Two New Mindy Kim Adventures!

English & Korean Early Chapter Book Readers Korean Culture Vacation Language Learning Family Single Parent Family American Culture SEL Lyla Lee & Dung Ho summary I LOVE this series! Mindy is a great protagonist and narrator, and Lyla Lee’s writing is always fresh and engaging. Mindy Kim and the Trip to Korea came out this…

Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing

English 4+ Grief Parent Loss Coping Skills Memory Healing Kenesha Sneed summary Many Shapes of Clay is breathtakingly beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The design and color palette are stunning, and the contents even more so. No one wants to have to discuss loss and healing from grief with young people, but death…

Grandad’s Camper

English 4+ years LGBTQ+ Families Intergenerational Stories Grandparents Grief Traditions Memories Harry Woodgate summary Do you ever come across a book that you know will absolutely bring you to your knees, both with emotion and gratitude that it exists? Grandad’s Camper is that book for me. While I am extremely lucky to have older LGBTQ…

Arno and his Horse

english 4-8 years english Jane Godwin & Felicita Sala summary When my Aussie friend Lucy (on Instagram @LoveFourLearning ) suggested I make Lamingtons, I knew the perfect book to make them for! Arno is a young boy who can’t remember where he left his little wooden horse. At first, the reader doesn’t know why Arno…

a dark and hollow star

The ease with which Shuttleworth infuses the existing mythology and lore with nonbinary characters and frank discussions of the trauma inherent in growing up with a marginalized identity is striking.

A Stopwatch from Grampa

Written by: Loretta Garbutt Illustrated by: Carmen Mok For ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Family, Loss, Grief, Death, Intergenerational Relationships, Grandparents, Social-Emotional Learning. Summary:  A Stopwatch from Grampa begins right as our main character’s grandfather has passed away, leaving them his stopwatch.  Grampa used to time all sorts of things when the pair spent time together, like how…

At the Mountain’s Base

Written by: Traci Sorell Illustrated by: Weshoyot Alvitre  For ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Indigenous Voices, Military, Women Pilots, Family, Grief, Culture & Traditions, Historical Fiction, Global Community, Own Voices. Summary: This is one of the most beautiful and emotional books that I’ve read in a long time.  The story is told in simple, lyrical poetry and encompasses the emotions that…

An Ordinary Day [released March 10]

Written by: Elana K. Arnold Illustrated by: Elizabet Vukovic For ages: 4 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: Family, Social-Emotional Learning, Grief, Loss of Pet, Cochlear Implant Visibility, Home Birth, Childbirth, Love.  Summary:  Wow. Wow wow wow.  This book is absolutely breathtaking and caught me by surprise upon reading.  I was looking forward to reading this book, since author…

Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business

Written by: Lyla Lee Illustrated by: Dung Ho For ages: 6-9 years Language: English & some Korean Topics Covered: Parent Loss, Korean-American Experience, New Experiences, Moving, Growing Up, Family, Social-Emotional Learning, Friendship, Single-Parent Families. Summary:  This is an adorable early chapter book that we are so excited to bring you on Korean-American Day! Min-jung Kim, who also goes by Mindy,…

Barely Missing Everything

Written by: Matt Mendez Cover Art by: Dana Ledl For ages: Young Adults Language: English Topics Covered: Growing Up, Latinx Identities, Racism, Sports, Alcohol & Marijuana Use, Family, Incarceration, Filmmaking, Friendship, Police Brutality, Pregnancy.  Summary: This book was one of those stories that everything I anticipated to happen did not happen, I was constantly surprised at the deft storytelling of Mendez’s…