Tag: #kidlit

Presents decorated with winter and Christmas themes Christmas and Other Winter Holidays Children’s Book Recommendations
Children's Book Recommendations

Christmas and Other Winter Holidays Children’s Book Recommendations

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Christmas and Other Winter Holiday Children’s Book Recommendations–2023 are 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.)

A brother and sister with large smiles are at a table full of Italian Christmas food with presents and Christmas decorations in the background

Our Italian Christmas Eve 

by Danielle Sedita (Author), Francesco Sedita (Author), Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Danielle and Francesco tell how their family celebrates the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve at their Aunt Babe’s, where there is a house full of relatives and food. The two realize they must make cheesecake to have enough desserts for the feast.

Comments: What an incredible celebratory story with detailed and humorous illustrations

I was getting hungry reading this book, wanting to taste all these yummy Italian foods.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Otto the Christmas ornament is smiling as he hangs from a Christmas tree

Otto The Ornament 

by Troy Cummings (Author)

Brief summary: Christmas ornament, Otto believes he is too shiny and unique to be in the middle of the tree and looks for one where he can be on the top. Will he realize where he perfectly fits in?

Comments: I knew I would like this book when I saw that the C.I.P. is shaped like a Christmas tree.

Troy Cummings visited our school district and did a superb job! His patience with our students and presentations were top-notch.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

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

The pages is one side upside down with one child in New Zealand handing the other who live in New York, a dreidel.

Hanukkah Upside Down 

by Elissa Brent Weissman (Author), Omer Hoffmann (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Noah lives in New York, where it is winter, while his cousin Nora lives in New Zealand, where it is summer. They challenge one another to see who can have the best eight days of Hanukkah.

Comments: Young readers will have Hanukkah vocabulary and learn how people far away from one another can celebrate the same holiday in their own unique traditions.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

The blue pigeon is wearing a Christmas hat with a bell next tot he title of the book.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh! 

by Mo Willems (Author)

Brief summary: As soon as Santa leaves, Pigeon wants to drive the sleigh, trying to persuade us how it would be a great idea.

Comments: This is done in the humorous pigeon series style of trying to get the reader to agree with the pigeon’s idea.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

The snowmen and snow creatures are outside putting up Christmas lights.

Snowmen’s Twelve Nights of Christmas 

by Caralyn Buehner (Author), Mark Buehner (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A dog chases different creatures up a pine tree for twelve nights before Christmas in this Twelve Days Of Christmas Carol parody.

Comments: This cumulative story has bright and happy illustrations that any little one would love to have read to them several times.

This husband and wife duo has other Snowmen-themed books such as Snowmen at Night, Snowmen at Play, and Snowmen at Christmas.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

A girl with her black and white kitten is standing in front of the Christmas tree with her family members in the background all smiling.

The Twelve Hours of Christmas 

by Jenn Bailey (Author), Bea Jackson (Illustrator)

Brief summary: This Twelve Days of Christmas Carol parody is about a large family gathering twelve hours before Christmas.

Comments: This is a lovely picture book of a family with a nana and grandpa, cousins, aunties, and uncles visiting to celebrate the holiday together.

I was looking forward to each hour to see what would happen next.

The illustrations convey the happiness and love of the family. Be sure to spot the hidden kitten throughout the picture book.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Three kings are flying in the air while riding camels as a little girl looks outside her window.

La Noche Before Three Kings Day 

by Sheila Colón-Bagley (Author), Alejandro Mesa (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A family celebrates Three Kings Day by decorating shoeboxes, having a large family meal, and dancing to music. The extended family goes home, and the children go to bed. The little girl peeks out of her window at midnight and sees the three kings with camels fill their boxes left by the door with gifts, candy, and coins.

Comments: This book is sprinkled with Spanish words, so I was thankful for the pronunciation box and glossary. The illustrations are festive and bright. The author does explain in the back of the book how she celebrates Three Kings Day on January 6th.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A little mouse with huge ears is playing a drum while underneath a Christmas tree with a lot of red and green gifts.

A Creature Was Stirring 

by Heather S. Pierczynski (Author), Skylar Hogan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A mouse debunks the T’was the Night Before Christmas poem’s line of “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” by being too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve and full of endless energy.

Comments: This book contains onomatopoeias throughout the mouse’s wide-awake activities. The illustrations are warm and inviting.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Santa Claus is standing on a roof looking at a chimney.

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? 

by Mac Barnett (Author), Jon Klassen (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Hilariously inventive ideas of how Santa Claus goes down the chimney are explored in this picture book.

Comments: Hilariously inventive ideas of how Santa Claus goes down the chimney are explored in this picture book.

Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have come up with another creative book together that children will love reading. They are in sync with how children think.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A Christmas cactus is underneath ornaments hanging from the ceiling. The cover is pink.

The Christmassy Cactus 

by Beth Ferry (Author), A. N. Kang (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Tiny Cactus was loved by a little girl every day. The child shared all the beautiful Christmas decorations but soon forgot about Tiny Cactus. The plant truly wanted to belong and celebrate with the family but couldn’t figure out how until something magical happened Christmas morning.

Comments: Such a darling and precious story. I’ll never look at a Christmas Cactus the same way again.

This book is illustrated with Christmas colors and a pink hue throughout.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A large 10 looks like peppermint candy with Santa and the reindeer carrying Christmas gifts.

10 Things I Love About Christmas 

by Danielle McLean (Author), Mark Chambers (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young boy shares everything he loves about Christmas, from opening his advent calendar each day, decorating the Christmas Tree, to many events and traditions he shares with his family.

Comments: This would be a good read-aloud and discussion afterward about what they like about Christmas.

The illustrations are detailed. I found myself stopping and looking at them before continuing with the countdown.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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. 

snowflake with a blue background Snow and Winter Children’s Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Snow and Winter Children’s Books

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Snow and Winter Children’s Books–2023 recommendations are 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.)

Bruce is in a robe outside holding a tissue box while his three mice friends are playing in the snow

Out Cold-A Little Bruce Book (Mother Bruce Series) 

by Ryan T. Higgins (Author)

Brief summary: Winter has come to Soggy Hollow. Poor Bruce has a cold and is stuck inside with his mice friends, Nibbs, Thistle, and Rupert. After playing outside, the mice thought it would be nice to bring the snow activities inside for Bruce to enjoy. I wonder if Bruce will enjoy them…

Comments: What can I say? I love the humor of grumpy Bruce. He reminds me so much of myself.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

A boy in a yellow cate with red mittens and a hat is facing tot he right as he stands in falling snow

I’m Going to Build a Snowman 

by Jashar Awan (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A little boy wakes to see that it has snowed. After eating his breakfast and putting on all of his snow gear, he is determined to build the BEST SNOWMAN EVER.

Comments: The story explores how one’s expectations may not be realistic but still can be enjoyable in a positive mindset.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

billy barr is looking over his shoulder as he wears a red and black checkered hat with ear flaps while it snows. the background is pine trees on a snowy mountain.

The Snow Man: A True Story 

by Jonah Winter (Author), Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)

Brief summary: billy barr (he prefers all small letters) lives ALONE in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, eight miles from the nearest town. He first moved there as a college student in 1972 for the summer. He lived in an abandoned shack with dirt floors and no electricity or running water. He began to take meticulous notes of all of the wildlife and weather of the mountains.

He stayed for fifty-one years and is still there.

 The scientists at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory used his notes and observations, all written in notebooks, to chart how the mountains’ climate was changing. He still takes notes but enters them into a computer.

Comments: There is an Author’s Note in the back explaining billy barr in more detail.

I had so many questions while reading this biography. Why is he a hermit? What made him go there? Why did he stay so long? Would I want to live like that? What would that be like? Can I get my library up there? And could I bring all of my cats?

