I'm back with another great 2019 book list, featuring reviews of some wonderful picture books coming out in January...
Bucketloads of Friends: A Look and Find Book
by Mia Cassany
illustrated by Miguel Bustos
Prestel
Lucas is looking everywhere for a best friend: the park, the circus, by the lake, and at school. He meets a lot of people along the way. But what about a best friend? This entertaining and colorful book is full of details for kids to search and find. Every spread features line drawings that are humming with activity. From an animal hospital populated with every kind of pet to an office filled with workers too busy working to give Lucas the time of day; from a restaurant that appears to serve only sandwiches and salad to a botanic garden where the visitors are just as strange as the plants. As Lucas travels around the city, he meets a lot of people, but will he find a best friend? Young readers will turn again and again to these drawings, discovering new details each time, and sparking their own ideas about how people interact in everyday situations. Many look and find questions will increase the fun and help to spot even more details.
A fun and engaging look and find book unlike any other! With a sweet premise and delightful illustrations, Bucketloads of Friends is a beautiful gem. Each dazzling spread is full of wonderfully whimsical and charming people (of all shapes, sizes, and colors), animals, and settings. Each lively and eye-catching page pops with color, activity, and fun things to spot. Readers are sure to return to the fun and challenges of this book over and over again!
Great Ports of the World: From New York to Hong Kong
by Mia Cassany
illustrated by Victor Medina
Prestel
Travel to the world’s ports and you’ll learn much about a country’s people, culture, and industry. Ports are thriving hubs of activity, filled with an endless variety of boats, cargo, and workers. This unique book takes young readers on a journey around the globe’s ports and features some of the world’s most fascinating destinations. In colorful spreads, readers are given insights into each port city: What are they eating in Hong Kong? What lives on the Nile River? What do the boats of Venice look like? From flora to fauna and from tropical climates to polar regions, this book is packed with vibrant, 1950s-era inspired illustrations. As entertaining as it is educational, this book gives children a window into a new way of seeing the world.
Great Ports of the World takes readers on a breathtaking and fascinating journey around the world to visit some of the most famous ports. Each spread explores the history, geography, and importance of a different port from around the globe. Readers will eagerly take in all the facts about each port while feasting on the deliciously colorful and detailed illustrations.
Wonders of Nature: Explorations in the World of Birds, Insects and Fish
by Florence Guiraud
Prestel
Bright-eyed birds, evanescent butterflies, tropical fish and other pleasures await the readers of this large format book that will appeal to young children’s curiosity about the natural world. Reminiscent of the watercolors of Ernst Haeckel, John James Audubon, and Maria Sibylla Merian, these charming and expertly rendered pictures of birds, insects, and fish will provide hours of exploration. Presented in double-page spreads, interspersed with informative texts, Guiraud’s illustrations capture the wondrous beauty that populates our oceans, forests, and fields. Her expressive illustrations create a sense of intimacy and empathy with the natural world and their exquisite detail rewards close investigation. Certain to captivate both children and adults, this magnificent book will instill in its readers a connection to the world around them and ignite a sense of wonder about all living things.
Wonders of Nature: Explorations in the World of Birds, Insects and Fish is an absolutely stunning and wondrous book! Florence Guiraud masterfully brings the worlds of birds, insects, and fish to life in the most vibrant, mesmerizing, and heartwarming ways through her gorgeous illustrations. Easily understood informative text accompanies her illustrations, creating an experience that is both educational and fun. Readers of all ages will be moved and charmed by this gaspworthy beauty!
This Makes Me Scared
(Dealing With Feelings)
By Courtney Carbone
Illustrated by Hilli Kushnir
January 2019
Random House
A young boy is terrified about taking swim lessons. The water is cold, chlorine burns his eyes, and worst of all, everyone is watching him. He's scared that he'll never learn to swim and disappoint his parents—or drown trying! When his instructor shows him how to calm his mind, the boy overcomes his fear and is excited about his next lesson.
While children enjoy expressing themselves—be it through laughter or tears—they don’t always have the words to articulate their emotions. The Dealing with Feelings series is designed to give a voice to what’s brewing inside, showing children how to name their emotions as they also learn to read.
This Makes Me Jealous
(Dealing With Feelings)
By Courtney Carbone
Illustrated by Hilli Kushnir
January 2019
Random House
A young girl is proud of being the star athlete at her school. But when a new kid moves to town and she suddenly has to share the spotlight, her jealousy gets the best of her. After getting to know the new kid, she learns that making new friends is more fun than being a green-eyed monster.
