school

3 Smart New Picture Books for School Days

| Tasha

Jordan’s Perfect Haircut by Sharee Miller (9780316592284)

It’s almost picture day at school and everyone is talking about the great haircuts they are going to get. Jordan’s mom has made an appointment for him at the barbershop. It will be his first time getting his hair cut. Jordan likes his cloudlike hair and is very worried about going to the barber. When they get there, it’s busy and loud. Jordan sees classmates getting their new haircuts and his Mom sits down to get her done too. Soon it is Jordan’s turn and he knows just what haircut he wants. 

Miller captures both the worry of a child trying something new to them and also the busy community feel of a neighborhood barbershop. The writing is fast paced and inviting, with the first person perspective bringing readers directly into Jordan’s point of view. The illustrations are bold and colorful, tantalizing readers with what haircut Jordan will choose. 

A book that celebrates Black hair and culture. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Rain and the Reading Horse by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Hannah Salyer (9780063257252)

Rain has been signed up for a new school reading program: Giddy-Up and Read where she will read to a horse. She has never read to a horse before, but it can’t be worse than reading aloud to her classmates where the words catch in her throat. Snow stands in the stable, tail swishing but Rain isn’t ready to read that first day and instead spends her time mucking out the stall. Rain keeps coming, keeps trying to read, spending quiet yet busy time with Snow. Eventually, Rain whispered the book to Snow and she listened with twitching ears. Then the two got to ride together and over the days, Rain learned her book by heart.

Gianferrari captures the emotions and physical response of being shy and anxious. The book offers deep moments of quiet and solitude with an animal, slowing the reader down and allowing that stillness to spill out. The connection between reader and horse is built steadily and just as unrushed as their time with one another. This is a lovely picture book with pacing that matches the topic well. The illustrations are done in colored pencil and pastel, creating a warm softness around the budding relationship. 

A picture book that celebrates anxious children and the animals they love. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Clarion Books.

Recess by Lane Smith (9781419776892)

Welcome to a very loud picture book that celebrates the joy of recess. This is not a story book for children to sit quietly and enjoy, instead it’s a book where there are quiet parts and then very raucous moments built in. The book tells the story of being at school, sitting quietly at your desk until suddenly RECESS! The breaks for recess involve booty shaking, typing in the air, making trombone sounds, quacking like a duck, and much more. 

I love the swooping action of this picture book, the delight of moving from quiet to loud to quiet to loud. The beauty of shouting “Bananas!” or stomping your feet to make music. As always, Smith’s art is a large part of the story, capturing the quiet in subtle colors and then amping the color up for the repeating recesses. Sharing this one aloud may take a bit of practice beforehand and a willingness to get wild and just let things happen. 

Let the wild recess start. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

All the Stars in the Sky by Art Coulson – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

All the Stars in the Sky by Art Coulson, illustrated by Winona Nelson (9781665931373)

Clay was determined to be selected as the last start of the week for his classroom that year. He ran home to ask the advice of the smartest person he knew, his grandmother. When Clay explained that the star would make him the most important person at school, Elisi frowned and said that his family and community were more important than any individual. Clay was disappointed and confused. That night, Elisi used the star-filled sky to show Clay what she had meant. One star is only part of an entire constellation. Clay thought about what his grandmother had said and when he was made Star of the Week, he knew exactly what to do.

When reading this picture book, I was first struck by the indigenous beadwork created by the illustrator from her Ojibwe heritage. It is a beautiful part of all of the watercolor and pencil illustrations, making the art entirely unique, adding colorful flow to the pages, forming frost crystals and making stars and suns. Created by an author of Cherokee descent, the story is told in a frank and engaging way, focusing on the difference between the importance of individual vs. community. 

A unique and beautiful book to get readers thinking. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

When You Go to Dragon School by Chelsea Campbell – Book Review

| Tasha

When You Go to Dragon School by Chelsea Campbell, illustrated by Charlene Chua (9781250293015)

Human school is packed too full, so some kids are going to have to attend Dragon School. But dragon school is pretty different. You learn to breathe fire, take naps on piles of gold, learn how to polish your scales and sharpen your claws. Best of all you will learn how to fly! Except humans can’t fly. Perhaps the kids shouldn’t go to dragon school then. It may be way too dangerous. With a little clever thinking though, the humans and dragons just might make the best of classmates.

With a sense of humor throughout, this book takes a wry look at starting a new school, being different from your classmates, and how compromises make everything better for everyone. The illustrations are bold and colorful, bringing to life a world filled with dragons and children.

