A Dream of Flight: Alberto Santos-Dumont’s Race Around the Eiffel Tower by Rob Polivka and Jef Polivka - OPTIONAL

A Dream of Flight: Alberto Santos-Dumont’s Race Around the Eiffel Tower by Rob Polivka and Jef Polivka, illustrated by Rob Polivka. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), 2019. $19. 9780374306618

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Alberto grew up in Brazil, but moved to Paris where he continued to explore his desire from younger years to fly, before human flight was even possible. He designed an airship and, after many failed attempts and hard work back at the drawing board, Alberto completed a successful trip. 

I found the illustrations and the writing lack-luster, pared down to the basic colors and the basic skeleton of the story. It is an interesting story, but I felt like I needed more context about flight developments of the time. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Yummy Yoga: Playful Poses and Tasty Treats by Joy Bauer - OPTIONAL

Yummy Yoga: Playful Poses and Tasty Treats by Joy Bauer, photographs by Bonnie Stephens. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019. $15. 9781419738241

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Pairing a photograph of a child doing a particular yoga pose with a combination of healthy foods shaped in the same pose, this book covers eight basic yoga poses. One page of the spread opens up to show a recipe using the same ingredients as the food doing the yoga pose. 

The white background and simple shapes make this an easy book to read and utilize, but it is perhaps doing too much being both a yoga instruction book and a recipe book. I appreciate that the children photographed doing yoga were a variety of ethnicities and sizes.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

What’s Your Favorite Food? By Eric Carle and Friends - ESSENTIAL

What’s Your Favorite Food? By Eric Carle and Friends. PICTURE BOOK. Goodwin Books (Macmillan), 2019. $19. 9781250295149

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A variety of picture book authors contributed to this book, each with a two page spread illustration of their favorite food and a description of the food. Some of the descriptions are in paragraph form and some in poetry. The types of food range from cake to ramen noodles. 

The strength of this book is in its potential to spur young readers to become writers. It would be an easy jump from reading this book to students writing their own favorite food passages and illustrating those same passages.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht - OPTIONAL

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis. PICTURE BOOK/HOLIDAY. Candlewick Press, 2019. $17. 9781536207644

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In this gently rhyming book, a family picks out a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch and, after bring it home, carves it with neighbors. The book ends with the family dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating, their jack-o-lantern waiting at home while they walk the street.

This book is pleasant, but much too slowly paced. The matte pages are beautifully illustrated and the writing has a calmly clipped pace. Nothing very interesting happens in this exploration of the life of a pumpkin during Halloween.       

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith - OPTIONAL

The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith. PICTURE BOOK. Templar Books (Candlewick Press), 2019. $18. 9781536205756

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Issac, a boy of around ten years old,  is at a pool of water in a local stream at the beginning and the end of this book. In between this we follow the water he was originally playing with as it travels down the stream and into the ocean only to return to the clouds and come down as rain again in Isaac’s pool. 

While the illustrations are gorgeous, it was a little hard to follow this book. The water we are following went from stream to ocean twice and became a little disorienting. Also disorienting, was trying to understand the role of the little boy in the book. One could potentially use this book to talk about the water cycle, but I don’t think it is the best example of this out there. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Leila in Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz - ESSENTIAL

Leila in Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz, illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova. PICTURE BOOK. Salaam Reads (Simon & Schuster), 2019. $18. 9781534425644

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Leila visits her grandma’s house, which is steeped in traditions from Pakistan. From the food they eat to the clothing they wear, Leila celebrates who she is because of where she came from. 

This is a great book about seeing the beauty in ourselves and enjoying the things that make our family unique. I enjoyed the brightly colored illustrations and the easy access to a culture that may be unfamiliar to many young readers. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Looking for Yesterday by Alison Jay - OPTIONAL

Looking for Yesterday by Alison Jay. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2019. $17. 9781536204216

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A young boy laments that he can not go back and relive yesterday because it was the best day. After brainstorming all the ways he could turn back time, his grandpa explains that some of his best days are yet to be. They look at old pictures together and talk about the power of memories and enjoying today. 

Alison Jay is a charming illustrator and this book is consistent with her usual aesthetic. This book felt a little jarring for me, moving from fantastical science fiction as the boy imagines how to move back time to nostalgic remembering from the grandpa. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Imagine That: A Hoot & Olive Story by Jonathan D. Voss - ADVISABLE

Imagine That: A Hoot & Olive Story by Jonathan D. Voss. PICTURE BOOK. Henry Holt & Company (Macmillan), 2019. $18. 9781250314550

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

During a rainstorm, Olive wants to imagine they are sailing down a huge river but Hoot, her owl friend, is having trouble imagining anything. They try to fix the problem when they assume his imagination is slipping out his ears but have no luck until they start to focus on Hoot’s heart. Hoot’s imagination starts small but grows when given attention. 

This is a sweet story, even down to the illustrations. Everything is soft and optimistic in this book and it creates a soothing tone. There are good messages here about friendship and how imagination grows when we attend to it.    

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Papa Put a Man on the Moon - ADVISABLE

Papa Put a Man on the Moon by Kristy Dempsey illustrated by Sarah Green PICTURE BOOK Dial Books, Penguin, 2019. $18. 9780735230743 

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Marthanne's father has a very special job. He works in a clothing mill and is the weaver for a very special fabric that will be used in the spacesuits to keep the astronauts safe. Marthanne is thrilled because she is following the space race on TV and imagining what it would be like to be an astronaut herself! But it takes so long to happen, Marthanne is afraid the men won't ever get there, but finally she watches the moon landing on TV with her family, and knows in her heart, that it wouldn't have been possible without the contribution of her dad. 

Kristy Dempsey's free verse storytelling makes this a great read aloud! It's the year of the space race anniversary, and it's really nice to see a book that's a little bit different - one that features the support people whose jobs were vital. Green's illustrations are fun and imaginative, it brought me right back to 1969, sitting on my porch watching the moon and dreaming about astronauts.

Lisa Librarian

Sammy Claws the Christmas Cat by Lucy Rowland and Paula Bowles - ADVISABLE

Sammy Claws the Christmas Cat by Lucy Rowland, illustrated by Paula Bowles. PICTURE BOOK. Harper, 2018. $11. 9780062959119            

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE           

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE        

Sammy Claws the cat wants to help Santa but he wants to nap even more.  After running onto the floor of Santa's workshop, he gets lost and falls asleep in a box.  Then he gets wrapped and loaded on the sleigh?  Will he end up up delivered to someone else's house?  When Santa gets robbed will he get stolen? You must read this book with rhyming verse to find out.  

I did like the rhyme and the really cute illustrations in the book.  I like cats and this one seemed as troublesome as the feline friends I have had so I laughed at him a bit.  This is my favorite Christmas season book and though it is really just a holiday tale, it is cute and will make a nice addition to my school collection.     

Michele, Library Tech Teacher

A Mustache Baby Christmas by Bridget Heos and Joy Ang - OPTIONAL

A Mustache Baby Christmas by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang. PICTURE BOOK. Clarion Books, 2019. $18. 9781328506535         

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW    

A Mustache Baby Christmas is a title for the holiday.   It tells the tale of a baby born with a mustache and another born with a beard who transform into Santa Claus and a naughty elf.  Will the elf steal Christmas?  Can baby Santa foil his plan?  Only baby Billy and baby Javier can tell you.     

The art in this book is very cute and fun.  The story rhymes but drags a little as the predictable plot unfolds.  This book was good for a single read.  I might purchase it if I needed to freshen my holiday book section.       

Michele, Library Tech Teacher

   

The Book Rescuer by Sue Macy - ESSENTIAL

The Book Rescuer : How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come by Sue Macy, Illustrated by Stacy Innerst, PICTURE BOOK, NON FICTION A Paula Wiseman Book, (Simon and Schuster), 2019 $18 9781481472203

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

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

When Aaron Lansky's yiddish speaking grandmother arrived in America, her older brother threw her suitcase overboard. Gone were the few books she brought with her. Aaron grew up hearing this story and began collecting Yiddish books - soon he was running out of room in his apartment and had to move the ever growing collection to an old factory building in Massachusetts. He founded the Yiddish Book Center and introduced a whole new generation to the language and literature of Yiddish Culture. His grandmother would be so proud! 

A book rescuer! Aaron's story brought tears to my eyes - his mission to collect and save this "portable homeland" is inspirational. Macy's storytelling is perfectly paired with Innerst's beautiful acrylic and gouache illustrations. Includes a glossary of Yiddish words and expressions, source notes, and contact information for the Yiddish Book Center.

Lisa Librarian