Happy Valentine’s Day, kidlit friends! I am not much of a Valentine’s Day person, but things change with a kid, and we’ve been making Valentine’s this week and plan to visit my mother today, assuming we’re all feeling healthy enough (I’m writing this a week ahead of time). I do enjoy a good love-themed children’s book, however, and today I have three recent picture books that depict love across a lifetime. All of them make me cry every time I read them because I am that person who cries while reading picture books for 2-6-year-olds. I know I am among my people here.
Bookish Goods
New Releases
Busy Feet by Marcia Berneger, illustrated by Susanna Chapman (picture book)
This rhythmic picture book celebration of feet is a super fun read aloud. From the moment a child wakes up, their feet are busy, ready to walk, play, spin, splash, and more. The vibrant, diverse illustrations and peppy text are sure to make toddler and preschool readers get up and practice their own footsy moves.
Super Pancake by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Abhi Alwar (early reader graphic novel)
I love a silly graphic novel premise, and this one takes the (pan)cake. After the Bacon Bullies slip an experiment into Peggy Pancake’s lunchbox during a science lesson at Winifred Waffle Elementary, she develops superpowers. When Dr. Breakfast Sandwich’s evil henchtoasts spy Peggy flying, they attempt to kidnap her, but instead nab her sidekick Luc Croissant. Will she be able to save him, and just as importantly, make it home in time for family pictures? I think I laughed just as often if not more than my 5-year-old when we read this together the other night!
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Usually picture books center a child’s experience, but these three picture books about love and family follow a child into adulthood.
Love Made Me More by Colleen Rowan Kosinski, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez (picture book)
This picture book is told from the perspective of a paper crane a young boy makes with his grandmother. The crane and boy are inseparable, and the boy keeps the crane on his nightstand so its the first thing he sees every morning. But years pass and one day a picture of a girl covers the crane. When it comes time to propose to his girlfriend, the boy, now a man, borrows the crane, and the crane once more becomes an intricate part of the boy’s life, especially when a new little one arrives. This is a super sweet, heartwarming read.
The Blur by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat (picture book)
Minh Lê and Dan Santat’s latest team-up features parents watching their baby grow up into an adult in a whirlwind of days. The child — whom they dub The Blur — is like a superhero, darting and zooming through days and milestones. It’s a poignant yet energetic read, and would also make a perfect graduation present.
The More You Give by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Francesca Sanna (picture book)
This stunningly illustrated picture book (the same illustrator as My Friend Earth) opens with a grandmother teaching her grandson how to plant a tree on her land. The grandmother continues to teach her grandson about taking care of the land until she dies, and the grandson takes up her knowledge and teaches it to his daughter, and so on, until the grandmother’s property is covered in trees, with loving children climbing among the many branches. It’s a beautiful story and book with intergenerational and nature themes.
Instead of a picture today, I thought I’d share a disturbing experience I had touring my daughter’s prospective elementary school. I noticed there were only three to five children’s books in the kindergarten classrooms, so I asked the principal about why that was, and whether I could bring books to donate. She told me that our state government (Tennessee) is making schools catalog all books and put them up on their website so parents can see them and decide whether or not they’re appropriate. Until that time, the books can’t be present in the classroom. While I do hear news covering individual books being banned, I’m hearing less about the quiet and insidious ways large quantities of books are just disappearing. The few books I saw were all very bland and without diversity, like the Llama Llama series and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I guess those are so boring they don’t need parental approval. It was more than a little depressing to see those empty shelves and know that there’s a likelihood they will never be filled.
On that note, I highly encourage readers check out How to Fight Book Bans and Censorship from Book Riot.
Margaret Kingsbury