This biography picture book could spark some interesting classroom discussions.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Below is a short film made about Billy Barr in 2016 called The Snow Guardian  by Day’s Edge Productions.

Source: billy barr in The Snow Guardian by Day’s Edge Productions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsZDHTTtSIg

Forest animals are lined up while the owl is flying above with their gifts of feathers, berries, nuts, and so on are in a circle around the title

Winter: A Solstice Story (The Solstice Series) 

by Kelsey E. Gross (Author), Renata Liwska (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Owl calls down from the top of a pine tree to the creatures of the forest asking who can help brighten the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Each forest animal contributes something to the pine tree as it shines with the full moon upon it.

Comments: This is a gentle and quiet book that could be read as a bedtime story.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

A very excited boy has his face against the window looking outside

Just SNOW Already! 

by Howard McWilliam (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A boy excitedly waits for the snow expected that evening in his neighborhood. He dreams of all the wonderful things he will do in the snow. He keeps checking out the window, not noticing all of the stupendous things taking place on his street, believing that nothing is happening because there is no snow yet.

He begins to wonder what it would mean if it never snowed again.

Comments: The details in these illustrations are action-packed and hilarious. I love the boy’s giant head and all of his facial expressions. This would be a fantastic read-aloud for kids, especially the day before the first snowfall of the year.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗 1/2

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

A girl with a red hat and black scarf wearing a snow jacket is lying on the snow smiling

On a Flake-Flying Day: Watching Winter’s Wonders 

by Buffy Silverman (Author)

Brief summary: When winter arrives, nature changes in many ways to prepare for snow.

Comments: There are large and brilliant Nature photos in this narrative nonfiction picture book.

The back section includes the question: What can you see on a white winter’s day? and then in-depth answers correlating to the pages before, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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. 

Halloween Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023
Children's Book Recommendations

Halloween Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Halloween Children’s Books–2023 recommendations are 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.)

Picture Books

Halloween scene in the apple orchard with scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins, squash, ghosts, apples, a tractor, and a black cat

Halloween in the Orchard (Countryside Holidays, 3) 

by Phyllis Alsdurf (Author), Lisa Hunt (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young boy and his parents dress up in costumes to visit an orchard on Halloween, where there are many fun activities, including trick-or-treating with scarecrows, a corn maze, and a hayride.

Comments: What child(or adult) wouldn’t like to go to an apple orchard like this on Halloween night!?!

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

This is the third book of the Countryside Holidays series.

Bruce the bear has a grumpy look on his face as he stands on a stage wearing clothing from the 1800s while his three mice friends are in disguises or inside a pumpkin full of Halloween candy

Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow (Mother Bruce Series) 

by Ryan T. Higgins (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Although grumpy Bruce does not like holidays, especially Halloween, with all of those visitors appearing at his door, Bruce gets talked into and agrees to role-playing a scary story called “The Legend of Soggy Hollow” with his forest friends…but were they indeed all of his friends?

Comments: A cute and hilarious parody of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, one of my favorite spooky stories.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Dokkaebi Doki and Kebi are in the countryside with their magical clubs

The Goblin Twins 

by Frances Cha (Author), Jaime Kim (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Doki and Kebi are dokkaebi, a cross between a spirit and a goblin, who will need to move, as their home was being torn down to build a new one. Although Doki likes to give gifts of gold and silver to people with his magic club while his twin, Kebi, wants to scare people with his, they decide to live together in a haunted house in a strange land called America just in time for Halloween.

Comments: This is based on Korean lore. A more detailed explanation can be found in the back of the book in the Author’s Note.

I love to read monster/mythical creature lore from other countries. This would make an excellent addition to the Halloween or folklore section of a library.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Nonfiction

There are pumpkins and jack-o- lanterns with lit candles and a fake black spider on the steps of a house for the traditional Halloween house

Halloween (Traditions & Celebrations) 

by Charles C Hofer (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn how Halloween began, how we celebrate it today, and how other countries(Mexico, Germany, France, and Japan) celebrate holidays like it.

Comments: Words in bold are in the glossary. The back sections are Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites, Index, and About the Author.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Jack-o-lantern with a candle inside, a black cat, spilt candy corn, and bats are spread on the cover of this Halloween book

Halloween (Holiday History)

by Spanier Kristine Mlis (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about the origins of Halloween, the traditions, and how South Korea and Ireland celebrate.

Comments: Several “Did You Know?” squares give more information about the page’s topic. The back sections are Quick Facts & Tools: Halloween Place of Origin, Glossary, Index, and To Learn More.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

🍂🍁Related book recommendations are Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023 and Pumpkin Children’s Books–2023. 🍂🍁

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. 

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023
Children's Book Recommendations

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction–2023

The Retired School Librarian5 Comments

Fall Children’s Books: Picture Books and Nonfiction book recommendations–2023 are 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.)

The cover for It's Fall is a young girl has her hands above her head where there are leaves falling from a tree. She is smiling as well as her dog and a flying bird

It’s Fall! (Celebrate the Seasons, 1)

by Renée Kurilla (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl shares what the fall season brings with back-to-school, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

Comments: Illustrations are in yellows, reds, and oranges. The story is in rhyme.

What a fun book to share with young readers that introduces fall vocabulary.

Large single-page, double-page spreads, and vignette illustrations make this a read-aloud recommendation.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A multigenerational family and their dog are on a fall hike walking over rocks in a stream with trees of orange and yellow behind them

When Fall Comes: Connecting with Nature as the Days Grow Shorter (When Seasons Come) 

by Aimée M. Bissonette (Author), Erin Hourigan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Young readers will read how humans, wildlife, and nature prepare in the fall for the winter months ahead. Some will harvest and stock up on food, others will build places to sleep, while others will migrate to warmer weather.

Comments: This season series would be an excellent choice to have in any library. I’m looking forward to seeing When Spring Comes.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Nonfiction

Blue tennis shoes are standing on fall colored fallen leaves

On a Gold-Blooming Day: Finding Fall Treasures 

by Buffy Silverman (Author)

Brief summary: When fall arrives, nature changes in many ways to prepare for winter.

Comments: Large and brilliant illustrations with fun adjectives, adverbs, and verbs to read aloud.

More in-depth explanations of fall changes are at the end of the book.

The back section includes What Treasures Will You Find in Fall?, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Hanging lit lanterns are handing from the ceiling

Mid-Autumn Festival (Traditions & Celebrations)

by Ailynn Collins (Author)

Brief summary: Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon or Mooncake Festival, is globally celebrated by Asian people. Young readers will learn the origins of the holiday, the lunar calendar, and what traditions and foods people have to observe this holiday.

Comments: The back sections are Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites, Index, and About the Author. Bolded words are found in the glossary.

I wish we had these Traditions and Celebrations books when I was a child. I’m learning so much from reading them as an adult, which has broadened my understanding of other cultures.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A pile of apples on a wodden crate

Orchards (Trip to the Farm) 

by Ursula Pang (Author)

Brief summary: There are many orchards (farms where trees grow)producing fruit, nuts, seeds, syrup, and Christmas trees. Young readers will learn about each type of orchard.

Comments: I placed this book in the fall section as when I think of orchards, I think of apple or fruit orchards because those are the ones in my area that are harvested in the fall. I also had those teachers book requests for fall units before they went and visited a nearby apple orchard.

I enjoyed reading and learning about the different types of orchards and when they were harvested.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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. 

Pumpkin Children’s Picture Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Pumpkin Children’s Picture Books

The Retired School Librarian3 Comments

Pumpkin Children’s Books 2023 recommendations are 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.

See a Pumpkin Grow (See It Grow!) 

by Kirsten Chang (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn the pumpkin’s life cycle and what uses there are with this fruit.

Comments: Words and photos are large, with many nonfiction text features. The back sections are Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

This book also comes in library binding.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

This is part of the See It Grow! series.

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

Zoo animals sitting on a gigantic pumpkin

Pumpkin Day at the Zoo 

by Susan Meissner (Author), Pablo Pino (Illustrator)

Brief summary: It’s Pumpkin Day at the zoo when the zoo animals receive yummy pumpkins to eat from families who donate their uncarved and unpainted pumpkins.

Comments: The illustrations are vivid and humorous. The text is a mix of fonts and sizes that are fun to say aloud with many descriptive adjectives, alliterations, and all in rhyming sentences.

The back page does have a word about pumpkin donations to zoos.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A little old lady is picking up a pumpkin with a black bird and black dog next to her.

There Was an Old Lady Who Picked a Pumpkin!

by Lucille Colandro (Author), Jared Lee (Illustrator)

Brief summary: There was an old lady who went on the school bus to a farm looking for a pumpkin patch. She and the students follow the sign and see many farm items before finding the patch. Each child picks out a pumpkin and hops back onto the bus.

Comments: This is a fun fall early reader in rhyme. The book is not the usual cumulative “There was an old lady” who eats something book.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Molly is looking through the leafy vines at a large pumpkin. Bee is flying around

The Pie That Molly Grew 

by Sue Heavenrich (Author), Chamisa Kellogg (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Molly plants a pumpkin seed and transplants the sprout to watch it grow into a vine with yellow flowers. After all of the care she has given to produce the ripened pumpkin, Molly bakes a pie.

Comments: Cumulative story of the pumpkin’s life cycle.

The back pages have four additional informative sections: American Pie, How to Turn a Pumpkin Into Pie, When You’re Ready to Make the Pie…, and No Bees.No Pie.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A red headed girl in pigtails is standing outside a brick house that has a glowing jack o' lantern in the window with leaves and the wind blowing

Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern: Halloween Comes to America

by Nancy Churnin (Author), Anneli Bray  (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Lila, an Irish immigrant, is on the ship in 1850 with her mother and two siblings on the way to America, where their father waits for them to join him. They talk about a spirit named Jack that visits homes on Halloween night to play pranks. They would carve a turnip and place a glowing coal inside so Jack sees it and leaves them alone. They wear sheets and knock on doors for sweets. When Lila arrives and sees that there are no turnips, she improvises with the help of her new friend Julia, who learns about the foods and traditions of Halloween in Ireland.

Comments:  This would be a great read- aloud for students to learn the origins of Halloween.

The back pages are Author’s Note and Colcannon and Barmbrack.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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. 

September Children’s Book Recommendations–2023
Children's Book Recommendations

September Children’s Book Recommendations–2023

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

September Children’s Book Recommendations–2023 are 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.)

A young girl waving as she looks out into the sea

On the Edge of the World (Stories from Latin America) 

by Anna Desnitskaya (Author), Lena Traer (Translator)

Brief summary: Vera lives on the east coast of Russia. She longs to have a friend and often imagines one enjoying her interests and the places she goes. When it is dark, Vera goes to the beach with her mom and turns her flashlight off and on in Morse code for “hi.”

Lucas lives in Chile and longs to have a friend too. He imagines what it would be like to have someone to play soccer or read a book high up in a tree. In the evening, Lucas and his father go to the beach and turn his flashlight off and on, blinking four short flashes, pause, and two short flashes.

Will these two get a response?

Comments: Half of the book is Vera’s story, and then one flips the book over and reads about Luca’s story. I love upside-down books.

Teachers could share this in social studies. For example: “If we are standing on the eastern section of our school and shine a flashlight at night, what is the closest city, state, or country.

It could also supplement a science class on how far a flashlight’s beam can be seen or even have the students practice Morse Code.

Rating: 4/5📗📗📗📗

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

*I received a complimentary print copy of this children’s book from the publisher to give an honest review.

A large cat with a grin that is holding a red rose

Carina Felina 

by Carmen Agra Deedy (Author), Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Pepe the parrot loves Carina Felina, the cat. He invites her to his house for dinner, where he has made 100 Cuban crackers. Carina Felina ate them all and Pepe! The greedy and narcissistic cat goes through the town, eating and eating everyone she comes across. Will they ever get out of the cat’s belly?

Comments: This is a Caribbean retelling of “The Cat and the Parrot”. There are some Spanish words in the story with a pronunciation key in the back and the recipe for Pepe’s Cuban Crackers.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

An old man with a cane following a boy running with his dog along a river with kingfisher sitting on a branch in the middle of cat tails

Grandpa and the Kingfisher

by Anna Wilson (Author), Sarah Massini (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young boy and his grandpa visit the river in the spring and discover a kingfisher diving in the water to catch a fish. They come back in the summer to find two kingfishers building a nest.

The boy and his grandfather keep coming to the river over the seasons, watching the birds’ life cycle.

 The boy asks questions about the birds while the man answers, paralleling his life.

Comments: This story does talk about death and how nature continues but gently and matter-of-factly so that children can understand.

Wonderful watercolor illustrations.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A red pickup truck full of books and storytelling props with children jumping with excitement

Colorful Mondays: A Bookmobile Spreads Hope in Honduras (Stories from Latin America) 

by Nelson Rodríguez (Author), Leonardo Agustín Montes (Author), Rosana Faría (Illustrator), Carla Tabora (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Brief summary: Luis lives in Villa Nueva, Honduras, and prefers sharing happy stories with his friends and neighbors to take their minds off unhappiness. He is good at storytelling and likes to retell stories. Monday is when the bookmobile comes for the Hour of the Chochororochochochó, where the bookmobile comes to share stories and books. Luis repeats the stories he has heard with his family.

Comments: The back pages tell the factual story of JustWorld International. This would be a wonderful book for children to learn about how other cultures learn about storytelling and books.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

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

*I received a complimentary print copy of this children’s book from the publisher to give an honest review.

A young girl wearing a tutu over a basketball uniform holding the basket while standing in a ballerina pose on a basketball court

Baller Ina 

by Liz Casal (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Ina loves to practice her ballet steps. She changes into her high tops to play basketball, using the steps she has learned in ballet class.

Comments: This is an upbeat book on how athletes can use skills from one sport to another.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

A girl with a blue polka dotted handkerchief hanging from a stick she has over her shoulder walking along a dirt path with a ghost, troll, witch and black cat watching her.

The Baddies 

by Julia Donaldson (Author), Axel Scheffler (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A troll, ghost, and witch are baddies who enjoy being bad and bragging about it. A girl moves into a nearby cottage. The baddies devise different ways to scare her but are unsuccessful as she shows them kindness and understanding.

Comments: Young readers will enjoy the humorous story.

This is the author of the two books Room on the Broom and The Gruffalo.

This was originally printed in the UK in 2022.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

A mother and her toddler son are in the pool. She is holding him as he tries to swim

Together We Swim 

by Valerie Bolling (Author), Kaylani Juanita (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A toddler learns to swim in the pool with the reassurance of his mother and father when he fails and the praise when he accomplishes the steps to swimming without help.

Comments: I recommend this book for preschool and kindergarten teachers looking for fun rhythmic and rhyming text that young readers will enjoy saying aloud.

Perseverance and reassurance after failing a task can lead to success.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

MIa is wearing tute while doing a headstand

Wepa 

by J de laVega (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Besides being intelligent, Mia likes to be creative and fashionable but has some things she does not do well. Her Mami says she has too much wepa. Mia tries ballet, hoping to get some of the wepa out, but it does not work. She finally finds an avenue where she releases her wepa.

Comments: According to dictionary.com, wepa means “a Spanish slang used to convey excitement, congratulations, and joy, similar to the English Oh yeah!, Wow!, or That’s awesome!“

The author shares that everyone in her family has ADHD.

This is a bilingual English-Spanish picture book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A young Judit is intentely looking across a chess board

The Queen of Chess: How Judit Polgár Changed the Game 

by Laurie Wallmark (Author), Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Judit and her sisters were trained by their parents to play chess. They competed, with Judit being the youngest. She won junior tournaments against adults. Judit and her family went to the USA, where she competed in games against adults and won. Her goal was to become the youngest grandmaster. She returned to Budapest to study and became the national champion of Hungary. Will Judit’s chess journey lead her to her goal?

Comments: The back pages include Timeline and The Mathematics of Chess.

This is an inspirational story of encouragement, hard work, and perseverance.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A teacher is on the shore of the rainforest

The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent (Stories from Latin America) 

by Irene Vasco (Author), Juan Palomino (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Brief summary: A young teacher is given her first teaching assignment in Las Delicias, in the middle of the jungle in the Amazon. She brings her many books on an eventful four-day journey to the new school, a straw roof with a blackboard against a tree trunk.

She begins teaching and sharing her books for the students to take home. One morning, the children ran by the school, urging her that a great serpent was coming. They must get to higher ground. The serpent does come, destroying everything, including her precious books.

A few days later, around a fire, the women began to share legends from the squares of white fabric they had been embroidering and making into cloth books. The students translated the words for the teacher. Over time, the teacher learned the language of Las Delicias and how to embroider. She decided to stay.

Comments: Young readers will stay interested in the curiosity of how this young teacher’s journey unfolds.

I kept wondering where I would have been sent to teach. I’m thankful I was able to choose myself.

Wouldn’t this be an excellent book to share on a teachers’ professional development day? 

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

*I received a complimentary print copy of this children’s book from the publisher to give an honest review.

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. 

Three Letter Writing Children’s Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Three Letter Writing Children’s Books

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Three Letter Writing 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.)

A young girl fern who has green fern hair receiving a letter written with RSVP on the back

The Invitation 

by Stacey May Fowles (Author), Marie Lafrance (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Fern opens her mailbox and pulls out a yellow letter, too worried to open it until her friend, Fawn, encourages her to see what’s inside. It is an invitation to a surprise exhibition, but Fern does not want to go due to all of the things she imagines could go wrong. Fern goes to the museum’s special exhibition with the help of her friends who help tame her anxiety.

Comments: This could be a nice class discussion after reading this aloud. “How can we help someone who we see is afraid?” “What can you do if you have something you are afraid of, like Fern did?”

I would share this with the guidance counselor to read to those students experiencing anxiety.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A young girl looking out a city window to see if anyone has found her letter written to a stranger

Dear Street

by Lindsay Zier-Vogel (Author), Caroline Bonne-Muller (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Alice loves her street, but only some do, making her think of writing a letter about what she loves about it and placing that letter for someone to find. She continues her letter writing whenever she hears someone complaining. Soon, others are too.

Comments: The author created The Love Lettering Project, which encourages people to anonymously write love letters and leave them for strangers to find, spreading the love.

Rating: 3.5/5📗📗📗 1/2

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

A young girl holding a ltter writteng to her by her grandma

Close to You from Far Away 

by Erica Root (Author)

Brief summary: Gigi had to move away from her grandmother and misses her terribly. Her grandma tells her, “I’m close to you from far away.” Over the school year, whenever Gigi spoke to her grandma over the phone or when she wrote letters or received letters and packages, she tried to understand this saying.

Comments: I can see this being a lovely read-aloud with the children saying the “I’m close to you from far away” sentence in red capital letters on several pages in the book.

Loved the facial expressions of the grandmother and daughter throughout the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Alphabet Children’s Picture Books: The ABCs in Different Ways
Children's Book Recommendations

Alphabet Children’s Picture Books: The ABCs in Different Ways

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Alphabet 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.)

Alphabet Picture Books

Ref in the blue water with a shark swimming in the blue water. There are fish at the top of the pate

A Is for Australian Reefs 

by Frané Lessac (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Everything one would like to know about the Australian Reefs. This picture book has two-page illustrations for each letter that are bright and detailed.

Comments: This could be a group read-aloud sharing the large print, or it can be an individual reading of the more specific facts in small fonts that explain the many details of plants and marine life on each page.

4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A girl with her hand s on her hips at recess standing next to a large letter A with her friends running in the background

A Is for Ambitious (Ambitious Girl, 2) 

by Meena Harris (Author), Marissa Valdez (Illustrator)

Brief summary: ABCs of descriptive words of empowerment. Aimed towards girls. A “stand up and go for what you believe in” type of book. Inspirationally driven.

Sequel to Ambitious Girl, 2021.

Rating 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

A banana with a pencil that crossed out bedtime that stood for the B in the alphabet; a star, bear, and crescent book with faces watching the banana

B Is for Bananas 

by Carrie Tillotson (Author), Estrela Lourenço (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Banana does not want to go to bed and makes “B” for banana instead of bedtime. Banana gets tired after going through the alphabet and changing or adding words.

Comments: Cute, humorous bedtime story. 

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Portraits of different boys of various ethnic backgrounds with different names of the alphabet

B My Name Is Boy: A Song of Celebration from Australia to Zimbabwe 

by Dawn Masi (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Twenty-six boys share their name, someone else they know, their country, and a verb, all in alliteration.

Comments: It would be a fun activity for students to copy the book’s style by developing the alliterations with their own names and then sharing them with others.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

If you enjoy this one, there is a companion book titled G My Name is Girl, 2021.

Pink pigs playing on large alphabet letters

Playful Pigs from A to Z 

by Anita Lobel (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Twenty-six pigs come across a field full of letters. Each pig finds the letter matching its name. In the evening, they all return to their pen.

Comments: Each letter is paired with a pig’s name and a verb. The pages have capital letters across the top, with small case letters on the bottom of each page.

Originally printed in 2015.

Rating 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

The letters in the alphabet are talking to one another. z, g, and a.

Alphabuddies: G Is First! 

by Beth Bacon (Author), Karen Kane (Author), Eric Barclay (Illustrator).

Brief summary: “G” wants to be first in the alphabet song, but “A” argues it will mess up reading. The letters experiment to see if this statement is true or not.

Comments: Humorous. Speech bubbles. Individual frames or multi-panels like a graphic novel. Large letters and words.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Alphabet Board Books

A big bear and cub riding bikes with objects of the B in the alphabet

My First Brain Quest ABCs: A Question-and-Answer Book

by Workman Publishing (Author).

Brief summary: Each letter has a noun and a matching alliteration with three questions at the bottom of the page about the page to encourage more conversation. Capital and small letters are featured. Bright colors. One letter per page.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

If you enjoy this book, there are other My First Brain Quest books in the series by Workman Publishing.

Two boys in a small boat on the water with a pirate's flag, monkey, parrot, and seagulls

P Is for Pirate 

by Greg Paprocki (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: This board book ABC book is all about pirates and sea jargon. Unique illustrations in the mid-1900s style.

Comments: I could tell immediately it was a Greg Paprocki ABC book. He has several others in this cool artistic style.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

Cartoons of various earth objects like the stars, cloud raining, and a sunflower

Mrs. Peanuckle’s Earth Alphabet (Mrs. Peanuckle’s Alphabet) 

by Mrs. Peanuckle (Author), Jessie Ford (Illustrator)

Brief summary:  Youngers will learn about earth-related topics with explanations.

Bright colors and large graphics. Capital letters.

Comment: This is one of the Mrs. Peanucle’s ABC series.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Six portraits of female musicians

A is for Aretha 

by Leslie Kwan (Author), Rachelle Baker (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Twenty-six black female musicians with a brief explanation of their accomplishments.

