Provo Library Children's Book Blog

 Over half of Americans own a dog, and even more are dog lovers, which means National Dog Day is a holiday that should be celebrated wholeheartedly! These five picture books about dogs are wonderful options to help you kickstart your festivities this year.  Van Dog By Mikołaj Pasiński Varennes, Quebec, Canada: Milky Way Picture Books, 2022. Picture Book.  An artsy pup, Van Dog, takes a trip into the countryside to paint the landscape in this delightful and beautiful picture book. Readers will relate to the journey of Van Dog and his difficulty to accurately capture the beauty around him. Dog lovers will love this fanciful artistic romp! My Dog and I Written by Luca Tortolini Illustrated by Felicita Sala Varennes, Quebec, Canada: Milky Way Picture Books, 2023. Picture Book.  This book may not feature a dog in the traditional sense, but it will be sure to delight nonetheless! The story begins with a little girl on a walk who stumbles upon a "dog". She brings ...

Roar-choo! Written by Charlotte Cheng Illustrated by Dan Santat New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2024. Picture Book. Dragon is strong. Dragon is fierce. Dragon also has a cold. Phoenix is trying to help Dragon relax and drink tea to get better, but Dragon refuses help because “Dragons never quit.” But when Dragon’s firey sneezes make problems for Phoenix, Dragon acknowledges that sometimes a nap is needed. Merdaddy By Wednesday Kirwan New York: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2024. Picture Book. M erdaddy and Merbaby are playing amongst jellyfish and sharks. As the two play and explore, Merdaddy starts to notice that Merbaby’s fingers look like raisins and that it’s probably time to get out. Merbaby cries underwater tears as the scene shifts from an underwater landscape to a baby playing pretend in the bathtub. Wee Unicorn By Meg McLaren Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2023. Picture Book. Wee Unicorn isn’t magic like everyone expects her to be. But what problem she c...

Hello By Aiko Ikegami Berkeley, CA: Creston Books, 2019. Picture book. In this wordless picture book, an alien visits Earth, makes friends with a little girl, and returns to his home planet to share his experiences. - Publisher We Are Definitely Human By X. Fang Toronto: Tundra Books, 2024. Picture book. When three mysterious visitors from "Europe" crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their "car". No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they "make business", "play sportsball" and "wear hat". As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high. - Publisher Greetings Floof! Written by C.J. Hong Illustrated by A.J. Smith Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024. Picture book. Floof from planet Ploof has landed! And it...

Bug on the Bus By David Catrow New York: Holiday House, 2026. Easy Reader.  Bug and many other creatures big and small hop onto the bus. A silly little bus driver witnesses the arrivals, and all is fine and well until Skunk joins the crew! Hilarity and fun ensue. This story is simple, but exciting. Early readers will be sure to love it! This book was a uniquely well done easy reader, as it is truly fully accessible for the most beginning reader! It is filled with simple words, many only three letters long. While it is filled with simple words, the story is fast paced and sure to please everyone listening. As an added bonus, the illustrations are charming and silly, which adds a lot to the book as a whole. Make sure to check this out for any budding readers in your life!

Swing! By James Yang New York : Viking, 2026. Picture book. Swing! is an adorable story about the magic of childhood heroes. Readers meet an elementary-aged girl who is learning to play tennis with her dad as her patient coach. Together, they watch legendary tennis player Arthur Ashe (1943–1993) win matches on TV. When our young protagonist doesn’t win as often as she’d like, her temper gets the best of her. And when Timmy bothers her at school, she isn’t always as kind as she could be. Along the way, she turns her admiration for Arthur Ashe into inspiration—and looks pretty cool doing it in her Ashe-inspired eyewear. The book is a great choice for kids who have a sports hero of their own. I especially enjoyed the spunky attitude of this determined character, who knows what she wants and works hard to achieve it. It’s a feel-good story that may encourage readers to think about the heroes in their own lives and the lessons those heroes can teach them. If you’re looking for an inspiring...

Did you know that we experience eclipses of the sun and moon every year? This year the Solar eclipse was on August 12th and blocked out the sun for a full 2 minutes. Did you see it? It's okay if you missed it, because we're going to have a lunar eclipse on August 28th. Earth is one of the few planets that experience solar eclipses. Here are some books to learn more about eclipses, what they've meant to the people that view them, and other fun space facts.  Eclipse of 1919: How Einstein's Theory of General Relativity Changed Our World  by: Emily Arnold McCully New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, 2025. Informational Albert Einstein has always had a curious mind, fascinated with the laws of the universe and finding ways to explain how it all worked together. He had a theory, an idea, that gravity is what happens when objects bend the space and time around them. But gravity isn't something easily seen so to test his hypothesis, he needed to see if the gravity of the sun ...