Books Added to My Shelves in February 2024

This is my monthly roundup of books that I added to my shelves in February 2024. Some of the books came directly from authors or publishers, others were a purchase or a gift. You’ll find books from all kinds of genres including adult and children’s books. I’ll even share a few things from our family’s life in the last month as well.

Family and Life Update

The first half of February included lots of quiet nights and sometimes Stormy would even lay on my lap.

Then I went on a two-week trip with my mom and sister. We traveled from Florida to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri visiting family and seeing all the things. It was such a memorable time and we had so much fun! I am hoping to do a whole blog post about our trip, but right now I’m still playing catch-up after being gone for two weeks!

Now on to the books! 

Even though I didn’t read much during the last 2 weeks, I still finished 5 books this month. I’m also watching “Survivor” and “American Idol” and listening to the Confronting Columbine podcast. But, I’m looking forward to getting back into my reading routine again now that I’m back home. Next up is THE WOMEN for book club this month.

My current reads are THE WOMEN and I PROMISE IT WON’T ALWAYS HURT LIKE THIS and I’m listening to VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS.

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Be sure to follow me on Instagram, HERE to see snippets of what I’m reading or what’s going on in my daily life.

If you have missed any of my recent book reviews, you can see all of them by clicking, HERE.  Or you can stay up to date with my monthly Quick Lit Roundup.

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Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction Books

LOVE IS MY FAVORITE FLAVOR

A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All

By: Wini Moranville

Published: July 17, 2024

Publisher: University of Iowa Press

Non-Fiction

Format: Paperback for Review

What a thrill to have this show up in my mailbox. I’ve been a follower of Wini Moranville, a fellow Iowan. This can easily be read in a weekend as it is just shy of 200 pages.

In a remarkable career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Wini Moranville has witnessed the American restaurant landscape transform from the inside out. At just shy of fourteen, she began a ten-year stretch working in a kaleidoscope of quintessential midwestern eateries of the time. Moranville’s hands-on experiences weave a vivid tapestry of the American restaurant landscape in the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-1990s, the tables turned as Moranville became a prolific food and wine writer for national publications, as well as the dining critic for the Des Moines Register and dsm Magazine.
Amidst the vast changes that have occurred over the years, Love Is My Favorite Flavor underscores the timelessness of what it is we seek when we entrust restaurateurs with our hard-earned money and our hard-won leisure time. Dining out may have changed dramatically since the 1970s, but the joys of being in the hands of people who care deeply about our time at their tables have not.

MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE

By: Janet Skeslien Charles

Published: April 30, 2024

Publisher: Atria Books

Historical Fiction

Format: eBook for Review

Janet’s book THE PARIS LIBRARY was a favorite book of 2021. I’m thrilled to get the chance to read her newest novel set during WWI and the 1980s in New York City.

1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.

1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsessive research, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York’s famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.

BLANK

By: Zibby Owens

Published: March 1, 2024

Publisher: Little A

Fiction

Format: eBook Purchase

I like Zibby and her love of books. I thought this sounded great and it was my free eBook through Amazon Prime First Reads.

A wife, mother, and frustrated writer faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery. Pippa Jones is a fortyish former literary sensation who fears she will be a one-hit wonder. After the follow-up book she was almost done writing, Podlusters , had to be tossed (it ended up sharing a plot and title with superstar author Ella Rankin’s summer blockbuster!), she couldn’t write a thing. Months of staring at a blank page made her confidence vanish like a one-night stand. When she finds out that she has only five days left to finish (or rather, start ) or repay an advance she’s already spent, Pippa has a brilliantly original idea. Okay, fine, her twelve-year-old son came up with it as a joke, but Pippa and her teenage daughter approved. Pippa’s not only going to make a bold statement, but she’ll change the book world while she’s at it! Can she pull it off? At this point, she doesn’t have a choice. When Pippa’s publisher gets intimately involved, it unlocks a series of plot twists she never saw coming. From the courtyards of posh Beverly Hills hotels and Malibu mega-mansions to Brentwood and Santa Monica bookstores, Pippa races against time—in her used Volvo—and discovers more about her career, marriage, family, friends, and herself than she ever could have dreamed up.

