Summer Reading 2024
Reimagine the World: The Everyday Art of Kindness
Global Children’s and YA Books about Community and Transformations
Wellfleet Public Library
All selections and reviews by WPL Librarian Anna L. Nielsen
To Access the book in CLAMS, click on the cover.
To print out Anna’s complete 2024 Summer Reading list, download PDF here
Picture Books
Every Little Kindness
Bartolj, Marta. Every Little Kindness. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2018. Part of the growing trend of picture books for young adults and adults, Bartolj gives us a wordless picture of a young woman who’s lost her dog. She wakes saddened and drinks a cuppa at her table with a pile of missing dog posters. She wanders the streets to look for her dog and post her posters and shares an apple with a hungry man busking; they both smile. Another man sees her do it, smiles too, and picks up some litter. A boy sees him do it and smiles. The boy sees a girl lose her balloon and cry, so he scrabbles some change and buys her another; all the children smile. So the book goes, tracing each little kindness, making people smile and the world a better place. Slow-paced and rhythmic; beautiful. Ages: 12+.
Bird is Dead
Fisscher, Tiny; illus. Herma Starreveld; trans. Dutch Laura Watkinson. Bird is Dead. Vancouver: Greystone Kids, Greystone Books, 2024. Bird is dead and the other birds don’t know how to handle it. They strut in their puffery, and compete over who liked/disliked him more, who will/will not miss him more. The narrative is chattery, all the birds piping in, a babble of discomfort. The birds themselves, richly rendered in mixed media collage, are a battery of bits and pieces of absolutely everything, clashing. “Don’t fight. Bird is dead.” One dignified old gent repeats his refrain. Eventually, they quiet, and their discombobulated parts work together to miss bird, to bury him, to say goodbye. They’re a bit sad. But it’s okay. As long as they think of bird, he’ll be with them forever. A striking book that captures the panic that loss can evoke, and the peace that remembering together can bring. Ages: 4+.
Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing
Hest, Amy; illus. Erin Stead. Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing. NY: Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, 2024. Why Hest and Stead haven’t been paired yet together, I’ll never know, just as I’m surely glad they’re together here. Big Bear and Little Bear go fishing, but it’s not about the fishing really, not really about the fishing at all. It’s about being together. And loving each other and trusting each other and taking care of each other, and just plain being happy and kind in each other’s company. The sentences are simple and direct and tell a story with no pretense or drama about Big Bear and Little Bear with “baggy blue pants” and “tall Black boots” and coats that are “yellow with pockets and hoods.” Stead gives us Big Bear and Little Bear looking at each other or what they’re doing together in every scene, focusing our attention on the two of them as they are with each other, engaged and present. It creates an intimacy and draws us in – we can’t help but peer closer, read more carefully, as we become ever more invested in the care between the two. A subtle powerhouse of a book. Ages: 4+.
The Box
Paglia, Isabella; illus. Paolo Proietti; trans. Italian Laura Watkinson. The Box. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2020. One day, in the middle of the forest, the animals woke up and found a box with two holes in the side. What could it be? The box started to shake, and all the animals shouted, “Welcome to the forest! Come on! Come out!” They meant well. A voice in the box replied, “No!” Maybe, thought the animals, whoever was in the box was scared. They all took a step back. It’s okay to be scared. Sometimes, there are very good reasons to be scared. They put on a show, had a picnic and a party, and waited. Sometimes, we all just need some time. Ages: 4+.
My Baby Sister is a Diplodocus
Petit, Aurore; trans. French Daniel Hahn. My Baby Sister is a Diplodocus. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2024. Given how many children have siblings, one would think there would be more books about how to handle the changes when a little brother or sister is born. Petit is here to rescue us all. A little boy gets a little sister, and at first he is so excited – he shows her everything, the whole house, even his guitar! And then she does nothing but lie there. The disappointment is real. Mom and Dad cuddle to the rescue, and the boy gives his little sister another go – maybe she’ll be okay. He might even share his dinosaur costume with her. Ages: 3+.
