TEA IS LOVE... And I LOVE Tea!

When my body was younger and more resilient, I consumed coffee at a furious pace. Faster and in greater volumes than allowed for any effort toward connoiseur reflections. Coffee was coffee. 

Then, with age, I couldn't tolerate coffee on a physiological level, even though I still enjoy coffee's aroma. Instead, I became a tea drinker, gradually acquiring preferences among various types and brands. Mainly, though, I found a calming effect in tea, in contrast to  the "ramping up" impact of a cup of strong coffee. 

That's all a lead in to a new picture book that considers tea as an experience rather than as a beverage, TEA IS LOVE, 

DIAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
2025

written by Adib Khorram and illustrated by Hannah Cha. With lyrical lines that, written alone, launch entire spreads, the lines assembled reveal a poetic humage to tea, the poep[le who provide it, and those who share it: 

"TEA is a plant.

TEA is a journey.

TEA is a rainbow.

And TEA is love."

With full spreads and spot illustrations, tea becomes an experience between and among people of every background and culture. Much of the "information" within this warm-hearted revelation about the power of TEA in our various lives is explored through images that involve diversity of homes, geography, and identity. Tea transcends it all. The author note in back (using many more words than the brief main text) offers details on types of tea, ways tea is used in various cultures, and ways it is prepared for market and then in various homes and restaurants. 

The distinctly diverse individuals (in age, ethnicity, gender, geography) suggest that TEA is a unifier, a universal experience despite distinct differences among us.The end papers are not only warmly welcoming with soft edges, finishes, and tender colors, but also in the variations of vessels associated with tea. This approach invites curiosity and questions rather than challenges and concerns.There are so MANY ways we can learn more about tea, but this simple book is a lovely introduction to and reminder of the "big picture " of TEA, what it is and what it means in our lives.

 For many decades now I've been on firm footing: I LOVE TEA. But this book (a new favorite of mine) persuades me that TEA IS LOVE. Why not pour yourself a cuppa your favorite tea and check this out?

HAPPY FRIENDSGIVING!

 Every day, in every way, I try to pause to be thankful. Sometimes it relates to a specific gratitude. Sometimes I simply note that opening line from e e cummings:

"Thank you god

for most this amazing day

for leaping greenly spirits of trees

for a blue true dream of a sky

for all that is natural

all that is infinite

all that is 

YES"

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2025

With that in mind, HAPPY FRIENDSGIVING is a delightful book to share on Thanksgiving, in NewYork City, with a wide-ranging group of friends pouring into a joyful space from corners far and wide. Or anywhere! Written by Marcie  Colleen and illustrated by Laura Sandoval Herrera, this lovely depiction of a familiar event extends far beyond  formulaic. There are other countries that designate dates for official giving of thanks. Even so, here in the good old USofA, we seem to have staked a claim on what a THANKSGIVING DAY should look like. 

In fact, this artful and appealing approach blends  many iconic situations and images that you might expect. HAPPY FRIENDSGIVING lifts its story from that familiar platform to expand in specifics (diversity on many levels) as well as concepts (traveling, gathering, preparing, and more, but without labels of time, place, recipes) allowing folks in many locations and from many traditions to see themselves in this work and in such a joyous gathering. 

The illustrations are warmly colorful and convey genuine emotions without inserting features that clearly identify or label those involved. The range of activities, emotions, events, and experiences open the pages to every eye and hand. 

For some other recommended books on this topic, check posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. The most important idea I took from this (and some of the prior posts) is that the name of the holiday matters little, whether THANKSGIVING, FRIENDSGIVING, HARVEST DAY, or INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY, whether your gathering has a parade outside the window or a farm field or a dirt track, what matters is drawing together, sharing, caring, and extending ourselves to others with welcome and respect. 

Now that's a reason for gratitude. 

Girl Power and PHYSICS Forces!

 I have always enjoyed PHYSICS, and that was long before I took my first class to study it. Physics describes and explains and makes measurable the forces around us that keep us (and the universe) in motion and balance. I grew ups playing ping pong, pool, slinky, swimming, and all the other things that kids (who are lucky) can do. In each case FORCES were at work and I was figuring them out in the moment: gravity, buoyancy, spring, and more.

SOURCEBOOK EXPLORE, 2024

This new nonfiction picture book is an ideal resource for so many readers of many ages, from littles to adults. THE AMAZING POWER OF GIRLS: Meet the Universe's Most Powerful and Invisible Forces, with words by Maria Marianayagam and pictures by Skylar White. It's written in a quick-paced, clear-eyed way, framing the basic forces of physics (as above, and more) with examples and descriptions while offering parallel ways in which girls demonstrate and apply such force in their roles in the world. The overall premise suggests a lively science/STEM classroom of club space led by an engaging and inviting female teacher/leader and attended by a diverse, attentive, and clever batch of girls/young women. The application shifts take them from that dedicated space into the community and real ways that they have force and power without being forceful or threatening. That's unless you are threatened by empowered young women.

