Tag: holidays

St. Patrick’s Day Picture Books
Children's Book Recommendations

St. Patrick’s Day Picture Books

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

St. Patrick’s Day picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. (These titles can be found on my Amazon Storefront under St. Patrick’s Day Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/2F2OI0W33ZUGF?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Ten leprechauns in various sizes are in the forest with a rainbow coming in

Ten Little Leprechauns 

by Molly Murphy (Author), Howard McWilliam (Illustrator)

Summary:  We start with ten different-sized leprechauns playing in the forest, who then enter a nearby household, wreaking havoc. The countdown continues with more leprechaun shenanigans.

Comments: The story is written in rhyme, making it a fun and engaging read-aloud. The illustrations are vibrant, detailed, and hilarious. I found myself stopping to count all the leprechauns.

For larger groups, I would project the book on a screen or whiteboard so everyone can fully enjoy the artwork. The book’s backward counting from ten adds an extra layer of interactive fun for listeners

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Sam and Tiny dressed as leprechauns. Tiny is a giant dog crouched in clover next to a path.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Tiny! 

by Cari Meister (Author), Rich Davis (Illustrator)

Brief summary:  Sam and Tiny get dressed up as leprechauns for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. They participate in a scavenger hunt, but kindly stop searching for clues to help a girl who has lost her shoe.

Comments: The Tiny series is so cute, with Sam always helping Tiny learn about new things. The books are written for primary grades as primary readers and have a nice sense of humor, with this being no exception.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

This is one of the Tiny series. If you are interested in more from this series, they can be found on their Amazon page.

Book cover of The St. Patrick's Day Alphabet. The background over is green with four leaf shamrocks, snakes, horse shoes, coins, leprechauns playing harps, and one on top of a rainbow.

The St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet

by Liz Saunders (Author), Lindsay Dale-Scott (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In this nonfiction picture book, young readers will discover the origins, customs, and symbols associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

Comments: Leprechauns are hidden throughout the book for readers to find and count.

This book is perfect for teachers to read aloud to explain how and why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The pages also provide additional information about the topic in text boxes.

The illustrations were created using Procreate on an iPad Pro.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Watercolor cover of Eily looking for her father in the fog

The Fog Catcher’s Daughter 

by Marianne McShane (Author), Alan Marks (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Eily and her father live on the coast of Ireland across from the isle of fairies, Lisnashee. Her father is the Fog Catcher and must row to the island and collect the magical fog on it every Midsummer. Eily helps prepare to keep her family safe from the Good People. Her father rows out to the island. Eily is worried as she has found his protection charm in a tree.

Comments: Young readers will be enchanted by Eily’s adventure to find her father and keep him safe. Beautifully illustrated with dreamy watercolors.

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 4.5 /5 📗📗📗📗1/2

St. Patrick's Day cover with the saint and other Irish symbols to celebrate the special day

Leprechaun vs. Easter Bunny

by Todd Tarpley  (Author), Stephanie Laberis (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A leprechaun and the Easter Bunny battle over the space in a garden. The leprechaun wants to hide his pot of gold for St. Patrick’s Day, and the Easter bunny wants to grow tulips to hide colored eggs. Cupid comes along and wants to make plans for next year’s Valentine’s Day, moving all of their things out of the way.

Comments: This is the first of the Festive Feuds series. It is written in rhyme. Definitely a hilarious read-aloud.

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

St. Patrick on the cover with a large cross around his neck, bible, and shamrocks scattered on one side of the cover.

Saint Patrick the Forgiver: The History and Legends of Ireland’s Bishop 

by Ned Bustard  (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about Saint Patrick’s life as a child, being kidnapped to become a slave in Ireland, and his escape back home. Saint Patrick continues to explain how he forgave the Irish people and decided to preach Christianity there.

Comments: If you’re looking for a more religious take on Saint Patrick, this book is perfect. Told in rhyme from the saint’s own viewpoint, it begins with Patrick introducing himself: “Hello, my name is Patrick. You may have heard my story. I walked the span of Ireland to tell of God’s great glory.”

