Format: Picture Book Fiction

Nice Work

by Nicholas Day
Published by Penguin Random House on May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9780593806296
Pages: 40
Genres: Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
four-stars

Friendship, patience, and change are central themes that weave through Nice Work, a picture book written by Nicholas Day and illustrated by Hala Tahboub. A family decides to plant a peach tree, which starts off looking only like a stick. The child decides to plant more sticks with a friend, Maya, to see if they grow into trees as well. With care and patience, the real tree grows and eventually bears fruit, but sadly, Maya moves away. An older woman moves into Maya’s house and new connections are made. The child shows through a letter to Maya that he learns about patience, care, and how to cope with change. This is a philosophical, gently paced story with some diverse characters.  All of this is conveyed with the straightforward tone of a kid who just tells it like it is, which brings light humor to this meaningful book. The illustrations seem straightforward at first, but the use of light and shadow conveys the complexities of friendship and loss, anticipation and waiting, constancy and change. Early Elementary readers will enjoy this book, and it could also be a good read aloud for K-5th graders. 

Reviewed by Antona Briley, Librarian, Dora Small School, South Portland

four-stars

Is This a Plum?

Is This a Plum?Is This a Plum? A Peek-Through Picture Book by Dan Ojari
Genres: Babies/Infants, Children's Beginning Readers, Humor, Picture book/animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Is This a Plum? a delightful peek-through picture book by Dan and Finn Ojari, will keep readers on their toes! Page cut-outs look like one thing, but you’ll be surprised with every turn of the page. Readers of any age will enjoy the guessing game as well as the charming critters determined to lead your guesses astray. And such illustrations! Like Eric Carle, Dan Ojari can command a page with basic shapes and colors. Those who tend to be visually overwhelmed will especially love the design of the book. Even the texture of the cover has a tactile appeal.

Recommended for ages 3-8, and the book begs to be read aloud. Daycares, preschools, K-3 classrooms, library children’s collections, and caregivers of all types would do well to add Is This a Plum? to their collections.

Bonus! The book was inspired by Dan’s son Finn who realized a plum looks a lot like a … well, you’ll have to find that out for yourself.

Reviewed by Beth Almquist, Lewiston Public Library

five-stars

Spendin’ Time

Spendin’ Time: A Picture Book about Family and Slowing Down, for Kids (Ages 4-8) by Gary R. Gray Jr., Rahele Jomepour Bell
ISBN: 006308998X
Genres: Cultural / Indigenous, Family, Family Life
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

What’s the story? Nothing really. Just spendin’ time. Gray and Bell’s gentle slice-of-life picture book follows a boy and his grandfather as they move through town one day: gathering berries, greeting neighbors, fishing, visiting the market, and sharing memories. Nothing is rushed, no problems to overcome. The point, we see, is the boy and his grandfather spending time together, noticing and enjoying life’s small pleasures. The author’s note at the end of the book, addressed to the author’s own grandfather, clarifies that the setting here is Preston, Nova Scotia, “Canada’s oldest Indigenous black community,” and the site of many happy memories.

Bell’s illustrations underscore the message of the book, with soft pastels offering rounded edges and rich colors to notice and appreciate. And while the gentle tone and repeated reminder that “we’re spending time” encourage readers to slow down, the text isn’t without excitement. “Plop! Fwoosh! Splash!” Onomatopoeia dots steps along the journey and offers fun read-aloud moments for a preschool story time focused on grandparents or daily life/chores.

Reviewed by Carolyn Gallmeyer, Lithgow Public Library, Augusta

four-stars

Navigating Night

Navigating NightNavigating Night by Angie Kang, Julie Leung
on March 10, 2026
ISBN: 0593897692
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, Family, Family Life, Immigrants
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

“I don’t want to be a good kid. I want to be a normal kid.” So says the narrator of Navigating Night, a picture book based on author Julie Leung’s own childhood experience. Against the backdrop of a rainy night, evocatively illustrated by Angie Kang, a Chinese girl helps her father make deliveries for their restaurant. Translating and navigating, she finds herself encountering those who are kind, those who are not, and those who make her feel envious and awkward. When she challenges her father that she wants to be like other kids rather than help him, he responds by gently telling her of his own journey from danger, navigating a new home, sent by his family to begin a new life when he was just a boy.

Navigating Night conveys the frustration every child feels when conflicted between pride in who they are, and the need to blend in. It also points out the frustration experienced by children of immigrants who must function as adults as they assist their parents, while longing to be a “normal kid.” Recommended for elementary classrooms, public libraries, and any who want to take a brief journey in the shoes (or car) of a child learning to navigate her own way home.

Reviewed by Beth Almquist, Lewiston Public Library

four-stars

Claire and the Cathedral

Genres: Arts, Inspiration
Format: Picture Book Fiction
three-stars

Claire and the Cathedral

Author/ Illustrator: Pam Fong

This is a wordless grayscale picture book, with pops of rainbow colors, for ages 4-8 about a young girl named Claire. When her mother takes her to a cathedral on a rainy day, she is initially quite bored.   Then a brief ray of light shines through a stained-glass window and brings color and wonder back into Claire’s gray world. Soon she realizes there are rainbows all around her, if she looks closely.