Telling Stories Wrong
Rodari, Gianni; illus. Beatrice Alemagna; trans. Italian Antony Shugar. Telling Stories Wrong. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books, 2022. Grandpa is telling granddaughter a story, Little Red Riding Hood, to be precise. Except he keeps getting everything wrong. It’s a wolf, not a giraffe; the hood is red, not green or black; and honestly, there is no number 75 bus. Finally, granddaughter gives up and zips off to buy bubblegum, and Grandpa settles back down to reading his newspaper. Hmmmm. Is Grandpa telling the story wrong or right? Alemagna’s illustrations are as luscious as ever, here saturated with warmth and humor. Ages: 4+.
A Better Best Friend
Tallec, Olivier; trans. French Antony Shugaar. A Better Best Friend. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2024. Red Squirrel is a very wide-eyed squirrel, a slightly frenetic and even frantic wide-eyed squirrel. He wants a best friend so very badly, one best friend, the perfect best friend. He finds one. Hurrah! But after Pock comes Moo, and now Red Squirrel has two best friends! Aaargh! It’s too much! How can he possibly handle the pressure and stress of it? And then Gunther shows up. Hmmm. Maybe love and friendship is something that doesn’t need limits. Phew. The expressive illustrations take us every step of the way with Red Squirrel, all the way to his relief of a best – no, better – ending. Ages: 4+.
A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends
Waechter, Philip; trans. German Melody Shaw. A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2022. Raccoon is bored and doesn’t know what to do, so off he goes to find Fox, which leads to going to Badger’s house, which leads to where Bear lives, which leads to a journey with Crow which leads to fishing. Which turns into swimming, which turns into borrowing a ladder and fixing a roof, which turns to fetching eggs, which turns to apple cake, which turns into a perfect day and a perfect evening, with friends. Such wonder. The ink illustrations give friendly details like the twitching of whiskers, upturned tails, and dartboards with scores and thatched roofs with windchimes. A lovely tale of friendship and companionship. Ages: 4+.
Bird Rehearsal
Winter, Jonah; illus. Stacy Innerst. Bird Rehearsal. NY: Cameron Kids, Abrams, 2024. A picture book for bird lovers of all ages. Each spread of acrylics and collage is a burst of color of a specific bird and the sounds they make (further information provided in the back pages) from the American Robin with a “tweedled-dee” to the Northern Mockingbird with “chick-a-dee-chirp” and “perc-o-later). A narrative doesn’t exist, it’s just a glorious cacophony – no, symphony – of bird sounds and beaks risen into the air in song, and feathers ruffled in flight. Ages: 4+.
The Bear and the Wildcat
Yumoto, Kazumi; illus. Komako Sakai; trans. Japanese Cathy Hirano. The Bear and the Wildcat. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2023. “One morning, Bear was crying. His best friend, a little bird, was dead.” So begins this quiet tale of love and grief and learning to live with both. Bear is sad, of course, and lost without bird’s company, and no one understands. Until Wildcat pauses, and listens, and knows: “You must miss him a lot.” Yes. Wildcat plays his violin, and Bear remembers his friend, long enough to know he will always carry his friend with him, wherever he goes. And maybe, just maybe, Wildcat will be his friend, too. The black and white sketches on earth-toned paper lend a quiet, solid tone, and the splashes of red hint at life continuing. Ages: 4+.
Younger Fiction
The Invisible Elephant
Anisimova, Anna; illus. Yulia Sidneva; trans. Russian Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp. The Invisible Elephant. Brooklyn, NY: Restless Books, 2020. A little girl loves to play hide-and-seek; she listens closely to hear where her parents are hiding. She loves to go to the museum; she touches the elephant tusks to feel what they look like. She even loves to help tidy the house to get everything back to where it should be, to where she’s used to. She has a walking stick and a library filled with bumps she can touch and read. Strangers try to help her because “she’s got enough on her plate, ” and she doesn’t know what they mean until her family tells her: the love of her Mama, her Papa, her Grandpa, and all the hot tea and buns in the world. Each story continues the little girl’s adventures, and not once do they call her blind. Imagine how lovely to celebrate what we share, and to walk in ease with our differences. It’s lovely. Ages: 7+.
