Books that Came My Way in February 2022

This is my monthly roundup of books that came my way in the last month. I also share an update with you on other things going on in my and my family’s life.

Even though February is the shortest month of the year, it tends to feel like the longest, and that winter is never going to end. We closed out the month with more wintery weather and everyone seems to be longing for spring.

Family and Life Update

Reagan and her friend, Denny, a foreign exchange student from Ukraine, were partners in the Co-Ed dance. Please pray for Denny’s family as they struggle with the current situation there.

Show choir ended this month. We have so much fun traveling to competitions with friends. I’m always sad when the season is over, but also glad to get our weekends back.

Our oldest son became a member of a church where he lives and reaffirmed his faith through an immersion baptism. I’m so glad all of us could be together for this special moment. He also sang an amazing song during the service which I’ve shared below.

My heart just overflows and I’m just loving this part of parenthood watching our three children find joy and meaning in their lives.

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Now on to the books! This month the book selections include some excellent adult fiction, nonfiction, and SO MANY EXCELLENT children’s books I’m anxious to read and share with you.

In February I read 4 total books with only 1 physical book off of my own to-read shelf as part of my goal of reading 22 books off of my to-read shelf this year. I hope you find something that interests you in the books I’m sharing below.

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Be sure to follow me on Instagram, HERE to see snippets of what I’m reading or what’s going on in my daily life.

If you have missed any of my recent book reviews, you can see all of them by clicking, HERE.  Or you can stay up to date with my monthly Quick Lit Roundup.

If you choose to make a purchase through any of the links I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.

Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction

WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW

By: Kai Harris

Published: February 1, 2022

Publisher: Tiny Reparations Books

Fiction

Format: Hardcover

I chose this as my Book of the Month book for February. You can join, HERE.

After her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit, almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB) and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing.

Over the course of a single, sweltering summer, KB attempts to get her bearings in a world that has turned upside down–a father who is labeled a fiend; a mother whose smile no longer reaches her eyes; a sister, once her best friend, who has crossed the threshold of adolescence and suddenly wants nothing to do with her; a grandfather who is grumpy and silent; the white kids across the street who are friendly, but only sometimes. And all of them are keeping secrets.

Pinballing between resentment, abandonment, and loneliness, KB is forced to carve out a different identity for herself and find her own voice. As she examines the jagged pieces of her recently shattered world, she learns that while some truths cut deep, a new life–and a new KB–can be built from the shards.

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING

By: Melissa Fu

Published: March 15, 2022

Publisher: Little, Brown, & Company

Historical Fiction

Format: Hardcover

I also chose an additional Book of the Month book.

“Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.”

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

APPLES NEVER FALL

By: Liane Moriarty

Published: September 14, 2021

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co

Mystery

Format: Hardcover

This was my in-person book club choice this month and my first Liane Moriarty book. While it does make for a good book club discussion, it wasn’t a book I loved. I’ll share more about my thoughts in the next Quick Lit post.

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.

AMERICAN DIRT

By: Jeanine Cummins

Published: January 21, 2020 – Paperback February 1, 2022

Publisher: Flat Iron Books

Fiction

Format: Paperback

This is the choice for the Jen Hatmaker Book Club next month. Unfortunately, I’ve already read this book. You can see my thoughts, HERE. So, I’ll likely pass this on to our library.

Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to? 

IT ENDS WITH US

By: Colleen Hoover

Published: August 2, 2016

Publisher: Atria Books

Fiction

This is my Literati Book Club Subscription choice for March. Read all about the Literati Book Club, HERE. I’ve been seeing this book EVERYWHERE as well as any of Hoover’s other books. I had never heard of her until just a few months ago, but now I am seeing someone reading one of her books all the time. I’m anxious to see what all the buzz is about even though romance isn’t my usual genre choice.

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up
— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

THE ULTIMATE READING CHALLENGE

Complete a Goal, Open an Envelope, and Reveal Your Bookish Prize

Published: February 1, 2022

Publisher: Weldon Owen

Non-fiction

Format: Large Gift Book

I knew I had to treat myself to this fun reading challenge. I haven’t opened any of the prizes yet, but I’ll be sharing about this fun bookish challenge very soon! Click the photo of the book to see some Amazon images of how it works.

This delightful collection of 25 reading challenges and rewards inspires bookworms to live their best reading life. Each pocket inside this portfolio challenges readers to a literary challenge. Once the reader completes a challenge, they can open the pocket to claim their bookish prize. 

Use these challenges to finally tackle your to-be-read pile, check out the books on Bookstagram and Booktok you’ve been dying to read, or discover new and hidden treasures.

THE #PACE PROCESS FOR EARLY CAREER SUCCESS

By: Mark Zides

Published: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Armin Lear Press

Non-Fiction

Format: Paperback

A great choice for anyone looking for a new career. It would also make a great gift for upcoming high school or college graduates.

The career landscape is rockier than ever, and navigating it takes more than just a resume if you want to find your perfect job.

The #PACE Process for Early Career Success is designed to help you unlock the mindset, traits, and techniques needed to Plan, Apply for, Commit to, and Evaluate your ideal career path. Whether you plan to enter the corporate world, join a startup, or start your own business, you will learn how to build a network, master interviewing skills, leverage your personal brand, and even how and when to move on to your next opportunity.

Leveraging more than twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur, businessman, and CEO, Mark teachers young adults the skills they need to get their feet in the door, climb the ladder, and not stop achieving until they find success. Using real life examples, research, and a little tough love, The PACE Process for Early Career Success will equip you to not just survive the modern workforce, but to conquer it.

ROOM AND BOARD

By: Miriam Parker

Published: August 16, 2022

Publisher: Dutton

Fiction

Format: eBook

This one intrigued me enough to accept it for review based on the synopsis alone.

Gillian thought she had everything she ever wanted—as a successful publicist running her own Manhattan firm and working with a high-profile-celebrity clientele, she finally made herself at home among the elite who eluded her throughout her youth. That is, until her career implodes, leaving her jobless, friendless, and with a googleable reputation that follows her everywhere. So, when she receives an offer to become a “dorm mom” at Glen Ellen Academy, the prestigious Sonoma boarding school she attended two decades earlier on scholarship, she leaps at the opportunity for a change of scene—at least until she can figure out how to rehabilitate her career.

But Gillian is surprised to find herself enjoying her new life: her role as a mentor is unexpectedly fulfilling, she finds a community, and most surprisingly of all she runs into an old flame from her own time at school, who is just as dashing now as he was then. However, just as she begins to feel comfortable, a scandal surfaces on campus that threatens to derail everything, and Gillian must figure out how to save her job, her students, her friends, and her new romance before it’s too late.

ADULT ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

By: Abbi Waxman

Published: May 17, 2022

Publisher: Berkley

Fiction

Format: eBook

The follow-up to Waxman’s hit, THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL which I still haven’t read but it’s sitting on my shelf. I’ll have to read it before I read this one. I loved Waxman’s book, THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS.

A young woman arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over, and discovers she doesn’t need to leave everything behind after all, from Abbi Waxman, USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren’t sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them.

UNDER A GILDED MOON

By: Joy Jordan Lake

Published: December 1, 2020

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Historical Fiction

Format: eBook

Joy Jordan Lake wrote a beautiful children’s picture book, A CRAZY MUCH LOVE, so when I saw she had a new historical fiction novel, I wanted to check it out. It reminds me a bit of THE SOCIAL GRACES, which I loved.

Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American “royalty,” is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow.

Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians. She is determined to distance herself from the opulence she sees rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, however close its reach. Her family’s land is among the last pieces required to complete the Biltmore Estate. But something more powerful than an ambitious Vanderbilt heir could change Kerry’s fate as, one by one, more outsiders descend on the changing landscape—a fugitive from Sicily, a reporter chasing a groundbreaking story, a debutante tainted by scandal, and a conservationist prepared to put anyone at risk to stoke the resentment of the locals.

As Kerry finds herself caught in a war between wealth and poverty, innocence and corruption, she must navigate not only her own pride and desperation to survive but also the temptations of fortune and the men who control it. 

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THE HIKING VIKING

By: Laura Gehl

Illustrated by: Timothy Banks

Published: February 1, 2022

Publisher: Capstone Editions

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I just shared another Laura Gehl book from February, HERE. She has many books that I’ve loved.

While the other Vikings love to holler and howl and battle and brawl, Leif prefers spending time by himself atop the beautiful fjord. But when it’s time for the Viking Games, everyone must participate. Will Leif let down his clan . . . or surprise them? Highlighting the value of nature and earthly wonders, best-selling author Laura Gehl teams up with illustrator Timothy Banks to remind readers to stay true to themselves and to look at things from a new perspective.