Comments: I learned a few I was not aware of too. Illustrated with their portrait and colorful background. I’m unsure how much a baby or toddler could understand, but an excellent source for introducing female musicians and vocabulary.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Photographs of four baby animals

My First ABC Animal Book (Happy Fox Books)

by Editors of Happy Fox Books (Author)

Brief summary: An animal alphabet book illustrated with photographs. Big and small letters. The back has all the animals, and the child is asked if they know them.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

There is another Happy Fox book that came out this year teaching colors called My First Colors: Learn About Our Colorful World. 

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

Various cars

C Is for Car: An ABC Car Primer 

by Ashley Marie Mireles (Author), Volha Kaliaha (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A car for each letter.

Comments: I learned some new ones. Good visual introduction to specific cars.

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. 

Swimming Children’s Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Swimming Children’s Books

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Swimming 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.)

Kids swimming in a blue pool. Our Pool words are in the middle

Our Pool 

by Lucy Ruth Cummins (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: We watch as many wake up and go to the city pool with other families. They change into a bathing suit, get covered with sunblock, and go into the cool blue water. Everyone plays above and below the water until it’s time to eat lunch on spread-out towels on concrete. They do more swimming before heading home with a treat from the ice cream truck.

Comments: The bright summer colors illustrations are showcased in many two page spreads with details and descriptive words that had me feeling like I was at the pool smelling the chlorine, hearing the shouting and laughter, and the coolness of the water.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

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

A young girl swimming in a pool who stopped and lifted her goggles up to stare at the reader

When You Can Swim 

by Jack Wong (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: A young child encourages those to learn how to swim and shares all the aquatic wonders they could experience while swimming in various types of waters.

Comments: The back pages include the author sharing his experience of learning how to swim and going back to some of his favorite swimming spots for inspiration to write and illustrate the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A girl is on the edge of a diving board looking into the water with plants and marine animals swimming in it

A Dive Into the Blue 

by Ellie Huynh (Author), Bao Luu (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl shares her fear of diving into the public pool while standing at the edge of the diving board and letting her imagination almost overcome her from swimming. Will she be able to dive into the blue water?

Comments: I would share this book with students to help them learn coping skills to navigate their fears.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A girl is ready to go swimming with a large life preserver that has a sleeping sloth on top of it

Waiting on Mr. Sloth 

by Katy Hudson (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Sasha is excited to go swimming with her best friend, Mr. Sloth, but is losing her patience with his slowness every step of the way. They finally walk to the lake and have lunch before entering the water. Sasha’s friend is taking too long, and she goes into the lake without him, only to realize it’s not as much fun. Sasha returns to their picnic to find Mr. Sloth in a tree enjoying his surroundings. Will Sasha and Mr. Sloth go swimming together in the future? Will Sasha learn to be patience?

Comments: In the back of the book, there is a discussion of ways to calm oneself when waiting.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Child with nose plugs and goggle on swimming underneath the water

Facing Your Fear of Water (Facing Your Fears) 

by Heather E. Schwartz (Author). Nonfiction Hardcover.

Brief summary: Young readers get advice on ways to be calm if they are afraid of the water and are encouraged to take small steps to learn to be able to go swimming.

Comments: The back sections are Sink or Float, Glossary, Read More, and Internet Sites.

This is one of the Facing Your Fears series.

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. 

Garden Picture Book Recommendations
Children's Book Recommendations

Garden Picture Book Recommendations

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Garden 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.)

Children playing in a garden

Garden Walk 

by Virginia Brimhall Snow (Author)

Brief summary: Grammy and her four grandchildren walk through the forest and to the garden, learning about plants, animals, and insects. They place a blanket on the ground and picnic while Grammy reads to them. Narrated by one of the children.

Comments: Blue ink illustrations with the plants, animals, or insects highlighted with full-colored words that match the subject.

Picnic recipes are in the back.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

If you enjoy this book, you may be interested in Virginia Brimhall Snow’s Seasonal Walks series. For more details or to buy, continue reading o this book’s Amazon page.

A grandfather giving his granddaughter a pot of peonies

Love Makes a Garden Grow 

by Taeeun Yoo (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl and her grandfather tend a garden together until he moves to an apartment where he brings some of his plants.

She grows up and lives far away, but her grandfather sends her a gift of peonies. When her daughter grows, the granddaughter visits the man showing her little one how to tend the house plants and flowers like he taught her.

Comments: An Author’s Note in the back explains how this story is based on her relationship with her grandfather.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

A girl in a polka dot dress on the rooftop garden gathering fruit and fegetables for her basket while a cat is chasing butterflies

Linh’s Rooftop Garden (Where In the Garden?) 

by JaNay Brown-Wood (Author), Samara Hardy (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Lihn needs to find blueberries for their brunch and walk around the rooftop looking at all the fruits and vegetables. The girl describes what a blueberry looks like and compares those characteristics to each plant methodically until she finds them.

Comments: There is a blueberry and banana pancake recipe in the back.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

If you enjoy this book, you may be interested in the other three books of the Where in the Garden? series:

1
2
3

A child with flowers all around them wearing a necklace of daisies.

Watch Me Bloom: A Bouquet of Haiku Poems for Budding Naturalists 

by Krina Patel-Sage (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A collection of twenty-four haikus about different flower species, all illustrated with lovely bright colors, including the paste-down end pages.

Comments: There are Floral Fun Facts in the back of the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

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

A word on a rock with quilled plants growing beside it

Just a Worm 

by Marie Boyd (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Worm begins its day crawling through the garden when two humans cause it to have self-doubt. The worm crawls through a garden talking with each insect and creature it comes across, asking what it can do. Will the worm realize its importance to a garden and regain self-confidence?

Comments: The back pages include Make Your Own Quilled Butterfly, Earthworm Facts, and a Glossary. Illustrated using quilling techniques to make the plants.

I recommend that this picture book be read to supplement a quilling unit.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

George Washington Carver as a young man with a moustache holding a large pot of white flowers

George Washington Carver: More Than “The Peanut Man” (Bright Minds): More Than “The Peanut Man” 

by Janel Rodriguez (Author), Subi Bosa (Illustrator)

I’ve only known George Washington Carver as the “peanut man” and updated my education when reading this narrative nonfiction about this knowledgeable and talented man nicknamed “Plant Doctor.”

Brief summary: This book begins with his life as a child who studied plants and painted them. It continues with his young adulthood of going to college, learning, and experimenting with plants. The book tells of his adulthood of going around in a Jesup wagon, educating farmers on improving their crops and livestock. Readers will learn about many of his inventions and personal life too. I enjoyed reading about this remarkable man.

Comments: This book is full of a variety of nonfiction text features. The back sections include Your Turn!, Glossary, Index, and Further Reading.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A child tending a garden with plants and animals. Geese are flying overhead.

Little Land 

by Diana Sudyka (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: This is an ecological/environmental story from the beginning of the earth to its present of how the land and its inhabitant have changed and how to live in balance.

Comments: I included this book under gardening(although it could be under ecology or environmental) as it highlights how to tend a little bit of land.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A little girl in a red hoody looking at a flower with her black and white dog. She has a box of seeds.

Every Little Seed 

by Cynthia Schumerth (Author), Elisa Paganelli (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl with her mother and grandfather plant seeds in the spring garden and tend them to grow, observing how the seed changes to develop. Birds and bugs visit the garden. Soon fall comes when the plants begin to produce seeds they gather for the next planting.

Comments: A plant’s cycle.

A story in rhyme.

Facts about seeds are in the back of the book, including a seed diagram.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A little mouse inside of a red tulip

A Flower is a Friend 

by Frieda Wishinsky (Author), Karen Patkau (Illustrator)

Brief summary: An animal/creature is paired with a flower in the garden, and readers are asked why they coexist so well. Answers are in the book of how they benefit each other.