Some of the other forces explored include magnetism, nuclear power, tension, and friction. You can imagine the countless ways in which those forces, in terms of physics, can also reference women of any age in a world that sometimes tries to force them into or out of roles. The  overall text is lightly applied with elaboration in the illustrations, including simplified indicators of physics forces, including vectors, spirals, and more. Diversity displayed is extensive, suggesting identities, interests, adaptations, and potentials. The author note also indicates the importance of encouragement, with the author pointing out that her own engineer-father always provided opportunities for her to explore and engage with science and math throughout her life. 

STEM has taken center stage in many aspects of publishing and educational approaches, but this is a grand example that directing aspects of science principles and challenges at girls and young women is a natural and valuable approach with lighthearted sincerity and appeal.

Well worth reading and sharing!

A Fast Fanfare of Fiction Titles

 I've returned from a lengthy stretch away. It's one that involved loss and struggle, as well as some illness. I only mention that to indicate that this marks a full return. I'll resume a more normal schedule now, and I thank you for your patience and for staying with me during some abbreviated posts and less frequent reviews.

That stack of very special picture books I mentioned in a recent post, HERE, has now gained my full attention. Any one of them deserves a full post. In my time away, I was honored and excited to learn that I will again be serving as a ROUND ONE CYBILS panelist for 2022 titles in the nonfiction category. Since our listings this year will span elementary, middle grade, and high school titles, I'm already beginning the process of reading and preparing reviews for those. As a result, I offered brief thoughts about these fantastic fiction books in my GOODREADS pages. I'll include them here with cover images and a line or two from my reviews. I hope you'll trust my opinion enough to get your hands on them and check them out for yourself while I return to a growing stack of nonfiction titles at the other side of my desk!

CLARION BOOKS, 2022

LITTLE GOOD WOLF is written  and illustrated by the talented pair of sisters, Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. 

Some lines from my Goodreads notes:

It is a topsy-turvy twist on the trope of a BIG BAD WOLF in those many folk tales, with a young wolf who is a major disappointment to his "Big Bad" parent wolves. Despite their most earnest efforts, he is deeply, naturally GOOD, but also wants to please his parents and be accepted by them.

 

CAPSTONE EDITIONS, 2022

YOU ARE LIFE is written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Hannah Li. Moving from fantasy/allegory to contemporary philosophy and identity, this is a book for everyone, with special emphasis on the ways in which we are alike... in a society that too often stresses and threatens differences.

I had this to say:

Lyrical, lovely text and images that offer a diverse cast but with particular affirmation of Asian/Pacific Island children whose physical identity may have resulted in situati0ns of taunting/bullying or led to witnessing this toward people in their family or communities, especially during the polarized Covid battles. The author note in back is worth reading with young audiences. 

CAROLRHODA BOOKS, 2022

FROM THE TOPS OF TREES is written by Kao Kalia Yang and illustrated by Rachel Wada. 

This is must-read for any age.

The art on the colorful pages of this poignant book will connect with kids from any background, while introducing them to the daily life of a child's family and community life in a refugee camp. Despite the comforting love of family and glorious pets, despite occasional spreads of grey and somewhat worrisome expressions. This child's hope is for life in a place that is different, better, holds promise, but she has no experience on which to frame such dreams. 

Her father's uplifting solution opens the whole world to her future. 

LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, 2022

BERRY SONG is written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade. 

Don't miss this one at any time of the year, but especially at this harvest time of year.

Dripping with delicious language and emhanced by glorious art in natural tones and sweeps of outdoor scenes, this brief, simple text celebrates "berrying" through the voices of an Alaskan indigenous pair, young and older. 

ut in the forest, they seek... BERRIES, like "little jewels".

From those early pages, the voices of elder and young, forest and heritage echo to each other with the values and cultural richness they share. Interspersed with berry chants naming specifics that were new to me, little audiences will quickly learn to chime in as they recur:

"thimbleberry, swampberry, dogberry, chalk berry,

lingonberry, raspberry, bunchberry, cranberry."

and more...

As I reread and wrote these various notes I realized that these are titles that are well-suited to share a post, since each deals with personal identity and finding/embracing our places in the wide world and within our own families.

I'll let those be the last words on this bouquet of terrific fiction titles. Let the fiction reading begin for you, and nonfiction for me!  Back with those notes soon.

Drawing Outdoors: A Perfect Time of Year

 The creative pair behind a recent book are new to me, but I now have my eye out for anything else they have created and will continue to produce. Author Jairo Buitrago is an award winner and is based in Mexico City. Rafael Yockteng has been illustrating acclaimed/awarded picture books, too, and currently live sin Bogata, Columbia. I appreciate the publisher, GREYSTONE KIDS,(An Aldana Libros Book) for this deft and artful translation to English. Both the story and art reflect a  seemingly non-USA setting, but the characters, circumstances, imaginations, and inspirations are so global, so universal that every child will be able to enter the experiences fully.

