Lolly on the Ice by Sarah S. Brannen

Lolly on the Ice

by Sarah S. Brannen

Published 2025

Random House

40 pages

Hardcover

Fiction Picture Book

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary

Lolly loves to ice skate. She feels confident and happy on the ice when it is only her father watching. When anyone else is around, Lolly freezes, and is too scared to skate. When she gets an opportunity to skate in an ice show, she is unable to move when she is in front of the judges. But she is given a role as a snowman in the show because the snowmen didn't need to move. 

When a key performer is injured during the show, Lolly needs to decide if she will face her fear of performing in front of people and step up and skate in the girl's place. 

My Thoughts

This book could be helpful for children who experience performance anxiety or stage fright. It is not a common subject of many books in kid lit. 

In the beginning, it is clear how much Lolly loves to skate. When she becomes a snowman, her energy is different, and you can tell from her facial expression and body language that she really wants to skate like the main performers. Lolly ultimately overcomes her fear and performs in the show. I do wish there had been more development and conflict when she needs to decide if she will skate in the show, and more of a resolution and clear lesson at the end. 

The illustrations, created in watercolor and ink, have a softness about them. The characters have various skin tones. The book includes a combination of one and two-page spreads. 

Image from Amazon.com

Image from Amazon.com

Alfred Blooms by Carrie Kruck

Alfred Blooms 

by Carrie Kruck

Illustrated by Carmen Mok

Published March 25, 2025

Random House

Hardcover

Fiction

40 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary (from Goodreads)

When Alfred sees Lulu’s magical yard filled with flowers and friends, he’s sure that if he can cultivate a beautiful garden, friends will flock to join him. Alfred tries but nothing grows in his brown patch of dirt. Determined to make one last attempt, Alfred heads to the store to buy fresh flower seeds. As he hurries home, he sneezes—and the seeds fly everywhere! And this time they begin to grow wherever they land—in his pockets, in his hair, even in his ears! A very discouraged Alfred gets stuck in the mud. But the aroma of warm blueberry muffins coming from a nearby bakery reminds him of Lulu’s favorite treat and, tucking the flowers under his hat, he heads there. Alfred shares muffins with Lulu and finds out that he doesn’t need a garden; time spent together is the best way to make a friend.

This charming friendship story is sensitive and delightful with just a touch of whimsy.

This book takes a different spin on the typical "friendship" book. Alfred's flowery condition opens the door to a conversation with Lulu, whom he wants to befriend. He thinks he needs to bring her gifts and needs to have a nice garden, but he really just needs to be himself. 

The illustrations, created with gouache, colored pencil, and graphite pencil have a whimsical feel. The characters have different skin tones and appear to be from different cultural backgrounds. 

See what others have to say about Alfred Blooms:

Kirkus

Cracking the Cover

Lost by Bob Staake

Lost 

by Bob Staake

Published Oct. 1, 2024

Anne Schwartz Books

48 Pages

Hardcover

Fiction

Wordless Picture Book

Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

In this paneled picture book, join a small girl on her hilarious and surprising search for her lost cat--and watch as she helps her neighbors, who have also lost their pets, along the way!Where, oh where is Kitty? She's not upstairs... not in her litter box... not at her food bowl. Hmm...There's only one thing to find this lost cat.As the cat's owner roams town in hopes of finding her pet, she discovers she's not the only one missing their beloved animal. There's also a lost dog...a lost bird...even a lost giraffe! Join the search party in this almost wordless story that celebrates helping our neighbors and gently reminds us that what is lost can always be found.

My Thoughts

I LOVE a wordless picture book and this one does not disappoint. The story is told through panels with flashbacks depicted on full-page circles. There is so much to explore and discuss! 

Why are some characters shown in color and others in black and white? 

Who changes?

How do they change? 

What does the author want us to learn? 

Images from Amazon.com 

You will definitely want to add LOST to your wordless picture book collection!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? Oct. 14, 2024

 

Please visit the Unleashing Readers blog who host IMWAYR! 

Here are a few things I have read recently.

This Rock is Mine!

by

Kaye Umansky

Illustrated by Alice McKinley

Published by Peachtree 2023

Hardcover

Fiction Picture Book

Copy provided by publisher

From Goodreads: Friendship wins the day in this fabulously funny quarrel! Two frogs sit on an ordinary little rock. But . . . uh-oh! Both frogs think it's their rock - and they really don't want to share!

