Children's Books discussion

Happy December! Let's take a look back at the picture books published over the past year (2022 publication date).

What were your favorite newly published picture books this year? Share why you loved them so much! What made them stand out? Do you think any of them deserve a Caldecott nod?

Are there any new picture books you meant to get to this year and haven't yet? Here's your reminder ;-)

Anything new that looks amazing but your library still hasn't added to their collection? Maybe now's the time you can make a suggestion that that they purchase it.

Most of all, happy reading! And, no pressure. This is a busy time for so many of us. Between holidays, winter weather, etc. I know I am not getting to the library quite as regularly. So, this is meant to be a fun discussion focusing on celebrating and sharing the best that 2022 brought us in the way of picture books. Enjoy! :-)

I'm currently using When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's Lost Generation and the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka Decision by Yolanda Gladden (January 2022) to talk about segregation in one of my classes. I'll post more on that when I finish the project, it's really good.

I'm hoping to read The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson (January 2022) and Stacey's Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams (December 28 2021, so close enough that I think it counts)

So, I usually don't read new books right away, nor do I rate consistently. But fwiw:

4 stars to
Berry Song
Climb On!
Sometimes, All I Need Is Me

5 stars to
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky

But I love the idea of this theme, esp. for the suggestion we request books that our library overlooked. I'll be watching others' contributions!

I'll have to go back through the threads and see which ones I've read. The most recent was
Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story

Knight Owl is very sweet

Hundred Years of Happiness a 5 hankie read about a young girl and her granfather attempting to try to get through to her grandmother who has dementia. They use a special Vietnamese soup the grandmother had on her wedding day to try to trigger those happy memories.

I Am Golden A beautiful, inspiring book for children. The parents affirm their daughter's Chinese-American identity. Her name, her looks, her culture are all valued and cherished.

So the only picture book published in 2022 that I read this year has been Harriet's Ruffled Feathers, and for me, it was rather disappointing.

Well, to be perfectly honest, both my adult self and my inner child have not really found Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds and either Joy McCullough's presented text or Remina Galotta's accompanying artwork all that special, all that engaging and pleasurable (well, at least so if I compare Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds to She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!, which indeed is topic wise about the same two bird saving women, about Harriet Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall, and which due to Kathryn Lasky's brilliant printed words and illustrator David Catrow equally spectacular illustrations also just happens to be one of my absolute favourite non fiction picture books of all time).

So yes and of course, Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds does have a proverbially very steep and rocky road to follow, but I honestly did still expect to enjoy and appreciate Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds and not to have such a negative both textual and illustrative reaction to Joy McCullough and Remina Galotta that my final rating for Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds is unfortunately and sadly only two very grudgingly granted stars. And while I do feel a trifle curmudgeonly and guilty at my two star rating (and in particular since Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds thus far shows very, very highly rated reviews and that some of my GR friends have even rated this book with five stars), well, I do stand by my two stars for a couple of very specific and majorly annoying reasons.

For one and textually speaking, while in She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head, Kathryn Lasky and right from page one describes Harriet Hemenway as both resolute and with much common sense and intelligence, sorry, but reading how in Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds Joy McCullough's Harriet Hemenway seems genuinely surprised as a bird lover that millions of birds are being slaughtered for fashion, for in particular feathers adorning hats, this makes me kind of sadly aghast and shake my head. For come on, does McCullough really expect and want her readers or her listeners to believe that Harriet Hemenway (who later is organising huge and successful fashion boycotts etc. in order to save and conserve endangered and being hunted almost to extinction bird species) truly does NOT KNOW that the feathers on her hats came from birds and that these birds would need to be hunted and slaughtered? And yes, in my opionion, this makes both Harriet Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall look quite ridiculously naive, something that Kathryn Lasky totally manages to avoid in She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head! but which for me has definitely been rather the case with Joy McCullough's text in Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds (even if more than likely inadvertently) and that this is something that has also majorly textually annoyed and frustrated me and severely lessened potential reading pleasure.

And for two, while I do think that in and of themselves, Remina Galotta's pictures are nicely rendered and do a decent enough job mirroring Joy McCullough's story for Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds, in my opinion and according to my personal aesthetics, there are far too few illustrations of birds being featured by Galotta in Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds, and I certainly find it majorly visually problematic and distracting that unlike with David Catrow's artwork for She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!, Remina Galotta provides NO pictures whatsoever of bird species that actually went extinct or nearly so due to the feather trade, a huge shortcoming that also majorly makes me angry, for at the very least I was kind of expecting Remina Galotta to provide as illustrations Ivory Billed Woodpeckers and Passenger Pigeons.