GREYSTONE KIDS, 2022

So, let's get to it. This new book, DRAWING OUTDOORS, has already been widely praised. I welcome this opportunity to add my voice to those accolades. Just as the art incorporates depth, crisp lines, lush colors, and familiar details (like a dog lifting its leg on a bush), the text presents the story directly and deliciously.

"Our school has almost nothing. A blackboard, some chairs. It has a teacher. She's always there. She stands in the doorway and waits for us every morning."

Not every reader will attend school in a small, hilltop building with red tile roof, arriving on converging dirt trails, alongside a river, tucked between green mountains. (Some WILL, and they will thrill to seeing their own familiar but rarely-portrayed school setting in a picture book.) Many, regardless of urban or other experiences, will identify with those opening lines above. 

And children everywhere will be tagging along with that teacher says lessons will be OUTSIDE today, snatching up their paper, crayons, and explorers' spirits to join the fun. What might have been a delightful example of children doing open-air nature art, or science observations (as in this prior post), or even a mapping exercise, turns out to be an expansive lesson in imagination. (The more mundane possibilities had been my prediction, so I really appreciated the imaginative developments that followed.)

In fact, with continued roaming, pausing, and specific prompts, these very diverse students spend time   seeking, finding, then sketching or painting a series of dinosaurs along the river bank, weaving through boulders, roaring in a wooded area, or flying through the darkening skies. Eventually they take a snack break while resting on "a branch as big as an ankylosaurus". Even during the snack scene we see that this "group" is composed of charmingly diverse individuals, friend and sibling pairs, and personality patterns that disrupt any sense that we readers would DARE to bring stereotypes or assumptions to our perceptions of communities outside our own narrow perspectives.

And yet, just as author John Schu took a more conventional approach to "school" in his recent book (reviewed HERE), regardless of the building or location or number of staff, WHAT IS A SCHOOL? can be answered as it can be here: SCHOOL is a place to look, listen, learn. To find safety, care, and inspiration.

And it should  always a place to find ourselves connected to others from every background.

With an expanding effort to "ban" books beyond narrow parameters, books that reveal what a wide and glorious world exists outside ourselves, even such a simple book as this might find itself questioned because of its definition of "school" or "learning" or even community. If you have opted to ignore this issue or feel it is one too many straws on your overburdened life, please consider reading this article. I'll appreciate it if you do.

Zack and Ike Love Being Alike! Don't We All?

Other than a few fashionistas I've known, most folks find it a fun affirmation to discover someone who is dressed quite similar to themselves, who enjoys the same things, or shares interests and traits that feel like their own. How comfortable it is to immediately recognize ourselves in others, to shortcut many of the "get to know you" strategies and quickly fail into familiar patterns with someone new.

That's a normal reaction. 

 But does it, SHOULD it, mean that those with evident differences from ourselves should be avoided? Might they even be treated as OTHERS? Is being "just alike" a requisite for being best friends?

ASTRA YOUNG READERS, 2022 

ZACK AND IKE ARE EXACTLY ALIKE, written and illustrated by award-winning Suzanne Bloom, offers a delightfully fun-filled picture book presenting that very dilemma. Filled with colorful and comic-style illustrations on white background, Zack and ike come to life with the vitality and appeal of kids down the street. They are quite similar, although readers of any age will note ways in which they aren't EXACTLY alike- their matching "wiggly hair" shows two different types of curliness, their skin color is different, but they see the many ways in which they are a matched pair: "google glasses, giggly grins, strong muscles, kind hearts, stripy shirts, and helmets." Young readers will note many ways they are alike that are not stated (missing front teeth, similar height and body types, etc.) as well as ways they are NOT. I appreciated that several of these relate to words/concepts/discussion points will offer young learners excellent development of basic vocabulary related to colors, shapes, sizes, and familiar nouns.

In fact, the fast-paced examples of activities, locations, and choices will have young audiences nodding along and eager to join them. That is likely to include recognition that even the closest of friends can have differences of opinions, such as whether to hike or head home when the bugs arrive. Advice to writers of books for this age includes the value of sudden twist or surprise, and this book offers that in two stages. First, they return to their shared hideout to note tracks and noises- A MONSTER!  When the intruder turns out to be something friendlier, the differences involve a naming debate, But just when the story might resolve, another surprise visit implies a potential loss, as well as a worrisome question of how to deal with someone new with NO apparent similarities to Ike and Zack. But a closer look and open minds are amply rewarded with the best possible prize-- more friendships!

