Chip by Federico Gastaldi; illus. by the authorPreschool, Primary Ottaviano/Little, Brown 40 pp.10/23 9780316381840 $18.99Gastaldi begins this gentle story about death on the front endpapers, which feature a collection of “photographs” of a little boy and his constant companion, a pet fish (in a fishbowl). The title page shows two...
A Spider Named Itsy by Steve Light; illus. by the authorPreschool, Primary Candlewick 32 pp.9/23 9781536225297 $18.99This riff on the classic children’s song begins with a prequel, as “Itsy Bitsy sits at home, / drinking tea, / all alone” in a web constructed on the spout and handle of a...
Animals in Pants by Suzy Levinson; illus. by Kristen Howdeshell and Kevin Howdeshell Primary Cameron/Abrams 32 pp. 4/23 9781951836627 $17.99 e-book ed. 9781647009502 $15.54 A red-haired child introduces the picture book’s topic forcefully with a large word balloon before the title page: “What? YOU’VE NEVER SEEN ANIMALS IN PANTS?!?” Twenty-three...
9 Kilometers by Claudio Aguilera; illus. by Gabriela Lyon; trans. from Spanish by Lawrence SchimelPrimary Eerdmans 56 pp.2/23 9780802856005 $18.99Originally published in Chile, this picture book begins with a quick chart comparing meters to miles (nine kilometers equals 5.59 miles), then the main text begins. A child wearing boots, jeans,...
Rain by Cynthia Rylant; illus. by Lisa CongdonPreschool Beach Lane/Simon 48 pp.4/23 9781442465091 $18.99e-book ed. 9781442465107 $10.99Beginning on endpapers featuring a garden lush with brightly colored flowers in brown soil, this picture book celebrates the benefits of rain. We see the garden again as part of the first spread, which...
A Bed of Stars by Jessica Love; illus. by the authorPrimary Candlewick 40 pp.4/23 9781536212396 $18.99A redheaded child looks a little skeptical when Dad announces over breakfast that the two of them are going camping in the desert “to shake hands with the universe.” After saying goodbye to Mom and...
Nubby by Dan Richards; illus. by Shanda McCloskeyPreschool, Primary Knopf 40 pp.1/23 9780593381090 $18.99e-book ed. 9780593381113 $10.99“Nubby was done.” Fed up with a life of being “carried, buried, dropped, dragged, torn, worn,” and so on, a dingy blue stuffed bunny is ready for a new beginning. While the text stays...
Come See the Fair by Gavriel SavitIntermediate, Middle School Knopf 336 pp.4/23 9780593378663 $17.99Library ed. 9780593378670 $20.99e-book ed. 9780593378687 $10.99Savit (The Way Back, rev. 9/20) skillfully blends historical fiction, fantasy, and murder mystery in his novel about Eva Root, billed by her traveling con-artist guardian as a medium. In the...
Children of the Stone City by Beverley Naidoo Intermediate, Middle School Quill Tree/HarperCollins 240 pp. g10/22 978-0-06-309696-7 $16.99e-book ed. 978-0-06-309698-1 $11.99 White South African writer and apartheid fighter Naidoo ( Journey to Jo’burg , 1985) sets her novel in the fictional Stone City, where the...