Raymond the Buffalo
Beauchesne, Lou; illus. Kate Chappell ; trans. French Susan Ourio & Christelle Morelli. Raymond the Buffalo. Canada: Orca Book Publishers, 2021. Rambunctious Raymond! He’s a buffalo. He lives in a book. He loves pickles, with lemons, and he loves to sing. Tra-la! The book he lives in belongs to a boy named Gilbert. Then, disaster! Gilbert returns him to the library! Raymond is pushed right down the Book Return Chute! And right out of his book, whereupon he wanders the stacks and meets dinosaurs and the librarian. What will he do? Will he ever be back in his book? Will he ever see Gilbert again? At least the librarian has pickles. Delightful. Ages: 6+.
Orris and Timble
DiCamillo, Kate; illus. Carmen Mok. Orris and Timble: The Beginning. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. DiCamillo is one of the truly greats of children’s literature. In this chapter book, we meet Orris the rat, who lives safe in his nest away from the world. And then he finds an Owl, caught in a trap on the hayloft floor, frightened and in need of help. Aren’t rats and owls enemies? What should he do? The world is such a dangerous place! But how can he not help? And maybe a friend would be nice. Orris and Timble, Timble and Orris. Friends. Ages: 6+.
The Moon is a Ball
Franck, Ed & The Tjong-Khing; trans. Dutch David Colmer. The Moon is a Ball: Stories of Panda & Squirrel. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2023. Panda & Squirrel are friends, best friends. They help each other try to catch the moon, and visit each other, even when Panda is grumpy. Panda likes to dance in a way that makes her stomach “wobble-boink-boink.” Squirrel likes to play hide-and-seek. They are never bored when they are together. A perfect set of stories for bedtime reading. Ages: 7+.
Free Kid to Good Home
Ito, Hiroshi; trans. Japanese Cathy Hirano. Free Kid to Good Home. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2022. A little girl has a good life, a nice life. And then her little brother comes along. All he does is cry and poop, and get everyone’s attention. He’s nothing more than a potato-face. It’s intolerable. So. What will she do? Run away, of course, and find herself a new home. So instead of a lemonade stand, she makes a Free Kid Stand. Who will take her to a good home? Fortunately, her parents come along, and know for sure that she will make a great, super excellent big sister to potato-face. So home she goes. Laugh-out-loud funny. Never has sibling resentment been so creative. Ages: 6+.
Little Shrew
Miyakoshi, Akiko; trans. Japanese. Little Shrew. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024. Three stories about Little Shrew, a tiny animal enjoying the practice of everyday life; de Certeau would be pleased. Little Shrew goes to work, dreams, and has his friends to dinner. It is a good life. Miyakoshi’s award-winning illustrations of pencil, charcoal, and acrylic gouache lend a soft but detailed sensibility to his days. Ages: 6+.
When Dad’s Hair Took Off
Muhle, Jorge; trans. German Melody Shaw. When Dad’s Hair Took Off. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2023. Hilarious story about a dad who loses his hair, with cartoon-like illustrations that magnify the Sturm and Drang. One day, his hair decides it’s tired of being washed and combed and decides to take off in search of a new life. Dad pounces on the hair, and misses. He follows it to a restaurant, because hair loves to get in soup, but the hair gets away. The hair makes it to a barber shop but cuts and runs before Dad can grab it. The wild hunt continues. So much fun. Ages: 7+.
A Bear Named Bjorn
Perret, Delphine; trans. French Antony Shugaar. A Bear Named Bjorn. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2020. Six stories about a Bear named Bjorn, with ink drawings. First, he wins a sofa, about which he must be pleased; after all, the advertisement said it would change his life and make him very happy. He is not very happy. It takes up his whole cave, and he has no corner for eating and no corner for sleeping. Plus, everyone is now in his cave, sitting on the sofa. It is very crowded. Bjorn is definitely not happy. Chickadee notices. They decide to put the sofa in the woodland, where everyone can share it. It will even get nice and mossy after the rain. Now Bjorn is happy., and his friends are too. Perfect. Ages: 6+.
