Category: Picture Book

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Today’s book recommendation: SECRETS OF THE SEA: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist by Evan Griffith – Nonfiction Picture Book Biography

I absolutely LOVE picture book biographies. There have been so many amazing people in the world and well-done picture book biographies capture the essence of their lives and achievements so beautifully!

Secrets of the Sea is no exception! Jeanne Power was a courageous and creative woman from the 19th century who went from being a respected Parisian dressmaker to a famous marine scientist.

At this time, pretty much everything scientists knew about sea creatures was from studying dead specimens. Jeanne came up with the idea of building her own aquarium to study marine life while they were alive, and she made many exciting discoveries!

Evan Griffith made impressive discoveries of his own during his thorough research for this book, and Joanie Stone’s illustrations really made it all come to life. I’d never heard of a paper nautilus before, but my boys and I went on a little research binge about them after reading this book.

It’s the perfect book to read to be inspired by creative problem solving and overcoming trials. Pick it up today and give it a try!

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: CAVES by Nell Cross Beckerman – Nonfiction Picture Book

This debut picture book by Nell Cross Beckerman, with illustrations by Kalen Chock, is absolutely stunning!

Kids are, of course, fascinated by caves, but this book isn’t just informational, Beckerman’s text invites the reader in, making them feel like real cave explorers and Chock’s gorgeous illustrations are dying to be explored!

The question to the reader of “Do you dare?” reminded me of THE BERENSTAIN BEARS AND THE SPOOKY OLD TREE, probably because I read it like a million times to all my kids when they were little, and it’s still one of our favorites!

The premise works in both books equally well. Curious readers and future spelunkers, alike, experience the thrill of adventure as they turn each page to peek into unbelievable caves found around the world, like the Glowworm Grotto in the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand.

This book came out in 2022 and won all kinds of awards, for good reason! I highly recommend!

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: FINDING WINNIE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS BEAR by Lindsay Mattick – Nonfiction Picture Book 

Winnie the Pooh is such an adorable, lovable character, and until I read FINDING WINNIE, I had no idea he was based on an actual bear! And it’s an absolutely charming story.

Basically, a veterinarian from Winnipeg enlisted in the military and by chance, while stopping at a train station, came across a trapper with a bear cub on a leash. The trapper had killed the bear’s mother and didn’t want the cub. The vet bought the bear for $20 and named it Winnipeg. Everyone at the army post called the bear “Winnie” for short, but then, when they had to ship overseas, the vet arranged for Winnie to stay at the zoo.

Now, because Winnie was so tame, and because this was over 100 years ago, the zoo allowed children to play with him! One of the kids was no other than Christopher Robin! His father, A. A. Milne, watched them play and used them for inspiration for all the stories that the world knows and loves today. How cool is that?

The illustrations by Sophie Blackall won this book a Caldecott Medal and the author, Lindsay Mattick, is actually the great granddaughter of the vet!

She writes the book as a story in a story, where she is telling the story to her son, who is the vet’s namesake. This structure is difficult to do in a picture book, where you have such limited space, but Mattick pulls it off beautifully. The real photographs of Winnie with the soldiers and with Christopher Robin are such a treasure, too!

The same year that FINDING WINNIE came out (2015), so did WINNIE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE BEAR WHO INSPIRED WINNIE-THE-POOH by Sally M. Walker! Basically, that’s a writer’s worst nightmare to have the story you’ve been researching and laboring over for years go out with a different publisher at the exact same time, but I think the world is better off with both of these versions.

The story is much the same, but there’s more fun details and photographs that you wouldn’t know from just the one. The illustrations by Jonathan D. Voss are beautiful as well.

Whether you’re a fan of Winnie the Pooh, or not, these stories are fascinating pieces of history that are definitely worth checking out.

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: THE YEAR OF THE DOG by Grace Lin – Middle Grade Fiction

You might be familiar with author/illustrator Grace Lin from when her middle grade book, WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, won the Newbery Honor in 2010 for its contribution to children’s literature. And it is a beautiful book! It reads like a Chinese fairytale adventure story with Lin’s own beautiful full-color illustrations along the way.

Lin is truly talented and has many not-to-be-missed reads, like her very first book, THE UGLY VEGETABLES, or her delightful chapter book, LING & TING: NOT EXACTLY THE SAME. But my very favorite of all is her middle grade debut, THE YEAR OF THE DOG.

This heartwarming book is truly a must read! The main character is a young Taiwanese-American girl who begins the books celebrating the Chinese New Year with her family. Since it is the Year of the Dog, her mother explains that this is the year she should try to find herself.

And that’s exactly what the book’s about. As the year progresses, Pacy navigates family and friendship dynamics, all while working to discover who she is, what she values, and what she’s good at. Because there are very few Asians where Pacy lives, it is often extra challenging as she faces unintentional (but hurtful) microaggressions along the way that are heartbreaking and eye-opening. (Click on the images below for examples.)

