Review of Joyful Song, by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal

Award Winners, Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Joyful Song

A Naming Story

by Lesléa Newman
illustrated by Susan Gal

Levine Querido, 2024. 40 pages.
Review written February 4, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Sidney Taylor Silver Medal, Picture Books

I checked out this picture book after it was honored with a Sidney Taylor Silver Medal by the Association of Jewish Libraries – and what a beautiful book it is!

The story is told from the perspective of a kid named Zachary. His family is walking through their vibrant, colorful neighborhood to the synagogue for his baby sister’s first Shabbat, when they will announce her name to the world. Zachary gets to push her baby carriage.

Along the way, their neighbors Miss Fukumi, Mr. Baraka, and Mrs. Santiago greet them and ask the baby’s name. Before Zachary can speak, first Mama gives a nickname, then Mommy gives a nickname, and the third time, Zachary knows to tell Mrs. Santiago they call her Snuggle Bunny. All three neighbors are invited to come with them to the naming ceremony.

In the synagogue, the family comes up front, and they announce the name and why they chose it. It’s all followed by a meal, and walking home, with the three neighbors saying good-by, each in their own way, and talking about the lovely baby with a lovely name.

For Jewish families, it must be a delight to see your traditions reflected in this gorgeous picture book. (I can’t stress enough how wonderful the art is!) For non-Jewish families, you’ve got a lovely cross-cultural window. And every family who reads this book will find the perfect lead-in to talking about how you chose the names for your children.

galgirlstudio.com
levinequerido.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/joyful_song.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of A Is For Bee, by Ellen Heck

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

A Is for Bee

An Alphabet Book in Translation

by Ellen Heck

Levine Querido, 2022. 36 pages.
Review written December 13, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This book is creative and fascinating — though you’ll want to show it to older kids, who already know their English alphabet well, so they don’t get confused.

The introduction is simple:

We speak to each other in many languages, and in some of them…

Then it goes right into an Alphabet book. The order is A to Z, and many of the animals you’re used to see in alphabet books appear, but now they show up in different places.

On the first page, we’ve got:

A is for BEE

Anu in Igbo
Arl in Turkish
Aamoo in Ojibwe
Abelha in Portuguese

There’s extended back matter, explaining the difficulties of translation and the Romanization of different alphabets. 69 languages are represented in this book, which they note is a small fraction of the more than 6,500 spoken across the world.

They’ve got a QR code you can scan to get to this page: levinequerido.com/AIsforBee and hear the words spoken aloud. I had a lot of fun exploring there.

This isn’t really a book for learning other languages, but it’s a beautiful book for delighting in the variety of human expression and for children to get an idea of the many amazing ways people speak.

The book goes from A is for Bee to Z is for Elephant, with delightful variety in between.

levinequerido.com/AIsforBee

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/a_is_for_bee.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Towed By Toad, by Jashar Awan

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Towed By Toad

by Jashar Awan

Tundra, 2024. 48 pages.
Review written March 6, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Geisel Honor Book

The Geisel Awards are given to the most distinguished books for beginning readers, and they usually go to books in the beginning reader format. I’m so happy that this picture book won the award, because it only took one reading for it to become a favorite for me. And this picture book is both a good read-aloud and a good book for supporting new readers – the kind of book that will get read frequently and next thing you know, the child can read it themselves.

This was one of those picture books I had to show to my colleagues – except I found that I didn’t want to just show it to them – no, I was compelled to read it to them. Just a delightful book.

The look of the book is big, bright cartoon-type pictures on a white background, with about one to three short sentences per spread. And the action begins before the title page. We’re inside a house and see a toad calling from a doorway: “Breakfast!”

On the next spread, we see a smaller toad running out the door saying:

No time, Pop!
Can’t stop!

And then the title page shows the smaller toad driving out of a garage in an orange tow truck.

The beginning reminds me a little of Richard Scarry (though not nearly so busy):

Big cars. Little cars.
Old cars. New cars.
Everyone has places to be!

We then see various creatures headed various places.

No matter who you are
or where you are going. . .
. . . everyone needs help sometimes.

That’s where Toad comes in.

We see Toad towing and helping his first customer. Then these happen:

Catie Cat has a flat.
Davey Dog hit a log.