There are so many things to like about this seemingly simple picture book and I'm very grateful to have received a copy for review from the publisher (with no promise of a positive review). The text is prose but is also rich with internal rhymes and appealing word choices. Those basic names are built on two "word chunks" that developing readers often use to gain independence (-ake and -ike). the many lines in which a variety of familiar words are from those "families" of words means that little ones will be reading along or even reading/retelling to themselves after only a few exposures. The illustrations are supportive in revealing simple but story-suited action images for the verbs/activity words. Both the literal story and those literal/visual elements off effective context for early reading development, but also contain gems that will pull kids back to laugh, explore, and enjoy again and again. The serpent swamp and secret hideout, as well as the results of their "maker" play are models of creativity and cleverness. The text is explicit about their strong hearts and muscles, but readers can easily recognize their similarly strong brain-power and artistry. 

All in all, this is going to be a hit for young readers with many returns to it over time. The value, then, is obvious. Even so, the theme and tone of friendships and similarities and other-ing and issue-resolving are so directly and warmly explored that I'd love to see many adults in today's world pay close attention, too. Whether it is PRIDE month or Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month or any other designated period in which to recognize and celebrate the value of particular races, ethnicities, or other identities, a book such as this asks us to focus on the innate ability of these boys to recognize themselves in each other, to build connections and friendships that make each and both lives better for their effort.

Garden Time... in Two Terrific Picture Books

 When rain (and slushy snow) were forecast for seven days in a row, I made an impulse decision to stop at the garden center and load up on grass seed and lawn patch kits. Within an hour I was spreading seed and seed/slurry across my badly bare and damaged lawn with flurries swirling around me. All week long, as folks around me grumbled about the gray, miserable days trudging one after the other, I held on to the dream I had of a green, healthy lawn, of seeds swelling and preparing to sprout, digging down and stretching toward the sun. (Eventually there will be sun, right?)

G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2022

I am not a lawn perfectionist, at all, preferring to trust Nature's management. But I do abhor bare patches, spots that seem neglected or uncared for. Then I do my part to give Nature a hand. 

That's why I felt immediately connected to Millie, the first person, present tense narrator of IN OUR GARDEN, a celebratory, instructive picture book written by Pat Zietlow Miller, with illustrations by Melissa Crowton. 

Millie is a girl transplanted from the home she knows and loves. She's surrounded by concrete-- steps, sidewalks, buildings. She sees (and feels) gray, dull, hard. Mom calls it HOMESICK. 

Millie longed for the tender, bright, uplifting color of her home. Then she has an idea, a bouncy idea, an idea that her classmates can't see. 

They see what is. Millie sees what could be!

Millie's idea is inspired by her previous life in a tall gray building with a garden on the roof. Her roof now isn't the right kind, but her SCHOOL ROOF seems perfect. And her mission is launched: first with her naysaying classmates, then with her teachers, and eventually with the community. Of course, there's the unstated but joyful involvement of Nature, every step of the way.  Lessons in science, math, and safety are needed to make this project possible and successful. Lessons were learned involving patience. (Lots of patience- no sign of grass sprouts after ten days, but I know what Millie knows: something IS happening. Out of sight! It makes dreamers like Millie bounce and believe. I'm right there with her.) Over time, a neglected, barren roof in a gray world under a gray sky is peopled with colorful new folks, old friends, soft and fragrant produce, and the buzz of life! 

Same sky, same sidewalk, new Millie!

Peachtree Publishing Company, 2022

Next up, MIGUEL'S COMMUNITY GARDEN is written by Ja-Nay Brown Wood and illustrated by Samara Hardy. This is also a contemporary, urban, realistic picture book, but it begins, in a sense, where IN OUR GARDEN ends. In this case the community garden (at ground level) is in full bloom and ready to harvest. Miguel is on a mission, too. His plan is to harvest a sunflower for his garden party. With a narrator using an implied second-person voice to the reader, the traits of a sunflower, a sort of "what makes a sunflower a sunflower?" listing, provides the anchor for the unfolding garden investigation. One by one, Miguel compares those traits to the plants he finds and harvests. 

What he doesn't find are the sunflowers. At each plant encounter the wheelbarrow is filling up with harvested goodies for the garden party. But what about that sunflower? A long view of the garden leads the reader's eye, and Miguel's, to the prized sunflowers, nodding at the top of their sturdy stems in the warm sunlight. 

This simply-told "story" frames a ciose examination of various plants, their traits, their names, and their colorful but accurate images on delightful spreads filled with the colorful bounty and bounce that Millie would love. There is plenty to learn in the direct text, but also within the cartoon-style illustrations that reveal other plants, specific little critters, and types of growing media and habitats. There is also a subtle seek-and-find tone, concluding with the picnic/garden party at which the various foods are served.

