Author: Margaret Kingsbury

In this very silly picture book, 100 mighty dragons all named Broccoli have their numbers slowly reduced for a variety of reasons. Fifty are immediately blown away by an autumn wind, all the ones wearing sunglasses decide to move to France, and six move to Hollywood and become movie stars. Finally, there is only one dragon named Broccoli remaining. She enters a cave in the winter and exits in the spring, followed by 100 mighty dragons. You’ll have to read the book to find out what she names them!

This adorable picture book uses Spanish numbers. It follows Gato Guapo and his nine siblings as they walk through a city’s streets. But cats keep going missing! And with every missing cat, a piece of Gato Guapo’s suave outfit disappears as well. Will Gato Guapo find his siblings and his clothes?

This silly picture book is a search-and-find and a counting book. Ten mischievous cats have discovered cans of paint. Can the reader find the three striped cats? How about the six cats with yellow dots? As the book progresses, the cats get more and more colorful. If your child is more of a dog person, the companion to this book, 10 Dogs, releases in September.

This is our most-read counting book at home and is available in both hardback and board book formats. Dogs find various modes of transportation to ride together: two dogs on a trike, three dogs on a scooter, four dogs on a bike, etc. In the background, however, a cat is following using a different mode of transport: roller skates, skateboard, race car, etc. The dogs look increasingly worried as they notice the sinister-looking cat following. The ending of this one is perfection. I also like that it counts up and down.

Mina is a bit nervous about starting kindergarten in a new school where she doesn’t speak the same language as the other kids. But the kindergarten classroom and teacher are so warm and welcoming. When she comes home, she tells Mama all about school, and her dreams fill with things she learned that day. With each new day Mina makes friends and becomes more comfortable with school. Her stories and dreams become fuller and fuller with everything she’s learning and experiencing. This is a sweet, gentle story of belonging.

This is my daughter’s favorite picture book lately and we’ve read it so much I have it memorized! It is hilarious. When the kindergarteners walk in on their first day of school, all they find is a sandwich, a stack of papers, and a mug of coffee on the table. “Mr. S” is drawn on the chalkboard behind the table. The children eye one another, confused, and then the same question pops into all of their heads: could the sandwich be their teacher Mr. S??? Some children say “Why not!?” others aren’t so sure. Meanwhile, a man outside the window is having exceptionally bad luck as his car catches on fire. Readers of Arnaldo’s picture book Are You A Cheeseburger? will spy some Easter eggs in the illustrations. This is such a surprising picture book, and the children’s expressions are perfection!

Written in the second person, this picture book portrays a young boy going to kindergarten for the first day of school. His mom calls him the “King of Kindergarten” and his dad comments on how much he’s grown. The child makes friends, learns the classroom rules, shares lunch, and dances before it’s time to head back home. I feel like this one and The Queen of Kindergarten are modern classics. They’re definitely essential reading for forthcoming kindergartners.

Unlike the boy in The King of Kindergarten, Leo is feeling nervous and shy on the first day of school. The teacher sent all the students a letter asking them to think about how to show kindness in school so that the class can write a kindness pledge. But Leo hasn’t been able to think of anything. Despite his shyness, Leo is able to help others at school in small quiet ways throughout the day. At the end of the school, the teacher asks if anyone noticed kindness, and many students raise their hands and mention Leo. This is a sweet and reassuring picture book written by a kindergarten teacher.

This picture book tackles the big-picture history of how the ocean, and the creatures that live in it, came to be. Divided into three parts, it begins billions and billions of years ago when the Earth was covered in magma. Berne describes how the Earth cooled down and how life started, and how that life evolved over millions of years into what we know today. Even though it covers such broad and complicated topics, Berne keeps the prose lyrical and expressive vs. informative, which makes this really lovely to read aloud. Instead, she packs the back matter with lots of further reading. The illustrations are also lovely.

I’m typically not super interested in machines, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. In lyrical prose, Cusolito follows the history of how humans explored the ocean and the tools and machines humans have made to enable that exploration, from snorkeling gear to diving suits to submersibles and more. Each page includes more details about the tools for further reading. Maybe don’t tell your kids about the recent Titanic submersible catastrophe though, if they haven’t heard about it already…

The illustrations in this nonfiction picture book about octopi (octopuses?) are stunning! Each page spread depicts a different type of octopus. On one side of the page, Slade has written a lovely poem about the octopus. On the other side is a paragraph-long description of the octopus shown in the illustration and octopus behavior. It’s a really beautiful book.

Kids love this interactive nonfiction about things found at the sea. It’s a giant book — probably a nightmare to shelve for librarians and booksellers — but a great format for the kind of illustrations and content. Each page covers a different topic: “On the Beach,” “At the Port,” “Welcome Aboard,” and more. The book follows Plum and Robin, mother and son, as they explore the beach. Flaps uncover more details about what they find, like treasures from the tide and seahorses living among the coral. Be sure to check out the author’s other book in this series, In the Garden.

I buy this book (or the We Are Little Feminists Box Set) as a gift for every baby shower I’m invited to. This particular board book in the series depicts photographs of disabled children and parents out and about — hiking, playing, running, exploring, and more. It shows a variety of disabilities and a variety of mobility aids. The prose is short and full of energy. Also check out We Are Little Feminists: How We Eat, which shows feeding tubes and other eating aids.

This Halloween board book releases on July 18th, and it’s so cute! Each page shows a kid who is a wheelchair user in a different Halloween costume that uses the wheelchair as part of the costume. One child is a racecar driver, another is Cinderella in her carriage, and a third is an alien in a spaceship. The wheels turn, making it really fun for toddlers.

Sign language board books are fairly common, but this one, the first board book in a two-book series, is my favorite. Each page shows the child Nita using a new sign, and an interactive pull-out page gives instructions on how to make the sign. The second book in the series is Nita’s Day. Author Kathy MacMillan is an ASL interpreter.

Pitzer has written and photographed three board books with children with Downs Syndrome. Each board book covers basic toddler concepts. In this one, various children with Down Syndrome participate in daily activities and play, and invite the reader to do the same: “I can play patty-cake, can you?” I Like Berries, Do You? depicts children with Down Syndrome eating a variety of foods and asking the reader if they like those foods, too, and My Up & Down & All Around Book introduces prepositions. As a side note, the Amazon title for I Like Berries, Do You? includes the euphemism ‘special needs’ which is generally frowned upon in the disabled community. I still enjoy the book, but I wanted to note that. You can read more about why you should avoid that term and what words to use instead at the Center for Disability Rights, in this article by Emily Ladau, and at the National Center for Disability in Journalism.

I’m surprised I haven’t reviewed this one in the newsletter yet! As someone with severe allergies, I really identify with the protagonist in this graphic novel. Maggie loves animals. However, when her parents allow her to adopt one from the humane society for her 10th birthday, she discovers she’s severely allergic to them. The dog has to go back, and her parents take her to an allergist, where they learn she’s allergic to all animals. Meanwhile, she’s also navigating a new school, a new neighbor, her pesky brother, and a new sibling on the way.

I have reviewed this middle grade novel-in-verse once before in a newsletter, but as one of my favorite 2023 middle grade releases, I had to include it again. Twelve-year-old Dominican American Aniana’s joints hurt often, and sometimes swell and feel hot to the touch. She hasn’t told anyone though, because she has a big secret she’s hiding from her Mami — she’s joined the swim team. As a child, Mami lost her brother in a flood, and she doesn’t want Aniana anywhere near the water. Aniana loves water and swimming, however. When the pain gets to the point that she’s no longer able to hide it, her parents take her to the doctor, and she’s eventually diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Her secret swim meets are also revealed.

This is another middle grade novel-in-verse, and the first book written by someone with cystic fibrosis that has a main character who also has cystic fibrosis. Penny Rooney’s English teacher has assigned the class a poem about themselves, but Penny can’t think of anything to write about. Penny and her older sister Liana love to play in the creek in their backyard in Durham, North Caroline. One day Penny finds a distressed and lost dolphin in the creek, and she’s determined to help it. This is a lovely novel about friendship and identity.

