Recommended Reads

An earthy and beautiful collection of four stories that celebrate the seasons, nature, and life, from award-winning author-illustrator Phoebe Wahl.

Little Witch Hazel is a tiny witch who lives in the forest, helping creatures big and small. She's a midwife, an intrepid explorer, a hard worker and a kind friend.

In this four-season volume, Little Witch Hazel rescues an orphaned egg, goes sailing on a raft, solves the mystery of a haunted stump and makes house calls to fellow forest dwellers. But when Little Witch Hazel needs help herself, will she get it in time?

Little Witch Hazel is a beautiful ode to nature, friendship, wild things and the seasons that only Phoebe Wahl could create: an instant classic and a book that readers will pore over time and time again.

BEST OF THE YEAR

Kirkus · Parents · Chicago Public Library · Washington Post · Evanston Public Library · Los Angeles Public Library



Charlotte Huck Recommended Book



Common Sense Media Selection



It's Dat's first day of school in a new country! Dat and his Mah made a long journey to get here, and Dat doesn't know the language. To Dat, everything everybody says -- from the school bus driver to his new classmates -- sounds like gibberish. How is Dat going to make new friends if they can't understand each other?



Luckily there's a friendly girl in Dat's class who knows that there are other ways to communicate, besides just talking. Could she help make sense of the gibberish?





P R A I S E



"A superb picture book."

--The Wall Street Journal



"Masterly. A tender reflection."

--The New York Times



★ "The execution is stellar. A visually and emotionally immersive immigration story."

--Kirkus (starred)



★ "Delightful. Beginning readers will love this book as the illustrations say it all."

--School Library Connection (starred)



★ "Will give hope to kids dealing with a new country and could inspire others to reach out to struggling immigrant children."

--Booklist (starred)

Set in an incarceration camp where the United States cruelly detained Japanese Americans during WWII and based on true events, this moving love story finds hope in heartbreak.

To fall in love is already a gift. But to fall in love in a place like Minidoka, a place built to make people feel like they weren’t human—that was miraculous.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast—elderly people, children, babies—now live in prison camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George—the author’s grandparents—along with an afterword and other back matter for readers to learn more about a time in our history that continues to resonate.

Based on a true story about Franz Kafka

Inspired by a true story, Kafka and the Doll recounts a remarkable gesture of kindness from one of the world's most bewildering and iconic writers. In the fall of 1923, Franz Kafka encountered a distraught little girl on a walk in the park. She'd lost her doll and was inconsolable. Kafka told her the doll wasn't lost, but instead, traveling the world and having grand adventures! And to reassure her, Kafka began delivering letters from the doll to the girl for weeks.

The legend of Kafka and the doll has captivated imaginations for decades as it reveals the playful and compassionate side of a man known for his dark and brooding tales. Kafka and the Doll is a testament to living life to the fullest and to the life-changing power of storytelling.

In his author-illustrator debut, Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe–and Africana Book Award–winning illustrator Charly Palmer spins a tall tale about a neighborhood basketball hero.

Have you ever heard of Gravity? No, not gravity, the centrifugal force pulling us to the Earth. I'm talking about Gravity--the greatest ball player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.

Gravity is the new kid on the Hillside Projects basketball team, the Eagles. He once jumped so high that his teammates went out for ice cream before he came back down. With Gravity on their side, the Eagles feel unstoppable. They’re ready to win “The Best of the Best,” Milwaukee’s biggest and baddest pick-up basketball tournament. But when they face-off with the Flyers in the final round, the winningest team in the whole city, they realize that it may take a little more than Gravity to bring them to victory.

Here is a clever, energetic story about the unsung superstars walking among us, complete with vivid art and heartfelt themes of teamwork, loyalty, friendship, and fun.

Hope doesn’t only want to listen to her father’s stories about his voyages at sea, she wants to be part of those stories.

And so, unbeknownst to her parents, she stows away on her father's 19th-century merchant vessel. But look... The wind has picked up and the sky is darkening...

Could there be such a thing as an adventure that is too exciting?

Join high-spirited Hope on a trip of a lifetime in this exquisitely illustrated picture book that also captures the love between a father and child.

Cats + water: What could go wrong? This riotous romp of a picture book follows a frantic family as they try to get some chores done--with no help from the family cat, who keeps scrambling the list of chores to hilarious effect. Get ready for a rollicking read-aloud with a truly purrfect ending.

It's cleaning day, but the family cat will do anything to avoid getting a bath. So instead of mopping the floor or feeding the fish, the family is soon busy rocking the rug, vacuuming the lawn, and sweeping the dishes. Bouncy rhyme carries the story headlong into the growing hilarity, until finally Dad restores some kind of order--but will the cat avoid getting his whiskers wet?

HILARIOUS READ-ALOUD: Word scrambles are a delight in this silly rhyming picture book! Kids will love the accessible rhyming text, and emerging readers will be able to anticipate words after repeated reads, making for an engaging and interactive read-aloud experience.

