Most of us rarely take time to notice the twinkling lights that adorn the sky on clear evenings, but Mary Lyn Ray’s Stars reminds us of the wonder that surrounds us—night and day. Caldecott Honor recipient Marla Frazee’s soothing graphite and gouache illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the quiet, gentle text. The beginning endpapers sport a faint blue sky with puffy clouds, while the opening page grows a little darker and features a single star and a single sentence: “A star is how you know it’s almost night.”

Subsequent pages allow readers to explore other ways stars enter our lives. We can make our own stars out of paper to become a sheriff or to place on a wand and make wishes or to lift our spirits when we’re not feeling as shiny as a star. We can find stars around us, from the yellow stars on vines that become October pumpkins to the snowflakes of winter.

Ray then brings us back to the stars that began the book, and the background darkens again as children get ready for bed and families huddle together to watch more and more stars emerge. But wait! There’s another surprise as the families look up to see a different form of stars—fireworks. Finally, the brightly colored smoke of the fireworks gives way to a black sky with increasing stars, while concluding endpapers depict the vastness of the night sky.

This stunning collaboration between writer and artist gently reminds us that shining stars bring beauty to the world. Stars will encourage young readers and listeners (and their parents) to gaze with new appreciation at the night sky.

German artist Franz Marc painted Blue Horse in 1911—a heavy-bodied horse, oddly blue, yet beautiful. Marc loved bright colors, even when applied to unexpected subjects. Though he died in World War I, Marc lived on through his art, which was labeled “degenerate” by the Nazis. Blue horse? Must be the work of a diseased mind.

Eric Carle grew up in Nazi Germany, where creating or displaying modern art was forbidden, but he had a brave teacher who risked showing him the art. And now, so many years later, Carle offers a picture book in homage to Franz Marc.

“I am an artist and I paint,” the book begins. What follows, in Carle’s signature painted tissue-paper collages, are a blue horse, a red crocodile, a yellow cow and a whole parade of multicolored animals. The final words—“I am a good artist”—might sound to an adult reader like an artist’s defiance of censors, but it’s a common sentiment in children when allowed to paint freely.

Young artists will love this beautiful book, and will cheerfully go about creating their own joyful paintings, not caring at all for anyone else’s rules about what color a horse should be. After all, why can’t a donkey be polka-dotted?

I love Johanna Wright’s art. When I saw her first picture book, The Secret Circus (2009), I read it three times before I would share it with anyone. There was something so honest about the illustrations that I was hooked. I stalked her website and drank in the details about her efforts to sell her art on the streets of New York City and celebrated when she moved to Portland and had a baby. I hoped that motherhood would not slow her down.

In her new picture book, Bandits, Wright takes a raccoon and transforms it into a charming bandit with only a sly stroke of her paintbrush and black pen. When I read this book for the first time, I was staying in a cabin where raccoons were anything but adorable. Though my tolerance for the little garbage-tippers was at an all-time low, one look at Wright’s clothed raccoons, sneaking and creeping, doing just what they please, made me remember just how much I liked raccoons in any books I read as a child.

Most of the story takes place at night, allowing a fabulous palette of dark blue, brown and green, lightened by a sliver of moon or flashlight. The hound dog (called “the fuzz”) does his best to stymie the bandits, but clearly is no match for the thieves, who beat a hasty retreat (stopping for a picnic on the way) to their tree house, where they “lay low” (reading and drinking tea) until the next night. With each turn of the page, the sky lightens a little, the colors changing as sunrise appears, allowing for a perfect visual passing of time.

Adults will identify with the weary townsfolk who are forced to clean up the dumped trashcans. Children will root for the raccoons all the way. Why not? The raccoons are having all the fun and facing none of the consequences and they get to live in a fantastic tree house, keeping an eye on the town all day long. Little details (raccoons on swing sets, brushing their teeth in the town hot tub, carrying baskets of loot in their stick-figure arms, picnicking under the owl’s watchful eye) on each spread will entice young readers and listeners to return to the story over and over. It might even convert some of their parents. Maybe.