This book encourages readers to find unexpected beauty in a dreary rainy day. It also highlights the uplifting power of generosity and the connection of parent and child.

Accessible to children of all ages, literacy levels, and languages, it encourages readers to tell the story in their own words.  The illustrations are the highlight of the book, but the setting may be largely unrelatable and foreign to a large group of readers. 

3 stars

 Reviewed by: Lindsey Hopkins, Jay-Niles Memorial Library, Jay

three-stars

But I’m a Pumpkin! a Summerween Story

But I’m a Pumpkin! a Summerween StoryBut I'm a Pumpkin!: A Summerween Story by Heidi Moreno, Kat Choppy
Genres: Gardening, Holiday
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Author: Kat Choppy

Illustrator: Heidi Moreno

This picture book for ages 3-7 is about a little girl who can’t wait for Halloween. She plants a pumpkin patch and eagerly monitors the growth of her plants. The growing pumpkins can’t wait for Halloween either; they look forward to being turned into jack-o-lanterns. However, the girl finds a pumpkin with green stripes that just isn’t turning orange. She tries everything, from giving it extra water to thinking the halloweeniest thoughts, but it stays green. At first, the little girl is devastated to learn that her favorite pumpkin isn’t a pumpkin at all! But, she still carves it into a jack-o-lantern and creates a new Summerween tradition.

This reviewer’s favorite illustration is at the end of the book and depicts the old wilted, smelly ant-filled watermelon on the porch with the freshly- made pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. This book will inspire readers to create their own watermelon jack-o-lanterns.

5 stars

Reviewed by: Lindsey Hopkins, Jay-Niles Memorial Library, Jay

five-stars

Lulu Didn’t Want a Dog

Lulu Didn’t Want a DogLulu Didn't Want a Dog by Laurel Molk
Published by Random House Studio on March 17, 2026
ISBN: 059370908X
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Like oil and water cats and dogs are things that often don't mix well. Lulu is a cat who likes things a certain way and likes her time alone to enjoy them. When the news comes her family will be welcoming a rescue dog, Gus, into the family she is highly apprehensive and downright displeased.
Gus arrives loud and boisterous, disturbing Lulu’s much prized peace and quiet. Lulu spends her day trying to get away from Gus to be able to have her time alone. When she finds a place where she can be all alone she also finds herself in trouble and it is Gus to the rescue.
This story is a wonderful look at how to overcome as well as celebrate differences.

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

four-stars

The Wildest Thing

The Wildest ThingThe Wildest Thing by Emily Winfield Martin
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Emotions & Feelings, Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Eleanor loved wild things – and inside of her, there was something wild waiting to come out. Her mother calls her back into the house one night, since it is time to go to bed. And when she wakes up, the wild had come in. As she goes about her day surrounded by the wild, Eleanor comes further and further out of her shell embracing the wildness within herself. Finally, when the wild is quiet inside her head, all Eleanor wants is for a bath and to climb into bed. The pencil, gouache, and acrylic illustrations perfectly showcase the wildness coming into Eleanor’s house, as well as her pushing the limits and engaging with her own wildness. The gentle rhyming text makes for a sweet and easy read-aloud. This lovely story feels like a classic tale, and is reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This cream of the crop nominee would be a welcome addition to any picture book collection. Recommended for ages 3 to 7 (Preschool to 2nd Grade).

Reviewed by: Jenn Mead, Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, Lovell

five-stars

Miles Ahead

Miles Ahead by Minh Lê
Published by Penguin Random House on 2026
ISBN: 0593569202
Genres: Family Life
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

It’s an exciting day for a family road trip to meet the new baby cousin. A young child, along with the family dog, Miles, enthusiastically overpacks for the trip. They drive off only to realize they have lost the gift for the new baby! The family scrambles to find the lost gift, and ends up finding nostalgia, love, and silly banter along the way. The family presents as East Asian, and the dynamic illustrations include family photos and memorabilia. This funny, relatable family story has love, generosity and memories at its heart, and is great for Pre-K-2nd graders. This would be a fun story time read aloud, and is nominated as a Cream of the Crop book.  

Reviewed by Antona Briley, Librarian, Dora Small School, South Portland

five-stars

I Will Not Walk To School

I Will Not Walk To SchoolI Will Not Walk to School by Kelly Collier, Naseem Hrab
Published by Kids Can Press ISBN: 1525314394
Genres: Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Another school day, another dreaded commute for Monster. School’s not the issue, it’s just getting there that has him dragging his feet. Luckily he has Bird, a selfless source of motivation who reminds Monster that it’s pancake day and then proceeds to stick with him every step of the meandering, increasingly infuriating way.

Presented entirely in banter between Monster and Bird, this picture book for younger grades will appeal to both Mo Willems fans and those who have similar trouble making the daily trek to school.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski. Patten Free Library, Bath

three-stars