Finally, while I am of course totally appreciative of the included bibliography for Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds, I do for one wish that Joy McCullough's list would be containing the same number of books and websites, and that for two, I definitely find it at best a bit problematic that one of the listed books in the bibliography is NOT She's Wearing a Dead Bird on her Head.

I have read a number of the books on the Mock Caldecott 2023 Listopia.
As I have noted elsewhere, I love quirky, humorous picture books, although I also like those that are more serious. The following are some of the books I liked best from that list.

Farmhouse
The most fascinating thing about this book is that the illustrations were made from bits and pieces of an old, falling-down farmhouse in New York. Some of those bits and pieces included wallpaper, composition books, newspapers, brown paper bags, clothing handkerchiefs, curtains, and string. All these bits and pieces were tied together with ink, watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil. The text relates incidents in the lives of twelve children and two parents who live in the house through many years. The collages help tell the stories and expand on the text. A gorgeous and memorable book.

Together We Ride
This story shows a dad (African American) helping his little girl learn to ride her 2-wheel bicycle in their neighborhood's cul-de-sac (with a possible Golden Gate Bridge in the background). There are only 1 to 2 words on each page, and most of the action is in the appealing illustrations. The entire text is a rhyming poem. After the little girl is comfortable riding her bike, the whole family goes on a bike ride. This is a great book to encourage youngsters learning to ride a bicycle.

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky
I thought the illustrations in this book were outstanding. Minter did a fantastic job of marrying his illustrations to the fascinating text, and expanding upon it. I also loved that he used different colors as a background to the illustrations; not only blues, but also orange, green, and yellow.

Wombat Said Come In
Safe in his burrow deep below the ground as Australian bushfires rage above, Wombat opens his home to five animal friends seeking shelter, in this heartwarming story about help in the time of trouble. Loved the illustrations.

Knight Owl
The excellent story is accompanied by large, appealing illustrations; making this book a great candidate for a story time. The juxtaposition of the very small owl with the very large human knights is hilarious.

No Nibbling!
This book has the sort of quirky, silly humor that I love. The rabbit uses vegetable puns when speaking with the goat: "Mama said I'd butter bean home soon," and "Lettuce talk about something else," etc. The illustrations were very appealing and enhanced the story line.

Berry Song
I had no idea there were so many different varieties of berries! I only ever see strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries in the grocery store. I am also familiar with blackberries, huckleberries and boysenberries. But beyond that, I need to do more research.
This is a lovely story with dreamy, misty illustrations.

Kitty
Funny story with wonderfully raucous illustrations executed in pencil, ink, watercolor, and acrylic, which perfectly depict the chaos of the story. Grandma agrees to watch the family cat while the family is away, but when she loses her glasses, she does not realize that the cat runs out the door and and a raccoon runs in!

A Spoonful of Frogs
Hilarious! What a fun story, with illustrations that bring out and enhance the humor of the silly situations.

Kat Hats
Renier's busy and frenetic gouache illustrations are a perfect match for this incredibly silly and laugh-out-loud story. I especially loved all of Glamorella's fashionable outfits! This story isn't for everyone; one must like outrageous humor and situations; and garish cartoon illustrations.

Creepy Crayon!
This is a great addition to Aaron Reynolds' "Creepy" series. In this story, Jasper Rabbit finds a purple crayon that aces his tests, writes by itself, and has several facial expressions. Jasper starts to get creeped out when the crayon writes on his backpack: "Jasper + Crayon 4Ever." And when Jasper tries to get rid of the crayon, that doesn't go so well, either. In this book, the crayon is purple, and so the illustrations are black, white, gray, and purple. Delightful and funny.

Books I am eagerly looking forward to getting from the library:
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Polar Bear
I Don't Care
Witch Hazel

Oh, I missed that I had read Creepy Crayon and Three Billy Goats Gruff. I guess because they didn't do much for me. But I will look for several others on your list, and am continuing to watch this thread for everyone's rec's!

I really want to read A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, as it looks like a picture book version of the author's Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of a Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters. But the book has just recently been been published (in October) and so it might be a while before it even becomes available.

I saw Farmhouse in my parents' bedroom. If it's unwrapped still, I'll go read it.