Two friends face off at drama summer camp in this fantastic and inclusive middle grade novel with dual perspectives. Maggie is a fat Jewish kid with dyspraxia. Chloe is an actress with an overbearing mom who is beginning to discover she’s a lesbian. The two former best friends had a falling out after a school musical went horribly wrong. Now they’re bunkmates in a summer camp. Kapit has two other middle grade novels with neurodiverse characters that I love just as much: Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! and The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family.

Lupe Lopez is pumped for first grade and ready to rock reading. Unfortunately, reading is harder than she imagined. When her teacher places her in the beginning reading group, her rival mocks her. She may be frustrated, but she’s not about to give up, and it turns out her rock-and-roll skills might be able to help her, and her group, learn to read! This follow-up to Lupe Lopez: ¡Reglas de una estrella de rock! is just as fun as the first book. Candlewick has a section on its website of more books in other languages (mostly Spanish).

This new picture book by comedian Jesús Trejo is both hilarious and heartwarming and is based on Trejo’s childhood. A young Jesús is thrilled to be spending the day with his Papá at work as a landscaper. He’s told that when the magical water jug is empty, it will be time to return home, and is placed in charge of the water jug. Unfortunately, Jesús gets a little over-enthusiastic about the water, giving water out to cats and sweater-clad dogs, splashing it on his face, and more. Soon, they’re out of the water, but Papá still has many more houses to go! Check out more Spanish titles from Astra Publishing.

This sweet and funny picture book retells the Caribbean folktale “La Cucaracha Martina.” Martina does not like parties. She enjoys the quiet, and too many people make her nervous. Her tías could not be more different in personality. After helping to clean the house before a party, Martina finds an imaginary world to escape to, but it turns out that she’s not truly home without her family, and her tías are an important part of that family. Simon Kids has more bilingual and Spanish children’s books here.

This is a stunningly illustrated picture book that blends fabulism with reality. Puerto Rican marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez tells the story of herself as a little girl. Young Meli only has five more minutes of beach play remaining, so she decides to explore a tide pool, where she meets the hermit crab Jaiba. Jaiba takes her on an underwater adventure where Meli learns her true destiny is to become the mother of sharks and to teach others about shark conservation. Check out more Penguin Spanish children’s books here.

This collection of 60 activities ranges in ease and complexity and can be easily adapted to multiple ages and with various materials. The first one my daughter and I tried was a rainbow village building activity inspired by Rainbow Grandpa Huang Yung-Fu, a soldier who painted every building in his Taiwanese village various colors and patterns when he learned it would be destroyed. The village survives and can now be visited. I love that Wong-Nizic includes that information with the activity. This craft required boxes of various sizes, brown craft paper, tape, and a variety of coloring utensils. We wrapped the boxes in the brown paper and drew and painted colorful patterns onto them, creating a little mini village. We looked at images from the real village as we drew! Other activities include making rock dominoes, a very important person statue, and more. Often the activities are inspired by real people and artists.

I just received this one in the mail and haven’t had a chance to try out any of the activities yet, but I’m excited! This activity book includes seven “fun” sections: In the Fresh Air, With Paper, With Science, You Can Eat, With Crafts, With Imagin-yay-tion, and With Family. Most of these are very simple, classic activities like making snowflakes, ice cream in a bag, spiral friendship bracelets, a shoe shop, and more.

I was so excited when I heard about this one! This book’s goal is to “engage in art activities that work toward removing biases, promoting change, and taking action.” It’s divided into six units: Identity, Culture, Community, Empathy, Justice, and Activism. Activities include transforming your name into a work of art, celebrating community heroes and helpers through making papers and portraits, creating miniature billboards that address a social issue, and more. These activities can be adapted for all ages.

