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Children's & YAPicture Book

Good things in small packages

Feature by Alice Cary

As Christmas approaches, cuddle up with picture books that pack a surprising amount of holiday cheer into a mere 40 pages. They’re perfect for sharing with the little bundles of joy in your life: young readers!

★ Tiny Reindeer

Chris Naylor-Ballesteros’ Tiny Reindeer isn’t just small. In fact, he’s hoof-high to Santa’s “big, stamping, snorting reindeer.” Naylor-Ballesteros takes the tiny theme and runs with it, revealing entertaining new delights with every page turn. 

Tiny Reindeer yearns to be useful, but clever vignettes depict him tangled in reins and harnesses, taking an unexpected bath in a water bowl and covered in tape and twine after attempting to wrap gifts. Then he stumbles upon a letter from a girl asking Santa for a little reindeer to go with her small sleigh, which was crafted for her by her grandfather. “He wanted to make a reindeer too,” she writes, “but couldn’t in the end so my sleigh won’t ever fly anywhere.” 

Naylor-Ballesteros handles the death of a grandparent subtly and with touching sensitivity as Tiny Reindeer realizes this is his time to shine. Clad in a jaunty hat and scarf, he takes a flying leap into the back of Santa’s sleigh, parachutes down the girl’s chimney (using her letter as his chute) and then faces his most challenging obstacle yet: climbing the stairs.   

During this busy time of year, it’s easy for children to feel overlooked or left out of adults’ hustle and bustle. Young readers will adore Tiny Reindeer’s determined attempts to fit in and stand out. Naylor-Ballesteros paces his story perfectly, and every player, including the girl, Tiny Reindeer and Santa himself, gets their moment in the spotlight. Tiny Reindeer is a wonderful addition to the Christmas picture book canon that reminds us of the special gifts we all have to offer, no matter how tiny we might be.

The Christmas Owl

A unique blend of fact and fiction, The Christmas Owl follows a little owl during an incredible true journey that took place in 2020.

After delivering a spruce tree from Oneonta, New York, workers erecting the Christmas tree display at New York City’s Rockefeller Center discovered a saw-whet owl, the smallest owl species in the northeastern United States, huddled in its branches. The public was enchanted by the tiny hitchhiker, who was transported to a wildlife rehabilitation center in upstate New York run by Ellen Kalish, where he was given the name Rockefeller—Rocky for short.

Co-authors Kalish and Gideon Sterer (The Midnight Fair) transform this incident into a magical holiday tale centered on Little Owl as she tries to learn the meaning of Christmas. Ramona Kaulitzki’s illustrations set a festive mood from the start as Little Owl flies out ahead of a group of animals—moose, rabbit, skunk and squirrel—galloping through falling snow. In the distance, a village nestles in the valley below, dotted with towering evergreen trees. One of the trees is Little Owl’s home, destined to be cut down and transported far away. Kaulitzki’s art is bathed in beautiful shades of deep blue, giving each page a wintry glow. Warm touches of yellow, including twinkling lights and the yellows of taxis, trucks and workers’ jackets, add to the effect.

The book focuses on Little Owl’s perspective every step of the way. Her wide eyes reflect wisdom and surprise simultaneously, whether she’s gazing around at a strange new urban landscape or looking up into Kalish’s kind, welcoming eyes at the wildlife center. Little Owl’s innocent confusion about Christmas, a new word she hears from both humans and her woodland friends, reflects many children’s sense of wonder about the season. As Kalish nurses Little Owl back to health, the owl ponders, “Could Christmas be caring? Could Christmas be kind?”

Fascinating back matter provides a nice contrast to the anthropomorphized tale. Kalish describes exactly what happened to the real Rocky, including her release into the wild to begin migrating south. The Christmas Owl is an intriguing fable that offers young readers much to contemplate, including the impact of human actions on the natural world.

Zee Grows a Tree

How do Christmas trees grow so big and tall, anyway? Zee Grows a Tree cleverly weaves the details into a fictional story that juxtaposes a child’s growth against that of a Douglas fir. 

On the day that Zee Cooper is born, a seedling pokes up from the soil at her family’s tree farm. Her parents put it in a pot labeled “Zee’s Tree,” and their baby girl learns to love and nurture it as it grows alongside her, eventually inspiring her to want to become a botanist when she’s an adult. 

Author Elizabeth Rusch excels at showing similarities between Zee and her tree. At age 4, Zee is shorter than the kids in her class. “Everyone grows at different rates,” Zee’s father tells her. She repeats his reassuring words as she measures her tree, which is also shorter than the other trees. Rusch adds touches of drama throughout, depicting Zee going to great lengths to protect her fir from extreme heat and cold. Rusch also incorporates brief factual notes about fir trees on various pages, as well as more extensive information at the end of the book.

Will Hillenbrand’s lively illustrations infuse each page of this quiet, measured story with action and emotion. As the tree thrives, Zee soars through the air in a tire swing, heads off on the school bus and bounces a soccer ball on her knee. Hillenbrand expertly portrays the strong bond that Zee feels with her tree, capturing the curiosity, concern and compassion on her face as she inspects the sapling. When she camps alongside it during a heat wave, her lantern casts a lovely glow as she reads aloud to her tree, her gray cat curled up at her knee, ice cubes spread around the tree’s trunk to ward off the effects of drought. 

