Hi Kid Lit Friends,
Happy December! I hope this month is filled with beautiful and cozy days for you. I’m looking forward to celebrating my kiddo’s birthday next weekend and visiting friends over the holiday break. I can’t wait to pick out our tree and make marshmallows to eat with hot chocolate!
Bookish Goods
Stacked Books Glass Ornament by HolidayShopbyFandF
I love this delicate ornament that will look perfect on any tree. A sweet gift for any booklover. $20
New Releases
Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Joy Ang
In a village by the Great Wall of China, a young kung fu fighter heads off with nourishing food for her sick grandmother. When she is led astray by a dragon, she finds herself swallowed whole when she reaches her grandmother’s house. Thankfully, she uses all of her ingenuity to rescue both her and grandmother.
A Story is to Share: How Ruth Krauss Found Another Way to Tell a Tale by Carter Higgins, illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault
I am always in awe of Carter Higgins’s writing. She is truly a master of words, and she is the perfect person to tell the story of the legendary author/illustrator Ruth Krauss. The illustrations are charming, and I love the green cloth spine!
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
As a city dweller, I always find myself drawn to stories of city living. These new picture books celebrate city life!
City Under the City by Dan Yaccarino
In this sci-fi-ish (or realistic?) picture book, Bix lives in a city where no one talks to each other or reads books. They just stare at portable devices all monitored by the Big Eye. In an attempt to escape from the intrusive Eye, Bix finds a way under the city where he discovers an abandoned city…one that has a library! Can Bix find a way to bring back books, and defeat the Big Eye for good?
If You Were a City by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Francesca Sanna
Cities are known for diversity, and this picture book perfectly captures how people can all be unique and add different gifts to a place. The illustrations are vibrant and full of energy!
Cycle City by Alison Farrell
I love so many things about this book! Farrell’s humor and illustrative style remind me of Richard Scarry. Etta the Elephant is off to her aunt’s house, and along the way she encounters a bicycle parade! Check out all the funny and silly bikes Etta sees in this delightful picture book.
Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter, illustrations by Oge Mora
Living in a big building has its challenges, especially when noise wakes up residents one by one, setting off a chain reaction so no neighbor is unaffected! But calm and quiet return to the city, and slowly the residents of the red brick building find rest again. Are you tired of me recommending books by Oge Mora yet??? I just love her illustrations!
What are you reading these days?
Let me know! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at KarinaBookRiot@gmail.com.
Until next time,
Karina
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