Wombat Said Come In

Written by a refugee in honor of the church that helped her, and gorgeously illustrated with lots of wonderfully clear & bright details. I love the slippers, and I'd love to know what the tea mug says (Adelaide f_ce?). Beautiful story that shows what we can do to help, without completely sacrificing our own comforts. Also, wombat & sugar glider & platypus, oh my! More Australian critters, too... each with their own personalities.

Bravo, and I'll look for more by each of the creators.

Manybooks wrote: "I really want to read A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, as it looks like a picture book version of the author's [book:B..."

I'll be interested to read it, also. Hopefully my library orders a copy.

Tofu Takes Time Cute story about a girl cooking with her grandma, learning patience and everything it takes to make tofu, including things from the earth and sky.

Maiden & Princess
An important queer fairy tale type story similar to Cinderella but updated for the modern world. The maiden is a warrior and knows the prince from battle. They're friends but she doesn't see him as anything but a brother. No romance THERE ... but of course this is a fairy tale and there IS love at first sight with someone else.

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I really want to read A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, as it looks like a picture book version of th..."

I hope so too, there are not nearly enough picture books about Madeleine L'Engle.

Oh my goodness, I already see several mentioned here that are going on my library list pronto! Exciting! I also asked my library to purchase the newest Over and Under book, Over and Under the Waves and that has just come in so I'm hoping we will be able to read it soon.

I add my glowing recommendations to these, already mentioned by others:
Berry Song
Knight Owl
Witch Hazel
A Spoonful of Frogs
Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story

(I actually really liked Harriet's Ruffled Feathers, though I understand the criticisms against it.)

Some others not yet listed, but which I awarded four or five stars to and which still stand out in my mind from all the picture books we read over the year:

A few are biographies
(I so love a good picture book biography!):
Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden
Nellie vs. Elizabeth: Two Daredevil Journalists' Breakneck Race Around the World
A Perfect Fit: How Lena “Lane” Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion

Others are just simply lovely stories to capture the imagination with beautiful illustrations:
If You Find a Leaf
Old Wood Boat
The Little Forest Keepers (pub Dec. 21st 2021 but close enough I'm including it!)

Others I loved for the diversity and the warmhearted storytelling:
Ten Blocks to the Big Wok: A Chinatown Counting Book
Gigi and Ojiji
Abdul's Story

QNPoohBear wrote: "I saw Farmhouse in my parents' bedroom. If it's unwrapped still, I'll go read it."

Oh, yes! This one is worth reading. I haven't written a review yet but, as Beverly said, it's lovely and so special the way the bits and pieces from the actual farmhouse site were woven into the illustrations.

I can't find Farmhouse. It must have been wrapped or moved downstairs. I did find Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic
I grabbed it and will read it and put it back before my mom knows I borrowed it. :-D

Like a Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor’s Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars

This is a simple biography of how Jane Taylor, a middle class artisan's daughter in late Georgian Britain persisted in writing stories and poems, never giving up until she became a published author. It's an inspiring story for an young budding writer. I really enjoyed it.

Kathryn wrote: "Oh my goodness, I already see several mentioned here that are going on my library list pronto! Exciting! I also asked my library to purchase the newest Over and Under book,...

Ooh, I hadn't realized Nellie vs. Elizabeth: Two Daredevil Journalists' Breakneck Race Around the World was published this year, for some reason I thought it was earlier. Definitely adding to my list, it's at my library

Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic

Hands down the best book of 2022.

This one counts under recycling and oceans and art.
Each two page spread features a color photo of a sculpture made from waste found in the oceans and on the beach - mostly plastic. At the top of the page is a cute description of the type of sea creature and how ocean waste affects that creature. Then the facing page has what you can do to help. At the bottom is a scavenger hunt where readers can search for the small pieces of plastic waste that make up certain parts of the sculpture. I didn't try too hard but the hunt was a lot more challenging than expected. When one sculpture had steering wheel listed, I realized the magnitude of these sculptures must be astounding. I saw one once at the Smithsonian and my niece said they saw an exhibit at an aquarium.

Backmatter includes how you can help, how you can have FUN cleaning the beaches, how the sculptures were made and how to make beach art from waste while you clean.

This is an incredibly important book that should be in every home and classroom around the world. It's good for older children and families/elementary age students. A MUST MUST MUST read!

https://www.washedashore.org/

QNPoohBear wrote: "Like a Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor’s Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars..."

I really liked this one as well!

Celia wrote: "Ooh, I hadn't realized Nellie vs. Elizabeth: Two Daredevil Journalists' Breakneck Race Around the World was published this year, ."