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Book cover to St. Patrick's Day with the saint himself, shamrocks, a leprechaun, all inside of a yellow circle

St. Patrick’s Day

by Gail Gibbons (Author & Illustrator)

Brief summary: This nonfiction picture book describes the customs celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day. Readers will also learn about St. Patrick’s life and some of his legends.

Comments: The illustrations include labels and captions identifying St. Patrick’s Day symbols. A lot of green is used to capture the holiday’s spirit. The author used black ink and watercolor to illustrate this book.

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Gail Gibbons has an impressive collection of nonfiction picture books that she both wrote and illustrated. Her books can be found on her Amazon page.

Tim and Maureen looking out the window that has a flower basket of shamrocks with leprechauns all over the house that has a tree next to it and a flag that has a rainbow with a pot of gold

The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day 

by Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)

Brief summary:  Tim and Maureen, siblings, set up leprechaun traps all over the house the day before St. Patrick’s Day while decorating the house in green with shamrocks, streamers, and rainbows. The next day, they wake to find the house in a mess, but they caught a leprechaun. Will they be able to get his gold?

Comments: This would make a great read-aloud and a lead-in for students to make leprechaun traps in art class or the classroom.

Books in this series are for primary readers, offering humorous stories and teaching about various holidays and events.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

This is one of the The Night Before series. If you are interested in more from this series, they can be found on their Amazon page.

A small leprechaun with a green hat, green suit, four leaf clover in its hand, a pot of gold, mushroom ring on the cover

The Littlest Leprechaun 

by Brandi Dougherty (Author), Michelle Todd (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Liam is the littlest leprechaun in the Enchanted Forest, but he’s eager to help his family. His parents send him to help his siblings, then to help his uncle carry gold–but each time, he’s too small for the task. While wandering in the forest, he discovers a group of leprechauns trying to help a little unicorn. In the end, Liam realizes that being little doesn’t mean he can’t make a difference–his small size can be a strength after all.

Comments: This is a sweet story for toddlers to kindergartners who may be in the same situation as Liam, being the smallest in the family.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

This is from the Little series. For more details about the series or to buy, please see its Amazon page.

Old Pat playing his harp while leaning on a tree by the fire with a leprechaun listening nearby

The Leprechaun’s Gold

by Pamela Duncan Edwards (Author), Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Old Pat, a harpist, and Young Tom, also a harpist, travel together to attend a harp contest. Young Tom proves to be a cheat and leaves. During the night, they hear cries of help. Old Pat goes in search of a leprechaun in need of assistance. The leprechaun helps Old Pat in return for his help.

Comments: There are many two-page spreads in this book with rich colors, and several pages feature illustrations in black frames with decorated borders.

This will make a fun read-aloud for older elementary students. There are themes of kindness, generosity, and sharing.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Jamie dressed in oversized boots, hat, a green sash and playing a flute while his dog runs beside him

St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning 

by Eve Bunting (Author), Jan Brett (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Jamie, the youngest of three Irish brothers, is told he is too young to walk in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. He gets up early and takes his dog, Nell, to prove he can walk up Acorn Hill, where he places the Irish flag at the top, proving to himself he can do it.

Comments: This is an oldie but a goody. This picture book is illustrated by Jan Brett in black ink with green and yellow watercolors. This book’s themes are perseverance, independence, and proving your belief in yourself. Great for primary and intermediate grades.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

ieContinue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Three whimsical leprechauns dressed the same in green jackets, yellow plaid pants, red shoes are messing about on the rocks and field with a black and white cow in the background field

That’s What Leprechauns Do

by Eve Bunting (Author), Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Three mischievous leprechauns–Art, Boo, and Col–spot an approaching storm and must hurry to dig up a buried pot of gold before the rainbow appears. Along the way, they play pranks and get into all sorts of silly antics, showing the playful and rascally side that leprechauns are famous for.

Comments: The illustrations are beautiful watercolors and perfectly complement the story.

Eve Bunting and Emily Arnold McCully have won several book awards. Their collaboration with this story makes a great read-aloud for intermediate students.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Lunar New Year
Children's Book Recommendations

Lunar New Year

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Lunar New Year children’s book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. All titles can be found on my Amazon Storefront under Lunar New Year– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/2K33C9R4LWHM1?ref_=aipsflist )

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Ping is dressed in red holding a tangerine tree in the pot she made. Paper lanterns are above her.

