Published by Orchard Books

Summary:  The illustration facing the title page shows a woman tracing a route on a map with her finger while her two children look on.  Outside the window, her husband is loading a canoe on the top of her car. We never learn the woman’s name, but we follow her journey as she travels the length of the Hudson River in a canoe.  We learn what she eats, how she camps, and what animals she sees along the way. We watch as she struggles through rapids, narrowly avoids a tugboat collision, and capsizes in a storm before finally reaching her destination: New York City.  After paddling the length of the city, she dreams of other adventures, but knows that right now she belongs back with the family who is greeting her on the shore. Includes an author’s note (that begins “I did not canoe down the Hudson River.”), a note on the Hudson River, and a list of additional resources.  48 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  Here’s one more for the pile of Caldecott contenders I’m gathering up to share with my students.  Readers will be inspired to try an adventure of their own after reading the details of this one and seeing the gorgeous landscapes.  

Cons:  There’s a fair amount of text, written in a quiet style with plenty of details; while this is certainly not a bad thing, it may not grab readers right away.

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Published by Greystone Kids

Summary:  A girl narrator tells of her move from the city to the country.  At first, she’s sad and misses all the people and things she’s left behind.  Her mother encourages her to visit their neighbor Agnes, and soon a friendship forms between the older woman and younger girl.  Both of them are artists–the girl loves drawing and Agnes makes things out of clay. As the seasons of the first year go by, Agnes gets sick and can’t get outside any more.  In the spring, a year after the move, the girl creates dozens of pictures of birds and hangs them in Agnes’s room to help her feel like she is outside. Walking home and, later, in bed, the girl thinks about her friend and how grateful she is for their friendship.  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A quiet story celebrating intergenerational friendships and the passing of time in the natural world.  I don’t think Agnes dies at the end, but it’s not clear; either way, the story celebrates life and friendship. Julie Flett is Cree-Mêtis and deftly inserts some Cree words and imagery into the text.

Cons:  One review I read said there was a glossary of Cree words at the end of the book, but this was not the case with the book I saw.

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Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  This action-filled ABC uses verbs in unusual settings: “Act like a sprinkler in summer/Butt like a billy goat/Crow like a rooster, make the sun come up.”  Each has an animal illustration to accompany it, as the text goes all the way through to “X out all the bad stuff/Yell, ‘Good morning, big fat world!’/Zip, zip, zip, zip, zip”.  48 pages; ages 3-6.

Pros:  Sergio Ruzzier’s cute animal illustrations enliven this text written by the late Ruth Krauss, the beloved author of A Hole Is To Dig and The Carrot Seed among others.  Kids will get a kick out of the falling elephants for “Fall like rain” (who appear a few pages later in “Jump like raindrops”), the mice walking along a winding snake for “Go like a road”, and other whimsical illustrations.

Cons:  As I’ve said before, sometimes there’s a reason those manuscripts discovered posthumously didn’t get published (looking at you, Dr. Seuss’s executors).  This book is cute, but I was kind of underwhelmed, and surprised that it got four starred reviews.

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Published by Zonderkidz

Summary:  Steve Grieg’s Instagram account, wolfgang2242, is the inspiration for this story of a family of rescued animals that includes nine dogs, a rabbit, a chicken, and a pig.  Each one has its own distinctive personality, likes/dislikes, and quirks, but they all help each other and enjoy spending time together. The illustrations are photographs of the animals superimposed on cartoon-style artwork.  One of the dogs is blind, one has no teeth, one has bad hair days six days a week, but no matter. All are loved and happy to be part of the family. Includes an afterword by best-selling author Jodi Picoult about her own love of animals and enjoyment of Steve’s Instagram.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  What’s not to like about this motley crew of lovable animals?  Kids will get a good laugh out of all their antics, and also appreciate the message of a family’s unconditional love.  I had never heard of Steve Grieg, but apparently, he has become quite an advocate for older pet adoption through his Instagram.

Cons:  Not being familiar with Steve Grieg or Wolfgang, I was a bit mystified by the title and premise of this book until I read the reviews and afterword.

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