Pippin paints a portrait
by Charlotte Mei
Pippin is a little dog trying to find his own artistic style. He decides to do a self-portrait, but he doesn’t want to just copy other artist’s styles. He has to figure out his own medium and his own artistic energy. His friends are all doing self-portrait’s too. They are all doing different styles like Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh, and Matisse. Can Pippin find his own way to make art even if his friends are all doing something else?
Continue reading
The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky
by Kim Jihyun
A boy visits his family in the country, and follows a path through the trees. He discovers a lake and swims in the clear water. He soaks up the sun from the boat dock, and finally goes back home to have a happy supper with his family.
There are no words in this book. No text. Just beautiful black and white art work that says everything. This is such an emotional book. The illustrations are so simple, yet powerful to bring up strong feelings. Peace and adventure and comfort and warmth. The curiosity of what could be around the next bend in the path, behind the next tree. The bright sunlight sifting through the cool of the water. I can almost hear the birds in the forest. This book is poetry.
Continue reading
Stop the Clock
by Pippa Goodhart
Joe has to rush all day long. His mother rushes him out the door. They rush down the street to school. Joe’s teacher rushes the class through their art time. Joe yells out, “Stop the Clock!” and time stands still. Joe finally has time to notice the little details about people and nature and the city that he never had the space to see before.
Continue reading
Meant to Be
by Jo Knowles (Goodreads Author)
Ivy loves living in her apartment building because her best friends are right down the hall, but the rest of her family is hoping to move away to a nicer house. Her best friend, Alice, gets some bad news and Ivy tries to cheer her up but ends up always saying the wrong thing and hurting Alice’s feelings. Ivy feels terrible, but doesn’t know how to make things right again. Ivy hopes that they can bond again through their favorite cooking show.
This was such a cute little book! Ivy’s narrative voice was a little more juvenile than I was expecting, but I found her very relatable and sweet. I remember always feeling like I said the wrong thing when I was a kid, and not knowing how to fix it. I love the excellent writing style! Ivy’s voice is very distinct and memorable.
Continue reading
Elephant is shipwrecked on a tiny island, looking for rescue. But the only rescue in sight is a tiny mouse boat. When Elephant tries to get on board, the ship sinks. But Elephant is resourceful enough to create something new from the wreckage, and soon they are having too much fun to even think of leaving the new Elephant Island.
This book is so cute! Elephant is one seriously determined creature, and I love the way that he rallies others to his island, and they create their own little community there. The story is so funny that it had me giggling several times, but it is also heartwarming!
Continue reading
Pop a Little Pancake (Baby Rhyme Time)
by Annie Kubler (Illustrator), Sarah Dellow (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator)
Two toddlers make pancakes from their playdough, singing a song as they toss the pancake in the air, sprinkle sugar on top, and even squeeze lemon juice onto the pancake.
I love that this board book has the sheet music for the song on the back cover, so that if you read music, you can play and sing along.
Continue reading
Alex and Alex
by Ziggy Hanaor, Ben Javens (Illustrator)
Alex and Alex are two genderless friends, who enjoy various activities. But when their preferences differ, they become angry with each other. Alex likes to eat burgers, while Alex is a vegetarian. Can they resolve their differences and accept each other?
I’m not sure what the overall message is in this book. I like the positive message about accepting that your friends are different from you, and that everyone is allowed to like different things and eat different things. But I don’t like the weird genderless concept. If one Alex were a girl, and the other one was a boy, then it would be cute. But the book is very pointed in not assigning a gender to either one. So it’s just confusing and weird. The blurb on the back of the book even says “Alex is not a boy, and Alex is not a girl.” What does that even mean?! This story is just strange.
Continue reading
Frog’s Rainy-day Story and Other Fables
by Michael James Dowling, Sarah Buell Dowling (Illustrator)
3.5 out of 5 stars
This collection of fables focuses on debunking foolish modern ideas and philosophies. At the end of each fable, there is a moral lesson, several quotes that serve as examples of “worldly wisdom”, and Bible verses that show us God’s true wisdom.
The Wildwood Elves
by Anne-Marie Chapouton
The little elves decide to go on a trip to the seaside. They pack up the carts, and harness the mice for the journey. They stop for a picnic along the way. When they arrive at the sea, they are amazed at how big and salty it is. They discover shells, seaweed, and crabs. They build a sandcastle. When it is time to go home, they harvest some seaweed and take home a few of the biggest shells to serve as bathtubs.
Continue reading
Dreams of Near and Far
by Martin Widmark
Noah is depressed because his dog died. He begins to see a cat in his dreams. Mia is an orphan searching for a home. Mia’s cat leads her on a journey across the country, and eventually Noah and Mia find each other.
This is an emotional story as Noah and Mia are both searching for happiness and belonging. The writing is very sentimental and introspective.
Continue reading
Luminous Libro 