PPBF: Moonshot

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11Written and illustrated by: Brian FlocaPublished: Atheneum, revised 2019Themes: space exploration, moon landing, lyricalSuggested ages: 4-10 First page:High abovethere is the moon,cold and quiet,no air, no life,but glowing in the sky. Review/Synopsis:With stunning artwork and lyrical flow, Moonshot takes us alongside Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong on their...

How Can We Be Kind

How Can We Be Kind, Wisdom from the Animal KingdomWritten by: Janet HalfmannIllustrated by: Darla OkadaPublisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books (Quarto) - 2022Ages: 3-6+Themes: Kindness, animals, non-fiction. Beginning: How can we be kind? We can look after each other, like European badgers do. Review: Kids can be kind, but did you know animals have their...

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...

Mushroom Rain

Mushroom RainWords by Laura K. ZimmermannIllustrated by Jamie GreenPublished 2022 Mushrooms aren't usually something we associate with beauty, they're more likely to be feared or seen as dirty. But Mushroom Rain celebrates and shows the wonder and magic and beauty of fungi. It's lyrical, every word flows when reading out loud, and the descriptions are...

The Mysterious Sea Bunny

The Mysterious Sea BunnyWords and art by Peter RaymundoPublished 2021 The question is posed: is a Sea Bunny a rabbit or a hare?Neither. They are a type of sea slug, a nudibranch if you will.With adorable art and a conversational dialogue, The Mysterious Sea Bunny introduces children to the wide, wild world of sea slugs...

Yay for Big Brothers!

Yay for Big Brothers!Written by Janet HalfmannArt by Shennen BersaniPublished 2021 We often think of animal families as not having overlapping groups of babies. Some animals don't even care for their young at all. But in Yay for Big Brothers we see several different types of animals where the big kids stick around and help...

Chemical Reactions

Chemical Reactions(with science projects)By Dr. Susan Berk KochArt by Micah Rauch While I primarily focus on picture books on my blog, this was one I wanted to share here as well. Kids love science, and especially they love love love the experiments! With text that is easy and fun to read, this is a great...

Who is Singing?

Who is Singing?Words by Janet HalfmannIllustrations by Chrissy ChabotPublished 2021 Have you ever been outside listening to the whistles, tweets, and whoos and wondered who you were listening to? In a beginners introduction to bird songs, Who Is Singing connects the sounds of several common American birds to their visual identification traits. I particularly enjoyed...

B is for Ballet

B is for BalletWritten by John Robert AllmanIllustrations by Rachael DeanPublished 2020 Discover the world of ballet from A to Z with B is for Ballet. Told in softly flowing rhyme, each couplet introduces people, positions, or a famous ballet or character. The art is beautiful and almost-realistic, giving it a storybook feel while maintaining...