Happy Tuesday, kidlit friends! This was our last week of spring break, and the weather finally took a turn for the better. It’s been a beautiful week! We spent spring break going outside as much as possible, and we also took a day trip to the Tennessee Aquarium. My daughter loved it! Stay tuned for some fishy reads because that’s all she’s wanted to read about since we visited. But this week I’m adding some new release spring books to Karina’s spring list from Sunday!
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Bookish Goods
Bookish Unicorn Reading Tee for Kids by OpalAndJuneShop
This unicorn reading tee would be a great Easter basket filler! $19+
New Releases
Mouseboat by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Abigail Halpin (picture book)
This poignant and lyrical new picture book depicts a daughter’s grief after her mother dies. When she and her father go to their lake house, she’s confronted by the boat she and her mother made together before her death. At first she doesn’t want anything to do with the lake or the boat. When she does take the boat out on the lake, a big, metaphorical storm hits. Boating helps the girl process her grief. Both illustrations and text are lovely in this important book about grief.
This Is Tap: Savion Glover Finds His Funk by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Laura Freeman (picture book)
This rhythmic picture book biography explores the life of Black tap dancer Savion Glover. As a young child, Savion loved dance and listening to the beat of the world around him, but he had trouble finding a type of dance that fit him perfectly. He found that in tap, especially by mixing tap together with hip hop. After reading this, my daughter and I looked up YouTube videos of Savion tapping. He’s an amazing performer!
In my March new children’s book release list for Book Riot, I also review the beautiful Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine. For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Yay for spring! I could not be more ready for some warmer weather. Lots of excellent spring-themed children’s books have released this year, so I thought I’d recommend a few.
Hope is a Hop by Katrina Moore, illustrated by Melissa Iwai (picture book)
Eva wants to plant a garden in this adorable new picture book, but a rabbit eats her plants! This makes her sad, but when she follows the rabbit to nearby trees, she finds a little rabbit den with baby rabbits. It’s hard to stay mad at baby bunnies. As Eva plants a new garden, she gets another special surprise. A new baby sister! I loved this super sweet, lyrical picture book. While it doesn’t explicitly relate to Easter, the rabbits plus the fertility theme definitely made me think of Easter. The family is mixed race.
One Springy, Singy Day by Renée Kurilla (board book)
This lyrical, joyful board book is the perfect spring read for babies and toddlers. The story follows a diverse group of toddlers exploring a spring day, from blowing bubbles to mucking about in the mud to bathtime and finally bedtime. It’s a sweet board book with vibrant illustrations.
Don’t Touch that Flower! by Alice Hemming, illustrated by Nicola Slater (picture book)
This hilarious picture book is my daughter’s favorite on the list. It follows the squirrel and bird duo from The Leaf Thief as spring arrives. One day Squirrel spies a flower between his tree and bird’s, but a little more on his side. He decides the flower is his and nearly smothers it to death. Bird let’s Squirrel know that wildflowers don’t belong to any one person (or creature), and the next day Squirrel finds the whole field full of flowers.
Opal’s Springtime Birdhouse by Emily Matheis, illustrated by Albert Arrayás (picture book)
Opal is excited to join a birdhouse building contest. She’s going to construct the fanciest, most original birdhouse ever! But every birdhouse she makes is a flop, so she instead goes for a more traditional style. She’s sad when she loses the contest, but she gets the best reward of all when a bluebird chooses her house to make a nest in. I love books that decentralize the importance of winning and instead focus on process, like this one.
Our backyard is so beautiful and green right now! Today we blew bubbles and had a picnic.
If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.
Until next Tuesday!
Margaret Kingsbury