Nonfiction

2 New Nature Nonfiction Books by Maria Gianferrari

| Tasha
Cover image for Just One Oak: What a Single Tree Can Be by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Diana Sudyka, featuring a large colorful oak tree with animals and birds in it.

Just One Oak: What a Single Tree Can Be by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Diana Sudyka

  • Publisher: Beach Lane Books
  • Publication Date: April 7, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy sent my publisher
  • ISBN: 9781665961042

This nonfiction picture book explores the impact that a single oak tree can have on a habitat. The way that oaks hold onto their leaves all winter is explained and defined as marcescence. The book explores the variety of wildlife that an oak sustains from butterflies and moths to birds to the creatures that live in and under the leaf litter below the tree. Acorns are explored from the creatures that live inside them to those who eat them after they fall to the ground. Readers will leave this book amazed at what an oak can do.

Gianferrari has created a book that is bound to teach adults and children something new about oak trees. The view of the tree as a living thing that gives back so much to its community is a great perspective, one that allows children to see the importance of the plants and trees around them. The writing is done in two levels, one that can be easily shared aloud with a group, the smaller and more scientific text can be shared for those interested in the fascinating details. The illustrations feature lots of animals, plenty of acorns and an oakful of leaves. 

A grand nonfiction picture book for a grand tree. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Cover image for Puffins! By Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Maris Wicks, featuring a puffin looking right at the reader and many puffins flying, swimming and interacting in the rocky background.

Puffins! By Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Maris Wicks

  • Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
  • Publication Date: April 14, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy provided by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781250357373

On a safe island, a city of puffins comes to nest. Finding mates, creating dens and then laying one single egg per pair. Father Puffin patrols and guards the nest while Mother Puffin broods and waits. Six weeks later, there’s a peep and a new baby puffin arrives. Mother and Father Puffin take turns brooding with their chick and searching for food. Sharing the island with gulls is dangerous both for their catch of food and also for their vulnerable chicks. Soon Little Puffin is ready to leave the nest. She will live at sea for years with a raft of other puffins. Then one day, it will be her turn to meet a mate, build a nest and lay one single egg.

Gianferrari offers such a joyous look at puffins in this nonfiction picture book that readers will find themselves entirely swept up in the life cycle of Little Puffin. The book reads like a picture book, making it very shareable for bird-focused storytimes or ones looking at nature. The illustrator spends time volunteering on Eastern Egg Rock. The final pages of the book speak to her knowledge of puffins and how they were reintroduced to Eastern Egg Rock. The illustrations are a dynamic mix of comic panels and full-page images with pops of neon orange on the puffins and pages. 

Dive into this perfect puffin read. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

2 New Bookish Nonfiction Picture Books

| Tasha
Cover image for The Burning of the Books by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Gary Kelley, featuring a girl holding a book in her arms with a worried look on her face in front of billows of smoke.

The Burning of the Books by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Gary Kelley

  • Publisher: Creative Editions
  • Publication Date: March 10, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781568464114

This nonfiction picture book begins with the printing of the first book, the Bible. It then turns to Germany, a place where many of these books were printed and a literate nation. When Hitler came to power in 1933, things changed and certain books were labeled as “un-German.” College students and librarians helped remove books that were labeled that way, tens of thousands of books. In Berlin, the books were taken to a public square, dumped near a pile of wood, and set alight. This happened in cities across Germany. Afterwards, authors were blacklisted and many fled to freer countries, like America. Now we all must be aware that freedom must be protected even in free countries.

Winter manages to take a very complex situation and create a book that children can understand without making it lose its power or darkness. His writing is crisp, direct and filled with empathy for those targeted and the books destroyed. Kelley’s illustrations are like stained glass on the page, angular and fierce. Yet they also have a lovely softness to them, a feeling of hope lingering nearby. 

A look at one of the darkest periods in human history that is timely and important. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Cover image for How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the Pooh by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Faith Pray, featuring a boy in a tree above Winnie the Pooh stepping on a book.

How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the Pooh by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Faith Pray

  • Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
  • Publication Date: March 31, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781250358448

Sweetly partially narrated by Pooh himself, this nonfiction picture book explores what it takes to make an idea into a book. The idea started with A.A. Milne and he wrote down words about a bear. The words needed pictures to bring them fully alive. An editor read the words and thought of the right illustrator for them, Ernest Shepard. But Milne was not a fan of his, so they tried different illustrators first, finally returning to Shepard. The two worked together to create a book where the illustrations danced with the words on the page, bouncing, stacked tall. The books were very popular thanks to the combination of story and illustration. 