CATNIP FOR CAT LOVERS: This sweet and sneaky feline will do anything to get out of having a bath! Ample cat antics and scenes of increasing mischief (and increasing chaos!) around the house will tickle young readers and entice parents--particularly those with a furry feline of their own in the house.

TWO DADS LEAD THE WAY: Dad and Papa are the heads of this large and loving biracial family, mirroring illustrator David Roberts' own orientation and providing picture book readers with a positive depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in a fun and funny family story.

WINNING AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR TEAM: Alice McGinty is a prolific author of books for children, and David Roberts is well-known for his work on the New York Times bestselling Questioneers series. Together, their upbeat text and energetic art with pops of neon color make for a standout picture book, just right for gifting and enjoying together at storytime.

Perfect for:

• Parents looking for fun stories with cats and good books about diverse families to share with their kids
• Gifting for children's birthdays, Father's Day for cat dads, or pet adoption congratulations
• Cat lovers who celebrate the bad and the good of daily life with their feline overlords
• Readers who love the poetry and playfulness of Sandra Boynton, Emily Winfield Martin, and Shel Silverstein
• Adding to the family bookshelf alongside funny bath books and cat books like The Cat in the Hat, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath, and The Pigeon Needs a Bath!

A highly visual fractured-fairy-tale retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (and a cat who loves cake) from Caldecott Honor-winner Barbara Lehman. With simple picture bubbles and pictograms, this is perfect for budding graphic novel readers.

Little Red has baked a cake with their father, and is on the way to Grandma's house to make a delivery. But someone has been trailing them ever since they left home . . . someone who really loves cake.

This playful retelling of a beloved classic is a visual delight, with references to other fairy tales hidden throughout Lehman's inviting illustrations. Master of the wordless picture book, Lehman tells a rich story using only pictures, perfect for teaching visual literacy and for budding graphic novel enthusiasts.

A young girl in the Philippines uses music to connect with her grandmother as her memory fades in this warm and moving picture book perfect for fans of Pixar’s Coco.

There is always singing in Lola’s house. Sammy Davis Jr. in the morning, Dean Martin in the afternoon, and all throughout the evening, old Tagalog love songs from Nora Aunor, Basil Valdez, and more. Lola always says: “If you want to hold on, you gotta sing your songs.”

Her granddaughter tucks these sounds and Lola’s wisdom deep within her heart. And when Lola starts slipping into silence and stillness, she helps Lola hold on, piece by piece, with the joy and music that Lola taught her.

In a beautifully detailed wordless picture book, a tumbledown building becomes home sweet home for a found family.

A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. But taking over the quarters above their store will mean major renovations for the new occupants, and none of the potential renters can envision the possibilities of the space--until one special couple shows up. With their ingenuity, the little girl's big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways. In this bustling wordless picture book, JonArno Lawson's touching story and Qin Leng's gentle illustrations capture all angles of the building's transformation, as well as the evolving perspectives of the girl and her grandparent. A warm and subtly nuanced tale, Over the Shop throws open the doors to what it means to accept people for who they are and to fill your home with love and joy.

A hilarious picture book from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jory John, paired with new illustrator Erin Kraan, about a bear whose friends help him make it through a bad day!

Jeff the bear has definitely forgotten something. He ate his breakfast, he watered his plant, he combed his fur...what could it be? Why does he feel so oddly off? So he asks his friend Anders the rabbit what could possibly be wrong. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that he's wearing underwear...over his fur...could it?

Something's Wrong! is another read-out-loud, laugh-out-loud picture book from bestselling and beloved author Jory John, about that horrible nagging feeling that it just might not be your day—but you know you have a friend to support you no matter what.

A captivating and utterly unique picture book with interactive, transparent pages about a girl who lives in a haunted house from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? Step inside and help the girl as she searches under the stairs, behind the sofa, and in the attic for the ghost.

From New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers comes a delightful picture book that breaks the fourth wall about young girl's determination to find the ghost haunting her house. Includes tracing paper pages that make the silly ghosts appear on each page. Perfect for Halloween!

Praise for There's a Ghost in This House:

"A conceptually comic treat." --Publishers Weekly

What if the Cowardly Lion took a leap of faith? A story of courage, determination, and a dash of friendship.

Courage is something that comes from your heart. But if you can't find it there, you can wear it on your head at first.

Mae is a girl.

Bear is a bear.

But over the course of one life-changing, slightly nerve-racking train ride, they find out that this might be the only thing they don't have in common.

Kate Hoefler's signature lyricism and Jessixa Bagley's sweetly wry art combine for a gently whimsical, people (and bear) pleaser of a story about the fear of being different, the ways we overcome this fear, and the fact that often what's different is a lot more familiar than we might think. With courage, determination, and a dash of friendship, Mae and Bear discover all the humor, warmth, and beauty found in togetherness and in the unknown.

IMPORTANT THEMES: This sweet, moving story about new experiences is just right for kids facing the first day of school or a big move, but it's also more broadly about the importance of courage, trying things that scare you, making new friends, the beauty and importance of diversity, and dealing with the feeling of being an outsider.

