Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Rosie falls in love with a dress while visiting the thrift store with her mom.  When she gets home with it, she discovers a name on the tag: Mila.  Imagining what Mila might be like, Rosie shows readers a lot about herself: she likes purple nail polish, mismatched socks, skateboarding, origami, and tortilla chips on her tuna sandwiches.  Rosie wears the dress every day until one day it feels too tight.  She considers other uses for it, like decorating her room or putting it on her stuffed giraffe, but ultimately decides to let it go.  Before she takes it back to the thrift shop, she adds her name to the tag.  The last few pages show Rosie falling in love with another thrifted item and another girl looking happy to discover the dress.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A sweet story about a girl with many interests and passions who also learns a lesson about passing on something she loves when it no longer is right for her.

Cons:  As the mother of a daughter who just returned from hiking 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail in one shirt, I can vouch for the fact that it’s good to change your clothes once in a while.

I have to admit it is sheer coincidence that I finally finished up a book list entitled People with Physical Disabilities and learned that July is Disability Pride Month. Here’s a link to the list, which can also be found on my blog under Book Lists.

I had good intentions of getting this list posted in June. Better late than never. Anyway, I have a new book list, Pride: Books About LGBTQ+ Kids

Instead of a review today, I’ve put together a list of books dealing with grief and loss.

You can find it here.

As I’ve written here before, I am finishing up my second year at an elementary school in Springfield, Massachusetts. According to the Massachusetts Department of Education profile, 93% of the students at my school are low-income, 95% high needs, and for 30%, English is not their first language.

This is the first year the school library has been open in quite a few years, and these students love their new library. They often stop me in the hall to share with me how much they enjoyed their library book or to tell me how excited they are about their upcoming visit to the library. It’s been a joy to watch them develop as readers and to see some of them get hooked on a series or fall in love with a particular book.

I have two Donors Choose projects active right now to try to get funding so I can give every student in grades PreK-2 a new book at the end of the school year. In June I plan to share with them different summer reading programs, and I would like to kick off their summer reading with a new book.

Donors Choose is an organization that matches teachers’ projects with donors. I’ve had nine projects funded in the last two years, all for library books, and it has made a huge difference for my collection. I don’t usually ask for personal donations, but this summer reading project is particularly important to me.

If you’d like to make a donation, you can click here to give to the PreK and kindergarten students and here for grades 1 and 2 (click on the blue “Give” button when you get to the site). Thank you in advance, and I assure you your contribution will make some young child in Springfield very happy.

Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  Grandma’s coming for a visit, and it’s time to get the house whipped into shape.  The narrator posts a list of chores on the refrigerator with magnetic letters: mop the floor, mow the lawn, feed the fishes, rock the baby, bathe the cat.  Bathe the cat?!  When the cat hears that, he springs into action, making a mess of the letters on the fridge and creating a new chore list.  Family members start vacuuming the lawn and mopping the baby.  But when the cat hears “mow the cat”, it’s time for another letter scramble.  Finally, things are so mixed up, the narrator just tells everyone what to do, and this time it’s the baby who gets bathed and the cat gets rocked.  48 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  I could hear the sound of preschool children laughing as I read this zany book with all of its mixed-up chores.  The illustrations add to the high energy with neon pink, yellow, and orange, and lovingly depict a biracial two-dad family. 

Cons:  When Grandma appears on the last page, she looks like she wouldn’t miss a beat coming into a house with an unvacuumed rug, an unmowed lawn, and an unbathed baby, so I don’t know what all the fuss was about
.

Published by HarperAlley

Summary:  Ally is an alligator minding his own business when he hears, “Fee Boo, Fee Boo.”  A new bird has landed in the swamp, and that bird wants to be Ally’s new best friend.  Beak seems a bit lacking in social skills, and Ally says he wants to be left alone.  Soon, however, Ally receives an invitation for a nest-warming party and decides he’ll go for ten minutes.  On his way, he passes a sad-looking Beak, who informs him that the party has been canceled.  Ally discovers that the new nest has been taken over by a bird called a Long-Necked Party Pooper.  Annoyed by the Party Pooper’s bullying attitude, Ally reclaims the nest for Beak, whom he refers to as his friend.  That’s all Beak needs to hear to get busy planning out adventures for the two friends.  64 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  This is a bit of a Throwback Thursday, since this book was published in 2021.  It kind of stayed under the radar with only one slightly sour review from Kirkus but was a 2022 Geisel honor book.  I found it charming and entertaining, a perfect beginning graphic novel for new readers.  Book #3 comes out in May, so there’s the 2022 connection.

Cons:  Although the title of the series is Beak and Ally, the alligator is never referred to by name in the story. The bird introduces himself as Beak, but the alligator calls him Fee Boo.

Just in time for Black History Month, I have created a list of 65 picture books about Black history, including biographies, nonfiction, and historical fiction, with links to my reviews. You can find the list here or go to “Book Lists” near the top of the blog home page. When you move your cursor over that, a menu of all the book lists I’ve created will appear and you can click on “Black History”. There are so many great books on this list, and I hope you will find something there that inspires you to share!

I just watched the livestream of the ALA awards announcements. It’s a humbling experience, as there are always a bunch of books I’ve never heard of, much less read and reviewed. This is far from a complete list of all the awards given, but here are a few. I’ve linked to my reviews where applicable.

Caldecott Award

Winner

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

Honors

Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer

Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris

Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Newbery Award

Winner

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Honors

Watercress by Jason Chin

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocha

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Too Bright to See by Kyle Luyken

Coretta Scott King Award

Illustrator winner

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Illustrator honors

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson

We Wait for the Sun by Dovey Johnson Roundtree, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham, illustrated by C. G. Esperanza

Author winner

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Author honors

Home Is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi, illustrated by Loveis Wise