Who Will Make the Snow?
Prokhasko, Marjana & Taras; illus. Marjana Prokhasko ; trans. Ukranian Boris Dralyuk & Jennifer Croft. Who Will Make the Snow? NY: Elsewhere Editions, Penguin Random House, 2023. A delightful family of moles live in Beech Forest. There’s cakes to eat, newspaper articles to write, milk and tea to drink, games to play, and baby twins to watch grow and grow. A delightful family of moles live together and swim and have picnics and enjoy the beautiful world. A wonderful breath of peaceful air. Ages: 7+.
Middle Fiction
Simon Sort of Says
Bow, Erin. Simon Sort of Says. NY: Disney, Hyperion, 2023. Simon tells a lot of stories. He tells a lot of stories because he doesn’t like the story that keeps going through his brain; it’s why he likes his new friend Agate so much, too – she owns her brain stuff of being autistic and says it out loud and makes him feel safer about his brain stuff, which isn’t like autism at all if he’s being honest, it’s more like being terrified and absolutely full of grief. Actually, it’s not like those things he’d rather not mention, it is those things. He will mention he’s got a trauma specialist but backtracks and says it’s because of the alpacas. It isn’t. It’s not about the Jesus Squirrel, either. “I think there’s never going to be a now. I think there’s always going to be a before, and after.” Sometimes it’s okay to have a panic attack because things happen about which are worth panicking. Sometimes the world is awful and it’s not his fault and he shouldn’t apologize but he should be glad he survived. At least this time. And last time. And next time. Ugh, back and forth, grief and hope and guilt, before and after. Simon will be okay. He has friends, he has family, he is going to be okay. And alpacas are straight-up cool, no matter what story they’re in. Ages 8+.
The Eyes and the Impossible
Eggers, Dave; illus. Shawn Harris. The Eyes and the Impossible. NY: Alfred A Knopf, 2023. Winner of the 2024 Newbery Award. Eggers gives us an animal tale for the ages. Johannes is a dog, the fastest dog there is, a dog so fast he pushes the earth behind him in his speed. He is also the eyes for three ancient Bison, the Keepers of the Equilibrium. He is the fastest dog there is and he sees everything. Everything. And then the equilibrium is disturbed, and Johannes must save the world, which is nothing more or less than those he loves. And what better love is there, what better freedom, than to do everything for the wellness of others, for the wellness of all? Johannes is the fastest dog there is and he sees everything. And does something about it. Scattered through the text are Harris’s illustrations, strategically placed in classic landscape paintings from the 1660’s on. Love, and freedom, after all, are everlasting. Ages: 8+.
The House of the Lost on the Cape
Kashiwaba, Sachiko; illus. Ukiko Saito; trans. Japanese Avery Fischer Udagawa. The House of the Lost on the Cape. Brooklyn, NY: Restless Books, 2023. After a massive earthquake and tsunami, elder Kiwa takes in an orphaned young girl and a woman fleeing her abusive husband. The three are different in character and age, but they come together to heal and grow after the earth literally breaks beneath them. With help from traditional Japanese spirits, they fight off the evils of pain and trauma and build a strong and kind community, amongst themselves and for their entire town. Ages: 9+.
The First State of Being
Kelly, Erin Entrada. The First State of Being. NY: Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers, 2024. “People do strange things sometimes to remind themselves they’re part of the world.” Yes, yes, they do. Including being from the future and zipping back to see if there really was a past. Including jumping right into the riskiest of the dangerous of times because it must be better to know than not know. It means embracing the present and not letting the bully win, it means being in the present and learning all you can, it means fighting for the present and not letting people hurt other people just because they’re insecure and so angry. As mama says: “Before you go to sleep at night, ask yourself: was I the best person I could be today? If the answer is no, do better tomorrow.” If the answer is no, do better tomorrow. Ages: 8+.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All
Miller, Chanel. Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All. NY: Philomel, Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Magnolia lives above the laundromat in NYC with her parents who work at the laundromat seven days a week every week of the year always, always, always, with never a day off to do anything but laundry. Magnolia collects lost things to keep herself occupied, in fact, she makes a Board of Lost Things, like socks, etc., that she just knows she can track back to the people they belong to, the tracking and reuniting she’s convinced will thusly function to create whole souls out of fractured, lonely ones. Magnolia doesn’t mess around. She’s lonely, she makes a friend, she makes another friend, has to share both friends, gets a little jealous and anxious and grumpy about it (like she might end up if not a lost thing then a forgotten thing if her friends decide they like each other better), gets over it, and realizes affection isn’t a competition and sharing something doesn’t make the thing smaller, it doubles it. Like love, and joy. Phew! Magnolia is a busy kid. Ages: 8+.