 The latter book is wrapped with vibrant endpapers splashed with the plants that appear in the story. Endpapers for IN OUR GARDEN are subtle line drawings on green background that depict the various tools and steps involved in bringing Millie's ideas to life. Both books  offer abundant opportunities to embrace the values, practices, and power of gardening, especially with kids and community. Their colorful joy extends to illustrations with varied skin tones, body shapes, relationships, and ethnicities. These occur in a naturally inclusive experience and require no direct references, a perfect way to reflect a diverse and accepting community. None of these identities affect their abilities to fully engage with each other or the projects involved. The portrayal of such worlds is a welcome window to a healthy neighborhood, especially for kids whose communities are more homogenous. 

As for my grass seeds... stay tuned!

RUMBLE and ROAR: Sound Around the World

 There's no denying that writing picture books with text that rhymes, effectively, is a challenge for most. It often is even for those with a talent for it. I've heard this advice to writers repeatedly- 

Do not use rhyme unless there is NO BETTER WAY to write it, and then do it VERY WELL. 

Sue Fliess is among those with a talent for writing in rhyme, and many of her books are favorites of little readers and their adult families and teachers. You can click on her name and check out her many titles, new and old. PLEASE wait to finish reading here first. You could spend hours at her website, and I don't want you to miss what I have to say about this latest offering. 

MILLBROOK PRESS, 2022

RUMBLE AND ROAR: Sound Around the World is delightfully written by Sue Fliess, offering a ral treat for the ear. It's illustrated with equal vim, vitality, and visual appeal by Khoa Le.

The tightly written, perfectly rhymed, onomatopoetic words reveal children and families in fully developed settings around the world, reveling in the adventure of engaging with nature using all their senses. The precise and mouth-popping word choices lend themselves to the eye-popping experiences each group encounters, in a tropical setting, on an African savannah or wooded mountainside, near a crashing waterfall or on a whispery-quiet night. 

The unfolding of an apparent single day, from rising to shining to reclining in sleep, makes it a terrific bedtime story. It will also be welcomed into classrooms for lessons on language or to consider various geographic regions and climates and biomes, and in homes for exciting and dreamy lap time stories. 

This is the second title in what I hope will be an extensive series by this talented pair of creators. I reviewed the first , FLASH AND GLEAM: LIGHT IN OUR WORLD here. In both picture books the characters and family configurations are as diverse as the global settings. Both also offer accurate and helpful information about their topics (LIGHT and SOUnd, respectively) in a few pages of accessible and clearly-explained back matter. These are books that should be made available in multiple copies, to shelve with poetry, science, and storytelling. In each case the main text is fewer than a hundred words, with the illustrations unveiling intriguing story-potentials on every spread. 

Take a look, read each out loud, share them with kids, and then tell someone about what perfect gifts they would make for classroom teachers and library story times. 

What Is A Family? What Is A Kid? Changing Up Those Back-To_School Activities

 During my long teaching career, it was increasingly obvious that all kiddos (from preschool to teen) are  very different people, from very different families; ones that may not look or live like  the cookie-cutter, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER world in which I was raised.

It's wrong to believe that those familiar back-to-school, get-to-know-you questions are as comforting as we assume, whether in open discussion, on pre-printed posters, or in assigned essays. Families can be among the most loving and supportive ones, but still have young members who hesitate because their beloved family has a very different configuration or connections than a perceived "normal" family. The thought of describing or drawing a picture of one's family may be more stressful than positive.

Groundwood Books, 2019

That's why I urge anyone and everyone who will be interacting with "kiddos" in a back-to-school or get-to-know-you situation (that means ANY age) to get your hands on these two picture books and launch your discussions with these companion books by a gifted pair of creators.

Sara O'Leary is the wordsmith (evidence will follow) and Qin Leng is the brilliant illustrator. The first title, A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY, launches this diverse and friendly-looking group into a classroom in which a single first-person voice responds with concern to the seemingly-safe teacher question- What makes your family special?

"I went last because I wasn't sure what to say. My family is not like everyone else's"

Moving on, page by page, each child's response is unnamed but recognized through quotation signals and delightfully distinct voices as child after child recounts a family in which love is secure but characteristics are distinct from others. The diversity on every level reveals families with few or MANY children, same-sex parents, blended families, divorced parents, extended generations until, finally, that hesitant speaker repeats what their foster mother said when asked which were her "real" kids. 

“Oh, I don’t have any imaginary children,” Mom said. “All my children are real.”

Each simple quotation and brightly depicted spread reveals child-centered persepectives, voices, and experiences. Like the line above, and like this:

“Because I live with my grandmother, people sometimes think she’s my mother. She’s not. She’s

my everything.”

The text alone would have won me over, and yet the illustrations deserve equal praise for their simplicity, personality, and individualism. They incorporate the full panorama of humanity in size, shape, style, skin tone, age, physicality, and expressions. The kids themselves are indistinct in age, allowing a wide spectrum of audiences to find themselves within the pages. Throughout each scenario, there is plenty of white space to imagine (and sense) the strength and extent of love that is present in each family. 