Ping’s Perfect Pot 

by Helen H. Wu (Author), Zihua Yang (Illustrator)

Summary: Ping and her grandpa are getting ready for the Lunar New Year. They buy a tangerine tree from the market. While Grandpa cleans the house, hangs decorations, and prepares food, Ping tries to make several different pots for the tree. He encourages Ping to keep creating, even when she faces challenges and fails several times.

Comments: The back sections are “Lunar New Year Traditions” and ” Author’s Note.”

I believe this book effectively teaches how to prepare for the Lunar New Year and highlights the importance of perseverance through repeated failures until one achieves a goal.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Sunny in her qipao covered in glitter with a fan

Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story 

by Sylvia Chen (Author), Thai My Phuong (Illustrator)

Summary: Sunny is the youngest of the Lao family and is always getting hand-me-downs from her two older sisters. During this Lunar New Year celebration, she really wants to stand out with a unique qípáo, but her family has four golden rules: make what you can yourself, get good deals, share extras with others, and never waste anything. So, Sunny knows buying a new outfit is out of the question. What will she do?

Comments: This is a lovely story of a young girl accomplishing her goal not just by herself, but by managing to make all of their outfits unique.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Meng and her father sitting at a table of Chinese Lunar Year celebratory foods. They are holding chopsticks. There are decorations hung behind them.

Why We Eat Fried Peanuts: A Celebration of Family and Lunar New Year Traditions 

by Zed Zha (Author), Sian James (Illustrator)

Summary: Mèng learns about her tài nai nai, her great-grandmother, through her father’s storytelling. He shares the Chinese traditions he learned from his grandmother and explains how his great uncle became part of the family.

Comments: Throughout the story, Mandarin words are woven in, each accompanied by informative boxes that explains their pronunciation and meaning.

The back sections include more information about Chinese history, culture, and how to make friend peanuts.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Animals from the zodiac are preparing food for the Lunar New Year celebration

Monkey’s Sweet Surprise: A Lunar New Year Mix-Up (Tales from the Zodiac Kitchen) 

by Patricia Tanumihardja (Author), Bonnie Lui (Illustrator)

Summary: Last year, Monkey messed up the Lunar New Year celebration and vowed to make it up this year by making pineapple tarts for the Jade Empress. However, he was unable to do so because he was busy helping three of his friends collect the missing ingredients for their dishes.

Comments: The back sections include a wheel of the twelve animals with their corresponding dates and a recipe for pineapple tarts.

This is a cute story to pair with a nonfiction book about the Lunar New Year.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Two grandchildren in pajamas are siting on the floor with the grandmother as she tells them about Tet.

Legendary Cakes: A Story of Tết, the Vietnamese New Year 

by Kerisa Greene (Author)

Summary: Two grandchildren get to spend Tết Eve with their Bà, where they learn how to fold and make bánh chưng, a traditional New Year food. Their grandmother tells them the story of the Hùng emperor and the contest to find the most delicious dish for the New Year holiday.

Comments: The illustrations were created from scanned textures of objects such as rice paper wrappers, banana leaves, and a woven hat. Some patterns were hand-carved on wood blocks. These were digitally rendered.

The back pages include a glossary, a bánh chưng recipe with illustrations of how to fold the banana leaves, about Tết, and an author’s note.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Jia, in a red traditional attired, is standing next to a yellow Chinese New Year's dragon

The Chinese New Year Helper 

by Ying Chang Compestine (Author), Ginnie Hsu (Illustrator)

Summary: Jia lives in Chinatown, where her family is preparing for the Chinese New Year in their large restaurant. Whenever she tries to lend a hand, people tell her she is too young to help. However, during the celebration, Jia discovers a way to make a meaningful contribution.

Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache and then Photoshop.

There is an author’s note at the back that provides more information about Chinese New Year.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Two girls wearing hanboks outside with flowers and birds in the sky

Let’s Celebrate Korean New Year! 

by Michelle W. Park (Author), Hyewon Yum (Illustrator)

Summary: Two sisters wake up on Seollal, the Korean New Year, and dress in traditional Korean clothing, excited to celebrate. As they walk past a table filled with festive food, they head to the kitchen to make mandoo, a type of dumpling. Throughout the day, the girls enjoy holiday dishes, play games, and entertain their family.