Although Zee Grows a Tree ends on a seasonal note (don’t worry, Zee’s tree stays firmly planted in the ground), this informative tale will be enjoyed by young naturalists at any time of year. 

Find more 2021 gift recommendations from BookPage.

Share these delightful picture books with the bundles of joy in your life.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Give love—in picture-book form

Feature by Julie Hale

Each of these picture books explores the most complex emotion of all: love. They’re the perfect gift for a young child or a new or expecting parent, exquisite keepsakes for families to cherish and pass on as the years go by.

★ What Is Love?

Author Mac Barnett spins a remarkable story from a simple question in What Is Love?. When a boy asks his grandmother what love is, she suggests that he venture into the world to find an answer for himself, so the lad leaves home on an unusual quest. Along the way, he encounters a wide range of characters, each of whom offers a different perspective on the meaning of the emotion. 

For the carpenter, love is a house that “wobbles and creaks.” The structure may be unsteady, the carpenter says, “But in the end, the thing stands.” For the actor, love is applause from an adoring audience. “At that moment,” the actor tells the boy, “you know: You exist. You are seen.” Yet these and other responses fail to satisfy the boy. Not until he returns home, having reached adulthood, is he able to identify for himself the meaning of love.

Barnett’s story is profound and accessible, a tale infused with a sense of adventure and a timeless quality. Carson Ellis’ illustrations add color and energy to the proceedings. Thanks to her fanciful, detailed depictions, each character the boy encounters has a distinct personality. This journey will inspire readers to consider the book’s central question and come up with answers of their own.

Bigger Than a Bumblebee

In Joseph Kuefler’s delightful Bigger Than a Bumblebee, a mother introduces her child to the wonders of the world, but none of them compare to the miracle of the love they share. In beautifully poetic text, the mother explains to her “darling” that they are both smaller and larger than their animal friends—smaller than the brown bear and the giraffe, but bigger than the mouse and the porcupine. In the end, though, what matters most is love, an emotion that cannot be measured: “Love is me and you,” she says. “Our love is small, but it is big, too.”

Kuefler’s splendid illustrations portray an array of natural phenomena, from faraway stars in the night sky, to a stream teeming with toads and fireflies, to a patch of desert populated by birds and a solitary long-eared jack rabbit. Young readers will be captivated by the dynamic spreads and the creatures, great and small, that Kuefler includes. A moving celebration of the majesty of nature and the bond between parent and child, Bigger Than a Bumblebee powerfully delivers a heartfelt message: Love is limitless and unquantifiable, a force that knows no boundaries. 

★ My Love for You Is Always

In the warm, wonderful My Love for You Is Always, a young boy quizzes his mother about the nature of love. “Does it have a taste or a smell?” he wonders as he helps her in the kitchen. As she puts together a traditional Chinese feast for their family, his mother takes inspiration from the dishes they’re cooking to answer his questions. Author Gillian Sze’s text is full of sensory imagery. Love, the boy’s mother tells him, “tastes sweeter than the red dates I put in your soup. My love is that savored first bite of spun sugar.” When the boy asks, “Does it make a sound?” his mother replies, “Sometimes it’s crisp like winter radish. Other times it’s quiet like simmering broth.”

Michelle Lee’s colored pencil and gouache illustrations are sweet and soft. Through images of swirling fish, delicate cranes and a fabulous crimson dragon, she brings a touch of magic to Sze’s tale. The ritual of the family meal—sharing food that’s been prepared with care and intention—adds a unique layer to the story and underscores the sense of abundance and comfort that love can provide. My Love for You Is Always closes on a cozy note and an image of mother, son and other relatives gathered together for dinner. From start to finish, it’s a charming and delicious tale.

l’ll Meet You in Your Dreams 

Jessica Young and Rafael López pay tribute to the connections between parents and children in their lovely, lyrical book, l’ll Meet You in Your Dreams. It’s narrated by a parent who offers an inspiring message about the power of familial love to encourage youngsters to make discoveries about the world, pursue their passions and achieve independence.

Young’s rhyming text contains refreshing imagery and makes allusions to the natural world—a mouse and a mole snuggling in an underground den, and a hawk and an eagle soaring over the earth—to highlight the many facets of love, showing how it can nurture, protect and inspire. Her brief, uplifting stanzas add to the story’s appeal. “As you grow, I’ll be with you, / for every step, your whole life through,” the narrator says. “And where the future gleams . . . / I’ll meet you in your dreams.” 

López’s out-of-this-world illustrations reflect the buoyant spirit of Young’s text. They follow two different parents and their children in whimsical scenes that capture the marvels of wildlife and  the passage of time. A joyful examination of parental love and its ability to provide a solid foundation for children—a starting point from which anything is possible—I’ll Meet You in Your Dreams is a precious title that’s sure to become a family favorite.

Find more 2021 gift recommendations from BookPage.

These beautiful picture books, perfect for gifting, offer moving depictions of love in all its forms.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Best Picture Books of 2021

Feature by the editors of BookPage

The best picture books of 2021 demonstrate how impactful the form can be. They’re master classes in the interplay of text, image and the magic of the page turn, tiny treasures to savor and return to again and again.

10. Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris

This surreal book’s joy, color and hopefulness will ignite the imagination of anyone lucky enough to experience its magic.