The frogs fight and squabble furiously. But when a hungry heron swoops down, both frogs realise it's time to find another rock . . . together!

Kaye Umansky's brilliantly simple rhyming story shows how two grumpy frogs go from fighting . . . to friendship (with lots of laughter along the way.)

Alice McKinley's hilarious illustrations bring to life every twist and turn of this wonderfully witty little drama.

Written in absolutely perfect rhyme, this story is a joy to read aloud. Every parent and child will identify with these squabbling frogs. An excellent (and very funny) lesson in how to resolve a quarrel! Kaye Umansky is one of the UK's best-loved children's authors. She is a brilliant comic writer, and is the award-winning creator of the bestselling Pongwiffy fiction series. Her superb rhyming picture books have echoes of Dr Seuss.

Alice McKinley's illustrations are full of warmth and humour, and packed with clever details to spot.

I enjoyed this book and think it would make a very fun read aloud with it's rhyming text and relatable situation. It offers opportunities to discuss sharing and friendship. 

Snow Is...

by Laura Gehl

Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez

Expected Publication Oct. 29, 2024

Simon & Schuster

Hardcover

Fiction Picture Book

Poetry

Copy provided by publisher

From Goodreads: From award-winning author Laura Gehl, a sparkling, lyrical picture book about the magic of an early snow.
It’s dawn and there is snow all around. The wonder of winter’s first snowfall brings the magic of changing seasons and sees a family sharing the perfect snow day with coziness and togetherness from dawn to dusk.

This is a beautiful book that combines simple poetry with gorgeous illustrations. I can imagine students writing poetry following the same pattern with various topics. 

Currently Reading

I Want to Read ALL the Books by Debbie Ohi

I Want to Read ALL the Books 

by Debbie Ohi

Expected Publication

Sept. 17, 2024

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Hardcover

48 Pages

Fiction

Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

An insatiably curious girl decides the only way to answer all her questions is to read all the books in this funny and charming picture book in the spirit of The Library Fish and Tom Chapin’s The Library Book.Hana wants to know everything about the world around her. When she starts asking questions, her mother gives her a book. She learns so much, but now she has even more questions! She also has a big she will read all the books—every single one! She reads every book in her house…and then her friends’ houses…and then the whole block. Nonfiction, fiction, romance, mysteries, and science fiction. But when her mother takes her to the downtown library, she realizes there are a lot more books than she thought…way more. Maybe she can’t really read all the books—now what?

My Thoughts

What book lover can't relate to Hana's desire to tread ALL the books? She started with a list of questions and then she read books to find the answers to the questions which, inevitably, led to more questions. I won't spoil the ending, but when she realizes that she won't be able to read ALL the books in the world, she needs to see how she can still read lots of books, but then she realizes she can also share the love of reading. 

I can see lots of lists of questions being created in classrooms after reading this book. I can't wait to read it to students in my library. 

Visit Debbie Ohi's website to learn more about the making of this book. 

Miss MacDonald Has a Farm by Kaylee Gwarjanski and Elizabet Vukovic

 

Miss MacDonald Has a Farm

by Kaylee Gwarjanski Illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic 

Published March 2024

Double Day Books for Young Readers

Fiction

Picture Book

Hardcover 32 Pages

Review copy provided publisher

Goodreads Summary

In this female-forward spin on the traditional children's song "Old MacDonald", readers can join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce.
"Miss MacDonald has a farm,
She loves things that grow!"
E-I-E-I-GROW! With a "weed-weed" here and a "pick-pick" there, young readers can follow Miss MacDonald as she tends to her vegetable farm. It's a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud that ends in a community feast and celebrates themes of healthy eating, plant-based meals, local produce, gardening, seasons, and female farmers.

My Thoughts

Miss MacDonald takes her garden from planting to tending, harvesting, preparing, and cooking her produce. Readers will be exposed to the vocabulary of gardening in this rhythmic, rhyming text. While you can read it to the tune of "Old MacDonald", this text is not as predictable and offers more information as Miss MacDonald tends to different types of vegetables. 

