Best Reads of T1 2023-2024

Here are my favorite books that I read during first trimester. All images and summaries from Goodreads.

Picture Books

Poet Bob Raczka’s You are a Story highlights all of the nuance and potential of a growing person’s identity, delighting in the things that make us special and connect us to others. Text and illustrations replete with inventive imagery and appealing metaphors show how we all live as individuals and citizens of the world. A child, an animal, a body of water, a friend, a mystery, one-of-a-kind ... You are and could be so many things, but whatever you choose to do, it’s your life to write. (Using for Mock Caldecott)

When Jackson’s soccer ball accidentally lands in his neighbor’s rose bush, he thinks he’s ruined Mr. Graham’s roses forever. So he quickly writes a letter to Mr. Graham that blossoms into a marvelous friendship. Jackson writes letters, highlighting the everyday moments to make them feel larger than life, and Mr. G keeps writing back until the very end of his life, encouraging Jackson to live each day to the fullest.  

This is part counting book, part introduction to worms, but all superbly silly. The fact that the author/illustrator can only draw worms will not take anything away from the laugh-out-loud adventure readers will have as they turn the pages of this slightly subversive picture book.

In the night garden, nothing is as it seems and everything is made new. Blinking stars and pale moonlight might reveal a lone cat tiptoeing across a roof, luminous flowers unfurling in the cool air, a mama fox escorting her sleepy cubs home. Listen closely and you might hear the wind blowing through the trees, the murmur of a slow stream, or the gentle song of crickets and bullfrogs, lulling you to sleep. (Using for Mock Caldecott)

A sun. A flower. And a lion. With three visual motifs, three colors, and fewer than 200 words, renowned Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times-bestseller Kevin Henkes cracks open the wide world and the youngest child’s endless imagination. 

Sun Flower Lion introduces emerging readers to short chapters, action verbs, and adjectives, while bright illustrations transform simple shapes into something magical. 

A brave little artist goes on an epic adventure to share her creativity with the world.

Middle Grade Fiction

"What are people for?" That’s the burning question on the mind of Leeva Spayce Thornblossom.

"Fame!" says Leeva’s mom, the mayor of Nutsmore. "Money!" says her dad, the town treasurer.

With the help of an orphaned badger, a risk-averse boy in a hazmat suit, and the town's librarians, Leeva sets off to discover her own answer—setting off a chain of events that will change Nutsmore forever.

In this comedic poetry collection, Chris Harris delivers dazzling new heights of creativity, kooky conundrums, witty wordsmithing, and of course, wacky laugh-out-loud fun! There's a whole new cast of characters to meet, from the Nail-Clipping Fairy (who delivers teeth at night), to Orloc the Destroyer (who can be defeated only by his mommy), to the Elderly Caveman (who complains about the younger generation obsessed with playing with fire). There are more mind-bending verbal and visual riddles, plus there's plenty of hilarious hijinks hiding around every corner, whether it's a buffalo that escapes one poem and roams through others or a meteor threatening to land on the book and obliterate everything. There's even a mini book-within-a-book! 

Ebony and De’Kari (aka Flow) do not get along. How could they when their cafeteria scuffle ended with De'Kari's ruined shoes, Ebony on the ground, and both of them with ten days of at-home suspension? Now Eb and Flow have two weeks to think about and explain their behavior—to their families, to each other, and ultimately to themselves.

[This] novel in verse follows Eb and Flow as they navigate their parallel lives. Single-parent homes, tight funds, and sibling dynamics provide a balancing act for the growing tweens. And whether they realize it or not, these two have a lot more in common than they think.

Miles Lewis loves science and sports. But when his teacher announces a class field trip to an ice skating rink to learn about physics, he isn't so excited. He's never ice skated before, and his friend RJ won't let him forget it. If Miles skates without falling, RJ will put a “Miles is the man” sign on his backpack. But if Miles falls, he has to put one on his that says the same about RJ. Miles can barely focus on the bet, though, because he suspects his beloved Nana has plans to move out of his family's house—and that's just too much to bear. Can he keep his cool with all the pressure from RJ while finding a way to make his grandma stay? (RICBA nominee)

Marya’s eighth birthday is coming up in a week, and all she wants is an over-the-top birthday party just like the ones Alexa, her rich neighbor, always throws. When Alexa parades into school with fancy invitations, Marya can’t help herself—she claims that she’s having the most epic henna party ever. Now she has to convince her family to make it happen. Enter Operation Help the Khans!

Marya’s siblings clearly need help with their projects. Maybe she could cook dinner for her parents, or clean her grandmother’s room? Except everything Marya does seems to end in disaster. Will Marya and her family be able pull it together and throw the best party ever?! (RICBA nominee)

Nonfiction

Move over, Jeopardy, Family Feud, and The Price Is Right—this book will be your new favorite laugh-until-your-stomach-hurts family game! In Butt or Face, weird animals are introduced with a close-up photo. Kids must guess: are they seeing seeing...um...err... the bottom or the top?

Readers will learn about animals like Cuban Dwarf Frogs, whose backsides look like a pair of eyes, and the Mary River Turtle, which not only has a unique face, but even breathes through its butt! (Using for Mock Sibert)

Meet Randolph Caldecott, the artist who revolutionized picture book illustration and for whom the prestigious Caldecott medal is named!

His sketchbook is full of wild weather, frisky animals, and people so sprightly they can barely hold onto the pages. But in the 1850s, there were no children’s books like that. Not yet.

Many books are published, but their pictures look stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery. No one has imagined how much fun an illustrated book could be because the future hero of children’s book illustration is still just a lad. (Using for Mock Sibert)

Hello! I am Brown Bear, and in this book, you'll get to learn about ME--the only bear in the forest!

Hold on a minute. Polar Bear here, and I am the only bear in this book. Though I live in the Arctic, not a forest.

Hey now, Spectacled Bear here, and we are bearly-scratching the surface. There are tons of great bears to learn and laugh with in this fact-filled picture book! (Using for Mock Sibert)

This sweeping nonfiction picture book explores the 200-year lifespan of a bowhead whale and the changing environment that surrounds her.

Our journey begins with the birth of a bowhead whale, the longest-living mammal in the world. Over the course of her life in the Arctic, the bowhead whale witnesses many from an era of peace and solitude to one of oil rigs and cruise liners. (RICBA nominee)