Fall Board Book Round-up, Part I

Fall Board Book Round-up, Part I

New Original Board Books

Alexander, Lori. Vroom, Baby Driver, Zoom. Illus. by Nancy Goulet. Charlesbridge, 10/2025. [24]p. $8.99. 978-1-62354-662-5.

     Using a romping rhyme and onomatopoeia, this celebrates a baby who loves cars. He pretends he is the race car driver while playing, or sitting in a stroller, and even in his crib. A fun read aloud with bright graphic style artwork.

Matheson, Anne. I Will Love You Till the Cows Come Home. Illus. by Kim Crumrine. Flowerpot, 05/2025. [24]p. $8.99. 978-1-4867-3127-5.

     A sheep tells a lamb how much they are loved in this simple rhyming story set on a farm. The full color cartoon illustrations look like they were created using markers. This would pair well with Brown’s The Runaway Bunny.

Passchier, Andy. If It’s Pride and You Know It. Nosy Crow, 05/2025. [8]p. $9.99. 979-8-88777-160-1.

     Part of the “And You Know It” series of holiday-related board books by various authors and illustrators, this celebrates LGBTQ Pride week. The text is patterned after the song “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” which scans well, encouraging families to wear Pride colors or join the parade. The graphic-style artwork uses deeply saturated colors, depicting families of various races. There are some sliders and other movable parts but the book is quite sturdy and suitable for library use.

Retener, Joelle. USA. Illus. by Sarah Walsh. Barefoot Books, 03/2025. [20]p. $9.99. 979-8-88859-377-6.

     Part of the “Our World” series of country books by various authors and illustrators, this shows American families of various races and includes same-sex parents. It describes various places, foods, languages spoken, and other aspects that shows the diversity of American life. The final two pages have different examples to extend the theme. The brightly colored artwork adds charm, packing many facts into a short book.

Yim, Natasha. No School for Me (Change Is Hard). Illus. by Cory Reid. Charlesbridge, 08/2025. [24]p. $8.99. 978-1-62354-587-1.

     Part of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Babies” imprint, this features a little turtle on the first day of school. At first he is hesitant to go but ends up having fun, learning that trying something new can be difficult but often worth doing. The text is in sentences and dialogue balloons, and the watercolor artwork shows the animal characters in a human setting. Although this is purposeful it is subtle, so this avoids being overtly didactic.

New Board Book Series Entries

Anonymous. “Toddler Trivia” series. Flowerpot Press, 05/2025. [20]p. $9.99 each.

Animals. 978-1-4867-3142-8.

School. 978-1-4867-3141-1.

     Subtitled “A super-fun question & answer lift-the-flap” book, each spread asks a multiple choice question with three choices. For example, what color is the school bus, red, green or yellow? After the page turn we see it is yellow. Each book includes six questions and answers, illustrated with bright colors in a graphic style. A fun guessing game.

Buzio, Carolina. “Toddler Talk” series. Nosy Crow, 06/2025. [22]p. $9.99 each.

All Gone! 979-8-88777-165-6.

Let’s Go! 979-8-88777-164-9.

     Using sentences that include just a few words each make this a fun book for toddlers, focusing on food or a place to play. Diverse children and their adults are shown doing common activities, illustrated with colorful graphic cartoons. Many examples are included which allow young children to see them at the playground, around the table, and having a snack. Each book includes a mylar mirror. Simple but effective.

Cousins, Lucy. “Maisy’s Planet.” Candlewick, 05/2025. [12]p. $9.99 each.

Maisy Loves Butterflies. 978-1-5362-4039-9.

     Maisy the little white mouse learns about butterflies and moths in this simple story. On each spread, a fact page is on the left, and a story page is on the right, offering a nice balance of information and story. The bright colors are eye-catching, and show Maisy learning about insects in the garden.

Lockhart, Louise. “Tummy Time” series. Nosy Crow, 2024-2025. [14]p. $10.99 each.

Park. 979-8-88777-162-5.

     The newest entry in the “Tummy Time” series focuses on activities in the park, saying hello to various animals. The repetitive text is well-suited to babies and young toddlers, and the accordion-fold page ends with a mylar mirror. Not much here but this could help parents learn to talk to their babies.

Piro, Radka. “Stories From Nature” series. Illus. by Carmen Saldana. Albatros Media, 05/2025. [14]p. S12.95 each.

What Plant Is This? 978-80-00-07443-8.

Whose Baby Is This? 978-80-00-07442-9.

     Two entries in this factual series offers quite a bit of information on baby animals and plants. Each spread includes five flaps that reveal a paragraph each, making a clear but detailed text on the subject. The watercolor artwork depicts the animals and plants realistically, and the pages are sturdy. Great for a wide age range, this fact-fill book is entertaining and fun.

Walker, Sally M. “Nature in Action” series. Illus. by Kim Smith. MIT Kids/Candlewick, 04/2025. [14]p. $7.99 each.

River’s Journey. 978-1-5362-2907-3.

Rocks’ Journey. 978-1-5362-2908-0.

     Using a rhyming text and repetition, rivers and rocks are the focus of these two new simple factual board books. Readers will see how rocks slowly break up and turn into sand, and how rivers flow along a slow journey. The realistic paintings and the text work well to introduce simple science to young audiences.

Yee, Patrick. “7 Best Things” series. Flowerpot, 05/2025. [14]p. $8.99 each.

7 Best Things About Friends. 978-1-4867-3119-0.

     Seven animals, all wearing blue overalls, play and learn at school. The simple, repetitive text works well but not much happens. The colorful illustrations appear to have been done using markers.

Board Book Adaptations of Picture Books

Chen, Vincent. Hot Pot Night! Charlesbridge, 2020, 09/2025. [22]p. $8.99. 978-1-62354-666-3.

     Four families in an apartment collaborate on a shared hot pot dish in this fun celebration. The neighbors appear to be different ethnicities as depicted in the full color artwork, and the chanted text has engaging repetition. The only thing missing is the recipe!

Lunde, Darrin. Whose Egg Is That? Illus. by Kelsey Oseid. 2023, 09/2025. [24]p. $8.99. 978-1-62354-609-0.

     In this factual book, we see an egg, and when the page is turned we get the answer of what kind of egg it is. This works as a fun guessing game, that includes a fact or two on each creature that is shown. Not just birds are featured, making this fun for a wide age range.

Melling, David. Ruffles and the Teeny Tiny Kittens. Candlewick, 2021, 06/2025. [24]p. $8.99. 978-1-5362-4139-6.

     Ruffles is a small white dog with a grey circle over his eye who lives with five orange kittens. The kittens take Rufflers’ things and tear his favorite blue blanket. This oversized board book has the same pages as the original, with small illustrations of Ruffles listing his activities but they are just as clear in the smaller format. The cartoonish artwork conveys a lot of humor. A fun story that also helps readers learn many verb forms.

Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool