Every year, the Texas Library Association chooses a list of 20 books to recommend for children age 2 to grade 2 in order to encourage reading. This year, Race Car Count, written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Michael Slack, was chosen as one of the twenty books. Race Car Count is a counting book for children age 3-6 featuring Michael Slack’s brightly colored, expressive race cars. Congratulations, Rebecca and Michael! The 2016 Texas 2×2 Reading List can be found here, and you can order Race Car Count here.
The Horn Book chose K.G. Campbell‘s upcoming picture book Dylan the Villain as one of their Reviews of the Week! The Reviews of the Week are the three books of the week that the Horn Book feels people should be talking about. Congratulations, K.G. Campbell! You can see the list of chosen books here. Dylan the Villain tells the humorous tale of a boy born to be a super villain. It’s coming out March 8th, and you can pre-order it here!
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville, written by Pat Zietlow Miller and illustrated by Frank Morrison, was chosen by Amazon as one of their best books of February for ages six to eight. The book won’t be out until February 9th, but you can pre-order your copy here. The full list of best books for ages six to eight can be found here. The Quickest Kid in Clarksville tells the story of Alta and Charmaine, two rival girls who love running and want to prove themselves to their hero, Olympian Wilma Rudolph. Booklist praises the The Quickest Kid for its inspiring message of “teamwork and unification,” and they write that, “Morrison’s bold, expressive watercolors capture the flavor of the era (1960s) with a contemporary tone that will make this story feel strikingly current.” (Read the full Booklist review here.)
Il Sung Na’s Opposite Zoo, coming out March 8th, has received advanced praise from Kirkus. Opposite Zoo uses the setting of a zoo at night to help explain the concept of opposites to young readers. Kirkus praises his humor and writes that, “Readers…will be struck by the simplified, free style he adopts in this book for young learners.” They call Opposite Zoo, “A beautiful treatment of a familiar subject that repays close looking again and again.” You can pre-order Opposite Zoo here.
Two of our illustrators have new books out today! The first is Spare Dog Parts, written by Alison Hughes and illustrated by Ashley Spires, a charming story about what makes our pets unique. It can be purchased here. The second is How to Dress a Dragon, a cute instruction of how to get a dragon dressed, written by Thelma Lynne Godin and illustrated by Eric Barclay. It can be bought here. Congratulations to Ashley and Eric, and happy birthday to your new books!
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josée Masse, received amazing advance praise from the School Library Journal. Echo Echo is a clever retelling of various Greek myths, such as the tales of Narcissus and Icarus. The Journal called the story “A witty, seductive pairing of poetic imagination and artistic vision,” and praised Josée’s illustrations. They write, “Perfectly complementing—indeed, enhancing—the sly subtlety of the text are Masse’s compelling stylized acrylics.” What a great first review! The full review is in the School Library Journal’s January issue. Echo Echo isn’t out until February 16th, but you can pre-order it here!
