Letters in Charcoal
by Irene Vasco, Juan Palomino (Illustrator)

5 of 5 stars

A young girl grows up in a poor village in Colombia. There is only one person in the entire village who knows how to read, and this girl barters with them to learn the alphabet. She studies to learn to read, so that she can read letters that arrive for her family. She makes alphabet letters from charcoal or chalk, deciphering their meaning and sharing her knowledge with the other children in the village.

Tree Whispers (The Child’s Play Library)
by Mandy Ross, Juliana Oakley (Illustrator)

4 of 5 stars

This book of poems offers a refreshing look at trees and how much they contribute to our world. There are beautiful poems about the rings of a tree, the roots of a tree, and different rare types of trees like the joshua tree or baobab tree. There is a poem about forest bathing and another about birds’ nests. There are poems for oak trees, jacarandas, willows, sycamores, and fruit trees.
There is also an emphasis on protecting the trees that provide homes for so many animal species.

Merlina and the Magical Mishap
by Daniela Drescher

5 of 5 stars

Merlina and her friend Igor the Dragon are preparing for the pumpkin harvest. They have already made apple and pear jams, and the next item will be the pumpkins for pies and breads. While picking pumpkins, Igor gets a sharp thorn in his foot claw. He cries for help, asking Merlina to use her magic to disappear the thorn. Merlina casts a spell, but it goes wrong, changing the thorn to a toadstool that grows out of Igor’s toe! The next spell Merlina casts accidentally changes the toadstool into a large green leaf! Can Merlina find a solution for getting the thorn/toadstool/leaf off her friend’s toe?

When Dad’s Hair Took Off
by Jörg Mϋhle

5 out of 5 stars

Dad’s hair is tired of being brushed and combed. It jumps off Dad’s head and escapes! Dad runs after his hair, trying to capture it again, but the hair is too cunning and sly. The hair plans a devious escape route through the city with Dad in close pursuit. Can Dad get his hair back? Or will the hair be gone for good?

Mouse House
by Rumer Godden, Adrienne Adams (Illustrations)

4 out of 5 stars

Mary received a little toy Mouse House with toy mice to play with. But she is disappointed that they are not real mice. They just sit there. They don’t run and scamper like a real mouse would do. Meanwhile in the basement, a family of mice are cramped in their flowerpot home. There are so many children that they can’t all fit! Bonnie, the littlest mouse, goes searching for a new place to sleep. She explores the upstairs and discovers the Mouse House. Bonnie falls asleep in the toy bed, but in the morning, Mary discovers her!

Norton and the Borrowing Bear
by Gabriel Evans (Goodreads Author)

5 of 5 stars

Norton has a new neighbor, Bear. They become friends, and Bear asks to borrow a few items… and then a few more items. He borrows Norton’s fuzzy slippers, his teapot, his yoga mat, and even his favorite chair! Norton is too polite to tell Bear that he is getting stressed with all this borrowing. But finally Norton snaps, and yells at Bear for being so inconsiderate. Bear feels guilty for borrowing too many things, and asks to borrow one last thing… Norton himself, for some friend time together.