Category: The Kids Are All Right

This book has a very unusual beginning. In 2014 during a trip to the Amazon, the book creator came across a sealed metal container in a remote hut on the banks of Jari River. The contents turned out to be the lifetime’s work of an unknown artist adventurer. Alongside the notebooks, sketchbooks and other belongings was a letter which appeared to be written for the benefit of two young family members. The case and its contents were shipped back to the U.K. and together with a team of experts, the book creator spent two years compiling and editing this book. I found this book endlessly fascinating!

This hilarious middle grade book is about Chase Cooper, a certified ninja! He is starting at a new school and keeping a record of his adventures. This book has illustrations throughout and is sure to keep elementary school readers entertained and laughing out loud.

I am a huge fan of Booki Vivat and her Frazzled series, and one of the amazing things Booki did during the beginning of the pandemic is create a new illustrated story that mirrored her experiences during quarantine. You can download her Frazzled Quarantine Diary for only $5 here, and don’t forget to check out the complete Frazzled book series!

Told in letters, Sophie Brown finds herself in unfamiliar territory when her family moves from Los Angeles to the farm they’ve inherited from a great-uncle. She quickly discovers that the chickens on the farm are not just unusual – they’re magical! Sophie learns how to take care of them, and she must use all of her ingenuity to keep them safe when a respected local farmer tries to steal them. I adore the illustrations in this book so so much!

This book is the prequel to Creech’s Newbery-award winning book Walk Two Moons. Forced to keep a journal for the summer, Mary Lou thinks it will be the most boring assignment ever. But when cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time.

Bored on Dinosaur Island, the dinosaurs decide to head over to Kitty Island. Despite warnings that this could be a bad idea, the dinosaurs go anyway and find that they may not have much in common with the kitties after all.

The Questioneers universe continues to expand with this nonfiction early reader. This opening book takes on the topic of flight, including the history of airplanes and how they stay in the air to info about birds and other flying creatures.

Classroom mice Fergus and Zeke are at a loss when Miss Maxwell’s students start preparing to celebrate the 100th day of school. Though they usually do all the same things as they do, now Fergus and Zeke can’t figure out how to participate. But they’re determined to find some project they can do to mark the occasion.

Perfect for TTRPG fans out there, this middle grade graphic novel follows Maggie, who rolls a twenty-sided die to make her decisions. This is a fun and sweet look at anxiety, OCD, and a girl finding herself.

This gorgeous, body positive book is a celebration of Japanese culture. The story follows a young girl as she visits a bath house with her grandma and aunties. I loved the rituals of the bath house – a tradition that so many cultures take part in – and how all bodies are honored and celebrated.

This vibrant, beautiful book honors the life and legacy of Nina Simone. Known as Eunice Kathleen Waymon as a young girl growing up in a small town in North Carolina, she became known as Nina Simone in her first performances as an adult, making a huge impact in the fight against racial inequality and discrimination.

I love books about artists, and this one is no exception. James Yang does a lovely job imagining a day in the life of a young Isamu Noguchi as he wanders through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean. He stops. He notices. Stones look like birds. And birds look like stones. This is a terrific book that all readers – especially quiet, introspective readers – will adore.

Unbound is truly a special book about a very special artist. Judith Scott was born with Down syndrome. She had a special bond with her twin sister Joyce, but one day young Judith is institutionalized. Joyce visits her often, and the years go by and the girls grow up. Once Joyce is settled, she decides to bring her sister to live with her and her family. Knowing how Judith always loved art, Joyce enrolled her in an art class. Judith went on to become an artist of renown with her work displayed in museums and galleries around the world.

Because I live in a big apartment building myself, I always love books that show community life. The story begins at night, and everyone is asleep. Then a baby wakes up and cries, which subsequently sets off a chain of reactions and sounds that wakes up everyone else in the building. But the gentle sounds of night in the city quickly helps everyone go back to sleep.

This clever book introduces young readers to shapes and colors in an intriguing and delightful way. With vibrant colors that remind me of Eric Carle’s art, this book is a delight to the eye. I gifted it to my nephew, and he loved pointing at the various shapes on each page.

This wordless picture book is the final book in a trilogy that includes The Farmer and the Clown and The Farmer and the Monkey. Marla Frazee is a master of expression and body movement, making her the perfect person to create a wordless picture book. The Farmer and the Circus might be my favorite of this trilogy, but all of them work beautifully together to make a lovely, heartwarming story.

One of my favorite animals is the pig (they are so cute!), so it is no surprise that I love this book! A blend of encyclopedia-type information with funny facts, this book is great for animal lovers. I adore the illustrations!

