A Season for Fishin’: A Fish Friday Tradition is the not-to-be-missed debut of author Pamela Courtney, a lovingly told tale complete with vibrant illustrations by Toni D. Chambers. It’s the first Fish Fry Friday of the year, and Chér can’t wait to join her papere for the first time to …
This title immediately grabbed me. Don’t Eat the Cleaners! sounds like a Poison Control PSA. But the eye-catching cover tells a different story. Have you ever considered how ocean animals get clean? Or how they get dirty in the first place? Susan Stockdale provides an engrossing primer on all things …
The poet Mary Oliver once wrote, “How can the biographer know when enough is known, and known with sufficient certainty? What about secrets, what about errors, what about small black holes where there is nothing at all?…And what about the waywardness of life itself—the proclivity toward randomness—the sudden meaningless uplift …
I was thrilled to recently discover Hyewon Yum’s newest book, Toto, and order it for my library. This charming title covers a topic rarely seen in picture books: birthmarks. The unnamed narrator of this book has a pink birthmark on her forehead she refers to as “Toto.” Family and strangers …
SARA: In honor of 2025, how about a book celebrating a new year’s tradition? In Legendary Cakes, written and illustrated by Kerisa Greene, a pair of siblings spend Tết, the Vietnamese New Year, with their grandparents. The evening before, they prepare bánh chưng, a dish of leaf-wrapped mung beans, rice, …
One of my favorite things about Hanukkah is the way it meets the darkest time of the year with light. Here in the northern hemisphere, the days are short, the nights are long, and tonight, the third night of Hanukkah, I am adding another candle to my hanukkiah. Outside it …
As the fall migration comes to a close in New York City, I am loving Springtime Storks by Carol Joy Munro and Chelsea O’Byrne. In this lyrical tale of love and resilience, a flock of storks is migrating to warmer climates when Katerina is wounded by a hunter. Her mate, …
In Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story, written by Mariana Ríos Ramírez and illustrated by Sara Palacios, Julieta is excited for Abuelita’s spirit to visit on Día de Muertos. She is determined to find the perfect gift to honor Abuelita and to show how much she misses her. However, …
SARA: In Mixed-Up Mooncakes, written by Christina Matula and Erica Lyons and illustrated by Tracy Subisak, Ruby gets ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival with her nainai and Sukkot with her zayde. Told in an appealing voice and adorable watercolor and pastel illustrations, Ruby takes the reader from her yard to …
It takes about 4 hours to make a challah and about 6 years to make a book about one. At least this was my experience for my most recent picture book, Challah for Shabbat Tonight. Below is a behind-the-scenes look at my sometimes-messy writing kitchen, plus a GIVEAWAY! Recipe timelines …