FIFTY WORDS FOR RAIN

By: Asha Lemmie

Published: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Dutton

Historical Fiction

Format: eBook Purchase

This has been on my to-read list and I snagged it as a Kindle Deal using my Kindle credits.

Kyoto, Japan, 1948. “If a woman knows nothing else, she should know how to be silent. . . . Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.” Such is eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza’s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents’ imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her shameful skin.

The illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Though her grandparents take her in, they do so only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life for what it is, despite her natural intellect and nagging curiosity about what lies outside the attic’s walls. But when chance brings her legitimate older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him the first person who will allow her to question, and the siblings form an unlikely but powerful bond—a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it—a battle that just might cost her everything.

Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to try to break free.

THE WOMEN

By: Kristin Hannah

Published: February 6, 2024

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Historical Fiction

Format: Hardcover purchase

This was an easy pre-order for me. Who isn’t talking about this book right now? Everyone is RAVING about it. Thankfully, I get to read it right now since it is our book club choice for the month.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

Children’s Fiction and Non-Fiction

GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU

Deluxe Book and Toy Gift Set

By: Sam McBratney

Illustrated by: Anita Jeram

Published: August 2023

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Board Book

Guess How Much I Love You is a British children’s book written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram, published in 1994, in the United Kingdom by Walker Books and in 1995, in the United States by its subsidiary Candlewick Press. This would make a perfect gift for a new baby or tuck in your own baby’s Easter basket.

The beloved bestseller is paired with a soft, snuggly plush hare in a freshly designed package just right for gift-giving.

Combine one of the best-selling children’s books of all time with a cuddly Little Nutbrown Hare to hug and you have the perfect way to say “I love you right up to the moon and back!” Whether for devotees of Guess How Much I Love You or complete newcomers, this winsome gift box is guaranteed to charm.

BABY CACTUS

Finger Puppet Book

By: Yu-Hsuan Huang

Published: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Board Book

You know I love these finger puppet books! Perfect for an Easter basket!

With its irresistible plush character, adorable illustrations, and sweet, simple text, this desert-themed offering from the bestselling Baby Finger Puppet series is guaranteed to delight parents and toddlers alike. Featuring a plush finger puppet that peeks into each lovingly illustrated page, Baby Cactus offers parents and children a fun, interactive way to play and read as they build a lifelong love of books (and nature!) together.

BABY SUNFLOWER

Finger Puppet Book

By: Yu-Hsuan Huang

Published: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Board Book

With its irresistible plush character, adorable illustrations, and sweet, simple text, this garden-themed offering from the bestselling Baby Finger Puppet series is guaranteed to delight parents and toddlers alike. Featuring a plush finger puppet that peeks into each lovingly illustrated page, Baby Sunflower offers parents and children a fun, interactive way to play and read as they build a lifelong love of books (and nature!) together.

WHERE’S THE BUNNY?

By: Ingela P. Arrhenius

Published: January 2, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Interactive Board Book

Ingela has a whole series of interactive books perfect for your child’s Easter basket. Plus, I’ve shared a few of her books HERE.

Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of baby animals, including a puppy, a mouse, a duckling, and a bunny, hiding beneath bright felt flaps. With a mirror on the final page, this is the perfect book to share with very little ones.

RUN, RUN, RUN!

By: Taro Gomi

Published: March 12, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Board Book

Fans of Taro Gomi will love his newest board book.

Run, Run, Run! is a fun, fun, fun board book for on-the-go toddlers!

It’s time to run a race like no other! Finish line? Winning? None of that matters here. Exploring is the goal! In this colorful board book by bestselling author-illustrator Taro Gomi, follow the racer as he runs far past the finish line and through fields, a farm, a forest, and more. Toddlers will delight in turning the pages to find out where he will run, run, run to next!

LET’S PLAY

By: Hervé Tullet

Published March 26, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Board Book

I’m familiar with Tullet’s books, but I’ve never read them, however, I know they are popular. His popular LET’S PLAY will now be in board book format.

From the creator of the New York Times bestsellers Press Here and Mix It Up! , this brilliant companion is now available as a board book.

In Hervé Tullet’s third interactive outing, there’s a yellow dot. And a thin black line. Adventure definitely awaits! Press a finger to the page to embark on a new journey of color, shape, motion, and imagination. Follow the yellow dot’s invitation, turn the page, and you are on your way!

