Format: Picture Book Fiction

Books on Bikes

Books on BikesBooks on Bikes by Brizida Magro, F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell
Published by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks on September 2, 2025
ISBN: 0063285126
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Books on Bikes
By F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell; illustrated by Brizida Magro

Lia loves to read. She reads everywhere so goes and whenever she possibly can. Summer comes along and school is closed and the library is so far away limiting her access to books. One day in the park she happens upon a man on a bike pedaling around with free books and she is overjoyed. The only problem is he has many areas to cover to gift books. She gets the idea of people helping him and starts it off herself.

This book is a love story about reading and the culture of reading. Bibliographic material is included in the back of this book.

Ages 4-8
Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.

five-stars

Hogbert

HogbertHogbert by Briony May Smith
Published by Candlewick on November 1, 2025
ISBN: 1536245038
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Hogbert is the smallest hoglet in her family but is just as excited as her brothers and sisters to go into the forest with Mommy Boar looking for “truffles and treats” for the very first time! As they head out Mommy Boar tells her brood to stay close with warnings about the Big Bad Wolf.

Before Hogbert even has time to think his snout catches wonderful and distracting scents and his family has moved on without him! Just then he meets up with a little red squirrel who is on her way to visit her granny. They trundle on together nervously hearing crunches in the woods and scurrying to safety only to find a fawn in the underbrush. This threesome continues their fairytale-like search through the beautifully illustrated woods until they are together with their families once again.

This story is as sweet and charming as they come.

4-8 years old

Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.

four-stars

The Search For Our Cosmic Neighbors

The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbors (Hidden Wonders) by Chloe Savage
Series: Hidden Wonders
Published by Candlewick Press on September 30, 2025
ISBN: 1536247499
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Everyone wonders at one point or another if there is life “out there”, on other planets, in other galaxies. We stare at the sky and wonder.

Author and illustrator, Chloe Savage, takes us along on a trip into space with Captain Julie and her spaceship crew. Over the course of ten years they visit countless other planets without finding any other life. When they land on their last planet with plans to head back to Earth afterwards they seek and look and search under and over and lo and behold they meet a group of aliens. With their eyes opened to the wonders by this planet’s inhabitants will Captain Julie and her crew ever want to come home?

The watercolor illustrations are beautiful and add an ethereal quality to the book.

3-8 years old

Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.

three-stars

Family Feast!

Family Feast!Family Feast! by Carole Boston Weatherford, Frank Morrison
ISBN: 059389829X
Genres: Cultural / African American, Family, Holiday, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Time for a Family Feast! This joyous picture book depicts the gathering of family in anticipation of a big dinner together. Big Ma and Pops are hosting in a city apartment setting. There are big hugs when family arrives, and pots clanging in the kitchen. There’s a culmination of different soul food dishes from relatives. A beautiful mantra repeats on each page, “Tastes like home when family meet; a bond so warm, so strong, so sweet.” The illustrations are full of motion and smiles and the rhymes in the text are spot on. This book is an excellent choice to read around Thanksgiving, as a turkey is pictured being carved, however, it doesn’t specifically reference a holiday and could be read during any time of year. The text and illustrations really work in harmony to express the joy and experience of being together with extended family.

Cream of the Crop Nominee

Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

five-stars

M Is for Mango

M Is for MangoM Is for Mango by Angela Brooksbank, Atinuke
ISBN: 1536241288
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

M is For Mango is a letter sound concept book starring a toddler named Mo in (most likely) Nigeria. The book focuses on M words in a narrative storyline. The reader spends a morning with Mo as he gets ready for the day, interacts with his doting parents, and competes with monkeys to collect the most fruit from the mango tree.

This is Atinuke’s third book using this concept of focusing on a single letter; hopefully, she continues. The multi-media art is well organized, textured, and softly lined. The book represents Nigerian culture (moi-moi and monkeys), but the story is universally relatable (impish toddler, caring parents). This would be a great choice for story time with infants and toddlers.

