Format: Picture Book Fiction

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

Night Flight

Night FlightNight Flight by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, David Barclay Moore
Published by Candlewick Press on September 30, 2025
ISBN: 1536223263
Genres: Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

As a little boy is tucked snugly into bed for the night in his safe, warm home, sleep continues to escape him. He’s missing his dads who are out for an evening together. As he stares groggily out the window into the winter evening his imagination soars bringing to him a pterosaur, like the mobile in his room, to fly him out over the nighttime city scenes until they come home to him.

Gorgeous illustrations bring to life this story. We are at once cozy at home and also out on an almost mystical nighttime journey.

4-9 years old

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

four-stars

Wiggling Words

Wiggling WordsWiggling Words: Loving Language with Dyslexia by Kate Rolfe
Published by Candlewick on September 30, 2025
ISBN: 1536244554
Genres: Learning Disabilities
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Learning to read can be a challenge for anyone.This book focuses on a child learning to read with dyslexia. We follow along as they work through their book, anxious to find out the ending. They struggle and work doggedly, focusing on how they best deal with words seemingly piled on a page in front of them until they achieve success!
The illustrations are just as powerful, if not more so than the words, bringing the emotion our main character is feeling to us as we read his story. This is an important book to allow kids to feel seen and raise understanding among others.

4-9 years old

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

four-stars

Floor It!

Floor It!Floor It! by Bex Tobin Fine, Federico Fabiani
Published by Random House ISBN: 0593904990
Genres: Adventure, Babies/Infants
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Preschoolers, kindergartners, and/or anyone who has a crawling sibling will enjoy this fast-paced, rhyming, picture book chronicling a baby’s quadrupedal race across the house. Wearing a helmet for good measure, the baby explores it all while we get to enjoy seeing the house and family from their perspective. The illustrations are fun, the race car themed rhymes flow nicely, and the momentum stays strong throughout. All family members are described in nonbinary terms (i.e., sibling, they/them, parent).  A great choice for story time.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

four-stars