Filled with artistry and delight, the  Let’s Play!  journey lets you leap headlong into a completely new emotion. Connecting to the mind and the heart, this dot expresses an extraordinary sense of humor, fear, joy, and more as it pushes, lurches, wiggles, and slides its way through—and even off!—the pages. Hervé’s hallmark graphic style and irrepressible whimsy take young readers on a spectacular ride in this new compact, toddler-friendly board book edition.

MY FIRST HAIRCUT

By: Yang Dong

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Large Board Book

This interactive book is perfect for kids about to get their first haircut. This will help calm their nerves and make it experience fun.

First haircut? No problem! With this playful board book in tow, little ones getting a trim will feel at ease and amused!

Contrary to popular belief, a toddler’s first haircut can actually be fun! (And every hair-washing, too!) This interactive board book featuring die-cuts across each illustrated spread for fingers to “wash,” “cut,” and “comb” hair introduces the youngest readers to haircare in a clever and comforting way.

THE LAW OF BIRTHDAYS

A Story About Choice

By: Brenna Jeanneret

Illustrated by: Marina Kondra

Published: May 1, 2024

Publisher: Cardinal Rule Press

Format: Paperback Picture Book

I haven’t looked at this one yet but it reminded me of our son who didn’t want cake for his birthdays. He preferred brownies or a cookie cake.

The Law of Birthdays decrees every child shall eat cake at birthday parties. Until one Girl tells the Royal Guard, “ No, thanks.” when offered cake at the King’ s birthday. The King doesn’ t accept her refusal or her reasons why. However, the Girl remains patient until the King’s refusal to understand pushes her to lay down an explanation even he can’ t deny.

SPECK

An Itty-Bitty Epic

By: Margaux Meganck

Published: March 19, 2024

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I love the message of this one, how anyone, no matter how big or small, can make a difference.

Everything and everyone has a place in the universe, but for a little speck, lost at sea, it will take an extraordinary journey to find it.

Deep in a tide pool, too small to see,
Thousands of tiny specks go forth.
Each one searching
for a place to stay, and grow, and thrive…

The little speck does not know what it is, only that it wishes to find out. And so it embarks on a journey across the sea. From sun-flecked surf to darkest depths, past schools of fish, storm-tossed ships and hungry eels…. Until, at last, it finds exactly what it was looking a place to belong.

THE STORYTELLER

By: Lindsay Bonilla

Illustrated by: Noar Lee Naggan

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I love stories that encourage imagination and this is a special one between a boy and his grandma.

Featuring an evocative text and luminous paintings, this stunning book celebrates the power of stories—how they connect us, inspire us, and keep memories alive.

Griffin’s grandmother spins the most marvelous stories, from breathtaking fairy tales to fascinating family lore. These stories fuel his imagination and fill their days with magic. So when he sees her once-bright spark begin to fade, Griffin is scared to think of the future. Fortunately, though, he has her stories to guide him—and to remind him that he is braver than he could ever imagine.

THE SOIL IN JACKIE’S GARDEN

By: Peggy Thomas

Illustrated by: Neely Daggett

Published: May 29, 2024

Publisher: Feeding Minds Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I love these Feeding Press books that teach about farming, gardening, or growing food. Thomas also wrote, HERO FOR THE HUNGRY.

Join Jackie and her garden friends in this charming picture book as they discover the wonders of gardening, soil secrets, and the magic of composting Jackie and her garden friends embrace the joys of planting a garden, nurturing and harvesting their own food, and recycling scraps to compost, ensuring that the magical cycle of growth and sustainability continues anew. Science facts about soil, plants, pollinators, decomposers, and more are included on every spread. A fantastic book to engage young readers in becoming environmental stewards, learning how to care for a garden, understanding a plant life cycle, discovering the power of pollinators and the importance of composting. Written in the cumulative style of “The House that Jack Built,” this playful celebration of how things grow, return to the earth, and grow again will inspire young readers to try their hands at gardening and composting. Back matter includes information on the soil cycle and how to make a compost pile.

IS THIS…EASTER?

By: Helen Yoon

Published: January 2, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A cute book to give this Easter!

