Grace's aunt Lily is an author and Grace loves visiting her after school. When Lily gets writer's block, she posts an ad for an assistant. Soon a magician arrives at her door with Rex. Rex is a Labrador Retriever with secret talents. He can write messages with the help of Lily's computer and always seems to know just what everyone needs. Not only does he help Lily get over her writer's block, but he helps Grace discover that she's an author too. What can't wondrous Rex do?

This is a cute story with just a touch of magic perfect for young dog-lovers. The ample pictures and short sentences and chapters make it just right for kids starting to read chapter books.

Wondrous Rex by Patricia MacLachlan

Erica's Picks
k - 3
​tags: animals, character driven

Badger lives in a house owned by his aunt where he can focus on his Important Rock Work. He hates any distractions and never goes out to meet new people. Which is why he's shocked and upset when his aunt sends Skunk to live with him. Skunk makes friends with all the local chickens and invites them inside. Skunk makes breakfast and leaves a mess in the kitchen. Skunk interrupts his Important Rock Work. Clearly Skunk must go. But how can he makes Skunk leave? And what will he do once Skunk is gone?

This is a classic odd couple story that hits all the right notes. Badger is the perfect grump even though his desire to work uninterrupted is relatable, if extreme. Skunk brings all the right elements of chaos to shake up his life and ultimately improve it. Skunk's loyalty is admirable and the prejudice Skunk faces because of the occasional smell feels completely unjust. Short chapters with lots of laughs interspersed with beautiful illustrations make this a perfect choice for young chapter book readers or reading aloud.

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, Jon Klassen (Illustrations)

Erica's Picks
k - 3
tags: animals, friendship, humor

When Allie's crayon breaks, she is furious, fuming, frustrated, and so, so, sooo, angry! But with a little help from her brother, she is slowly able to calm down until she's his loving sister again.

This is a short book, but it is full of SEL wisdom. I like how well the boy deals with his sister's tantrum and also that it takes multiple techniques to calm her down. Each tool makes her a little bit calmer, which the book shows visually by having her shed a layer of her suit. The tools vary from squeezing a toy to a mindful breathing exercise. This is a great book for children--especially those with toddler siblings!

Erica's Picks
Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul

Tags:

Hallelujah,Miss Eula is back! One of my favorite characters in Polacco's many wonderful books, this African-American grandmother takes the young Patricia under her wing when the author moves to California as a young girl. Before Trisha's own grandmother passes away through the "holes in the sky," she tells her granddaughter that she will send a sign that she is watching from the other side. 
The family moves to a diverse neighborhood in Oakland  where Trisha is befriended by Miss Eula's grandson Stewart. They join forces with the entire neighborhood to save a hurting neighbor and her dying garden. And Trisha finds her sign.
A heartwarming celebration of community, diversity and family.



​Tessa's Picks, K-3rd Grade, Family life, People of color, Picture books

Featuring a diverse cast of characters, this book sends the message that life is not color coded.  Just as boys and girls can enjoy race cars, unicorns, dress-up and baseball, they can like all colors as well. Every color is for every one! So express yourself in a rainbow of colors!

Felix loves to wear skirts; they feel fun and airy. He and his mom go to the store and buy him a new red one for the first day of school. Dad is a little worried about this decision and indeed Felix is teased when he arrives in a skirt.  After  discussing how unfair it is that girls can wear both pants and skirts but boys can only wear pants, he and his dad make a trip to the store. Both dad and son go to school dressed in twirly skirts and respond to the other boys' questions with "Today anybody can wear a skirt. Did nobody tell you?"
From then on no one asked Felix if he was a boy or a girl; they simply called him Felix.
The mom and dad in this empathetic book are so sweet and supportive. And the dad really rocks that green skirt.


​Tessa's Picks, K-2nd grade, Family life, Issues Fiction Picture books..

"Mom, I can't sleep!"
"Why not?"
"I don't know...I'm nervous and I can't stop thinking, thinking, thinking..."
"Do you want me to teach you how to breathe?"
"Breathe? But I already know how to breathe!"

This familiar scene of a child having difficulty falling asleep leads to fantastic and imaginative techniques to foster calm and mindfulness. From a boat on your belly to yoga poses these beautifully illustrated and gently described tools are sure to help restless people of any age. Further notes about the techniques are included in the back. This book could be read in a sitting or picked up and put down as needed when you want to try a new tool. The mixed media illustrations perfectly capture abstract concepts to help children with visualizations. A great resource for parents and educators!

Erica's Picks
k - 3
​Tags: Nonfiction, Picture Books

When Taylor's blocks are knocked over, everyone has advice about what they* should do. Chicken thinks Taylor should talk about it. Bear thinks they should get angry and shout. Snake thinks they should knock over someone else's blocks. But only bunny sits next to Taylor in silence and listens when they feel ready to talk. Eventually Taylor feels better and they make plans for a new, even bigger, structure. 

This sweet story has a lot of emotional wisdom. Taylor rejects everyone who tells them how they should feel. Only rabbit is willing to sit quietly and listen to Taylor actually process their feelings. This book is a great way to start a conversation with a child about how to work through big emotions. It's also great for teaching children how they can be good friends to others. I love that Taylor's gender is ambiguous and never explicitly stated. The illustrations make great use of white space to show Taylor's feelings of isolation. The use of a purple background at the beginning and end show that Taylor has recaptured their excitement about building with blocks. 

*I use they/them pronouns for Taylor in this review rather than assigning a gender to the character. 

Erica's Picks
K-2

A young boy is less than excited to spend time with his grandpa. They don't eat the same food. They don't watch the same shows. They don't even speak the same language! The boy soon grows bored and takes out some paper and markers to entertain himself. When his grandpa sees, he excitedly takes out his ink pot and brush. They have finally found a common language! Together, they go on an adventure combining their styles. 

The way Santat combines the grandson and grandfather's styles is simply breath-taking. The format goes from comic panels at the beginning to show time passing to full-color spreads in a more traditional picture book layout. I love the way the characters choose to draw themselves and that they exchange their preferred drawing implement at the end. The end papers bring it all together with the front displaying the grandson's style and the back the grandfather's. A sweet, inter-generational tale.

Erica's Picks
k-2
​Picture Books, Art

This seemingly simple book shows that if we each do our part using bravery, kindness, and friendship we can make the world a better place. A perfect message for the very young.
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“When the news reports are flooded with tales of hatred and fear, a girl asks her papa what she can do to make the world a better place. “Come with me,” he says. Hand-in-hand, they walk to the subway, tipping their hats to those they meet. The next day, the girl asks her mama what she can do—her mama says, “Come with me,” and together they set out for the grocery, because one person doesn’t represent an entire race or the people of a land. After dinner that night, the little girl asks if she can do something of her own—walk the dog . . . and her parents let her go. “Come with me,” the girl tells the boy across the hall. Walking together, one step at a time, the girl and the boy begin to see that as small and insignificant as their part may seem, it matters to the world.”

​This colorful and practical guide leads kids through a variety of exercises in mindfulness. The bright illustrations and simple language make it an engaging way to teach mindfulness to even the youngest kids. The exercises are broken down into five sections: Be Calm, Focus, Imagine, Make Some Energy, and Relax. Each exercise gets a fully illustrated two page spread with large text in appealing fonts explaining what to do in kid-friendly language. I love the squirrels with their kindness exercise and the wolf that leads the get your grumpies out exercise, but it's afternoon as I write this, so I am most drawn to the energizers. This example from that section certainly looks appealing to me. Just look at that lion!

Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey, illustrated by Anni Betts

Erica's Picks
k-4
Tags: Nonfiction