You probably know this, but just in case you didn’t. LPL gets tons of new items every day. From the digital to the hardback book, from the CD, to the newest release for Nintento Switch, we are always getting something new. If you haven’t perused a New Shelf in a while (I’ll let you pick your poison), there are discoveries to be made with the additional, absolute pleasure of reading a book before anyone else gets their hands on it.
My favorite books to gobble up before they hit the floor are the picture books. Depending on the day, we usually get anywhere from 1-15 new picture books. In 2018, LPL added 1,591 new picture books, and that's just the picture books! (Although some of them are duplicate copies in case anyone is going to call me out on my statistics.) I may have kind of forgotten about writing this blog, so when faced with a time crunch and a trove of new picture books, I thought I would share some of my favorites that have come into our collection in the last week or so.
Do you have a nature lover who is also obsessed with seek and finds? You can traipse through pages of beautiful watercolors to find beautiful birds scattered amongst the pages. This one isn’t for the faint of heart, though. It took me some pretty focused searching to find all the bluebirds. This book is the perfect antidote to the cold Kansas winter and will have you and your kid ready to hit the trails and do some birdwatching.
More watercolors! I am a sucker for a cat book and especially for any book with a solid change of heart. When these cats go from naughty to nice, it’s hard not to get swept up in this almost shipwrecked adventure. Add in a rollicking rhyme and cats at sea, kiddos are sure to get caught up in this tale full of (cat) tails.
The most interesting thing about this book is that it is illustrated by Tomie de Paola in a style that I would not normally associate with him. Not only is this a cute book about taking chances and trying again, but the illustrations are bold and playful because of the use of brightly colored markers. I have a soft spot for “one word per page” books and Wings exceeds expectations by also using one word from the same word family. Prepare to be delighted.
Christian Robinson is another author/illustrator that’s been around the block and I couldn’t have been more pleased by this whimsical addition to his oeuvre. This is the perfect book to snuggle up with kiddo in lap while you try to figure out what the heck is going on. With portals and doubles and cats from other dimensions, Another changes perspective expertly and playfully and without any text you and yours can fill in the text with whatever story you choose to tell.
The librarian in me was very happy to see this book! Who doesn’t need a little book love in the form of a picture book that tells you to hug it? I confused myself a little bit with that sentence, but seriously, this books is cute. It promotes reading and you won’t be able to put it down, mostly because you’ll still be hugging it. With heavy use of primary colors and hilarious situations (like reading a book to a hippo), Hug This Book is a joy to read and I bet you’ll be reading it over and over again.
If you’ve got a mischievous kid in your life, then Hello Door is the book for you. Another rhyming picture book, Hello Door features a fox, an empty house and a Mary Poppins type bag. While the owners of the house are out, fox sneaks in and helps himself to all of their stuff. I am a sucker for a fox book and even though it does nothing to dispel the sneaky fox stereotype, I enjoyed it nonetheless!
-Lauren Taylor is a Children's Services Assistant at Lawrence Public Library.
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