The tale of how Milne and Shepard created their books is a real treat. Both author and illustrator here capture the spirit of the original on the page, whether it is the play of words across the page or turns of phrase that are fun to find. The use of Pooh to help tell the story adds to the fun. The illustrations take the idea of the bear and then steadily solidify him as the book comes together. They manage to pay homage to the original without copying them directly.

A warm and marvelous visit to an old friend and how he became a book. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

3 New Nonfiction Picture Books Full of Discoveries

| Tasha
Cover image for Chopsticks Are by Chloe Ito Ward, illustrated by Lynn Scurfield, featuring three children using chopsticks to share a bowl of food.

Chopsticks Are by Chloe Ito Ward, illustrated by Lynn Scurfield

  • Publisher: Chronicle Books
  • Publication Date: March 31, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781797227368

This nonfiction picture book celebrates the humble chopstick. Immediately some readers will be shocked to see chopsticks used for cooking as well as for eating. The book explores the various shapes of chopsticks from around the world and how they are used with different cuisines. Traditions around chopsticks are also shared around celebrations, offerings and luck. 

The book ends with an Author’s Note and more detailed information about how chopsticks were invented and additional rules around their use. The text is inviting, feeling like you are being invited to share a meal and learn along the way. The illustrations are bright and friendly, filled with colors, food and people. 

A yummy and inviting look at chopsticks. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Cover image for Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Giselle Porter, featuring Mary Morland in a blue dress seated at a desk drawing fossils.

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Giselle Porter

  • Publisher: Beach Lane Books
  • Publication Date: February 24, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781665955546

When Mary Morland was a little girl, she was expected to be prim and proper. But she preferred to be outside. After her mother died, she was sent to stay with friends who had no children. The man of the family was a professor who encouraged her study of nature. As a teen, she exchanged letters with a famous French scientist who studied fossils. Rather than search for a husband, she found hers because she was reading the same thick book by that scientist. The two loved fossils and spent their lives together researching and traveling. She raised children to also be curious and learn, ignoring how clean her house was. She was a scientist her entire life, dedicating her studies to fossils and newly discovered dinosaurs. 

Written as a series of questions and answers, this picture book biography is engaging from the very beginning. The format allows readers to quickly understand how unique Morland was during her life and how she didn’t pay attention to what society might want a lady to and followed her own path. The watercolor illustrations show the fossils and shells that Mary studied as well as her throughout her life out in nature and learning. 

A grand biography of an unconventional life well lived. Appropriate for ages 6-10.

Cover image for When Twilight Comes: The Animals and Plants That Bring Dawn and Dusk to Life by Marcie Flinchum Atkins, illustrated by Michelle Morin, featuring fireflies against a purple sky with deer in a field, lady slippers, a bird and foliage.

When Twilight Comes: The Animals and Plants That Bring Dawn and Dusk to Life by Marcie Flinchum Atkins, illustrated by Michelle Morin

  • Publisher: Chronicle Books
  • Publication Date: March 31, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN:9781797216799

Exploring the twilight parts of the day starts with dawn when darkness is going away. Squash bees visit the garden before other bees are up and moving. The skunk and her kits head home. Hummingbirds visit morning glory flowers as they open. Tired animals head to their dens to sleep the day away. Dusk arrives and bird calls like the whippoorwill’s fill the forest. Deer scavenge for berries, bats leave their roosts and hunt insects. Fireflies flash, evening primroses open and moths come to visit them. Rabbits eat in the garden, watching for foxes. 

The book ends with more information on twilight as well as the creatures that come out during the time. A bibliography completes the end pages. The poetic presentation of information captures the beauty and unique qualities of these transitory times between night and day. Readers are sure to learn about plants and animals they didn’t realize were active during these times of day. The illustrations show the quality of light as it changes from yellows of day to pinks to blues and then to the purples before night falls. 

A lovely look at twilight sure to have children wanting to explore this time of day and night themselves. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Poems for Every Season by Bette Westera – Book Recommendation

| Tasha
Cover image for Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera, illustrated by Henriette Boerendans. Features two squirrels on a tree branch.

Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera, illustrated by Henriette Boerendans, translated by David Colmer

  • Publisher: Eerdmans
  • Publication Date: February 17, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780802856524

A beautiful volume of poems that share the senses of the season combined with a variety of poetic formats. Each season in the volume begins with a welcoming Haiku. That leads into each month of the year having a poem, allowing readers to feel both the deepest winter and also the promise of spring as the poems continue. It’s a volume of poetry that allows the poems to stand on their own while also becoming more while seen as a full year and volume. 

The quality of the poems is exquisite, using both the content of the poem and the structure of the poem to share that moment in the season. This is all the more impressive given that the poems are translated from Dutch to English and still maintain rhythm and rhyme. The illustrations in the book are woodcuts, beautifully colored and delicate. They have an organic feel that fits the subjects perfectly and offer a beauty of image that rivals that of the poems. 

A superb collection of seasonal poetry for children. Appropriate for ages 6-10.

2 New Nonfiction Picture Books Featuring Great genius

| Tasha
Cover image for Copland: A Story About America by Veronica Mang. Featuring Copland at a large black piano with dancing girls, flowers and a horse leaping.

Copland: A Story About America by Veronica Mang

  • Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: February 24, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593693711

This picture book biography of Aaron Copland starts in 1900 when Aaron is born to his Russian immigrant parents. He grew up in an apartment above his family’s store in Brooklyn, listening to the horses clomp on the streets. He also listens to music, jazz and piano. Aaron decides to become a musician and heads to Paris where he is taught to take his ideas and turn them into symphonies. Aaron’s music evolves as he tries to capture what is happening in America during the 1930s. He tries to make music that sounds like America. Soon people can hear his music in movie theaters and at the ballet. His music reflects America with its wide melodies and space to dream. 

Mang beautifully puts words to what Copland was attempting to create with his music. His focus on access to music and keeping it relevant to the general public can be heard in his symphonies. This picture book is just as relatable, sharing that children can create their own music that reflects them too. The art is celebratory and approachable, often using flowers to show when the music is flowing and being shared. 

A celebration of America’s composer. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Cover image for Houdini’s Library: How Books Created the World’s Greatest Magician by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mar Delmar. Featuring Houdini hanging upside down in a straightjacket holding a book.

Houdini’s Library: How Books Created the World’s Greatest Magician by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mar Delmar

  • Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: February 17, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593570135

Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Hungary, son of a rabbi with a large library of books. The family emigrated to America where they hit hard times after Harry’s father lost his job. Harry had to quit school and start to work. Eventually, the family was so poor they had to sell his father’s books. It was in another book that Harry eventually found magic. He worked hard and studied more books, hoping to make enough money to care for his family. He met his wife, who worked as his assistant, soon adding his famous escape artist routines to his act. As his acts grew more dangerous, his fortunes grew. He built his own personal library that grew so big that he hired his own librarian. Eventually, he was even able to replace his father’s lost books and add them to his collection. 

It is a very unique lens to view Houdini’s life through: his love of reading and books. Breaking the idea that Houdini was born in America and found magic easy, adds to his connection with books and shows how even the most famous and gifted magician needs resources and knowledge to continue improving. The text is playful in appropriate spots, serious in others and always leads back to books. The illustrations done in cutouts, layer compellingly and create depth on the page that is used cleverly to show light, height and plenty of books. 

A testament to the magic of books. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

3 New Nonfiction Picture Books That Take Risks

| Tasha
Book cover for Marie’s Magic Eggs: How Marie Procai Kept the Ukrainian Art of Pysanky Alive by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Evan Turk. Features Marie Procai in the middle of the cover creating a design on an egg with a large red Ukrainian egg behind her.

Marie’s Magic Eggs: How Marie Procai Kept the Ukrainian Art of Pysanky Alive by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Evan Turk

  • Publisher: Calkins Creek
  • Publication Date: February 10, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781662680694

Marie learned to make Ukrainian decorated eggs with the Baba in Ukraine. They used beeswax and sketched stories on the eggs which were then painted in colors created from local plants. Marie followed her brothers when they moved to North America. Marie lived in Minneapolis after discovering her favorite uncle was there. When spring came, Marie longed to make pysanky and slowly found a way to create the colors and tools she needed. Marie married and her tools grew better thanks to her husband. Eventually, Marie started to sell tools and teach people how to create this art. Her Ukrainian Gift Shop became the largest supplier of pysanky kits in the world and her eggs were displayed at the White House. All a tribute to her heritage and her Baba.

This dynamic tale mixes tradition with new opportunities. Throughout the book, Marie is shown as a woman with her own ideas, her own way of approaching things and an undying connection to her Ukrainian heritage and culture. The book shares just enough information about creating pysanky to give young readers a sense of the detail and skill that go into each one. The art by Turk is amazing given that it uses resist, just like pysanky does, for the art. The result is an Easter egg of a book that has a rustic and colorful feel. 

