Father Picture Book Recommendations

June 2, 2023July 30, 2023 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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.

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 📗📗📗

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

More Biography Picture Book Recommendations

May 10, 2023July 31, 2023 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

More biography picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.*

Biography picture book cover of Charles Drew with a doctor in a white lab coat and stethoscope around his neck

Charles Drew: The Innovator of the Blood Bank (Bright Minds)

by Aaron Talley (Author), Subi Bosa (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Children’s Press. 2023. Grades 4-6. Paperback or Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338865356.

Brief summary: Charles Drew created a technique that separates the different parts of blood called centrifuging, which helped the blood stay fresh longer in storage. He is known for improving the blood banks and just in time for World War II when bloodmobiles and the American Red Cross enabled people to give and receive blood wherever they lived.

The back pages have sections such as a glossary, legacy, questions, index, and further reading.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness

by Helaine Becker (Author), Aura Lewis (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Christy Ottaviano Books. 2023. Grades 1-3. Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316316415.

Brief summary: Eleanor Roosevelt’s parents and brother died within two years of each other. She lived with her Grandmother. At age fifteen, she was sent to a girls’ boarding school in England, where a teacher helped her realize her potential. Eleanor became a leader of the girls and helped everyone. She left her senior year to return to the USA, where she was expected to debut and find a husband but had other plans.

The Author’s note in the back gives more details about Eleanor Roosevelt’s life. Several of her famous quotes are cited.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Cover of You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce with a man sitting on a chair carving a wooden elephant with shelves of paint

You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce

by Chiquita Mullins Lee (Author), Carmella Van Vleet (Author), Jennifer Mack-Watkins (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kokila. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593406502.

Brief summary: Columbus, Ohio, artist Elijah Pierce shares with a young artist how he was inspired to carve wood. Elijah cuts the boy’s hair and continues how he got ideas for his many art pieces hanging all around the barbershop. The boy leaves with a fresh cut and thoughts of creating with his new box of colored pencils his mother gave him earlier.

The back pages contain Elijah Pierce’s honors, Authors’ Notes, Artist’s Note, and information about Elijah Pierce’s Art used in the book.

I remember going to the Columbus Museum of Art and seeing his art and getting to know who the artist was based on his subject matter in the art.

This book contains quotes from Elijah, but the boy in the story is fictional.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Biography picture book cover of Never Give Up with Dr. Kati Kariko wearing a white lab coat. Microscope and beakers are on a table.

Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines

by Debbie Dadey (Author), Juliana Oakley (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™ . 2023. Grades 2-5. Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728456331.

Brief summary: Hungarian-American scientist Dr. Kati Kariko has always wanted to be a scientist. She studied mRNA(messenger ribonucleic acid) in a biology research center, wondering if she could make new mRNA that would send the message to make suitable proteins for people to heal.

She moved to America and failed to get mRNA to work with cells, so she worked at various universities. She met Drew Weissman, another scientist interested in mRNA. After eight years, they wrote a paper about mRNA. She was offered several jobs but chose to work at BioNTech in Germany. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, scientists at BioNTech and Pfizer worked together to design a vaccine using an mRNA vaccine to fight the virus.

The back pages include Timeline, Steps To Making a Vaccine, Author’s Note, Glossary, Source Notes, and Further Study sections.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Cover of Ice Cream Man with Augustus Jackson offering a scoop of ice-cream with a nice smile

Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better

by Glenda Armand (Author), Kim Freeman (Author), Keith Mallett (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown Books for Young Readers . 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Narrative Nonfiction Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593563229.

Brief summary: Augustus Jackson left his home in Philadelphia at twelve to go to Washington, DC, to follow his dream as a cook. He became an expert at making ice cream. He was hired at the White House and stayed for five years.

He returned home and opened his own ice cream parlor. He created a faster way to freeze ice cream, as refrigerators/freezers still needed to be invented. He could come up with making ice cream in half the time and ship his own ice cream by train without it melting.

Nicknamed the “Father of Ice Cream”

The back pages include Make Your Own Ice-Cream, Afterword, and Sources sections.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Cover of The Firs Woman Cherokee Chief with Wilma Pearl Mankiller talking behind a podium that has a microphone

The First Woman Cherokee Chief: Wilma Pearl Mankiller (Step into Reading)

by Patricia Morris Buckley (Author), Aphelandra Messer (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Books for Young Readers . 2023. Grades 1-2. Paperback or Hardcover Reader Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593568507.

Brief summary: Wilma Pearl Mankiller lived in Oklahoma on Cherokee lands until a drought caused her father to move to the city for work. Pearl(the name she preferred) hated the city and stayed at her grandmother’s farm for a year. She moved back to the city and connected with other Native people at the American Indian Center.

In 1969, there was a protest at Alcatraz about the Native lands stolen by the government. Pearl supported and helped Native people many times and later became the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating 3/5 📗📗📗

Cover of Carol Burnett wearing a blue evening dress with dangling earrings. She is tugging on her left ear.

