I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey - ESSENTIAL

I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey.  PICTURE BOOK.  Scholastic Press, February 2019.  $15.  9781338297102

BUYING ADVISORY:  Pre-K - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL:  HIGH

Porcupine asks creature after creature for a hug, but no one seems to want to oblige.  When he meets a snake who just wants a kiss, the pair may have found a solution for both of their problems.

I don’t know if you’ve met I Want  A Hug by John A. Rowe, a book with a similar theme, but I think both books are great read aloud choices.  Blabey’s artistic flair and sparse text work wonders to convey the heartfelt story.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Perfect by Max Amato - ESSENTIAL

Perfect by Max Amato.  PICTURE BOOK.  Scholastic Press, 2019.  $17.  9780545829311

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

The eraser is determined to keep the paper perfectly clean, but the pencil has other plans.  Maybe the eraser can learn to have some fun?

Whether for art time, play time, or story time, you will have a blast sharing this with young friends.  I think you find yourself filling many pages with pencil scribblings and then using eraser’s technique for creativity.  You’ll see!

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach - ESSENTIAL

The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach.  PICTURE BOOK.  Scholastic Press, 2019.  $18. 9781338289411

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

The caterpillars are readying themselves for metamorphosis, but one extremely impatient caterpillar can’t settle down for the process.

So much fun!  You can use this as an introduction to metamorphosis or a discussion on patience.  Either way – it is a super choice for a read aloud.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White - ADVISABLE

Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman. PICTURE BOOK. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. $18.9780544798755

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

What happens when last year’s favorite sweater is too tight?  Are you willing to let go and try something different?  Are you ready for the transition of trike to bike?  What about crayons to pencils?  Saying goodbye to one thing means saying hello to something new and sometimes having to find courage to do something different.

Goodbye Brings Hello demonstrates how we have to let go of the comforting and step forward to try new and different things.  Life is full of transitions.  This book shows how new can be daunting and scary, but it can be good too.  The illustrations and poetry form of the book are fun.

Diann, Media Specialist

Crafty Llama : A Story about Crafting, Friendship, and the Very Best Gifts by Mike Kerr - ADVISABLE

Crafty Llama : A Story about Crafting, Friendship, and the Very Best Gifts by Mike Kerr, Illustrated by Renata Liwska, PICTURE BOOK Bloomsbury, 2018. $17. 1681191210

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Llama has a lot to do today, but she also has a large bundle of fleece waiting to be knitted into something. So, she spins the wool into yarn and starts to knit, as her friends drop by, they are working on crafts too, except Beaver. Beaver wants crafts that are useful, and he has trouble finding something useful all the friends can enjoy. 

Crafters are going to love this! Knitting, cross stitch, basket weaving, quilting and many other crafts are accurately represented (that's important). The illustrations are adorable, and the story is sincere and fun. I'm taking my favorite yarn shop a copy today. Children will like it too. It's OK to make things just because it's fun to craft, but creating something useful is good, too. 

 Lisa Librarian 

Smoke and Mirrors by K.D. Halbrook - ADVISABLE

Smoke and Mirrors by K.D. Halbrook, 233 pages. Paul Wiseman (Simon & Schuster), 2018. $17

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

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Sasha and her little brother, Toddy, are living in two different worlds - the world of the cirque where their parents perform and they all live, and the world of the islanders where the two go to school each day. Sasha is having a hard time fitting in in both places and lets a darkness take over her and it claims her parents in a tragic accident. Magical realism takes over as Sasha and Toddy find their way in this new life. 

This book is a beautiful mix of school drama and fantasy. I felt deeply for Sasha and her role as a protective older sister. The language is very descriptive, to the point where it slows the plot down drastically. The magical realism is subtle for the first half of the book, but becomes dominant in the second half and may be confusing to some readers. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

This is My Fort! by Drew Daywalt - ADVISABLE

This is My Fort! by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Olivier Tallec PICTURE BOOK Orchard books, (Scholastic) 2019 $10 9781338143904

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Cake and Monkey are friends, but when Cake decides to build a fort that doesn't allow Monkeys, Monkey decides to turn the tables and build a fort of his own. 

A great early reader with a lesson in friendship, inclusion and being nice. 

Lisa Librarian

I’m in Charge! by Jeanne Willis - ADVISABLE

I’m in Charge! by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Jarvis. PICTURE BOOK. Nosy Crow (Candlewick Press), 2018. $17. 9781536202595

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A little rhino declares to everyone around him that he is the boss and won’t listen to what they say. The rhino hunkers down under a mango tree and won’t share the fruit with anyone. A mouse tries to warn him that a stampede is coming, but he can’t hear because he is too busy telling the mouse to stay away from the mangos. Rhino almost gets run over and concludes that the only thing he is in charge of is being good. 

I loved the final message of the book - being in charge of our own goodness. I thought this was an interesting angle to the story, but it came abruptly after the story. The story doesn’t really build on being in charge of being good, just on not being in charge of other people. The illustrations are bright and engaging.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Dino by Diego Vaisberg - OPTIONAL

Dino by Diego Vaisberg. PICTURE BOOK. Templar Books (Candlewick), 2018. $16. 9781536202809

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A large egg appears in the backyard of a family and it cracks to reveal a dinosaur. As the dinosaur grows it becomes more and more difficult to keep him, an yet they make it work. But what will the family do when they find more large eggs in their yard? 

The illustrations are all red and blue and the story is pretty basic. This isn’t a bad book, but there isn’t anything terribly unique or interesting about it. There is one funny moment when the dinosaur scares everyone away, only to then be scared by a spider.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher