BATTLE OF THE BUTTS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND ANIMAL BEHINDS Illustrated by David Creighton-Pester (Running Press Kids; $17.99, Ages 5-8)           Get ready to laugh as you learn while enjoying this funny, nonfiction picture book, Battle of the Butts by Jocelyn Rish. I thought I knew a lot of animal facts but was amazed by what this author uncovered in her research. The book is set up as a competition between ten creatures, inviting the reader to vote on each animal (rank them from Terrific Tush to Boring Backside), then choose a winner at…

  BIG DREAMS, SMALL FISH Written and illustrated by Paula Cohen (Levine Querido; $17.99, Ages 4-8)         I love it when picture book art begins on the copyright page and continues onto the title page giving readers an early taste of what's to come. That's what first struck me about author-illustrator Paula Cohen's debut, Big Fish, Small Dreams. In fact, Cohen’s charming digitally colored pencil drawings include Shirley’s right foot being lifted out of her shoe when the small girl nails the word fish on the title page just mentioned, an actual black-and-white family photo hanging on…

  NEW PICTURE BOOK FOR PRIDE MONTH   It may be the last day of Pride Month, but here's a book worth celebrating year round!   STRONG Written by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood Illustrated by  Nidhi Chanani  (Little Brown BYR; $17.99, Ages 4-8) Strong is the kind of feel-good picture book that demonstrates to children, through a real-life example, the benefits of being true to themselves and following their dreams. In this accessible biography, readers learn how, from an early age, Rob Kearney showed an affinity for lifting heavy things whether that was milk bottles or bags filled with…

IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY Written by Jane Kuo (Quill Tree Books;  $16.99, Ages 8-12) e ★Starred Review - School Library Journal Novels in verse are powerful. Jane Kuo’s debut middle grade, In the Beautiful Country, is a novel in verse set in 1980 about ten-year-old Ai Shi, an American immigrant from Taiwan. What a good format choice for a novel reflecting the experience of children new to the U.S.! Especially accessible for English language learners and for reluctant or struggling readers, the short, straightforward poems are no less engaging for those who read with ease. I love how a poem…

  STALKING SHADOWS Written by Cyla Panin (Abrams; $18.99, Ages 12 and up)           If you’re drawn to imperfect main characters in complicated situations, seventeen-year-old Marie in Cyla Panin’s YA fantasy, Stalking Shadows, certainly has stuff to deal with. Set in a small eighteenth-century French town, Marie mixes and sells perfumes at the market to earn a little money and, hopefully, survive another winter. However, some of her concoctions are used to mark victims for her sister, Ama (who slays them when the moon changes her into a beast). Marie doesn’t want to do this, but…

    THE WELCOME CHAIR Written by Rosemary Wells Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (A Paula Wiseman Book; $17.99; Ages 4-8)           ★Starred Reviews - Booklist, Bookpage, Kirkus   Rosemary Wells introduces the reader to her family’s history in the telling of a rocking chair built by her great-great-grandfather. We travel with the author of more than one hundred books for children, and winner of the Christopher Award, on the road imagining where the chair may have traveled in The Welcome Chair with illustrations by the late Jerry Pinkney who has earned seven Caldecott Medals, five Coretta…

  FATHER'S DAY BOOKS ∼ A ROUNDUP ∼       DADDY SPEAKS LOVE Written by Leah Henderson Illustrated by  E. B. Lewis  (Nancy Paulsen Books; $17.99, Ages 4-8) "Inspired by six-year-old Gianna Floyd’s words about her father, George Floyd, in the wake of his murder, this picture book centers the loving relationship between fathers and children." - Publishers Weekly This picture book resonated with me having just recently lost my dad making it my first Father's Day without him. The lyrical stanzas describing love, truth, comfort, learning, heroes, trust, and pride unfold at a perfect pace as we glimpse…

  UNTIL THE BLUEBERRIES GROW Written by Jennifer Wolf Kam Illustrated by Sally Walker (PJ Publishing; $8.99; Ages 5-8)       In the sweet picture book, Until the Blueberries Grow, it’s time for Ben’s great-grandpa to move—into a home he can care for on his own. But Ben is not ready to say goodbye. Maybe Zayde (Yiddish for grandpa) can stay until the blueberries grow . . . or the grapes are ripe . . . or the snow falls . . . or the flowers bloom.     From Kirkus: “Ben tries to convince his great-grandfather to stay…