Symbiosis.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

garden and flowers in a circle with a white picket fence with a city scape background

My First Garden: For Little Gardeners Who Want to Grow 

by Livi Gosling (Author)

Brief summary: This nonfiction book is a beginning guide to gardening with step-by-step instructions. Everything one needs to know is covered with illustrations.

Comments: This is for the primary children to learn by looking at the lovely illustrations or for older elementary students who want to start a gardening club.

I usually stick to picture book reviews, but this nonfiction book’s illustrations make a difference with the covered topics by clarifying the lesson.

Ratings:4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A young girl and her mother with henna on their hands.

A Garden in My Hands 

by Meera Sriram (Author), Sandhya Prabhat (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A little girl has her hands Painted by her mother for a wedding the next day. Her mother tells her memories as she paints a garden of flowers and decorations. She sleeps with gloves on over the henna to wake and brush the flakes off to reveal her red garden of stories and the fragrance of henna.

Comments: Facts about henna are in the back of the book.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Children planting and tending a garden

G is for Gardening (A Gardening ABC Primer) 

by Ashley Marie Mireles (Author), Volha Kaliaha (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Readers will learn their ABCs of gardening, discovering tools, plants, and animals in a garden.

Comments: Large and colorful illustrations. A good builder of garden vocabulary.

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. 

How I Evaluate and Recommend Picture Books
Children's Book Recommendations

How I Evaluate and Recommend Picture Books

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

How I Evaluate and Recommend Picture Books is written by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

Picture book recommendations first photo of children reading while sitting on giant books

I have many questions as I evaluate children’s books to make the best picture book recommendations. I’ve read and shared thousands of books as an elementary school librarian. Contrarily though, I may only chose one from a stack of thirty books I can recommend.

Enjoy the Book

I taught my students to read the book, feel the emotion, and hear the words. Above all, get the aesthetic experience. (I still do that when I first pick up a book). Undoubtedly, I never asked questions while reading a picture book aloud for the first time during story time. It was afterward that I examined the book more closely…or not. Sometimes, it’s enough to enjoy a picture book. With this in mind, my main goal was to teach the joy of reading.

Having a mock Caldecott Read-In with my students was one of the best ways I taught how to evaluate books and give picture book recommendations to others. I borrowed about a hundred picture books that were stand-outs. However, I also threw in(without telling them) those that were…(well)…not ones I would recommend.


I allowed the students to grade with a 😁😐☹️ face. They then voted for the one they thought would win the Caldecott Medal Award (a medal given annually to an American illustrator). Next, we had thoughtful conversations about how they evaluated picture books. Lastly, they would use persuasive thinking to get others to vote for the same book they nominated.

An important issue I emphasized was that when the award was announced and their book was not chosen, it did not mean it was unworthy. Subsequently, we would talk about famous books from the past everyone loved that have not won any medals.

The Questions

I still use these questions when I recommend a book, but ONLY AFTER I first read the book on its own. Undoubtedly, I love the beauty of picture books and want to feel their “soul. ” Analyzing them is secondary.

The Words

  • Are these words appropriate for an elementary-aged child? Are they using these words in a child’s everyday life?
  •  Do the words flow in a legato style when they should? Are they short and choppy when they are supposed to be?
  •  How do they sound when read aloud? Does it sound like a tongue twister but not supposed to sound like one?
  •  Are there patterns? Rhyming? Rhythms? How do the words sound to the ears? Do they sound awkward? Are they forced?
  •  Do the words convey the correct emotions and mood of the book? Do the word choices match the emotion? Is it supposed to be funny? Sad? Silly?
  •  Do the page turns of the book interrupt the idea?
  •  Is the story unique, or has it been done several times already?
  •  Is the font a good fit for the book? Is it large enough for a child to read?
  •  Where do the words appear on the page? Are they all over and difficult to follow?
  •  How is the story being told? Are there too many characters? Is it confusing to follow? Predictions? Surprises?
  •  Is the topic of the story something children can relate to currently in their lives? Is it too complicated? Should it be a board book instead? Babyish?
  •  Dialogic reading? Is this story something they talk about with others? Or is it more of a listening book that someone reads aloud? Or is this one better read alone?
  •  What is the perspective of the story? Who’s telling the story?
  •  Are the words talking down to a child? Are they morally heavy?

Illustrations

  • What is the medium(s)? Was it digitally rendered? Was it a hybrid?
  • What is the level of technique? Does it stand out? Is it unique? Is there a style?
  • What are the visual elements? Line, shape, color, value, form, texture, space. How is the white of the page being used?
  • What colors are being used? Are the colors symbolic? Is color therapy being used? Complimentary colors? Bright? Dark? Contrasting?
  • Do the text and illustrations go well with one another?
  • Are there details in the illustrations not told in the text?
  • Would I know the book’s story if I took the text away?

The Cover

  • Is the title prominent? Or is the author’s?
  • Are the colors matching with the tone/mood of the book?
  • Is the font style easy to read?
  • Is there a blurb on the back?
  • Do the front and back covers correlate?
  • Does the cover represent the story inside?
  • Does it grab your attention?

Flaps

  • Does the front flap give a summary of the book?
  • Does the back flap tell about the author/illustrator?

End Pages

  • Are the pasted-down end pages white? Are they illustrated? Does the story begin or end on them?

End of the Book

  • Is there an author’s note? An illustrator’s?
  • If a nonfiction–is there a timeline, biographical notes, bibliography, index, suggestion reading, or photos? More information?

Misc.

  • Who is the author? Is this their first book? If a nonfiction picture book, is this person an expert on the subject? Is this a celebrity? What country are they from? And does that matter?
  • Is this a well-known author? Is it just like the others they have already written? Is there a repeated formula?
  • Is this book being translated? Was something lost in the translation?
  • Who is the illustrator? Is this their first book? Are they an artist well-known in other mediums?
  • Is this book political? Have an agenda? Age appropriate for elementary students? Developmentally appropriate? Is this a topic a child would care about in elementary school?

Star Rating Explained

Another key point of my evaluations is that I do not share picture book recommendations that deserve a half to two and a half stars. I’m not going to be that person. As shown below, the lowest star I give is a three, while the highest is a five.

If I’m on a site that does not allow half stars, I round up.

Picture Book Recommendation star rating of three to five

In Conclusion

 While I read these books, I always remember that the person or persons creating this book in my very hands is someone’s dream, someone’s “baby,” that they worked really hard on and are willing to share with the world. This is why I don’t share bad reviews. I simply put it back in my tote bag to return to the library. In addition, it may be a child’s favorite book, and I don’t want them to read online that I did not recommend that piece of literature and with the reasons why it was not up to par.

Even after retiring, I still read children’s books, especially picture ones. I was lucky to have found my passion and was paid for sharing it. I still enjoy my love and can now share it online with a broader audience of book lovers and book worms. The picture book recommendations are ninety-nine percent ones I check out of the public library. I appreciate the Central Library Consortium and am thankful for being in an area in the USA with such outstanding library systems.

Father Picture Book Recommendations
Children's Book Recommendations

Father Picture Book Recommendations

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Father 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.)

Picture Books

A boy and his dad lying down in the back of a pickup truck looking up to the stars

A Bed of Stars 

by Jessica Love (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536212396.

Brief summary: A boy with trouble falling asleep goes camping with his father. They pack up the pickup truck, Darlin’, and head for the desert. His father tells him about the plants and animal tracks. They build a fire and watch the sun set while sitting on the hood of the pickup until the stars come out. They get in the sleeping bag in the truck bed, enjoying the stars above them.

His father is able to teach his son how to connect with the universe and not feel so small. They drive home, where Mom has a surprise waiting for their boy.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Picture book cover of Finding Papa with a little girl on her mother's back as they wade through a river. Mai is thinkin of the crocodiles her father told her about living in the river.