9. Little Witch Hazel by Phoebe Wahl

As you read this enchanting ode to the calm and peaceful magic of nature, you’ll feel as though you have journeyed deep into Mosswood Forest alongside Hazel and her friends.

8. Shy Willow by Cat Min

This gentle, moving story reminds us that shyness and courage can coexist. Min’s sweet characters and luminous artwork underscore her book’s hopeful nature and quiet, supportive heart.

7. Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil, illustrated by Charly Palmer

Neil’s touching portrait of a child doing his best to manage a difficult day is expertly enhanced by Palmer’s powerful, impressionistic illustrations.

6. When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling, illustrated by Aaron Asis

Like all the best childhood memories of loved ones, When Lola Visits feels familiar, friendly and faded to perfection. It’s a little hazy with age, and a little more shimmery for the haze.

5. I Can Make a Train Noise by Michael Emberley and Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

This immersive and fully choreographed journey creatively sweeps readers along on an adventure that bursts with rhythm and energy.

4. Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi

This tender, spunky tale of a couple whose house is overrun by 456 chickens is the year’s most bighearted picture book.

3. Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

Wang’s childhood memory of picking watercress by the side of the road serves as the inspiration for this emotional powerhouse of a picture book.

2. Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

This extraordinary account of the Tulsa Race Massacre is a reminder of “the responsibility we all have to reject hatred and violence and to instead choose hope.”

1. Wishes, by Mượn Thị Văn, illustrated by Victo Ngai

This powerful picture book illuminates the closely held wishes of refugees the world over. Its spare, lyrical text and cinematic illustrations are simply unforgettable.

See all of our Best Books of 2021 lists.

The 10 best picture books of 2021 are master classes in the interplay of text, image and the magic of the page turn.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Graphic gifts children will adore

Feature by Alice Cary & Hannah Lamb & Justin Barisich & Kevin Delecki & Sharon Verbeten

The range of graphic novels and nonfiction for children gets better, more exciting and more popular with each passing year. Even the choosiest young reader won’t be able to resist the charms of these wonderful books.

Marshmallow & Jordan

For the reader who carefully arranges their stuffed animals at the head of their bed every morning—and knows each and every one of their names

Growing up in Indonesia, Jordan is a talented basketball player who lives for the sport. She’s even named after her dad’s favorite player. After an accident two years ago, Jordan is also a paraplegic and uses a wheelchair. Although she’s still the captain of her school’s team, an official rule means she’s not allowed to participate in games against other teams. In spite of her teammates’ sincere efforts to make her feel included, it’s just not the same. 

Jordan’s life changes when she discovers an injured young white elephant at a park one day after basketball practice. She names him Marshmallow and, with help from her veterinarian mom, nurses him back to health. Jordan and Marshmallow become fast friends, but it’s soon clear that the connection between them runs much deeper. Marshmallow obviously needs Jordan’s help, but as it turns out, Jordan needs Marshmallow too. 

As Jordan leans on Marshmallow, he helps her begin to swim, and eventually she discovers a new athletic passion: water polo. But a worsening drought threatens the local water supply and the use of water for recreational purposes like swimming. Could there be a connection between Marshmallow and the much-needed rain?

Marshmallow & Jordan is a practically perfect graphic novel. Jordan’s strong spirit and earnest emotional vulnerabilities make her an appealing and relatable hero, and Marshmallow is irresistibly adorable as his big blue eyes shine with emotion. Lush and lovely, Alina Chau’s delicate watercolor illustrations are rendered in warm pastel tones. The book’s text is fairly minimal, so her images pull a great deal of the narrative weight, making this an ideal choice for young readers still gaining verbal confidence and fluency who would benefit from the unique interplay of words and images that graphic novels offer. 

This beautifully rendered tale, with its fluffy, marshmallow-sweet images, is all heart. 

—Sharon Verbeten

Another Kind

For the reader who has always felt a little out of place—except within the pages of a great book

Inside a hidden government-run facility called the Playroom, six creatures known as Irregularities are living out their childhoods quietly tucked away from society. There’s Omar, who’s half yeti; Sylvie, a will-o’-the-wisp; Newt, a lizard boy; Jaali, who can transform into a Nandi bear; Clarice, a selkie; and Maggie, who might be the daughter of Cthulhu. When the group’s secrecy is compromised and their safety endangered, government agents decide to move them to a more secure location.

Along the way, the powerful youngsters end up fending for themselves in a totally unfamiliar world filled with ordinary people who are totally unfamiliar with them. To survive, they must hide their unusual features and abilities—and avoid detection by dangerous forces that are hot on their trail. When the merry misfits meet other Irregularities and uncover rumors about a place called the Sanctuary, a place where they’ll all be safe, they’re determined to find it and make it their new home.

Trevor Bream’s narrative touches subtly on weighty themes, including gender identity, bullying and feelings of abandonment. At every turn, the story emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and a sense of belonging within a community—empowering notions for young humans to consider.

Illustrator Cait May’s art is gorgeous. Just as Bream grounds their supernatural characters in emotional realism, May’s linework anchors this fantastical story in a detailed, realistic aesthetic. There’s a lightheartedness in her use of color that’s perfectly suited for a tale that never loses sight of its young characters’ optimism and hopefulness.

Another Kind is a magical graphic novel that movingly demonstrates the power of being different.