Carol Burnett: A Little Golden Book Biography

by Andrea Posner-Sanchez (Author), Kelly Kennedy (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Golden Books. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593481912.

Brief summary: Carol Burnett was born in Texas and was raised by her grandmother, Nanny. When she was seven, they moved to Hollywood, California, where Nanny would take Carol to see several movies weekly. Carol would reenact them on their apartment’s rooftop and later study theater arts in college. After seeing her perform, a stranger gave her $1,000, urging her to go to New York. She had to promise to pay him back in five years and to never reveal his identity. Carol became famous on the Garry Moore Show and then had her own tv show that aired for eleven seasons.

Carol’s famous left ear tug on TV was her way of saying hello to her grandmother, something she did even after the woman’s passing.

If you are unfamiliar with Little Golden Books, they are smaller than a “regular” picture book–Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.63 x 0.19 x 8 inches.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

If you enjoy A Little Golden Book Biographies like I do , click here for more titles; priced affordably.

Biography picture books of Temple Grandin as a child sitting on grass with dogs and cows in the background

I am Temple Grandin (Ordinary People Change the World)

by Brad Meltzer (Author), Christopher Eliopoulos (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rocky Pond Books. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Biography Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593405970.

Brief summary: Temple Grandin was born with autism and did not act or respond like other babies and toddlers did to things and situations. Her mother found a speech therapist to help Temple speak her first words at age four. Through her sensitivity and empathy towards cattle, she was able to help better design the cattle chute for them to feel calmer and how to build round pens because she noticed they could go around a curve easier. She also discovered how to make cows feel calmer by going down into the water for a bath to get rid of insects on them by changing the steel ramp to a textured concrete one.

Temple was able to go to college and even receive a doctorate degree. She teaches and does research at Colorado State University. The book explains how she thinks and feels in the first-person narrative.

I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers, and librarians to share with those with autism to be inspired by Temple’s life’s accomplishments.

Smaller than an average picture book–Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.94 x 0.33 x 7.88 inches

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

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

Bookmarks

Bookmarks–Eleven Unique Bookmarks

May 2, 2023July 31, 2023 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Bookmarks are recommended 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).

Bookmark is a metal feather with a butterfly charm and dried flower inside a little bulb

Metal Feather Bookmark with Pendant

The feathers and butterflies are available in two colors–silver or golden feather. The pendants have several different flowers inside. Handmade.

For more details, click here.

I am unboxing my purchase:

Magnetic Bookmarks

These are magnetic bookmarks that clip together from one side of the page to the next. There are three different designs. The photo is multi ocean. One can pick 15 or 30 bookmarks.

I had a cat that kept pulling my bookmarks out of books but did not with magnetic ones.

For more details, click here.

Flower Bookmarks

There are 30. Printed only on one side. Made of cardstock. Not laminated.

I bought these for my mom who is a garden lover.

For more details, click here.

Black Cat Bookmarks

These are in a set of ten. Plastic. Not too thick or too thin.

I plan to enclose mine in this year’s Halloween cards.

For more details, click here.

Outus 4 Pieces Wood Bookmarks

These wood bookmarks come in several different styles. The one seen here is called vintage style. Each bookmark has a different color and design. There is a bead or tassel with each one. Thin enough to use between the pages of a book.

Available here.

I am unboxing my purchase:

Four acrylics with dried flowers with a tassel.

Dried Flower Resin Bookmarks

There are four. Dried flowers inside resin. Tassel. Handmade. A bit thicker than a regular bookmark.

They work for me to use in the magazines and larger books. Very pretty when the sun shines them.

For more details, click here.

Hand Embroidered Corner Bookmark

This is made of felt with a thick cardstock as the backing; not as thick as cardboard. Pick the letter you want and the season. The one in the photo is spring. Embroidered.

For more details, click here.

I am unboxing my purchase:

Wooden Bookmark–Made in the USA

This is wooden bookmark with four design choices. Personalization is available. Handmade. This is the Aztec design.

For more details, click here.

yellow elastic bookmark with pointer on a book

Elastic Bookmark-Made in Italy

An elastic with a pointer to help keep your place. Different colors available. Be aware that some of the colors are differently priced.

I had some students use these to help them focus on the line while they were reading. I did not get returned library books that were damaged from this type of bookmark although I think it worked better with hardbacks; depending on the sturdiness of the book’s binding and how stretchy the elastic could get from use.

Available here.

funny green plastic bookworm wrapped around the pages of the corner of a book's page

Wally the Bookworm

The worm is made of plastic. Comes in various colors. About four inches.

I did receive one of these from a student as a gift. Very cute.

Available here.

two elastic bookmarks with a tree of life pendant

Tree of Life Elastic Bookmarks

These come in a pair. There are several choices with crystals beaded as the leaves of the tree.

I would recommend using these to keep your place in a diary, planner, affirmation/prayer a day book, or another book with a hardback cover.

Available here.