Yes, February 2022 :-) Another picture book about Nellie and Elizabeth came out in 2019 so that may be the one you are thinking of. (I really liked that one, A Race Around the World: The True Story of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland.)

QNPoohBear wrote: "Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic

Hands down the best book of 2022.

This one counts under recycling and oceans and art.
Each two page spread features a color photo of..."

That sounds great! My Oregonian in-laws sent the boys some pictures of recycled ocean plastic art from the Oregon coast a few years ago. Here's an article about it:
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/04/784416...

Kathryn wrote: "That sounds great! My Oregonian in-laws sent the boys some pictures of recycled ocean plastic art from the Oregon coast a few years ago. Here's an article about it:
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/04/784416...."

Yes, Washed Ashore, the same artist. I recognize that sea dragon. He's in the book! A Sea Star is also in the book.

I like seeing Angela next to her sculptures for scale. The book doesn't really give a sense of size unless you're looking for a steering wheel!

QNPoohBear wrote: "Yes, Washed Ashore, the same artist. I recognize that sea dragon. He's in the book! A Sea Star is also in the book."

Cool!

A few of the Christmas books we read over the weekend were published in 2022. I didn't find any of them particularly outstanding, but all were pleasant enough.

Christmas with Auntie
I'll bump this to four stars for the lovely, soft, detailed illustrations. The story itself is more of a three-star. It's just various scenes of auntie and niece/nephew enjoying the holiday season together (crafting, decorating, baking, etc.) but it's nice to see a Christmas picture book featuring an aunt for a change. My boys are very close with my sister and I think this would have been a sweet gift a few years ago. It definitely has that "gift book" vibe as the back has "a special page to write a letter and add a photo" but I'll give that a pass since I happen to think books are one of the nicest things to find under the Christmas tree and they're even better when read with a loved one ;-)

Santa Mouse Bakes Christmas CookiesSweet, gentle story about Santa Mouse baking treats for Santa and his reindeer. I am often a bit hesitant about new books based on classic characters and while this is certainly not the same standard as Michael Brown's original Santa Mouse, the board book is a nice size for little hands and the illustrations are simply darling! Give the older kids Brown's original but I would not hesitate to recommend it to tots looking for a sweet Christmas tale about baking and giving featuring an adorable mouse and a diverse cast of elves.

The Magic of a Small Town Christmas This is a perfectly okay picture book about Christmas celebrations in a small town, from within-the-home moments like crafting and baking to town-wide events like ice skating and a community meal, all completely idealized. We see old-town shops decorated beautifully, a lovely church with candles in the windows. It's like a Hallmark movie in picture book form. I didn't realize it's a celebrity author (I don't watch UpTV) and I felt the rhyme scheme was a bit clunky in places. The illustrations were pleasant if not overly memorable though I do appreciate that that some diversity is shown in the characters.

The Best Gift for Bear Awww! :-) Jennifer A. Bell's illustrations always bring a smile to my face, especially as she's the illustrator for the Sophie Mouse books, which one of my family's all-time favorite series. This book is all kinds of warm-fuzzies and will make you feel you've stepped into a full-color Sophie Mouse world with all the adorable anthropomorphic woodland animals (these are not the same characters from Sophie Mouse, but my kids instantly said that the hedgehog looks like Pippa!) and the baking emphasis and cute miniature world touches (teacup bed!) The illustrations are so soft and cozy. Given that, I was not expecting the minor disaster at the end (view spoiler)[the beautiful gingerbread house that hedgehog makes for bear is destroyed in a storm (hide spoiler)] but life is quickly cheerful again as the disappointment turns into an opportunity for bonding and a day spent in friendship and more baking. Note that, while this book has all kinds of holiday vibes, Christmas itself is never mentioned so I could see it working for a wide variety of families. Emphasis is on giving, friendship--and baking.

First Christmas On The Farm - Children's Winter Picture Board Book, Made in the USA, Ages 1-4
IMO misses the mark. It's too wordy for a board book. Little ones might enjoy the cartoony illustrations but it's too simplistic for my taste. I appreciate a few of the sentiments, such as how the carols make the little animals feel loved, happy and full of hope. However, I disliked that the final message is that on Christmas morning everyone gets a gift and thus the animals love Christmas. Would have been nicer if emphasis was on giving, love, togetherness, etc.