Oh, to live in the land of Jack, Zack and Caspar, three steadfast boys with imagination and the time to play and play! All it takes is a cardboard box, an old sheet, some sticks, trash bags, bricks and a quilt to build a castle to keep these three brave knights occupied fighting dragons and other beasts. Told in light rhyme, King Jack and the Dragon is a paean to a time when children could play without the worried warnings of grownups mucking things up. Author Peter Bently and beloved artist Helen Oxenbury have created a perfect accompaniment to Oxenbury’s earlier We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.

Black-and-white sketches illustrate the construction of the fort and consider the dilemma posed when “giants” (parents) interrupt and take one of the knights to bed. Full-bleed color enlivens the scenes where our young heroes fight dragons and beasts. While each of the boys—leader King Jack, sidekick Zack and pacifier-sucking Caspar, has his own personality, I found my eyes drawn to baby Caspar. While Zack and Jack are fighting, he is quietly poking a baby dragon’s tail, exploring a snake’s tongue and eventually chasing after beasts with a wobbly stick. The other boys are busy with their own dragons, but they still include the little guy, even feasting with him in their stronghold. When daylight turns to dusk, “Wrapped up in his blanket, Jack sat on his throne, ‘All right then,’ he said. ‘I’ll fight dragons alone.’ ” Initially frightened by the wind and some little critters, Jack is suddenly faced with somethingthat makes him call out to his parents as the THINGapproaches. Never fear, he is ready.

Parents will embrace this stunning, oversized volume and note the visual similarities to Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, but that’s where the similarities end. There is no psychological undertow—King Jack and the Dragon is simply a good old-fashioned picture book that celebrates the imagination of young children. No electricity or wifi is needed here—just a pile of stuff, a gentle rhyme, the time to play and some grownups who know when it’s time for bed.

In the world of children’s literature, Maurice Sendak, the beloved creator of Where the Wild Things Are, is a giant, and fans have been waiting 30 years for him to both write and illustrate another book. The wait is finally over with Bumble-Ardy, a riotous birthday tale that began as a character Sendak first developed in 1971 for an animated short on “Sesame Street.” Over the years, Sendak transformed the character from a boy into a pig—a poor, poor pig who is about to turn nine and has never had a birthday party.

Sendak tells the story in narration reminiscent of Edward Gorey’s wonderful black humor, explaining that Bumble-Ardy’s parents “frowned on fun” and didn’t celebrate birthdays. Then, things got even worse. When Bumble turned eight, his family “gorged and gained weight. / And got ate.”

Luckily, Aunt Adeline, a cosmopolitan working pig, adopts the orphaned Bumble. June 10 approaches, which is Bumble’s (and Sendak’s) birthday, so Bumble decides to throw himself a party while his aunt heads to work.

A riot of fun ensues, with costumed pigs guzzling Aunt Adeline’s brine. Eventually, Bumble’s aunt returns home, shouting at the revelers to scram. Meanwhile, Sendak fans have been treated to page after page of the master’s wild, wonderful illustrations.

Let’s hear it for Maurice Sendak and these delightful party animals!

Whether he’s humorously reminding readers of the power of the printed word in It’s a Book or taking a nonconformist look at the founding fathers in John, Paul, George & Ben, author-illustrator Lane Smith never ceases to amaze. His latest endeavor, Grandpa Green, offers a unique perspective on family relationships that will resonate with both children and adults alike.

A young boy walks through a topiary garden and narrates the life of his great-grandfather, who wanted to study horticulture but went to fight a world war instead, met his future wife in a café and returned to have a large family. While the boy, rendered in ink, blends into the background, his great-grandfather’s lush and meticulously sculpted bushes and hedges, created with watercolor, oil paint and digital paint, tell the real story.

It’s not long before readers notice that the boy is gathering gloves, eyeglasses and other items misplaced by his great-grandfather along the path. Though his great-grandfather is now forgetful, the boy knows that as long as the garden flourishes, his memories will always be preserved. To sum up the boy’s sentiments, a double-page spread shows the old man’s handiwork in all its glory. Even more surprises hidden in the illustrations await observant readers, who will find Grandpa Green an unforgettable blend of story and art.

Winter doldrums are wreaking havoc on the zoo animals of Springfield, turning once-chipper critters into grumps. “Owls did not give a hoot. / Pandas quit being cute. / Even penguins were surly. / The zoo gates closed early.” But just as the droopy-necked giraffes cannot droop anymore, a tiny hippo and baby kangaroo start hopping around—and in one turn of the page, all of the animals join in. What begins as a hop becomes a wild bee-bop party, and they decide to put on a zoo musical. That’s right, a ZooZical!

