Picture Books

When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling

| Tasha
Cover image for When Lola Visits.

When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling, illustrated by Aaron Asis (9780062972859)

A little girl’s grandmother, Lola, always comes to visit in the summer. The first thing she does when she arrives for the summer is to make mango jam. Summer smells like that jam and also the sampaguita soap that she uses. Lola’s suitcase carries other smells like dried squid and candy. Summer smells like cassava cake hot from the oven. It smells of chlorine from lessons at the pool and sunscreen on the beach. It smells of all sorts of food, even limes on the trees. Summer ends with the smell of sticky rain while saying goodbye to Lola at the airport. The house becomes grayer and quieter. The breezes are colder. Summer ends with return to school and the last bites of summer in mango jam.

Sterling creates a symphony of senses in this picture book that celebrates the food of the Philippines and shares a special connection made every summer between grandmother and granddaughter. Using food to add taste and smell to the summer setting works particularly well. The food bridges nicely into other summer scents of pools, lakes and beaches, creating an entire world of experience that is universal but also wonderfully specific.

Asis’ illustrations are done in gouache and digital art. With light brush strokes, he creates cabinets, tree branches, pool water and cooling cakes. This light touch adds to the summery feel of the book, inviting us all to feel a bit more sunshine and brightness.

Delicious and sensory, this book is a treat. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Katherine Tegen Books.

Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol

| Tasha

Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol (9781250314871)

When Freda goes blueberry picking with her Gran, she tries to eat all of the blueberries right away. Even though the blueberries are best when first picked, Freda isn’t able to eat them all. Her Gran reminds Freda that she makes the blueberries into jam to preserve them so they can be enjoyed longer. That gave Freda an idea! She started saving everything she wanted to keep fresh in jars. She kept a warm cookie, unscuffed sneakers, an unmelted popsicle, flowers, birds’ eggs, and much more. She even put her best friend in a jar before he could move away. She saved music, rainbows, clouds, stars and the moon. Freda had saved all of her favorite things, except one. When Gran got into the jar, Freda’s world was very quiet. That’s when she tried some of the blueberry jam, which reminded her of summer, friendship, her grandparents and much more. Freda remembered it all.

This picture book looks at our desire to stop things where they are and not allow them to change. Freda’s ability to jar everything she loves is both marvelously creepy but also immensely satisfying, at first. Brosgol allows the story to go on until the world becomes empty and silent around Freda. It isn’t until then that her memories of her friends and family return and refill her world. Still, Brosgol hints at the end that it may not quite be over yet.

The illustrations capture the warmth of Freda’s life and her connection to her grandmother. The shadows enter Freda’s world as she surrounds herself with jars of all of her favorite things, basically in suspended animation. The jars fill her space with a cold glass emptiness where you can only see shadows inside of them. It’s very effective and a relief to return to the brighter colors again.

A book that shows us all why we need to let life happen rather than clinging too tight. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Roaring Brook Press.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today by Rachel Piercey

| Tasha
Cover image for If You Go Down to the Woods Today.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today by Rachel Piercey, illustrated by Freya Hartas (9781419751585)

Enter a woodsy world full of animal characters in this picture book that invites children to find things in the busy and bustling images. Bear brings readers to his home in the woods. The first images focus on spring in the woods with green grass, flowers and bird nests. Readers then get a glimpse of each animal’s home in the woods, including burrows, nests, and trees. Youngsters head to school, and bunny celebrates a birthday underground. Summer arrives with Field Day, the beauty of life in the treetops, swimming, picnics and even a play. Autumn comes with rainy days, art and campfires. Then finally, winter brings icy sports, a winter feast and the sleepiness of hibernation.

Each of the double-page illustrations is accompanied with a poem that speaks to that season and what is happening on the pages. The rhymes are jaunty and add to the fun of the book. Then there is a list of items to spot that asks readers to look very closely at the illustrations before them. It’s a woodsy and outdoor version of Waldo.

The illustrations are a pure joy and full of small elements of charm. Flowers, grass, falling leaves, roots, berries and more fill the pages with the season. The busy illustrations show a community of creatures happily living together in the woods filled with a warm coziness and acceptance of one another.

A perfect book to curl up with and explore. This would make an ideal book to take on a summer road trip. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Magic Cat.

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai

| Tasha

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai (9781324003427)

When Lili’s Nai Nai asks her to help make baos, Lili is thrilled. After all, baos are her favorite! She even knows all of the secrets of making the best baos from letting the ingredients make friends to shaking the wok just enough to coaxing the filling into the center of the dough and wrapping it snugly. The final secret is to line the basket with cabbage leaves before steaming them, but Nai Nai discovers that they are out of cabbage. She send Lili to the 6th floor to ask Babcia to lend them some. The elevator is broken, so she and Kiki, her dog, have to take the stairs up five flights. Once there, Babcia has cabbage but needs some potatoes. She asks Lili to see if Granma on 2nd floor has any. Soon Lili is running up and down the stairs to bring all of the grandmothers in the building the ingredients they need. She is finally able to head back to her Nai Nai with the cabbage leaves. The day ends with all of the grandmothers bringing their delicious food to the table. There are pierogi, beef patties, tamales, ravioli, fatayer and of course, baos! There is one last dumpling to come to the table too as a grand surprise.

Set in a 6-story apartment building, this picture book celebrates the shared joy of cooking and how food brings us together. The story includes details of Nai Nai’s secrets for the perfect baos and then quickly changes to become a dash from one grandmother to another to get them their ingredients. Each grandmother talks about what they are going to cook and then uses a native expression of exasperation that they are out of an ingredient. It’s a lovely and fast-paced look at a diverse community in a single building.

The illustrations are bright and warm. Each grandmother’s apartment has touches that show their culture, including masks on a wall, plates on a shelf, woven rugs, and tiles. While each grandmother has a unique apartment, the book works visually as a whole too.

Celebrate diversity and community in this picture book that is sure to make you hungry. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Norton Young Readers.

Listen by Gabi Snyder

| Tasha

Listen by Gabi Snyder, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin (9781534461895)

When you leave your house and enter the world, sometimes all you can hear is a blare of noise. What if you stop instead and listen closely. Can you identify each separate sound like the car horn beeping and the dog barking? On your way to school, can you hear the slap of shoes on pavement or noises through the windows you pass? At school you can hear friends saying hello and the sounds of the playground being used. In school you can listen to learn new words. You can also listen to hear how words make people feel happy or hurt. Listen for feelings in the silence or sighs. Rain brings new noise, and wind does too. At home, it is quieter and still there are noises to listen to right up until bedtime.

This picture book demonstrates being able to reset at times of overwhelm by tuning in to the world around us rather than tuning out. It shows how listening closely can untangle the noise into sounds which allow us to learn and connect with others. Set in an urban setting, this book shares the joys of living in a city by celebrating the noise and not letting it become a problem.

The illustrations center on a little girl who is multiracial. As she moves through her day, she regularly takes time to check in with herself and center using the sounds around her. The cast of students and community members on the page are a variety of races.

A gentle book about the power of sound and our own power to use it to center ourselves. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Simon & Schuster.

What Do You Know? by Aracelis Girmay and Ariana Fields

| Tasha

What Do You Know? by Aracelis Girmay and Ariana Fields (9781592703210)

Created by two sisters, this picture book is an exploration of our world through a lens of positivity, ability to change and also a timelessness and sense of wonder. The book is a question, “What do you know,” asked by love and answered by people, objects and creatures. Their answers reveal depths and darkness, but also abundance and stars. They reveal the beauty of rain, the footsteps of fire. They include the wisdom of rocks and the wayfinding of bats. They share the insights of seafarers and farmers, each connected to a different part of our world.

Through asking the same question of the world around us, the authors create a book that celebrates the wild diversity of life on earth but also the connection to wonder and mystery around us. The book is simple yet deeply profound, offering hope in darkness, the breath of whales and bears, and the magnificence of change even if it takes millennia. Happily, the writing doesn’t rhyme, instead held together by the question and answer format. The writing is gentle and responsive, allowing each scenario to stand unique but also part of the whole.