—Justin Barisich

★ The Secret Garden on 81st Street

For the reader who knows that if you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden receives a contemporary update in this thoughtful graphic novel. 

Mary Lennox is a loner, and she likes it that way. She doesn’t have friends in her everyday life, but she makes up for it by immersing herself in technology, especially via her cell phone and online video games. Her parents, who both work in Silicon Valley, aren’t home much, which doesn’t help Mary’s isolation. When they’re killed in a tragic accident, Mary must go live with her uncle, whom she barely knows. 

Uncle Archie keeps his New York City mansion tech-free, and Mary has an understandably hard time adjusting to his rules. But with help from her cousin, Colin, and her new friend Dickon, Mary begins to restore the rooftop garden at her uncle’s house. Gradually, Mary starts to acclimate to—and then thrive in—New York, working through her grief and forming meaningful connections along the way.

Adapting a beloved classic to a new form and setting is no small task, and it’s clear that author Ivy Noelle Weir and illustrator Amber Padilla did not take the challenge lightly. Their love for Burnett’s original novel shines through on every page and makes The Secret Garden on 81st Street a truly heartwarming experience. Padilla’s playful, cartoonlike style lends itself wonderfully to expressing the happiness and contentment that Mary slowly finds. Weir’s prose is refreshing and modern, with just enough nods to Burnett’s best-known lines to preserve the story’s classic roots.

Best of all, Weir revisits many of the themes of Burnett’s novel through a contemporary lens, approaching each character’s journey with sensitivity. Colin stays in his room all the time because of anxiety, while Uncle Archie is grieving the loss of his husband, Masahiro. These updates blend perfectly with some of the most powerful elements from the original story, such as the slow transformation of the garden and the ways that nature and human connection have the ability to heal us.

The Secret Garden on 81st Street is a beautiful and respectful new vision of a long-treasured tale.

—Hannah Lamb

Salt Magic

For the reader who would be more that willing to pay the hero’s price for a thrilling, out-of-this-world adventure

Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel) teams up again with illustrator Rebecca Mock, her partner on Compass South, to create Salt Magic, an absorbing and fast-paced historical fantasy adventure.

There’s a hint of The Wizard of Oz to Salt Magic, which begins in our world, then launches its hero on a quest into a new, magical world before she finally returns home again. Twelve-year-old Vonceil is the youngest of five children on an Oklahoma farm in 1919. She is a determined and appealing character whose boredom and angst simmer on every page, perfectly conveyed through her many evocative facial expressions and especially her piercing eyes. 

As the story opens, Vonceil’s beloved brother Elber has finally returned from World War I after two long years away. Physically and mentally, he’s a changed man, and he seems to have no time for the fun he used to share with his littlest sister. Vonceil feels more alone than ever when Elber marries his sweetheart, Amelia, a local girl. Before long, however, a mysterious, wealthy woman in white named Greda appears in their small town. Greda was Elber’s nurse and lover in Paris, and she is so enraged to learn that Elber has married someone else that she curses his family’s farm, turning all of their precious fresh water into salt water. 

Vonceil feels responsible for Greda’s curse, having hoped that Elder would have a fabulous romance with someone from France and resented Amelia for marrying him instead. When she realizes that Greda is a salt witch, she sets out in the dark of night to try to make things right. So begins a fantastical journey that leads Vonceil to uncover not only Greda’s secrets but also numerous revelations about her own ancestors, culminating in a dangerous bargain to save the family farm and Elber’s life.

Mock’s illustrations make every enchanting, dangerous moment pop. Even a close-up of a seemingly simple handshake between Vonceil and Greta conveys the importance of their dire agreement. Other scenes expertly dramatize the desolate landscape Vonceil traverses, the inescapable power of the all-important salt crystals she discovers and the many strange creatures she encounters along the way. 

Salt Magic is a feast of a tale that treats readers to an epic battle between evil forces and a courageous, persistent young hero.

—Alice Cary

Other Boys

For the reader who needs to hear that they are never as alone as they sometimes might feel

Damian Alexander’s debut graphic memoir, Other Boys, is a powerfully compelling portrait of a boy learning to understand and accept himself.

Damian has always felt different. He and his brother live with their grandmother in a small apartment, because when they were very young, their father murdered their mother. Damian has also always enjoyed things that he thinks boys shouldn’t like, such as dolls, flowers and tea parties. He’s repeatedly been told that he’s too “girly” to fit in with boys, but girls often excluded him from playing with them because he’s a boy. His struggle to understand where he belongs has followed him all the way to middle school.

As he starts seventh grade at a new school, Damian has decided that the best way to avoid being bullied is to give his classmates absolutely nothing to bully him about. Damian is not merely planning to speak only when spoken to or to keep his voice to a whisper; he’s not going to speak at all. To anyone. But his silence doesn’t go unnoticed, and his grandmother arranges for him to see a therapist. With the therapist’s help, Damian begins to understand that he isn’t weird, strange or wrong. Meanwhile, he’s also discovering that not all boys are bullies, and some are even, well, pretty cute. The only way that Damian will find his place is by staying true to himself and finally speaking up. 

As he narrates in the voice of his seventh-grade self, Alexander skillfully uses flashbacks to fill in his personal history. His bright color palette balances the book’s darker elements, and his figures’ slightly enlarged faces keep readers focused on the emotion of each panel. Other Boys will be a life-changing read for any young person who is questioning their identity or searching for where they belong.

—Kevin Delecki 

Find more 2021 gift recommendations from BookPage.

Just try to resist the charms of these delightful middle grade graphic novels, perfect for gifting.
NonfictionFictionPicture Book

Hold List: The literary mingle

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Picture it: You’re navigating your first holiday party of the season, you’ve got something to sip on, and you’ve just bumped into an editor from BookPage. Of course, they’ll probably bring up a book they’ve recently read—for example, one of the books below.

Wintering

In my friend group, there’s an annual string of holiday parties that begins with Oktoberfest and ends with New Year’s Eve. Though each gathering has its own celebratory tenor and theme, all of them have in common a milieu of wintry darkness. Against this twinkly backdrop, someone always brings it up: “How are you staying out of the jaws of depression now that the sun sets at 4:30 p.m.?” Personally, my answer is Wintering by Katherine May. After reading it for the first time in 2020, I resolved to reread it every year as a reminder of the advantages of darkness, idleness and cold. As May travels to Iceland, Norway, Stonehenge and beyond to experience different groups’ cold weather rituals, she reflects on the metaphorical winters that challenge us: periods of unexpected illness, rejection, bereavement or failure. When the sun begins disappearing earlier and my mood starts to sink, May’s beautiful words help me to remember this season’s transformative power and embrace its long hours of darkness.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Valley of the Dolls

I decided to read Valley of the Dolls purely because I wanted to talk about it with people at parties. Jacqueline Susann’s astonishingly successful tale of three women clawing their way to the top of midcentury America’s gin-soaked, glitteringly cynical entertainment industry has been heralded as the ultimate beach read, the godmother of “chick lit” and a camp masterpiece. I thought it would be an interesting historical artifact, but then I inhaled almost half of the book in one day, cackling with glee at Susann’s gloriously over-the-top refraction of her own experiences as an aspiring actress on Broadway and in Hollywood. Whether speculating on which real entertainment icons inspired Susann’s characters or simply recounting the most unrepentantly wild scenes (two words: wig. snatch.), Valley of the Dolls will be livening up my cocktail chat for years to come—just like, I suspect, Susann would have wanted.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

On Immunity

After exhausting all of our catching-up chatter at holiday gatherings, my friends undoubtedly, almost helplessly, return to discussing our current crisis. In times like these, I wish everyone in America would read Eula Biss’ 2014 book. Her son was born amid the H1N1 pandemic, and in her exploration into the history of vaccination and our cultural relationship with it, she makes a strong case for communal trust and the interdependence of our futures. Biss’ book touches on so much of what we’re experiencing right now, from the urgency to protect the ones we love to the difficulty comprehending other people’s ill-advised choices, but surprisingly, her penetrating book is seemingly without anger. It could even be seen as an inoculation against such anger. I have a distant but very real hope that a book like On Immunity would allow us to reexamine our history, which over time has become corrupted by missing information, confused language and outright manipulation, and to instead proceed with clear eyes and compassion.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Dragon Was Terrible

After a few glasses of wine, it doesn’t take much to goad me into soapboxing about my favorite topics, from the notion that all children’s literature reflects ideologies about the nature of childhood itself, to my soft spot for picture books about characters who violate social norms. Kelly DiPucchio and Greg Pizzoli’s Dragon Was Terrible is among my most treasured of such books. This tale of a dragon who is so terrible that he scribbles in books, TPs the castle and takes candy from baby unicorns combines the wry humor of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the visual wit of the best New Yorker cartoons. When the king offers a gift to whoever can tame the dragon, the sign posted on the castle wall reads, “It shall be a nice gift. Ye shall like it!” Beneath the sign, Dragon has tagged the castle in bright orange paint: “Dragon was here.” It’s the perfect antidote to the common misperception that picture books are moralizing bores.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

All My Mother’s Lovers

There are two topics I gravitate toward in group settings: the point when it becomes possible to grasp the magnitude of the lives our parents lived before having children, and novels that succeed in suggesting that their characters will continue to have consequential, interconnected experiences once the pages of the book have run out. Ilana Masad’s All My Mother’s Lovers gives me an avenue to talk about both of these things, introducing a cast of characters who are all multifaceted and contradictory in the best way possible, navigating their grief for the protagonist’s mother—a person everyone thought they had figured out—while grappling with the facets of her life that became apparent after her death. It’s a stunning reminder that as people, particularly women, get older and their preexisting identities get overshadowed by titles like spouse, parent and worker, their capacity for complexity doesn’t cease. This novel features a twist that really drives that idea home.

—Jessie, Editorial Intern

Books make great cocktail chatter. Here are the five titles the BookPage editors can't stop talking about.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

The Sally of the title, a black Labrador retriever, is a real dog. As notes included with the book tell it, she was originally trained to be a Seeing Eye dog but didn’t find her niche in that role. Eventually the well-known artist Stephen Huneck and his wife Gwen adopted Sally. She is featured in a chapel that Huneck is building for dogs atop Dog Mountain, on his farm in Vermont. And now, with Sally Goes to the Beach, she has her own book. Any preschool age child will find the illustrations striking, beautiful woodcuts charming. So will adults. Sally was lucky in the choice of artist to portray her. Stephen Huneck’s sculptures, paintings, and woodcuts hang in a number of museum collections, including the Smithsonian’s. In the tradition of the graceful and evocative medium of woodcut, which dates back for many centuries, Huneck’s line is elegant and his colors vibrant in this lovely and warm-hearted picture book.

Sally narrates her own story. From her first sight of the suitcase that alerts her to an imminent journey, through the ride in a convertible (whose license plate reads SALLY), to the ferry ride and cab ride, Sally convincingly doggish gets as much fun out of going to the beach as she does in being at the beach.

But then there are the great joys of new smells, playing in the ocean, riding in a boat (named Friendship), and encountering the not always welcoming creatures of the beach. In the beachside hut that evening, Sally lies in bed with her master and ends her story with the motto of most children (and probably of most dogs): I cannot wait for tomorrow!

The Sally of the title, a black Labrador retriever, is a real dog. As notes included with the book tell it, she was originally trained to be a Seeing Eye dog but didn't find her niche in that role. Eventually the well-known artist Stephen Huneck…
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Everyone knows the story of Moses. When the Pharaoh ordered that all Hebrew boys be killed, Hebrew mothers hid their children in baskets by the water. The Pharaoh’s daughter found and adopted baby Moses, who grew up to lead his people out of bondage.

It may be an old story, but it has survived retelling after retelling. It has even been made into several films, including the classic The Ten Commandments and more recently, Prince of Egypt.

Julius Lester, author of Pharaoh’s Daughter (ages 12 and up), breathes life yet again into the tale and this time for young readers. This time, too, there are some changes. Based on his research into linguistics and history, Lester chooses to call Moses Mosis (meaning is born, and the suffix of Tuthmosis ). He also changes Hebrew to Habiru. Another unusual feature of the book is that it focuses on Mosis’s mysterious sister, Almah, as much as it does on Mosis himself.

You probably have never heard of Almah. Lester explains in an author’s note that one passage in Exodus mentions a sister and though scholars have always assumed it was Moses’ older sister Miriam, the passage does not actually identify her. Lester took creative control at this point, fabricating a different sister: Almah.

Almah goes to live in the Pharaoh’s palace with her baby brother, Mosis, when he is adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. She grows to love Egyptian life, eventually rejecting her Habiru roots to become an Egyptian priestess and a dancer.

Mosis, too, must choose between Egyptian and Habiru culture; unlike his sister, however, he chooses to identify with the culture of his birth. The novel ends while he is still yet a boy, but we know the great leader he will become.

Although steeped in history and religion, Lester’s novel appeals to young readers because of its timeless themes. It is a coming of age novel about two teenagers going through awkward adolescences, making choices, and finally finding their true selves.

Vivian A. Wagner is a freelance writer in New Concord, Ohio.

Everyone knows the story of Moses. When the Pharaoh ordered that all Hebrew boys be killed, Hebrew mothers hid their children in baskets by the water. The Pharaoh's daughter found and adopted baby Moses, who grew up to lead his people out of bondage.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Ibi Zoboi & Loveis Wise

Interview by Stephanie Appell

The People Remember is an exquisite book that every member of the family will appreciate. In powerful, moving verse, National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi (American Street) weaves together the history of African Americans with the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The book is illustrated by acclaimed artist Loveis Wise, whose stunning, vibrant images perfectly complement Zoboi’s text. Zoboi and Wise discuss the creation of the book and how they each hope readers will connect with it.

Ibi, The People Remember is both a journey through the seven principles of Kwanzaa and a timeline of African American history. By braiding together the principles and history, did you come to see aspects of either in a new way?

Author Ibi Zoboi: Absolutely! There were specific moments in Black history that highlight each of the principles. It just so happens that I got to Ujamaa (cooperative economics) during Black Wall Street and the Harlem Renaissance. Kuumba (creativity) landed right in the middle of the hip-hop movement. There are highs and lows throughout Black history, and the Kwanzaa principles demonstrate how we’ve survived and thrived through it all.

The People Remember is your first picture book. What did you enjoy about this new form?

Zoboi: Since The People Remember is written in free verse, it is simply a very long poem. I’ve always written poetry, so it came naturally to me. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to get 400 years of Black history into 2,000 words or so. 

Loveis, you’re one of the first people in the world to have read Ibi’s words in this book. How did you feel after that very first read?

Illustrator Loveis Wise: I remember feeling excited, and I intuitively felt the importance and warmth of what this book would bring. At the time, I really wanted to create a body of work that focused on ancestral connections, and The People Remember was the perfect way for me to explore more.

What’s your favorite illustration from the book? 

Wise: My favorite is the spread focusing on Mami Wata and the children that she’s protecting underwater. This piece felt very kindred to me because of its stillness, but it also feels very powerfully divine.

Zoboi: My favorite illustration is the one where two ancestors are hugging one tree, but from opposite spaces in place and time. When I first saw it, it took my breath away. This spread perfectly captures what this book is all about.

Which principle of Kwanzaa do you feel an especially strong personal connection to?

Zoboi: Ujamaa, which means cooperative economics. I hope all Black people all over the world can get to a place where we are self-sufficient. 

Wise: Kuumba, because it highlights the creativity and the magic we create through transformation and resiliency!

What place do you hope this book finds in the homes and hearts of young readers and their families?

Wise: I hope this book inspires, answers questions and encourages readers to celebrate the beauty of Kwanzaa’s principles with their community.

Zoboi: The People Remember belongs in every home with every type of family. There are lots of opinions out there about Kwanzaa, but I wanted to contextualize why it’s a much-needed cultural celebration. I want educators and caretakers to ask young readers what they would do if they forgot how to play a favorite game or words to a favorite song. They would make up new ones, right? This is exactly how Kwanzaa came to be, and why it is still celebrated decades after its inception. It is a testament to how not all is ever lost. We always remember.

This beautiful picture book casts the principles of Kwanzaa in a new light and can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Children's & YAPicture Book

The Secret of the Magic Pearl

Review by Jill Lorenzini

Hector has grown up by the sea. He was raised on his family’s stories about it, and he dreams of spending his life exploring its wonders, as have generations of his family at the marina where they organize deep-sea diving expeditions. Recently, though, his family’s livelihood has been threatened by a greedy, unhappy neighbor. When Hector makes a magical discovery, it seems their fortunes might improve, but the discovery brings unexpected danger, and Hector is determined to set things right. The Secret of the Magic Pearl is an unusual picture book, and its blend of legend, legacy and quest gives it a magic of its own.

At 92 pages, The Secret of the Magic Pearl is more than twice as long as a typical picture book, but author Elisa Sabatinelli’s conversational, descriptive prose keeps things moving forward. Eight-year-old Hector is a wise and earnest narrator, a bit of an old soul who relays his story in chapters that read with the immediacy of journal entries. While the plot at times seems a little too convenient, Sabatinelli skillfully builds suspense, so readers will be anxious to find out what will happen to Hector and his charming family.

The most enchanting aspect is Iacopo Bruno’s artwork. Colorful and shrewd, Bruno’s illustrations flit in and out of the story, often tucked in amid columns of text, and their every appearance is worthy of attention. Adroit character sketches serve as visual asides and are enhanced by the clever inclusion of sea creatures as marine personality extensions. Every time we see Hector, for example, he is accompanied by a sweet-faced fish who wears an expression of curiosity, while the book’s villain is hounded by a dead-eyed fish skeleton. Detailed sketches of diving equipment, treasures from the sea and other flotsam and jetsam add a tangibility to the story’s cozy Italian seaside village setting. Nautical flags, anchors and a color scheme dominated by yellows, reds and blues give the book visual cohesion.

Lengthier than the average bedtime storybook, The Secret of the Magic Pearl nonetheless has all the makings of a splendid bedtime tale: adventure, danger and a well-earned happily ever after. Readers with a little bit of patience are in for a unique treat.

This longer-than-average picture book has all the trappings of a splendid adventure tale, but it’s Iacopo Bruno’s illustrations that make it a truly enchanting read.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Coco De Young’s A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt combines the everyday details of one girl’s childhood with the Great Depression an era that young adults may have studied in history books but rarely would have encountered so directly. Set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the novel follows the life of 11-year-old Margo Bandini and her Italian immigrant family as the Depression works its way right up to the Bandini doorstep.

Margo feels helpless when she learns that, because of a bad debt brought on by medical treatment her younger brother received for a leg infection, the bank is threatening to take her family’s home away. Then her teacher, Miss Dobson, instructs her class to write a letter to someone they feel has done heroic work large or small to help people during this difficult period.

In the depths of her own personal depression, Margo finds a newspaper article about Eleanor Roosevelt, written by a journalist Margo admires. The article says that Mrs. Roosevelt has received hundreds of letters requesting help. She intends to have each one answered. These words inspire Margo; she has at last found someone who was willing to listen to an American girl . . . to an eleven-year-old . . . Along with her letter to the First Lady, Margo encloses her father’s Victory Medal from World War I a symbol of her family’s devotion to America and waits. The reply she finally receives is more wonderful and complicated than anything she, or the reader, could have guessed.

In her Author’s Note at the end of the novel, De Young tells the reader that while fiction, the heart of the story is true ; her father’s family, also living in Johnstown, wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt asking for help during the Depression. Like Margo and her family, they too received much-needed financial blessings from the First Family.

The heart of this story is true in even larger ways, however: it speaks to the need for love and connectedness that all families and young adults at times face. And it speaks to the hope that sometimes a call for help will receive a compassionate reply.

(Ages 10 and up) Vivian Wagner is a freelance writer in New Concord, Ohio.

Coco De Young's A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt combines the everyday details of one girl's childhood with the Great Depression an era that young adults may have studied in history books but rarely would have encountered so directly. Set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the novel follows…

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Stuntboy, in the Meantime

Review by Jon Little

Portico Reeves isn’t an average kid, and he doesn’t live in an average house. He lives in the biggest house in the world. In fact, it’s a castle. Well, it’s actually an apartment building, but it is pretty big. And all those people who also live in the building? They’re not neighbors. They’re characters in a television show starring Portico’s superhero alter ego: Stuntboy!

Is Stuntboy faster than a speeding bullet? No. Does he have X-ray vision or super strength? Also no. But he is brave enough to jump in front of the new kid, Zola, when she attracts the attention of Stuntboy’s archnemesis, Herbert Singletary the Worst? You bet he is.

As Stuntboy, Portico can withstand a bully’s barbed words, but when the trouble tracks closer to home, he struggles to keep up his superheroic facade. His grandmother calls it the frets. Portico’s stomach begins to twist, and he doesn’t know what to do. Lately, his parents’ separation and constant arguing have been making Portico’s frets worse than ever.

