Personal rating of 5 out of 5 stars
by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell Illustrated by Rafael López 5 stars Absolutely gorgeous. A spectacular picture books inspired by the real-life Urban Art Trail in San Diego. An art-loving child does her best to bring color to her neighbors by sharing her art. But it isn’t until she teams up with a muralist…
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5 stars A fantastic book about book bans and using your voice to speak up for what you believe in. “It wasn’t just good books that shouldn’t be hidden away. It was all books. Any books. It didn’t matter what they were about, or whether I liked them, or Mrs. Spencer liked them, or the…
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5 stars An adorable little story about making new friends and being brave enough to be yourself. Little Ghost and his mother have been haunting their home for hundreds of years, but in all that time Little Ghost hasn’t made a single friend. He’s nervous he’ll scare everyone away. But when a new family moves…
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5 stars A sweet mix-up adventure. Little Sal and her mother go to Blueberry Hill to gather berries to can for the winter. Little Bear and his mother go to eat their fill of blueberries for winter. The families get separated and reunite, but there is a bit of a mix-up. A sweet low-stakes story….
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Illustrated by Angela Dominguez 5 stars A heartwarming story of a girl, her grandmother, and their pet parrot. This was such a sweet book. At first, when Mia’s grandmother moves in, they have a hard time understanding each other. Mia doesn’t know much Spanish and her grandmother doesn’t know much English. But together, they teach…
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by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars Probably the most action-packed volume so far. Akira and his friends find out the lab they’re found refuge in isn’t as safe as they initially thought. Following that jaw-dropping cliffhanger ending from the previous book, the team works to save Shizuka. Some…
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Illustrated by Frenci Sanna 5 stars The most beautiful picture book I have ever read. A gentle intergenerational tale of a family’s gifts of kindness, love, an appreciation of nature, and time spent together. They grow and build a community as large as the forest they’ve planted. I checked this one out because I love…
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by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars A fight for survival, romantic tension, and a cliffhanger that’ll have you racing for the next volume. After falling off the cruise ship, Akira and Shizuka wake up on a deserted island where they must figure out how to survive with limited…
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by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars Another fantastic volume. In this one we get the epic conclusion of “Millionaire of the Dead”, a visit to a Gion teahouse to visit the maiko, and the start of Bea’s Bucket List item, “Be a Shikoku pilgrim”. I enjoyed the variety…
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5 stars A beautiful story of a child whose fear keeps her from connecting with others after moving to a new country. This is such a great metaphor for fear. At the beginning, the girl sees her Fear as a friend who keeps her safe, but after big changes, Fear becomes too overprotective, preventing her…
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