This week I’m excited to review Aya Khalil’s beautiful picture book debut, THE ARABIC QUILT, out in February. (Aya and I are both members of the fabulous 2020 Debut Crew, a picture book debut group.) Connect with the 2020 Debut Crew: https://twitter.com/2020DebutCrew https://www.instagram.com/2020debutcrew/ https://2020debutcrew.weebly.com/ Connect with Aya: https://twitter.com/ayawrites https://www.instagram.com/ayakhalilauthor/ https://ayakhalil.com/ Title: THE ARABIC QUILT Written by:…

Title: MY SHAPE IS SAM Written by: Amanda Jackson Illustrated by: Lydia Nichols Page Street Kids, 2019, fiction For ages: 4-8 Themes/topics: identity, self-discovery, self-confidence, nonconformity, differences, community, self-expression, shapes, careers/jobs, empathy First spread: Sam had four even sides. Four pointy corners. And like all other squares, he was a builder. He lived in a place…

Title: A BIG MOONCAKE FOR LITTLE STAR Written and illustrated by: Grace Lin Little, Brown and Company, 2018, fiction For ages: 3-7 Themes/topics: moon phases, family, bedtime First spread: Little Star’s mama laid the Big Mooncake onto the night sky to cool. “No, Little Star,” Mama said, “your Mooncake took us a long time to bake,…

Title: the lost words: A Spell Book Written by: Robert Macfarlane Illustrated by: Jackie Morris Hamish Hamilton (Penguin), 2017, fiction For ages: 8 and up Themes/topics: poetry, words, nature, conservation, spells First page: Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one…