While children enjoy expressing themselves—be it through laughter or tears—they don’t always have the words to articulate their emotions. The Dealing with Feelings series is designed to give a voice to what’s brewing inside, showing children how to name their emotions as they also learn to read. Colorful stickers are included in each book.
These two titles, from the Dealing With Feelings series, are a great way to help little readers understand and talk through the big feelings they have. Each book features short, simple, effective text and bright, expressive illustrations.
Have I ever told you?
By Shani King
Illustrated by Anna Horvath
January 8, 2019
Tilbury House
“Have I ever told you that, for me, there is no one more special than you? That for me, you are the most special child in the world, and that I love you now and will love you forever? Have I ever told you that?”
Shani King wrote Have I Ever Told You? as a note to his children, to remind them that they are amazing in their individuality and that they have the power to choose who they want to be in this world. The illustrations create a masterful visual narrative: warm, witty, simple, profound, and as ferociously empowering as a children’s book can be.
Have I ever told you? is a beautiful and heartwarming celebration of love, diversity, and goodness. Shani King’s sweet, profound text and Anna Horvath’s bright, whimsical illustrations work together to create an unforgettable and powerful story little readers will cherish.
Miss Pinkeltink’s Purse
By Patty Brozo
Illustrated by Ana Ochoa
January 2019
Tilbury House
"Rosy-cheeked and quite antique, Miss Pinkeltink / carried everything but the kitchen sink. / Her purse was so big that it dragged on the floor. / When she rode on the bus it got stuck in the door."
Generous and eccentric, Miss Pinkeltink fills her huge purse with everything from a toilet plunger to roller skates, and then gives it all away. She offers tape to fix a flat tire and a bone to a kitty: Miss Pinkeltink’s gifts never quite hit the mark, / but she gave what she had, and she gave from the heart. And then, with nothing left to give or to shelter herself, she huddles on a park bench, trying to sleep in the rain. And that’s where Zoey sees her from her bedroom window and knows that something must be done.
Miss Pinkeltink’s Purse is an unforgettable and touching tale about friendship, generosity, and the power of kindness and doing the right thing. Young readers will be moved by the story of sweet, giving Miss Pinkeltink and empowered by Zoey’s call to action.
The Goose Egg
By Liz Wong
January 2019
Random House
From the author of Jumpstart's Read for the Record pick Quackers comes the story of Henrietta the Elephant, whose life goes from calm to chaotic when a baby goose comes to stay.
Henrietta likes her quiet life. A morning swim, a cup of tea--all is serene.
But everything changes when she bumps her head and winds up with a goose egg--a REAL goose egg. Henrietta tries to return the baby goose to the nest, but her flock has flown. It's up to Henrietta to raise her.
Goose isn't anything like Henrietta. She's flappy, and noisy, and exhausting. But Henrietta raises that goose right. She teaches her to swim, and to honk, and to fly. When Goose flies off with the other geese, Henrietta is so proud!
And then . . . lonely. How quiet her life feels now.
But the love you give has a way of coming back to you. And Henrietta has a wonderful surprise in store. . . .
Henrietta the elephant loves the quiet, but her quiet life is forever changed when she adopts a newly hatched goose. Liz Wong’s The Goose Egg is a super sweet and charming story about love, family, and embracing the unexpected. Little readers will be amused by Henrietta and Goose’s adventures, moved by the love they share, and delighted by Wong’s lovely illustrations.
You Make Me Happy
By Smriti Prasadam-Halls
Illustrated by Alison Brown
January 2019
Bloomsbury
A new beautifully illustrated celebration of love and friendship from the bestselling creators behind I'll Never Let You Go and I Love You Night and Day.
In this delightfully optimistic and uplifting observance of that special someone who makes you happy, Fox and Porcupine discover that when they're together, life is ever so much brighter. Gorgeous, fun, and full of heart, this is the perfect gift for that sweet ray of light in your life.
You make me happy, you make me new;
Together there's NOTHING that we cannot do. You make me happy and hopeful and strong, And right by your side is where I belong.
You Make Me Happy is a gorgeously illustrated and joyful little book! Sweet, lyrical rhymes and the most charming and colorful illustrations dance together to create a beautiful and bubbly celebration of love and friendship. This is sure to be a bedtime favorite!
**Disclaimer: I received copies of the titles above for review/feature purposes. All thoughts, opinions, and reviews are my own.
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