I’ve read so many incredible books in 2021 and have loved sharing them with you. I can’t wait to see all the amazing picture books we’ll discover together in 2022!
If you have a PB releasing soon, check out how I’ll consider it for a future PB Buzz at the bottom of this post. 🙂
I hotlinked the titles to Goodreads, so you can easily search for your favorites in various stores and in some libraries.
In addition to discovering amazing new books, you can also enter to win prizes! If a teacher, media specialist or parent wins a critique prize, I’d be happy to hook you up with a Zoom chat with a book reading & Q&A instead.
Bisa’s Carnaval by Joana Pastro, Carolina Coroa (Illustrations)
Discover the sights and sounds of Brazil through the eyes of a young girl and her great-grandmother as they share in the excitement of Carnaval!It’s time for Carnaval and Clara cannot wait to celebrate her favorite holiday with family, but especially with her great-grandmother. Even if Bisa can’t attend, Clara knows the Carnaval parade will still be special. Costumed lovingly by their bisa, everyone takes to the street for the annual parade. But even among all the colors, costumes, music, and dancing, something is missing . . . or is it someone? With lush, lyrical text and bright, colorful illustrations, this book takes readers to one of the most exciting holidays of the year and reminds us that no matter who or where you are, love is always worth celebrating.
I want to go to Carnaval! The vibrant illustrations, awesome costumes, and beautiful scenery make me want to dive into the book and join in the fun. This story is full of heart and made Carnaval come alive for me.
Stacey’s Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams, Kitt Thomas (Illustrations)
An empowering debut picture book from iconic voting rights advocate and #1 New York Times bestselling author, Stacey Abrams, about a little girl who discovers the power of words after competing in a spelling bee—inspired by Stacey’s own childhood.
Stacey is a little girl who loves words more than anything. She loves reading them, sounding them out, and finding comfort in them when things are hard.
But when her teacher chooses her to compete in the local spelling bee, she isn’t as excited as she thought she’d be. What if she messes up? Or worse, if she can’t bring herself to speak up, like sometimes happens when facing bullies at school?
Stacey will learn that win or lose . . her words are powerful, and sometimes perseverance is the most important word of all.
This story is so powerful, I teared up. There are so many sayings in the book that resonated with me, like:
“Whenever Stacey learned a new word, it was like making a new friend.”
Now I need to create a Notebook of Extraordinary Words!
This is the perfect book for anyone who loves words—and anyone you hope will discover a love of words.
Snowman’s Big Adventure by Ed Masessa, Gwen Millward (Illustrations)
This humorous picture book begins with a girl’s drawing of a sweaty, smelly snowman named Sue who argues with the girl about her artistic choices. As she continues to draw, the girl weaves a tale that displeases the snowman. Will the tutu-wearing snowman get his way and change the story, or will the girl, a dragon, and a puppy named Puddles win out?
Get ready to laugh–this deep dive into a child’s imagination is fun, fun, fun! The child-like illustrations are full of personality.
This is such a funny read-aloud (perfect for multiple ‘actors’ to take the parts of the creative sister and brother who draw this quirky story, plus Sue…the sweaty stinky snowman who isn’t thrilled with the direction the story goes).
Milk and Juice: A Recycling Romance by Meredith Crandall Brown
A hilarious, quirky debut picture book by Meredith Crandall Brown that follows a bottle of juice and a jug of milk on their recycling love story. Perfect for fans of Peanut Butter & Cupcake by Terry Border!
Once upon a time, in a refrigerator not too far away, a jug of milk and a bottle of juice fell in love. All was bliss until Juice was taken away from his one true love and . . . recycled. Thus begins Milk and Juice’s humorous and heartbreaking journey through many incarnations around the world. Will they ever be reunited? Or will they stay as star-crossed lovers for all eternity?
In this charmingly clever and hilariously quirky story, Meredith shows us the importance of chasing after your dreams and never giving up.
Such a fun (and funny) story that’s a great way for kids to learn about recycling. (Although they might not want to get rid of used milk and juice bottles after this) 😉
Chinese Kite Festival by Richard Lo
Children can learn animal names in both English and Chinese with this beautifully illustrated book!
A tiger pounces across the sky.
A ladybug takes flight from a leaf.
Animal names and their significance in Chinese culture is beautifully explored for young readers in this stunning book. Simple bilingual text helps teach children animal names in both English and Chinese, and little ones will learn that butterflies are a sign of love, bees signify hard work, and more through the very simple and accessible backmatter. Paired with Rich Lo’s vibrant digital watercolors, this simple and practical introduction to Chinese animal names and symbolism is irresistible.
The illustrations are absolutely stunning! I’d love to have them up on my walls. I could stare at them all day.
It’s great seeing Chinese words next to the English ones, and I love learning the meaning of all the animals and creatures.
Squish Squash Squished by Rebecca Kraft Rector, Dana Wulfekotte (Illustrations)
A pair of kids learn what it is really like to be squished together during one hilarious and eventful car ride!
When Max and Molly can’t stop complaining about being squished in the back seat of the car, their clever mom knows exactly what to do—offer rides to their animal friends, who are happy to pile in and come along! As the back seat fills up with a wiggly piglet, two flitting ducklings, and three woofing puppies, soon Max and Molly are not only squished—they’re SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED! So when they notice Mom slowing down to wave at Scooter Mooter and his calves, Max and Molly don’t say a word—they hush-mush. Thankfully, Mom keeps driving—and after everyone’s dropped off and it’s time to hustle-bustle home, Max and Molly are happy to stretch out in the back seat of their suddenly gracious-spacious automobile.
Fun language and a car ride most kids (and parents) can relate to. Well…except for the way Mom handles the kids complaining they’re squish squash squished with only the two of them in the back seat. 😉 Car rides will NEVER be the same again!
Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln by Shari Swanson, Chuck Groenink (Illustrations)
Based on a little-known tale from Abraham Lincoln’s childhood, this charming picture book tells a classic story of a boy, his dog, and a daring rescue.
Deeply researched and charmingly told, this is the true story of one extra-special childhood rescue—a dog named Honey. Long before Abraham Lincoln led the nation or signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he was a barefoot kid running around Knob Creek, Kentucky, setting animals free from traps and snatching frogs out of the jaws of snakes. One day, young Abe found a stray dog with a broken leg and named him Honey. He had no idea that the scruffy pup would find his way into Abe’s heart, become his best friend, and—one fateful day—save his life.
I absolutely adore animals, and loved this glimpse of young Abe Lincoln and his rescued dog. I never knew this side of him, and am glad the world will discover all about his awesome animal (and critter) rescues.
Group Hug by Jean Reidy, Joey Chou (Illustrations)
There’s room for all in this cumulative picture book story, in which ever more animals come to hug a slug.
There once was a slug, needing someone to hug.
When Slug happens upon a lonely beetle, he knows just what to do. He gives him a big hug—and then the two friends decide to pass it along. They meet Mouse, who’s down in the dumps, Skunk, who’s a bit smelly, and more and more animals, until their group hug stretches wide and tall. But when Bear comes along, will there be enough hug to share? This delightful picture book encourages kindness and goes to show “that a hugger finds happiness ‘longside the hugged!”
This book is filled with fun rhyme and hugs galore. I love hugs…and seeing these adorable creatures open their paws wide to include everyone, no matter how smelly or scary.
Monday by Lucy Branam, Kevin M. Barry (Illustrations)
Poor Monday. Everyone knows he’s the worst. Every other day of the week has something wonderful about them, even if Tuesday’s best quality is that she’s NOT Monday. So Monday tries his best to get people to like him, but Monday is just not cut out for Sunday’s naps or Thursday’s frantic energy. Finally, he decides to just not show up at all. But when the other days start looking more and more like Monday himself, Monday realizes everyone has a job to do in a week.
