Animals of the Chinese zodiac -an Illustrated Guide to the 12 Animal Signs

 

Animals of the Chinese zodiac -an Illustrated Guide to the 12 Animal Signs

by Teresa Robeson

Illustrated by Ping Zhu

Published October, 2026

Hardcover

67 Pages

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary from Publisher

The ultimate guide to the Chinese Zodiac, featuring fun facts, frame-worthy illustrations, and a choose your own adventure-style quiz to find your perfect zodiac match!
Are you a patient Ox, a brave Tiger, or a friendly Pig? It’s time to meet your match!
This joyful celebration of cultural traditions offers a funny, interactive, and beautifully illustrated introduction to the Chinese Zodiac for curious kids ages 6-9. Readers will meet the twelve animals of the Zodiac – from the powerful Dragon to the energetic Horse – each with its own personality traits and traditions. But, there’s a twist! While Zodiac animals are determined by birth year, readers can also take the book’s playful flowchart quiz to discover which animal truly matches their personality, reminding them that, ultimately, no label can define them.
Spanning nearly 70 pages, Animals of the Chinese Zodiac is packed with fascinating facts and vibrant storytelling. A fold-out retelling of The Great Race legend reveals how the twelve animals earned their place in the Zodiac, while lively profiles introduce each animal’s strengths, lucky numbers, best friendships, possible future careers, and more. Ping Zhu’s lavish hand-painted illustrations are bold, colorful, and expressive, and the book’s eye-catching foiled cover makes it a perfect gift to be treasured for years to come.
Whether welcoming Lunar New Year or learning about the Chinese Zodiac for the first time, this essential, authentic, and unique book brings an ancient tradition to life for a new generation.

My Thoughts

My students enjoy learning about their animal sign and characteristics associated with their birth year. This book takes things a bit further and allows readers to use a provided flowchart to find the symbol that best represents them based on their answers to questions about preferences and personality traits. I can just picture a group of students bent over this book, to find and discuss their animal signs. A sidebar provides lucky numbers, colors, and flowers. 

Each sign has a section dedicated to it, which includes birth years, signs that would make good friends, the legend behind the sign, food preferences, and dream jobs.

Ping Zhu's illustrations are colorful, detailed, and engaging, and help bring the different zodiac signs to life. The artwork adds a sense of personality and character to each animal. 

I can't wait to share this book with my students! 

Christmas!: An Interactive Holiday Book by Lesley Barnes

 

Christmas!: An Interactive Holiday Book

by Lesley Barnes

Published September, 2026

Phaidon Press

Hardcover 

12 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary from Publisher

Welcome the holiday season with this festive, interactive board book featuring an advent calendar full of surprises, a 3D gingerbread house, punch-out presents to wrap, and more!

Invite young children to help prepare for the holidays with this hands-on celebration of Christmas traditions. Bright, charming, and cleverly designed, Christmas! features sturdy paper-engineered parts that allow kids to pull, fold, lift, and flip their way through a series of festive activities.

The book’s interactive elements replicate some of the season’s most beloved customs, from decorating cookies, wrapping gifts, and trimming the tree to constructing a 3D gingerbread house and counting down to Christmas with a full advent calendar. Featuring gorgeous artwork by illustrator Lesley Barnes, Christmas! makes for an extra-special gift under the tree and a treasured keepsake for years to come.

My Thoughts

This colorful pop-up book will enthrall readers. It starts with an advent-like spread with surprises behind each number that have been hidden by elves. 

Subsequent 2-page layouts focus on:

Making gingerbread cookies and a gingerbread house

Spreading kindness through gifts and letters

Decorating

Exploring this book is sure to get little ones excited about Christmas!

Image from Amazon.com

The Moon by Sandra Laboucarie and Didier Balicevic

 

The Moon 

by Sandra Laboucarie

Illustrated by Didier Balicevic

Published September, 2026

Hardcover

Nonfiction Picture book

14 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary From Publisher

Uncover the secrets of the moon!
Young readers can learn all about the moon in this information-packed and interactive book. With multiple flaps on every page, as well as quizzes and seek-and-find activities, this highly engaging book asks and answers questions about the moon’s orbit around earth, space travel, moon landings, exploration of the moon’s surface, and much more!
Key Features:
•Flaps and activities combine with facts for interactive learning
•Great introduction to moon and space for young children aged 4 to 6
•Information is vetted by experts
•Perfect family read-aloud
Ideal for fans of The Ultimate Book of Space!

