Spring Board Book Round-up, Part I

Spring Board Book Round-up, Part I

New Series Board Books

Cousins, Lucy. “Maisy: First Words” series. Candlewick, 09/2022. [20p.] $9.99 each.

Maisy at Work. 978-1-5362-2442-9.

Maisy’s Town. 978-1-2443-6.

     The beloved white mouse Maisy is shown in various situations in this board book with tabs. For example, in Maisy at Work, Maisy is cooking in a restaurant kitchen, and the facing page has items labeled with related vocabulary such as plate, menu, and waiter. This series can help toddlers learn new words, and assist emergent readers since the pictures help them with guessing the related words. The deeply saturated full color artwork also facilitates reading.     

Hirst, Daisy. “Monster” series. Candlewick, 10/2022. [16p.] $8.99 each.

Monsters Go. 978-1-5362-2656-0.

Monster Toys. 978-1-5362-2655-3.

     Colorful monsters are shown in these books filled with alliteration: “Deegan dresses dinosaurs” is one entry in Monster Toys. In Monsters Go, “Zebedee goes by zip line.”  The full color cartoon-like artwork is set on a variety of colored backgrounds, and will appeal to a wide age range. A great series for subtly promoting letter sounds.

Lin, Grace. “Storytelling Math” series. Charlesbridge, 03/2023. [16p.] $7.99 each.

A Beautiful House for Birds. 978-1-62354-347-1.

Where Are the Eggs? 978-1-62354-346-4.

     In this series on simple math concepts, Caldecott Honor recipient Lin depicts everyday actions to show examples. In A Beautiful House for Birds, a young Black girl is shown painting stripes on a bird house to demonstrate patterns. In Where Are the Eggs? a little Asian girl searches for her chicken’s eggs using terms like “next to” and “behind” to show spatial relationships. The full color artwork will help readers find the eggs, or figure out the stripe pattern. The final spread has an explanation of the concept for the adult sharing the book.

McQuinn, Anna. Leo at the Park. Illus. by Ruth Hearson. “Leo” series, bk. 5. Charlesbridge, 06/2023. [18p.] $8.99. 978-1-62354-340-2.

     This series features the little brother of Lola, popular in McQuinn’s Lola at the Library, featuring a Black family. Here, Leo and his mother go to the park for a playdate with Yu and her mother, who are Asian. They play on the swings, in the sandbox, and have a picnic. The colorful illustrations are great for young toddlers, and the brief text is lively and relatable.

Michalak, Jamie. Playdate! (With Bear, Too?). Illus. by Katie Mazeika. “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Babies” series, bk. 7. Charlesbridge, 03/2023. [24p.] $8.99. 978-1-62354-287-0.

     These oversized board books are the size of an easy reader, which makes them great for a wide age range. In Playdate! a bear plays with smaller animals like a rabbit and squirrel, and learns to adjust so he doesn’t overpower them. This nice story on inclusion is told using a very brief text and dialogue balloons, which also makes it great for emergent readers. The lesson is clear but subtle.

Muhle, Jorg. Let’s Play, Little Rabbit. “Little Rabbit” series, bk. 4. Gecko, 10/2022. [20p.] $9.99. 978-1-77657-471-1.

     Originally published in Germany, this series features a little white rabbit in human clothes, doing things a preschooler would do. Here, he plays and encourages the reader to push him on the swing, and interact with the book by touching the pages. The full color cartoon artwork with make it easy for listeners to demonstrate what the text is asking for.

Reid, Camilla. Peekaboo Baby. Illus. by Ingela P. Arrhenius. “Peekaboo” series, bk. 8. Nosy Crow, 01/2023. [8p.] $9.99. 978-1-5362-2825-0.

     A very brief rhyming text repeats “Peekaboo,” while sliders are used to reveal the hidden items including a lamb, pram, and other common nursery things. Toddlers may need help with the sliders but will enjoy the reveals, shown using large, colorful illustrations.

Veille, Eric. “Lionel” series. Gecko, 08/2022. [26p.] $9.99 each.

Lionel Eats All by Himself. 978-1-77657-464-3.

Lionel Poops. 978-1-77657-464-3.

     Originally published in France and translated by Daniel Hahn, Lionel the lion is the stand-in for the toddler audience. He learns to eat by himself in his highchair, and finally uses the potty after pooping on inappropriate things like the Eiffel Tower. The text is funny and has repetition, such as “No, Lionel, no!” Parents will enjoy this as much as the kids they read it to.

 Penny Peck, SJSU iSchool