A bright inspiring look at a female entrepreneur who used her heritage to create a business that speaks on behalf of Ukrainian heritage. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Book cover for Seven Million Steps: The True Story of Dick Gregory’s Run for the Hungry by Derrick Barnes and Christian Gregory, illustrated by Frank Morrison. Featuring Dick Gregory running past red rock formations.

Seven Million Steps: The True Story of Dick Gregory’s Run for the Hungry by Derrick Barnes and Christian Gregory, illustrated by Frank Morrison

  • Publisher: Amistad Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: February 3, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780063357525

To raise awareness of the problem of hunger in America, Dick Gregory pledged to run 3,500 miles across the United States from Los Angeles to New York City in two and a half months. At first, there were journalists, famous people and others cheering. But soon there was just the quiet of the road. He ran 50 miles a day, seeing America in a new way. At every stop Gregory spoke about why he was running. Running farther, Gregory was joined by local people who met him to run with him for a bit, supporting his cause, even Muhammad Ali came along. There was pain, so much effort and finally success as he entered New York on the Fourth of July. 

Told in second person, this book invites you to experience the decisions that went into Gregory’s run as well as the run itself. The text is near poetry, flowing across the page in stanzas that have rhythm that begs to be read aloud. It shares information clearly and with a particular point of view that insists that you look and think about what was accomplished. The art by Morrison is marvelous, filled with the long legs of runners, the vibrancy of brown and Black skin, and playing with perspectives to make the art sing along with the words.

A thrilling and inspiring look at activism in action. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Book cover for Twelve Daring Grays: A Whale Migration Adventure by Nora Nickum, illustrated by Elly MacKay. Features a pod of whales near the surface of the water.

Twelve Daring Grays: A Whale Migration Adventure by Nora Nickum, illustrated by Elly MacKay

  • Publisher: Candlewick
  • Publication Date: February 10, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781536234701

Every February, gray whales travel from Baja California to the Arctic. The trip is 6,000 miles and takes them 2 months. In their midst are 12 whales with a different plan. All of them eat almost nothing along the trip and some die along the way. When they reach Washington State, the 12 whales change course and head to the Salish Sea. The whales must wait for the tide to rise so they can reach the mudflat safely. Still, the water is very shallow where they must forage for the ghost shrimp to help them survive their journey. They stay for days, devouring the shrimp and leaving whale-sized divots in the sand. They set out on their trip north again, heading to the rich Arctic waters and then traveling back to California again to have their calves. Perhaps those calves too will take the dangerous detour to the Salish Sea.

Nickum has created a nonfiction picture book that reads beautifully, welcoming children to the story of these brave animals as they find a new way to survive a dangerous migration. The prose is presented almost like poetry on the page, offering beautiful moments of wonder at what the whales can do when they turn off and then eat in such shallow waters. MacKay’s art is incredible. She uses paper, ink, colored filters and light to create images that shine on the page. Each of the images is amazing, but I’ve never seen anything like what she has created to show the whales in shallow water. Incredible.

Breathtaking story and illustrations make this a journey worth taking. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

3 New Picture Book Biographies about Outstanding Women

| Tasha
Book cover of Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Sofia Moore, with an image of a woman in a blue dress holding paper and pencils with girls doing imaginative play in the background

Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Sofia Moore

  • Publisher: Calkins Creek
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781629794563

Louisa May Alcott was born into a family very similar to that of Little Women. She had three sisters and they played with the books in her father’s study. The family was poor and moved often. Louisa loved to write in her Imagination Book but her older sisters were already working as domestic servants. When Louisa was twelve, her mother received an inheritance which allowed the family to purchase a new home in Concord, Massachusetts where she met neighbors like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. As they continued to move, one of Louisa’s sisters died and Louisa’s dream of writing seemed far away as she was rejected again and again. It was after her time as a nurse during the Civil War that Louisa found her straight-forward writing style that everyone continues to love in her Little Women. 

This approachable picture book biography of the famous author focuses on the parallels between her own life and that of the Marches in Little Women, a perspective that pays off at the end when Little Women is finally published. Alcott’s journey is fraught from the beginning due to poverty and yet she continues to dream of writing, showing a real perseverance as she struggles to find her unique voice. The illustrations are done in a mix of paint, pencil and digital, focusing closely when Alcott’s world begins to draw inward and having wide landscapes at the times of expansive thought and opportunity. 

A great picture book biography of a big woman in children’s literature. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Book cover of Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa featuring a little Black girl running with a water can in front of a smiling sun with water drops falling

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

  • Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593404898

A tall tale based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston takes readers into the life of this renowned author as a small child. Zora was a little girl who didn’t play gently with dolls or tea sets. She was always dirty after a day playing outside, climbing trees. But most of all, Zora was a story teller filling the air around her with tales that she made up on the spot. She dreamed of her stories changing the world and then set out to use her tales to end the local drought. Armed with just a watering can and her imagination, she went around town telling stories. But by the end of the day, there was no water in her can. About to give up, she realized that she had watered a garden with her stories and the drought came to an end as everyone started to use their imaginations together. 

