It’s pre-autumn! I’m very ready to wear all the cozy things and drink all the hot tea, but the weather hasn’t obliged me yet. No themes from me this month, but I hope your school year is off to a good start!
Picture Books
“Found You!” written by Jane Godwin and illustrated by Sylvia Morris
“Ready or not, here I come!” A little boy finds the perfect hiding spot for hide-and-seek, but it might be a little too good. As all the others are found, and the group heads outside to keep searching, he worries that he’ll never be discovered. This book perfectly captures all the emotional highs and lows of the game and will be very relatable for little ones. Before reading this, I had forgotten how unnerving it can be when you’re waiting in the dark to be found! And if this anxiety rings true in your child, might I suggest a game of Sardines? Reverse hide-and-seek is a perfect way to alleviate the concern about hiding alone.
“Floor It!” written by Bex Tobin Fine and illustrated by Federico Fabiani
Start your engine! Baby is determined to make it all the way to the other side of the room. That’s a long way to crawl when you’re faced with myriad obstacles like fluffy rugs, couch cushions and kitchen chairs. With an older sibling’s enthusiastic encouragement, Baby races through it all with aplomb. The illustrations cleverly show everything from Baby’s perspective and imagination as the living room transforms into a racetrack. Bouncy rhymes and sports announcer narration promise a great read-aloud. I have no doubt if my youngest was still in her crawling days, she’d be encouraged by her big brother to re-enact this book! Actually, they might still do that anyway.
Chapter Books
“Millie of the Manor” by Karina Evans & Andrea Bell
Amy loves detective novels, so she should be thrilled when she’s invited to a murder mystery birthday party. But Amy struggles with social anxiety and is worried that she’ll mess up or act weird. As the evening progresses, she begins to enjoy roleplaying as her assigned character, a scientist named Millie. Any awkwardness can be explained as part of Millie’s character, but Amy’s anxiety threatens to overwhelm her as the clues and evidence pile up against Millie. This graphic novel beautifully shows the mystery coming to life, as the illustrations show the kids’ costumes transformed to sumptuous old-fashioned clothing in a stately manor house. Not only is the mystery engaging, it’s also a sensitive and sympathetic portrayal of anxiety.
“The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze” by Derrick Barnes
Henson is still in eighth grade, but he’s been invited to play on the high school’s varsity football team this year. He’s an excellent football player, and the mostly white town is thrilled to have their very own Black athlete to lead them to the championships. Students, teachers, and townspeople fawn over Henson and treat him like a celebrity, up until the night of their first football game. After a phenomenal first half, Henson finds out at halftime that his fifth-grade friend—who’s like a little brother to him—has just been brutalized by state troopers. He immediately leaves to visit him at the hospital, and the town is outraged. Now Henson is at the center of a chaotic division in the town, as he learns to value justice over the adulation of those who only see him as entertainment.