The art is bold and simple. It moves from layers of earth in the fields to lava flowing across the land to the immense eye of a whale at sea. It invites us to see the beauty in laundry on an urban line, the marvel of goats on cliffs, and the profound black of a starlit night.

Gorgeous, deep and full of marvels. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Enchanted Lion Books.

The Perfect Plan by Leah Gilbert

| Tasha

The Perfect Plan by Leah Gilbert (9781547605262)

Maya dreams of having the “most incredible and wonderful” fort in the woods. So she researches, designs, plans and gathers supplies. Then she found the perfect spot in the woods for it. But when she started trying to build the fort, it didn’t turn out the way she had planned. But Maya didn’t give up. She went to the beavers at the river and asked them for help. They soon had plenty of branches, but they were too heavy to move. Maya spotted a moose in the trees and asked the moose to help them lift the branches high into the trees. But none of them could climb well enough. So Maya asked the bears for help. Soon they had a frame, but it wouldn’t stay in place. Maya and her team called to the birds for help and they twisted and wound vines around the frame to hold it. The fort was almost perfect, but then a storm blew in and Maya had to go home. Would the fort be ruined after all their hard work?

This story shows how working together and having each creature use their own unique talents can create something very special. At first, the book has Maya working in a solitary way with her own plans. That quickly changes when she needs help and asks for it. As the book proceeds, the words Maya uses to describe the fort they are building change too, to better reflect what that creature brings to the overall project. It’s a dynamic use of language, showing how Maya’s perspective changes with the help of others.

Gilbert’s art really reveals the magic of the forest on the page. Her illustrations are luminous with streaks and rays of sunlight coming through the trees. The greens are fresh and welcoming while the rainstorm is a threatening purple in the sky. The use of colors is very effective throughout the book.

A STEM look at building a fort with friends. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Bloomsbury.

I Is for Immigrants by Selina Alko

| Tasha
Cover image for I Is for Immigrants.

I Is for Immigrants by Selina Alko (9781250237866)

This alphabet book is a celebration of diversity and the immigrants who come to America. The book is a series of double-page illustrations that include words that match each of the letters. For example, A is ancestors, abuelita, African dance, ambition, art and aspire. F contains flags, food trucks, fish & chips, falafel, frankfurters, families, friends, freedom, a father with a fez, fields and flea markets. The book is joyful and moves effortlessly between cultures, often showing the connections between them and also the unique elements they have brought to our country.

The illustrations are paintings that appear to include collage elements as well. They use a variety of fonts to share the various words for each letter, allowing the words and the images to swirl together into a beautiful mix. So much food is celebrated here that your mouth will be watering by the end for samosas, sushi, spices and more on just one page!

Joyous and inclusive, this is a beautiful alphabet book celebrating the best of America. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Henry Holt & Co.

The Museum of Everything by Lynne Rae Perkins

| Tasha
Cover image for The Museum of Everything.

The Museum of Everything by Lynne Rae Perkins (9780062986306)

When the world gets too busy and big, you can look at the smaller pieces around you. You can put those things in a quiet place like a museum in your mind. Or maybe it could be a real museum. It could have things like a Museum of Islands because there are so many kinds and sizes. A Museum of Bushes could have skirts made out of different bushes and then real bushes too. A Museum of Shadows could have usual shadows but also ones that you don’t expect. The Sky Museum is already right over your head, ready to be seen every day. All these small pieces fit together in one large puzzle, creating the Museum of Everything all around us all the time.

Newbery Medalist Perkins has created a picture book exploration of imagination that invites readers to look around themselves and see the elements that are worthy of placement in their own museums of everything. She takes expansive ideas and turns them firm and real with her examples given through the perspective of the child narrator of the book. The result are charming stories of bushes, hiding places, shadows and much more. The everyday is turned amazing.

Her illustrations are done in a wide variety of media. Some pages are done in collage, the paper elements overlapping into a layered world. Other pages are filled with objects that celebrate bushes and hidden places. These are 3 dimensional dioramas or sculptures that draw readers right into them.

Celebrating the extraordinary ordinary, this picture book is a lesson in imagination and creativity. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Greenwillow Books.