My Thoughts

Did you know that the Moon rotates on its own axis at the same speed as Earth? That means that we only ever see one side of it. 

This book is chock-full of interesting facts about the Moon. The information is presented in bite-sized pieces through various formats such as question-and-answer, quizzes, diagrams, captions, definitions, and text boxes. The content is engaging enough, but the book also includes over 40 movable elements that kids will absolutely love. There is even a lift-the-flap quiz at the end that allows the reader to test their knowledge of what they learned.

Grab this book for your school or classroom library or the space fan in your life. 

Small Monster, Big Monster: A Seriously Silly Book of Opposites

 

Small Monster, Big Monster: A Seriously Silly Book of Opposites
by Allan Sanders
Published August, 2026
Phaidon Publishing
Fiction
Concept Book
Board Book
20 Pages
Review copy provided by publisher

Summary from Publisher

Welcome to a wildly entertaining monster world, where everyday situations turn into hilarious lessons in opposites

Monster gets ON the bus. Passengers get OFF! Refrigerator is EMPTY. Monster is FULL!

From a big monster who wants to play with small humans, to a monster who sleeps all day and plays all night, these silly and surprising creatures make learning opposites outrageously fun!

Filled with laugh-out-loud scenarios, Small Monster, Big Monster supports early learners in building vocabulary and understanding opposites in the world around them. Simple text, irresistible characters, and clever twists invite children to make intuitive connections between words and ideas while giggling at every turn. Vibrant, eye-catching illustrations, printed in neon inks, bring the concept of opposites to life, packing each page with new visual details to notice.

Fresh, funny, and full of character, Small Monster, Big Monster is an exuberant introduction to opposites for curious little learners.

My Thoughts

This is not your typical concept book. Small Monster, Big Monster teaches opposites through engaging and hilarious monster situations. The monsters are adorable, and the bright color scheme will appeal to the youngest readers. This sturdy board book is sure to be requested and enjoyed over and over again. 

The Ultimate Book of Mythical Creatures

The Ultimate Book of Mythical Creatures

by Aurore Meyer

Illustrated by Gabrielle Berger

Published Sept, 2026

Twirl Books

18 Pages

Hardcover 

Review copy provided by publisher 

Summary From Publisher

Discover the world of monsters, dragons, giants, and mermaids!With more than 50 flaps, tabs, pop-ups, and rotating wheels, creatures from mythology and folklore come to life in this oversized, interactive book. Young readers will learn about creatures such as the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, Pegasus, mermaids, the phoenix, and many more!
Perfect for curious minds aged 5 and up, this book offers a hands-on introduction to mythical and legendary creatures from around the world.
Key Features:
•Supersized spreads with rich, detailed illustrations
•Over 50 interactive features to keep kids engaged
•Diverse content draws from mythology and folklore from around the world
•Perfect introduction for young children to mythology and folklore
•Captivating family read-aloud
Ideal for fans of the bestselling Ultimate Book™ series, including The Ultimate Book of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures, The Ultimate Book of Animals, and more!

My Thoughts

I vividly remember marveling at pop-up books as a child. There is something so special about lifting flaps, pulling tabs, and 3-D pop-ups. This book is the best of two worlds... mythical creatures and pop-ups! My first thought was that my students are going to LOVE this book. The information is provided in short paragraphs next to images of the creature. Presenting information in this format helps students to feel less overwhelmed when reading nonfiction. 

Each 2-page spread covers different types of creatures, including:

Enchanting & Msterious

Monsters of the Deep

Frightful and Fearsome

Winged Beings

Forest Creatures

Extraordinary Dragons

Gigantic Beasts

Powerful Protectors

Curious Chimeras

To enhance the experience, each page has several movable aspects such as pop-ups, flaps, and pull-tabs.