A great start-of-school read aloud. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Feiwel & Friends.

Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil

| Tasha
Cover image for Keep Your Head Up.

Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil, illustrated by Charly Palmer (9781534480407)

A bad day starts for this boy when he wakes up late. He can’t move fast and his sister has used his sparkly toothpaste to make slime. Still, he knows he can try to make it a good day. But things just keep on going wrong. He has forgotten his gym uniform plus he doesn’t get the class job that lets him take a walk. His face starts to show his frustration. He gets the last laptop in writing class, the one with the sticky space bar. He forgets to raise his hand in math class, even though his answer was right. He manages to get paint all over his uniform. He’s been trying to avoid a meltdown all day, but it doesn’t work. He gets sent to the principal’s office. The quiet there helps, but the day won’t get much better until he decides to keep on trying to keep his head up.

Neil captures all of the emotions of a bad day in her picture book. The steady drum of small things going wrong throughout the day is something that many kids will recognize. They will also relate to the emotions of anger, frustration and the final loss of control after trying so hard. There is a lot of empathy in this book and yet also no easy answers other than to keep on trying, be gentle with yourself.

The illustrations by the Coretta Scott King Award winner Palmer are rich and beautiful. He shows all of the emotions that the protagonist feels using a cloud that follows the boy everywhere. The cloud changes color as the boy’s emotions get darker and angrier too. Throughout there is a sense of a strong Black family unit and larger Black community.

An emotional look at a bad day that just might turn out OK. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster.

Thirty Talks Weird Love by Alessandra Narvaez Varela

| Tasha
Cover image for Thirty Talks Weird Love.

Thirty Talks Weird Love by Alessandra Narvaez Varela (9781947627482)

In 1990s Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, girls were being kidnapped from the streets, so Anamaria’s parents were very careful about where she was in the city and what she was doing. She spends most of her time studying and trying to get top rank in her class at a private middle school, since she plans to be a doctor. Then one day, a limping woman who claims to be Anamaria from the future arrives to change the past. She is by turns frightening, cheesy and just plain strange. The woman also says that she is a poet, not a doctor, something that Anamaria can’t even comprehend. She also insists that Anamaria needs help and needs to change the way she is living and get help.

The wild title and cover lead readers to an exploration of depression and overwork in young people in schools. Written in verse, the book also shows the power of being willing to take a chance and find a way to express yourself in poetry and words. Varela chillingly captures the smallness of Varela’s world, a toxic trudge of schoolwork and messed up friendships and working for her parents. Even as everyone works to protect her from the dangers of the streets, they are unaware that the real danger may be invisible and inside Anamaria herself.

The writing here is marvelous. Varela shows how halting first attempts at poetry grow into true self expression and a way to release internal pressures. Anamaria shows herself to be deep and thoughtful, far more interesting than the girl striving to beat everyone at school. The author uses clever poetic formats to transform larger poems into something altogether different and drawings combined with words to create apologies and new connections.

A deep delve into depression and the power of poetry. Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Cinco Puntos Press.

I Can Help by Reem Faruqi

| Tasha
Cover image for I Can Help.

I Can Help by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Mikela Prevost (9780802855046)

Zahra loves to volunteer to help a boy in her class. Kyle has problems with reading, writing, cutting and gluing. Kyle is great at drawing and other things though. As Zahra helps him, she discovers that he is generous, funny and kind too. Then one day, when Zahra is swinging high on the swings and seeing the new colors of the leaves, she overhears some girls saying mean things about Kyle. She stops swinging and one girl asks her why she volunteers to help Kyle anyway. The next day, the girls stare at Zahra as she is asked to help Kyle cut some paper. Zahra makes a poor choice and stops helping Kyle, telling him to do it himself. Zahra has become a mean girl that she doesn’t even recognize. The next year, at a new school, Zahra has a chance to make different decisions and do better, and that’s just what she does.

The author of Amira’s Picture Day returns with a book based on her own experience as a child. It’s a look at a child who longs to be helpful but allows peer pressure to lead her away from who she sees herself being. The bullying nature is written so accurately, not overblown into something but kept slick and insidious. Zahra’s own response is honest and real, the shame of acting that way and not seeing a way forward. This book could have turned didactic very quickly and nicely shows a child making her own decisions and coming out of it having learned something about herself and who she intends to be.

The illustrations offer a diverse classroom. They use plenty of white space while expanding to larger images at times too. The children’s faces are done very effectively, showing a wide range of emotions.

Sure to create opportunities for discussion, this picture book gives space for children to make mistakes and recover from them. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Eerdmans.