PRUETT AND SOO

By: Nancy Viau

Illustrated by: Jorge Lacera

Published: April 1, 2022

Publisher: Two Lions

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I’m thrilled to share another Nancy Viau book with you. You can see two of her books that I’ve loved, HERE.

Pruett is from Planet Monochrome, where everything is black, white, or gray; everyone follows the rules and walks in straight lines; and they never, ever ask or answer questions. But then Soo arrives from Planet Prismatic. She’s bursting with brilliant colors! She zigs and zags all over the place! When she asks Pruett questions, he finds he wants to reply…and his whole world starts to change.

With a palette that shifts from grayscale to full color, this engaging story reminds us that what you feel defines who you are—and, sometimes, a friend can help you see that best. 

PASSOVER, HERE I COME!

By: D.J. Steinberg

Illustrated by: Emanuel Wiemans

Published: February 8, 2021

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Fiction

Format: Paperback Picture Book

With poetry and fun stickers, kids will love getting excited about Passover. Check out his book on Christmas, HERE.

Celebrate Passover with a collection of funny and festive poems from the author of the hugely popular Kindergarten, Here I Come!

The Seder plate is set and the pantry’s filled with matzah — Passover is here! Author D. J. Steinberg is back with an all new collection of poems celebrating the joys of Passover, from singing the Four Questions to finding the Afikomen.

Includes a sheet of stickers for extra holiday fun!

TUMMY TIME!

A High-Contrast Fold-Out Book with Mirror

By: Mama Makes Books

Published: March 1, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Non-Fiction

Format: Board Book

I reviewed this one already, HERE.

The perfect baby shower gift for new parents.

“Tummy time – placing a baby on his or her stomach only while awake and supervised – can help your baby develop strong neck and shoulder muscles, and promote motor skills.” – Mayo Clinic. And this book will keep babies’ brains busy, too, while their muscles are hard at work. The high-contrast images on one side are mesmerizing because, although young babies’ vision is blurry, they can see bold patterns with sharp light-dark contrast and saturated color. Babies are also hard-wired to recognize faces, so there are baby photos on the other side to delight your baby, and an embedded mirror – because babies love looking at themselves! The book can be spread out in front of them, or read like a book so you can enjoy reading time together.

GOTTA GO, BUFFALO

A Silly Book of Fun Goodbyes

By: Kevin & Haily Meyers

Illustrated by: Haily Meyers

Published: March 7, 2022

Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Fiction

Format: Interactive Board Book

Kids will love all the goodbye slogans in this book!

“So long!” “See you later!” There are so many ways to say goodbye! Lift the flaps in this colorful book to discover favorite animals (and maybe a few new ones, too) and fun goodbyes. Children and grown-ups alike will be giggling before you can say, “Toodle-Loo, Kangaroo!”

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

By: Antonella Abbatiello

Translated by: Angus Yuen-Killick

Published: March 15, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A fable with an important lesson.

The animals of the forest have assembled to discuss what is the most important thing: is it to have a trunk like an elephant, quills like a porcupine, or a long neck like a giraffe? Naturally, every animal is convinced that its particular trait is the most important one and that everyone should have it. But when the large gatefold pages open they show all the animals with the quills of a porcupine, the long neck of a giraffe, or the trunk of the elephant, and everyone sees that it cannot possibly be right. At last, the wise owl speaks up and helps them understand that the true value lies precisely in their collective ‘diversity’. It is that which makes them all unique and essential to harmonious life in the forest.

MY BROTHER OTTO

By: Meg Raby

Illustrated by: Elisa Pallmer

Published: March 19, 2022

Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

If you are looking for children’s books with characters on the autism spectrum, check out this one coming soon!

My Brother Otto is a child-friendly, endearing, and fun picture book for children about the love, acceptance, and understanding a sister, Piper, has for her little brother Otto, who is on the autism spectrum. The book provides explanations for Otto’s differences and quirkiness in an easy-to-understand language, and highlights Otto’s desires for adventure and love–just like his peers. To be more specific, My Brother Otto is a sweet story about a sister and a brother who engage in common, everyday experiences in their own unique way with the idea that kindness and understanding always win!

IMAGINE!

