Who loves octopuses? Please raise your eight arms! * In this endearing and inventively-illustrated new book about first-day school jitters, a little girl is in charge of getting her octopus to school. From the time the school's announcement letter arrives... Text ©Becky Scharnhurst. Illustration ©Jaclyn Sinquett to the last hug good-bye, this story will bring … Continue reading How to Get Your Octopus to School – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Yes, I usually love books in translation because they take risks that those published in the U.S. often don't. Case in point is this book from 2021 that you may have missed. Here we have a frazzled, overworked father who's pulling his hair out, while his child just wants to go to the lake, as … Continue reading Seahorses Are Sold Out – Perfect Picture Book Friday
There's something about Yevgenia Nayberg's illustration style that speaks to my heart. I can recognize one of her books from 50 paces, and I'm nearsighted. I think it's her color palette and surrealist bent. The minute I walked by the library display last week, I knew this book would be coming home with me. But … Continue reading I Hate Borsch! – Perfect Picture Book Friday
If you're looking for a hilarious read aloud that also plucks the heart strings, one filled with vibrant and playful illustrations, and one that simultaneously does and doesn't take itself seriously— This is your book. If you're looking to be seen as the favorite auntie or uncle by the under age10 set, gift this book … Continue reading Blurp’s Book of Manners – Perfect Picture Book Friday
When I was in college, I lived in the second floor apartment of an old wooden house at the edge of the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. Cockroaches were ubiquitous. As I spent a lot of time chasing them into the cracks of the woodwork, it wasn't surprising that I developed asthma. When our … Continue reading Your Birthday Was the Best! – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Hello everyone! Interrupting your regularly scheduled Monday for a perfect picture book that's fitting for Halloween day! The author, Donna Washington, is a professional storyteller, and her skills shine in this narrative. There were always Scares in Toadsuck Swamp, but Curly Locks didn't pay 'em much mind. The Scares kept to themselves. They only woke … Continue reading Boo Stew – Belated Perfect Picture Book Friday
A pause for Perfect Picture Book Friday while I take this week to feature Susanna Hill's Halloweensie Contest! There's still time to enter. It's all good fun! THE CONTEST: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in word count) using the words slither, treat, and scare. Your … Continue reading A (little) STEM Halloween – A Halloweensie Contest Entry
If, after viewing this cover, you're not already half in love with this book and its topic, capybaras, then there may be no hope for your soul. Text ©Mike Allegra Illustration ©Jaimie Whitbread The rainforest was alive with squeaks, squawks, grunts, growls, hisses, harrumphs, and frenetic feather-and-fur-flying fury. It was quite the rumpus. No one … Continue reading Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles – Perfect Picture Book Friday
I'm all for personification in picture books, be they lyrical or humorous, and especially when they involve a mix of STEM and social and emotional learning (SEL) topics, like this one. Acorn was a wild little thing, pointy on one end and capped on the other. Text ©Jen Arena. Illustration ©Jessica Gibson He was the … Continue reading Acorn Was a Little Wild – Perfect Picture Book Friday
In this fun, heart-filled book, a child is missing a special person who lives very far away. Their missing isn't sappy or sentimental. No. No. No, it isn't. It's expressed in a childlike way. Text ©Pat Zietlow Miller Illustration ©Suzy Lee Someday soon,I'll see you.Even thoughyou are there. Text ©Pat Zietlow Miller Illustration ©Suzy Lee … Continue reading See You Someday Soon – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Jilanne Hoffmann 