Reviewed by Becky Cooper, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

four-stars

The Greatest Gift

The Greatest GiftThe Greatest Gift (Emma Dodd's Love You Books) by Emma Dodd
ISBN: 1536241172
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
two-stars

The pictures are darling, with grassland of metallic gold and an adorable zebra family cuddling throughout an adventurous day. However, everything about its text—its poor contrast (purple on indigo?), forced rhyme scheme, and vague notions (“…but the gift I can give you is greater than the rest, I give you the gift of love, the greatest and the best.”)—makes reading the book frustrating and forgettable. It’s perhaps best for a baby’s sleepy book, but there are better and more versatile choices for that purpose.

Reviewed by Becky Cooper, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

two-stars

Boar and Hedgehog

Boar and HedgehogBoar and Hedgehog by David Elliott, Eugene Yelchin
ISBN: 1536228710
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Model neighbor Hedgehog continuously helps Boar, a stereotypical crank, until Boar at last sees the error of his ways.

For a story with a pretty basic moral (be a helpful neighbor), there is extensive text with vocabulary both advanced (dyspepsia) and slang (whatevs). There is also a lack of trust in the reader, as every concept is spelled out (Cold and dark, the cave was a reflection of his own miserable heart.). The artwork by Eugene Yelchin is not terrible, but some pages look as if it was quickly uploaded digitally in low resolution. Target audience is unclear; its storyline is too simple for advanced readers, and its length is too long for beginners.

Reviewed by Becky Cooper, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

Tuck Me In!

Tuck Me In!Tuck Me In!: A Science Bedtime Story by Nathan W. Pyle
on September 2, 2025
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Tuck Me In! is Nathan Pyle’s first book specifically for children. It’s a modern tall tale that introduces the concept of tides. Sleepy beaches want to be tucked in by the moon, but there isn’t enough ocean to blanket all the beaches at once. Moon creates a schedule called Tuck Ins Divided Evenly, or T.I.D.E., and everyone is happy.

This book is a great way to introduce toddlers to the idea of tides. It even touches on a tide’s relationship to the moon. It’s a fun read-aloud, too. There are clear character dialogue, solid color art, large text, and cute faces. However, like any tall tale, this book has more fiction than fact. Do not get this to fill a hole in your non-fiction collection.

Reviewed by Becky Cooper, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

four-stars

Sometimes You Find a Dragon: Find Your Dragon. Find Your Creativity

Sometimes You Find a Dragon: Find Your Dragon. Find Your CreativitySometimes You Find a Dragon: Find Your Dragon. Find Your Creativity. by Viviane Schwarz
Published by Candlewick Press on September 16, 2025
ISBN: 1536245119
Genres: Arts
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Sometimes You Find A Dragon
By Viviane Schwarz

We are surrounded by dragons. We just need to pay attention and notice them. What do we do when we notice them? Pay attention. Let your creativity take hold. Dragons are around us, some people call them twigs. We should let the dragon determine how we care for it and express it; it could be through art, or music, song, or dance.
This book encourages children to let wonder surround them, find sources of creativity everywhere, and tap into their own personal reserves.

3-8 years old

Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.

four-stars

My Teacher is a Dinosaur

My Teacher is a DinosaurMy Teacher Is a Dinosaur! (My Life is Weird) by Bill Canterbury, Jeff Harter
Published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers on June 3, 2025
ISBN: 0593807936
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

My Teacher is a Dinosaur (My Life is Weird)
By Bill Canterbury; illustrated by Jeff Harter

Kids are used to their home routines but when they get into their classroom everything goes topsy turvy because their teacher is a dinosaur! Full of jokes and puns and tons of action we follow this class along as they explore the classroom and some wild field trips.

This is perfect for any dinosaur lover and kiddos who have a hard time sitting through a story. So many roars to roar along with!

4-9 years old

Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.

three-stars