A Brave Bear by Sean Taylor, Emily Hughes 
A Brave Bear is the story of a papa bear and baby bear who want to get to some water to cool off from the hot summer day. This is a sweet story that reflects the languid energy of a lazy summer day, and shows the sweet relationship between father and son. A solid addition to a collection.
Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library
Frog (Little Life Cycles) by Maggie Li One of four books in Little Life Cycles series. Clever cut-out of frog’s eyes that transform into frog eggs that young children will enjoy poking their fingers through. This book is a stronger title than Bug in in the same series. Like Bug, this title is too wordy but less so. The illustrations are less busy and more descriptive. Preschoolers will enjoy the frog metamorphosis and will be encouraged to explore and look for frogs in different stages. This book can also be an added resource for K-2 classrooms studying life cycles.
Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library
Bug (Little Life Cycles) by Maggie Li 
One of four books in Little Life Cycles series. Clever cut-out of worm on pages that babies will enjoy poking their fingers through. With a nod to “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” the caterpillar eats his way through one adventure after another. The illustrations are a bit too busy for this age group and word count for board books should be zero to one hundred; this book far exceeds that limit. If sharing with very young readers, the reader would probably need to paraphrase. The book could definitely be used in K-2 classrooms when teaching life cycles.
Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library
Ally Baby Can: Be an Eco-Activist by Jade Orlando, Nyasha Williams 
The second in a series of Ally Baby books, this title addresses the language and activities surrounding eco-activism. From climate change to recycling efforts to planting trees and eating local food, many action verbs are highlighted: combat, plant, shop, ride, read, vote. Each word is accompanied by an example for action and illustrations of multi-cultural babies enjoying their tasks. The message is extremely important and the book offers many suggestions for being an ecological ally, but it uses babies to deliver sophisticated vocabulary and concepts. This makes it hard to know the audience for the book. Do elementary students, or adults, want to be lectured by babies? With words like “regenerative” and “sustainable”, are we supposed to read this book to babies? And even with such an important message, a title like this is a trigger for people who feel that children are being indoctrinated with a woke agenda. The publisher totes this as a “rhyming text” but the rhyme is quite thin and the book would have been better served with unrhymed prose. The end matter defines what it means to be an ally, offers a recap of the actions taken in the book (by the babies), and provides an extensive glossary and a short bibliography. Purchase this if you have a need for an all-in-one text that defines eco-activism and illustrates specific actions that can be taken to promote eco-activism; otherwise, it might be better to skip this one.
Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School
Our Beautiful Colors by Nikki Shannon Smith, Bea Jackson A wonderfully illustrated board book that celebrates all the different shades of color that are seen in communities. The watercolor illustrations use bright vibrant colors in the background which complement the various shades of brown which are highlighted throughout the book. The author uses poetic verse and repeated lines to assist young readers with pronouncing words and sentences. The story shows a positive representation of vitiligo, which is a skin condition that is caused by loss of melanin in the skin. This book’s audience is young readers ages 3 through 5. This book is a great addition to any library collection because of the celebration of diversity and its inclusive content.
Reviewed by Brandon Dyer, Auburn Public Library
Jingle Bells: Sing Along With Me! by James Lord Pierpont, Yu-Hsuan Huang A traditional song is brought to life by the adorable illustrations in this board book. Complete with slide outs and finger holds, this perfectly-sized book depicts the sense of sharing and community that appeals to toddlers and their readers. The font is clear and large enough for emerging readers to share with their younger siblings. Depicted as a polar bear, Santa travels on foot as well as on his sleigh bringing gifts to a variety of animal characters. All the animals are fully involved as they prepare for Christmas by practicing instruments and playing in snow, as well as delivering gifts and goodies to neighbors.
“Jingle Bells” is a new addition to the Sing Along With ME series. This book is an excellent selection for older toddlers. Public librarians who collect board books are sure to want this title in their collection.
Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, Retired Youth Services Librarian
Catch That Chicken! by Atinuke, Angela Brooksbank Catch That Chicken by Atinuke and illustrations by Angela Brooksbank is the story of a young girl named Lami who is the best chicken-catcher in her compound. But when one chicken proves too fast and too tricky to catch in her usual way, Lami must learn how to catch chickens by outsmarting, and not merely outrunning, them.
This book is dynamic and full of repetitive phrases to call out as Lami runs past family members to catch her chickens. The illustrations are dynamic and the reader’s eye is naturally drawn to the path of Lami as she chases her way through different scenes of her home life. All walks of life are included in this adventure, as well as a myriad of animals and not just chickens. A solid addition to any collection.
Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library
Animal Families: Snow by Jane Ormes Snow: A lift-the-flap book about animal families is a walk through different mammals and what their cubs are named, using lift-the-flap interactivity to reveal the baby animal at the end of each sentence. The book only describes four animals which is sparse, even for a board book. The illustrations are lovely, with patterned and whimsical natural backgrounds as well as endearing animals. A solid addition to a collection.
Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library
This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen 
Jon Klassen’s book, This is Not My Hat works well in board book format. A story of a small fish who steals a big fish’s hat for themselves, sure that they will not be caught. The illustrations are stark against the dark background and the expressions of the animals involved in the plotline are all engaging and humorous. When the words stop, the pictures continue to tell the story, allowing the reader to decide how the book ended. Good for a slightly older picture book audience, the board book format might turn off the readers who believe they’ve grown out of board books, but the topic is definitely suited for kids more tuned into inference.
Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library
Christmas Is Joy by Emma Dodd A lovely holiday selection that does not mention Santa, presents, or religion. This story featuring reindeer characters emphasizes the importance of sharing with family at Christmas. It does have a bit of sparkle on the cover but lacks the metallic illustrations of other books in the series. The reindeer are adorable. A wonderful book to share during toddler story time or one-on-one with a young child. Exudes that “Christmas is Joy!” feeling. Highly recommend.
Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library