TEACHES KINDNESS AND EMPATHY: This book emphasizes the importance of kindness, courage, empathy, and friendship. It's a perfect classroom or library read-aloud, as kids will be excited to share their own experiences of trying new things and discussing things that scare them.

BE BRAVE: It's all too common for kids to feel like outsiders at school, at camp, or anywhere else. This book shows it's okay to be different--and that trying new things is worth it, even when they seem scary or unfamiliar.

SWEET ILLUSTRATIONS: Fall in love with these adorable characters, portrayed with humor and sweetness by illustrator Jessixa Bagley!

Perfect for:

- Parents and caregivers
- Teachers and librarians
- Anyone looking for an empathy read
- Kids moving to new schools or houses
- Parents encouraging kids to be brave in the face of new experiences
- Fans of unlikely friendship stories

Perfect for fans of Grumpy Monkey and The Bad Seed, this dynamic and hilarious picture book from an exciting new talent shows how feeling hangry can turn even the sweetest kid into a snarling, growling Wolfboy!

Wolfboy is hungry!

He's drooly and growly and fussy!

As he stomps through the forest looking for rabbits, he grows hungrier and growlier by the minute. What will happen if Wolfboy can't find those rabbits? And what will happen if he does?

With bold illustrations and energetic storytelling, Wolfboy perfectly captures the big feelings that come with being very hungry! Engaging for young readers and parents, this funny and fresh picture book will be an instant favorite for all families.

Five starred reviews!
Named Best Picture Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and Shelf Awareness
“Marvelous mouse-sized mischief for all ages.” —Booklist (starred review)

From the creator of the acclaimed and beloved Pokko and the Drum comes an emotionally resonant, “richly imagined” (The Horn Book, starred review)? picture book about trust, worry, and loyalty between a father and daughter.

Mina and her father live in a hollowed-out tree stump on the edge of a pond on the edge of a forest. Nothing ever bothers Mina, until one day, her father brings home a suspicious surprise from the woods.

Should Mina trust her father—or listen to her own instincts?

From debut author Antwan Eady and artist Gracey Zhang comes a glowing tale about the young dreaming big. A perfect story to demonstrate how pride in where we come from can bring a shining confidence.

When Nigel looks up at the moon, his future is bright. He imagines himself as...an astronaut, a dancer, a superhero, too!

Among the stars, he twirls. With pride, his chest swells. And his eyes, they glow. Nigel is the most brilliant body in the sky.

But it's Career Week at school, and Nigel can't find the courage to share his dreams. It's easy to whisper them to the moon, but not to his classmates--especially when he already feels out of place.

* A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Kids' Indie Next List Pick * A SLJ Best Book of 2022 *

The New York Times New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books Award (2022)

A lyrical road trip through the Mississippi Delta, exploring the landmarks that shaped one of America's most beloved musical traditions.

One morning Bo Willie finds the doghouse empty and the gate wide open! Farmer Fred says Yellow Dog hit Highway 61 and started running. Aunt Jessie picks up Bo Willie in her pink Cadillac, and together they look for his missing puppy love. Their search leads them from juke joints to tamale stands to streets ringing with the music of B.B. King and Muddy Waters. Where, where did that Yellow Dog go?

Acclaimed creators Alice Faye Duncan and Chris Raschka present a boogie-woogie journey along the Mississippi Blues Trail. With swinging free verse and stunning hand-stitched art, Yellow Dog Blues is a soulful fable about what happens when the blues grabs you and holds on tight.

In a big, big city
on a busy street
at the tipity-top of a tall building
lives a girl.

One night, after a story,
a snuggle,
and one last sip of water,
she was getting sleepy...when out of the corner of her eye...


\\ () //
//(__)\\


SPIDER

The girl was no longer sleepy. Now, she was...AWAKE.

In a brilliant debut, Mags DeRoma gives us an empowered young child who is trying to solve the biggest problem she's ever faced: how to get the spider out of her room without actually having to go near it.

With bold cut-paper art, AWAKE is sure to stay with readers for a long time.

A Caldecott Honor Winner and New York Times Bestseller!



A determined Owl builds strength and confidence in this medieval picture book about the real mettle of a hero: wits, humor, and heart.



Since the day he hatched, Owl dreamed of becoming a real knight. He may not be the biggest or the strongest, but his sharp nocturnal instincts can help protect the castle, especially since many knights have recently gone missing. While holding guard during Knight Night Watch, Owl is faced with the ultimate trial--a frightening intruder. It's a daunting duel by any measure. But what Owl lacks in size, he makes up for in good ideas.



Full of wordplay and optimism, this surprising display of bravery proves that cleverness (and friendship) can rule over brawn.

He's just a cute little unicorn who wants to take over the world.

Special Agent Bubble07 is undercover on planet Earth. His mission: to decide whether his team of alien unicorns should invade Earth. Posing as a stuffed animal, he infiltrates the home of Earthling Daughter, where he puts up with dog slobber, tea parties, and show and tell. Will the unicorn blow his cover and call for backup? Or will his alien heart be won over by storytime, snow days, and snuggles?