The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
A gentle book that slowly introduces the concept of death, Dance like a Leaf, tells the story of a young girl who shares many Autumn traditions with her grandmother. As her grandmother’s health deteriorates, the young girl begins to lead, rather than follow. Until ultimately, she carries-on the traditions with only her grandmother’s spirit by her side.
This book discusses the importance of being a good friend, caring for others, appreciating the people in our lives, and working hard to reach one’s dreams–all things that parents want to share with their children. This book is the perfect tool to help them do just that.
A Girl like You is a wonderful, empowering book that gives girls and women of all ages the vitally important message that they are valued, not for how they look, but for who they are.
Jonas Taul uses a perfect combination of illustrations and wording to create a realistic look into a young child’s mind. He addresses a matter that is not typically acknowledged, or recognized, but that is important to address for the mental health of our children.
Smalls gives us a story that is actually two stories in one. In larger, more prominent print, she tells the story of how the elephant matriarch leads her herd. Smalls leads the reader on a journey with the queen and her subjects as they search for food, water, and shelter. She shows us how the older elephants teach the younger ones how to care for their young. We learn about what dangers elephants face and how they face them. We see the nurturing provided to young who lose their mothers and the care given to those family members lost.
We follow Evelyn, a young Canadian girl, as she begins Grade 5. Evelyn lives with her father, who crumbles his crackers into his tomato soup “as if he’s lazy and in a hurry at the same time” and her Scottish mother, who “never breaks her crackers” or is in a hurry. “She is on top of things.”
How to Bee, is a captivating book with a young female protagonist set in a dystopian future where honey bees have all but disappeared. It is a story of family–both related and chosen, friendship, perseverance, courage, and ultimately the human instinct to survive against all odds.
It’s not often a picture book leaves me in tears, but SPOILER ALERT, this one did. Davies’ haunting text and Cobb’s evocative images are vivid and brutal; the two beautifully pair to convey the horror of war without being graphic or violent.
Five Sisters is a gorgeously illustrated and carefully written picture book that tells the tale of an old man and woman, who care for the woods as tenderly as they would care for the children they so desperately wish they had.