The titles listed below are recent picture book purchases of titles published before 2019. If there are themes that connect these selections, I would say that I tend to choose picture books that show character strength, celebrate differences and tell stories of belonging.
CROWN: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes; illus Gordon C. James (Newbery Honor; Caldecott Honor, 2018)
When it’s your turn in the chair,
you stand at attention and forget about
who you were when
you walked through that door.
HELLO LIGHTHOUSE by Sophie Blackall /Caldecott Medal Winner 2019
On the highest rock of a tiny island
at the edge of the world stands a lighthouse.
It is built to last forever
Sending its light out to sea.
THE GOLDEN GLOW by Benjamin Flouw
Every evening, sitting in his armchair, Fox likes to leaf through old botany books, looking for the next new plant to add to his collection.
YO SOY MUSLIM by Mark Gonzales; illus. Mehrdok Amini
No matter what they say,
know that you are wondrous.
A child of crescent moons,
a builder of mosques,
a descendant of brilliance,
an ancestor in training.
IDEA JAR by Adam Lehrhaupt; illus. Deb Pilutti
This is my teacher’s Idea Jar.
We keep our story ideas in it.
My teacher says a story
can be anything we want.
ALMA: And how she got her name by Juana Martinez-Zeal (Caldecott Honor, 2019)
Alma Sofia Esperanza Jose Pura Candela had a long name – too long if you asked her.
I JUST ATE MY FRIEND by Heidi McKinnon
I just ate my friend.
He was a good friend,
but now he’s gone.
ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold: illus. Suzanne Kaufman
In our classroom safe and sound.
Fears are lost and hope is found.
Raise your hand, we’ll go around.
All are welcome here.
PINK IS FOR BOYS by Robb Pearlman; illus. Eda Kaban
Pink is for boys.
And girls.
Blues if for girls.
And boys.
BEAR AND WOLF by Daniel Salmieri
Bear was out walking, when she spotted something poking out from the glistening white.
At the same time, Wolf was out walking, when he spotted something poking out from the glistening white.
SHOUT OUT
HIDDEN (a graphic story)
by Loic Dauvillier; illus Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo
A grandmother shares memories with her granddaughter about the time she wore a Star of David in Paris in 1942. It is a story of living in fear and of strangers’ kindnesses.
A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT
MORE WOULD YOU RATHER… BY JOHN BURNINGHAM
Would you like to fly with the pelicans or swim with the fish?
At a recent visit to the Bologna Book Fair, I ple
On a recent trip to the Bologna Book Fair, I pleaded with the sales representative from Random House UK to let me have a copy of this book. David Booth brought the original Would You Rather … (1978) to Canada in the and I witnessed him sharing it with many audiences, helping them to understand the power of story and imaginative play. It would, for sure, be one of my desert island picture books. When I saw this new version, I a strong emotional attachment overcame me, remembering David’s delivery of the text and the beautiful article he wrote about drama and imaginative play. The sales representative gave me the book as a gift. I include this title as a special shout out, since John Burningham, master illustrator, master storyteller passed away in January 2019. Thank you for Would You Rather...Thank you for you words and pictures, Mr. Burningham.
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing
Courtney
Come Away from the Water, Shirley
Grandpa
Cloudland
Oi, Get Off the Train
John Patrick Norman McHennessy: the boy who was always late
Wind in the Willows (illustrations)