Provo Library Children's Book Blog

I know quite a few people who have birthdays during the December/January holidays. For some of them it can be a struggle, since everyone is focused on the holidays and their birthdays can be skipped over. For others, they like having a birthday when all the family is together and celebrating so many things. Either way, here is a list of picture books that can take you to a birthday celebration and help brighten any birthday, even those that happen during the holidays.  A Crown for Corina  Written by Laekan Zea Kemp  Illustrated by Elisa Chavarri  New York: Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group, 2023. Picture Book.  Corina is having a birthday, and that means that she can pick some flowers from Abuela’s garden to make a flower crown to wear at the fiesta. Abuela helps Corina pick special flowers that have meaning in Corina’s life. Then Abuela puts la corona on Corina’s head, so that she can remember all the things that have meaning—both of Corina’s life ...

  All the Rocks We Love  Written by Lisa Varchol Perron and Taylor Perron  Illustrated by David Scheirer  New York: Rise x Panguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Informational. 32 pages. This is a great informational picture book that introduces readers to all kinds of different rocks. The book has few words but is full of facts, which would be perfect for reading aloud to young ones who are just getting interested in science and geology. The pages show an illustration of a type of rock, will have the name of the rock listed on the page, and of course has a few facts in the text. The book reads like a picture book, but it is all non-fiction. There is also information at the end (with references to what page the rocks were first introduced on,) so readers who are really interested in rocks can learn even more.  This book is a great introduction to some basic geology or for young ones who are just starting to get into rock hounding/collect...

  The Home Builders Written by Varsha Bajaj Illustrated by Simona Mulazanni New York, NY : Nancy Paulsen Books, 2019. Picture Book. Various woodland creatures make their homes and prepare for their young. Welcome to a serene woodland where lots of expectant animal parents are in their "nesting" phase--that is, busy preparing safe, cozy homes for their growing families. As they dig, tunnel, gnaw, and gather, they create dens, burrows, lodges, and, of course, nests. Soon the woods are full of new little ones peeping, crawling, romping, and snuggling--and with artwork so gorgeous that it feels like an invitation into the scenery it's depicting, readers will be eager to join them in their beautiful home.--Publisher I Love My Home By Sebastien Braun Great Britain : Boxer Books, 2021. Picture Book.  In his fourth book in the successful I Love My . . . series, author-illustrator Sebastien Braun explores the concept of home and what it means to individual animals.--Publisher Home...

Perfect Written by Waka T. Brown Illustrated by Yuko Jones New York: Quill Tree Books, 2024. Picture Book. Miki Amelia Masuda likes for everything to be perfect. She doesn't like broken cookies or pants with ripped knees or favorite stuffed animals when they lose a wing. She wants everything to be perfect. One day, Miki's obaachan (her grandmother) brings her a special ceramic teacup from Japan. The teacup is perfect. White on top and blue on bottom, it reminds Miki of a perfect day at the beach. Miki loves her cup, and when she accidentally breaks it she is distraught. Obaachan steps in to fix it using the Japanese method of kintsugi, where the cracks are repaired with lacquer and gold. Though at first Miki is doubtful, Obaachan patiently helps her grow to a new understanding of perfect. For readers who struggle with perfectionism, this story gently shows how cherished items can be repaired and restored instead of insisting on flawlessness. This message is delivered in a kid-f...

The wrath of a toddler can be astounding! They can conjure full body, full volume reactions to things you and I might find insignificant. There are a lot of great books in our collection about anger (we list sixty-two in our RX Literature binder,) but I’m focusing on picture books that speak to the fury that very young children deal with as they navigate this big, tricky world. Anger can be intense, but all feelings are temporary and manageable.  Mad at Dad By Janie Hao Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024. Picture Book. Dynamic, expressive, and universal,  Mad at Dad is light on words, but heavy with truth, including the pitfalls of calming techniques and the toll anger takes on our bodies. The flaps in this book expand with the little girl's strong, uncontainable feelings. And I love her eyebrow. Little Mad Written by Nadine Brun-Cosme Illustrated by Marion Cocklico New York: Little Simon, 2021. Board Book. Here's a board book for audiences with short fuses and even shorter attent...

  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...

