Review of Zebra and Yak: The Backwards Alphabet Book, by Paul Friedrich

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Zebra and Yak

The Backwards Alphabet Book

by Paul Friedrich

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025. 48 pages.
Review written May 4, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book is the kind of clever idea that makes you surprised you haven’t seen it before.

The book begins, “Are you ready to start the alphabet? Let’s go!” When you turn the page, you see “Z is for Zebra.”

There’s a cartoon picture of Zebra on a lounge chair. He throws what I think is a table and a glass (might be a phone), and a speech bubble says “What?” On the opposite page are four comic book panels of Zebra asking why he didn’t hear the cue of X for Xylophone.

The book continues with the narrator’s words in very serious type, and the rest in comic book format with hand-drawn speech bubbles. After Zebra explains how things should go, the narrator says:

Apple wasn’t around.
We’re starting with Z instead.

Zebra’s response: “This is ridiculous! We need to find Apple!”

On the next page, Yak, too, isn’t ready, because he hasn’t seen the x-ray machine.

The two of them wander through the alphabet backwards, with plenty more silly situations. At the start of the alphabet, they’re wondering what took so long.

When they finally get to Apple, he’s very upset that he thought this was happening next week, so he went on vacation. An Alligator deals with him.

So this is one of those silly books that benefit from looking at something old in a new way. It will be better for kids who already firmly know their alphabet – I’d hate to really mess up any future library pages being able to shelve books. (They should also be old enough to be okay with a sentient apple getting eaten.)

I found the book when I saw Zebra and Yak are featured next in a Backwards Counting Book. That doesn’t feel as unusual, but I’m guessing it will still be silly.

paulfriedrich.com

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Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Rothenberg

Historical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes

by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
illustrated by Joani Rothenberg

Apples & Honey Press, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written April 28, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes is a delightful expansion on the Bible story of the parting of the Red Sea.

The paintings that go with the book have rich, beautiful colors. The people are leaving Egypt, but still complaining.

“ENOUGH COMPLAINING!”
Moses held up his hands.

“TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU CAN AND HURRY!”
There was no time to argue,
no time for bread to rise.
The people carried bowls of
sticky dough on their shoulders.

But not Miriam!
She carried a timbrel
and her dancing shoes.

I love Moses’s response:

“Give me strength,”
sighed Moses.
“We are running for our lives,
not planning a party!”

But as the people are going through the Sea of Reeds after Moses parts it, they are afraid and begin complaining again. Moses is so far ahead, they can’t even see him. And of course Pharaoh’s army is behind.

So Miriam shouts for them to follow her.

FOLLOW MY DANCING SHOES.

And when they slip and slide and get stuck in the mud, she tells them to lift up their feet like they are dancing. She plays her timbrel, and they walk to the rhythm.

Moses looked back
and was amazed.

The people were following
Miriam’s dancing shoes and
the music of her timbrel.

They were not complaining.
They were not grumbling.
They were singing.
They were dancing!

Miriam assures him this is the song of freedom, the sound of hope.

And this whole wonderful story is told with glorious paintings. I’m now thinking of this old story in a completely different way.

There are nine pages of back matter at the end of this picture book. I had a hard time deciding whether to put the book in nonfiction with some other Bible stories or with the picture books. I ultimately decided on picture books because the story it tells is so wonderful, and I think it will find more readers.

The back matter includes a wonderful song, written and performed by David Sasso, which you can find at www.davidsasso.com/freedom-walks-in-dancing-shoes. It’s based on the book and uses paintings from the book, and listening to it added to my delight with the whole project.

There are also a couple of craft projects in the back, including “Make a Freedom Tambourine,” and then notes about the story of the Exodus and the history of traditions that have grown up around Miriam, the sister of Moses.

You don’t have to be Jewish or Christian to love this story.

rabbisandysasso.com
applesandhoneypress.com

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Review of We the People Is All the People, written by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

We the People Is All the People

written by Howard W. Reeves
illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026. 36 pages.
Review written June 4, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

The concept of this picture book is simple and beautiful. The first page after the title page lists the Preamble to the United States Constitution, of course beginning with “We the People.” The rest of the book shows the wonderful multi-faceted diversity of the people of the United States.

Here’s how it begins:

“We the people” is all the people.

People
next door,
down the street,
and across the country,
in cities,
towns,
and farms.

People
living in houses,
apartments,
and in shelters,

who worship in churches,
mosques,
and temples.

People
who were here,
who arrived later,
who still come today.

And so it continues. Of course the pictures add great resonance – showing us a wide variety of people who fit each description.

A later section includes:

People
who look different ways,
love different ways,
and communicate different ways.

People
on assembly lines,
bread lines,
and protest lines.

And the last couple spreads:

Her. Him. Them.
You. Me. Us.

“We the people” is ALL the people.

There’s an author’s note at the back where he does acknowledge that the Constitution was originally written not for all the people, but for landowning white men. But I like his conclusion:

Some injustices have been corrected, such as emancipating the enslaved and giving women the vote, while others we are still working on.

Although things are better today, and there are more people included in “we the people” than when the preamble was written, for every step forward there is often a step backward, and there are still so many people left out. We still have much more work to do to include all the “we” in “we the people” as we strive to create a more perfect union.

This simple and beautiful picture book helps me believe that we can raise up the next generation to help make it so. Reading this book is a perfect way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

DuncanTonatiuh.com
abramsbooks.com

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Review of Charts for Babies, by Michelle Rial

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Charts for Babies

by Michelle Rial

Abrams Appleseed, 2026. 36 pages.
Review written June 2, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This book makes my mathematical heart happy! Mind you, I’m the mom who, frustrated when grading third-semester calculus papers, taught my small children the chain rule of calculus. (Just the pattern, not anything about the concepts behind it.)

This book, too, gives small children some patterns – and maybe they’ll notice some concepts. But that’s kind of not the point.

It’s all light and happy with pages in rainbow colors and rhyming text. And we see things in charts. Here are a couple of examples of the text in spreads:

This is wide.
This is narrow.
This is a line.
This is an arrow.

And of course that’s accompanied by an appropriate chart. Here’s another:

This is a block.
This is a stack.
This is a duck.
The duck says, “Quack Quack!”

The charts are all pretty much that simple, with some excuses to give hugs at the end.

And then on the final end papers, we get a key to the types of charts used – in a chart: Venn diagram, column chart, dumbbell chart, area chart, scatter plot, bubble chart, matrix, pie chart, bar chart, sound wave chart, timeline, decision tree, line chart, concentric diagram, spiral graph, and key. That last box is wonderfully self-referential.

So you see – they will learn something! It’s all clever and fun. What is a chart, after all, but a visual representation of something, a way to understand it at a glance? I always love a read-aloud that parents will enjoy, too, and this one is 100% fun!

michellerial.com

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Review of Sometimes We Pray, by Mary Wagley Copp, illustrated by Felishia Henditirto

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Sometimes We Pray

by Mary Wagley Copp
illustrated by Felishia Henditirto

Charlesbridge, 2026. 36 pages.
Review written April 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here is a simple and inclusive book about how all kinds of people from all over the world in all kinds of situations and all kinds of ways all pray.

The book is simple – it doesn’t talk about who or what different groups pray to. Instead, it talks about what we have in common – we pray. And it does show the variety of ways that happens.

I love the story at the back of why the author wrote the book:

One day, in the middle of an ELL (English language learners) class, two of my Syrian students stood up with their prayer rugs, went to a corner of the room, and knelt in prayer. Another student, a former pastor from Burundi, suggested that we sit silently as they prayed. The class obliged. A student from Haiti made a sign of the cross and others bowed their heads, as we sat in silence. When the class resumed, a lengthy conversation ensued – as best we could with the variety of languages we spoke – of what prayer meant to each of us. The curiosity of the students, coming from vastly different cultures, was heartening. In making space for, listening to, and hearing different perspectives, we found connection and discovered many shared values. Sometimes We Pray is inspired by that class. It is an offering to initiate similar explorations. During my research, many people shared their perspectives and practices, and I am grateful for their generous and open spirit.

The main text of the book stays simple, suitable to read to a child:

Sometimes we kneel.
Sometimes we bend and bow.
Or lie flat.

We might pray with each step. [Here there’s a picture of Buddhist monks walking in a labyrinth.]
strumming each string,
inspecting each incredible leg, [Here there’s a picture of a child looking at a praying mantis.]
or maybe…
marveling at a star.

The book goes on to talk about positions of prayer, what we do with our hands, times we pray, ways we pray, places we pray.

I like the part at the end that does include praying in difficult times:

Sometimes we wonder if prayer works.
Someone we love gets sick…
and doesn’t get better.

Someone is hungry or
doesn’t have a home.
The rain doesn’t stop or
never
comes.

But we keep praying, wherever we are.

We might be praying the same prayer,
sowing the same seeds, or…
marveling at the same star.

The beautifully painted pictures accompany a few lines on each spread. They portray people of many different cultures and religions, from many different parts of the world – and viscerally show us how much we are all alike in this way.

This isn’t a book I’d use to introduce a child to prayer. As a Christian, I’d use the tried-and-true “Prayer is talking to God.” But once a child has seen how their own family prays, this book is a glorious way to point out that others may do it differently, but so many others of us here on earth do pray.

marywagleycopp.com
felishiahenditirto.com

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Review of Now You Know Your ABCs… (Or Do You…?) written by Caspar Salmon, illustrated by Matt Hunt

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Now You Know Your ABCs…

(Or Do You…?)

written by Caspar Salmon
illustrated by Matt Hunt

Nosy Crow, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written April 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Hooray! The creators of the amazing How to Count to One (And don’t even THINK about other numbers) have created another interactive and utterly silly parody of a basic concept book – this time taking on the alphabet.

The book begins simply enough with A is for Apple, B is for Ball, and C is for Castle. But when the narrator starts in and tries to do D is for Dog – the “dog” turns out to be a wolf – a Dangerous, Dangerous wolf!

So what are you to do but cry out EEEEEEEEEEK in fear and run all the way to France?

The nearest French person is no help, because they do not speak your language, so you Go and seek shelter inside a tree house.

The adventure that follows gets zanier and zanier as you try to outwit the wolf and get back home – all the way through the alphabet.

It all adds up to an extremely silly book that begs to be read aloud, preferably with a group that indeed already knows their ABCs so they will appreciate the surprising ways each next letter is brought into the story.

matthuntillustration.com
nosycrow.us

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Review of My Tiger, by Joy Cowley, illustrated by David Barrow

Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

My Tiger

by Joy Cowley
illustrated by David Barrow

Gecko Press, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written May 6, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Reading this picture book at my desk made me laugh out loud and push it on my coworkers. Not to give anything away, but this is going on my Pinterest board with the title “Books Where Someone Gets Eaten.” (I once had a librarian coworker whose favorite picture books were all in that category.)

The story here is simply and beautifully told. We see a child – a Black kid who wears glasses, a striped shirt and shorts, and a pleasant smile on his face – and his tiger, who is about ten times as big as he is.

There aren’t many words on each page, and the story is effectively told with the help of the pictures. The first spread says, “My Tiger loved cake.” And the picture is of the kid pointing ahead as they pass a Patisserie with an abundance of cakes in the shop window.

The next page says, “I took him to the cake shop.”

As the tiger eats, the baker asks if he’s dangerous.

“No,” I said, “He only eats cake.”

But alas! After consuming large quantities of cake, the tiger gets a bad tooth. So the kid drags him to the dentist.

A haughty dentist asks the same question as the baker and gets the same answer. The kid has quite a time (shown in the pictures) of getting the tiger to sit in the dentist chair. The tiger howls and growls as the work is being done.

After she finishes up, the dentist tells the kid that the tiger must eat no more cake.

“Then what can he eat?” I said.
“The same as other tigers,” she said.

What happens after that is what made me laugh out loud.

So – this isn’t a book for parents who are trying to teach their children that they can’t survive on cake. Probably not for children afraid of the dentist, either. (Or maybe it would be therapeutic?) But for kids and grown-ups who enjoy a silly story with beautiful pictures and a fitting ending? This picture book is just right.

joycowley.com
geckopress.com

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Review of While We’re Here, written by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Micha Archer

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

While We’re Here

written by Anne Wynter
illustrated by Micha Archer

Clarion Books, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written April 28, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I was completely captivated by this picture book from my first reading – and find myself happily reading it over and over.

