The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City
by Tara Lazar ill by Ross MacDonald

Following up on her hit picture book 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story Tara Lazar brings readers another clever take on our alphabet system, specifically capitalized letters. Readers are treated to a noir style whodunit. Private I is informed by Question Mark that the capital letters are missing. ALL of them. Our intrepid detective is on the case. This was serious. If all the capital letters were gone, there’d be incomplete sentences dangling everywhere.

Upper Case Antics

The Upper Case trailer

Alphabuild magnetic blocks

Bake alphabet cookies

One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read

Can a counting book be a thriller? In the capable hands of Kate Read the answer is an emphatic YES. The title page features paw prints, stealthily walking across the two-page spread and heading into... the first page and one famished fox. Page two zooms in on the face of said fox, shifty eyes focused on its prey. A single feather floating at the bottom of the page is a tantalizing hint as to what will follow. The page turn confirms our suspicions. ​Three plump hens. The tension builds as readers follow the items enumerated on subsequent pages: snug eggs, silent steps, on ominous tapping, beady eyes shining in the darkness, and a set of sharp teeth.

Outfoxing a Fox

Aalfred and Aalbert by Morag Hood

Morag Hood is back with another inventive tale of friendship. She still manages to spend some time in at the grocers where Carrot and Pea hang out. However, for this book broccoli and cheese play a supporting part. Starring roles belong to two aardvarks. Aalfred and Aalbert. Name spelling is a playful nod to the species nomenclature. Although the two aardvarks have neighboring burrows, they have never met. Each has a very distinct lifestyle, one active during the day and the other nocturnal. They seem destined to remain apart. Until an observant bird decides to intervene.

It's Science

At the Mountain's Base by Traci Sorell ill by Weshoyot Alvitre

Sorell's cumulative verse begins beneath a hickory tree at the base of a mountain. The scene zooms in to reveal a cabin beneath the spreading branches of the tree. Stepping inside the cabin, readers see a simple yet welcoming home. Generations of Cherokee women watch as a grandma picks up fibers and weaves a pattern. She is intertwining more than strands of colored wool. She is weaving together a family, bound by love and tradition.  Her threads extend beyond the walls of the cabin and encompass a family member far away. A pilot flying far away in war-ravaged skies senses the influence of her grandma's songs and prayers. It is a prayer is for peace and a safe return. An Author's Note explains that while this story fictional, it is based on the service of one Native American woman, Ola Mildred "MIllie" Rexroat an OgLaLa Lakota pilot.

The Art of Weaving

Cumulative Verse

Duck and Penguin are NOT Friends
by Julia Woolf

Betty and Maud are best friends. The girls love to spend time together and always include their favorite soft toy animals. Betty brings her squishy yellow Duck. Maud has her huggable snuggable Penguin. Because the girls are so fond of one another, they assume that Duck and Penguin share similar feelings. Not so. Not so at all. While the girls are having fun, Duck and Penguin are engaged in minor warfare: stomping on sand creations, hurling eggs, tagging with copious amounts of paint. Betty and Maud are oblivious to their stuffed animals’ animosity, exclaiming, "They love each other so much."

When the Kids Aren't Watching

Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
​by Sonia Sotomayor ill by Rafael López

Sotomayor has penned a thoughtful picture book, exploring and celebrating differences.  She introduces the concept with a garden analogy. Sonia and her friends are planting a garden filled with an assortment of plants. Some produce flowers, others fruit. They have a range of characteristics and respond to different types of growing conditions. Like plants, each person is unique, possessing a variety of distinguishing attributes. Subsequent pages introduce children with distinctive characteristics and circumstances. Beginning with Sonia's diabetes, individual children are introduced who live with  asthma, dyslexia, autism, Tourette's syndrome, attention deficit/hyperactivity, food allergies, and Down Syndrome as well as those needing assistance with mobility, vision, hearing, or speech. Each child is a individual with a name and special personality. Each one experiences a challenge.

Images radiate joy. Children with disabilities are not pitied.  They are resourceful, productive people. The world is a better and happier place because of these youngsters. Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You is a cheerful and encouraging picture book to share with children everywhere, helping them to understand and appreciate differences. In her introductory letter Sonia Sotomayor describes living with juvenile diabetes. She relates her feeling that others perceived her need to inoculate herself with insulin as wrong. She wants to dispel this false notion. This book will be an important and welcome addition to home, school, public, and classroom libraries. It can be placed in nurse, doctor, therapist, and other health care provider offices. Consider adding this book to after-school programs, community and church youth centers. The message is universal. ​

Also available in Spanish and audio editions.  Respect the learning styles for a variety of children by ordering copies in all three formats.

Sonia finds a quiet moment to rest among the flowers to administer her insulin.

Rafael adorns the garden with beautifully painted rocks. He keeps his inhaler handy.

Rafael López Picture Books

Why by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

​Why?  Why?  Why?

Why? ​Is there an adult who has not been on the receiving end of the one-word question that is frequently posited by youngsters? Vaccaro Seeger considers a youngster’s desire to understand the world by asking incessant questions.This picture book breaks with the conventional querying child trope, taking an unexpected story path. Title page features a frisky young bunny, scampering after a lumbering old bear. Successive pages follow the rabbit as it observes the bear engaging in simple activities: watering flowers, viewing the stars, stopping for a snack. Always rabbit asks "Why?' The massive friend patiently responds to each query with a gentle explanation. Time passes. Seasons change. The questions persist.