The Night Raven
Rundberg, Johan; trans. Swedish A.A. Prime. The Night Raven. NY: Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023. Winner of multiple awards, this Swedish bestselling mystery (first in a four-book series) takes place in Stockholm of the 1880’s. Orphan Mika knows the winter is coming and that she and her fellow orphans will be lucky to make it through. At least the dreaded serial killer monikered the Night Raven is off the streets – or is he? Mika has always been one to pay attention to details, and if she can just get the grumpy detective to work with her, maybe, just maybe, she can make a difference – for herself, her orphan friends, the city, for all those hungry and tired, for those who can’t help but hope that life could be more. Ages: 8+.
The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist
Sparring, Anders; illus. Per Gustavsson; trans. Swedish Julia Marshall. The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press, 2024. Little Theo Pincher is in a family of thieves. His Dad is a thief, his Mum, his sister, even his grandma and his dog, too. This may sound like lots of giggles like blowing up dynamite and riches like diamonds and pearls, but little Theo is terribly honest. He hates lying and can’t do it. Won’t do it. He doesn’t want to do it. Worse, what he does want to do is be a police officer when he grows up. He thinks the neighborhood constable is very nice, even if he is (rightfully and terrifyingly) suspicious of Theo’s whole family. Theo’s mum tell him: “It’s called lying. You have to know how to do it to get anywhere in life.” Oh, dear. How can Theo be honest and save his family? Terrifically fun. Ages: 8+.
The Wildcat Behind Glass
Zei, Alki; trans. Greek. Karen Emmerich. The Wildcat Behind Glass. NY: Restless Books, 2024. Originally published in the 1960’s and based in the 1930’s, Zei tells a story of a family noticing the rise of fascism and watching their world start to crumble, one by one previously seeming permanent and unbreakable piece. The book takes place on an idyllic island in the middle of the Aegean Sea, and one sister sees the hype and the other sister falls for it. One sees hate and propaganda and remembers democracy and one sees performances of importance and power and wants it. So recognizable and realistic it hurts, the way despair hurts when it gnaws at us and holds us down, and neighbors keep it in place with stomping marching feet. Do read, and believe in your own Wildcat, and do what you must to revive it. Ages: 8+.
Older Fiction
The Boy Lost in the Maze
Coelho, Joseph; illus. Kate Milner. The Boy Lost in the Maze. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. A novel in poems by UK Children’s Laureate about a seventeen-year-old boy becoming a man in a hunt for his father, hindered or helped by an obsession with Theseus, a fatherless son from Greek mythology who went on a hunt of his own. We all have armies to battle and tricksters to disbelieve and narcissists to rumble. It hurts, this thing called living, and wondering if we’re wanted or unwanted or just not thought of enough to be remembered. He’s probably after the gold, the ancient new family hiss; he’s after child support hiss the modern stepfamily. For Theseus and Theo, it’s just love. Love. Ages: 13+. For more on Theseus and the Minotaur, read: Elliot, David. Bull. Boston & NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., 2017.
When the Angels Left the Old Country
Lamb, Sacha. When the Angels Left the Old Country. NY: Levine Querido, 2022. Billed as “the classic Yiddish novel, but it’s queer.” An angel and demon have been studying together for centuries in their shtetl and decide to shake things up and head to America. A questionable decision, but off they go. What is religion? God? Identity? Gender? What is everything? An angel and a demon are going to figure it out. Fun and intriguing. Ages: 13+.
