Author: Tasha

2 Terrific new Toddler Books

| Tasha

A Book of Loves by Cynthia Rylant 

  • Publisher: Beach Lane Books
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy provided by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781665987943

This simple little book about various things creatures and people love is pure joy. The book begins with a list of what cats love. With one word on each page featuring things like boxes, food, toys and love. What do dogs love? Sticks, puddles, treats, dirt and love. How about children? Bubbles, cake, stories and love. Everyone loves love. 

Rylant’s text is very simple with just one word on most of the pages, making this just right for the youngest of listeners. Children who know cats and dogs will particularly enjoy seeing what they love and will then see themselves and their love of things like helicopters reflected on the page too. The illustrations are just as simple as the text, featuring round-headed people and frolicing pets. 

Lots of love to love here. Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Your Truck by Jon Klassen

  • Publisher: Candlewick
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781536248227

The start of a new board board series from the amazing Klassen, this fits beautifully with his last series: Your Forest, Your Farm, and Your Island. It is a book about your truck. Your truck is red, but it could be a bunch of different colors. Your truck can carry furniture or even a horse. For now though, it will just carry a dog. It can go so fast! But it’s up to you to make it go. Ready? Oops, perhaps tomorrow, it’s getting late now.

Klassen plays with expectations throughout this clever board book that manages in just a few pages to surprise and delight. Patience at the end is quietly taught as we all wait for the next day to rev up the speed a lot more. As always, his art is simple and immensely child-friendly. 

A great pick for the littlest truck and vehicle fans. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

The Dream Builder’s Blueprint by Alice Faye Duncan – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

The Dream Builder’s Blueprint: Dr. King’s Message to Young People by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by E. B. Lewis 

  • Publisher: Calkins Creek
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781662680311

Based on Dr. King’s rare presentation to a group of middle schoolers in South Philadelphia, this book uses erasure poetry to take his speech and turn it into verse. Using short but powerful sentences, the poem focuses on what your life’s blueprint should be. It’s about feeling your worth, knowing you are Black and beautiful. It’s about achieving things with your life and doing your jobs well. It’s about being the best you can be. And the poem shows the incredible people who came before and created the light to follow. Don’t stop in the hard parts and the darkness, keep going!

Duncan removed a large percentage of Dr. King’s original speech to create her poem. Yet the power of his words carries on the page, a clarion call for change and action. Though she erased much, somehow his voice still booms on the page, thanks to her skill with words. The illustrations are wonderfully abstract, supporting the poem and allowing the words to soar. 

A tribute to Dr. King and his legacy. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

More Than a Million by Grace Farris – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

More Than a Million by Grace Farris

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2026
  • Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781547617913

This picture book is sure to capture every family’s good and bad moments and how much we continue to love one another through it all. From very early mornings with bad dreams to spilled food to extra hugs when leaving and notes in lunch boxes. From beloved hobbies and collections to broken bones and picky eaters, this merry and funny picture book captures all the small moments that test us while displaying the beauty of family love. 

A debut picture book from a well-known Instagram account, this picture book has simple illustrations with a modern vibe. In fact, the entire picture book feels current thanks to its great examples of loving moments and its brisk pacing that matches that of a busy family. 

Funny and relatable. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

26 Jubilant New January Releases

| Tasha

PICTURE BOOKS

Bored by Felicita Sala

Bug on the Bus by David Catrow

Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars by Laura Alary, illustrated by Yas Imamura

The Dream Builder’s Blueprint: Dr. King’s Message to Young People by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

How to Hatch: A Gosling’s Guide to Breaking Free by Sara Ackerman, illustrated by Galia Bernstein

How to Have a Thought: A Walk with Charles Darwin by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Two Artists, Grandad and Me by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

What a Small Cat Needs by Natalia Shaloshvili

CHILDREN’S

Alice with a Why by Anna James

Eureka by Victoria Chang

Hattie Mae Begins Again by Sharon G. Flake

Maple for the People by Kate McGovern

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller

The Road from Nowhere by Avi

Run Home by Alyssa Bermudez

Saber-Tooth by Robin Gow

Unfairies by Huw Aaron

A Year Without Home by VT Bidania

YA

Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet

Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown

Fustuk by Robert Mgrdich Apelian

Sundown Girls by LS Stratton

Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

Wild Radiance by Maria Ingrande Mora

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells – December 19 Edition

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

21 Terrific Books by Jason Reynolds, Faith Erin Hicks, and More | Starred Reviews, December 2025 – SLJ

40 Most-Anticipated Middle Grade Books: January-March 2026 – Pop Goes the Reader

2025’s Best LGBTQ Middle Grade Books for Holiday Giving – Mombian

The Best Children’s Books of 2025 – New York Times

Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books of 2025 – CSMCL

Jeanette Winter, Who Told Children About Artists’ Lives, Dies at 86 – New York Times

