The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
“Irma Borges’ book, ‘La Falda Morada de Leo,’ illustrated by Francesco Fanani, takes readers on a vibrant journey of self-expression and breaking gender stereotypes through the eyes of a young boy, Leo. With a treasure trove of costumes, Leo loves to immerse himself in various roles, from pirates to superheroes. Among his favorite items is a purple skirt that allows him to explore a multitude of characters, highlighting the versatility and joy of imaginative play.
The hotel features a spa, a pool, a larva club (for the kids!) and a buffet among its many offerings. It is the swankiest place in town! Senior’s verse is a wonder of cheeky rhymes, playfully mixing bug-like behaviors with hotel-guest actions.
Each double page spread, lusciously covered in Loring-Fisher’s dreamlike artwork, gently caresses Nainy’s simple and elegant verse reflecting the young boy’s mood and a chosen color. With each turn of the page, we learn a bit more about our protagonist and the world he inhabits. Is he accepted? Is he an outcast?
When the Prince decides to have, you guessed it, a Bake-Off Ball (okay, really a Royal Baking Competition–I think bake-off ball would have been funnier!), Cinderelliot dreams of participating; but, alas, he cannot because his siblings want them to bake treats for their participation. And, somebody has to clean the kitchen!
In this engaging book, filled with artful, amusing, alliteration, Genhart weaves a tale of inclusion and exclusion using different birds to bring out assumptions about a group that is new to the neighborhood. Each bird type, begging to be read in a different voice/accent (you and the kid will have more fun that way), finds a different reason to exclude, fear, mistrust the flamboyance.
This is a sweet, fun book that can help reinforce one of the earliest phonological skills: rhyming. Using a book with characters children love and being able to talk about words that rhyme is a win-win for everyone.
From the end pages, done in whimsical egg motifs, through the meticulously delineated chickens in every spread, this book is a joy to look at, and read.
This picturebook biography of Barbara Jordan, who some argue was the Nation’s first LGBTQ+ Representative in Congress, is a serviceable account of Jordan’s career highlights as thematically encapsulated around her significant, powerful voice. Note, voice stands in proxy here for not only the tone, timber and strength of Jordan’s powerful speech, but also the eloquence, charm, and brilliant intelligence she so easily manifested.
WHAT IF WILHELMINA is a charming book that works on a whole bunch of levels.