The illustrations are bright and colorful and show the planting configuration and growth patterns of each unique veggie. 

This adorable book just might have kids eating (and planting) their veggies!

See What Others Have to Say

Kirkus

KALEE GWARJANSKI is a homeschooling mom to four book-loving children living in the woods of Maine. She holds a BS in mechanical engineering and an MS in teaching from the University of Maine. Between degrees, she followed her passion of food by attending Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Ottawa, Ontario and worked as a personal chef before turning to picture book writing full time. Miss MacDonald Has a Farm is her debut picture book. Learn more about Kalee at kaleegwarjanski.com and follow her on Twitter at @KaleeGwar.

ELIZABET VUKOVIĆ is an illustrator from Rotterdam, the Netherlands with a degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She is the illustrator of a number of picture books, including An Ordinary Day (Beach Lane/S&S, 2020), which received two starred reviews. See more of her work online at elizabetvukovic.com and follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @elizabetvukovic.

Sourgrass by Hope Lim & Shahrzad Maydani

Sourgrass 

by Hope Lim & Shahrzad Maydani

Expected Publication March 26, 2024

Beach Lane Books

Fiction

Picture Book

Hardcover

40 Pages

Review Copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

What do you do when your best friend moves away? This hopeful and resonant book filled with soft, vibrant illustrations tells the story of two friends who find a way to keep their special friendship alive, no matter the distance.

Every day, Sofia and May meet at the door of their shared fence. Sofia can always count on May to show up and May can always count on Sofia to wait for her. One spring day, Sofia and May discover a field of wild sourgrass flowers beyond their yards. The field becomes their favorite place, and the two friends grow closer than ever. But when May moves away, Sofia starts to Will their friendship last?

As the girls navigate a long-distance friendship, Sofia realizes that some friends are forever, even when they’re apart.

My Thoughts

What a sweet, gorgeous book! 

May and Sofia's friendship is like the Sourgrass, consistent. They can count on each other like they can count on the sourgrass showing up each spring. When their friendship is tested by distance, readers will need to read on see if they can remain friends (I won't spoil the ending here).  

This scenario is very familiar and relatable to children. They will enjoy reading how the long-distance friendship fares after the letters slowly stop coming. 

The story is told beautifully with rich word choices and figurative language. The illustrations are lovely with soft, colorful images. 

Image from Amazon.com

Pair Sourgrass with Evelyn Del Ray is Moving Away by Meg Medina. 

This Little Kitty in the Garden by Karen Obuhanych

This Little Kitty in the Garden 

by Karen Obuhanych

Published January, 2024

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Fiction

Picture Book

32 Pages

Hardcover

Review Copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

Spring is blooming, and what better way for rascally kittens to celebrate than by causing mischief in the garden in this charming picture book!
Spring has sprung on Sakura Way.
The five little kittles will garden today!

My Thoughts

This is a very cute book. Readers will learn about the steps of planting a garden in the spring through the experience of the cats. The rhyming text adds to the book's appeal and readers are exposed to terminology like tendril, rascals, and seedling. The cats are all different with various personalities and a fluffy bunny even makes an appearance. The target audience for this book is toddlers through kindergarten in my opinion. It would make a nice addition to your spring, garden or cat books. 

Image from Amazon.com 

A Few Favorite Picture Books I Read in 2023

 I did not read as much as I usually do in 2023, but I still have some favorites to share. These picture books were not all books published in 2023, but they are books I read in 2023. I won't post descriptions, but if you click on the covers, you can read about the books on Goodreads. 

Fiction Picture Books

Nonfiction Picture Books

What are some of your favorites from 2023? 

Creepy Books by Aaron Reynolds in the Library

This past week was "Creepy Week" in the library. I decided to start a bit of a tradition during Halloween week and read all three of Aaron Reynolds' and Peter Brown's books in the "Creepy" series. 

I read Creepy Carrots with 1st grade, Creepy Pair of Underwear with 2nd grade, and Creepy Crayon with grades 3-5. This is the order of publication and I kept them in order, even though they can stand alone, because the last 2 books have an "Easter egg" from the previous books. Jasper Rabbit is an endearing character and the "creepy" characters have a silliness to them that draw students in without scaring them. 