2023 Children's Books · Children's Book Recommendations

New Picture Books–Earth

April 10, 2023May 31, 2023 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Earth-themed 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).

Earth-Themed Picture Books

My Baba’s Garden

by Jordan Scott (Author), Sydney Smith (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Neal Porter Books. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0823450831.

Brief summary: Author, Jordan Scott, recalls visiting with his Baba at her home. His father would drop Jordan off to have breakfast with his Baba and afterwards, they would walk together to his school. If it was raining, Baba would look for worms and put them in a glass jar to take home for her garden.

His baba would retrieve him after school, and they would spend time in her garden learning about the plants. This is their usual routine until she moves in with the family when a new building is built over her home. Not able to have a full garden any longer, she keeps a little garden in her room.

Told through the first-person point of view by the boy.

Jordan Scott wrote one of the most lovely book dedications I’ve ever read.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

The picture book cover of Around Antarctica with blues and whites illustrations of people in winter gear, and winter sports, and animals of the Antarctica

Around Antarctica: Exploring the Frozen South

by Tania Medvedeva (Author), Maria Vyshinskaya (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson. 2023. Grades 3-6. Hardcover Nonfiction Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0500653135.

Brief summary: Wow. Love this book! It is full of everything a young reader needs to know about Antarctica, and all done with regular text, speech bubbles, and nonfiction text features. Children will stop and examine the detailed illustrations before turning to the next page.

The several foldouts make a whole sphere, full of information and fun pictures.

The book’s format is a fourth of a sphere but can fit appropriately on a shelf.

This is a must for any school or public library and would make a superb book gift for the young reader in the family(as well as adult book lovers). Cleverly done.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

City Beet

by Tziporah Cohen (Author), Udayana Lugo (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sleeping Bear Press. 2023 PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1534112711.

Brief summary: Mrs. Kosta and Victoria plant and nurture a beet seed until it ripens. The woman begins to harvest the gigantic beet but cannot remove it from the ground, no matter how hard she tugs. Several neighbors stop by the garden to help pull, creating a line out to the sidewalk until the vegetable is uprooted with a big “SPROING!!”

There is an Author’s Note and Raw Beet & Garlic Salad Recipe in the back.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

The picture book cover of Black Beach with Sam holding a picket sign saying "Save our planet." Marine animal life are with her while the oil rig is spilling oil onto the water

Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day

by Shaunna & John Stith (Author), Maribel Lechuga (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ little bee books . 2023. Grades K-4. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1499813043.

Brief summary: Sam is in class in Santa Barbara when she sees her teacher look outside the window after the principal whispers to her and wonders why. Her parents explain to her about Union Oil causing an oil spill near where they live. The family walks to their favorite beach to find that the beach and ocean are black with oil. The town tries to clean the oil from the beach and help the animals covered with it.

A national day was created from this disaster and organized to celebrate and protest the environment which still exists today called Earth Day, April 22, 1970.

There are several sections in the back of the book: Author’s Note, Selected Bibliography, Timeline, Earth Day Today, Earth Day Every Day, and How to Become an Environmental Activist.

Teachers and homeschooling parents could share this book as a supplement in addition with Earth Day activities.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

The picture book page of Black Beach showing Sam and her family looking at the black beach and ocean for the first time

The picture book page of Black Beach showing the people trying to clean the oil off of the birds while a worried Sam watches

The World and Everything in It

by Kevin Henkes (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenwillow Books. 2023. PreK-1. Hardcover Picture Book.ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063245648.

Brief summary: This book shares what is around us: big, small, and between. The soft and calming illustrations are done with brown ink and watercolor paint, demonstrating the size differences.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

The picture book cover of You Are My Pride with a large sailboat on the blue ocean

You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland

by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator). Publisher ‏ : ‎ Astra Young Readers. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1635923872.

Brief summary: This touching poem, illustrated with large two-page illustrations done in watercolors, is a lovely letter from Mother Nature telling her human children how much she has loved them since the beginning of their creation.

Back pages briefly explain the Developments in Early Human Evolution.

Educators–this would be a great supplement to use with the different viewpoints unit of study.

For more details or to buy, click here.

Rating 4/5 📗📗📗📗

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Board Books

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Daddy and Me

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Charles Drew: The Innovator of the Blood Bank (Bright Minds)

Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness

You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce

Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines

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Carol Burnett: A Little Golden Book Biography

I am Temple Grandin (Ordinary People Change the World)

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Metal Feather Bookmark with Pendant

Magnetic Bookmarks

Flower Bookmarks

Black Cat Bookmarks

Outus 4 Pieces Wood Bookmarks

Dried Flower Resin Bookmarks

Hand Embroidered Corner Bookmark

Wooden Bookmark–Made in the USA

Elastic Bookmark-Made in Italy

Wally the Bookworm

Tree of Life Elastic Bookmarks

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Earth-Themed Picture Books

My Baba’s Garden

Around Antarctica: Exploring the Frozen South

City Beet

Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day

The World and Everything in It

You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland

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