The Barn: PPBF

The BarnWriter: Leah H RogersIllustrator: Barry RootPublisher: Candlewick, 2021Ages: 3-7Themes: Memory, Farming, Animals First page: "I am a barn." Review/Synopsis: The Barn is a story of the life of a barn. Narrated from the barn's perspective, it reads with a gentle, lyrical voice. It describes the entrances and exits by the animals, the comfort and...

When Cloud Became a Cloud – PPBF

When Cloud Became a CloudWritten and illustrated: Rob HodgsonPublisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2021Recommended ages: 3-8Themes: science, weather, STEM, water cycle, working togetherNon-fiction/informational fiction Synopsis: Cloud didn't use to be a cloud, she used to be part of the lake and then the evaporated droplets formed together into Cloud. She loves to travel and with...

A Dinosaur Named Ruth

A Dinosaur Named RuthHow Ruth Mason Discovered Fossils in Her Own BackyardWritten by Julia LyonIllustrated by Alexandra ByePublished 2021 Ruth Mason grew up in South Dakota and has a fascination with the odd "rocks" she finds strewn around her family's farm. She asks questions that no one can or will answer, but never stops looking...

Toasty

ToastyWords and art by Sarah HwangPublished 2021 Toasty wants to run and play with the dogs. Toasty has a nice collar. Toasty even has a great bark... But Toasty is not a dog and doesn’t have fur or hair like a dog. In fact, Toasty is a piece of toast who lives in a toaster....

One, Two, Grandma Loves You

One, Two, Grandma Loves YouWords by Shelly BeckerPictures by Dan YaccarinoPublished 2021 Seeing family is a special time, and in One, Two, Grandma Loves You we follow a young girl and her grandma as they prepare and wait. We see them planning, counting down the days, the visit, and then the hopeful preparation for the...

Looking for a Jumbie

Looking for a JumbieWritten by Tracey BaptisteIllustrated by Amber RenPublished 2021 Naya's mama says there are no such things as Jumbies, so at night Naya goes looking for one. In the dark woods, shadowy figures appear but instead of being scary, they decide to go along with Naya's plan to find a real Jumbie. Looking...

Ergo

ErgoWritten by Alexis DeaconIllustrated by Viviane SchwarsPublished 2021 Ergo wakes up to find herself as the entirety of everything she can see. Ergo is the universe... at least she thinks so until she discovers the wall. The wall is not Ergo, so Ergo isn't everything. So what is outside Ergo? Does it have wings and...

Ten Beautiful Things

Ten Beautiful ThingsWritten by Molly Beth GriffinIllustrated by Maribel LechugaPublished 2021 Lily is taking a trip out to Iowa to live with her Gram. It's a big trip and they start in the dark before sunrise. Lily feels uncertain about going to this "empty" land and so Gram decides they should try to find ten...

Room For Everyone

Room For EveryoneWritten by Naaz KhanIllustrated by Mercè LópezPublished 2021 Musa and Dada are on a ride in the daladala. They're heading to the beautiful beach of Zanzibar. First one, then another, and then more and people people need a ride. It seems impossible to squish and wiggle and fit so many people into the...

Unraveled

UnraveledWords and art by Leanne HatchPublished 2021 Cole's baby blanket his mama made is perfect. It's soft with just the right texture. He uses it for imaginative play, for sleeping, for carrying toys... everything. But it's knit and starts to unravel bit by bit until it's less a blanket and more a tangle. Cole holds...