Starred Reviews

This lyrical and heartwarming picture book follows a Nigerian girl who worries about her family's upcoming move. But she soon realizes that no matter where they go, there will always be room at their kitchen table for her community to...

A spectacular tour through the dwellings of twenty-seven different animals, from a hermit crab’s secondhand shell to a beaver’s lakeside dam to a comet moth’s silk cocoon. Acclaimed creator Isabelle Simler presents a poetic journey through amazing animal homes across...

Khalil lives in the upstairs apartment with his family, which is big and busy and noisy. Downstairs lives Mr. Hagerty, who is quiet. Khalil and Mr. Hagerty don’t appear to have a lot in common, but hot summer days have...

Sometimes things happen by chance. A blue jay drops an acorn, a lucky acorn that happens to fall in just the right place and begins to grow. Though it begins life as a tiny part of the forest floor, the...

Caught in a storm, Arnold the elephant washes up on a tiny island. Along comes Mouse in a little dingy and Arnold steps aboard...uh-oh! They use the wreckage to make the island bigger. And here’s Dog―can this boat take Arnold's...

Curious minds are rewarded with curious answers in a fantastical bedtime book by Mac Barnett and Isabelle Arsenault. Why is the ocean blue? What is the rain? What happened to the dinosaurs? It might be time for bed, but one...

The night is for darkness . . . and for surprising moonlit discoveries. This lyrical story celebrates the wondrous beauty of the natural world and the intimate family moments we share each night. The Night Is for Darkness is a...

Silent and wide-eyed, owls are hidden creatures of the night. Janie has always dreamed of finding one. She searches everywhere for signs of an owl – on the open prairie for short-eared owls, on the beach for snowy owls, and...

Lulu loves her family, but people are always asking What are you? Lulu hates that question. Her brother inspires her to come up with a “power phrase” so she can easily express who she is, not what she is.

In this authentic and humorous picture book, a child with a limb difference is tired of being told how amazing he is for doing normal things. Joe and his friend Simone are practicing their best playground tricks, but everyone keeps...

Sometimes people march to resist injustice, to stand in solidarity, to inspire hope. Throughout American history, one thing remains true: no matter how or why people march, they are powerful because they march together.

The sights, sounds and tastes of vibrant Saint Lucia come to life in this cumulative #OwnVoices tale of a girl’s journey to Carnival. When a series of unexpected delays disrupts her journey to the big parade, Melba must adjust both...

How do two friends find each other? Why choose this one, not another? Are two friends just meant to be— I for you and you for me? Two pigeons fly through the city hoping to find a friend—but where do...

Written by the award-winning, bestselling author of Jingle Dancer, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), and filled with tender illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Nipmuck), this unforgettable, warmhearted picture book is for family and the friends who become family. Piper feels grateful for...

It’s market day for Samira and her grandma! The bazaar is crowded, but this sweet pair knows how to stick together in this silly picture book set in Iran. Mama Shamsi is off to the market, and today, Samira gets...

From New York Times bestselling author Beth Ferry comes a fantastical and unforgettable picture book about an unusual girl whose purple thumb helps her cultivate a truly macabre garden. When Prunella is born with a purple thumb instead of a...

What do you see from your window? This #OwnVoices picture book from Brazil offers a firsthand view of what children growing up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro see every day. A vibrant and diverse celebration of urban community...

Ali has arrived in Palestine for a visit just in time for the olive harvest. His grandfather, Seedo, and Hilwa—his favorite tree—greet him in the grove, where Seedo explains that Hilwa has many gifts to share. Other family members whack...

A full-color picture book from award-winning creator Sergio Ruzzier, The Real Story is a hilarious, imaginative whodunit in which Cat and Mouse debate the truth behind a broken cookie jar, which makes for a perfect read-aloud story. Cat has found...

Your dreams can change the world! Colorful mosaics, playful flowing forms, imaginative facades—Barcelona shines with the buildings of Antoni Gaudí. How did the son of a Catalan blacksmith become a world-famous architect? The first years of Gaudí’s life were challenging....

No matter the season, no matter the reason, the love that surrounds this boy's family table is palpable and neverending. From a golden anniversary to Juneteenth, a special wedding to a new baby sister, here is a family that never...

You may never have heard of a lightship. Once, lightships anchored on waters across America, on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Smaller than most ships, but more steadfast, too, they held...

With the Curiosities, a whole world of wonder awaits… One morning, at dawn, the Curiosities choose Miro to nest on. At first, he doesn’t notice. They blend in, perching on his shoulder and nuzzling into his hair. Over time, Miro...

Have you ever imagined what you might be when you grow up? When he was very young, Juan Felipe Herrera picked chamomile flowers in windy fields and let tadpoles swim across his hands in a creek. He slept outside and...

Everyone always agrees with Junior, including the mysterious voice from across the valley. “Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” he shouts. “Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” the echo shouts back. Until one day, a new...

One morning, a young boy is woken up early by his grandmother. It’s time to make a new rug for the family. Together, they wash and dye the wool. When it’s time to knot the threads, the young boy grows...

Tricycles have three wheels and training bikes have four, but what this little boy wants most of all is a bike with two wheels! Dad has one for any occasion, and he knows just how to get his son ready....

An empowering picture book from New York Times bestselling author Beth Ferry (Stick and Stone) and Caldecott Honoree Brendan Wenzel (They All Saw a Cat) told with lyrical text and luminous illustrations. Journey with a solar bear who shines a...

The celebrated author of Ezra Jack Keats Award winner Nell Plants a Tree and a Caldecott Honor artist come together for a poetic picture book introduction to Juneteenth and its origin. Oh, how you would dance! How you would sing!...

A Catholic girl growing up in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria takes a trip to spend a week with her Muslim extended family in the countryside town of Ijebu to celebrate Eid al-Adha. Her days in Ijebu are filled...