Author Judy Sierra (Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf) and illustrator Marc Brown (creator of the Arthur books and television show) proved to be a winning team with their previous fuzzy tale, the award-winning picture book Wild About Books. The combination of toe-tapping rhyme and tropical-colored illustrations in this follow-up will keep any child excited right through to the final scene. 

The townspeople brave the blustery weather to see the animals' performance, but just as the tuxedoed tiny hippo takes center stage, she finds herself frozen in fright! A colossal roar from a tiger gets her hippo-feet a-tapping, and the ZooZical is off—complete with tightrope-walking bears and flying-trapeze flamingoes.

Young readers and listeners will love the animal-adapted musical favorites, as creatures big and small turn familiar songs into zoo-tunes, such as “For he’s a jolly gorilla,” and “Oh my darling, Oh my darling, Oh my darling porcupine.” Kids will join the alligators to sing the alphabet, and sing along with the seals for, “The seals on the bus go round and round . . ." Top it all off with a Zoo Hokey Pokey and take a bow!

Created using gouache on gessoed wood, Brown's pictures feel textured and warm, which adds to the winter-busting jive. ZooZical is Where the Wild Things Are meets Dr. Seuss, with so much excitement it feels almost like Broadway.

“Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa / Amazing Africa.” For those who have enjoyed the early chapter books about young Anna and her close-knit family, this is a familiar refrain. In Anna Hibiscus’ Song, the first picture book collaboration between author Atinuke and illustrator Lauren Tobia, readers get a beautifully expanded view of Anna and the world she inhabits.

Anna is one lucky girl. Sitting in her mango tree, she can see so many things: her grandmother and grandfather on the veranda, her aunties pounding yams, an assortment of cousins and uncles and even the chickens busily pecking in the courtyard of the home she shares with all her relatives. She is overcome with happiness just thinking about how wonderful life is. As each of Anna’s family members weigh in on how they deal with the exhilaration that comes with deeply rooted contentment, Anna grows more and more overcome with joy until she is sure she will burst.

Atinuke, born in Nigeria and now living in Wales, is a gifted storyteller. Her short, clean sentences and lively dialogue imbue the text with joy as Anna leaps around, peppering her many relations with questions. Tobia’s illustrations are a perfect complement to the story. Pencil drawings, enhanced with a rich color palette, add effervescence to the tale, depicting the multi-hued textiles worn by the characters and the vibrant flowers and birds in the family garden.

Anna’s joie de vivre is contagious and young readers who have paid careful attention to the title will surely predict how Anna’s joyfulness will manifest itself. Let’s hope that this picture book is the first of many “songs” that Anna’s creators will sing.

The little bear family from Karel Hayes’ charming picture book The Winter Visitors returns, but this time the lakeside cabin they visit isn’t a deserted retreat. The summer visitors—a human family of four—have arrived at the first sign of sunny weather. Their presence won’t deter the bear family, however; with a little bit of sneakiness, they still find ways to enjoy themselves.

The bears are quick learners. After watching the family in a sailboat, the bears don lifejackets one night and take a spin around the lake by moonlight. Soon they’re stealing blueberry pie, sneaking a peek at a fireworks display and—in a twist on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”—taking naps in the cabin’s beds.

Like The Winter Visitors, The Summer Visitors is told almost entirely with pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. Author-illustrator Hayes captures the sleepy sweetness of summer days, which slowly give way to changing leaves when the family must bid farewell to the little cottage. The soft drawings bring a dreamlike quality to the cottage, and the smiling bears and befuddled humans will delight children and parents alike.

Seven junkyard hamsters have outgrown their little hole and must face the quest of a lifetime in the adorable new picture book A Place to Call Home. Terrified at being thrust into the world, the hamsters take cover in whatever holes they can find—in a glove, a shoe, a faucet, a teacup and even a paper towel tube. Then, declaring “OFF WE GO!” they blindly begin the search for a new home.

