HOPE Is a Thing With Wings... and Ears: RABBIT's FEAT

HIPPO PARK (Astra Books) 2025

Spring is the season of change, of hope, of... rabbits! Whether you welcome them or dread their nibbling intrusions in your gardens, rabbits are appealing and hard to resist. A new fiction picture book, RABBIT'S FEAT, created by author/illustrator Barney Saltzberg, is also appealing and utterly irresistible. (That sweet little title pun has a few punny partners within the text, but not enough to annoy the anti-pun-folks among us!)

This new book presents, on the cover, a simple but fantastic premise...Boulder is firmly anchored on a high ledge, not far from prickly Cactus that blooms only occasionally, as is often true for  cactus plants. The two have shared this exact desert space long enough to become "friends", and the text centers on their minimal dialogue. In only a few lines it's clear that boulder genuinely longs to get closer to witness those rare blooms more fully, and cactus dreams that would be possible. This central problem and ensuing discussions are  illustrated with warm, saturated desert-night colors. The text elicits empathy, even for inanimate, immovable objects.

 But wait...

A parallel VISUAL narrative is launched on the first page. Rabbit hears their conversation of friendship and longing, spring after spring, and understands that boulder and cactus are each incapable of moving. On that same opening spread is a butterfly, reappearing throughout each spread. Both the rabbit's awareness and the butterfly's presence symbolize that hope can be nurtured, even in seemingly hopeless situations. 

This essential wordless visual narrative is anything but stationary, revealing rabbit's attempts to move Boulder. Imagine that. Even with burtterfly's help, (imagine that, too) it seems a lost cause. But without evidence of movement, Boulder senses their efforts, imagines that a move just might be possible, that things might change.

Rabbit recruits support, and (spoiler) succeeds. The winners are kindness, team work, and science, and especially readers. 

Illustrations are a masterful blend of collage (using handmade papers) and soft-edged art with crisp rabbit character elements (eyes, nose, whiskers, claws) that enrich an appealing emotional story among the collaborators.

Harking back to my longtime soapbox, that the best of picture books offer value and meaning to readers of any age, this story made me think of so many current situations involving separation, longing, and seemingly hopeless situations. Throughout our country and in our own lives. Just sensing that someone, anyone, recognizes that longing, cares, and wants to help can make the struggle survivable, right? if those who want to help will recruit others, if they collaborate in creative thinking and energy, if even the slightest among them is valued and included, anything is possible.

Whether used intentionally as SEL text in support of dreams, hope, teamwork, empathy, and community, or as a fun intro to the power of levers and other simple machines, or simply to entertain and engage young audiences, RABBIT'S FEAT is a winner.

Meet a Real Global Leader: BRAVE VOLODYMYR: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine

 

QUILL TREE BOOKS, 2025

Here's a quick look at a biographical picture book that you really should not miss, BRAVE VOLODYMYR: The Story of Volodymyr Zelinsky and the Fight for Ukraine, written by Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrated by Grasya Oliyko. This beautifully produced visually appealing and informative book has compelling text that allows readers of any age to live alongside Volodymyr and his country-folk from the time of his childhood, living within restrictions of SOVIET UNION suppression through years of liberation and the current state of war. 

The opening spread sets the stage for this chronological but emotionally compelling account with an expanse of blue sky and golden sunflowers (below) forming the background of young Volodymyr's youth. Both text and spread effectively reveal the landscape as the inspiration for the horizontal expanse of blue and yellow color that is the Ukranian flag. I will never see that flag again without recognizing the iconic countryside that inspired it. The brief text on that page includes the facts that Ukrainians are rightly proud of their flag but were denied the right to fly it while under the thumb of the Soviet Union.

Quill Tree Books interior: Brave Volodymyr

In early pages we learn that lies were issued and enforced by that Russian state suppression. When a famine that starved millions of Ukrainians was denied by the government, no one could speak out to disagree or report the facts. Volodymyr and others all knew they were lies, and Volodymyr hated lies. 

At age thirteen, Volodymyr witnessed the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

As a child in a Jewish family in Ukraine, he was aware of existing antisemitism, despite Jews being an integral part of Ukraine for more than a thousand years. He attended college, mastering not only Ukrainian and Russian languages but English as well. He became a performer in comedy, acting, and more. 

Across the years, his independent government shifted to dishonesty and Influence by Russia,  including relying on lies to manipulate the public and maintain control. Across several ensuing years, Volodymyr noted his country's corruption and took part in protests and efforts to replace the leadership with more honest government. He created and starred in a television series in which an honest high school teacher is elected president of the country.  His goal was to offer humor and heart as communication tools to help his people find and protect the truth.

Soon after, when a free election was held, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY was elected president of Ukraine! When Russia invaded portions of Ukraine, the people fought back. A few years later, another Russian invasion and full armed assault threatened Ukraine, but they managed to fight back with support from many other countries, and by insisting on THE TRUTH. At the writing of this book, the war continues, despite Zelensky's and Ukraine's effort to find a peaceful solution. 

The author's heritage is early generations of Ukrainians, and the back note indicates her heart remains deeply rooted there. A timeline with brief notes allows readers to place a current lifetime into events that will always be a part of world history- The fall of the Soviet Union, the protests and revolution in Ukraine, and the invasion and ensuing war with Russia. What is most effectively threaded throughout is Zelensky's determination to adhere to the truth, and the Ukrainian people's pride of country and independence.

I hope you will take a look at this one, closely. Unconfirmed reports indicate that some larger retail outlets are reluctant to stock this book or provide promotion due to our own government's stance relative to Russia and Ukraine. I bought a copy and requested that my library carry it. I am posting this review because I admire the book as a quality picture book, but also to do my small part to support the truth. Will you join me? Tell people about it. Buy or donate a copy. Display it at your school or library. The truth matters, and silence is a slippery slope to dictatorship.

A BOARD BOOK Beauty That IS NEVER BORING

 Board books are a specific and appealing format of picture books. Parents, teachers, and librarians will confirm that they are among the favorites for the earliest of independent tots. But they also require some particular qualities to survive their intended audiences in order to be worth the investment. As we all know, the youngest among us tend to flap hands and arms, bang things, and even toss items they love. Those may sound like tantrum behaviors, but they're nothing like the "throw a fit" behavior we witness all too often even among adults. What observers of little ones will note is that the degree of excitement and enthusiasm they feel is expressed in direct proportion to body responses, from bounces to bangs to giggles to chewing. 

All of those spontaneous reactions can be mighty tough on a book.That accounts for the pricing on some of the best of the board books, designed and constructed to survive such tough love! That includes durable covering, expensive but solid binding, wipeable covers, and sturdy interior paper or cardboard stock. If you add in delightful features like lift-the-flaps with inner flap text and tabs, each little copy is its own work of art. 

PHAIDON Press, 2025

All of the above are among the reasons I am such a fan of the recent nonfiction board book, THE SECRET POWERS OF ANIMALS, written by Soledad Romero Marino and illustrated by Sonia Pulido. A recent post featured earlier this month, SUPER POWERED PLANTS is the work of this well-suited creative pair. They both know their target audiences, shaping the design, text, and level of details perfectly for those older readers, but shifting to the crisp, uncluttered wording and visuals for this young board book crowd. 

The main text is rhymed, usually six lines, innkid-friendly language. That's followed by a question that prompts engagement, prediction, and observation. Each creature image has three lift-the-flaps that share a sentence or two about ways the particular creature has adapted and survives. The animals range from insects to land, water, and air inhabitants. They are familiar (from bees to house cats) and novel (octopus and narwhale). In each case the text page is framed/bordered by stylized elements of the habitat, but the animals are displayed on simple-solid color backgrounds that encourage attention to the details of each creature.

Interior: THE SECRET POWERS OF ANIMALS

As I mentioned above, board books are delightful for littles hands, and worth the purchase. If a book becomes read/loved beyond recognition, it might even merit replacement for the same child, next sibling, or succeeding class or group. In this case, the US price listed for the book is $14.95, a surprisingly reasonable cost for a book of this quality. It has excellent language, informational content, interactivity, visual appeal, durability, and charm. Little ones ih laps or on their own can engage with high level thinking, comparing body parts, colors, sizes and shapes, and more. If you know of anyone ion this target range, make yourself a hero and treat them to this fun new board book. 

Interior: THE SECRET POWERS OF ANIMALS

Phaidon Press provided a physical copy without promise of a review. I rarely comment on books for this age and format unless I can examine the durability and construction directly, and I was delighted by this book! It is a great choice for the smallest tots, but will be enjoyed and examined closely by preschools and even early readers. 

HOME in a LUNCH BOX: A Universal, Any-Age Story

 I've been giving lots of time and attention to nonfiction picture books lately, so I welcome this pause to celebrate a minimal-text/nearly wordless new book of fiction. It feels "just right" on many levels and I hope you'll agree. HOME IN A LUNCHBOX is the tasteful, heart-tugging work of writer/illustrator Cherry Mo. It was the well-deserved winner of a Caldecott Honor Medal recently, and many other accolades.

This fiction picture book accomplishes what often occurs- that HUMAN TRUTH, the kind of universal realities that all or many of us experience, can reveal itself most clearly through fiction. The author/illustrator reports that this story mirrors many aspects of her own childhood relocation with her loving family, and she has captured every child-like element of such an exciting-terrifying-hopeful-heartbreaking aspect of the major change that launches this story.

PENGUIN WORKSHOP, 2024

 

In this case, a young girl and her parents move from Hong Kong to a small American town, a story in itself that is told with a visual transition on the opening end papers. On the left is a complex and ultra-urban prior home, but a road travels to the right with the image of a truck labeled INTERNATIONAL MOVERS. That  transports readers to a simpler, seemingly suburban neighborhood. It's a seismic journey of thousands of miles captured on endpapers!

Title page illustrations and those that follow (full page illustrations, strips, panels, and double-spread pages) use minimal text: only brief speech bubbles, iconic signs, or words (in two languages) written on the palm of Jun's hand.  Each image is powerful in carrying the plot narrative and the deep emotions throughout Jun's efforts to be friendly, meet people, understand a totally foreign language, and interpret the confused reponses she gets to her efforts. 

It is at lunch time, sitting alone, when Jun is transported back to her loving family and prior life whenever she opens her lunchbox. The comfort of delicious memories, literally and figuratively, gives her the strength to make it home, off the bus, and into her mother's arms that first day. 

Each day after reveals more roadblocks and hurdles, but the bus-riding neighbor girl who wanted to be friendly is effectively shown throughout as noticing, as growing in awareness of Jun not just as someone new, or even an outsider, but as a child like herself, one with something to to say and do. That observant friend eventually plays a pivotal role, as do the contents of the lunchbox. A not too surprising happy ending does not disappoint because the scene shifts and reveals even more cultural specialties shared with new-found friends. A few pages of back matter provide the phonetic spelling for the words on Jun's hands, as well as the names for the foods featured in the lunchbox and during the conclusion. The closing end papers provide a Jun-styled art display of her contrasting homes that are fun to compare to the opening papers in content and style. 

Return for a moment to the premise with which I began: fiction can artfully convey the deepest truths. Leaving home is never easy. Being the "new kid" is challenging, even without language and cultural differences. We all need talismans of comfort, and food often does the trick. When  things get difficult, seek refuge among your safe people, but return again to face those difficulties. And hold on to the child within you- those emotions are some of the purest, truest, most constructive of any you will ever feel. Last, but not finally (since this story of few words offers depths of story levels), when you see someone struggle or in need of a friend, reach out. And then do it again, if the first time goes awry. EMPATHY is not a weakness it is a feature of maturity and humanity, not a glitch.

I can think of no better book to share as widely and often as possible and no better time than now.