Wild Poppies
Saleh, Haya; trans. Arabic Marcia Lynx Qualey. Wild Poppies. NY: Levine Quesrido, 2023. The epigraph by Saadallah Wannous says it all, “We are condemned to hope. The things that are happening today cannot be the end of history.” Sufyan and Omar are brothers enduring a Syria bombed by war. With loved ones dead and home streets a rubble, how they both respond and survive changes everything about who they are. Ages: 13+.
We Go to the Park
Stridsberg, Sara; illus. Beatrice Alemagna; trans. Swedish B.J. Woodstein. We Go to the Park. NY: Unruly, Enchanted Lion, 2024. In the growing genre of picture books created as fiction for young adults and adults, publishing house Enchanted Lion has taken the lead, going so far as to create an imprint devoted to the task: “We launched Unruly because we believe that we never age out of pictures and visual stories, and that we long for them across our lives.” And as with everything they do, they do this very, very well. We Go to the Park is their fourth title, and it is a philosophical reflection on childhood and what the stage means to us as we get older, all expressed through the play and the place of a park. Alemagna’s illustrations are characteristically filled with blurred swaths of color, managing to understand darkness whilst bringing forth some bright. She keeps getting nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Award; she’s bound to win it one of these years. Ages: 13+
Savage Her Reply
Sullivan, Deirde. Savage Her Reply. Dublin, Ireland: Little Island Books, 2020. A retelling of the Irish fairytale The Children of Lir. Sometimes, forgiveness is the hardest thing. This isn’t Antigone levels of revenge, but it is a solidly angry rejection: why does a man widowed get her sister to wife next, and then herself once made widow again? Does she matter in this patriarchal mess of decisions made about her but without her? And what is her obligation to children not of her own asking or desire? And what happens if she falls in love but the man twice widowed doesn’t have much left to offer? Aife isn’t evil – or a bad sister, a bad wife, a bad stepmother – though she does some dreadful things. She just wants a wee bit of her life to be about her. Forgiveness is complicated. Ages: 13+.
The Lost Soul
Tokarczuk, Olga; illus. Joanna Concejo; trans. Polish Antonia Lloyd Jones. The Lost Soul. NY: Seven Stories Press, 2012. Another entry in the picture book/fiction genre for non-toddlers, it begins: “Once upon a time there was a man who worked very hard and very quickly, and who had left his soul far behind him long ago.” Nobel Prize winning author Tokarczuk wants to know: how is it we reconcile living with living in this world? Concejo’s pen and ink drawings on paper rendered yellowed or tanned according to the depths of mood encourage the feeling of the story being a fable without time. It’s a serious and forever question: how do we reconcile being alive with what we must do to live? Gorgeous. Ages: 13+.
Graphics
#3 Honestly, I Love My Sister
Cazenove; illus. William, trans. French Nanette McGuinnes. The Sisters: #3 Honestly, I Love My Sister. NY: Papercutz, 2017. A full series of sisters who drive each other crazy and love each other like crazy, and who, at the end of the day, would do anything for each other. Read one, read them all. The art gives the girls massive smiles and faces that boil in red when they’re cranky with each other – limbs fly around when they disagree and flop in the perfect lounge state when everything is okay. Familial affection at its best. Ages: 7+.
All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
Conyngham, Richard; illus. Saaid Rahbeeni, The Trantraal Brothers, Liz Clarke, Dada Khanyisa, Tumi Mamabolo, and Mark Modimola. All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa 1910 – 1948. Minneapolis, MN: Catalyst Press, 2021. Ink drawings and archive documents illustrate this graphic history of early twentieth century South Africa, the “Union years” between South Africa’s unification in 1910 and the beginning of apartheid in 1948. Told through the voices and actions of not famous people but working people, washerwomen and miners, refugees and indentured laborers, women and men, fighting for their right to live and work, resisting through active protests and legal challenges. Integral reading for anyone interested in global social justice and what we might learn for the future from what was done in the past. Ages: 12+.
