Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
Kathi Appelt’s newest middle-grade novel, Once Upon a Camel, is the epic story of a camel, some baby kestrels, and the immense power of stories. I had the opportunity to chat with Kathi about this book over at Chapter 16. Our chat is here.

The novel is illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Check out that striking cover above.

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Earlier this week over at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott, we featured a Q&A with Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade and asked her what her year has been like. Micheala won the 2021 Medal for We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom.

That Q&A is here. We are grateful she took the time to talk to us.

[Michaela’s photo credit: Sydney Akagi.]

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“Time to play, Little Bird, time to spin across the sky.”

 
Little Bird’s Day, arriving in October (Blue Dot Kids Press), comes from author Sally Morgan and illustrator Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr. It’s the story of a day in the life of Little Bird — from the “rising and shining” of the Sun to the arrival of Moon, “glowing and whispering.” Both author and illustrator are Indigenous Australians: Sally belongs to the Palyku people from the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia. Johnny is a Yolŋu artist from the Ganalbingu clan in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, and his paintings depict both Ganalbingu songlines and his mother’s Wägilak clan stories.

This is Johnny’s picture book debut; as the winner of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award in 2017, he was asked to illustrated Sally’s manuscript, and this book — originally published in Australia in 2019 — was born. Read the rest of this entry �

 
Mary Lee Donovan’s A Hundred Thousand Welcomes (Greenwillow), illustrated by Lian Cho and coming to shelves in October, is like honeysuckle to a bee for young language-lovers — and also a very welcome read (excuse the bad pun) for those moments when the goings-on in the world get you down.

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“That evening Mayu went to the forest mailbox with her letter.
Her heart beat faster as she put her letter into the box. Then she ran home.”

 
Those of you who still correspond with friends and family via letter-writing know that to receive a letter from a friend, sitting there in your mailbox amongst all the credit card applications, is to receive a gift. In fact, I received one such gift this week, which brightened my day. Kyoko Hara’s newest illustrated chapter book for children, The Mailbox in the Forest, is a tribute to letter-writing. Originally published in Japan in 2007, it will be on U.S. shelves in September and was illustrated by Kazue Takahashi. (Fans of the fabulous Kuma-Kuma Chan books will recognize that name.)

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James Yang’s A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi (Viking, June 2021) is an imagined story about a day in the life of Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi. The young Isamu spends his day exploring the world around him — and with a sense of astonishment.

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“Faoro made the wedding rings and a small surprise for Night: gold settings for her fangs. The alligator showed them off to the delight of the all the guests.”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
Today’s featured picture book is a Venezuelan import. The Caiman (Amazon Crossing Kids, July 2021) — written by María Eugenia Manrique, illustrated by Ramón París, and translated by Amy Brill — was originally published in 2019 but has arrived on American shelves this month.

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Last time I checked, there were more than 7.5 billion people on planet Earth. It can be difficult, with such a huge number on such a huge scale, to think about what life is like for others — but not when you do some math and shrink that number to 100 (which has certainly been done before, such as here and here). This is the idea behind If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Village (Crown Books), written by Jackie McCann, illustrated by Aaron Cushley, and coming to shelves in July.

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I love a good story about a misfit. Enter Kelly DiPucchio’s Not Yeti (Viking, May 2021), illustrated by Claire Keane. I’ve a review of this one over at BookPage.

That review is here. Below are some spreads.

Enjoy!

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Mona Lisa may live in Paris, but in Yevgenia Nayberg’s Mona Lisa in New York (Prestel, March 2021), she finds herself on an adventure in the Big Apple.

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