Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

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I love to see the work of Italian illustrator Eva Montanari, and she’s got a new book on shelves here in the States. What Does Little Crocodile Say? (Tundra, June 2021) was originally published in the UK in 2018, and it speaks directly to a specific early-childhood experience.

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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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“Kamayan …”
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Lola is special. When she visits from the Philippines, that is one way (her favorite way) that our narrator, her granddaughter, knows that “summer is here.” She captures their experiences and the memories they make — with vivid language and with all her senses on overdrive — in Michelle Sterling’s debut picture book When Lola Visits (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2021), illustrated by Aaron Asis.

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I’ve a review over at the Horn Book of Matt Ringler’s Strollercoaster (Little, Brown, June 2021), illustrated by Raúl The Third.

That review is here, and below are some spreads from the book.

Bonus: It looks like Matt did a short Horn Book Q&A about the book here.

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There are times I don’t want to say too much about a picture book, because it’s the kind of book you need to hold in your hands and experience yourself. Today’s book, Audrey Helen Weber’s On the Day the Horse Got Out (Little, Brown, June 2021), is one of those books. But let me tell you a little bit anyway. …

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Here’s a post to celebrate a Swiss picture book import. Meet Me By the Sea comes from Taltal Levi, an illustrator born in Israel and now living and working in Switzerland. This story, originally published last year, arrived on shelves in February from NorthSouth Books.

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It’s a pleasure to talk to author-illustrator Brian Floca today about Keeping the City Going (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, April 2021), what the Horn Book review called a “love letter” to New York City — and to the essential workers that kept cities going during the COVID-19 pandemic. Detailed paintings — in vignettes and expansive, full-bleed spreads — capture New York City last year, a time when it was “strangely still. Yet “[t]here are still some people out on the streets, driving this and that, heading from here to there. They might be family, friends, or strangers. They’re there because we need them. They’re the people keeping the city going.”

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How about two new picture books today? Over at BookPage, I’ve got a review of Gabi Snyder’s Listen (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster, June 2021), illustrated by Stephanie Graegin, and Julie Fortenberry’s Darcy’s First Sleepover (Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt, June 2021), cover pictured below.

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Some picture books make me want to immediately (and magically) transport myself into a school library again so that I can share them with students. Amanda McCardie’s Let’s Play!: A Book About Making Friends (a UK import, published by Candlewick in May), illustrated by Colleen Larmour, is one of those. I can readily imagine the rich discussions with children that would emerge from reading this book together.

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I can go on and on about how compelling Lynne Rae Perkins’s newest picture book is (and, better yet, how much respect it has for the child reader), but it would be better if you can somehow find a copy yourself and take it all in. I highly recommend this. The Museum of Everything (Greenwillow), now on shelves, has been met with a host of well-deserved starred reviews.

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