On the first page of Trabucco Zerán’s novel, the narrator, Estela García, offers a deal to the people who may or may not be on the other side of a mirrored glass pane: “I’m going to tell you a story, and when I get to the end, when I stop talking, you’re going to let […]
In an afterword, Clarke tells readers how this story began as a BBC Radio 4 broadcast. Or, rather, she explains how her father’s neurodivergence, her beliefs about the consciousness of trees, and the music of Kate Bush begat a tale in which a young woman sees her future during a walk in a snowy forest. […]
Rhyming couplets accompanied by nature scenes encourage youngsters to admire what the outside world has to offer in the colder seasons. Perfectly pitched and paced, McCanna’s elegant, well-chosen words would make this a pleasure to read aloud. “Cold is a feeling, / a quiver, a quake / that sinks to the bone till you shiver […]
The author, a self-described “semi-retired world traveler,” recounts his quest to visit all the obelisks—slender, tall, four-sided monoliths tapering to a pyramidal cap—that were quarried from Aswan granite in Upper Egypt, commissioned by pharaohs in the second millennium BCE, among them Queen Hatshepsut and Ramesses II. Ciccone saw 11 such monoliths in Egypt, but he […]
These inquisitive strands of commonalities form the basis for Gervais’ eclectic bilingual word book, a hodgepodge of animals, vehicles, everyday items, and natural phenomena. Each spread opens to a catalog of things—faithfully rendered via stencils and brushes against mostly solid color backgrounds—collected around a declarative statement in all caps. “THINGS THAT SMELL GOOD” boasts a […]
Nel’s interest in the picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon began five decades ago, when he encountered the book as a child. In the ensuing decades, he not only wrote a biography of the book’s author, Crockett Johnson, but also aspired to write the current volume, which he calls “a biography of a book.” […]
Colt has a secret identity. By day, he’s a seemingly ordinary child, but when the neighborhood needs his help, he transforms into Neigh Kid—dressed in a horse mask, a red cape, and nothing else. He envisions himself as a majestic hero, galloping through streets on a mission to save a lost pet. However, the humorous […]
Dubbed “quirky” by her mother (an assessment readers will likely agree with), Millie narrates her own well-paced story in a flow of verbiage she often has trouble stemming. She is “the boss” but defers to her mom, who happens to be the mayor of Washington, D.C. Mayor Maude’s a single parent (Millie’s father is dead), […]
No shoes? No umbrella? No map? No problem. Based on a poem by Sowder (founder of Wild Child and Wildschooling, organizations dedicated to nature-based learning), this lyrical picture book celebrates the “wild children”: those who aren’t afraid to get mud under their fingernails, scramble up the rocky coastal shoreline, or get up close and personal […]
Today will be Rosa’s first time performing onstage with the group, and she’s nervous. But Mamiachi, as she sometimes calls her mother, gives her a pep talk about bravery and strength and reminds her of her namesake, Rosa Quirino, one of the first female mariachis. Donning matching pink trajes de charro, the musicians hit the […]