Rhymes of Hope to Shout Together

By: Bruno Tognolini

Illustrated by: Giulia Orecchia

Translated by: Denise Muir

Published: March 22, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

I love poetry books for kids!

From the unique voice of Bruno Tognolini, Italy’s most-loved children’s poet today, come these exuberant “rhymes of hope to shout together”. Skillfully translated by Denise Muir, this musical rhythmic chant gives voice to the wishes and hopes of children for a better future. From grand dreams of peace, solidarity between nations, and protection of our environment, to the intimate, wishes for friendship, opportunity, and joyful birthday celebrations; all are heartfelt cries for a better life and future.

Accompanied by the vibrant collage art of Giulia Orecchia, this youthful anthem for change, in the tradition of social justice poetry, is a true manifesto of hope. If children hold the key to the future, this book unlocks their potential. Who can resist the drumbeat call to rise, take to the streets, and shout these lines to the skies? Imagine!

BE THANKFUL FOR TREES

A Tribute to the Many & Surprising Ways Trees Relate to Our Lives

By: Harriet Ziefert

Illustrated by: Brian Fitzgerald

Published: March 29, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

You know I love trees, so I can’t wait to check out this book and share it with you. Plus, this book about saving trees is printed on 100% recycled FSC paper!

What gives you a seat, a floor for your feet?
A place you can sit with your family to eat?
The pum-pum of a drum, a guitar’s twangy strum . . .
Tree wood makes music zing, ping, and hum.

Using lilting, rhyming couplets, this book explores the many items that are made from trees. But it doesn’t stop there! Kids will also learn about the many uses of live trees – and the environmental danger to trees posed by forest fires, floods, and deforestation. Kids are encouraged to be kind, not only to one another, but to the environment as well.

Kids will view their backyards and parks in a whole new light after going on an arboreal eco-tour in this gorgeous paean to trees.

This book is printed on responsibly sourced, 100% recycled FSC paper. 

THE FRIENDSHIP SURPRISE

By: Giorgio Volpe

Illustrated by: Paolo Proietti

Published: March 29, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

His book BEFORE WE SLEEP made my Favorite Children’s Books of 2021 list.

It is spring and Little Red fox is excited to be reunited with his best friend, Hazel, a dormouse who will shortly wake from a long sleep. But over the winter, the fox has made another friend, Brock the badger. Little Red decides revealing the new friendship is not the surprise Hazel will want to wake to, so he delays bringing it up as they resume their games. Bu the fox needs to find a way to introduce the friends while maintaining the special friendship with Hazel he holds so dear. Eventually the dilemma is resolved, but not without a surprise or two along the way. This book continues the friendship story told in the companion title Before We Sleep, also by Volpe and Proietti, although it may be read and appreciated completely on its own. 

SUNRISE DANCE

By: Serena Gingold Allen

Illustrated by: Teagan White

Published: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Interactive Board Book

She also has the book MOONLIGHT PRANCE to be published the same day.

Make salmon splash and bear cubs bustle with each push of a durable novelty element in this sweet and interactive morning read-aloud.

When you wake up in the morning, playful animals are starting their day! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make dragonflies dance and bear cubs bustle in this sweet, interactive tale of morning-time fun.

A charming and interactive bedtime read-aloud, young children will delight in moving the durable novelty elements, making the illustrations transform through their efforts.

I LOVE STRAWBERRIES

By: Shannon Anderson

Illustrated by: Jaclyn Sinquett

Published: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Feeding Minds Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Get this book for your kids and then start your own strawberry patch!

Jolie LOVES strawberries – and she’s on an unstoppable (and hilarious) mission to grow her own food from seedling to table in this colorful introduction to the joy of growing the popular perennial.

Through Jolie’s comical scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers will learn how she convinces the “old people” (aka her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.

Creating a garden calendar and notebook, how strawberries grow, what pests to look out for in a garden, why ladybugs are helpful, and how a good gardener takes care of strawberry plants are all explained in this fun and educational story. Informational backmatter includes tips on growing strawberries, an explanation of integrated pest management for greener, safer gardening – and even tips for how to find a pick your own strawberry patch near you.

This story makes a great read before a family trip to a strawberry patch, a garden store, or in a classroom talking about healthy eating and growing your own food. 

I REALLY WANT TO BE FIRST!