Not Little by Maya Myers

| Tasha
Cover image for Not Little.

Not Little by Maya Myers, illustrated by Hyewon Yum (9780823446193)

Dot is the smallest person in her family. Everybody thinks that she’s too little to do things, but they are all wrong. She can do all sorts of things. She’s also the smallest person in her class. People even ask if she is in preschool. That’s when she proves them wrong by talking about all the things that she knows. When a new student joins her class, Sam is even smaller than Dot is. He is quiet and seems to be afraid of Dot. At recess, she sees that the mean boy is talking to Sam, and it’s clear he isn’t being nice. Dot decides to sit with Sam at lunch, both to talk to him about the bully but also to measure and make sure she is taller. Before she can reach the table though, the mean boy is there again and he is saying that Sam is a baby! Sam slumps lower and lower, while Dot gets angrier and angrier. The bully then makes the mistake of calling Dot little. But Dot has found her voice and knows she needs to stand up as tall and brave as she can.

Myers captures the indignities of being small for your age with Dot. Beautifully, Dot uses her words to fight back at the stereotypes, both by demonstrating what she knows out loud and also in the end by standing up to a bully. Dot’s push back at being called “little” is cleverly handled, as is her desire to not be the smallest when Sam arrives. It’s all lovely and richly human.

Yum’s illustrations show a protagonist from a multiracial blended family. Dot dresses in polka dots with bright colors that draw the eye directly to her on the page. Even if she is sometimes the smallest thing on the page, she is the focal point.

A big hearted book for tall and small alike. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Neal Porter Books.

Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School by Emily Jenkins

| Tasha
Cover image for Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School.

Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Pete Oswald (9780525644712)

This chapter book invites readers to experience the first 100 days of school alongside Harry. Harry has worries about his first day of school, helped quite a bit by his older sister showing him the way things work. He has a real fear of guinea pigs, a creature he believes is much more like a wild pig than the small furry rodent it actually is. Harry decides that his goal is to become an expert on something, though he isn’t sure what. Perhaps an expert on Fluff Monsters, a video game he loves. Harry quickly makes friends at school, surprising himself by who he actually gets closer to. He learns to set healthy boundaries with classmates who like to play jokes and also finds himself overcoming a lot of his fears along the way. In fact, he turns out to be an expert on quite a lot!

Award-winning author Jenkins sets exactly the right tone here. Throughout the book, there is humor that will have children immediately engaged and that is layered beautifully with empathy for Harry and the others in his class. Harry and his classmates are multidimensional characters who reveal themselves over the course of the book. Readers will laugh out loud at the humor here and be drawn deeply into the story of how Harry survives first grade.

The illustrations by Oswald work well to break up the text and make this a more approachable book for young readers. Oswald captures the diversity of Harry’s class and community. The urban setting is vibrant and colorful while the classroom is warm and inviting.

Funny and clever, this is just the right book for first graders and any others who may need a good giggle about school starting. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House Children’s Books.

Amira’s Picture Day by Reem Faruqi

| Tasha
Cover image

Amira’s Picture Day by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Fahmida Azim (9780823440191)

It is Eid tomorrow, and Amira is thrilled. She gets her hands decorated by mehndi designs that she has to let dry from green to a rich brown. They also get to miss school tomorrow! Amira is happily helping her family make goody bags for the children at the masjid, when she sees the notice about tomorrow also being Picture Day at school. The class was going to be photographed all together and now Amira would miss it. The next morning, Amira got ready for Eid but still longed to wear the dress she had picked out for Picture Day. Once they were at the masjid, Amira was swept up in the celebration of Eid with lots of food, hugs and sharing of goody bags. But when the celebration ended, she once again thought about Picture Day. On their way home, Amira had a big idea that involved the leftover goody bags and maybe going to Picture Day after all.

Faruqi shows the push and pull of being Muslim in a country like the United States where children must miss school to celebrate holidays like Eid. When Eid which is based on the lunar calendar, falls on an important day at school, it can be very difficult for children. That’s what happens with Amira in the story and her navigation of it shows the tension between loving her family and her faith but also wanting to be part of her school community too. The book shows various parts of Eid without minimizing Amira’s wishing to be at school too.

Azim’s illustrations are bright and colorful. She shows the diversity in both the Muslim community as well as at Amira’s school. She creates great facial expressions as Amira navigates having to go to Eid and potentially miss out on Picture Day. Readers will clearly understand her happiness, wistfulness and pleasure at being able to find a solution.

A strong addition for school and public libraries that celebrates the diversity of children in our communities. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Holiday House.