Comments: The illustrations were created with colored pencil. The back sections include a glossary, an activity, and a Lunar New Year recipe.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Sahee with her arms around a wish soup smelling it with her eyes closed. Her younger sister and brother are in the background

Wish Soup: A Celebration of Seollal 

by Junghwa Park 

Summary: Sahee, a young girl, wants to be an eonni, a big girl, on Seollal, the Korean Lunar New Year. She begins to eat her Tteokguk soup to become one year older, but keeps getting interrupted.

Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor, colored pencils, and oil pastels, and then finished digitally.

There is a recipe for Tteokguk soup in the back.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A bowl of noodles, paper lantern, and a green drink

Throw a Lunar New Year Party (Party Time!) 

by Christina Leaf 

Summary: This nonfiction book features illustrations and photos with each activity. There are photos of the end product, a list of materials needed, and step-by-step instructions.

Comments: An adult may need help with the recipes. I like how there is an explanation for each decoration or recipe and how it is related to the holiday.

There are six activities. There is a glossary and additional learning sections in the back.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Children playing with the New Year's dragon, lighting fireworks, and banging sticks.

Lunar New Year (Celebrations & Festivals) 

by Natasha Yim (Author), Jingting Wang (Illustrator)

Summary:  In this nonfiction picture book, Ling, her sister Mei, and grandmother, Po Po, share how they prepare and celebrate a 15-day holiday, the Lunar New Year. They clean the house, honor the Kitchen God, gather flowers, decorate, and cook food to celebrate with the family.

Comments: The first half of this book tells about Ling’s preparations and celebrations for Lunar New Year, while the second half is full of facts, with several nonfiction text features, such as photos, labeling, recipes, riddles, and a quiz.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Two children holding poles to hold up a Lunar New Year orange dragon with big whiskers

Lunar New Year: A Celebration of Family and Fun (Big Golden Book) 

by Mary Man-Kong (Author), Michelle Jing Chan (Illustrator)

Summary: This narrative nonfiction book is about a family, including grandparents, celebrating the Lunar New Year. Celebrations last for fifteen days, and more than 1.5 billion celebrate. We learn how one family dresses, gives gifts, decorates their home, and eats certain foods.

Comments: This is a great introduction to the Lunar New Year. There are a few nonfiction text features, such as a wheel of the zodiac animals and a map of the different countries in Asia that celebrate

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Jin and his Grandmother, aunts, and uncles in the background while he fries in a big wok

Boys Don’t Fry 

by Kimberly Lee (Author), Charlene Chua (Illustrator)

Summary: Jin comes home to a family all helping to prepare the dishes to celebrate the Lunar New Year. His Mamah allows him to help in the kitchen.

Comments: There is an Author’s Note and recipe for Peranakan Pongtech Chicken.

The illustrations showed all of the various foods. I liked the pasted endpapers with the labeled foods.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A mother and father with two children celebrating Rosh Hashanah and Lunar New Year

Two New Years 

by Richard Ho (Author), Lynn Scurfield (Illustrator)

Summary: A mother teaches her family about the traditions of her new year, Rosh Hashanah in the fall, and the father teaches his family about the tradition of his new year, Lunar New Year in the spring.

Comments: The book is not divided by what is different in each year, but by what they have in common. This may be a bit confusing for children if they want to know how they are different.

I appreciated the back section, which provided more explanations of each culture for better understanding.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

A young women reciting from a book Poetry Picture Book Recommendations for Children
Children's Book Recommendations

Poetry Picture Book Recommendations for Children

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Poetry picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. (These title can be found on my Amazon Storefront under Poetry Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/23O9S8DDXLNC2?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Squirrels eating acorns in a tree

Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More 

by Bette Westera (Author), Henriette Boerendans (Illustrator), David Colmer (Translator)

Brief summary: This collection organizes the calendar year journey beginning in spring and concludes in winter, with each season introduced by a haiku. Every month within that season is then paired with a unique poetic form for a total of 16 distinct styles.

Comments: The woodcut illustrations are stunning; two-page spreads are used to capture the essence of each month.

The back section is About the Verse Forms where each poem is listed along with a full explanation of the poetic form.

The forms discussed are:

  • Haiku 
  • Rondel
  • Acrostic
  • Double dactyl
  • Pantoum
  • Elevenie
  • Tanka
  • Quatrain
  • Diamante
  • Rondelet
  • Limerick
  • Stacking Poem
  • Sonnet

This collection is a superb resource for teaching poetry units. I highly recommend adding this to any school or classroom library.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

A black bird is looking out of its next made of grass and other natural materials. Cover of Home

Home

by Isabelle Simler (Author), Vineet Lal (Translator)

Brief summary: This poetry collection features 27 animals from around the world, showcasing the unique and amazing homes they create. Each animal is beautifully illustrated with great detail, and young readers will learn about camouflage, habitat, life cycles, and interesting animal facts.

Comments:  The back sections include More About These Amazing Animals, Glossary, and Recommended Resources(Books, Websites, and Videos).

This lyrical text appears to be flawlessly translated from French(2022) to English(2024).

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*Home was sent to me as a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A young boy is hiking with backpacks on in South Sister where there are pine trees, mountains, and a lake.

Climbing the Volcano: A Journey in Haiku 

by Curtis Manley (Author), Jennifer K. Mann (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A family hikes up South Sister, an Oregon volcano, and the young boy shares his observations in haiku, including the terrain, animals, and insects encountered.

Comments: The back sections of the book include “More About Climbing a Mountain,” which provides information on the volcano, necessary equipment, poetry, and living organisms, and “Further Information,” which lists books and websites.

The illustrations are created with a mix of collograph and monotype printmaking, pencil drawing, digital collage, and paint.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A yellow dog is sitting with a puppy, turtle, cat, and rabbit in front of it with a parrot sitting on a perch behind. Cover of Bless Our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends

Bless Our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends 

by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Editor), Lita Judge (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Bless Our Pets is an anthology of poetry featuring fourteen different animal companion owners expressing gratitude towards their beloved pets. Written by:
• Ann Whitford Paul
• Rebecca Kai Dotlich 
• Linda Trott Dickman
• Eric Ode
• Ralph Fletcher
• Sarah Grace Tuttle
• Kristine O’Connell George
• Darren Sardelli
• B.J. Lee
• Charles Ghigna
• Lois Lowry
• Prince Redcloud
• Joan Bransfield Graham
• Lee Bennett Hopkins

Comments:  The book features a variety of poetry forms. The illustrations are created with watercolors and colored pencils that beautifully capture facial expressions.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*Bless Our Pets was sent to me as a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cover for poetry book This is a Tiny Fragile Snae with a small black snake with a yellow line down its back slithering on the ground with a pair of blue and a pair of red tennis shoes in the frame to mean there are people stopping and watching it go past.

This Is a Tiny Fragile Snake 

by Nicholas Ruddock (Author), Ashley Barron (Illustrator)

Brief summary: This poetry collection features informative poems about various animals and insects, highlighting their unique characteristics.

Comments: The illustrations are created using cut-paper collages, acrylics, and pencil crayons with some digital finishing.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The cover of You Stole My Name Too with a tiger and tiger lily face one another.

You Stole My Name Too: A Curious Case of Animals and Plants with Shared Names

by Dennis McGregor (Author), Blue Star Press (Producer)

Brief summary: This is a collection of humorous poems featuring animals and plants with the same names. Sometimes the reasons for the naming are evident, and sometimes not.

Comments: This is the second collection of poetry in the  “You Stole My Name Series.”

The four-line poem is on the left side of the two-page spread, with the animal and plant illustration on the right.

This is an oversized book that really shows the details in his Gouache paintings. Prints of the illustrations are sold on his website.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young Virginia Hamilton lying in the grass with books around her and lilacs. Books's cover

Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton 

by Nina Crews (Author)

Brief summary: This collection of lyrical poetry shares Virginia Hamilton’s childhood, family, and writing inspirations.

Comments: The back sections include the Author’s Note, Timeline, Book List, Bibliography, and a few photos.

The illustrations were created digitally using Adobe Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young girl with an umbrella is walking against the wind with a tree in the background.

Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them 

by Melanie Crowder (Author), MEGAN BENEDICT (Author), Khoa Le (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Learn about fourteen winds of the world through a lyrical poem and then in nonfiction text.

Comments: This nonfiction poetry and weather book briefly explains specific winds worldwide. I had no idea that some of these existed until now.

The back sections further explain the science of these winds with What Makes the Wind?, How Are Winds Named? Local Poetic Traditions, a global map, Glossary, and For Further Reading.

The illustrations were created digitally.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Fast Cheetah, Slow Tortoise: Poems of Animal Opposites 

by Bette Westera (Author), Mies van Hout (Illustrator), David Colmer (Translator)

Brief summary: This poetry book cleverly presents animal opposites in each animal’s voice. Every two-page spread features two animals opposite from one another in descriptive and humorous free verse.

Comments: The illustrations were created using acrylic ink, oil pastels, and collage. There are a total of thirty-two animals featured in the book.

This poetry book would complement poetry or opposite units of study. It can also just be used for a funny read-aloud to make everyone giggle.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover of a poetry picture book titled How to Write a Poem done with a girl riding a unicycle over a bunch of wheels

How to Write a Poem

by Kwame Alexander (Author), Deanna Nikaido (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quill Tree Books. 2023. Grades 3-5. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063060906.

Brief summary: Young readers (and future poetry writers) are encouraged to feel and use their imagination as they observe the world around them. They are inspired to write it down as poetry.

For more details or to buy, click on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Cover of a poetry picture book titled Push-Pull Morning with a child hugging a dog

Push-Pull Morning: Dog-Powered Poems About Matter and Energy 

by Lisa Westberg Peters (Author), Serge Bloch (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wordsong. 2023. Grades 2-4. Hardcover Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1635925272.

Brief summary: A fun introduction to physics in free verse poetry about a child and dog experiencing everyday life.


Comments: Each poem’s physics correlation is explained at the back of the book. This book could be shared in science units when each physics aspect is introduced to give students an idea of seeing it in the world around them.

For more details or to buy, click on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Poetry picture book cover of Where I Live with a child playing in a park in a city with stores and apartment buildings in the background.

Where I Live: Poems About My Home, My Street, and My Town 

by Paul B. Janeczko (Author), Hyewon Yum (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick. 2023. 1-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536200942.

Brief summary: This is a collection of twenty-four poems divided into three sections: home, street, and town. The variety of poets and authors is diverse, with examples of several different types of poems—an excellent poetry addition to any library.

Comments: The illustrator captures the mood and characteristics of each poem.

For more details or to buy, please go to this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Poetry picture book cover of The Dream Train with a girl holding a megaphone riding on a train with the background of bright colors all swirled together

The Dream Train: Poems for Bedtime 

by Sean Taylor (Author), Anuska Allepuz (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536228342.

Brief summary: Thirty poems are divided into three sections: Night Arrives, Shut-Your-Eyes Time, and Dream Wheels Turning. The poems are a variety of different forms and with a variety of settings and characters. 

The illustrations are colorful and completely fill all of the pages. Very well done.

For more details or to buy, click on the book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Poetry picture book cover of Trees with a child sitting on a branch of a tree looking into a lake

Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves 

by Sally M. Walker (Author), Angela Mckay (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick. 2023. Grades 2-5. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536215502.

Brief summary: This is a collection of haikus about a tree’s life cycle and the changes of every season. There are many two-paged illustrations.

The back pages have information about a tree’s life, including wild and urban forests. There is also an author’s note and a glossary.

For more details, click on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Children’s book titles 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. 

Children's Book Recommendations

Holi

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Holi Children’s Book Recommendation is by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(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.)

Happy Holidays Holi cover of bowls full of bright colored powders

Holi (Happy Holidays!) 

by Betsy Rathburn (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about colorful Holi, a Hindu spring holiday that is celebrated on the full moon.

Comments: This nonfiction picture book has large fonts for primary readers to easily read. Bolded words are found in the glossary. Other back sections are Holi Facts, To Learn More, and an Index.

I would pair this nonfiction book with a fictional picture book about Holi for a spring holiday unit.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Children’s book titles 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.