Mayor Hop forgot to stop.
Stanley Snout’s engine fell out.

And yes, the pictures that go with these are as fun as you might imagine.

And Toad helps them all.

But then, after a good day’s work, Toad’s own truck begins to make strange noises and breaks down. Toad doesn’t want to ask for help.

But when he finally does, we learn what that other big truck in the home garage is for.

And we’re left with a wonderful message:

Everyone needs help sometimes.

Even the helpers.

This book has it all – simple, bright pictures, easy-to-understand language, lots of cars and trucks, plenty of kid-sized drama, and a wonderful message to top it off.

One of those books that make me wish I were still doing story times.

jasharawan.com
penguinrandomhouse.ca

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/towed_by_toad.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of A Little Like Magic, by Sarah Kurpiel

Award Winners, Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

A Little Like Magic

by Sarah Kurpiel

Rocky Pond Books (Penguin Random House), 2024. 44 pages.
Review written February 28, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Schneider Family Award Winner, Younger Children

Here’s a gorgeous picture book that features a kid in a wheelchair.

The child and their mother (probably a little girl, but the gender is never specified) are headed to an ice festival to watch the sculptors work, but they don’t want to go.

I don’t like heavy coats
or itchy hats
or boots that don’t let me bend my ankles.
I don’t like cold wind
or icy roads.
Most of all, I don’t like going places that I’ve never been before.

Still, they go, bringing a special toy horse in their pocket. They watch the sculptors work, using chainsaws, drills, chisels, picks, torches and steaming irons.

They watch until they are too cold, then have hot chocolate together. The child isn’t convinced it’s worth it to make sculptures that are going to melt anyway.

And to their dismay, the little horse is no longer in their pocket when they get home.

But then the next day they go back after dark. Now the sculptures are finished, and they’re magical and wondrous.

The cold and crowd melt away. There is only light and ice and stars and Mom and me.

And, yes, they find their toy horse – along with a special surprise. That’s the best part of all.

In the end, they realize that even though the sculptures melted, they never really went away because they’ll always remember their magic.

This is one of those quiet, lovely, wonderful books that you love more each time you read it.

sarahkurpiel.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/little_like_magic.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of My Daddy Is a Cowboy, words by Stephanie Seales, pictures by C. G. Esperanza

Award Winners, Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

My Daddy Is a Cowboy

words by Stephanie Seales
pictures by C. G. Esperanza

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024. 40 pages.
Review written February 11, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Caldecott Honor Book
2025 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner

This is a story of together time for a girl and her Daddy.

The book starts when he wakes her up before the sun. They get ready and ride a motorcycle to the “ranch” in the city – a regular house, with a backyard that has “stalls and stalls of horses.”

They get their horses ready – Daddy’s mare Power, and the girl’s pony Clover, and she feeds them the apple slices she brought.

And then they ride around the city neighborhood together. Daddy took her early so they wouldn’t have to worry about cars and trucks and things. Everyone who sees them smiles.

Later, Daddy will ride around the city with the other cowboys, and the girl will ride at the ranch with the other kids, but this is precious “just us” time, when she gets to be a cowboy like her Daddy.

It’s a good story about something I never guessed could happen in a big city – but what pushes it over to exceptional are the bright, vibrant, joyful, colorful illustrations.

Daddy says riding helped him feel stronger, safer, and happier.

I know what Daddy means because I feel that way when I ride.
Tall. High as the clouds.
Strong as a horse’s back.

stephanieseales.com
cgesperanza.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/my_daddy_is_a_cowboy.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Chooch Helped, by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz

Award Winners, Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Chooch Helped

by Andrea L. Rogers
illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz

Levine Querido, 2024. 48 pages.
Review written February 5, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner

Chooch Helped wasn’t on my radar except to order library copies – until it won the Caldecott Medal. The Caldecott Medal is given to the artist for the illustrations, but it’s an award for the picture book, so the story is always wonderful, too. It’s not hard to see why this book was chosen this year.

The story is about a big sister and her baby brother. Here’s how it begins:

This is the baby.
We call him Chooch.

The word for boy or son in Cherokee is atsutsa (ah-choo-ja)

However, the plot thickens on the next page, when we read:

Chooch isn’t really a baby, anymore.
We just celebrated his second birthday.

Still, whenever Chooch makes a mess, everyone says,
“He’s just usdi (oos-dee). Let him help.”

It seems to me, Usdi Chooch
just gets away with everything.

From there, each spread shows Chooch “helping” another member of the family. Each family member’s name is given in Cherokee, and most of the time, we can see that Chooch’s help is distinctly unhelpful. At the back of the book, the author tells how the different tasks they are doing are part of Cherokee culture.

Finally, when Chooch messes up the clay pot Sissy is making, she yells at him. So he cries, and her parents yell at her, “Shouting is no help!”

But when Sissy goes to her room and cries, Chooch helps her feel better. He really does help! And the parents apologize before the end, too. And there are lessons about how when she was usdi, her help was a lot like Chooch’s. And it all ends with Sissy helping Chooch to make his own pinch pot.

The two spreads of back matter (not too common in a picture book) reveal the Cherokee traditions woven throughout the story and art of this beautiful book, as well as instructions for making a pinch pot, and more on the Cherokee words used.

So this book ends up being a beautiful tribute to Cherokee culture – but also a classic story of a “helpful” younger sibling that any big sibling in the world will be able to relate to. Truly a distinguished picture book. (And wow! I see from the back flap that this is the illustrator’s debut picture book. You go! Awesome!)

treeoflifestudio.net
andrealrogers.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/chooch_helped.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Touch the Sky, by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic and Chris Park

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Touch the Sky

by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic and Chris Park

Carolrhoda Books, 2024. 36 pages.
Review written January 15, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

Okay, this is a picture book that needed to exist. It’s wonderful. It’s perfect. It’s about learning to pump and make a swing go.

Our hero is Vern, a kid with long hair (the better for streaming out behind him) who loves to twist and spin on the swings, but doesn’t know how to pump. Some of the other kids laugh, but finally a girl sees him trying and offers to help.

It takes a lot of explaining and lots of encouragement.

It feels hard until you get it, and then it’s not.

And yes, we see all of Vern’s struggles – his awkward twists, out-of-sync movements, and even falls. And maybe there’s somebody out there who learned to pump on their very first try, but I, for one, was transported back to childhood and remember how hard it was before it was easy.

And the illustrations! Those transported me back, too. The swooping! The gliding! That feeling when your toes touch the sky! It’s all captured here on the page.

This picture book isn’t a how-to manual for learning to pump a swing, but it does offer plenty of tips. And most of all, it models persistence, along with taking and giving a helping hand. And the glorious joy of a new skill and the ability to touch the sky.

stephanielucianovic.com
chrisdpark.com
lernerbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/touch_the_sky.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme, words by Betsy Bird, pictures by Andrea Tsurumi

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme

words by Betsy Bird
pictures by Andrea Tsurumi

Union Square Kids, coming in March 2025. 56 pages.
Review written November 19, 2024, from an Advance Reader Copy.
Starred Review

This is one of those delightfully silly picture books that simply begs to be read to a child. Full disclosure: I’ve served on a committee with Betsy Bird and have read her blog for years, so I consider her a friend.

The idea for the book is simple, and a note at the back reveals that it springs out of her family’s traditions in reading nursery rhymes. The book is a series of nursery rhymes, beginning with Pop! Goes the Weasel, but when it’s time for the last line of each other rhyme – the weasel pops out there as well.

And to make it complete, we’ve got a fussy secretary bird overseeing the action and hysterically scolding the weasel at every turn.

The idea is simple, but illustrator Andrea Tsurumi’s execution brings it to brilliance. I love the exuberance of the weasel popping out and the visible frustration of the secretary bird.

This host starts relatively calm, progresses to confused, and has a lovely page with a total breakdown:

That’s it!

That’s IT!

No more weasels!
No weasels in the sky
or in cakes or rolling down hills or any of that!

NO.
MORE.
WEASELS.

Just do a rhyme without a weasel in it. Just one!
PLEASE!

The next rhyme – “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” progresses over eleven pages before the grand Pop! – with tension building all the way (and the thought bubbles of the bird adding to that tension). [And can I just say that showing a bird getting a popsicle for “Pick up sticks” and throwing the sticks away for “Lay them straight” is absolutely brilliant?]

But it all ends happily with all the animals from earlier in the book showing up and celebrating the weasel.

