We Leap Together by Christopher Silas Neal
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, picture books are great for that “I need to read but I don’t want something too long or heavy. And I can still say, “I read a book!” feeling. We Leap Together by Christopher Silas Neal (due April 2025; read via an online reader copy) is one of those quickies. It is about how the whales and humans are a lot alike when it comes to many things, but mostly caring for a young one. I […]
Loose Threads: A Story about Me, Mom, and Dad by Airien Ludin
Boots by Elizabeth Pulsford
An unpleasant subject is the subject of death and grief. However, it happens, and a good way to talk about it is with a story. I will say grab two large, soft, boxes of tissues and you will need them, but you won’t regret trying out the books below. (Both were read via online reader copies.) Loose Threads: A Story about Me, Mom, and Dad written and illustrated by Airien Ludin (due mid/late October 2024) is a story about how a young girl has everything […]
One Sweet Song by Jyoti Rajan Gopal
American Desi by Jyoti Rajan Gopal
CBR15Passport author The funny thing is, “sweet” does not always do it for me (unless it is a donut or chocolate). However, once in awhile a book that is sweet gets me in the feels. That is because it is sweet but not overly, sickening sweet (like three York peppermint patties and a mug of hot chocolate). And One Sweet Song falls in the former sweet category. Rhyming text takes us through a neighborhood when one person, while sitting on a balcony, plays a […]
Fresh Juice by Robert Liu-Trujillo
The picture book Fresh Juice might not become a classic, but it probably should. However, at the very least this mid-July 2023 release is going to be popular for many reasons. And the text is a good place as any to start. This story by Robert Liu-Trujillo tells the story of a father and son and their community. You might need vitamins and ginger and a little cayenne pepper for a cold-clobbering juice, but a little community added in does not hurt as well. And […]
The Best Kind of Mooncake by Pearl Auyeung
There are several books about kindness, and The Best Kind of Mooncake by Pearl Auyeung includes that lesson, plus ones about family, friendship, community, and culture, too. One morning in Hong Kong, a young girl and her siblings are promised a mooncake that was the best of the best. But they will have to wait, and the long day in her family’s spot in the market drags. Soon it is time to eat, but there is an odd thing that happens, making it so the […]
Hey, Hey, Hay!: A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them by Christy Mihaly
If you have not guessed, I have been reading a lot of picture books, but not writing reviews. (What do you do with a reviewer like Raven? Just wait, she’ll get there eventually….) And one book I finally got to was Hey, Hey, Hay!: A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them by Christy Mihaly. This is a cute story about how you make the hay. Or in other words, how one kids family bales the hay to be stored for winter. The fun […]