Groundwood Books August, 2021

With wide praise and three starred-reviews, it's no surprise this delicious and important  book now has a companion book, hitting the market just this month. A KID IS A KID IS A KID leads us into a celebration of individuality and community, beginning with the exuberant cover. But first, a similar opening anxiety is captured in perfect kid-speak and with exactly the right voice:

“Being the new kid is hard,” a child in the school playground tells us. “I can think of better things to ask than if I’m a boy or a girl.”

That sensitive reflection is followed by (again) unnamed quotations whose identity and personality are vividly evident in illustrations and voice. Each begins with "I get asked..." or something similar, relating the kinds of seemingly innocent (but insensitive and NOSY) questions that wound, or annoy, or even infuriate. 

Revealing both expected and unexpected diversity, the speakers embrace their identities or welcome those who speak out on their behalf. Then they propose a variety of BETTER questions to ask kids, like:

“Ask me what I can do, not what I can’t!”

“I wish you would ask me about my grandmother’s house. I was so happy there.”

The structure of this new title is an opportunity for an ideal shared reading experience of ways we feel, and can make others feel. It (entertainingly) offers ways we can reframe and imagine kinder, more welcoming questions. As with the original picture book, the individual kids display physical, social, and emotional diversity on spreads that will feel like "home" to "kids" of all kinds and ages. I won't spoil a perfect ending by giving away the final line and page turn, but only because I am counting on each and every one of you who reads this to get both titles and read them, too.

Don't disappoint me. The books won't disappoint you, I promise!

NEW YORK TIMES Has Been Paying Attention, Changes its Tune About Picture Books

 A recent opinion piece in the NEW YORK TIMES is titled: 

YOUR KIDS AREN'T TOO OLD FOR PICTURE BOOKS-- and NEITHER ARE YOU!

it's not a good look to be an  "I-told-you-so" or "know-it-all", but what the heck, I'll go for it! I've been paraphrasing that NYT headline for decades as I work with kids of all ages, sharing picture books with eager audiences for many purposes. In addition to educational settings, I give picture books as gifts for every age and every occasion. And I read picture books for the sheer joy of it.

My voice is by no means the only one singing the praises of and celebrating the variety, beauty, bounty, and brilliance of picture books. 

Nearly a decade ago, a quickly disparaged New York Times article trumpeted the presumed demise of the picture book, asserting that picture books would find diminishing space and commitment in the publishing world. The piece (and its author) were objects of protest and even derision immediately after that article hit the streets and screens. It triggered a massive outcry on then-emerging social media. 

That piece provided a nudge I needed to launch this blog about the power of picture books. (First post ever: HERE)

Before that post, I had contemplated taking my mission to explore and elevate picture books into the blog-o-sphere. For several years I had been faithfully reading blogs on this topic, many focused on reviews and interviews, some providing suggested uses for educational purposes, and others aimed at guiding writers to outstanding mentor text in various picture book formats and types. I was interested in all of those. I had been leading professional development workshops, sharing ways picture books serve and develop readers and learners at every age. Writing a blog on this topic might amplify my tiny, local voice just a few decibels more power. But I was afraid to try. It felt like too great a challenge. 

That original New York Times article  (HERE) was the challenge I couldn't ignore. Such a misguided position on the value of picture books lit a fire under my intentions and burned away any hesitation. I was obviously a blogging novice, which showed, especially in my earliest posts. Now I am many weeks into my tenth year of writing this blog, I've served as a Cybils panelist for years, I've added a Goodreads review profile (HERE) that includes ratings and reviews of many of the thousands of books I read, and I feature select reviews and interviews on my website blog, HERE.

In a very real sense, I should thank that original NYT post for providing the nudge I needed.

I've change, and so has the New York Times. A quick search (above) indicates that picture books feature in their arts and opinion pages quite often in the years since that early post. During many struggles of the past decade within the publishing industry, including a year of Covid19 issues, children's publishing has been a stable and growing business. The picture book segment of children's publishing has been among the strongest. 

Major changes have happened, especially consolidation and shuffling of personnel. But specialty imprints provide boutique and focused professional services that can expand audiences and creative voices while accessing the services-at-scale for marketing and distribution within their parent organizations. 

Even more importantly, social media and activism and persistent, amplified voices have increased power among groups who are standing up and speaking up to support inclusivity, globalism, and reflections of richly varied lives. (Find links to outstanding resources HERE.) 

The need for continued effort and outreach for under-represented voices and lived experiences is undeniable. Shelves now contain some newer, better, more engaging and amazing picture books than ever before, with all indicators suggesting that this is not a "trend" but a renaissance and transformation. Picture books are here to stay, and growing in every good way.