I will be adding it to my collection. It would make a fantastic gift for the mythical creature lover in your life. 

Dot Week in the Library!

 September 15th is International Dot Day which reminds us to celebrate being creative and brave enough to "make our mark". 

We celebrated throughout the week last week in our K-5 library classes. 

After reading the book with the accompanying Novel Effect soundscape, students chose from a wide variety of creative dot-related activities. 

Kindergarten students went on a dot walk throughout the school. They looked for circles as they walked through the hallways. 

They also turned circles into objects or designs. 

3-5 students created with dot markers. 

These were easy to use, but if you choose to use them, remind students that they are screw tops and not to push too forcefully or they will splatter. This is the brand I have. 

Other choices included making bookmarks...

Making art framed in "swirly gold"...

And building items with circles. 

What Dot Day activities do your students enjoy? 

Brontosaurus Is Back!: A Dinosaur's Name and Return to Fame by Sarah Albee & Chris Hsu

 

Brontosaurus Is Back!: A Dinosaur's Name and Return to Fame

by Sarah Albee

Illustrated by Chris Hsu

Expected Publication Sept. 26, 2026

Charlesbridge Publishing

Nonfiction Picturebook

Hardcover 40 pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary (Goodreads)
A hilarious and fascinating look at Brontosaurus’s comeback—perfect for dino fans and curious kids learning how science evolves over time.

A fun, fact-filled nonfiction picture book for ages 6 to 9 about a dinosaur’s disappearing act and return.

This is fun, lively, kid-appeal-filled nonfiction and tells the story of brontosaurus—discovered, discontinued, and then reinstated again.

Dino fans, come and get it! There's so much to learn in this interesting book about naming, sloppy science, dueling paleontologists, and more! Sarah Albee's signature humor and strong writing, coupled with Chris Hsu's kid-friendly and accurate art, bring history to life on the page.


My Thoughts

Am I interested in Dinosaurs? Not really. Did I learn a lot and enjoy this book? Absolutely! I can't really recognize many dinosaurs, but the Brontosaurus is one that I know. This book covers the rivalry between dueling paleontologists, Othniel C. Marsh and Edward D. Cope. Each wanted to find the most dinosaur bone fossils and name the most dinosaurs. Their drive to be the first to locate and name new dinosaurs led them to work quickly and not necessarily as carefully or as thoroughly as they should have. This led to some confusion when the dinosaurs named the Brontosaurus and the Apatosaurus were seemingly the same dinosaur. It wasn't until fairly recently, after more scientific evidence was found and studied, that scientists concluded that the dinosaurs are indeed 2 different dinosaurs.

Albee always does her research, and this book is no different. The information is presented in text and sidebars containing more specific information. Then there are the cute little birds that talk in speech bubbles, adding a bit of levity and fun.

The back matter contains a timeline of the discovery and study of the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus. There is also a nice table comparing what scientists used to think and how their thinking has shifted because of additional data. A section tells the reader how scientists know what they know and what questions still remain. This shows readers that science is an ever-evolving field with new information constantly being discovered.

Chris Hsu's illustrations help readers process the information. The cartoonish illustrations show what scientists believe to be the color and size of the dinosaurs. The images of Marsh and Cope are funny and a bit silly, which kids will like. 

My students LOVE dinosaurs, and I am excited to be able to share this new book with them.
October 14 is National Fossil Day

Learn More About the Book Creators
Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of nonfiction books for kids. Her most recent titles are both nonfiction picture books: The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington, and Zero! The Number that Almost Wasn't. Other popular titles include Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done; Fairy Tale Science; Accidental Archaeologists: True Stories of Unexpected Discoveries; and Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up; and Alexander Hamilton: A Plan for America. She and her husband live in New York City and have three grown children. Visit her at www.sarahalbeebooks.com


Chris Hsu is a picture book illustrator and animation background artist whose credits include FX’s Archer and Marvel’s Hit-Monkey. His illustration work is influenced by world history, art history and music, and current favorite non-art activity is watching his daughters and nieces play soccer on Saturdays.