In his first original graphic novel, award-winning author Jason Reynolds, whose tenure as National Ambassador for Young People’s literature was recently extended for a third year, gives readers a comic book superhero whose adventures feel both timely and classic. Stuntboy, in the Meantime is an imaginative tale of creative resilience and friendship.

The book’s illustrations by Pura Belpré Illustrator Award-winning artist Raúl the Third are stylish and energetic. When Zola relates Portico’s troubles to her favorite sci-fi TV show, “Super Space Warriors,” scenes appear straight out of a midcentury comic book, complete with Benday dots and bold, psychedelic colors by Elaine Bay.

Beneath its superheroic trappings, Stuntboy, in the Meantime is an appealing story about a young boy struggling to bolster himself against the mundane uncertainties in his life. Portico finds winning allies in this quest, including Zola, who shows him strategies for settling his anxiety. Underpinning it all is the notion that to overcome our fears, we must turn our attention outward. To save ourselves, we must serve others.

Is Stuntboy faster than a speeding bullet? Er, no. Can he defeat the frets, those feelings he gets when his life feels out of control? Find out in Stuntboy, in the Meantime!
Children's & YAPicture Book

The Big Bath House

Review by Julie Danielson

This exuberant celebration of family, written in an inviting second-person voice, portrays a girl’s trip overseas with her mother to visit Baachan, her grandmother, and her experience at a traditional Japanese bath house. When they finally arrive and reunite with all of her aunts and cousins, the girl runs into Baachan’s arms, the love between them unspoken and “understood,” a word repeated throughout the text.

After changing out of their clothes, everyone heads to the bath house. Author Kyo Maclear details the sensory delights of the journey—the clip-clop of their wooden sandals on the road and the sound of the breeze as it rustles the fabric of their yakuta. When the group enters the bath house, Maclear slips seamlessly into pleasing, fluid rhymes: “The water will flow / and the garden will grow / at the big bath house.”

Illustrator Gracey Zhang’s energetic watercolors have a relaxed sense of line as she reverently brings to life the Japanese setting and the easy camaraderie among the girl’s family. She depicts the bath house in warm shades of rose and embraces the bodies of the people there by refusing to conceal them. Readers see nude women of all ages washing one another and relaxing together in the big bath. “You’ll all dip your bodies, / your newly sprouting, / gangly bodies, / your saggy, shapely, / jiggly bodies, / your cozy, creased, / ancient bodies,” Maclear writes. “Beautiful bodies,” she declares.

In her closing note, Maclear explains that The Big Bath House was inspired by her own childhood trips to her grandmother’s home in Japan. At the bath house they’d visit together, she notes, “the idea that bodies should always be private and clothed wasn’t the norm.”

The book is infused with great tenderness as it chronicles a child’s supremely happy memory. In its final image, Baachan and her granddaughter hold hands. “Someday,” Maclear writes, “you’ll find the words, / but for now, / you have this.” That Maclear finally found the words is a gift to readers.

A girl visits a traditional Japanese bath house with her grandmother in this tender picture book that offers a different way of looking at nudity and the human body.
Children's & YAPicture Book

The Impossible Mountain

Review by Jill Lorenzini

An inspiring take on a classical theme, David Soman’s The Impossible Mountain is both a magnificent allegory and a grand adventure.

Siblings Anna and Finn have heard the warnings about going beyond the wall that surrounds their village: It’s too high to climb, and the world beyond is too scary, with far too many bears. But there’s a whole stunning world waiting to be explored beyond the shelter of the wall, and though it’s not an easy journey—the best escapades never are— off they go, Finn in his cozy knitted hat cheerfully following determined, purple-haired Anna. 

Soman, best known for co-creating the delightful and bestselling Ladybug Girl picture book series with his wife, Jacky, outdoes himself in illustrating the vast scenery here. Towering cliffs and powerful waterfalls dwarf Anna and Finn, while a sparkling blue-green river dotted with boulders beckons them onward. Skilled use of light and shadow creates enchanting emerald forests and a campfire whose warmth you can almost feel. With settings this deep and intriguing, you’ll feel torn between the desire to linger over every spread and the yearning to discover what awaits beyond the next page turn. 

Anna and Finn’s path includes perils, threats and mystery, but Soman imbues every moment with wonder and ensures that their adventure feels reassuring and inspiring rather than frightening. Keep an eye out for the vivid red cardinal that accompanies the siblings and appears in every scene, an emblem of protection and optimism.

Although The Impossible Mountain would feel complete as a wordless picture book, Soman’s text complements his images perfectly. With a true storyteller’s sagacity, Soman knows exactly when to elaborate (which he does with literary flair) and when to pull back. He keeps Anna and Finn’s dialogue minimal, subtly conveying their easy camaraderie and shared bravery. When the pair ascend to the top of the wall for the first time, the only thing they can each say is “Wow.” Although its narrative follows familiar beats, The Impossible Mountain’s charming characters, breathtaking art and themes of perseverance, curiosity and hope set it apart. If we learn one lesson from picture books, perhaps it should be that the impossible is never impossible—and that impossible journeys are the ones most worth taking.

If we learn one lesson from David Soman’s magnificent picture book, it’s that “impossible” journeys are the ones most worth taking.

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