We have a variety of science activity books but this is the one we use the most, primarily because it has many experiments with household items we actually have! We’ve squeezed an egg into a bottle, made electric oobleck, conducted some potato science, and more. I do recommend checking out the required materials list before tackling some of these, though! While many are pretty easy, several have less common materials.

In bold graphics great for little eyes, this accessible board book introduces pronouns, including neo pronouns. With simple, direct language, it encourages readers to ask for people’s pronouns. This is an excellent way to introduce pronouns to toddlers in those early stages of language development.

This is the first book I bought my daughter to discuss gender identity, and we still talk about and reread it regularly. Thorn addresses the reader in her straightforward explanation that some people are boys, some girls, and others are somewhere in between. She includes nonbinary and trans kids, as well as a range of racial and ability diversity.

While the first two books in this list discuss gender identity in a more basic, introductory sense, this one specifically unpacks gender stereotypes. Can girls play with trucks? Of course. Can boys play with dolls? Also of course. Additionally, it discusses pronouns and the difference between sex and gender. This is a great picture book for kids who have experienced gender stereotyping.

I love that there’s now a basic introductory discussion of gender identity for chapter book readers. Accompanied by kid-friendly illustrations, Passchier takes readers on a chapter-by-chapter rundown on gender identity, including discussions of gender expression, finding support, and biology. It includes questions at the end of each chapter for readers to think about, as well as an accessible summary of the chapter.

This hilarious and relatable picture book is based on a true story. A family is looking forward to swimming in a pool on vacation, but when father, daughter, and son make it to the bottom of 168 stairs and into the pool, Marc, the son, declares he needs to poop. So back up the stairs they go, then back down when Marc says he no longer needs to poop, then back up when he claims he once again needs to poop. This back-and-forth culminates in one messy accident at the pool. But instead of this being a moment of shame, other pool-goers relate their own poopy accidents, helping Marc feel better and realize that everyone has poopy accidents sometimes.

Wilder and Steele first teamed up on the butt-themed picture book Does a Bulldozer Have a Butt?. In this equally absurd and silly picture book, a child decides to make custom undies for all kinds of creatures and objects after receiving a set of underwear from his mom. He crafts undies for the piggy bank, for a clownfish, for a boomerang, a zombie, and more. Really, doesn’t everyone, and everything, need some unique underwear?

Before leaving for a school field trip to the zoo, Clayton Parker’s teacher tells everyone to go to the restroom. Does Clayton go? No. Before the bus has gone very far, Clayton feels that need to pee. Dr. Bladder gives some information about what’s going on in Clayton’s body. By the time Clayton gets to the zoo, he meets one obstacle after another in his search for relief. This rhythmic and funny read aloud is perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Bob Shea’s books always get big laughs, and this one is no exception. When Scout leader Reuben the bear brings donuts to share with his troop, his friends point out the big wet pee stain on his pants. Instead of admitting he had peed his pants and changing, he decides to blame everyone else. Clearly, someone else has peed his pants. Withholding the donuts, he interrogates all his friends, who calmly reassure him that accidents happen. This is another picture book that combines potty humor with reassuring themes of body acceptance and empathy.

This picture book biography explores the life of Jewish composer Debbie Friedman, who wrote fun, inclusive songs that immediately became popular with the younger folk in the Jewish community. She was a self-taught musician who longed to make accessible music. Make sure to pair this colorfully illustrated biography with some of Debbie’s music!

In this cute, rhythmic picture book, two sisters, Hester and Ester, compete to make the best babka for their new neighbor, Sylvestor. The two sisters live in houses side by side and are similar in so many ways, but each has their own take on babka. Sylvester is more than happy to serve as a judge. This one is a lot of fun to read aloud.

In this sweet, intergenerational picture book, a young girl tries to help her grandmother feel better after her grandfather’s death by learning Yiddish words. It takes time before Bubbe smiles again, but by spending time together, discussing their memories of Zayde, and honoring the things he taught them, the two are able to fill their days with smiles again. This is a great book about grief and losing a grandparent.