This second book in the Small-Girl series is a winner. Young Zora is presented with a huge imagination and a mouth willing to share the stories she creates. She shines brightly on the page, her ideas glowing against the grumpy adults she encounters. The illustrations move from huge suns and moons to fancy parlors to the stories that Zora weaves. The result is a book filled with deep color and sprightly tales. 

A clever use of tall tales to speak to the power of stories and one amazing author.

Book cover of Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton, featuring a portrait of Septima Clark

Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton

  • Publisher: Quill Tree Books
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780063251601

Septima Clark was born in 1898 to a father who had been enslaved and a mother who was raised free in Haiti. Her parents firmly believed in education, getting Septima a real education by trading for lessons. Even as a child, Septima loved to teach others. At age 18, she moved to South Carolina and an all-Black school where she was allowed to teach. She taught children during the day and adults at night. In the 1950s, Septima started teaching at an integrated school for adults, helping people learn to read, write and vote. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a team of teachers who helped Black people learn enough to pass the existing voting tests. Septima never stopped teaching and never stopped being the change. 

There is something so beautiful about a child raised from poverty and following her own dream of teaching all the way through to its most exultant form, community activism and enabling others to follow their dreams too. Throughout this picture book biography, there is a sense of quiet strength in Clark, leading through teaching, creating change through her work. Dynamically written in poetic prose, the book reads aloud beautifully. The illustrations are oil paintings, capturing Clark from childhood through adulthood with grace and poise. 

A force for change and good. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

2 Nifty Nonfiction Picture Books about Animals

| Tasha

Frog: A Story of Life on Earth by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781547618200

A child discovers frog eggs in a pond. Eggs will become tadpoles and eventually frogs. But where did the very first frog come from? Well, the picture book merrily takes children way back in time to the Big Bang where the first atoms were just forming. Stars formed and exploded, atoms moving across the universe. 8 billion years later, our solar system formed around the sun. Earth was perfectly positioned to create living things, but it took time. Cells formed, became creatures, lived in water and eventually on land. Amphibians rule the land for 100 million years, evolving and eventually frogs started hopping.

This is the third book by this creative pair, offering a book both about frogs and about the universe and life itself. The text is engaging and interesting as it suddenly veers from pond life to all life and then back again to frogs. It’s a journey in time and space that is definitely worth taking as the book explains the process simply for young children to understand. The illustrations also change from watery blues and greens of frogs and ponds to the dynamic colors of the universe as it is born and grows. 

A book about frogs that hops in new directions. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

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

  • Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593811061

Beginning with a gosling snug in his egg, the book tells it that it is time to hatch! Step one is finding and pricking the air cell in the egg so that the gosling can breathe. Step two is tapping away with its egg tooth to break that shell. Perhaps a quick nap, since that was hard work. Now on to cutting the shell and using wings and legs to exit. Find a warm spot to dry off and then you are set to head out with your mother and siblings. 

Alongside the jaunty hatching story that can be shared aloud, there are in-depth facts on each page turn so that readers can learn more. It’s a great way to share information with children who are interested and still have a fast-paced read aloud for a crowd. The facts are written in an engaging style too, full of answers to natural questions. The art in this picture book is a lovely mix of cartoon and science, making for a book that will show well to a group and also read well snuggled close.

A cracking good book. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

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

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy sent by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781681198187

Told from the perspective of the Alabama River, this picture book shares the account of Black American history as seen by the river. From the creation of Selma to the Trail of Tears. From enslaved people to battles during the Civil War. From sharecropping to bridges across the river. All is witnessed by the river itself. But nothing was quite like 1965 when resistance flowed across the bridge at Selma and freedom flowed but not without bloodshed and brutality.There were more rivers to cross, more agreements to be made, but history and change were made that day.

The Young People’s Poet Laureate has created a picture book that looks deeply at the dark history of slavery, sharecropping, lynching and more before turning to the hope of change inherent in the protests at Selma. The writing is beautiful, unflinching and honest about the history of racism that our country was built upon. Collier’s illustrations are a rich mix of acrylic, watercolor and collage. They include a gatefold that works to pause the reader, linger at a pivotal moment rather than rushing on past. 

Powerful witness to our shared history. Appropriate for ages 8-12.