Finding Papa 

by Angela Pham Krans (Author), Thi Bui (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063060968.

Brief summary: Mai and her papa like to play crocodile chomp with their hands. Papa leaves Vietnam to go to America to make a better life for his wife and daughter. Mai does not understand where her father has gone and waits for him to return each day to play. Mama packs and bag and takes her little one on a long journey through the rice paddies, across a river, and onto a boat across the ocean to a refugee camp in Singapore until they are released when Mama travels in the city to find her husband.

Comments: This story is based on the author and her mother, who journeyed in 1983 from Vietnam to America. Both author and illustrator share their families’ journey of immigration.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

A young Chris Paul sitting on the shoulder of his granddad, Papa Chilly

Basketball Dreams 

by Chris Paul (Author), Courtney Lovett (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250810038.

Brief summary: Chris wants to become a basketball player and looks up to his granddad, Papa Chilly, for guidance as the man’s dreams have come true. He gets up early to practice. He learns how to be a good team player and to help others. Papa Chilly attends Chris’s games and cheers him on.

Comments: The back page has Chris Paul’s recollection of his grandfather and a photo of them.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A father and son holding fishing poles while walking down a path with trees around them

Daddy & Me, Side by Side 

by Pierce Freelon (Author), Nadia Fisher (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316055864.

Brief summary: A father and son go camping together. As they hike and fish, the father shares how he did the same with his father, who recently died. It almost feels like Pop-Pop is there with them as they create new and share old memories of being together.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A proud little girl wearing a baseball hat and jean jacket standing in front of a large and red semi truck

Trucker Kid 

by Carol Gordon Ekster (Author), Russ Cox (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Capstone Editions. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684466214.

Brief summary: Athena misses her father when he is trucking and has to leave the family for days. She loves ANYTHING to do with eighteen-wheelers and is proud to be a Trucker Kid. She shares her joy and enthusiasm with the kids at school. Her classmates understand her passion once her father visits the school via his semi to share everything about his job.

Comments: The back pages have sections Keep on Trucking and Author’s Note.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Baba sitting on the persian rug with his six daughters

Baba’s Gift: A Persian Father’s Love of Family 

by Ariana Shaheen Amini (Author), Christina Maheen Amini (Author), Elaheh Taherian (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Bigfoot. 2023. Grades 2-4. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1632173232.

Brief summary: Baba shares stories with his six daughters while they sit and play on the Persian carpet of his boyhood in Iran and his stories of immigrating to America.

Comments: This is based on the true story of Dr. Fariborz Amini. Authors’ Notes in the back have a photo of the lovely family.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Kate is sitting on her father's shoulders with her backpack on

Hurry, Kate, or You’ll Be Late!

by Janice N. Harrington (Author), Tiffany Rose (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Margaret Ferguson Books. 2023. PreK-1. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0823445103.

Brief summary: Kate was late to preschool this morning, but why? Was it because of her breakfast? Because she and her dad stopped to wave at friends?

Comments: Young readers will follow Kate and her father’s journey to go to preschool and ask to figure out and predict why Kate was late.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A girl and her Pop bearing into a box

Pop’s Perfect Present 

by Corey Finkle (Author), Lenny Wen (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250819444.

Brief summary: A young girl tries to think of the best gift to give her father because he is such a wonderful Pop. As they spend the day together, each attempt of creating the present is a failure. Will she be able to give her father the perfect present?

Comments: Humorous rhyming with a fun rhythm.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A boy on the shoulders of his father; both are eating a doughnut

No Fair! 

by Jacob Grant (Author, Illustrator).Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Books for Young Readers. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593117699.

Brief summary: Pablo and his father get on their bikes while their dog, Waffles, runs aside them. It’s Market Day, and Pablo wants a donut, but it is allowed once all the shopping is finished. As Pablo tries to help, he finds that everything he picks out is too big. He protests, “Not fair!” Will he realize with the help of his dad that not all things are fair?

Comments: This book could be a shared read-aloud with the father’s voice in black ink and the son’s in red.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

A father and his song djing together

My Dad Is a DJ 

by Kathryn Erskine (Author), Keith Henry Brown (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374307424.

Brief summary: Trevor’s parents separate, and his father moves out. They once shared time listening to music late in the night after his father returned from being DJ. They would shoot baskets after school. He would even hear his father dedicate songs to him over the radio.

Lately, though, they have yet to connect since he moved out. His food preferences are different. He has a new friend his father has yet to meet. The end-of-the-year dance is coming up that his father has DJed. Will combining the latest hip-hop that Trevor likes and the soul his father favors work out? Will DJing together bring them closer?

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Different family members of various ethinic backgrounds in a selfie pose

Dad and Daddy’s Big Big Family 

by Seamus Kirst (Author), Karen Bunting (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Magination Press. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1433840388.

Brief summary: Harper packs a suitcase and drives to a huge family reunion in a park with her fathers, where she meets family members for the first time, like her cousins, second cousins, and first cousins once removed. She also meets family she already knows. Harper learns that she has some things the same and different from everyone, but they are all connected by their love for one another.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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A father making a pink dress for his daughter who is hugging him from behind

Daddy Dressed Me 

by Michael Gardner (Author), Ava Gardner (Author), Nadia Fisher (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aladdin. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665921954.

Brief summary: Ava’s father is good at making things but especially sewing her dresses for special occasions. She will recite a poem onstage during Move Up Day and is worried she will forget the words.

Her father tells the nervous girl that he will help her memorize the lines and would like to sew a unique dress to boost her confidence. Will both of their hard work pay off on the big day?

Comments: Based on a true story which can be found in the back–The Story Behind the Story. Loved to see the photos of the real father and daughter duo.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Maribel touching the koi pond making circular ripples

Maribel’s Year 

by Michelle Sterling (Author), Sarah Gonzales (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Katherine Tegen Books. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063114357.

Brief summary: Maribel must wait an entire year before her father, who is in the Philippines, can rejoin his daughter and wife in America. Each month the young girl tells about the memories of her father and the emotional thoughts she has that he is with them again.

Comments: Illustrations change with each month and capture the feelings and thoughts of Maribel.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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

Man with a robin sitting in its nest on top of his head

My Dad Is a Tree 

by Jon Agee (Author). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rocky Pond Books. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593531372.

Brief summary: A young girl asks her father to stand with his arms outstretched and become a tree.

This whimsical story continues throughout the day, with more creatures visiting the father and making themselves comfortable as though he were a real tree.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Father Bear holding his song

Papa’s Home 

by David Soman (Author). Publisher ‏ : ‎Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2023. PreK-2. Hardback picture book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316427838.

Brief summary: Papa is going away for a little while, and Aunt Jessie will come to take care of the little bear. Father and son spend the day doing activities together. At the same time, the child asks questions about what it will be like when the father is away. The father quietly answers his child’s many questions with reassurance that everything will be okay.

Comments: Lovely illustrations that capture the emotional expressions of the father and child.

The text in this book allows for a reader’s theater opportunity with the child’s voice in green ink; Papa’s in purple ink.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

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

Board Books

Toddler being held by her father

Daddy’s Hugs and Snuggles 

by Linda Ashman (Author), Jane Massey (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cartwheel Books. 2023. Baby-3. Board book with thick cardstock(not cardboard). ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338854046.

Brief summary: A child tells in rhyme what their father does with them in that part of the day while another child continues until young readers have learned the morning, noon, and evening routines.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Cover of Daddy and Me with children and fathers

Daddy and Me 

by Gary Urda (Author), Rosie Butcher (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ little bee books. 2023. Baby-3. Board book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1499813517.

Brief summary: Each child shares what activity they share with their father.

Comments: Diverse with different families, backgrounds, and what the child calls their father. Papa, Dada, Pops, Baba, and so forth.