A Really Bird Story #1

By: Harriet Ziefert

Illustrated by: Travis Foster

Published: April 12, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A great new series that teaches life lessons from the author of BE THANKFUL FOR TREES, featured above.

Meet Really Bird, a small bird who lives in a large city park with his friends Cat, Pup, Mouse, and Rabbit. In each story, Really Bird finds himself really wanting something – to be bigger, to have his fair share, or to be the leader – to be really silly, funny, strong, cool, happy, or brave. And when he feels something, he really feels it.

In I Really Want to Be First!, Really Bird is usually in line behind his two best friends, Cat and Pup. He wants to be first for a change, so he thinks up a scheme to become the leader of the group. Along the way, Really Bird discovers that being the leader involves more than being first.

I REALLY WANT A BIGGER PIECE!

A Really Bird Story #2

By: Harriet Ziefert

Illustrated by: Travis Foster

Published: April 12, 2022

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Meet Really Bird, a small bird who lives in a large city park with his friends Cat, Pup, Mouse, and Rabbit. In each story, Really Bird finds himself really wanting something – to be bigger, to have his fair share, or to be the leader – to be really silly, funny, strong, cool, happy, or brave. And when he feels something, he really feels it.

In I Really Want a Bigger Piece, Really Bird is offered the smallest piece of blueberry pie by his bigger best friends, Cat and Pup. He is really hungry and wants a bigger piece! Really Bird and his pals manage to navigate the oh-so-familiar desire for MORE.

TOGETHER WE RIDE

By: Valerie Bolling

Illustrated by: Kaylani Juanita

Published: April 26, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

If you have a child ready to ride their bike on two wheels, get this book and prepare them for the experience.

Learning to ride is no easy feat! But with a little courage, a guiding hand from her dad, and an enthusiastic bark from her pup, one brave girl quickly learns the freedom that comes from an afternoon spent outside on a bike.

Experience the fear, the anticipation, and the delight of achieving the ultimate milestone in this energetic, warm story that celebrates the precious bond between parent and child.

YOU ARE HERE

By: Zach Manbeck

Published: May 10, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Teaches kids to love the moment they are in…and maybe a lesson for parents too.

You are here, and from here there are so many places you can go. But how will you know how to get there? In this warm and wise debut, Zach Manbeck gives readers a poetic roadmap to help us find our way in the world, while also reminding us all that right now, we are here—exactly where we are meant to be.

Both sweet and uplifting, this is a perfect book for a new baby, a new graduate, or anyone who could use a reminder that “all who wander are not lost.”

ELEFANTASTIC!

A Story of Magic in 5 Acts

By: Jane Yolen

Illustrated by: Brett Helquist

Published: May 17, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

Check out other books from Jane Yolen, HERE.

Discover the unlikely—and entirely unforgettable—friendship between Flora, an elephant calf stolen from her African home, and David, the circus impresario and magician who adopts, trains, and ultimately liberates her, in this tale freely inspired by actual events.

With a minimum of language—only 22 words in all—but a maximum of inventive ele-fantabulous wordplay, Jane Yolen deftly reimagines this initially tentative but ultimately unconditional relationship between a man and an elephant. Brett Helquist not only lovingly illuminates the tale with all the excitement and tension, mystery and color of a vintage circus poster but also fully captures the subtle range of emotions of a remarkable and enduring ele-friendship.

LIFE LOG

Explore Your World and Track Your Life with Infographic Activities

By: Lea Redmond

Illustrated by: Andrea Tsurumi

Published: June 7, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Non-Fiction/Journal

Another book illustrated by Tsurumi I’ve shared is MR. WATSON’S CHICKENS. This interactive journal with all kinds of fun prompts would be perfect for a tween in your life.

FOX & CHICK: UP AND DOWN AND OTHER STORIES

By: Sergio Ruzzier

Published: July 5, 2022

Publisher: Chronicle Kids

Fiction

Format: Hardcover Picture Book

A great early reader series for kids that want more than a picture book.

In the tradition of Frog and Toad, this critically acclaimed early reader series features Fox and Chick—two unlikely friends who, despite their differences, always manage to find a way to get along. In this fourth book in the series, Fox and Chick climb a tree, build a bookcase, and catch snowflakes!

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Which one (or two or three) of these books will you be adding to your list?

To see all the posts featuring new books on my shelves, click HERE.

So many books, so little time!