The Library Fish by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Gladys Jose - ADVISABLE

The Library Fish by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Illustrated by Gladys Jose. PICTURE BOOK. Simon and Schuster, 2022. $18. 9781534477056

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Library fish came to the library as a surprise. Library fish loved visitors and the stories read by Mr. Hughes, the librarian. Library fish enjoyed the rides in the bookmobile.  She knew that the bookmobile loved stories as much as she did. One winter day, Mr. Hughes did not come to the library.  Could it be that there was too much snow on the roads? Library fish used all her energy to jump out of her bowl and fly to the bookshelves. Find out who she read to through the lonely hours of the day.

While the illustrations in this book are adorable, the storyline was a bit too fantasy filled for me. I would have preferred she had an adventure with the children.

MOMMMAC

A Unicorn on a Unicycle by Lynda Graham-Barber and Jordan Wray - HIGH

A Unicorn on a Unicycle by Lynda Graham-Barber and Jordan Wray. PICTURE BOOK. Peachtree, 2021. $19. 9781682632512

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

First, we count one wheel under the unicorn riding a unicycle.  There are two wheels under the bunny riding the scooter.  We count 3 wheels on the tricycle ridden by a large orangutan.  The street continues to get more crowded as we add more and more animals on wheels until we get to number 10, and all the wheels and animals arrive at a fun amusement park.

A Unicorn on a Unicycle is a very engaging book to work on counting.  The story is cute as we follow the unicorn down the street.  The illustrations are whimsical, funny, and interesting, yet it is easy to find the wheels to count. 

PGPowers

Where's Speedy? by Nici Gregory - HIGH

Where's Speedy? by Nici Gregory. PICTURE BOOK. Berbay Publishing, 2022. $18. 9780648953395

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

A slug is busy munching leaves when George and Lotta look for a creature to put in their pickle jar that is filled with leaves and sticks. Lotta finds a slug and they name him Speedy. They bring Speedy into the house to meet their daddy.  Daddy offers them pretzels. While they are eating, Speedy climbs out of the jar. The kids realize that speedy is gone and look everywhere for him.  They get Grandad, Grandma, Momma, and the three little kittens from next door to help look for him.  They find lots of other critters.  Will they ever find speedy?

Where’s Speedy is a fun and interactive story.  When Speedy is missing, the reader can look for him camouflaged on every page.  I also like the way it teaches children how to make a safe bug habitat, and to let the creature go back to his family at the end of the day.  The illustrations are cute, clever, and enjoyable.

PGPowers

The Adventures of Robo-Kid by Diane deGroat - HIGH

The Adventures of Robo-Kid by Diane deGroat. PICTURE BOOK. Neal Porter Books (Holiday House) 2022. $19. 9780823449767

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Henry is reading a comic book called The Adventures of Robo-Kid. Henry’s mother reminds him that it’s time for his swimming lesson. He finishes reading how Robo-Kid saved the world from an asteroid, then sticks the book in his backpack. Robo-Kid feels Henry slam the book closed and decides he is bored with saving the world every day and climbs out of the book into the real world while Henry is in the Community Center lockerreal-life room. Robo-Kid notices that Henry is worried and asks if he can help. Henry is very glad to see him and asks Robo-Kid to help him swim in the deep end of the pool. Robo-Kid has no superpowers in the real world but climbs into Henry’s pocket. Robo-Kid falls into the deep end of the pool and can’t swim. Can Henry jump into the deep end to save him?

The Adventures of Robo-Kid is a delightfully fun story. At the bottom of the page is a comic book story of Robo-Kid while at the top of the page is Henry’s real life story with two distinctive art styles. The dual storylines meet up when Robo-Kid climbs out of the comic book into Henry’s life. I liked the theme that you can be a hero whether you are a comic book character or a regular kid.

PGPowers

Who Guards My Sleep? by Marie Chow, and Sija Hong - HIGH

Who Guards My Sleep?  by Marie Chow, illustrated by Sija Hong. PICTURE BOOK. Marvel Press, 2021. $18. 9781368069960

BUYING ADVISORY: EL- ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Shang -Chi and Xialing are called to bedtime stories by their mother. She tells them about all the guardians of her village called To Lo. The guardians are a lion, a fox, a horse, a phoenix, Morris ( a flying bear), and a dragon. These guardians will protect those they love just like their mother will protect them.

I enjoyed the Asian culture portrayed in this story. The illustrations are exquisite in bright beautiful colors. Marvel fans will find this very appealing. I could not understand where Morris came from.  He did not seem to fit in with all the other guardians.

MOMMMAC

Mouse Calls by Anne Marie Pace and Erin Kraan - ADVISABLE

Mouse Calls by Anne Marie Pace and Erin Kraan. PICTURE BOOK. Beach Lane Books (Simon), 2022. $19. 9781534453753

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Mouse is looking through her telescope and sees a thunderstorm coming to land far out on the ocean.  She decides to warn the other animals and creatures on the Island.  Mouse calls Moose.  Moose calls goose and so on until everyone has been warned and gathered to a safe place.

Mouse Calls is a nice book about helping others weather the storm. Pace uses simple words and rhyming animal names to tell the story. The illustrations are cute and expressive,  I felt the story needed one more page at the beginning to let us know why mouse was calling all the animals instead of having to infer from the picture on the cover that she was worried about the storm.