A Roundup of 2025’s Best Book Lists for Children and Teens – Publishers Weekly

The Ten Best Children’s Books of 2025 Feature a Story of Untrustworthy Fish and a Tribute to a Beloved Bus Driver – Smithsonian Magazine

LIBRARIES

Entire Library Board Dissolved Over One Picture Book About a Trans Kid – Them.us

Richard Osman among authors backing call to issue library card to all UK babies – The Guardian

Top 52 Banned Books: The Most Banned Books in U.S. Schools – PEN America

US librarians tackle ‘manufactured crisis’ of book bans to protect LGBTQ+ rights – The Guardian

YA LIT

Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2025 – Reactor

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen 

Publisher: Random House 

Publication Date: October 7, 2025

Reviewed from library copy

ISBN: 9780593125472

Angelica is burned out after trying to do too much. So when she gets an internship at the Log House Theater in town, she decides to focus all her attention on that. Oh, and perhaps also on texting with an account that seems to be related to the theater’s famous Per the Bear. As Angelica gets closer to Per, she is losing connections with her mother and her best friend. Meanwhile, Gable has returned to town and is living with his grandmother after his grandfather died. All of them are involved in the theater too. Gable had been best friends with Angelica before moving away, and now he happens to be the person behind Per the Bear in the costume and on the account. 

What could have been just a frothy fun romance based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon becomes something much deeper in the hands of Nguyen. He deftly incorporates queerness into the tale as well as offering a story of loss, grief and community that resonates throughout the book. Beautifully designed and filled with lovely moments of connection and humor, this is a graphic novel worth sharing with your own Per.

Fun, deep and delightful. Appropriate for ages 12+.

The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story by Allan Wolf – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story by Allan Wolf, illustrated by Jose Pimienta

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication Date: Oct 7, 2025

Reviewed from library copy

ISBN: 9781536217438

This graphic work of nonfiction for middle schoolers is superb. It tells the story of Lake Peigneur in Louisiana from the lake’s point of view. The lake tells of the misfortune that happened there when an oil rig accidentally punctured the local salt mine’s tunnels. The result was incredibly dangerous for everyone in the area since the water from the lake drained into the salt mine, forming a water vortex that could swallow barges. Boats on the surface had to fight to get to shore and then contend with the lowering water levels. The shore eroded and trees were sucked down until suddenly a geyser erupted as air escaped the mine shafts. As the disaster unfolded, people stayed calm and followed their training, resulting in no one losing their life. 

A remarkable tale that creates a book that is fast moving and incredibly gripping. Few people know of the disaster outside of Louisiana since no one lost their life. It’s a look at nature’s response to a man-made issue and the power of water itself. Brilliantly told, the book sticks with the various people in danger, from the miners to the tug boat to the gardeners on shore. The use of the lake as the narrator is clever since there were so many human perspectives. 

A thrilling look at nature and disaster. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists

| Tasha

The five finalists for YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction Award have been announced. The awards are given for the best nonfiction for young adults aged 12-18 for the year. Here are the finalists:

American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation by Barb Rosenstock

Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming

White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups by Gail Jarrow

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum

A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day

A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Publication Date: September 16, 2025

Reviewed from library copy

ISBN: 9781250342614

Based on a true story, this verse novel set in the 1930s tells the story of a community that refuses to be silent in the face of racism. In San Diego, Roberto is the youngest of the children in his family. When the local school board decides that the Mexican-American children must attend a different school than the white children, they build a school in a barn for them. But the majority of the families refuse to send their children there. The families form a group and stand up for themselves in court, raising money by selling goods and food items. Roberto, at age 12, is selected to be the face of the children impacted by the decision. Despite losing friends to deportation and being expelled himself, he must find the courage to give voice to his community.

Incredibly timely and impactful, this book uses poetry as a vehicle for readers to understand Roberto and his point of view. From the beauty of his community to the hatred spewed at them to the threats they endured, his emotions are bared on the page. Written with immense restraint and simplicity, Águila shares the full story of the history while humanizing it with Roberto’s voice.

Powerful and heart-wrenching. Appropriate for ages 8-12.