“Pie in the Sky” by Remy Lai is a beautifully crafted middle grade story about some very real issues, loss and feeling alone, that almost everyone, at every spectrum of socio-economic status, experiences. In this story, two brothers and their mother move to Australia after their father dies.
“Perfect Imperfection: Dog portraits of resilience and love” by Alex Cearns is a book about dogs who are missing something — an eye or a leg. Some have had rough beginnings, but make no mistake, these dogs are all beautiful.
With “High Five,” Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri have created a picture book that enchants and excites kids of all ages. I know, because in my own experience, this colorful and action-filled book has been a hit with kids from three years old through 5th grade.
How better to get ready for Easter than by reading these three picture books about Easter? Each is special and will be loved for different reasons; each is worth reading with children before and after Easter.
‘Tis the season, and there’s a plethora of perfectly pet-a-licious picture books to share with the young animal lovers on your shopping list. The choices range from silly to serious, and everything in between.
“Which One Doesn’t Belong? Playing with Shapes” by math teacher Christopher Danielson is an amazing picture book sure to make those who read it feel great about their math abilities. It’s a no-brainer, because in this wonderful and creative book of math problems, there are no wrong answers!
In “New Kid,” Jerry Craft introduces Jordan Banks, a wanna-be artist and seventh grader who is starting at a new school, a fancy private school. It’s called Riverdale Academy Day School (RAD) and it’s exclusive, prestigious, and filled with mostly rich white kids, all of which Jordan is not. Each new student gets a “guide,” and Jordan is lucky — his guide is Liam, a kid who, while rich and white, really needs a friend.
Shaun Tan creates another thoughtful, insightful, simple-yet-oh-so-complex picture book with “Cicada.” The plot, on one hand, is simple. As Tan writes on the inside cover of the book, “Cicada tell story. Story good. Story simple. Story even human can understand. Tok Tok Tok!”
In “The Curiosities,” author Susan Gloss creates a cast of characters who all come together in the home of Betsy Barrett, a deceased philanthropist, who left instructions to create a residency program, or artist colony, in her Madison, Wisconsin mansion. The main character, Nell Parker, has a PhD in art and the outstanding bills from many failed IVF attempts to have a baby, to compel her to take the job. The artists for the first session have already been chosen, and Nell will run and oversee the program.
With “Love,” author Stacy McAnulty and illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethoff present images that children will relate to all demonstrating that love has no boundaries, no color barriers, no species barriers, but is all-encompassing.
“Hope” by Matthew Cordell follows his beautiful picture book, “Dream,” which is “a poem of love and the book is a poetic ode in words and pictures to the power of parental care.” “Hope” features lions instead of gorillas, and the voice is one of the grandparents sharing their hopes and dreams and wishes for their grandchild.
“You will meet so many. Many who are like you. Many who are not. Continue looking. Continue seeking. And for the future, there will always be hope.”
“Because” is a perfectly lovely picture book by the prolific children’s author Mo Willems. Though Willems is also an illustrator of note, he turned over that particular duty to Amber Ren for this piece, and the result of their combined talents is a testament to the beauty and power of teamwork as well as a superb rendering of the beauty and power of music — the power to inspire, to change lives, and to add wonder to our universe through our universal language.