Picture books all around me. How many can I read? Well, I try to read all of them, but of course, it’s impossible. So, I do the best I humanly can to make sure I find the right one(s) for me. Then, I narrow it down to the ones I want to review. That is not as easy as it sounds. But I was able to find a few for this review. All were read via online reader copies.
We can start with Shy Steve by Katerina Spaeth. It is due in October 2024, and so worth keeping on your radar. If you have ever had a case of shyness, you will understand how Steve feels. He can not speak up to tell the barista he got his name wrong (again), that his boss has given him too much work, and he can’t even talk to the girl on the bus. Of course, we know they will find mutual ground and things will work out for our hero, but it takes a little to get there. This is done with unique, colorful illustrations that are both bright and darker. Not “dark” in a negative way, but more earthy with some pops. The style brings to mind an old-school feeling and modern concurrently. The publisher’s description calls them “collage-style illustrations.” 
Then we follow up with the September 2024 book, Giddy Up, Unicorn! written and illustrated by Dani Gomez (and translated by Luisana Duarte Armendariz). This is a simple story: a young girl loves unicorns and her dad. So, dad does all he can to show her how much he loves her, supports her. And the fun part is in colorful and minimalistic illustrations, we see a big, tattooed up “biker dude” wearing unicorn hats and being “girly” without being shown as anything but normal and “no big deal.” What does become a “big deal” is how the daughter starts to grow up and start to find new interests (the art shows a hilarious nod to a popular book series of a few years back). In the end, a fantastic solution happens for all of the unicorn goodies dad has saved. 
And last, but not least (and the one that is out so you can start your reading journey) is Eloísa’s Musical Window by Margarita Engle and John Parra (illustrated by). This story is bittersweet, but lovely. It starts with our young narrator excited about her window which allows her to hear the music of not just the neighbors radio, but the music of things like the horses clipping by and the people singing along. And then we learn that her mother is ill, and is bedridden. But it is not until the day several children use the street in front of the window does something magical happen. The art is colorful and brings to life the culture and area we are seeing. The afterwards has more information about things and the inspiration. Things are minimalistic, but still fill the pages.