It's Christmas Everywhere by Hannah Barnaby and João Fazenda - ADVISABLE

It's Christmas Everywhere: Celebrations from Around the World by Hannah Barnaby, illustrated by João Fazenda. BOARD BOOK. Phaidon Press, 2022. $20. 9781838665395

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

This board book describes 10 different Christmas-time traditions around the world.

More than other board books I’ve read, I could see this being in a school library. I appreciated the wide variety in Christmas traditions from lots of places in the world. The interesting shape of the book would draw kids in and I think it would see a lot of use during the holiday season.

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

 

The Poem Forest by Carrie Fountain and Chris Turnham - OPTIONAL

The Poem Forest: Poet W.S. Merwin and the Palm Tree Forest He Grew from Scratch by Carrie Fountain, illustrated by Chris Turnham. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2022. $19. 9781536211269

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (4-6) – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Fountain details the life of poet and ecologist W.S. Merwin, who by the end of his life had planted over 3,000 palm trees on his Hawaiian property, later turned into a nature conservatory.

I loved reading William Stanley’s story. I didn’t know that much about him, so I felt like the book did a great job of providing background, while also connecting his love of poetry and nature together in a lyrical, beautiful way. I don’t know what elementary kid is going to be super into a book about a Poet Laureate, however I also could see it being used in a science class to introduce a conservation project.

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

Fox Explores the Night by Martin Jenkins and Richard Smythe - ADVISABLE

Fox Explores the Night by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Richard Smythe. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2022. $9. 9781536227765

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Watch how the science of light plays throughout the story as we follow along with Fox as she explores her environment and sources something to eat for the night. 

This is a really cute picture book that would be perfect for introducing little scientists to the study of animals and the patterns of light in the physical world.

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

You Can! Kids Empowering Kids by Alexandra Strick and Steve Antony - ESSENTIAL

You Can! Kids Empowering Kids by Alexandra Strick, illustrated by Steve Antony. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2022. $19. 9781536225433

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

The story follows 14 young people from birth to eighteen and shares positive, uplifting messages about what people can be and do.

The art style isn’t my favorite, but the overall message is so good that I have to heartily recommend this book for your library. I loved the inclusiveness of the illustrations - everyone is represented - and it was so fun to watch them grow up over the course of the book and try new things. 

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

Good Night Little Bookstore by Amy Cherrix and E.B. Goodale - ADVISABLE

Good Night Little Bookstore by Amy Cherrix, illustrated by E.B. Goodale. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2022. $18. 9781536212518 BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE A love poem to indie bookstores and readers of every shape and size, Good Night Little Bookstore follows the end of day process for a little bookshop on a neighborhood corner. The book is clearly a pastiche, not a parody, of the classic Goodnight Moon. It’s a lovely little homage and I loved the multicultural and inclusive community illustrated throughout the story. I don’t know how useful it could be in a school library, but it does celebrate books and the people who read them, so it could be very happy on any reader’s shelf. Kiera, BookswithBeddes

Mama’s Home by Shay Youngblood and Lo Harris - ESSENTIAL

Mama’s Home by Shay Youngblood, illustrated by Lo Harris. PICTURE BOOK. Make Me A World, (Penguin Random House) 2022. $19. 9780593180228

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Our young Black protagonist shares with the reader the community that helps raise her when her mother has to be someplace else. A celebration of food, language, and culture that binds people together into a family, blood or otherwise.

I loved this picture book. I loved the bright, bold illustrations. I loved the message about found families and the wide variety of caregivers in the little girl’s life. I loved how the author and illustrator were able to create a vivid, authentic, relevant world between the pages of this book.

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

Art Attacks! by Chad Sell - OPTIONAL

Art Attacks! (Doodleville #2) by Chad Sell. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Random House, 2022. $21. 9781984894731 

Content: PG (mild violence, baby from painting “stolen”) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Drew may be part of the Art Club, but she still has issues to deal with that endanger everything. One of her self-aware doodles, Levi, has taken a baby from a painting in the Art Institute of Chicago. When Drew and others try to return the baby, the other paintings have also come alive and now everything is royally mixed up and messed up. And the director is so mad at Drew – that even if she doesn’t know what Drew actually did, Drew is not allowed into the Institute. 

There’s a whole lot more going on here in a big, chaotic mess that I think kids will understand and like way more than I do. One of the characters is non-binary. While an ethnic mix is portrayed in the illustrations, it is not a plot point. 

