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New Release Spotlight – Picture Books – Week of January 9, 2024

The Picture Books Spotlight is my favorite list this week! We’ve got several books with multiple starred professional reviews, including new titles from Lesa Cline-Ransome, Sandra Fay, Kelly Zhang, and Melanie Conklin.

My top pick this week is The Three Little Tardigrades by Sandra Fay. Do you know what a tardigrade is? I sure didn’t!

A tardigrade is a microscopic animal that lives in water. They are also called water bears or moss piglets. When you see what tardigrades look like, you’ll understand why those nicknames apply. They are so cute, and I bet students will love them!

 

Picture Book Retelling
The Three Little Tardigrades

Author: Sandra Fay

Illustrator: Sandra Fay

Copyright: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book, retelling

Setting: a cozy drop of water

Recommended for: PreK - Grade 3

Themes: The Three Little Pigs, tardigrades, microscopic life, mix of fact and fiction, STEM, exploring the world, micro-animals, water bears, moss piglets

Protagonist: 3 tardigrades

Starred reviews: Publishers Weekly

Pages40


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PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Gavin, Colin, and Doug live on a cozy little drop of H2O until one day, their mother tells them it’s time for them to grow up and leave home. In search of the perfect place to settle down, the three little tardigrades (also known as “moss piglets”) journey to an underwater ice cave, an erupting volcano, and even the moon! They can survive under extreme conditions, but can they avoid the Big Hairy Wolf Spider. . .?

Humor and scientific facts about these resilient microscopic creatures come together to remix a beloved story–with an unexpected twist (and tons of laughs)!

Includes material at the end of the book with detailed information about tardigrades, a glossary of terms from the book, and more science for eager young readers.

Picture Book
When You Have to Wait

Author: Melanie Conklin

Illustrator: Leah Hong

Copyright: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book

Setting: various places where a child has to wait

Recommended for: PreK - Grade 3

Themes: patience, waiting, noticing one's surroundings, things to do while waiting, SEL

Protagonist: young child, cues Asian

Starred reviews: Kirkus and Publishers Weekly

Pages40


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PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Sometimes, you have to wait.

For the line at the public pool on a hot summer day.
For mom to come home after being away.

For your legs to grow just a bit longer to ride a new big kid bike.

The seconds drag on… each one feels like forever. Why can’t you have it now?

But while you wait, you might notice things: a possible new friend who is also in line, why homecoming hugs are extra special, and how beautiful the world is when you’re not racing by.

Sometimes, when you have to wait, you find the good in the moments between now and later.

Love, Lah Lah

Author: Nailah Blackman

Illustrator: Jade Orlando

Copyright: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book, cultural

Setting: Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, during Carnival

Recommended for: PreK - Grade 3

Themes: Carnival, cultural celebrations, Trinidadian culture, Caribbean legends, grandfathers, rhythm, repetition, dancing

Protagonist: little girl and her grandfather, both Trinidadian

Starred reviews: SLJ

Pages40


See it on Amazon

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

It’s Carnival morning, and Lah Lah is awake bright and early, ready to take part in the festivities of the day. Join Lah Lah and her papa as they dance through the streets of Trinidad and Tobago, cheer on the King and Queen of the Carnival parade, and end with a grand performance onstage!

A moving and lyrical tribute to Nailah Blackman’s grandpa Ras Shorty I, the creator of soca music, which blends African and East Indian rhythms, Love, Lah Lah thrums with the colors and the beat of Carnival.

Picture Book
Do You Know Them?

Author: Shana Keller

Illustrator: Laura Freeman

Published: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book for older readers, historical fiction

Setting: US South after the Civil War

Recommended for: Grades 1-4

Themes: US Civil War, slavery, freed slaves, finding one's family, newspaper ads, importance of the ability to read, Black History

Protagonist: young female, African American, former slave

Starred reviews: Booklist and Kirkus

Pages40


See it on Amazon

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

After the war’s end, everyone is missing someone. Lettie’s missing her family. They had been sold and lost long before enslavement was abolished. Every week, she reads the advertisements in the newspapers to her congregation. “Do you know them? I would like to find my people. My mother’s name was Charlotte King, and when I was sold, I had five brothers.”

Lettie is determined to find her loved ones, too. She saves every penny she earns, but not to buy candy or toys. She saves for something better—something that could bring her whole family together.

Every ad depicted in this poignant tale is authentically historical, bringing the heart-wrenching past to life.

Picture Book Biography
Fighting with Love

Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome

Illustrator: James E. Ransome

Published: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book biography, picture book for older readers

Setting: various locations across the southeastern US states; 1950s and 1960s

Recommended for: PreS-Grade 6

Themes: Black history, civil rights, segregation, US politics, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., protests, US history, prejudice, racism

Protagonist: John Lewis, an African American male, US political and civil rights leader

Starred reviews: Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly

Pages48


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PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager.

He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation.

Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights.

Today and always his work and legacy live on.

The Spark in You

Author/Illustrator: Andrea Pippins

Published9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book

Setting: Carnival in Brazil

Recommended for: PreS-Grade 3

Themes: Carnival, food, festivals, color, light, exuberance, joy, Carnival masks

Protagonist: young female, brown skin

Starred reviews: no starred reviews

Pages40


See it on Amazon

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

There is a spark in you!

The spark in you shines when you smile. It sparkles when you dance. It glimmers and shimmers, zings, and pops! Your spark is festive and joyous and burns brightest when you are authentically being you.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Carnival, a little girl uses all her creative energy to get ready for the big parade. Through the eyes of this vibrant character, the story celebrates individual expression and creativity as well as the explosion of light, color, and flavor of the festival.

Lunar New Year
Take Me to Laolao

Author: Kelly Zhang

Illustrator: Evie Zhu

Copyright: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book, holidays and celebrations

Setting: village by the sea, China, night of the Lantern Festival, Lunar New Year

Recommended for: PreK - Grade 3

Themes: missing a loved one (either deceased or away), Lunar New Year, Chinese culture, traditions, Chinese folktales, grandmothers

Protagonist: young Chinese girl

Starred reviews: no starred reviews

Pages32


See it on Amazon

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

There’s nothing Lili loves more than celebrating the Spring Lantern Festival with her family. But this will be the first time she attends the festivities without her beloved lăolao. 

Though it’s one of Lili’s favorite days of the year, she can’t help but wish, as she drifts off to sleep, that Lăolao were still there to enjoy bowls of sweet rice balls and solve fun riddles with her.

Then, that night, the first full moon of the new year invites Lili on an incredible journey.

Lili will travel to the bottom of the sea to visit the Dragon King and past the misty clouds to see the Jade Emperor. 

But will she get to see the one person she wants to see most in the entire world before the night is over?

 

Picture Book Haiku
Climbing the Volcano

Author: Curtis Manley

Illustrator: Jennifer K. Mann

Copyright: 9 Jan 2024

Genre: picture book, poetry

Setting: South Sister Volcano, Oregon, USA

Recommended for: PreK - Grade 4

Themes: volcanoes, hiking, haiku, poetry, Pacific Northwest, Cascade Mountains, forest animals, nature

Protagonist: child and family hikers, brown-skinned; other hikers are racially diverse

Starred reviews: no starred reviews

Pages48


See it on Amazon

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

For centuries, haiku has offered meditation on the grace and majesty of nature. In Climbing the Volcano, old meets new as a young protagonist uses the poetic form to voice his wonder. Trekking uphill, the family encounters tiny toads, colorful butterflies, soaring birds of prey, and so much more to see, do, and feel.

Climbing the Volcano is a call to adventure in the natural world, and a wonderful introduction to poetic forms.

Young readers will be inspired to summit their own peaks and to find their own voices to share what they discover there. Whether you live in the shadow of a volcano, amid sprawling flatlands, or anywhere in between, Climbing the Volcano invites you to get out there and explore.

 

THE LINKS YOU’LL NEED FOR JANUARY

 

MORE JANUARY 2024 NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHTS

This is the YA New Release Spotlight for January 9, 2024.    This is the Middle Grade New Release Spotlight for January 9, 2024.    This is the Picture Book New Release Spotlight for January 9, 2024.      

ABOUT THE SPOTLIGHT

The New Release Spotlight began in May 2016 as a way to help librarians keep up with the many new children’s and YA books that are released each week.

Each week, school librarian Leigh Collazo compiles the New Release Spotlight using a combination of Follett’s Titlewave, Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble. Recommended grade levels represent the range of grade levels recommended by professional book reviewers. See the full selection criteria here.

Inevitably, there are far more books that meet my criteria than can make it on the Spotlight. When I have to make the tough decisions on what to include, I just use my “librarian judgment.” Would I buy this book for my own library? Would my students want to read this book? Is the cover appealing? Does it fill a need?

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