Some books about other times or other countries plod. They are so clearly educational that they weigh themselves down with purpose. Thankfully, the opposite is true for Noodles on a Bicycle (2024). Author Kyo Maclear tells a story of a striking and dynamic scene–perfect for picture books she saw daily in Tokyo as a child […]
If You Want a Librarian To Like You…
If you want a librarian to like you, check out “R” is for Research. (Mine stopped checking out my books to look over, and gently caress, this book.) “R” is for Research is–wait for it–an introduction to research that is also an alphabet book AND a rhyming book. Author Toni Buzzeo starts with “A” for […]
Books About Books: Janie Writes a Play
There are a number of picture books about books, stories, or picture book writers. Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story (2025) is one of them. It tells the story of how Jane Yolen, author of more than 400 books (for kids, teens, and adults) wrote her first story, a play for school. […]
Deja Boo!
You’ve heard of deja vu, the sensation that you’ve seen something before? Well, yesterday I experienced deja boo. My library has an area where they put free books and magazines. I glance through the offerings every so often. Sometimes there is treasure. Yesterday, there was a very odd kind of treasure. I picked up a […]
The Keeper of Stories
I recently read The Keeper of Stories, a 2025 picture book written by Caroline Kusin Pritchard and illustrated by Selina Alko. I stumbled across The Keeper of Stories–it was listed as a new book at my public library–but it is a striking book, and I suggest it. This book tells the story of the 1966 […]
Thoughts on Ox-Cart Man
Hmm. I recently read Ox-Cart Man for the first time, and I’m of two minds about it. On one hand, it is lovely, in both text and image. It is easy to see why it won the Caldecott Medal in 1980. And how could it not be lovely? Author Donald Hall was an accomplished poet: […]
There’s a new David book!
Yeah! There’s a new David book. That is to say, this week David Shannon published another book in his fantastic picture book series featuring David. Shannon started with No, David! (1998) and followed that with books like David Goes to School and David Gets in Trouble. No, David! was a Caldecott Honor book, and deservedly […]
You should check out…
You should check out Show & Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration by Dilys Evans. You should check it out in the sense that it deserves a look, but you might also want to check it out literally, from a library. I say this because is it is a beautiful and valuable […]
If you like Beatrix Potter…
If you like Beatrix Potter–or have kids who like her and her creations like Peter Rabbit–you might be interested in Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit. Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati, this 2020 picture book follows Potter from childhood through challenges and into success, maturity, […]