First, the artwork is colorful and beautiful. It’s done with collage papers, so everything from the tree trunks to the grass in the park has subtle patterns. Especially highlighted are the red tops and colorful skirts of our featured characters – a Black mother and her young daughter, all dressed up for a party.

In almost the first half of the book, all the spreads begin with the words “Hurry, Hurry.” And several of them end with “We have somewhere to be!” We see the mother is the one doing the hurrying – getting jackets zipped, out the door, on the train, through the park. The little girl, as little girls do, pays attention to the things she sees along the way

But when they get where they’re going – a picnic bench on a hill beside two trees, there are no words except for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner. There are some cups left on the picnic table and colored wrapping paper in the trash. There’s a balloon in the tree.

On the next page, the mother is checking her calendar:

Hurry, hurry,
check the date.

Yesterday.
Yesterday?

Yes, the little girl is clearly upset. But that’s where all the tension leaves the book. When we turn the page, we read:

We’ll head back home,
but while we’re here,
let’s take turns
rolling down the hill.

From there on out, party balloon in hand, the pair make the most of time together in a wonderful sprawling park, because “we have nowhere to be.” They go under a bridge, watch ducklings in the pond, enjoy sitting under a tree, and more.

And it’s all colorful and beautiful and full of love. Their outdoor time together exudes peace and we know it all adds up to a wonderful day.

This is going on my I’d-love-to-see-get-Caldecott-recognition list for this year.

This book just makes me happy.

annewynter.com
michaarcher.com

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Review of Two Artists, Grandad and Me, by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Two Artists, Grandad and Me

by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2026. 28 pages.
Review written February 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This is a sweet picture book about a little girl and her artist grandfather, and the joy she found making art with him in his studio, and how he’d gently guide her.

What makes it extra special is that this girl’s grandfather was the wonderful Jerry Pinkney – an amazing creator of children’s books, Caldecott Medalist, and a kind human being. (Yes, I’ve met him and heard him speak a few times. The man radiated goodness.)

This book pictures her as a little girl coming into Grandad’s studio, being greeted with love, given access to his paints and supplies, and shown how to use them.

He gives her her own sketchbook and gets her started filling it, drawing side by side.

“I don’t think I did it right.”
“There is no right way,” he assures me.
“Every artist sees the world differently.”

Hmmm . . . artist?

I’ve never been called an artist before.
I like the sound of it.
I have so many stories to tell.

May kids continue to be inspired to make art, continuing to build Jerry Pinkney’s generous legacy.

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Review of Nani and the Lion, written by Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by Anna Cunha

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Nani and the Lion

written by Alicia D. Williams
illustrated by Anna Cunha

A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book (Atheneum), 2026. 40 pages.
Review written March 25, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here’s a new picture book with all the marks of a storytime classic. The setting is a village “across the ocean, where trees stretched far and wide and mountains kissed the sky.” But near the village lives a grumpy lion who doesn’t like noise and declares that no one may make noise in King Lion’s Land.

Villagers were so afraid that they tiptoed to the watering holes. Roosters refused to call the sun. Even elephants dared not blow their trunks.

However, living in the village is a little girl named Nani who is gifted at drumming. She can imitate all the local animals by making sounds on her drum. And when she drums, the people can’t help but dance.

And then they remember the lion and tell her to be quiet.

So that’s the set-up. She tries three different locations, making people and animals dance. The sound of the drum will be one kids can’t resist making along with Nani.

But finally, the lion hears, and the lion comes. (And there are sound effects for that, of course.)

At first, Nani runs with the others.

But then she uses her drum to make the lion dance.

And it all winds up with a tired lion and a joyful village dance party.

It’s accompanied by wonderful and colorful illustrations, and the whole thing has a folk tale feel. As with most picture books I review, you really do need to check this one out yourself and try it on a child to appreciate how lovely it is.

aliciadwilliams.com

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