Just Asking

A Likkle Miss Lou:
​How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice
by Nadia L. Hohn ill by Eugenie Fernandes

A picture book brimming with poetry, rhythms, and song, A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice introduces young readers to the early years of a native poet and performance artist.  Nadia L. Hohn describes Louise's fascination with the speech she that was an integral part of her daily life. Jamaican patois, an English-based creole language with a West African influence is spoken by the most Jamaicans. At school, she was required to restrict her language to what was considered "proper" English. Louise was reprimanded by her teacher when she included words and phrases from Jamaican dialect in her assignments. ​Fortunately, she became a student at Excelsior College, where acceptance and appreciation for her native tongue was encouraged. ​Hohn's narrative is rich and colorful. She captures the flavor and cadence of the language in this sumptuous feast of poetic expression.

Fernandes' illustrations tell their own tale. Louise's face moves from doubt and discouragement to wonder and joy. The animated faces of her classmates and native storytellers feature a variety of warm shades of brown. Back matter includes an extensive Note from the Author with details on the life and works of Coverley. Hohn describes her own introduction to the works of this poet. A glossary, with photos of peanut drops and water crackers, is helpful. References contains a citation list.

Spread out youself deh, Liza. Dress ooman a come.

Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing" Inspired Generations
​by Kelly Starling Lyons ill by Keith Mallett

It is a common occurrence for me to cry when I finish reading a book, it is uncommon for my heart to swell and tears begin to spill down my cheeks from the very first page. Sing a Song: "How Lift Every Voice and Sing" Inspired Generations had me instantly reaching for tissues. Kelly Starling Lyons has penned a soul-stirring recital of the Black National Anthem's story. Inspired by her family's history, she traces the song through five generations. Beginning with a birthday celebration of Abraham Lincoln, the anthem is an integral part of the family. The music journeys with the family through the Great Migration, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement and culminates with opening of the National Museum of African American History.

Sing Along

Looking for More Inspiration? Try these books

Lunar Landing July 20, 1969

Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing by Chris Gall From childhood, Chris Gall has always been fascinated with rockets and space exploration. Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing chronicles the parallel stories of the Apollo 11 launch and a young boy’s attempt to replicate the event on a personal and considerably smaller scale. His rocket is a water rocket that he transports via a little red wagon. He builds a lunar module from cardboard boxes and climbs inside. He and his brother replicate the difficulty of precisely reaching the moon with a soccer ball and a stone. Gorgeously illustrated and chock full of fascinating facts, the generous trim size invites readers to experience the Apollo11 mission from a kid’s point of view. Grab a glass of Tang and share in the adventure. ​Copy provided by publisher ​Pub date: June 11, 2019 Publisher: Roaring Brook Press ISBN: 978-1250155795 Rocket to the Moon!:  ​Big Ideas That Changed the World ​by Don Brown Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world." Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in Don Brown's Big Ideas That Changed the World series This volume recounts the history and development of rockets. ​A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the United States' space exploration, including the "space race" with Russia. The narrative culminates with the successful Apollo 11 lunar landing. ​Line drawings, and link wash are clean and straightforward, moving the narrative along. The full-page panel of the moon's surface appropriately gives readers pause. Pacing shows the module’s slow descent to the Sea of Tranquility with a series of jagged-edge panels. Horizontal panels zoom in on one footstep as it descends the ladder to the moon's surface.

T-Minus: ​The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani ill Zonder Cannon Kevin Cannon Jim Ottaviani’s fictionalized retelling of the race between the USA and the USSR to reach the moon is a gripping, emotionally charged saga. T-Minus: The Race to the Moon chronicles the development of space exploration and the back stories of key players such as Robert Goddard and Sergei Korolev. The failures, successes, political intrigue come to a climax when Apollo 11 reaches its destination and NASA's astronaut takes the first steps on the moon. Hard to put down. Read the author’s notes for information on his storytelling process as well as suggested bibliography. Inventive placement of rockets which break out of rigid panel frames and span the entire vertical space is noteworthy. The black and white line art is well-suited to the subject matter. Public library copy. ​Pub date: May 9, 2009 Publisher: Adallin ISBN: 978-1416949602 Countdown: ​2979 Days to the Moon  by Suzanne Slade ill Thomas Gonzales Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon chronicles events leading up to and concluding with the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. The narrative begins with the challenge uttered by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961. ​Suzanne Slade, a mechanical engineer who worked on several space projects including the development of Saturn V rocket, is well qualified to write this superlative work of nonfiction. Her lyrical text vivifies the marvel of space exploration. The free verse is accompanied by direct quotations, systematically describing each of the eleven Apollo missions. ​Gonzalez' paintings are enhanced with infographic spreads located between chapters. Generous trim size (10.3" x 11") while accessible and easy to handle, gives added emphasis to the grandeur of this achievement. The book's text, with clear clean font is thoughtful placed, awarding the narrative added significance. For contrast, pages describing the Apollo 8 expedition as it moves to the far side of the moon are black with striking white text. ​

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