I had no idea of the story of this swim club before reading this book. In the 1930s, a group of kids liked swimming in the irrigation ditches of Hawaii’s sugar plantations. When local authorities try to chase them away, Soichi Sakamoto takes responsibility for the kids and decides to form a swim club. Using the natural resistance of the current, Sakamoto trained the kids to swim and his swimmers began to win meet after meet, becoming some of the best swimmers in the world.

I adore the illustrations in this playful, joyful book that is perfect for the youngest readers in your life. This wonderful book celebrates playtime and the connection between children and the natural world. Each page is a beautiful display of childhood and nature in celebration of each other.

This nonfiction picture book tells the story of Garrett Morgan, a Black man who transformed his dreams into life-saving inventions. Battling racism and discrimination, Morgan changed the world when he created inventions still used today like the traffic light and gas masks.

In this inspiring picture book, the immigrant experience is retold alongside dreamy illustrations. The Statue of Liberty stands as a welcoming symbol for people looking to make the U.S their new home, for all variety of reasons, but their new home can also be a painful change as not everyone is as welcoming as the Statue of Liberty.

In this picture book, Ashoka the Fierce is an angry prince who took his rage with him when he took the throne. After fighting a terrible war, Ashoka was consumed by guilt realizing the pain his anger caused so he began practicing Buddhism, setting aside his rage for compassion and kindness instead.

Harvey’s plans to just be normal at his new school are dashed when he realizes Strangeville is far from normal. A giant rat is on the loose, there’s something swimming in the drinking fountain, and there’s a mysterious supply closet you’re not even supposed to think about. Harvey’s new friend Stella is happy to show him around but when she goes missing investigating the supply closet, it’s up to Harvey to find her.

I adore Daniel Minter’s illustrative style (Going Down Home with Daddy, a book he illustrated, won a Caldecott Honor a couple of years ago), and this book is beautifully created with linoleum block prints. In this story, seven brothers are constantly fighting, but when their father dies, the brothers are tasked with creating gold out of seven spools of thread. If they can’t accomplish this by sundown, they will live the rest of their life as beggars. Using the Nguzo Saba, or “seven principles” of Kwanzaa, the author has created an unforgettable story that shows how family members can pull together, for their own good and the good of the entire community.

Sonia Manzano from Sesame Street writes this sweet tale about the joys of an urban Christmas. On the day before Christmas, Mami brings home a delicious roast for a Christmas feast. When they discover it’s too big to fit in their oven, Jose and Papa need to find an oven big enough to cook Mami’s roast. They visit their neighbors to find a bigger oven, bringing Christmas cheer with them along the way.

It’s December, and the houses on Isaac and Teresa’s block are getting ready for the holidays. Isaac and his family decorate their big window for Chanukah, and across the street, his best friend Teresa and her family trim their Christmas tree. When it gets dark, Teresa’s house glows red and green and Isaac’s decorative menorah glows blue and white. But when someone throws a rock through Isaac’s window late at night, the celebratory spirit is extinguished until the whole community joins together to support Isaac and his family and celebrate the true spirit of the holidays.

This sweet picture book answers the age old question: What does Santa look like? A family celebrates the Christmas season with family, representation, and holiday spirit.

There are many sides to every story, and this story is about Kristoffer and Kristtorn. They lived alone in the woods until one day, Kristoffer was found by a couple and taken away to live with them while Kristtorn was left alone. She ends up finding a home with a witch who recognized her powers and tried to protect her from the world. But Kristtorn grew up and her powers grew, and she learned that the world was afraid of her. Beautiful illustrations accompany this Christmas tale.

In this playful picture book, Marcy can’t help but create messes wherever she goes. But with her grandparents visiting, Marcy’s mama is determined to get her room clean, and Marcy knows just what to do.

In a tribute to the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal, her daughter Paris pens this newest Uni the Unicorn installment. Uni, the only unicorn who knows kids exist, finally visits the real world with her best friend. But no one else can see Uni, until they too start to believe in magic.

In this lovely picture book that’s also a sensitive portrayal of death and dying, readers follow the life of a fox. First we watch as the fox teaches her cubs how to survive in the wild. Eventually the fox dies, but her death is more than an ending, it’s also a beginning.

In this fun novel, Portico is secretly Stuntboy, who protects the other residents of his apartment building, including his parents. Despite Stuntboy’s efforts, he can’t keep his parents from fighting or stop the anxious worries that come with it.

In this graphic novel, Livy struggles to fit in at her new school. Her only companion is Viola, the shadowy manifestation of Livy’s anxiety. When Livy starts making friends, it seems like Viola may not be around much longer, but new stresses make Viola more prominent than ever. To learn how to live with her, Livy will have to finally ask for help.

Ten years after A Sick Day for Amos McGee, readers are reunited with Amos as he plans a big surprise for his friends at the zoo. But after staying up late to plan, Amos misses his bus, potentially ruining his big surprise, but his friends step in to help.

This historical picture book retells the story of Wong Kim Ark, an American-born man who returned home to San Francisco after a trip to China and was refused entry into the country because he wasn’t considered to be an American. After enduring months of imprisonment, Wong Kim Ark took his case to the Supreme Court, where he argued that anyone born in the U.S is an American citizen.

In this picture book from zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, a young boy named Minh realizes that the Buddha statue where people leave fruit isn’t actually the Buddha and so begins a search to find the real Buddha, before realizing that the Buddha lives in everyone, including him.

In this tender graphic novel, Manuel struggles in the aftermath of witnessing a violent attack. He finds solace in his photography but when he’s grouped with Sebastian and Caysha on a school project, he finds a new opportunity for peace and healing.

A necessary collection for artists and art lovers, this anthology highlights twenty-six Black contemporary artists. Offering recognition and praise for artists routinely locked out of mainstream art conversations, this book highlights their stories, their specific styles, and reproduces one of their signature works.

When you open up this beautiful pop-up book, you’re greeted with a gorgeous collection of trees that spring up from the pages. When a machine comes to chop the forest down, animals flee and the following page is white and barren. What can be done to restore the forest? This sweet book will appeal to all young readers who know that their earth is changing and want to preserve wild areas and the creatures that live there.

I adore this robust book filled with a poem for each day of the year, accompanied by stunning illustrations. The poems are focused on animals and are short (some only a couple of lines!) and sweet and and sure to invite conversation and wonder.

All fifty-five African countries are highlighted here, divided into five distinct sections—South, East, West, Central, and North—and each country is showcased on its own bright, energetic page brimming with friendly facts on science, industry, food, sports, music, wildlife, landscape features, even snippets of local languages. There are fascinating pieces of information about each country, accompanied by charming illustrations.

Wonderful storytelling accompanied by beautiful illustrations and facts and photos about the areas the stories are set in make for a fantastic treasury. Published by National Geographic, this collection of stories includes a sailor with an ogre wife in a story from China, a young girl who outsmarts giants in a tale from Fiji, a clever rooster seeking its fortune in a tale from Morocco, a music-playing jaguar in a story from Ecuador, and princes turned to statues in a story from Italy, among many other stories.

This is a fantastic collection of stories, essays, poems, and historical excerpts along with full-color art by prominent Black creators. Each contribution captures the pride, prestige, and jubilation that is being Black in America. A recipient of multiple starred reviews, 30 children’s books creators lend their voices to this collection, including Nikki Grimes, Kwame Mbalia, and Sharon Draper.

When I showed this to my husband, he spent a good long while flipping through the pages and exclaiming over the scale relica comic. This hardback edition comes in a beautiful blue-and-red slipcase stamped with Spidey’s iconic sigil, while the cover features original artwork by Marcos Martín, the multiple- award-winning Marvel artist famed for his work on Spider-Man.

This book is not specifically for kids but it does include a lot of wonderful children’s book recommendations! This richly illustrated and vastly inclusive collection uplifts the works of authors who are often underrepresented in the literary world. Using their keen knowledge and deep love for all things literary, coauthors Jamise Harper (founder of the Diverse Spines book community) and Jane Mount (author of Bibliophile) collaborated to create an essential volume filled with treasures for any reader looking to diversify their bookshelves. I loved their recommendations and side notes on the books they include here.

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In this picture book, written in verse, a young girl is assigned a family tree project. When she can only trace her family back three generations, she and the rest of her family gather to hear about their history, how their ancestors were taken captive and sold into slavery and how those born on the water survived.

In this joyous picture book celebrating Japanese culture, a girl and her large and varied family spend the day at the big bath house, taking part in all the usual rituals before sinking into the bath.

Aspiring artist Maisie has always imagined growing up to take over her family’s art shop. But when the shop falls on hard times, Maisie’s dreams seem to only become more impossible. Determined to help, Maisie departs to London to find her estranged older brother— who cut off ties with their family years ago— thinking he may be the key to saving their shop. Instead, she uncovers painful truths about her family and has to decide if she’s able to forgive.

This young reader’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon translates the story for the younger set, retelling the heartrending story of a series of murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s. As the death toll rises, the FBI gets involved (including a Native American undercover operative) to unveil a shocking conspiracy, fueled by racism and greed, to steal from the wealthy Osage people.