Michelle's Reviews

Inspired by the very first Earth Day celebration, this wordless story follows a paper bag from its stately origins as a forest-dwelling tree through two generations of sack lunch–carrying kids and finally back to the rich soil to nurture a seedling. With intricate pen-and-ink illustrations that completely fill the page, you can find plenty of crisscrossing storylines (e.g., the general store’s “free puppy”, HART-FELT branding, guitars lurking in corners)—sharp eyes will be rewarded with discoveries of their own!

This new picture book from award-winning author Grace Lin treats us to a sweet bedtime ritual between mother and child. Like A Big Mooncake for Little Star, this story spans many nights of seemingly small actions that build to transform the newly independent boy as well as the bigger world outside his window. With pajamas that melt into the white-washed backgrounds, mom and son share knowing looks that reassure anyone on the verge of taking their next big step. - Michelle

“You never know what treasures we’ll find,” says the mom of eight children as they embark on a magical, but also an actual, Depression-era year turning a house into a home. Based on the life of the author’s grandma, Marvel, this picture book recounts the family’s inspiring journey through lovely green-infused watercolors, inconspicuously labeled with general-store items on one page and wildflowers on the next. A generous story of love, with endpapers for those like me who crave more details. - Michelle

Like a typical 12-year-old, Cog (short for “cognitive development”) is a learning machine. However, he’s also an actual machine who takes his job of gaining knowledge by making mistakes quite seriously. In this futuristic version of The Incredible Journey, readers get to experience an epic road trip through the eyes of Cog and his motley robot crew. While fans of The Wild Robot will certainly eat this up, all of us will relish its timely message about the dangers of uniMIND. - Michelle

Barnett has fashioned a secret door that transports us to a world where Margaret Wise Brown chases dogs, drinks tea, and writes. This book shows us that truth in storytelling is important, especially with children. Awash in pastels, Jacoby’s long-striding Margaret keeps her chin up and her eyes open, and you’ll want to do the same while reading this book. - Michelle

This Duck and That Duck are trying to make sense of their Big Puddle and the ever-changing world around them. And we can’t help but root for them as they learn to swim (“‘How do you know?’ That Duck asked. ‘It just feels like swimming,’ This Duck answered.”) and dip and dunk, and then to run and hop and fly. Once the restless itching sets in, they know it’s time to fly South, wherever that is. By paying attention to others that are “Like us, only not us,” these two duck friends do so much more than just waddle in a line. A kindhearted ode to figuring things out. Ages 3–7. - Michelle

In this collection of 20 poems, each placed on oversized pages that can barely contain their dinosaur subjects, David Elliot gives us rollicking species-specific rhymes with just enough information to entice a budding dino-expert-to-be. As if that weren’t fun enough, Matthew Trueman’s lush and earthy illustrations expose every wrinkly fold, spiky tooth, and feathery dinosaur hair. A delight from start to finish, with cool endnotes and a thoughtful chronological organization. Echoes of Jack Prelutsky’s fabulous Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast but for the slightly younger set. Ages 3–7. - Michelle

This is Sadie. And this is a celebration of Sadie’s imagination. Sadie sees a boat when others might see a box; she tells secrets to her favorite garments; she checks for her wings, which safely deliver her home from any adventure. “Sadie has been a girl who lived under the sea. She has been a boy raised by wolves.” She likes stories best of all because they can be anything at all, just like Sadie. Julie Morstad complements the open-ended words with sky-is-the limit illustrations, delightful from beginning to end. Preschool. - Michelle

The Caldecott Medal–winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee is available unabridged in a new board book, paper cut–free for a younger set of listeners. Philip Stead takes us through the thoughtful routines of Amos McGee’s usual workday at the zoo, where “he always made time to visit his good friends” the elephant (who needs a chess partner), the rhinoceros, tortoise, and penguin, and the owl (who is afraid of the dark). One morning Amos wakes up with a bad head cold and calls in sick. After waiting and worrying and missing their friend, the animals hop on the bus and pay Amos a visit, giving him the care that he has so kindly provided them every other day of the week. With all feeling much better, Amos and friends settle in for the night so that they can catch the morning bus back to the zoo, together. Always with plenty to discover, Erin Stead’s lovely pencil-and-color illustrations hold the attentions of reader and child alike, with new things to discover with every reading (look for the tiny mouse!). Preschool. - Michelle

Follow along as we gently, dreamily behold each of the elements that make a house a home, from the front door “once a colossal oak tree” and the bricks “once mud that oozed around roots” to the window that “was sand once…melted to glass.” Misty, almost velvety, watercolors reveal both the history and the now of this home, as we come to see how our own house fits into the world outside our door. A cozy bedtime read. Ages 3–7. - Michelle