The Fastest Tortoise in Town
by Howard Calvert
Year Published: 2023
The fable of the tortoise and the hare receives a charming new spin in this wonderfully illustrated, cheering tale about a lovable and relatable trouper.
The Quacken
by Justin Colon
Year Published: 2024
Lurking in the lake at Cucumonga Campground is a fearsome and frightening creature. Legend says that it swallows kids, canoes, and even whales whole. But all Hector sees are cute, cuddly, quacking ducks. Until he breaks the campground’s most important rule—Don’t Feed the Ducks—and releases...the Quacken.
Squirrel-ish
by Bambi Edlund
Year Published: 2024
At the park, people give squirrels free peanuts. And nobody screams when a squirrel crosses their path. But for Rat, it’s all screams and no nuts … until he comes up with a plan: be more like a squirrel—squirrel-ish!
When his attempts at adopting a squirrel-ish posture and pinning his ears down don’t make a difference, Rat considers his tail. And after a few crafty but failed squirrel-ish tail prototypes made from cotton balls, feathers, and spaghetti, he lands on a winning material: straw from a broom!
Finally, Rat can walk through the park without getting shooed. Free peanut in hand, he daydreams about building a re-tail empire … until the dogs in the park spot him and give chase. All of a sudden, Rat understands why squirrels do so much scampering! Maybe his rat tail isn’t so bad after all …
We are Definitely Human
by X Fang
Year Published: 2024
When three mysterious visitors from "Europe" crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their "car". No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they "make business", "play sportsball" and "wear hat". As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high.
A sweetly funny extraterrestrial offering that explores surprising acts of kindness and acceptance, X. Fang's second picture book is truly out of this world.
Mavis the Bravest
by Lu Fraser
Year Published: 2024
Mavis is not like her adventurous friend Marge. Mavis is a chicken who finds EVERYTHING scary (night-time and daytime and anything hairy!). So when the slumbering peace of their cozy barn is disturbed by someone trying to steal their friend Sandra the sheep, will Mavis be able to find her bright spark of braveness and save Sandra?
With a tractor, a lasso, and a lot of hen-durance, Mavis might just have what it takes to be the hero the barn needs.
Penny Lu Porcupine
by Katie Gilstrap
Year Published: 2024
Like all porcupines, Penny Lu is nearsighted. So while her incredible sense of smell leads her to all sorts of yummy food, predators can be hard to spot. Thankfully, she has another feature that’s quite amazing—her pointy quills! Even when she’s scared, they make her look powerful. But sometimes Penny Lu doesn’t feel powerful. And she wonders what she’d do if she came face-to-face with the predator she fears the most—THE BEAR! With its rollicking, rhyming text and adorable art, Penny Lu Porcupine will charm readers and reassure them that they too can face their fears.
How This Book Got Red
by Margaret Greanias
Year Published: 2023
When Red discovers a new book about pandas, she can't wait to read it! Except it's about only one kind of panda, and red pandas are completely left out. Red never gets to read stories about pandas like herself! So she decides to take matters into her own paws and write her own book.
But sometimes Red wonders if the only kind of pandas the world sees are the black and white kind. What if nobody wants to read her book? Red must find the courage to finish her story.
Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to be a Kitten
by Michelle Knudsen
Year Published: 2024
On a street of old houses, a big hairy spider is searching for a home with dark corners to hide in. But when he wakes up, he finds a hand reaching for him and a lady proclaiming that she has always wanted a kitten—and will name him Luigi! At first, a somewhat puzzled Luigi, used to being left alone to creep and dangle and spin webs, resists her kind advances. But soon, tasty breakfasts and getting tucked into bed (no one’s ever wished him good night before) have him thinking that kittens surely live magical lives. I will be a kitten! he decides. But how long can he keep up his facade, and what might be at stake in pretending to be someone you’re not? The award-winning duo behind Library Lion delivers another classic in the making, marked by humor and depth, endearing characters, and the assurance that the right people will accept and adore us, unconditionally, just as we are..
The Spotless Giraffe
by Peter Millett
Year Published: 2024
nspired by a real-life spotless giraffe from a popular news story, born in 2023, at Brights Zoo in Tennessee, Kipekee is one of the rarest giraffes on the planet.
But being one of a kind isn’t easy. And as Kipekee looks around her on her first day at school, she feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere.
With the help of her new friends, she tries some of the animal classes, scrambling clumsily up the rocks with llamas, and stretching her twiggy legs to high jump with the gazelles. But none of them feel quite right. She even tries to disguise herself, hoping that the others will accept her.
Eventually, Kipekee realizes that, although she doesn’t look like the others, she fits right in, and that her differences should be celebrated. And she’s delighted to find that she’s accepted—spots or no spots.
The Man Who Didn't Like Animals
by Deborah Underwood
Year Published: 2024
There once was a man who loved his tidy home and who didn’t like animals. Then, one day, a cat appeared. The man and the cat both liked napping and watching the rain and eating dinner precisely at six.
Well, maybe this one animal could stay.
Next came a dog . . .
This bighearted and funny tale with delightful artwork from Caldecott Honor artist LeUyen Pham celebrates the joy of embracing new perspectives.