Tag: Perfect Picture Book Friday

cover of God Made You Too
Posted in Nonfiction, PB, Read-aloud, So Many Good Books

God Made You Too

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

God Made You Too (WorthyKids, 2022) by Chelsea Tornetto and illustrated by Kimberley Barnes is perfect for sharing God’s nature with little ones.

God made the universe, hung stars, and spins the planets around. He formed the depths of space and YOU. He created oceans, mountains, creatures, the seasons, and billions of people, and YOU too.

Heartwarming text written in subtle rhyme and adorable illustrations make this a great read aloud book. It answers why He made you.

The author is a former classroom teacher. Check out Chelsea’s books here.

The illustrator likes bright and shiny as you can see in her illustrations on her website. Read about Kimberley here and see some of her books here.

cover of This Old Madrone Tree
Posted in Nonfiction, PB, So Many Good Books

This Old Madrone Tree

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

This Old Madrone Tree (Web of Life Children’s Books, 2023) by Barbara Herkert and illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy is such a lovely nature book about a specific tree’s annual life cycle. (I can’t believe I forgot to recommend it last fall!)

In the Pacific Northwest, madrone (sometimes called madrona) trees grow near the coast. This book tells the story of one such tree and the creatures who visit throughout the year. We visit all four seasons starting with summer and ending with spring.

The text is lyrical and the illustrations beautifully compliment it. My favorite part of the text is “In winter, the wind whips and snarls. Waves raise their frothy heads. Rain slashes sideways. Thunder roars, and lightning cackles.” Can’t you just see and hear it? I have a really hard time picking a favorite spread as the illustrations are so lovely. But the forest scene when the bark curls reminds me of family vacations on the northern California coast when I was young.

The author has a madrone tree where she lives that inspired this story, her fifth published book. Read more about Barb here and check out her other books here.

The illustrator loves nature so was a perfect choice. Read about Marlo here and see samples of her illustrations here. Check out some lovely spreads of this book on the publisher’s site.

FYI: This is my 100th picture book recommendation on this site! Woo hoo!

cover of Because
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

Because

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

Because (Hyperion Books for Children, 2019) by Mo Willems and illustrated by Amber Ren is a fun cause and effect picture book on the power of music. It’s deceptively simple.

“Because a man named Ludwig wrote beautiful music–” the story begins. Then goes to Franz, to an orchestra and those who studied hard to play, ending up with a little girl who listened (because her uncle had a cold and she got his ticket), who was changed and changed others.

One aspect I like is that luck was involved in the girl’s success. It also includes people we might think of as mundane as they are “only” preparing the music hall.

Mo is a bestselling author, illustrator, animator, and playwright famous for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus among others. Read about him here and check out his other books here.

This book was Amber’s debut. Read about her here and see some of her illustrations here. She already has five other books out and has illustrated some book covers as well. (Click on the Book link on her website to see individual titles.)

Here’s a video on the making of Because.

cover of I Wish You More
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

I Wish You More

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

I Wish You More (Chronicle Books , 2015) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is such a sweet book with deceptively simple text and lovely illustrations. It’s a great gift book. The pages make me smile.

Each spread shares what “I wish you more” of. So many good lines. One of my favorites is: “I wish you more we than me.” My favorite illustration is on “I wish you more treasures than pockets.”

Amy is a prolific author. A bonus on Amy’s website is that you get to choose the ambiance and see what the umbrella does. Very fun. I had to play with them all. Click on the links on the right for her children’s books, bio, etc.

Tom is an author/illustrator. Read about him here and see all his books here. Below is the story behind the story.

The Story of I Wish You More, as told by Tom Lichtenheld
cover of A Little More Beautiful
Posted in PB, Read-aloud, So Many Good Books

A Little More Beautiful

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

A Little More Beautiful (Waxwing Books, 2023) by Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Breezy Brookshire is a sweet book not just for kids. Gardeners would enjoy it too.

An old lady named Lou Alice, who is as “sly as a fox and swift as a bird” decides “to leave each day more beautiful than she found it.” When she offers to plant a garden at the town hall, she’s told it’s too much work for her. So Lou Alice plants at night under the light of the moon. When the garden grows the town hall workers don’t know why but they feel happier than before. Then Lou Alice moves away. No one really notices, except for one little girl, who takes on Lou Alice’s mission of making the world more beautiful.

Author Sarah has created The Read-Aloud Revival encouraging homeschooling parents to read to their kids. There’s a bonus of a very popular bi-weekly podcast. See her other books here.

Read about illustrator Breezy here, see her books here, and check out her illustration shop too. She also has an Etsy shop.