Perhaps the recent post is just a "sign of the TIMES". 

Remarkably, this 2018 chart shows doubling and tripling of under-represented creators and images in the past decade, yet so much more progress is needed. 

Putting the CELEBRATION in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday

 In the nine years I've been sharing picture books on this blog, I've had LOADS to say about Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday recognitions. After reading this post, I invite you to use the search box in the right column menu to find previous featured titles. I've felt strongly positive about the books I chose to showcase, but MANY of them focus on history. MANY are biographic, inspiring and motivating and providing content that could have been missed in mainstream culture through relentlessly white-focused portrayal of American culture. Few, though, are contemporary, humorous, joyful, or playful. In large part that's because books of that type rarely existed. If they did they were the "precious few" that everyone already knew about. Think of Ezra Jack Keats's THE SNOWY DAY (and other titles).

The best news is that, as I began to assemble this collage of covers, I had to stop in order to have enough room for the rest of the blog post! These are only fifteen of my recent favorites, and there are so many more, including others that are featured in past posts on this very blog.

BLACK JOY PICTURE BOOKS!

To honor Martin Luther King, Jr. on this national holiday commemorating his birthday, I'll share this bounty of beautiful recent books portraying BLACK JOY! My celebration is that there are now so many picture books that portray readers of EVERY identity, allowing kids to see themselves in the pages of those contemporary exhuberant stories. My notes below will be a select few, but you can find more HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE. In fact, while you check out those resources from others, you may want to subscribe to their blog posts, too!

Click the titles below to read some brief notes for any-and-all that appeal to you:

  MIXED ME is written by Taye Diggs and illustrated by Shane W. Evans. 

JABARI TRIES is written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall

FOR BEAUTIFUL BLACK BOYS WHO BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD is written by Michael W. Waters and Illustrated by Keisha Morris.

JUST LIKE ME is written and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton.

MY RAINY DAY ROCKET SHIP is written by Market Sheppard and illustrated by Charley Palmer.

SWISH! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters is written by Sizanne Slade and Little illustrated by Don Tate.

MY HAIR IS MAGIC is written by M. L. Marroquin and illustrated by Tonya Engel.

BLACK IS A RAINBOW COLOR is written by Angela Joy and illustrated by Ekua Holmes.

NORMAN The Amazing Goldfish is written by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by Noah Z.

THE WORLD MADE A RAINBOW is written by Michelle Robinson and illustrated by Emily Hamilton.

ALL BECAUSE YOU MATTER is written by Tami Charles and illustrated by Bryan Collier.

EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY is written by Meg medina and illustrated by Sonia Sanchez.

BROWN BABY LULLABY is written by Tameka Fryer Brown and illustrated by A. G. Ford.

HELP WANTED: MUST LOVE BOOKS written by Janet Sumner Johnson and illustrated by Courtney Dawson.

DUSK EXPLORERS is written by Lindsay Leslie and illustrated by Ellen Rooney.

Whew!  Doesn't that look wonderful?  Well, despite this joyful shift in focus and subject matter, here's the bad news. Based on data that is collected and analyzed annually about the patterns of the publishing industry for children's books, progress is being made, but at a glacial pace. 

Minimal, barely budging progress.

2019 Data Analysis

“Keep Moving Forward,” is a theme from Dr. King’s address “Keep Moving the Mountain”, given at Spelman College on April 10, 1960. He said, 

“Keep moving, for it may well be that the greatest song has not yet been sung, the greatest book has not yet been written, the highest mountain has not been climbed. This is your challenge! Reach out and grab it and make it a part of your life…we must keep moving. If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl; but by all means keep moving…whatever you do you have to Keep Moving Forward.”

 I can think of no better advice than this to the industry and to the readers, buyers, and teachers of children's books: make your voices heard through recommendations, reviews, purchases, requests from libraries, and social media. Examine your own stock of picture books featuring Black characters and work to update your shelves, making certain to include current, colorful, uplifting titles like these.

Time With Family: A Trio of Titles Celebrating Diverse and Universal Family Love

 Grandmas can make everything better. So can Grandpas, and Mamas, too.

Three recent picture books explore special family relationships with stories populated by diverse and distinct characters, cultures, and situations. They all landed in my library bag as I am getting a head start at reading potential nominees for CYBILS FICTION PICTURE books worth noticing. They are wonderful stories told with skill and sensitivity, they are entertaining and engaging, and filled with heart and happiness. 

When Cybils Nominations open up on October first  (which is right around the corner), be sure to consider helping to get these onto the list. We're each  allowed only one nominee per category, so spread the word among your reading friends to support favorites and get them into the running!

PAGE STREET KIDS, 2020

SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA is written by Candy Wellins and illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan. As the cover suggests, George and Stella have spent a lifetime of Saturdays "making memories". Stella gives George her undivided attention, from ninja tournaments to fighting off aliens, and even baking cinnamon rolls "without popping open a tube". 