Over and Under the Waves I love the ocean and I've many happy memories of visiting Monterey Bay so I was especially delighted to learn about this latest installment in the Over and Under series and am thrilled We picked it up as soon as it came in and really enjoyed it. It captures much of the diversity of the Bay, from the reefs and pilings where wolf-eel and spot prawns dwell, to kelp forests where sea otters anchor for slumber or hunt for urchins, to the deeper water where the humpbacks breach, not forgetting the beach with its decorator crabs and the sky with its gulls. The family kayaking on the bay is the perfect witness to the various phenomena and another great representation of the Monterey Bay area as kayaking is a popular activity there. As usual with the Over and Under books, I thoroughly enjoy them yet am never quite captivated or wowed enough to give five stars, but I still highly recommend them as a wonderful way to look at the many different dwelling places for various types of animals in a given area. Back matter includes further facts about each animal spotlighted in the story as well as suggestions for further reading and research, including books and internet sites. I'll also mention one of my kids' favorites, the live cams at the Monterey Bay Aquarium! ;-)
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/a...
As well as the Monterey Bay episode of Barack Obama's Netflix series, Our Great National Parks.

Kathryn,
Aren't you forgetting an AWESOME book that came out in 2022? You know the one, where your Arabic name came from. [What it was doing on March 2010's list, I don't know.]

Viento, Vientito/Wind, Little Wind - a new trilingual book that your library should own... if they don't, consider asking them to buy it.

The World Belonged to Us
After school lets out for the summer, children fill this urban city street. Although the book never specifies the year (or decade) the action takes place in, it probably takes place in the years before smart phones, tablets, and other electronic devices became widely available. These multi-ethnic children are busy playing street games, jumping rope, batting balls, playing hopscotch, etc. They are not even sitting inside watching TV. The children in this neighborhood spend every summer day outdoors playing with all the other neighborhood kids, without regard to their ethnicity. The bright, colorful illustrations depict happy, joyful children enjoying their summer time, free from school. If only more children enjoyed their summers the way these kids do!

Emile and the Field
This is a lovely book with a lyrical text and watercolor and ink paintings, and with some gorgeous double-page spreads. Emile falls in love with nature in the field that he wants to keep all to himself, until he understands that sharing it is best.

Somewhere in the Bayou
This was an interesting story, with artwork in various shades of gray, brown, and dull green. However, the illustrations expertly depicted and expanded on the text. The ending will have some readers laughing and others cringing.

Big and Small and In-Between
I loved the paintings, the folded papers introducing each section, and the jumble of items on each of the end papers. The illustrations enhanced the lyrical text and helped to visualize the concepts. This book would be a good jumping-off place for young listeners to decide on their own big, small, and in-between things.

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
Aren't you forgetting an AWESOME book that came out in 2022? You know the one, where your Arabic name came from. [What it was doing on March 2010's list, I don't know.]"

Thank you! I certainly don't want to forget One Wish: Fatima Al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University
This has been on my to-read list for ages and I'm glad a friend here on GoodReads reminded me to read it. Fatima's story is SO inspiring and it is fascinating to read about how she founded the first university. It was lovely how her faith was intertwined with her persistence and hard work and refreshing how the university was open to everyone when it opened in 859 CE. I read this with my children and they were impressed, too. The story is beautifully told, the illustrations are a fine complement and the back matter is rich and extensive and includes an author's note, glossary, timeline, bibliography and further information about the University of Al-Qarawiyyin and I think it's especially impactful knowing that the oldest university is still in operation and inspired the formation of so many other well-known universities.

PS For the Master Lists, we keep those threads open indefinitely so that people can continue to add great books as new books are published fitting the theme :-)

Beverly wrote: "Emile and the Field
This is a lovely book with a lyrical text and watercolor and ink paintings, and with some gorgeous double-page spreads. Emile falls in love with nature in the fi..."

That looks especially lovely! Thanks for the posts.

Cheryl wrote: "Viento, Vientito/Wind, Little Wind - a new trilingual book that your library should own... if they don't, consider asking them to buy it."

Wow! That sounds impressive. I will see if they have it or will add it.

Kathryn wrote: "Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
Aren't you forgetting an AWESOME book that came out in 2022? You know the one, where your Arabic name came from. [What it was doing on March 2010's list, I don't know.]"

Th..."

I think it is also important to realise that in the Middle Ages, unlike in Europe, in the Muslim areas, women were encouraged to become educated and often had the same educational opportunities as men had. We often consider the attitude of the Taliban etc. towards women as Mediaeval, but if they actually had the attitude of Mediaeval Islam towards women today, there would be much less chaos and women would be allowed education and a lot more intellectual freedom.

Beverly wrote: "...Somewhere in the Bayou
This was an interesting story, with artwork in various shades of gray, brown, and dull green. However, the illustrations expertly depicted and expanded on the text. The ending will have some reader laughing and others cringing."

It's by the Pumphreys, so it's an auto-read for me. Even though it looks very different.

I found Farmhouse downstairs in my mom's TB wrapped pile. It's lovely! The story about the 12 children is charming and sweet but the real star is the illustrations. I'll have to sit down and look at it in more detail at some point. It was fun looking at all the old things in the house and all the small details. The author's note made me heartsick for the house but I'm glad she saved as much as she could. This would have been a good one for my brother's kids when they were younger. They love Sophie's illustrations and their grandparents lived in an 18th-century farmhouse.

QNPoohBear wrote: "I found Farmhouse downstairs in my mom's TB wrapped pile. It's lovely! The story about the 12 children is charming and sweet but the real star is the i..."

I'm so glad you got a chance to read this! It is so poignant and beautiful. I totally teared up at the end.

A few more new Christmas titles:

Miss Mary's Christmas Mittens
This is a sweet story focusing on the selfless, giving aspect of Christmas and the joy in doing for others. I absolutely applaud that. However, the delivery left me a bit underwhelmed. It's doesn't go quite far enough to be just silly-good-fun and who-cares-if-its-realistic but is also just ridiculous enough that it doesn't feel totally realistic. It is strange that not a single (apparently comfortably middle class) student in Miss Mary's class doesn't have a pair of mittens. It seems quite of another era that, when the local craft store has no yarn, Miss Mary doesn't have any other options for getting yarn (apparently, this town must be quite removed from all other civilization such that one couldn't drive to another store and I guess no one does online ordering?) and then more incredible still that she unravels every knit item in her home to make her own balls of yarn from which to knit the kiddos mittens and scurries about on Christmas morning dropping them off on the kids’ doorsteps. I sound like Scrooge here and I don't mean to -- it is clearly meant to be a fun story about ingenuity and giving even when it means self-sacrifice but, as other reviewers have noted, it almost feels like it went too far (ala The Giving Tree) and just wasn't as good as I expected but maybe I had my hopes too high after Trinka Hakes Noble’s wonderful Apple Tree Christmas.

Mary Engelbreit's The Littlest Night Before Christmas I'm a Mary Engelbreit fan and I love miniature worlds, so I was destined to enjoy her version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas which features a mouse family's Christmas Eve. All the little details are there, from baby sleeping in a walnut shell crib to chairs made from pencil nubs and a "Frosty Cola" bottle cap for wall art. Loved it! I had a bit of a struggle with the raccoon as St. Nick -- he's cute and all, and I'm not sure I can think of another woodland animal better suited for the role, but the bandit mask and fluffy ringed tail with the Santa suit just didn't quite work for me, somehow. Still, it's super cute and I absolutely recommend it to ME fans or anyone looking for a fun twist on the original poem. It follows the traditional text with the exception of cardinals pulling the "sleigh" (ice skate -- cute!) and replacing that now-troublesome stump of a pipe with a candy cane. My kids thought it was cute, even though they are beyond the target audience, so I’m grateful any time they smile over Christmas picture books at their ages.

The Christmas Book FloodI expected this to be insta-love for me (books! Christmas! giving books at Christmas!) but I actually wasn't convinced I loved it the first time I read it. Yet, I kept thinking about it... I went back to it, and I ended up really adoring it. The Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod (giving gifts to loved ones on Christmas Eve and staying up to read them) is, of course, just wonderful and it is nice to see that tradition spotlighted in a picture book. I do understand what some reviewers are saying about the text being a bit too poetical and slightly disjointed. For me, it resonated. I felt the magic of the book-giving at Christmas, the anticipation, the thrill of finding the perfect book for someone you care about, the warmth and togetherness and sense of shared adventure when you all sit around on Christmas Eve and read the books together. happy sigh But, I can see where it might not be concrete enough for some kids, especially the younger picture book crowd. So, maybe a bit of a miss there. My kids listened to it but weren't super enthusiastic. As for the illustrations, again, I wasn't sure at first what I felt about them -- they are decidedly not the usual bright red-and-green Christmas picture book illustrations we are used to here in the USA. But, again, I came to really appreciate the way it conveys a sense of place -- the darkness of Iceland in December and the warmth and light that books bring to people, first that glow of excitement in venturing out to find the perfect book to give, and then the very great pleasure of being cozy warm in your home while being whisked away on adventures in the pages of your books. The collage art was perfect here as it includes book pages and book covers and really conveys much the books are part of the Christmastime culture in Iceland. Author's Note is good and provides some history about the Jolabokaflod. I do think many adult book lovers will share my love of this book (probably most of you would at least enjoy reading it even if you are not as enthusiastic as I am) but I do suggest previewing it before giving it to the children in your life to see if you feel it will resonate for your particular little ones or miss the mark.

Little Houses is new by Kevin Henkes. It's a quiet tale about a girl visiting her grandparents' beach home and thinking about all she's learning and all there is yet to learn. Most of it is quite lovely, but the bit about ghosts jars. Maybe I'd have been ok if he'd used the word spirits instead, though, so I won't knock too much off.

I gave Anansi and the Golden Pot four stars:

Fun story, vibrant art, bonus star for being OwnVoices from Ghana and Nigeria. If you use it with your children it might be satisfying to think about 'what next' though... because if there really were a golden pot, could they not feed the whole village, or even state?

Includes back matter.

Cheryl wrote: "I gave Anansi and the Golden Pot four stars:

Fun story, vibrant art, bonus star for being OwnVoices from Ghana and Nigeria. If you use it with your children it might be satisfying ..."

Oh, yay! I've enjoyed Anansi stories in the past and this sounds like a re-imagining so I imagine I'll like it. Off to see if the library has it!

I believe Mommy's Hometown would also qualify for AAPI OwnVoices Korea. I gave it four stars:

Lovely and universal, and relevant to all ages. What makes a home? Can you find something to cherish when your memory doesn't match the new reality? The story addresses these and related questions elegantly and concisely.

It also has nothing to say about poverty, refugees, assimilation... which is a good thing. We have lots of wonderful picture-books about the challenges of 'the immigrant experience' but not enough that focus on simple & joyful experiences.

A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time

Enjoyable, with beautiful artwork but textually I am a bit disappointed and find a number of holes and shortcomings that really bother me as an adult and mildly irritate my inner child.

(view spoiler)[So yes, Charlotte Jones Voiklis (who along with Léna Roy is also the author of Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of a Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters) and Jennifer Adams open A Book, Too, Can be a Star, they start their October 2022 picture book biography of author Madeleine L’Engle (from L'Engle's birth in 2018 to when her Newbery Award wining middle grade novel A Wrinkle in Time is published in 1962) with Madeleine L'Engle's earliest recalled childhood memory of being awakened by her parents (her author father and pianist mother) and carried outside to be shown the magnificent night sky, and with L'Engle realising (even at that very young age, even as a toddler) that there was more to her world than just the daytime (and for her ordinary scenarios).

But while with A Book, Too, Can be a Star Charlotte Voiklis and Jennifer Adams generally manage to present a decently and sufficiently informative, child-friendly and by necessity also basic introduction to Madeleine L'Engle's life until A Wrinkle in Time, sorry, but personally speaking, I do think that A Book, Too, Can be a Star is rather too overtly and deliberately idealistic and as such also too one-sidedly positive in tone (and for both my adult self and equally so for my inner child).

Because indeed, I really do wish that the authors, that Charlotte Voiklis and Jennifer Adams would be a bit more textually expansive in A Book, Too, Can be a Star regarding how seriously lonely (as an only child often rather ignored by her rather socialite and used to being out and about visiting parents) and how unhappy Madeleine L'Engle's childhood often was, that the few sentences in A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time regarding L'Engle's traumatic experiences at school are in my opinion neither textually sufficient enough nor do they attempt to show how Madeleine L'Engle's childhood loneliness and sadness at being bullied by both her fellow students and her teachers at school also in many ways be seen as the impetus for Madeleine L'Engle becoming both an avid reader and very much a writer, and yes, that I also do find it rather strange that while the timeline provided in A Book, Too, Can be a Star show Hugh Camp's (Madeleine L'Engle's father's) death and the many struggles Madeline L'Engle kept facing trying to get A Wrinkle in Time published, the main textual body of A Book, Too, Can be a Star kind of rather (in my opinion) has Voiklis and Adams rather glossing over almost anything traumatic and leaves with A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time a biography of Madeleine L'Engle that for me is and even for a picture book much too saccharine and too on the surface for me to enjoy and to also recommend with no reservations (albeit that the presented text of A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time does feature an adequate enough introduction to Madeleine L'Engle and that the list of Madeleine L'Engle's books, as well as the basic bibliography that Charlotte Voiklis and Jennifer Adams are providing in A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time are appreciated and certainly make for a pretty good starting point for more study and for more research on Madeleine L'Engle's life and career as a writer).

But if I am to be perfectly and also emotionally honest, it is really mostly if not even only Adelina Linius' accompanying artwork for A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, it is the illustrator's simply gorgeous and almost translucent gouache pictures (which incorporate and mirror young Madeleine L'Engle's fantasies about castles, dragons and always of course the stars and in fact visually in my opinion present and show much more detail regarding L'Engle, regarding her life and how she thought and what she thought than does Charlotte Voiklis and Jennifer Adams' printed words) that is making consider a solid three star rating for A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time (and as such also a decent picture book), because if I were to consider the text itself and solely this, A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time would be only be two stars.

And also as an edited to add, even though I do not have huge issues with there being no mentions at all regarding Madeleine L'Engle's faith in A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, I can certainly understand why for some readers and some reviewers this omission might be a bit problematic (and that if Charlotte Voiklis and Jennifer Adams feel uncomfortable addressing questions of religion within the text proper, they should probably at least be mentioning Madeleine L'Engle's faith in the back matter of A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time, and especially so since religion, faith and basic Christianity do appear as major themes in L'Engle's oeuvre, including A Wrinkle in Time). (hide spoiler)]

Cheryl wrote: "We have lots of wonderful picture-books about the challenges of 'the immigrant experience' but not enough that focus on simple & joyful experiences."

Great point! I will definitely look for "Mommy's Hometown"

Manybooks wrote: "A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time

Enjoyable, with beautiful artwork but textually I am a bit disappointed and find a nu..."

That does sound rather disappointing, aside from the artwork.

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "A Book, Too, Can Be a Star: The Story of Madeleine L'Engle and the Making of a Wrinkle in Time

Enjoyable, with beautiful artwork but textually I am a bit disappoi..."

The book is not a bad introduction for young children, but I wanted a bit more.

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. I'll be on a hiatus until after Christmas, but feel welcome to continue posting reviews if you are more actively reading than I am right now. My attention is turned to Christmas preparation and family time -- we made our last library run last week and very little had come in. I think everything is moving more slowly these days, including the library holds. I hope to have a few more books to review before the month is over, though. Merry Christmas to all those celebrating this weekend!

Through the North Pole Snow A lovely new addition to the Christmas picture book market as it’s a slightly different twist to the typical Santa’s workshop story. I particularly like this for its quiet charm -- just a kindly old man working away at his cabin in the woods with his new fox friend at his side. Some children may wonder about the missing elements (No North Pole factories or legions of elves here—and why do the reindeer fly to Santa on Christmas Eve instead of living there year ‘round?) and very little “magic” at all (though page with the letters just made my heart sing) but it worked for me. The little fox is adorable and the mixed-media illustrations are gentle and warm. Sensitive young animal lovers may worry about the little fox being cold and hungry in the snow at the beginning, but the hard times are brief and he ends up perfectly happy staying with Santa.

Countdown to Christmas
This is cute. The retro style illustrations are fun and I appreciate the update with diversity in the families portrayed. We see a variety of people in a variety of settings, from your classic farmhouse Christmas with grandma and grandpa to a tropical Christmas, a city apartment, a rustic lodge, sledding, ice skating, caroling – most of all, the feeling of festive fun and joy at being with those you love. Each page has a “can you find” element – 10 blue ornaments, 9 beautiful bows, 8 candy canes and so on.

Strum and Drum: A Merry Little Quest I found this delightful! It is so imaginative and took me right back to my childhood when our own ornaments went on adventures such as this (though, fortunately (view spoiler)[our felines were not a source of peril (hide spoiler)]). The illustrations, alas, are not quite to my personal taste (albeit I absolutely appreciate the talent and the change in style which helps tell the story) but that only detracted slightly from my overall enjoyment of the marvelous tale of adventure and wonder, bravery and magic. Strum and Drum’s plucky determination and unphased joy are so refreshing. I will caution, however, that despite the cover’s claim of this being “a merry little quest” (and, yes, primarily it is) there are two instances of menace which I think will frighten some young children so be sure to preview if you have a sensitive little one so they get only visions of sugarplums instead of nightmares before Christmas. I would say if your child is afraid of “The Nutcracker” or the sort of Halloween books with big eyes peering out of the darkness, skip it.