The illustrations are full pages with happy and bright colors matching the happiness of each child and father relationship.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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. 

Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books
Children's Book Recommendations

Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Narrative nonfiction 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.)

Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book Cover of Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons with a fuzzy little duckling riding the back of a loon in the water

Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons 

by Laura Purdie Salas (Author), Alexandria Neonakis (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™ . 2023. Grades PreK-2. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728442990.

Brief summary: A mother and father loon raise a mallard duckling. The duckling learns the ways of the loons, like eating minnows and taking food from them.

Comments: This story in verse is based on a true story in 2019 in a Wisconsin Lake as part of the Loon Project, where researchers observed a loon pair taking care of a duckling. What makes this unique is that loons usually drive away mallard ducks.

The back pages include sections such as Is This Story True?, The Intruder, and Very Different Birds(with a Venn Diagram).

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

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Rise to the Sky cover of the narrative nonfiction book that tells about tall trees with tall trees with deer eating grass underneath

Rise to the Sky: How the World’s Tallest Trees Grow Up 

by Rebecca E. Hirsch (Author), Mia Posada (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728440873.

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about a tree’s life cycle from a tiny sprout to a tall tree.

Comments: Back sections include How Does a Tall Tree Grow?, Where Do the Tallest Trees Live?, and two activities.

The illustrations are cut-paper collages with watercolor but have photographs of the tallest trees in the back of the book.

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

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Special Delivery cover with sky blue background with various means of transportation all done in cartoon style

Special Delivery: A Book’s Journey Around the World 

by Polly Faber (Author), Klas Fahlén (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick Press. 2023. K-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick Press.

Brief summary: A book is made and journeys in various forms of transportation across the city, sea, and through the country until it reaches Pip’s Bookshop, where it is bought and sent to a grandson.

Comments: The back has Special Delivery Numbers of interesting statistics about the book’s journey.

Full, detailed illustrations with bright colors. I stopped and looked at each page to get more details of the transportation story from them.

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

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Cover of Yoshi with a little green turtle swimming in the ocean with other fish and plants

Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: A True Story About an Amazing Swimmer 

by Lynne Cox (Author), Richard Jones (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anne Schwartz Books. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593425688.

Brief summary: A Loggerhead hatchling finds her way across the Australian beach when the moon is full. She swims for the first time in the Indian Ocean, encountering many marine and land animals and fish on her journey.

The turtle is tangled in a net until a fisherman rescues her and helps her return to good health. Unable to keep the turtle, the fisherman gives her to an aquarium, where she is released into the sea with a tracking device. People can watch where she swims in the ocean. Will she make it back to her home?

Comments: This is a true story with more information in the Author’s Note.

I kept reading to find out more about Yoshi and if she was going to be okay or not.

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

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Cover of Poop for Breakfast with various animals around a kitchen table with pile of poop on a plate

Poop for Breakfast: Why Some Animals Eat It 

by Sara Levine (Author), Florence Weiser (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™. 2023. Grades 1-4. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728457963.

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about why some animals eat feces. One can read a simple narrative or include a more correlating detailed description as the story continues teaching readers everything they need to know, including the correct terminology of why animals eat poop.

Comments: Well, I learned a lot from reading this book and recommend it to children and adults who desire to learn more about this topic, which was done in a very tasteful manner (excuse the pun).

The back sections include The Scoop on Poop, Be a Book Detective, By Any Other Name, and Further Reading.

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

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Book cover of Jumper with a closeup of a jumping spider on the grass

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider 

by Jessica Lanan (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press . 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250810366.

Brief summary:  As soon as I open the book, I meet the main character as big as bean, Jumper, a jumping spider. Jumper is hungry and goes hunting for food in the family’s backyard. She jumps without worry as her silk is a safety line. Vibrations help the spider know if a predator or prey is nearby. Will Jumper ever find dinner, or will she become dinner?

Comments: Excellent back sections with more details about his spider, with close-ups illustrated by hand. A few other spiders are discussed, along with the life cycle of a jumping spider. There is a Glossary, Author’s Note, Finding and Identifying Spiders, and Resources sections.

This book begins and ends on the paste-down end pages. There is a fold-out demonstrating how a spider sees with eight eyes.

This book asks readers questions to pause and reflect upon the spider’s life. Dialogic reading.

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

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

The Forest Keeper– The True Story of Jadav Payeng 

by Rina Singh (Author), Ishita Jain (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ NorthSouth Books. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735845053.

Brief summary: Jadav Payeng, a tribal boy living in India, went to the elders in 1979 when the Brahmaputra River took large parts of the islands’ land mass away when it flooded. He wanted them to help him plant trees on an island called Majuli to help prevent the island from disappearing.

The forest department gave him bamboo seedlings and told him to plant the forest himself. So, he did. Has the past thirty years of his hard work helped the area and animals?

Comments: The front and end pages give more details about this passionate individual whose hard work and dedication completely changed Mujuli Island and the Molai Forest(named after him). It can take just one person to make a significant impact in a positive way.

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

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Nobody Likes Frogs: A Book of Toadally Fun Facts 

by Barbara Davis-Pyles (Author), Liz Wong (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Bigfoot. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1632173355.

Brief summary: A turtle narrates how much it does not like frogs while learning all about them as the story progresses. Does the turtle have a change of heart? Will the reader?

Comments: The back sections are Frog Facts and Be Somebody Who Likes Frogs by Helping Them!. The pasted-down end pages are full of different types of frogs.

This is a general book about frogs. I learned that frogs can live as long as twenty years.

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

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

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

Origins Picture Books

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

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

(This content contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, I may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you).

Sunrise

The picture book cover of We Go Way Back with two molecules with eyes are beginning to separate into two

We Go Way Back: A Book About Life on Earth and How it All Began

by Idan Ben-Barak (Author), Philip Bunting (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press. 2023. Grades 1-4. Narrative Nonfiction Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250850799.

Brief summary: Young readers examine the definition of “life” and where it all begins. The book explores a complex question by breaking it down into a slow progression of how the earth was created and how molecules formed.

Comments: Large and colorful illustrations also help clarify the concepts.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

The picture book cover of Remember with red and pink Mother Nature images around the beautiful face of the girl with long braided black hair

Remember 

by Joy Harjo (Author), Michaela Goade (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Studio. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593484845.

Brief summary: The poem encourages a young girl to remember one’s heritage, parents, and Mother Nature through reflection of how all is connected.

Comments: The eye appealing two-page glossy illustrations are in the voice of the Indigenous culture.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

The picture book cover of We Are Human Animals with a child and wolf looking into each other's eyes

We Are Human Animals 

by Rosie Haine (Author and Illustrator). Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 2023. K-3. Narrative Nonfiction Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802856012.

Brief summary: The family and people are Upper Paleolithic hunter-gathers who lived about 25,000 years ago when humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. They made tools from Nature around them, ate what they picked or caught, and everything they owned was handmade. Some animals were their friends, while others were eaten (or run from). The stars were their GPS. They were closer to Nature. We are still human animals but are very different today in many ways.

Comments: Author’s Note briefly explains how the first humans lived on Earth.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

How the Sea Came to Be: (And All the Creatures In It) 

by Jennifer Berne (Author), Amanda Hall (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 2023. K-4. Narrative Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802854780.

Brief summary: This narrative nonfiction picture book is divided into Part One: The Birth of the Sea, Part Two: The Birth of Life, Part Three: All That the Sea Came to Be…From Then to Now, and a section of informative back pages including a foldout of ocean creatures over time.

Comments: The text is in a stanza of four lines with lines 2 & 4 rhyming. The illustrations are large and colorful and had me stopping to soak up the way the creatures were evolving.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

The selected children’s books are chosen by a highly qualified 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