Deborah Hopkinson

“In the beginning there is light and two wide-eyed figures standing near the foot of your bed, and the sound of their voices is love.”

So begins the much-anticipated new picture book by Matt de la Peña, who won the prestigious Newbery Medal for Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson. Now teamed with New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long, de la Peña brings his compassionate sensibility to a moving and poetic coming-of-age story—with a twist.

For while the text of Love begins with a baby in a crib and ends with the moment a young person sets off on his or her own, the expansive illustrations go beyond a single child. Instead, each illustration helps to bring alive the author’s poetic exploration of love in all its forms and settings, from cityscapes to flower-strewn meadows. The illustrations embrace 21st-century America as a place of rich, multilayered diversity: We see a child in a wheelchair, a girl in a hijab, a picture of Jesus on a family’s wall, a child fishing with a grandfather and another watching a dad go off to work before dawn.

At the same time, de la Peña and Long don’t shy away from difficult subjects, making this a helpful book for initiating discussions with children. In one scene, a family is glued to the television during what appears to be an unnamed tragedy or disaster; in another, we see a child caught between angry parents.

Love is not simple, but it is enduring. And it is here, around us, sometimes in ways and in places we don’t even notice. Love reminds us of this in simple poetry and evocative illustrations, making it the perfect book to read and return to again and again, whatever age we might be.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Meet the illustrator of Love, Loren Long.

“Everywhere you look, there are living things.” So we learn in this latest offering from a talented author-illustrator team from Great Britain. It’s not easy to translate complex biological principles and concepts into a picture book, but Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton manage to do just that. Their previous collaboration, Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes, explored unseen organisms. Here, Sutton’s jubilant watercolors bring a classic, almost retro look to Davies’ simple, yet informative text about biological diversity.

One unnamed young girl appears in many of the illustrators. There’s a fanciful aspect to design, as our young guide appears in diverse settings and landscapes, sometimes as an observer, other times as a teacher, collector or investigator, complete with safari hat, notebook and pen. (The scene with the girl before a table of mushrooms of all colors and shapes is marvelous!)

The presence of a human in many of the landscapes also underscores an important message of this book. While new species may be found each year, extinction is a reality. In one scene, we find our human girl before a museum case full of extinct specimens. “We have learned that ever kind of living thing is part of a big, beautiful, complication pattern,” Davies writes. “The trouble is, all over the world, human beings are destroying pieces of the pattern.”

Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth is especially appropriate for young children and offers numerous possibilities for learning about colorful plants and animals. And while a bibliography and information on environmental activism would have added to its usefulness in a classroom setting, it is sure to be enjoyed by nature lovers of all ages.

“There was a cat who lived alone.” So begins award-winning author/illustrator Elisha Cooper’s simple and profound story of the cycle of love and loss told through the saga of a family’s cats. Cooper uses bold, black lines, white space and affectionate, loving depictions of the animal characters to create a book that can be read again and again.

At the outset, readers see a white cat that goes about daily activities children will easily recognize: looking out the window at the bird feeder, grooming itself, waiting by the fridge for dinner and perching on the top of the furniture.

And then, one day, a new cat arrives: a little black kitten. And the first cat becomes its friend, showing it how to be and what to do. We see both pets growing, playing and settling into their routines (there are now two frustrated felines with their noses pressed against the window to watch birds!).

But time passes, and subtly we see the first cat grow older. It naps on a blanket now, instead of joining the other cat. The inevitable happens. In a powerful silhouette image—our first glimpse of the humans of this family—we learn that the big cat doesn’t come back. This is hard. “For everyone.” But then a new cat comes, and the cycle begins again.

With all the makings of an instant classic, Big Cat, Little Cat captures the love we feel for the animals in our lives and the affection they have for one another. And as an added bonus, pet lovers won’t want to miss the dedication to a long list of furry friends.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is Independence Cake.