Here are four great children’s books getting released in November and with lots of buzz.
A Long Road on a Short Day by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
Infinity by Pablo Bernasconi
Serena Says by Tanita S. Davis
Stick with Me by Jennifer Blecher
The winners of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced. The Carnegie Medal is given for the best writing in English for children and young people. The Greenaway Medal is awarded for the best illustration in a book for children and young people. Here are the winners:
2020 CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL
Lark by Anthony McGowan
2020 CILIP KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan
2020 CILIP CARNEGIE SHADOWERS’ CHOICE AWARD
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
2020 CILIP KATE GREENAWAY SHADOWER’S CHOICE AWARD
The Undefeated illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander
Publisher’s Weekly has announced their picks for the top 50 children’s books of the year. Here they are:
PICTURE BOOKS
Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
Being Frog by April Pulley Sayre
The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl
Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina, illustrated by Sonia Sanchez
Every Color of Light by Hiroshi Osada, illustrated by Ryoji Arai
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann
How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Fall) of a Rock-Climbing Champion by Ahsima Shiraishi, illustrated by Yao Xiao
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall
In the Half Room by Carson Ellis
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith
Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love
A New Green Day by Antoinette Portis
The Old Truck by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey
Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki
Outside In by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Cindy Derby
Out the Door by Christy Hale
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade
You Matter by Christian Robinson
MIDDLE GRADE
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame ALexander
Chance by Uri Shulevitz
Class Act by Jerry Craft
Condor Comeback by Sy Montgomery, photos by Tianne Strombeck
Daring Darleen: Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbet
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
How We Got to the Moon by John Rocco
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
YOUNG ADULT
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred D. Taylor
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Here are some great new picture book coming out in November to add to your TBR pile!
Bear Meets Bear by Jacob Grant
The Couch Potato by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
Find Fergus by Mike Boldt
I Am the Wind by Michael Karg, illustrated by Sophie Diao
It’s Not Very Complicated by Samuel Ribeyron
Keep an Eye on Ivy by Barroux
The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney
Once Upon a Winter Day by Liza Woodruff
Raven, Rabbit, Deer by Sue Farrell Holler, illustrated by Jennifer Faria
A Stranger Comes to Town by Maria Kristjansdottir
William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate
The Scary Book by Thierry Dedieu (9783791374642)
This board book offers plenty of creepy shivers when you take a normal sort of already frightening creature and then extend the flap. This one is not for the littlest children, though it is in board book format. It’s preschoolers and elementary-aged children who will love the wild and scary nature of the flaps opening. You may think that a bat is already pretty scary, but extend its jaws and find how sharp and huge its teeth really are. The ghost is pretty blank until you lift its head higher and discover a skeleton and some bloody spurts underneath. The wolf has a jaw that opens wider and wider, displaying a skeletal Little Red Riding Hood inside!
The words take a firm back seat to the art in this bold book with each double-page spread filled with a solid-colored background that really lets the sinister art stand out. The book is a blend of silliness and scariness, with the first flap the most surprising as they all open much wider than readers expect. Expect a mix of giggles and gasps as children explore this one.
Not for the faint of heart, readers must take their own hands directly into the jaws of the beasts to see the surprises. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
Reviewed from copy provided by Prestel Junior.
CHILDREN’S LIT
14 children’s books about race and racial diversity – Book Riot
52 incredible picture book biographies of Black people creating and leading – Book Riot
A new picture book reminds Black sons: you are ‘Every Good Thing’ – NPR
Scary stories and horror reading for kids and teens – Wisconsin Public Radio
Your Fall Newbery/Caldecott 2021 ‘Hey, Keep an Eye Out’ lists – 100 Scope Notes
LIBRARIES
Why lockdown was the plot twist that libraries needed – The Guardian
Why this Brooklyn library is betting on a future that’s bigger than books – Fast Company
YA LIT
The recognition of YA authors of colour has come far too late – The Boar
Margaret’s Unicorn by Briony May Smith (9781984896537)
Margaret and her parents moved to a faraway place to be closer to her grandmother. When they got there, the rooms were bare and strange. Her parents sent Margaret out to explore, warning her not to go past the big stone. When Margaret reached the stone at the end of the garden, she could see the sea. And up in the clouds were unicorns that disappeared in a blink. As Margaret headed home, she heard a noise and discovered a baby unicorn tangled in the weeds. Her grandmother was shocked to see the unicorn, because she thought they had all disappeared. They had to get flowers for the unicorn to eat from the local shop and soon made him a cozy nest in Margaret’s room. That night, they gathered water touched by the moon, which made the unicorn’s horn glow. Margaret cared for the unicorn all the way until spring returned. Then Margaret returned the unicorn to its herd and its mother. Will Margaret ever see her unicorn again?
Smith has created a magical picture book about unicorns that isn’t sparkly and full of glitter. It’s a beautiful homey sort of magic, fed with flowers and moon-touched water. It’s also a book about caring for something but also being willing to return it and let it leave you. Because she knows she will lose the unicorn in spring, the entire book is filled with a wistfulness that plays well with the wonder of having your own unicorn.
The illustrations add so much to the appeal of the book. Filled with landscapes of moors and hills that butt up against the sea, the land is wild and wondrous too. There is a distinct coziness to the images, of a family that works together to create their new home and one for the baby unicorn too.
A lovely look at unicorns, families and love. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.
The Poisoned Apple by Anne Lambelet (9781645670605)
This picture book retells the story of Snow White and the poisoned apple. This version focuses very cleverly on the witch herself. It tells of the hard work she put into creating just one poisoned apple and no more. The witch gets the apple directly into Snow White’s basket, but then her plans go awry as the apple is passed to the dwarves as part of their lunch. Luckily, none of them take a bite, instead sharing the apple with some hungry forest animals, who in turn share it with a squirrel looking for food for her babies. As the squirrel climbs high into the tree, the witch follows, desperate to get the apple back and give it to Snow White. But her plans continue to fail her as the branch snaps from beneath her weight.
Lambelet has very nicely twisted and fractured this retelling of the classic Snow White story. The book will work best for children who know the classic version, as this one quickly moves away from that tale and into a riff of its own. Snow White and the dwarves make appearances, but are not the main focus of the story. The witch herself stays at the center, conniving and evil, making this just right for a witchy Halloween read.
The art is marvelous, full of fine lined details that come together to form dramatic moments that fill the page. From the creation of the poisoned apple itself to the witch’s fall from the tree, these moments are elongated by the art and the format to great effect.
This witch-focused retelling of Snow White is creepy, dark and satisfying. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
Reviewed from copy provided by Page Street Kids.
Attack of the Underwear Dragon by Scott Rothman, illustrated by Pete Oswald (9780593119891)
Cole has a favorite knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. So he writes Sir Percival a letter asking to be his assistant knight. Sir Percival received the letter and cried, because knights do cry and he too as a boy asked to be an apprentice. Cole had a lot to learn in his new position. There were many things to do and figure out how to help Sir Percival be a great knight: lugging stuff, getting knocked down, and cheering him along. Sir Percival was also terrified of the Underwear Dragon, unfortunately that dragon arrived and destroyed the kingdom. All of the knights lost! So Cole wrote another letter, this time to the Underwear Dragon. But dragons can’t read, so the dragon ate the letter and just kept on destroying things. The Underwear Dragon finally faced off against Cole. Cole was scared, but had also learned a lot of skills. He used them all until finally the underwear flew off, and the dragon left. Cole became a member of the Round Table, but needed a nap before he could choose his own assistant knight.
Rothman has created a very funny picture book that plays against knight stereotypes, making them marvelously open about their feelings. He has a great sense of comedic timing where the impact is increased by page turns. The book has several montage scenes of things like “why knights cry” and “what Cole needed to learn” that are funny and boisterous. The Underwear Dragon himself gets his own montage of things that he cannot read, which makes for great comedy as well.
The illustrations are just right for reading aloud, whether to a group or individuals. There are many sight gags, offering just the right amount of silliness to an already funny book.
Funny, silly and full of knights and dragons. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House Books for Young Readers.
Waking Brain Cells 