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS Nonbinary character 

Mermaid Kenzie: Protector of the Deeps by Charlotte Watson Sherman and Geneva Bowers - ADVISABLE

Mermaid Kenzie: Protector of the Deeps by Charlotte Watson Sherman, illustrated by Geneva Bowers. PICTURE BOOK Astra/Boyds Mill. 2022. $18. 9781635923100 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

When an anticipated trip to the beach includes an encounter with trash, like plastic bags, bottles, and netting littering a favorite snorkeling spot, Kenzie tells her mama. Mama remembers when she was a child and how many fish and other sea life were living in these same waters, but now, not so much. Kenzie calls it a plastic stew and makes some new friends on the beach as she organizes a cleanup. 

Plastic in our oceans is a big problem, I'm glad to see several nice picture books and non-fiction titles addressing it this year. Mermaid Kenzie is beautifully illustrated, and the message is clear. I liked the author's note at the end with more information about the plastic problem as well as highlighting several "superheroes around the world" who are working to help. "What will you do?"

Lisa Librarian

The Science of Light: Things that Shine, Flash, and Glow by Margaret Peot - OPTIONAL

The Science of Light: Things that Shine, Flash, and Glow by Margaret Peot, illustrated by the author. PICTURE BOOK. Holiday House, 2022. $19. 9780823448722

BUYING ADVISORY: EL  – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Peot's nonfiction picture book features fourteen illustrations that introduce children to the science of light, both artificial and natural. 

The picture book is fairly simple, however, I appreciated the breadth in light sources from celestial to animal and the cover glows in the dark! This could be a great text to introduce a science unit or work into an elementary ELA lesson on adjectives.

Kiera, BookswithBeddes

Our Little Mushroom: A Story of Franz Schubert and His Friends by Emily Arnold McCully - ADVISABLE

Our Little Mushroom: A Story of Franz Schubert and His Friends by Emily Arnold McCully. PICTURE BOOK, BIOGRAPHY Margaret K. McElderry (Simon and Schuster). 2022. $19. 9781534488786 

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Franz Shubert was a musical prodigy, and very shy. He came from a musical family and played the violin, viola and piano, but his father discouraged him to seek a career in music - it was just too difficult. Shubert's friends were poets and playwrights and musicians and they encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Without a patron, however, few composers were able to make a living, but that didn't stop Shubert, he continued to write music, sometimes writing songs using his friend' lyrics. Shubert's friends made sure he had the means to write his music and helped make sure the world heard it. 

I've always loved the music of Franz Schubert, but I had no idea that he was a prodigy. This well-told biography had me in tears by the end. Simply told through the perspective of Franz's friends, it's a great independent read for 3rd grade and above. The illustrations were great, depicting 19th-century Vienna. I really appreciated the author's note with a glimpse at the political undertones of the time. Listening to Schubert as I write this review!

Lisa Librarian

The Beloved Folk Song I's the B'y illustrated by Lauren Soloy - OPTIONAL

The Beloved Folk Song I's the B'y illustrated by Lauren Soloy. PICTURE BOOK Greystone (Deborah Sloan). 2022. $19. 9781771648332 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Lauren Soloy has illustrated the lyrics to "I's the B'y" a traditional Newfoundland folk song about dancing and fishing and eating. 

Includes sheet music to sing it yourself, and a great explanation of the meaning of some of the things in the song including the connections between the illustrations and the culture and traditions of Newfoundland. I's the B'y would be a good way to teach the song to a class.  However, AJ was really put off by a title she couldn't figure out how to read, even when I explained it's a dialect and means "I'm the Boy" this 7-year-old wasn't interested.  I'd recommend this purchase if you have a specific use for it, but I'm not sure kids will pick it up.  

Lisa Librarian and AJ (age 7)

I Love You, Blue by Barroux - ADVISABLE

I Love You, Blue art and story by Barroux PICTURE BOOK Flyaway. 2022. $18. 9781947888364 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

When a sailor's boat sinks in a storm, he and his boat are rescued by a whale! The whale's name is Blue. The sailor looks forward to seeing Blue again, but on his next trip out to sea, no Blue. He discovers that Blue is sick because of all the trash in its belly. 

I Love You, Blue is a simple story to demonstrate the problem of plastics in the ocean. Like Pinocchio, the sailor was able to walk around inside the whale and do something about the trash. Includes an author's note, ways we can help, and a list of volunteer organizations' websites. AJ liked the message of taking care of our oceans, and loved the illustrations - Blue is usually just the huge front of the whale, and it's remarkable how Barroux can put so much expression in 2 dots (eyes) and a line (mouth). 

Lisa Librarian and AJ (age 7)