Holiday celebrations are at the forefront of a lot of peoples' minds at the moment, so what better time than now to think about how other holidays are celebrated around the world? Whether you're experiencing Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Ramadan, or Carnival --there is always someone celebrating something year round! These informational books will let you take a deep dive into this fascinating subject without ever leaving the comfort of your own home --but they might make you want to!  Let's Get Festive: Celebrations Around the World Written by Joanna Kończak Illustrated by Ewa Poklewska-Koziełło New York: North-South Books, 2024. Informational. 173 pages. Let's Get Festive is a visual delight that is jam-packed with joyous celebrations, such as: Nowruz, O-bon, Sogkran, and the Dragon Boat Festival. The lush illustrations add interest to the information itself, making it fun to digest, with most holiday entries being about 3 pages long --the perfect balance of facts and art...

  The Polar Express  is a Christmas classic, where a train appears in front of a boy's house one Christmas Eve. This train, "The Polar Express," takes him on a magical journey to the North Pole, where our protagonist is picked to receive the first gift of Christmas. Many love the cozy storytelling and Van Allsburg's soft illustrations that create a sense of wonder when thinking about the Christmas season. If you want a cute Christmas book with the same cozy vibes, check out these Read Alikes! The Christmas Snow Globe By Sibylle Delacroix Edinburgh: Florian Books, 2024. Picture Book. Lucy and Noah have been at the window all day, just hoping for snow. But when none comes, Lucy's parents let her open one present to help her overcome her disappointment. She unwraps a snow globe with a little house inside that looks like hers. Soon, she feels something on her cheek... snow? Inside? Lucy and Noah's indoor snow day celebrates the wonder of children's imagination...

Hot Hot Pancakes! Written by Kimura Yūichi Illustrated by Nishiuchi Toshio Montréal, Quebec: CrackBoom! Livres, 2020. Picture Book. Max is taking care of the house while Mama Mouse goes out for groceries. Like a grown up, he decides to prepare pancakes for everyone. But once his brothers and sisters have been served, Nonesuke realizes he forgot someone: himself! Luckily, Nonesuke can count on his siblings to share. --Editor Pancakes, Pancakes! By Eric Carle New York: Knopf, 1970. Picture Book. By cutting and grinding the wheat for flour, Jack starts from scratch to help make his breakfast pancake. --Publisher Attack of the Scones Written by Josh Funk Illustrated by Brendan Kearney New York: Union Square Kids, 2024. Picture Book. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast face an out-of-this-world invasion and must rescue their friend and save their friendship. --Publisher Sunday Pancakes By Maya Tatsukawa New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022. Picture Book. Cat invites thei...

  The Yellow Bus By Loren Long New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2024. Picture Book. This picture book chronicles the life of a yellow bus as it's used for a multitude of purposes. The bus starts as a school bus for children, then becomes a shuttle for the elderly. Eventually, it is left under a city bridge where it becomes a shelter and gathering place for unhoused individuals. You may think the story ends there, but the bus is towed to another location where it becomes a playground for goats, and finally for fish. The gorgeous grayscale landscapes in this book contrast from the bus, and the individuals that use it, creating the feeling of life within the bus. Sweeping bird's eye views were drawn after the artist created a model town that he could use for perspective. If you like last year's The Tree in the River and want another book about how things change over time, check out The Yellow Bus. 

Monsters at Christmas Written by Laura Baker  Illustrated by Nina Dzyvulska  Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing Group, 2023. Picture Book.  Monsters at Christmas is a rhyme-y snapshot of what makes the holiday season so very merry and bright. Whether playing in the snow or drinking cocoa by the fire, these zany monsters are having ALL the fun! And they have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to presents, not to mention Santa Monster’s sleigh and jingle-y reindeer. These colorful characters decorate their houses, make special food, give gifts, attend performances, and celebrate the joy they feel by being together. Page after page of wintery fun, the playful high-jinx never stop.   If you are looking for a high energy bop of a Christmas book, then you’ll enjoy Monsters at Christmas . The simple line illustrations contain easily recognizable colors and shapes to practice with younger children, while the sheer volume of activities and stunts might give older ki...

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall By Jasmine Warga New York: Harper, 2024. Fiction. 211 pages. A painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum and sixth-grader Rami Ahmed is worried he's the main suspect. His mother works at the museum as the lead custodian and Rami spends a lot of time hanging out at the museum while she works. On the day the painting went missing, the only people there were the security guard Ed, the cleaning crew, and Rami. Then, a mysterious girl appears in the museum. She floats around from room to room and only Rami can see her -- and she looks exactly like the girl from the missing painting. To prove his innocence and help figure out who the floating girl is, Rami partners up with an aspiring sleuth at school named Veda and the two dive into unexpected situations as they try to solve the mystery. This is a cozy mystery that is focused mostly on characters and ambiance and only a little on the mystery itself. Don't read this book if yo...

Christmas stories are an important part of many people's holiday traditions. There are some tried and true classics that will remain favorites forever, but it's always fun to find new favorites and to start new traditions. Whether you're looking to add books into an existing tradition or maybe even starting a new one, check out our list of new Christmas picture books below!  An Anishinaabe Christmas Written by Wab Kinew Illustrated by Erin Hill Toronto: Tundra Books, 2024. Picture Book. An Anishinaabe family heads to visit grandparents on the reservation at Christmas. Baby is nervous to be away from home for Christmas--how will Santa find them?  But as Baby's parents start explaining, Baby soon learns more about the special nature of Anishinaabe traditions and spends Christmas with family combining Western and Indigenous celebrations.  The Christmas Snow Globe By Sibylle Delacroix Edinburgh: Floris Books, 2024. Picture Book. Noah and Lucy desperately want a white Christ...

Juneberry Blue By Candice Ransom Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishing Company Inc., 2024. Fiction. 289 pages. Andie Jennings lives in a small town. Single-digit small. 8 people! Luckily, one of those eight is her close friend Tanner, who loves to go on adventures with her. Andie is prepping for her eleventh birthday, when she will face a test to see what kind of magic, if any, she has.  Unfortunately, her test day doesn't go as she had planned and Andie is crushed. However, there are some unexplained events that she starts to experience, and she has to wonder if her magic is different than the other girls in her family. She tries to distract herself by paying extra attention to Bunch, her little sister. Andie realizes the mysterious see-through cat she is trying to ignore, won't leave her alone, no matter how busy she is keeping herself. Eventually, she gives in and lets the cat guide her places she is afraid to go. This book was a fun read with mystery, magic, ghosts, and beautif...

  Whobert Whover, Owl Detective Written by Jason Gallaher Illustrated by Jess Pauwels New York: Margaret K. McElderry Book, 2017. Picture Book. When Whobert Whover, owl detective finds Perry the possum lying still on the ground, he sets out to determine who is responsible for his condition and questions the nearby wildlife. --Editor Ophie's Ghosts By Justina Ireland New York: Balzer + Bray, 2021. Fiction. 325 pages. Discovering her ability to see ghosts when a cruel act ends her father's life and forces her to move in with relatives in 1920s Pittsburgh, young Ophelia forges a helpful bond with a spirit whose own life ended suddenly and unjustly. -- Editor Threads: Zlata's Ukrainian Shirt By Lina Maslo New York: Straus & Giroux books for Young Readers. Picture Book. The threads on Zlata's beautiful birthday blouse were knotted by her mother's hands. "Red is for love, and black is for sadness," her Papa says. Her Mama warns her not to show it off. Ever s...

  The Mythmakers By John Hendrix New York: Abrams Fanfare, 2024. Informational. 217 pages.  Before C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had ever published world-renowned literature, they were friends. This book starts with the boyhood of each author, discussing how each lost their parents and the toll that took on them. It moves on to talk about the experience of each man in the trenches of World War I, and their eventual meeting at Oxford. It further chronicles their "fellowship" through the writing of many of their notable works, as well as their eventual falling out.  This book is an interesting mix of comic and narrative nonfiction, flipping back and forth between chapters. A lion and wizard appear in the comic portions (in a nod to Aslan and Gandalf) to explain background information about mythology, the time period, and other pertinent information about the two. The author makes use of a limited color palette, using mostly greens, purples, and yellows, to draw the reader i...

I love a good sports story. The tales of the underdog rising over all opposition to beat their rivals. The stories of strangers becoming teammates and friends. The thrill of people achieving physical feats they never thought possible. So if you, like me, can't get enough of a good sports story, here are some comics you may want to try. Strikers By Kiel Phegley and Jacques Khouri Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe, 2023. Comics. 168 pages. This historical fiction story follows the Strikers, a youth hockey team in Flint, Michigan in the 1980s. When Evan joins the program, he's a bit skeptical about their ability to win, a fear that is reinforced when the best player on the team, who is also the son of the coach, gets injured, leaving them both coach-less and captain-less. Team members also face their own challenges off the ice, including Evan's difficult relationship with his mom's unreliable boyfriend. If your kids can't get enough hockey now that Utah has a team they...

  Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...