Look, an egg! An egg left by a bunny! What does that mean? It means it’s time to celebrate . . . Easter! Or is it time to celebrate breakfast? In Helen Yoon’s scenario, a difference of opinion arises between excitable pups, and the egg bearer (and ultimate squabble settler) is, naturally, an enormous, Zen-like bear wearing tiny bunny ears. As the bear demonstrates, whether it’s decorating eggs or eating them, Easter is kind of . . . delicious! Helen Yoon’s fresh and hilarious take on the Easter holiday—part of a quirky new series of picture books—is a delightful blend of bumbling affection and slack-jawed wonder.

OOPS! RABBIT

Book #3 Jo Ham’s Rabbit Series

By: Jo Ham

Published: March 5 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

The third in the series of Rabbit books by Jo Ham. Get them all for Easter!

Big waves and sandcastles, paint cans and tippy chairs—accidents happen! And with cheeky, curious, and sweet-toothed Rabbit, they’re almost inevitable. The creation of Jo Ham, whose art celebrates the magic of everyday life, Rabbit has been spotted everywhere from the Centre Pompidou in Paris to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and on mugs and nursery decorations in homes around the world. Now the iconic black-silhouetted bunny appears in a series of children’s books—fun, playful, and irreverent stories in striking and stylish packages that beg for a place on children’s bookshelves.

TAXI, GO!

By: Patricia Toht

Illustrated by: Maria Karipidou

Published: February 13, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

This one looks really cute!

Today will be a busy day for Taxi! There are plenty of passengers to pick up, and they all need a ride—to a football game, a play, a business meeting, the airport, and more. Whizzing left, right, and through traffic, Taxi has to STOP for red lights and emergency vehicles. But after every stop, stop, stop, it’s Taxi . . . go, go, GO! Humming with musical rhyme and clever sound play, this vibrant take on a classic read-aloud theme radiates adventure and good fun. Brightly illustrated spreads of a happy urban world teem with details that vehicle-loving tots will pore over as they follow winsome Taxi through the work day and throughout the town until it’s time for bed.

TODAY IS FOR YOU!

By: Sally Lloyd-Jones

Illustrated by: Kevin Waldron

Published: February 13, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

What a fun one to read at breakfast with your kids!

Where will you go on those traveling feet?
Who will you love? Who will you meet?
Be a little seed. Get carried away!
Go WILD into the brand-new day.

From the bustle of the morning to the quiet of bedtime, every new day is filled with possibility. Follow a group of children as they find fun at every turn—dancing, playing games, picnicking, reading a book, climbing a mountain, or just shouting out their enthusiasm to the world. Sally Lloyd-Jones’s upbeat text integrates with Kevin Waldron’s high-energy mixed-media illustrations for a story that exudes unabashed joy.

LUIGI THE SPIDER WHO WANTED TO BE A KITTEN

By: Michelle Knudsen

Illustrated by: Kevin Hawkes

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

This one is already getting a lot of buzz and great reviews. From the author of the popular LIBRARY LION story.

On a street of old houses, a big hairy spider is searching for a home with dark corners to hide in. But when he wakes up, he finds a hand reaching for him and a lady proclaiming that she has always wanted a kitten—and will name him Luigi! At first, a somewhat puzzled Luigi, used to being left alone to creep and dangle and spin webs, resists her kind advances. But soon, tasty breakfasts and getting tucked into bed (no one’s ever wished him good night before) have him thinking that kittens surely live magical lives. I will be a kitten! he decides. But how long can he keep up his facade, and what might be at stake in pretending to be someone you’re not? The award-winning duo behind Library Lion delivers another classic in the making, marked by humor and depth, endearing characters, and the assurance that the right people will accept and adore us, unconditionally, just as we are.

LITTLE GREEN DONKEY

By: Anuska Allepuz

Published: July 7, 2020

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A cute read for your little one who only wants to eat the same thing every day.

rom the creator of That Fruit is Mine! comes a laugh-out-loud cautionary tale, sure to resonate with all picky eaters and their parents! Little Donkey LOVES eating grass – it’s just so sweet, and crunchy, and juicy! His pillow is even made from grass so that he can roll over in the morning and eat his own bed. “Why don’t you try some other food?” suggests his desperate mum, putting on a juggling display of colourful fruit as a way to entice her little one to eat something new. But Little Donkey sees no need. Until, that is, he catches a glimpse of his reflection… Anuska’s debut authorial picture book, That Fruit is Mine!, has been published into over ten languages worldwide. A book about trying new things and the hilarious show down between a child and their parent when it comes to the dinner table. This adorable character will help encourage kids to branch out and try more food (even if, in the end, their obsessive impulses can’t quite be quelled!).

THE PRINCESS AND THE (GREEDY) PEA

By: Leigh Hodgkinson

Published: December 5, 2023

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

This sounds like a great read-aloud with a funny fairy tale mashup.

There was a green pea who swallowed a sprout. Without a doubt, a brussels sprout. What ’ s that about?

This little pea is hungry! So hungry it swallows a sprout, slurps up some soup, munches the bread, gobbles the cake, noshes the pickle, guzzles the cheese, drinks all the tea, and even chomps down the table it’s all served on. After all that, it needs to sleep. But whose dinner did it steal? And whose mattress is the now-humungous pea resting under? With bold, delightfully detailed illustrations and a bouncy verse perfect for reading aloud, this wickedly funny mash-up of “The Princess and the Pea” and “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” will have little listeners clamoring for multiple helpings.

ONE SWEET SONG

By: Jyoti Rajan Gopal

Illustrated by: Sonia Sánchez

Published: January 16, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Any time I can promote the power of music through a book is one I’m happy to share. Sanchez has illustrated a few other books I’ve shared, HERE.

In a quiet neighborhood, a single note trills through the air. Another note joins, and then another. One by one, curious people are drawn to their windows, doorways, and balconies to support the medley. Professional musicians play instruments from around the world, while others bang pots and pans. All are welcome as the notes swirl and dip and crescendo, coming together to make one sweet song. And when the music fades and this diverse neighborhood is once again silent, the reverberations of unity remain. Written by a kindergarten teacher and inspired by the balcony singing in Italy during the pandemic—with a countdown from one to ten and back gently woven in—this rhythmic synergy of text and art is a buoyant, global-minded celebration of how music connects us, even in the darkest of times.

HOW TO BE BRAVE

By: Karl Newson

Illustrated by: Clara Anganuzzi

Published: January 2, 2024

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Books that encourage kids to be brave and try new things can be great motivators for kids.

Wherever your adventures take you, lead with your heart and your smile!

This uplifting picture book empowers children to explore a world of possibilities. Join a child and their animal friends as they tackle new experiences and discover that it’s OK to try things without knowing how they will turn out. And even though it can be a little scary, trying something new can also be rewarding when it means making memories, and even new friends. The important thing to remember is to always try your best and be yourself.

LOST WORDS

An Armenian Story of Survival and Hope

By: Leila Boukarim

Illustrated by: Sona Avedikian

Published: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Expose your children to a culture different from them and the struggles some kids have had to endure in other parts of the world.

Based on a true family story, this inspiring picture book about the Armenian Genocide shares an often-overlooked history and honors the resilience of the Armenian people.

What is it like to walk away from your home? To leave behind everything and everyone you’ve ever known? Poetic, sensitive, and based on a true family history, Lost Words follows a young Armenian boy from the day he sets out to find refuge to the day he finally finds the courage to share his story.

WAKE UP, WOODLANDS

By: Karen Jameson

Illustrated by: Marc Boutavant

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Jameson’s books are favorites and I love this one too! A perfect read for the first day of Spring! I’ve shared Boutavant’s illustrations HERE.

Celebrate the promise and potential of spring in this effervescent follow-up to Woodland Dreams .

Oh, the promise of spring and a new day! A honeybee, bear cub, bunny, squirrel, fawns, and more wake up as the landscape brims and bursts with spring firsts. In this beautifully illustrated picture book follow-up to their beloved bedtime book, Karen Jameson and Marc Boutavant offer a lyrical and reassuring ode to the morning and a celebration of a new season, affirming the power of greeting the day with energy, positivity, and hope.

Readers will adore the heartwarming illustrations and tender moments between animal parents and children. Perfect read-aloud to share over breakfast, with a preschool class for morning storytime, or on the first day of spring.

THE BOOK THAT CAN READ YOUR MIND

By: Marianna Coppo

Published: March 12, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A book with a magic trick inside? Kids will love this one! I enjoyed Coppo’s FISH AND CRAB.

