A collection of original poems full of quiet surprises and small moments of pleasure is presented in comic format. Organized around the seasons, many of the short poems explore familiar scenes and subjects (e.g., nature, swimming, back to school, snow), but offer the delight of the unexpected in moments of reflection, fresh observation, and wondering.
Picture Book
The Blue Pickup
Ju-Girl (Black) loves spending time with her granddad, who runs a garage. “I help him fix radiators, switch out batteries, and even change a car’s oil.” Her favorite thing is organizing Granddad’s socket wrench set. When they take a break, they sit on the gate of his old Blue Pickup, where she drinks Ting and listens to Granddad’s stories of when he—and the truck–were both younger, and he drove to jobs around the island.
When Rosie Walks George
“George is old and deaf in one ear, and he doesn’t run fast anymore.” The brown-spotted white dog, clearly beloved, still needs to go for walks, however. Rosie is too little to walk George alone but sometimes the whole family walks him along the beach near their home.
My Mother’s Tongues: A Weaving of Languages
“My mother has two tongues. With one tongue, she speaks Malayalam. With the other, she speaks English.” Young Sumi (Indian American) explains that her mother changes the language she speaks depending on who she’s with and what she’s doing.
Jimmy’s Rhythm and Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin
“Home is brick brown, / Harlem, uptown, / trains rumbling by.” An exquisitely composed picture book biography of James Baldwin illuminates his interest in the arts and development as a writer from a young age.
Boyogi: How a Wounded Family Learned to Heal
A young boy’s father has returned “from far away,” where he was a soldier, changed. Daddy used to be fun, but now he’s angry and sad and spends a lot of time in his room. The boy’s mother explains that Daddy’s mind is hurt by bad things that happened while he was gone, and she assures the boy that they are trying to figure out how to help Daddy feel better.
Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular
Charles Darwin’s belief that worms were amazing contributors to the natural world was not shared by the public, who considered them nothing more than garden pests. Determined to prove his opinion scientifically, Darwin tested worms’ vision, learning they didn’t have eyes but used sensors in their skin to detect light.
All the Faces of Me
A young girl fascinated by her Nana’s set of traditional nesting dolls notes that they all have identical smiles. Deciding the dolls shouldn’t be stuck with the same smiles, the girl “fixes” them, adding a range of expressions to their faces.
What If I’m Not a Cat?
A farmer’s goodnight to the many cats in her barn has led to some confusion on the part of the donkey who also lives there. Donkey “knew he was a cat because Farmer had said so.”
Red & Green
This tall, narrow book features a bisected green tree studded with boldly colored “ornaments” on its red cover. Inside, a rhyming text riffs off Clement Moore’s poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (“It was a cold, wintry night, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … except a small mouse!”) …