I loved the intergenerational aspect to the storytelling with her parents’ and grandparents’ stories within stories and the cute little doodle-like illustrations scattered throughout. Lin’s humor is spot on, too. There were many times where I laughed out loud!

This is an earlier middle grade novel, designed for 8-10 year olds, and while that’s the perfect age, it really is enjoyable for any age. I read it to my boys when they were that age and every day they begged for more.

If you are new to Grace Lin’s beautiful books, I encourage you to give her a try!

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: A DINOSAUR NAMED RUTH: HOW RUTH MASON DISCOVERED FOSSILS IN HER OWN BACKYARD by Julia Lyon – Nonfiction Picture Book

Do you know any kids who love dinosaurs? How would they feel if they found real dinosaur bones right in their own backyard!? Well, that’s what happened to Ruth Mason, only she didn’t know what they were at first!

This is an incredible true story that took place in South Dakota in 1905. I love the beautiful illustrations by Alexandra Bye and that the story is about a girl! Girls can love dinosaurs and paleontology, just as much as boys!

This is a great book to give as a gift or pickup for your own collection.

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: I AM SMOKE by Henry Herz – Nonfiction Picture Book

If you haven’t read this book yet, you simply must pick it up! The literary STEM prose of Henry Herz and the gorgeous, ethereal illustrations of Mercè López are the perfect combination.

Growing up, we learn how dangerous smoke is, but this book also shows how it has been used for good over time. I love the fun twist of the smoke itself narrating the story. It speaks in riddles with a poetic rhythm that gives it an alluring timelessness that is just so, so perfect!

Herz and López also teamed up for a follow up book that released this spring called I AM GRAVITY.

Both of these books are great for reading out loud and discussing, plus they have excellent backmatter for the truly curious!

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: DRAWN TOGETHER by Minh Le – Fiction Picture Book

This picture book is one of my absolute favorites. The illustrations by Dan Santat are stunning, and the story has so much heart. I love the wordplay of the title, as well. In the book, a grandson struggles to connect with his grandson because they don’t speak the same language. After several tries, the grandfather realizes they both love to draw, and so they go on a magical adventure together with their drawings. Basically, their drawings literally draw them together.

The words are sparse because the characters’ expressions really do a lot of the talking in a simple, graphic novel style with multiple images on a page. It makes for a fun, interactive experience when reading it with young children as you ask them about the pictures and discuss what each character is feeling.

I think this book is so effective because it depicts a language barrier that both the author and illustrator related to personally–Vietnamese American for Le and Thai American for Santat.

My grandparents spoke English like me, but even then, we can all relate to trying to find a way to relate to another person, which can be especially tricky across generational gaps.

Depending on if you borrow this book from the library or buy your own copy, you might not be able to take off the dust jacket. If you can get a peek, the casewrap is a fun surprise as it is designed to look like the grandfather’s sketch book from the story!

Grab a copy of your own today and enjoy!

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: 13 WAYS TO EAT A FLY by Sue Heavenrich – Nonfiction Picture Book

Lots of giggles with this fun counting down picture book! You start the book with 13 flies, and each then gets caught and eaten in a different way–whether they’re wrapped up like a burrito by a garden spider or stuffed in a hole to feed the larvae of a wasp.

The animal world is weird and wonderful, and there is plenty of gross factor here to go along with it! David Clark’s illustrations, with the delightful animal expressions, are the perfect complement to Sue Heavenrich’s prose.

Check out the hilarious nutritional facts for eating a serving of flies at the end!

Happy Reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: NOW & BEN: THE MODERN INVENTIONS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN by Gene Berretta – Nonfiction Picture Book

This little picture book is the perfect example of how much fun nonfiction books for kids are nowadays. The talented Gene Barretta, who used to animate for Sesame Street, is the author and illustrator of Now & Ben. Barretta uses a compare & contrast structure to highlight Ben Franklin’s original inventions and how those inventions are still used today, and it is absolutely delightful!

It’s history and science, and it gives little ones the perfect way to see how one person can change the world.

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: THIS IS NOT MY HAT by Jon Klassen – Fiction Picture Book

I first read This Is Not My Hat during Covid after an online SCBWI summer conference where I was able to learn from many exceptional children’s authors, including Jon Klassen. He gave a presentation, alongside Mac Barnett, on their successful collaborations on picture books. They emphasized that with picture books, it adds so much to the story when the pictures tell a whole different narrative than the words. At the time, I had never thought about it that way! So simple and brilliant!

This Caldecott-winning book by Klassen is the perfect example. He is the author and illustrator for this story where a little fish tells the reader how he stole a big fish’s hat and has a plan to get away with it! Through tiny details in the illustrations, like the big fish narrowing his eyes, you deduce that things are not quite the way that the little fish thinks they are.

I laughed out loud at the twist at the end, and I hope you do, too! Happy reading!