Everyone Gets a Turn
Dubuc, Marianne; trans. French Celyn Harding-Jones. Everyone Gets a Turn. NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2024. “In the heart of the forest, on a beautiful day, four little friends play.” Bear and Mouse and Turtle and Hare. They find an egg and share, taking turns bringing it home, until it becomes Little Bird (though she prefers the name Clara). The ink, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations in pastel colors support the soft nature of the story and the geniality of the animals – they play together, and take turns, and share, and learn, and just generally enjoy each other’s company. Simple bliss. Ages: 6+.
Two Heads
Frith, Uta & Chris & Alex; illus. Daniel Locke. Two Heads: A Graphic Exploration of How Our Brains Work with Other Brains. London & NY: Scribner, Simon & Schuster, inc., 2022. Two neuroscientists and their writer son and artist friend delve into the history and discoveries of neuroscience, looking at the evolution of the brain from the lens of recognizing that we are a social species, and our brains are built to enable communication, engagement, and even cooperation and collaboration. They look at autism and prejudice, schizophrenia and diversity to trace and hypothesize just how, exactly - or possibly – our brains work. Fascinating. Ages: 12+.
Okinawa
Higa, Susumu; trans. Japanese Jocelyne Allen. Okinawa. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books Inc., 2023. Award-winning mangaka, native Okinawan Higa, combines his two books, Sword of Sand and Mabui, to tell the story of the devastation of Japanese occupation and U.S. war and occupation, and how both continue to affect everyday life in Okinawa. Man’s inhumanity to man. Perhaps we can do better. Ages: 12+.
Moomin and the Sea
Jansson, Tove; trans. Swedish. Moomin and the Sea. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Swedish speaking Finnish writer created her Moomin family of marshmallow-body-like trolls back in the 1940s, and they’ve been turned into books, tv shows, films, everything. They are a happy group, living in Moominvalley Valley, excited and curious about the world and eager to have adventures together. Beloved across the globe. Ages: 6+.
Amulet- Waverider
Kibuishi, Kazu. Amulet: Book Nine: Waverider. NY: Graphix, Scholastic, 2024. The final installment of the much beloved Amulet series finds Emily and her friends and allies learning to keep their courage, find peace, and do all in their capacities for compassion and forgiveness to deny the shadows of dark. “The old-fashioned way,” declares Trellis, “through communication and working together.” Uncontrollable power is not necessary, any more than absolute strength or control. Emily agrees. “We are all part of a much bigger picture.” A satisfying conclusion to a dramatic adventure cycle. Ages: 8+.
The Wolf in Underpants Breaks Free
Lupano, Wilfred; illus. Mayana Itoiz; trans. French Nathan Sacks. The Wolf in Underpants Breaks Free. Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe, 2002. Just one in the series about the Wolf and his underpants (read them all!), the humor remains sure: filled with busy detail, fast-talking animals, and an innocent wolf who is truly perplexed about pretty much everything, especially the other forest animals who fill his life with hyperbole and yellow journalism. They’re all trying to force him to be just everyone like everyone else, and all he can say is, “Why?” We’re all routing for Wolf. Ages: 7+.
Just Another Story
Saade, Ernesto. Just Another Story: A Graphic Migration Account. Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe, Lerner Publishing Group, 2024. A migration story of a teenager and his mother north to the U.S. from El Salvador, both the journey itself and what life is like ten years later. What does it mean to exchange one country for another? Why would anyone do such a thing? From what do we run, and what do we need? What makes us who we are? A reflective and considered approach to the complexities of migration. Recommended. Ages: 12+.
The Boy from Clearwater
Yu, Pei-Yun; illus. Zhou Jian-Xin ; trans. Taiwanese Hoklo, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese Lin King. The Boy from Clearwater, Book One and Book Two. NY: Levine Querido, 2023. A history of Taiwan from one governance to the next, through the true story of Tshua Khun-Lim, born December of 1930. A moving tale important to anyone interested in Taiwan in particular, and how humanity survives strife and life in general. Sure to be a classic. Ages: 12+.
