Picture Book Round-Up #14

Another picture book round-up featuring some great diverse stories, including ones about Banned Books, Father-Son Juice Making, museum visits, grandparents, and more.

The Great Banned Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

A sweet, if not perhaps too optimistic, take on the book banning, a young Egyptian girl in America helps organize a bake sale and protest when her school board bans “diverse books.” It’s a sweet reminder of how kids can get involved, but perhaps too pat of an ending. I was also underwhelmed by the illustrations that felt very 2005.

Fresh Juice by Roberto Liu-Trujillo

I love seeing a book like this–about farmer’s markets and ginger juices and community–starring the Black community. The watercolor illustrations are simply but lovely, and I like how simple the plot is but how it winds up being about community, more so than the tangible action of the journey. Also adding to my list for great Fatherhood books for Father’s Day and year-round.

The Noisy Classroom Goes to the Museum by Angela Shante, illustrated by Allison Hawkins

A classroom led by an outgoing (noisy) teacher who loves to sing and dance announces they are taking a field trip to the Natural History Museum. Our BIPOC protagonist is nervous, and tries to sabotage it, but when she and the students arrive at the museum, they decide that taking on animal personas—waddling like ducks, blending in like leopards–can help them make the best of their trip. While not really ABOUT the museum as much as the before and after, this is still an important depiction that museums are not about being stoic and quiet but they are a learning experience for young visitors, perhaps in ways you might not expect.

Beatrice and Barb by Kate Jenks Landry and Vivian Mineker

A fun take on the “pet” story for kids, Beatrice wants a pet, but the pet she gets, Barb, isn’t a dog or a cat or a hamster. She’s a Venus fly trap. And despite all of Beatrice’s love, she’s sick. A visit to a vet, a playdate with a dog, and then a trip to the plant store and a meeting with Millicent are just what the doctor ordered to help Beatrice learn what Barb needs. The illustrations could have been better, but they didn’t detract from the story.

Benjamin’s Thunderstorm by Melanie Florence and Hawlii Pichette

This is a super simple book, but a great representation of Native kids living everyday, modern lives and engaging with stories that white kids have seen themselves in a hundred times. Benjamin is playing outside in the rain, thinking about what it reminds him of, making cultural ties, etc. The illustration style looked like it is destined to be an animated short!

My Baba’s Garden by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith

This sweet, sweet story from the author of I Talk Like a River is paired with incredibly evocative illustrations about the author’s own grandmother, their quiet relationship together, and the power of aging and growing old side by side. A really sweet book and the illustration style is like nothing I’ve seen in picture books recently.