The hapless hamsters cross a sea (a puddle), climb mountains (a desk) and find a hole that won’t stop spinning (an old washing machine). Suddenly, the junkyard dog grabs one of the hamsters and trots away! Summoning all their courage, the crew charges to their brother’s rescue—one grabs a dog ear, one a leg, one a tail and one bellows, “I’VE GOT OUR BROTHER!” Just as they begin to celebrate, they notice a hole in the fence, where the world spreads before them in a full-color photograph of a great valley. “This place looks nice,” the littlest one says, and the safety of tiny holes is no longer so important.

Kids will tumble head-over-heels in love with the hamsters’ commentary, which ranges from scared stiff to fiercely courageous. Desperate cries and cheers for fellow brothers appear in dialogue bubbles, written by Alexis Deacon, whose Beegu and Jitterbug Jam were named New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year, and hand-lettered by Viviane Schwarz, whose There Are Cats in This Book was short-listed for the Kate Greenaway medal. The comic book-style panels transform the bumbles of roly-poly hamsters into an exciting escapade, and the brave scowls on the faces of the ink-and-watercolor creatures only make them cuter.

Sometimes the world seems impossibly big—especially if you’re only a few inches tall—and sometimes it is full of wonder and possibility. Every child, especially those facing big changes, will want to be part of this charming hamster brotherhood.

Author Lindsey Craig once again teams up with Arthur creator and best-selling author/illustrator Marc Brown in a rollicking read-aloud for children, Farmyard Beat. It’s nighttime on the farm and the animals can’t sleep as one by one, they catch a contagious beat. The repetitive bounce in refrains such as “sheep can’t sleep / sheep can’t sleep / sheep can’t sleep / ‘cause they got that beat” moves the story along in singsong fashion, beckoning listeners to join in the chorus. The placement of text compels children to guess which animals will catch the farmyard beat next before turning the page. 

To compliment Craig’s rhythmic phrasing, Brown’s paper-cut illustrations show animals jumping and dancing, enjoying their nighttime frolic. Children will want to rush through the first reading to predict the story but will linger on the second and third, absorbing the bright colors and varied lines in each scene. Brown’s collage work expertly evokes a playful mood, highlighting the shape and texture of familiar farm animals. When the owl hoots “Whooo? Whooo? / Lantern swinging… / Whooo? Whooo?” readers will wonder if the lantern carrier will bring an end to all the fun.

Farmyard Beat delivers a fun-filled romp in the barnyard for both readers andlisteners complete with bright colors, primary shapes, infectious rhymes and a natural beat. Like a favorite song sung over and over, children will want to read this again and again (and the reader won’t mind one bit).

Newbery-winning author Katherine Paterson re-imagines Saint Francis of Assisi’s beloved canticle praise song to the natural world in a beautiful new picture book, Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Paterson’s clear prose takes this ancient text and makes it accessible to everyone.

Breathtaking papercut and watercolor illustrations invite the reader to slow down and explore the pictures that extend the text and add a level of grandeur not often seen in books for children. Pamela Dalton’s illustrations start as Scherenschnitte, an old German technique of cutting a large piece of paper into astoundingly intricate details and later adding paint. This style is particularly well suited for book art. The gutter of each spread is the center of each symmetrical illustration; the visual symmetry works especially well with the text, which shows exquisite balance as well. Paterson and Saint Francis speak of Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, Wind and Air, Water and Fire, War and Peace, Death and Life, all with a gentle cadence that reminds the reader of the love of God.

Each spread is a self-contained story, with children in old-fashioned clothing living their rich lives. When Paterson speaks of forgiveness and comfort in sickness, Dalton’s illustrations serve as a place for the reader to consider what these words really mean. Framed in a large oval are scenes of children comforting one another and treating each other in kind and forgiving ways. On the left, we have a boy helping a girl pick up a spilled basket of oranges. Above them are two girls sharing a doll. Even the animals joyfully observe this very human ritual.

Paterson comes from a religious family and is married to a minister, but this is no simplistic Sunday School book. Her love of life and deep appreciation for all gifts, even the gift of “Sister Death, who will usher us at last into your loving presence, where we know and love you as you have always known and loved us,” lead the younger reader to consider difficult questions in a comforting context.

This treasure has the feel of an instant classic and should be part of any family’s library. It would be a perfect gift for a baptism, confirmation, birth or any special celebration.