A young boy goes out in his rowboat to paint the sea while everything is still and quiet in the early morning light. He is always thinking about painting and sketching. Even when he rides bikes with his friends, when he goes to his piano lesson, when he walks the dog along the beach, or when he goes sailing. He is always thinking how he would paint the waves, the sand dunes, or the dog. Each day is a new opportunity to paint the world.
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Grandma’s House of Rules
by Henry Blackshaw
A little boy visits his grandmother, but she has so many rules that it’s hard to remember them all. Don’t leave your dirty dishes on the table. Don’t leave the cupboards open. Use an apron. Plump the cushions. Don’t sit in the fancy chair. Don’t ever ever touch the special vase.
When Grandma leaves the house, the little boy tries to follow the rules, but he forgets some and everything goes wrong. What will Grandma do when she comes home to find all the rules have been broken? She says, “You can break a vase, Kid, but you could never break my heart.” A grandmother’s love is stronger than any rules.
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Pina
by Elif Yemenici, Sidndey Wade (Translation)
Pina is afraid to leave his house. But when he runs out of cheese, he is forced to go outside. At first, he is frightened of everything, but nothing bad happens and Pina gets his cheese from the shop. Later he discovers that he needs other items, and has go to out into the world again, but this time he is not so nervous. He meets a neighbor and says hello. Gradually Pina realizes that the world outside his home is wonderful and colorful. He ventures out more often and discovers the beauties of the world.
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The World of Yaxin: Day of the Unicorn
by Man Arenas
This graphic novel doesn’t really have a story. It’s more like a collection of poetic lines with a loose story line of a lady unicorn, who gazes at the moon with her princess friend and little fauns. She meets a male unicorn and the artwork shows the male jumping over her while she rolls on her back on the ground. This is suggestive, but the text just says that “Love meets Life”. Then we understand that the lady unicorn is pregnant.
When the baby unicorn is born, the illustrations show the baby coming out of the mother in the process of birth. It’s quite graphic but beautiful. The text describes the pain and blood, and the artwork shows the placenta. But it doesn’t feel inappropriate or gross. It shows the miracle of birth in a special way.
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They’re Heroes Too: A Celebration of Community
by Pat Brisson, Anait Semirdzhyan (Illustrations)
The ordinary people we see every day – directing traffic, teaching in schools, serving food, helping the sick, and delivering mail – those people are heroes. Their contributions are so important that society could not survive without them. And when we take time to act with generosity and kindness, we are heroes too!
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Rise of Zombert, Return of ZomBert, Revenge of ZomBert
by Kara LaReau (Author), Ryan Andrews(Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars
Mellie finds a stray cat and names him Bert. Bert won’t eat regular cat food, and prefers to hunt for mice and frogs and squirrels. His strange behavior causes Mellie’s friends to speculate that Bert might be a zombie cat! But Bert’s unique abilities are the result of his past at the YummCo factory. Could the factory have experimented on animals and created a monster zombie cat? Mellie loves him anyway.
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Well Done, Mommy Penguin
by Chris Haughton (Goodreads Author)
Mommy Penguin goes fishing. The Baby Penguin and Daddy Penguin watch from the nest as she swims. She is the best swimmer and the best jumper. She catches a fish, and begins to climb up the snowy cliff back to the nest. But can she make it past the sleeping seals?
This is such a cute story! The Baby and Daddy are cheering for Mommy Penguin every step of the way. She is very determined and skilled. Like all moms she has hidden talents and inner strength!
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Frank and Bean: Food Truck Fiasco
by Jamie Michalak (Author), Bob Kolar (illustrator)
Bean gets a new donut truck to enter the food truck competition for the best food. He asks Frank to come along and help, but Frank has his own ideas about what makes the best food. They are both dismayed to see that Mad Dog has the most costumers at her cupcake food truck. Can they come up with a food that will win the competition?
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The Infamous Ratsos Live! In Concert!
by Kara LaReau (Author), Matt Myers (Illustrator)
The Ratso brothers, Louie and Ralphie, start up a charity concert with their friends to help raise money to repair the playground. But Chad Badgerton makes fun of them for their glittery costumes and silly dance moves. Ralphie is nervous about the concert. He loves the music they are singing, but is not sure if he wants to wear the costumes. Louie and the others help Ralphie to have the courage to like what he likes, and not worry about what other people think.
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Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame
by Louie Stowell
Loki has been banished from Asgard. Odin has given Loki the form of an 11-year-old human, and sent Thor, Heimdall, and Hyrrokkin (also in the form of humans) to keep an eye on him. Loki must learn to be good and keep a record of his good or bad deeds in a magical journal. In this second book of the series, Loki is trying to make some new friends, but he goes about it in all the wrong ways.
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