If Animals Said I Love You by Ann Paul - ADVISABLE

Paul, Ann Whitford If Animals Said I Love You, pictures by David Walker.  PICTURE BOOK.  Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), 2017.  $17. 9780374306021

How would the jungle animals say I Love You?  Find out in this cute book perfect for Valentine’s gifting and for lap time or bed time reading.  This one has got to become a board book some day!

Pre-K – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Everybunny Count! by Ellie Sandall - OPTIONAL

Sandall, Ellie Everybunny Count!  PICTURE BOOK.  McElderry (Simon), 2017.  $18.  9781534400146

The fox and bunnies are playing hide and seek in the forest.  As the bunnies look high and low for fox, they also spy other fun creatures, counting up as they go.  When the fox’s family join in it’s a party.

I like the dual counting on each page – with more bunnies and a corresponding other item, it makes for a bonus counting adventure.  I have to say, having the fox play with the bunnies is kind of creepy.  Especially when the fox leads him to the family den – a den full of foxes!  I think that maybe just my adult brain is making it creepy. 

Pre-K – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

My Pillow Keeps Moving! by Laura Gehl - ADVISABLE

Gehl, Laura My Pillow Keeps Moving!  Illustrated by Christopher Weyant.  PICTURE BOOK.  Viking (Penguin), 2018.  $18. 9780425288245

A dog and cat are shivering outside when they notice a man entering a store in search of a new pillow.  The dog has a stroke of genius, impersonating a pillow, a footstool, and then a coat, in order to get in the man’s good graces. 

Ultimately this book is awfully silly and quite a bit clever.  The dog is so earnest that you can’t like his perseverance and creativity.  Little readers will surely have a laugh.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay - ADVISABLE

McKinlay, Meg  A Single Stone, 267 pages. Candlewick Press, 2017. $17.99. Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence: G. 

Jena leads The Line of seven village girls who are tasked with mining mica from deep inside the mountain. The mountain is respected but also feared, because years earlier the mountain shook and a rockfall closed off the only pass people had to the outside world; now Jena's village is cut off and on its own and the mica is key to their survival. The girls who are on The Line must be small and the village goes to extreme measures to ensure female children's bodies are trained and shaped to fit the mountain--a feature of life in the village that begins to bother Jena and make her question the village leaders. And then one day Jena discover a stone on the mountain unlike any she's ever found--a stone that might suggest they are not as cut off as she has been told. 

This was a quick and interesting read, and reminded me a bit of DuPrau's "City of Ember" in that you have a cut-off society and leaders who are not being 100% honest. The aspect of The Line was pretty fascinating and there was a lot more complexity to the story than one might expect in under 300 pages. The matriarchy inherent in the village and the story makes this a book that will only really appeal to girls, but its a great one for having strong female leads. There is some mature content in the nature of what the girls are put through to be able to be on the Line and one somewhat gruesome scene involving a person getting burned. 

MS, HS--ADVISABLE Reviewer: TC

Pizza Day by Melissa Iwai - ADVISABLE

Iwai, Melissa Pizza Day.  PICTURE BOOK.  Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2017.  $16.  978-1627797900

Using vegetables and herbs from their own garden, a boy and his father are getting ready to make pizza! From fresh dough to homemade sauce, the pair enjoy working together to make a delicious dinner.

The boy’s enthusiasm is very catchy.  A great look at a process, especially for children who might not often see a meal be prepared from start to finish.  I would use this as a foundation for a class to make their own pizza, if you can get permission to do such a thing.  What a great school day that would be!  Heavier pages does gave it kind of a board book feel.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Love by Matt De La Pena - ESSENTIAL

De La Pena, Matt  Love  Illustrated by Loren Long  PICTURE BOOK G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2018.  $17.99  Content: G.  978-1524740917

This book is an exploration of all the different ways that love is expressed.  In the beginning love is what you see as your parents stand over your bed, but as you grown you see that love can be found in the beauty of nature or from laughter.  Sometimes though, when sad or bad things happen, it’s hard to feel love, but it’s always there.  When we leave to go out on our own, we are filled with all the love we’ve been given.  

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and well done.  This simple, yet powerful look at what love is gives a peaceful and comforting feeling.  I think it encourages all people to look for the positive, to look for the love that others are giving, in all its many forms.  And again, the illustrations…sigh.  

EL (K-3) – ESSENTIAL; MS, HS, GIFT – ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Tumble and Blue by Cassie Beasley - ESSENTIAL

Beasley, Cassie  Tumble and Blue, 390 pgs.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017.  $17.99  Content:  G.  

Blue lives with his cursed family and since the blood moon is coming soon, all of the relatives are coming to town to try and get their curse removed.  It is believed that if they go into the swamp on the night of the blood moon, that an alligator there will help them remove the curse, but only one person can go in and the great-grandmother is the only one who knows how it works.  As the family is trying to impress the grandmother, Blue becomes friends with his new next door neighbor Tumble.  Tumble wants to be a hero and help someone, so she is delighted to learn that Blue needs help breaking his curse.  

I got sucked into this fun book of magical realism and couldn’t put it down.  I loved the characters, including the alligator, and the setting.  The story is well paced and has great character development.  Kirby Heyborne is the audio reader and is fantastic.  This is an easy recommendation for boys or girls.  Although it is 390 pages, the font is bigger and the pages are small.  Great read!  

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson