Picture Book Stack Wrap-Up

My summer ends this week, and I have so much yet to do.  There is a lot to keep up with in getting ready for the upcoming year, and I am still trying to wrap up other projects that I have started. But books are the constant, and I am continually reading, thinking about, and wanting books!

I've tried to keep with picture books as much as I could, although I'm sure I've missed some. (There is one book in particular that I cannot wait to read, but I will reveal that at the end of this post!)

This is a stack I read through recently, and I thought I'd share them here:

DEAR DRAGON: Written by Josh Funk

Illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo

This book is all about friendship and letter-writing. It's a really delightful communication between two pen pals with a plot twist at the end. Josh Funk's previous book is LADY PANCAKE & SIR FRENCH TOAST. Fun food book!

SPOT, THE CAT - Written and illus. by Henry Cole

I still remembering read Cole's A NEST FOR CELESTE and crying along with it- a truly memorable book for me. But Henry Cole writes and illustrates picture books, too! (See UNSPOKEN.) This one is a wordless and engaging book about a cat on an adventure. The detailed drawings of the city will bring you back to this book again and again. I really could stare at these pages for hours. 

BRING ME A ROCK! Written and illus. by Daniel Miyares

Grasshopper King wants to build himself a tower of rocks, so he orders his subjects (other bugs) to bring him big rocks. But one little bug brings him a little rock, and that makes the King very unhappy. Pay attention to the end. This one's about how everyone can make a difference, and sometimes our small but necessary contribution is just the thing that is needed.  I always recommend FLOAT (another Daniel Miyares book), so I was really anxious to read this one. 

I CAN HEAR A PICKLE (AND SMELL, SEE, TOUCH, AND TASTE IT, TOO!)

Written and illus. by Rachel Isadora

When teachers ask for a picture book about the senses, I have another title to recommend. Little ones are the characters here, each taking part in a scene that illustrates the use of all senses -- sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. Love the green endpapers, and that the text and pictures are laid out far apart enough so young readers can point to favorite parts as they read.

MISS MARY REPORTING - Written by Sue Macy

Illus. by C.F. Payne

Do you enjoy sports books? And biographies? Check out MISS MARY REPORTING and get a bit of both - but in the form of a picture book! It will inspire research! I'm thinking about book pairings for this one. 

RAIN FISH by Lois Ehlert 

You only need one reason to read this book: Lois Ehlert is the author and illustrator. Ehlert's collage work is always fascinating. Her latest book is about those little bits and scraps of things that float around in the water after a storm: "Rain Fish". Brilliant! 

SHAPE SHIFT - Written and illus. by Joyce Hesselberth

Using repetition and lively mixed media illustrations, this book is all about finding shapes in our world and how rectangles, trapezoids, circles, crescents, etc. are everywhere! Can't wait to recommend this one to my teachers! 

WHOOSH! LONNIE JOHNSON'S SUPER-SOAKING STREAM OF INVENTIONS

Written by Chris Barton

Illus. by Don Tate

Both Chris Barton and Don Tate are fellow Texans, and I am always eager to see what they do when they pair up. This book is about Lonnie Johnson, the real life-inventor of the Super Soaker water gun. Barton gives us a backstory of Lonnie's childhood and his early penchant for making and tinkering and his later life as an engineer and inventor -- and all the trials that go along with it. Check out the endpapers and fold-out page! 

I hope you will check out these books from your library! 

And one picture book I can't wait to read is: