Children’s book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
All reading books are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted. The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, she may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.
S-Z
The Seasons Within Me
by Bianca Pozzi (Author, Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Rise x Penguin Workshop
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover picture book ā : ā 48 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 0593522915
Brief summary: A young girl feels sad and alone as though it is raining on her and realizes no one is noticing. The child tells her mother and is consoled with the hope of feeling better soon. On her way home from school, she meets a dog that matches her rain. The girl cares for the dog, and they become friends, both feeling happier.
Comments: This children’s book is a lovely metaphor for feeling sad.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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Sometimes, a Tiger
by Z.B. Asterplume (Author, Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Feiwel & Friends
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover āpicture book : ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1250823447
Brief summary: Dario wakes to another morning without a good breakfast but uses his imagination to bring a tiger to school. Soon, other students use their imagination to create something exciting and different.
Dario walks home in the rain with his friends, parting ways when it is his home. They return later in the day with food for his family’s pantry.
Comments: This would be an excellent book to share before a school can/food drive.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Spicy Spicy Hot!
by Lenny Wen (Author, Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-3
- Hardcover āpicture book : ā 40 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 0316281026
Brief summary: Lintang ‘s grandma, Nenek, is flying in from Indonesia to meet her for the first time. Nenek teaches her granddaughter how to make sambal, which is too hot for her granddaughter to enjoy. After several different variants, Nenek creates one with mango that is just right.
Comments: Young readers will learn about different peppers and how to make sambal using the recipe in the back of this children’s book.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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A Star Explodes: The Story of Supernova 1054
by James Gladstone (Author), Yaara Eshet (Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Owlkids
- Year: 2023
- Grades: 1-4
- Hardcover nonfiction picture book ā : ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 177147498X
Brief summary: A distant star exploded and was seen by earthlings in 1054. It was called a guest star(later called Supernova 1054). It faded. Over the centuries, astronomers have studied it through the eye of telescopes, realizing it had changed to a nebula, a large cloud of gas and dust. It is now called the Crab Nebula.
Comments: In this children’s book, there are three back sections called What is a Supernova?, Supernova 1054, and The Crab Nebula.
I thought this would make a great beginning understanding of supernovas and how they change over time.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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The Stars (Aldana Libros)
by Jacques Goldstyn (Author), Helen Mixter (Translator)
- Publisher ā : ā Greystone Kids
- Year: 2023
- Grades: 2-5
- Hardcover ā graphic novel: āĀ 72 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1771649194
Brief summary: Yakov(Orthodox Jewish) meets a girl, Aicha(Muslim), in his neighborhood. Both are passionate about the stars and share their interest when meeting in a park. They watch the stars together one night when her hijab slips down, revealing her beautiful hair.
Her father sees this and bans them from seeing one another. The two parents argue about their children not seeing each other ever again. Many years later, the boy and girl encounter one another at an international astronomy conference. Will they talk to one another?
Comments: A Romeo and Juliet type of story. The illustrations are vignettes, comic frames, and regular text styles.
Some libraries have this in the picture book area, while others have it in the graphic novel section.
This is an English translation.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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Stuck in the Middle: A Story About Separation (Difficult Conversations)
by Tom Tinn-Disbury (Author, Illustator)
- Publisher ā : ā DK Children
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-3
- Hardcover picture book ā : ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 0744080282
Brief summary: Tilly lives in a beautiful area and enjoys playing in it, except that her Mommy lives on one Mountain and her Daddy lives on another. Each week, she must climb down one mountain with one of her parents and up another to be with the other parent. It was leaving her very tired, and she wanted to use the bridge in the middle that connects the two mountains but was told that the bridge was too dangerous with fog or too wobbly.
Tilly decides one night to go and fix the bridge. The parents come together and learn how to repair that bridge to make crossing easier for their daughter.
Comments: There is a Guide for Grown-Ups page in the back of the book. This is Tom Tin-Disbury’s second children’s book of the Difficult Conversations series.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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Lost in the Clouds: A gentle story to help children understand death and grief (Difficult Conversations) is the first book of the series.
Sunny and Oswaldo
by Nicole Melleby (Author), Alexandra Colombo (Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Algonquin Young Readers (February 7, 2023)
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover picture book ā : ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 164375095X
Summary: Sunny does not like cats, especially the one her father brought home called Oswaldo. She tried to play with it and pet the cat, but they did not get along. She was glad that Oswaldo would leave for the day but always returned in the evening. The cat adored her father. The cat did not return one day, making her father very sad. Sunny tells her father that the cat is mean, and her father explains the cat’s history, helping the young girl understand the cat’s emotions and actions. The cat returns, and a new perspective allows Sunny to care for the cat too.
Comments: A story of understanding and empathy towards another. Social and emotional learning.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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The Swing
by Britta Teckentrup (Author, Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Prestel Junior
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-3
- Hardcover ā : ā 160 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 3791375369
Brief summary: A swing sits by the sea and is shared by many people. Seasons come and go. The narrator shares the many reasons people visit the swing: to make big decisions, to just play, for reflection, and so on. These people grow older, and sometimes, some new people discover the swing. The swing was deserted for a while, and vegetation covered it until a group came and repainted and cut away the weeds so that others could enjoy it again.
Comments: Beautiful illustrations that calmly examine the passing of time. Some things change; some do not.
Rating: 5/5 ššššš
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This Art Is for the Birds
by Susan Bednarski (Author, Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Kind World Publishing
- Year: 2023
- Grades: Prek-3
- Hardcover picture book ā : ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1638940185
Brief summary: Alex is not like the other birds in the neighborhood. He likes to collect things and combine them to create mobiles and accessories for his pals. He and his friends decide to take his creations to the art museum. Will the establishment accept art from a crow? Will they love and appreciate them as much as his four pigeon friends?
Comments: Whimsical text with puns. Some speech bubbles. Watercolor and ink illustrations.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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The Umbrella
by Beth Ferry (Author), Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Clarion Books
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover picture bookā : ā 48 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 0358447720
Brief summary: The walk to the school bus stop is soaking wet as they wait and does not let up after a day of school or when getting home. A girl and her dog need to walk despite the weather. They come across an antique store with a yellow umbrella for free. They run home with it, unaware that it is falling apart as they go.
It continues to rain and rain. The girl and the dog go on a walk and discover something magical has happened to make the sun come back out.
Comments: The illustrations are what I believe a picture book is all about in telling a story. The grays are the only color seen until the umbrella is bought.
The words rhyme and are ones that a young reader can read and relate to in their world.
The text and illustrations complement one another in portraying this humorous story of sharing and fun in the rain.
Rating: 5/5 ššššš
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Welcome, Rain!
by Sheryl McFarlane (Author), Christine Wei (Illustrator
- Publisher ā : ā Greystone Kids
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover picture books ā : ā 40 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1771646950
Brief summary: A young girl talks to the rain as she walks through the spring, observing how it provides puddles, worms to come out of the ground, and helps the plants grow. Then, it rains a lot, so the little girl says they have enough. Summer comes, and it is hot with little rain. The autumn leaves fall, and the grass is brown. She is glad that it rains again and asks for snow.
Comments: Each season with rain in it(or not so much) is addressed in this children’s book. I’d pair this with seasons or the water cycle units of study.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike
by Dashka Slater (Author), Laura Hughes (Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Candlewick
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover ā picture book: ā 32 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1536215678
Brief summary: Kayla’s dad believes his daughter has outgrown her bike with training wheels(Pink Pony) and is ready to learn how to ride a bigger bike without the extra help(Wild Blue, horse). Kayla gets bucked off Wild Blue several times, and her father encourages her to get back in the saddle.
Comments: The metaphor of her bike as a horse using equine language is clever. Book of encouragement, grit, and perseverance.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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The Yellow Ćo DĆ i
by Hanh Bui (Author), Minnie Phan (Illustrator)
- Publisher ā : ā Feiwel & Friends
- Year: 2023
- Grades: PreK-2
- Hardcover picture bookā : ā 40 pages
- ISBN-10 ā : ā 1250842069
Brief summary: Naliah planned to perform the Fan Dance, the same one her mother learned from her grandmother in Vietnam, on International Day at school, but found that her ao dai was too tight. She went to her mother’s closet to see if any of her mother’s ao dais fit. As she practiced the fan dance, she tore it.
Naliah’s mother presented her with a unique yellow ao dai to wear. The young girl confesses to her mother that she tore the yellow one in the closet and learns about the history of it.
Comments: This children’s book is a lovely story of tradition and remembering our ancestors.
Rating 3/5 ššš
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