Stella never tires of giving George her undivided attention on Saturdays, and George keeps a running list of the best things about Stella,  including hugs, doing everything, and doing nothing. But always TOGETHER. 

Suddenly, shockingly, Stella is gone, and so are George's special Saturdays. Even when he tried remembering her by doing the things they shared, the fun, the taste, the effort always falls short and leaves him in tears. 

Time passes, despite the Saturdays he crossed off his calendar. With that passing time, baby Stella joins their family. George begins introducing her to the things he always loved on Saturdays, and eventually lists his favorite things about sister Stella. Those turn out to be warmly and lovingly similar to his earlier list. The author masters the most serious of challenges for picture books: the death of a loved one, the passage of time over several years, and complexity of events and emotions made accessible and appealing with pure and simple text. The illustrator does the same, resulting in a magnificent, huggable book.

Annick Press, 2020

An equally delightful new offering with an entirely different premise is MY DAY WITH GONG GONG, written by Sennah Yee and illustrated by Elaine Chen.In this case, first-person-narrating grandchild is spending the day with grandpa (Gong Gong), but reluctantly. The child does not  speak Cantonese, and Gong Gong does not speak English! 

Early in the day the child switches channels from hockey to cartoons when Gong Gong dozes. He wakes, gets up, and they go for a walk to Chinatown. Cantonese  greetings and comments are exchanged, appealing toys and foods are craved. Gong Gong appears unaware of those wishes and of the child's growing hunger.

Hopes rise when they stop for a snack, but only tea is ordered, followed by supermarket shopping and more walking... SLOW walking! A stop in the park sets up another frustrating time when Gong Gong and friends are speaking Cantonese and laughing. At what? Hungry and tired, frustrated and stained with pigeon poop, tears  flow. Gong Gong cleans things up, rescuing the situation with surprises. They agree on the word 'HOME", with more surprises and smiles along the way as they take their time getting there. A back page provides a glossary with Cantonese characters, English spelling of Cantonese words, and translation for the six phrases that occur throughout the book. 

The empathetic situation, escalating story/tension, and appealing illustrations combine to capture universal emotions and situations within a very particular time, place, and people. The simply drawn but expressive faces, body language, and perspectives between and surrounding the central pair elevate the stakes and the emotional connection that evolves. Reading this as an adult will be a very different experience from reading it to very young kids. Gong Gong's cluelessness could be stressful and worrisome, but his smiling gentleness offers comfort and optimism even when the going gets a bit tough.

A similar challenge is met quite differently in award-winning  DRAWN TOGETHER, written my Minh Le and illustrated by Dan Santat. If that has somehow missed your reading list, be sure to add it to this grouping.

A DINENE MILNER BOOK, 2020

ME & MAMA is the creation of author/illustrator Cozbi A. Cabrera. it, too, features a young character, first person narrator, who "want(s) to be everywhere Mama is". The illustrations are lush and colorful, nuanced and detailed. That visual story provides a rich landscape for text that conveys depth of detail in simple narration. Examples:

"Mama's cup goes clink, clink, clink...

My cup goes duh, duh, duh...

Sometimes things break, Mama says."

From brushing teeth to combing hair, from rainy day walks to nap time, this portrays a delightful day as the background tapestry for a loving, sensory, secure, and happy relationship. The language and images and heart will have even the littlest ones chiming in and acting along with the story. 

All three are circle stories, of a sort, and even bedtime stories. Each is heartwarming but not overly sentimentalized, and all three convey lives, settings, families, and cultures that are both warmly familiar and revealing of new worlds. Even if your intended readers are not among the very young, these are all worth a close read and look. For anyone attempting to write or illustrate picture books, these are even more important.

Anchor in time for Covid, Black Lives Matter, and politics:

We (USA) have passed 200,000 deaths with no sign of slowing. Reasonable projections indicate we could reach 350,000 deaths by the end of the year. Wisconsin, where I live, has become one of the national hot spots. I stay close to home and wear a mask everywhere I go, observing physical distance and crowded spaces. I urge you to do the same.

Charges have been filed in Breonna Taylor's death in her bed by police gunfire. one officer of the three involved was charged for the bullets that strayed into a nearby apartment. In other words, the only charges in her death are for the bullets that missed her. Protests continue in Louisville, KY and across other cities. Scholar Ibram X. Kendi has said the only conclusion is that she is responsible for her own death- a story that has been told in such cases for centuries.

I voted on Monday, turning my ballot in directly to the clerk, who signed as my witness. The next day I confirmed on line that my ballot has been received and will be counted. Our president has said that there may not be a peaceful transition of power. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is lying in state on the steps of the Supreme Court. A nominee for her replacement will be named on Saturday, and it appears that the vote will be pushed through before the election.