It’s fun seeing each day of the week as a character. I’d love to join their parties and activities!
Poor Monday though. He always gets a bad rap. But I love that he realizes how important he is and brightens up in the end.
There Was an Old Dog Who Needed a Nap by Ed Masessa, Petronela Dostalova (Illustrations)
An old dog wants nothing more than to take a nap, but a musical mouse makes this impossible. Through rhyming text and a series of funny letters, the miscommunication between the two builds to a surprising ending.
A fun rhyming story that will have kids guessing what will catch the old dog’s attention next. Love the sweet notes from the musical mouse!
We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier
A celebration of the gospel anthem and Civil Rights protest song “We Shall Overcome,” masterfully brought to life by Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Bryan Collier.
“We Shall Overcome” is one of the most recognizable anthems of the Civil Rights movement, widely performed at protests and rallies to promote nonviolent civil rights activism. Now, these inspirational, empowering, legendary lyrics are brought to life with the stirring, evocative, and breathtaking illustrations from multi-award-winning talent Bryan Collier. Powerfully imagined for the present moment, Collier’s illustrations meld the most emblematic moments of the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement with the present day, depicting the movements, protests, and demonstrations — big and small — as the fight for justice continues. With illustrations full of depth, tenderness, and expression, and offering historical context while remaining powerfully relevant to the present-day, this impactful picture book is a must-have for every home, classroom, and bookshelf.
Such a powerful book! The illustrations are stunning and full of important history…which is explained in the rich back matter.
If you’re looking for more awesome picture books to read, you can check out past PB Buzz posts here.
Here’s more amazing new picture books to add to your must-read list! I absolutely love this annual post from Anitra Rowe Schulte that features 20 favorite books shared by kidlit authors and illustrators. I spy some PB Buzz favorites on there…and quite a few awesome new books to explore.
And…even more incredible new books. Yay! Here’s THE 2021 NERDIES: FICTION PICTURE BOOKS ANNOUNCED BY JOHN SCHU. I spy some that are new to me that I can’t wait to read here. What are you looking forward to reading the most?
Thanks so much for reading PB Buzz! And a huge thanks to everyone who generously donated a prize on the two Rafflecopters below to help celebrate all of these amazing new books. All prizes below are on this Rafflecopter (you can view them by clicking the arrow under each prize). You have the opportunity to win:
PB critique or 30 minute Zoom chat with me [Winner: Jennifer Rathe]
Non-rhyming picture book critique with Rebecca Kraft Rector, author of SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED [Winner: Jennifer Jahn]
*Everyone can enter the giveaways on this first Rafflecopter!*
a Rafflecopter giveawayThis Rafflecopter has awesome new books you can win…and is open only to those in the US.
SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED by Rebecca Kraft Rector, Dana Wulfekotte (Illustrations) [Winner: Wendy Greenley]
A signed copy of MONDAY by Lucy Branam (illustrations by Kevin M. Barry), with a bookmark and Monday sticker [Winner: Danielle Hammelef]
*Everything you do for the first Rafflecopter can count for this one, too. So if you leave a blog comment, you get credit on both Rafflecopters. Just click that you did it on each Rafflecopter and enjoy the extra entries.*
a Rafflecopter giveawayWinners will be shown on this post and shouted out on Twitter on January 7. Good luck!
I can’t wait to share more amazing books with you next month (um, next YEAR)!
I hope you have a healthy and happy New Year…and that 2022 will bring TONS of good news your way.
*The next PBParty New Draft Challenge & Critique Train will be on Thursday, January 20, 2022. I can’t wait to see all the awesome new PBs we’ll create together next year. 🙂
If you have a recently released or upcoming picture book with a publisher on the SCBWI PAL list and would like me to read and consider it for PB Buzz, click here to fill out a Google form. I’m excited to read all of your books…but can only share a limited amount each month.
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