narrator, the pictures are fun, and I appreciated such a great story to teach my kids about compromise. This is a real winner of a book and I think kids will love it.

Reviewer: TC

A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora - ESSENTIAL

Mora, Pat. A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas, illustrated by Magaly Morales. Clarion Books, 2009. $16.00. PICTURE BOOK.

EL – ESSENTIAL

A little girl enjoys the 12 days of Christmas (Christmas Day to Three Kings Day) with foods and traditional Latino items from her amiga. Such as pastelitos, luminarias, and campanitas sonando, to name a few.

Each page includes a pronunciation of the number and the gift; e.g. piñata=pee-NYAH-tah. The back of the book includes: a Spanish glossary and pronunciation guide, an author’s and illustrator’s note, as well as the music of the song. The acrylic illustrations are bright and beautiful. A great book to read aloud

Samantha, Public Librarian.