Prepare to be amazed by this magic trick in a book!

This is not an ordinary book—it’s a magical one! Lady Rabbit goes beyond pulling a rabbit out of a hat or making herself disappear. For her next act, she will READ YOUR MIND! That’s You pick a member from the magician’s adorable audience—don’t tell which one you’ve chosen—and this book will guess who it is!

Inspired by 17th‑century magic books, this interactive game in a book will enchant readers of all ages, compelling them to pick among many intriguing, illustrated characters and play over and over (and over) again. Now, without further ado . . . let the magic show begin!

POETRY COMICS

By: Grant Snider

Published: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Graphic Novel

I loved these Grant Snider books so I can’t wait to read this one.

Combining poetry and comics in a whole new way, this fun and imaginative book is perfect for poetry lovers and reluctant readers alike.

From the cloud-gazing hours of early spring to the lost bicycles of late autumn, Grant Snider’s brilliantly illustrated Poetry Comics will take you climbing, floating, swimming, and tumbling through all the year’s ups, downs, and in-betweens. He proves that absolutely everything, momentous or minuscule, is worthy of attention, whether snail shells, building blocks, the lamented late bus, or the rare joy of unscuffed shoes. These poems explore everything you never thought to write a poem about, and they’re so fun to read you’ll want to write one yourself. Not to worry, there’s a poem for that, too!

HENRY AND THE SOMETHING NEW

Henry #2

By: Jenn Bailey

Illustrated by: Mika Song

Published: March 19, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Early Chapter Book

The second in the Henry series about a boy on the autism spectrum and his classmates. Check out the first book, HERE.

From the creators of A Friend for Henry and Henry, Like Always comes a delightful beginning chapter book about embracing new experiences, starring a sweet and sensitive child on the autism spectrum .

It’s Field Trip Day! Henry’s class is excited to visit the museum, but Henry is not so sure. The museum means maybe seeing dinosaurs, Henry’s favorite. But it also means a lot of things that are a noisy school bus ride, a building full of echoes and hallways, and plenty of chances to get lost! Will he find something that makes all of this new worth the trip? Come along with Henry in this funny, bighearted tale about trying new things, exploring new places, and finding the courage to make yourself heard.

BIG BOOK OF WORDS

By: Taro Gomi

Published: March 12, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Non-Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A fun book for toddlers to learn new words and my second from Taro Gomi this month.

Learning new words and phrases has never been so fun — and funny! 

Taro Gomi introduces toddlers to first words in unforgettable From flowers to a face, to greetings and games, this one-of-a-kind collection not only provides first-word basics but a fresh and fun-filled approach all while letting the youngest of readers “travel” to Japan through its pages. At once a first word and phrases primer and an introduction to new people and places, this content-rich collection will be treasured by kids and caregivers alike. 

COMET CHASER

The True Cinderella Story of Caroline Herschel, the First Professional Woman Astronomer

By: Pamela S. Turner

Illustrated by: Vivien Mildenberger

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Non-Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Another great biography of a woman in science who contributed great things.

The real-life Cinderella story of the very first professional woman astronomer—Caroline Herschel!

Comet Chaser is the thrilling and beautifully illustrated biography of a woman who made a lifetime of incredible contributions to science. She was the first woman to discover a comet, the first officially recognized in a scientific role, and the first to be given a Gold Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society.

In a day when girls were barely educated at all, Caroline Herschel’s father taught her math and music . . . until, suddenly, he died. Her mother saw her as little more than a household servant. Caroline might have been doomed to a life of drudgery and dimness if not for her brother, who took her from Germany to England. There they started building telescopes in their free time, gradually making them larger and larger, and discovering new comets—even new planets! When the great astronomers of the day wondered how Caroline and her brother accomplished this and came to see for themselves, they found that the Herschels had made the best telescopes of their time.

From household drudge to belle of the scientific ball, Caroline Herschel won international prizes never before awarded to a woman and earned a professional wage from the king. She and her discoveries remain as stunning today as they were then. Some of her calculations are still in use! In this delightfully imaginative retelling of Caroline’s career, her fairy godmother is none other than her own bright intelligence, hard work, and passion for science.

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