PGPowers

Misty the Cloud: Friends through Rain or Shine by Dylan Dreyer and Rosie Butcher - ADVISABLE

Misty the Cloud: Friends through Rain or Shine by Dylan Dreyer and Rosie Butcher. PICTURE BOOK. Random House Kids, 2022. $20. 9780593180426

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Clare was excited about her outdoor birthday party.  Her mom reminded her that she had to share her party with her brother because he also had a birthday coming up as well.  Meanwhile high up in the sky Misty the Cloud was also celebrating her birthday.  As Misty and her friends went outside to play water games the water from their games made it start to rain.  Misty and her cloud friends drifted over to where sunbeams were playing.  They asked them to play somewhere else.  They both wanted to play their own games.  Both the clouds and the sunshine started arguing. In the end, can they find a compromise and work together to create a beautiful spectacle in the sky?

The illustrations are very cute and colorful.  I can see little girls eating this book up.  I don't see it appealing to boys.  The friends that attend her birthday party are quite diverse showing different racial backgrounds including a boy in a wheelchair.  I love how at the back of the book it gives many science weather concepts and how rain and rainbows are created. 

Emilee-School Librarian

Owls by Gail Gibbons - HIGH

Owls by Gail Gibbons. PICTURE BOOK/NON FICTION. Holiday House, 2022. $19. 9780823452026

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Owls is simple yet comprehensive.  Young readers will enjoy learning all about the many different types of owls. Some of the detailed illustrations are clearly labeled diagrams, while others explain how owls see, hear, fly, hunt, and take care of their babies.

The facts about the owls were very interesting and simple.  The images were detailed and expressive.  Owls is a great way to teach children about owls.

PGPowers

Ready Said Rabbit by Marjoke Hanrichs - OPTIONAL

Ready Said Rabbit by Marjoke Henrichs. PICTURE BOOK. Peachtree Publishing Company, 2022. $18. 9781682634585

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Rabbit and Dad are headed to the park on a beautiful summer day.  Dad asks Rabbit to get ready.  Rabbit tries to bring a bunch of different belongings, then he tries on several different outfits, and then he gets distracted by other toys.  Once Rabbit is ready then Dad gets distracted by a phone call from his mom.  Then he needs to get his jacket. and look for his glasses and his keys.  Finally, they are ready to go to the park.

Henrichs does a beautiful job of capturing the routine of getting out the door with a parent and child and the different distractions and challenges of looking for things that might ensue.  The illustrations are fun and colorful, but feel too haphazard and unfinished in a childish way.

Emilee-School Librarian

The Whale in my Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan - ADVISABLE

The Whale in my Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan. PICTURE BOOK. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers (Macmillan), 2015. $18. 9780374300371

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A cute boy of color is running across the first page in his house saying, "Race you to the pool!"  Unfortunately as he gets outside to his kiddy pool a huge whale is filling the entire thing and then some.  He tries to tell his mom and she tells him to not forget about sunscreen.  It cracked me up because that's such a typical mom being distracted answer.  He then proceeds to problem solve using some pretty clever solutions to get this gigantic whale out of his pool. problem-solve

The illustrations are very simple and yet very cute and captivating.  The story flows well on each page capturing the facial expressions of different emotions as he tries to solve his problem.  The end papers of the book are my favorite.  This is a perfect beginning reader book very few words on each page and fairly simple dialogue.  I loved it.

Emilee-School Librarian

Willow Pattern Story by Allan Drummond - OPTIONAL

Willow Pattern Story by Allan Drummond, PICTURE BOOK. NorthSouth Books Inc., 2022. $19. 9780735845121

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Koong Shee lived in a pagoda garden that she felt was a prison because her father would not let her leave until she married the man of his choosing. The only friends she had were the birds.  Eventually, she fell in love with a gardener, named Chang. When her father found out, he sent Chang away and locked Koong Shee in a house near the pagoda. Eventually, the couple ran away together to live as poor, happy farmers. Will their end be joyful or sad?

While this story was written for children, I feel that it would appeal more to an adult. The book tells one version of the many stories created about the China pattern called “Willow.” I thoroughly enjoyed the blue illustrations and reading the history of the Willow Pattern, but I’m not sure this would hold interest from most young readers.

MOMMMAC

Hurry, Little Tortoise Time for School by Carrie Finison and Erin Kraan - ADVISABLE

Hurry, Little Tortoise Time for School by Carrie Finison and Erin Kraan. PICTURE BOOK. Random House Kids, 2022. $18. 9780593305669

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Little Tortoise has checked his list and is walking to school.  She is determined to be faster than fast Super Tortoise and be the first one to school.  Unfortunately, animals that are naturally much quicker than her fly by; a cheetah, a llama, a raccoon, and other furry friends.  They all tell her to hurry even a snail on a scooter asks her if she wants a ride.  She politely declines.   Someone knocks her over and she is shell-side down.  She starts to cry for help but everyone is inside.  Suddenly her teacher who is a sloth comes up to the front of the school and saves her.  It's an adorable lesson about loving who you are and not getting frustrated by your limitations.

The illustrations are absolutely stunning and very unique.  Each animal has their own whooshing sound spelled out on each page.  It makes it even more charming.  Each page is filled with so much to see.  I can see a child wanting this book read over and over again due to the darling animals and the repeating type pattern in the story.  This is a very cute book.

Emilee-School Librarian