As it says in Jon Scieszka’s blurb on the back, I really do need to find a kid and read this book to them.

afuse8production.slj.com
andreatsurumi.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/pop_goes_the_nursery_rhyme.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Don’t Think of Tigers, by Alex Latimer

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Don’t Think of Tigers

by Alex Latimer

Random House, 2024. 32 pages.
Review written December 17, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

The cover of this picture book is brilliant – one look and you know what’s going on. And you’re absolutely thinking of tigers.

Sure enough, the author sets up the premise that whatever you picture in your mind, he will draw on the next page. He starts with a picture of a cow doing ballet to show it works. After that, we get these instructions:

But before we start, I’ve just got one thing to ask you.

I really, really can’t draw tigers, so whatever you do, please

DON’T THINK OF TIGERS!

All right – now picture ANYTHING you like.

(Just no tigers.)

You guessed it, there’s a tiger on the next page, and, sure enough, it’s not a very good picture of a tiger.

And so the silly book goes, trying more and more silly things to keep the reader from thinking of tigers and showing more and more silly drawings of tigers, though they’re getting a little better as it goes.

At the end, he asks the reader to think of every part of the tiger – stripes and whiskers and eyes and tail – and the result is a beautiful picture of a tiger walking out of the jungle. And he finishes up by asking the reader to draw what he’s thinking of.

And then – there’s a note at the back. There’s a small picture of an ugly painting of a kid, and he tells about when he was in school and painted a picture of himself and an older kid saw it and told him he better not ever try to be an artist.

I felt horrible. And so from that day, for a very long time, I stopped painting or drawing or sketching. I’d love to tell you that the boy was wrong and that I was actually an artistic genius.

But do you know what? My picture really was terrible. It really was a very, very bad painting.

(I had tried to use all of the colors to paint my face, and it ended up messy and lumpy and my eyes were askew and my nose looked like a moldy mushroom.)

But I just wish someone had told me back then that making bad pictures is part of learning to make good ones. It’s the same with riding a bike or learning to swim. No one on Earth has ever been very good the first time they tried anything.

Every artist out there has made tons of awful paintings and hideous drawings and horrible sketches.

So I want to encourage you to make bad pictures! Let’s make lots and lots of stinkers!

Because that’s the only way to make good ones.

Now, I don’t necessarily like books where the point has to be spelled out. But the main part of this book is so much silly fun, I don’t mind a serious Author’s Note at the end with a really great message.

So there you have it: Delightfully silly fun combined with overcoming fear of doing something poorly. Now to just find a kid to share it with.

alexlatimer.co.za

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/dont_think_of_tigers.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle, by Nina LaCour, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle

by Nina LaCour
illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

Candlewick Press, 2022. 32 pages.
Review written November 18, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

I read this book for Capitol Choices, and it’s an absolutely sweet picture book about missing a parent when she’s away on a work trip.

And yes, the family portrayed has two moms. And they’re a mixed-race couple. But that’s not what the book is about, which is refreshing, and any kid who ever misses a parent will relate to this story.

The book goes through the days of the week, beginning very early on Monday, when Mommy wakes up the little girl (she looks to be about four years old) and the family makes pancakes together. When they sit to eat them, it’s “Mommy and Mama and me in the middle.” But then Mama and the little girl wave goodbye to Mommy.

I like the spread that happens on Tuesday:

During circle time I say, “My mommy is on a work trip.”
Mr. Henry ask, “Is anyone else missing someone they love?”

Olive misses her sister, away at school.
They used to build block towers.

Miguel misses his papa, in a faraway country.
He wears a necklace to remember.

Chloe misses her cat
who ran away.

As the week goes on, there are sweet and cozy moments with Mama. But there are also many moments of missing Mommy.

“I miss Mommy. I miss her as deep as a scuba diver down in the ocean and as high as an astronaut up in the stars.”

“That’s a lot of missing.”

When Mommy comes home on Sunday, they gather a surprise for her.

But something else I love about this book is that the little girl has a moment of anger, when she remembers those tough moments that week of missing Mommy.

But that feeling is acknowledged, and the book finishes with a big cozy hug, with Mama and Mommy and me in the middle.

ninalacour.com
kaylanijuanita.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/mama_and_mommy_and_me_in_the_middle.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?