Every once in a while you find a picture book that is nuthin’ but fun. WALLY MAMMOTH: THE SLED RACE by Corey R. Tabor and illustrated by Dalton Webb is one of those books. First of all…Wally Mammoth? How freakin’ clever is that? It is a simple and delightful story …
The title of the new book by Martha Brockenbrough and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, A Gift of Dust, inspires one’s imagination. Is it about Star Dust and how it is in everything? Or the magic of Fairy Dust and the possibilities it brings? Maybe it is a picture book introducing …
Suzanne Kaufman is the illustrator of the the New York Times Bestseller ALL ARE WELCOME series, written by Alexandra Penfold. They are wonderful, beautiful, and inclusive books that I imagine make DEI haters combust with nonsense and anger. Penfold’s text celebrates the joy of differences, and Kaufman’s characters pepper every …
Quiet books don’t always need the same structure that other picture books have. Quiet stories are often told without true arcs or without wild swings in the action. Or without any action at all. Sometimes they are just vehicles to explain the way things are, or to express a feeling. …
The Spaceman, by Randy Cecil, is a complete delight. 100%, I tell ya. The story begins with our protagonist, the Spaceman, collecting soil samples. That’s what he does every day. And his enthusiasm for the process is cowed by its utter mundanity. He collects samples, labels them, and then files …
It is not unusual to be sad at times. Sadness happens to all of us. Whether you’re sad about the loss of game or championship by your favorite team, or grieving for the loss of a pet or a loved one, or suffering an unexplained general malaise, it is not …
The first picture book I pick up is rarely nonfiction, whether science, history, biography, nature, whatever. But when I DO pick up a nonfiction picture book, I am usually fascinated. Which kind of makes sense. In high school I avoided classes like history and science because I thought they were …
Sleep is important. Not that anyone needs convincing. The lack of sleep—or not enough sleep—is unhealthy and we are reminded of this often; in the news, online, wherever we get our information. As an adult I know this first hand. I love sleep and celebrate every morning I wake up …
I’m a lot of things, but I’m pretty sure (checking behind me) I’m not a raccoon. However, if I was curious about what it is like to be a raccoon, I’d have this book to look to; You are a Raccoon, by Laurie Thompson (Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of …
I am not a fan of reptiles. Frankly I’m kind of terrified or freaked out by most. I have dreams of snakes every now and then and it is never good. Amphibians? They are not nearly as stress-inducing, but they still give me a low-grade bout of the willies. I …