Although some of the students had read the books, or some of them, they still enjoyed the stories. I used the soundscapes from Novel Effect which added just the right amount of effect of music, sounds and brief dialogue without overpowering the story. 

 

We are currently working on tracking fiction stories, story elements, and orally summarizing. These stories lend themselves perfectly to this work as the problems are obvious and Jasper tries several things to get rid of the creepy characters without success until he finally gets rid of them or solves them problem in some way. 

After checkout I like to have choices for the students. This week they could design their own carrots, underwear and a crayon bookmark from templates included in the Novel Effect resources. 

The most popular choice was the STEM challenge to build a trap to capture the creepy characters. The students were provided different building supplies and they were able to design and build their prototypes. I do not have a makerspace, but I do have a small collection of building supplies and consumables and I am trying to be more intentional about using them. 

A successful read aloud, in my opinion, leaves students wanting to read more from the author or stories similar to the read aloud. These books were checked out right away on Friday and I am fairly certain that they will not be on the shelves for a while. It was a fun week for sure. 

Recent Reads-September 9, 2023

Hi everyone!

Here are a couple of books I have enjoyed reading lately. (Images from Goodreads). Click on the covers to learn more about each book. 

When looking for books to share around Indigenous People's Day, I read these two books. I loved them both and plan to get them for my library. 

Add this one to your collection of books on stereotypes and gender norms and expectations. 

I read there Maine Student Book Award books recently. 

I have a student who discovered skateboarding over the summer. 

I can't wait to share this book with him. 

Just Beautiful!

This gorgeous book is accessible to all students.

This was a really good audiobook. 

Bark Ship Bonnie by Stephanie Staub

 Bark Ship Bonnie 

by Stephanie Staub 

Art by Fiona Lee

Published March, 2023

Cameron Kids

Fiction

Hardcover

32 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

A sailing adventure featuring a girl, her dog, and their boat, complete with a “Ship Slang” glossary and diagram of a real bark ship

Bonnie lass, bark sailor on a bark ship cast off, set sail, chase sea tales, befriend whales, scope islands, outwit squalls, and make it home in time to slip back into the slip and sleep, in this delightfully salty tale of a girl, her dog, and a boat.

My Thoughts

I did not know what a bark ship was prior to reading this book. Thankfully there is a diagram of a bark ship as well as a glossary of "ship slang" at the end of the book. 

The lyrical text is full of these slang and many more rich vocabulary terms that can be explored with children. 

The illustrations are simple and colorful, each page with a nautical feel. This book could make a nice addition to an ocean or boating unit. 

Image from Amazon.

Evergreen by Matthew Cordell

Evergreen 

by Matthew Cordell

Published Feb. 2023

Feiwel Friends 

Hardcover

Picture Book

Fiction

48 pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary

A picture book by Caldecott medal winner Matt Cordell about a timid squirrel who makes a brave journey to help a relative who is ill.

Evergreen the squirrel is afraid of many things: thunder, hawks, and the dark paths of Buckthorn Forest. But when her mother tasks Evergreen with delivering soup to her sick Granny Oak, the little squirrel must face her fears and make the journey.

Along the way, Evergreen is met by other forest dwellers – some want to help her, but some want her mother’s delicious soup! It’s up to Evergreen to stay the course, and those who help her will surprise and delight young readers.

Using an art style reminiscent of the work of William Steig and Arnold Lobel, Matthew Cordell creates a classic tale of bravery and love.

My Thoughts

I would describe Evergreen as a new book with a classic feel. Evergreen is a sweet character that students will fall in love with. They will also relate to her fears and her bravery in doing hard things. 

Readers will get treated to an adventure story that is longer than most picture books (48 pages). But the length feels appropriate for all  Evergreen needs to do. Divided into 6 sections, this story could be read in one longer sitting or over multiple days. It will appeal most to students in K-3. 

Evergreen offers opportunities to have rich discussions about fear and bravery. Readers can also explore character feelings, traits and character changes over time, and the various roles of minor supporting characters. 

I love Matthew Cordell's unique illustration style. It is on full display in this new book. He has chosen muted earth tones which is what I think gives it a classic feel reminiscent of Frog and Toad. 

Image obtained from https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250317179/evergreen 

I will be happy to add this new adventure story to my school library.