Reviews written by Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer

“Our World: China,” with words by Songju Ma Daemicke and art by Jam Dong, goes through the day in the life of a child in China. Readers learn how to say hello and count to three in Mandarin. They also learn about kite flying, the sweet lychee fruit that grows...

“The Big Cheese,” written by Jory John and Pete Oswald, is a cute story with plenty of cheesy puns. The wheel of cheddar likes being “the big cheese,” as he’s good at everything and loves the adoration and praise that goes along with it. It isn’t until Wedge goes against...

“Bustling Cities of the World” by Magdalena Konecna and Jana Sedlackova not only has beautiful illustrations, but a useful map at the beginning of the book to show all of the various spots that will be traveled to within its pages. From New York to Paris, Jerusalem to Sydney, Barcelona...

“Seek & Find Picture Dictionary,” written by Flowerpot Press and illustrated by Juan Amadeo, contains over 500 pictures and over 1,000 words. Any young child (and older ones and adults too) who love learning will be mesmerized by the colors for each letter’s words and the handy illustrations that accompany...

‘Shermy and Shake, The Not-So-Nice Neighbor’ by Kirby Larson, illustrated by Shinji Fujioka, tells the story of a new kid moving into town. While this is often the case when new kids start new schools, make new friends, and cope with change, in this case, Shake is having an easier...

‘Ten-Word Tiny Tales to Inspire and Unsettle’ by Joseph Coelho is a book whose ten-word tales are only the beginning of the story. The beautiful illustrations on each page expand on the storytelling, and allow readers to become more deeply involved in what they are considering as they read each...

‘How Do You Share with Your Friends?: A Math Book about Fractions, Decimals, & Percents’ by Lucy D. Hayes, illustrated by Srimalie Bassani, engages kids in learning about fractions, decimals, and percents by stating that these are three different ways people can talk about pieces of a whole or parts...

‘History FACTopia!’ by Paige Towler, illustrated by Andy Smith, starts off with a fact-filled table of contents, with more topics available in the pages of the book than one would think possible. From sports to pyramids, dogs to space, Ancient Rome to a study of the skies above, hauntings and...

“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!” by Mo Willems is a fitting addition to the pigeon’s adventures in his many books. In this particular book, the pigeon is dead set on driving Santa’s sleigh, but Santa doesn’t want it touched. The illustrations are endearing and comical as the pigeon...

“Show-and-Tell Day!” is a Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood book, adapted by Alexandra Cassel Schwartz, with poses and layouts by Jason Fruchter. Daniel is super excited to bring something to his classroom to show off to his friends, but he doesn’t know what to bring. He thinks about taking his baby sister,...

“Where’s Waldo? A-Maze-ing Journeys” by Martin Handford is yet another addition to the many wonderful “Where’s Waldo?” books that already exist. Searching for Waldo, his friends, and the many other items hidden throughout the pages will keep readers engaged and occupied for quite a while. The short descriptions that lead...

“Just Because” by Matthew McConaughey takes a kind, emotional look at all of the “just because” moments in life. There are so many ways in which life and everything that occurs within it can be looked at negatively, but being able to look at each new experience, journey, issue, etc....

“Singing with Elephants” by Margarita Engle is a novel in verse that chronicles the friendship that grows between a young girl and a poet. This friendship brings them closer together through a sense of hope and discovery that allows them to find peace and comfort in their lives. ...

“Make the Fireflies Dance” by Rachel Bateman is a young adult romantic story about high school senior Quincy Walker. She has a lot going on, including family problems, issues with friends and classmates, and general stress from all the happenings in her life, but when she is kissed by a...

“Disagreement” by Nani Brunini doesn’t use words, but this lends quite a powerful punch to the story. In the beginning, two people are talking. They have colors above them, seemingly like talk bubbles, but they are in the form of squiggly lines or shaded spaces. Eventually these colors get bigger,...