Samuel E. Pittman II

Author: Lester Laminack

Illustrator: Constance Bergum

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 6 and Older

Publisher: Peachtree Publishers

Publication Year: 1998

One of the great honors I have had as a son has been to watch my parents help take care of their aging parents and aunts and uncles, how they have honored them in their latter years by meeting various needs, including visiting them in nursing homes when those days have come.  When I came across Lester Laminack and Constance Bergum's The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, I knew it was book I could definitely relate to.  Miss Olivia Wiggins, her daughter Angel, her great-grandson Troy, and the time they spend together in the nursing home represent many of us and our times and experiences in such care facilities.  And in Miss Olivia herself, we're reminded that though some of us may face the debilitating effects of aging, those of us who reach an old age will be those with a great history of sunsets, those times and experiences that make up our lives. 

This is a picture book for all ages, for no matter how old we are, we're still the children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren of our loved ones of whom we have the honor of walking alongside during their sunsets.  Or we're the parent or relative who has reached that sunset, reflecting on the many sunsets that came before and enjoying the time spent with family.  Every nursing home should have a copy of this book, and every family who has a loved one in a nursing home should have one as well.

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Author: Tonya Bolden

Illustrator: Don Tate

Genre: Picture Book Biography

Target Ages: 4-8

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication Year: 2018

What do you do when you get the opportunity to enjoy freedom and make a living for yourself?  You work hard!  And having enjoyed some success, what do you do when you still want to improve your situation in life?  You keep working hard! 

Tonya Bolden and Don Tate have produced a wonderful picture book biography in No Small Potatoes, the true story of the journey of Junius G. Groves, from his birth as a slave in Kentucky, to his success in farming that garnered him the title of the "Potato King" of Wyandotte County, Kansas, of the state of Kansas itself, and of the world.  Sprinkled throughout the narrative are quotes from Groves himself, including his decision to "work [his] way up to better things," a constant theme of his life.  Readers of all ages and ethnicities will enjoy and be inspired by Groves's life.  And readers will also find themselves challenged to pursue those good things in life that are within their reach with some hard work.  This is an excellent book!

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Author and Illustrator: Brian Lies

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 4-7

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Year: 2018

I discovered this gem about the power and joy of friendship while looking for a copy of The Rough Patch, Brian Lies's 2019 Caldecott Honor award-winning book.  And after I read Got to Get to Bear's!, it was an obvious pick to share! 

Got to Get to Bear's! tells the story of Izzy, a chipmunk, who gets an urgent message from her friend Bear to come to her.  Izzy immediately goes, despite the threat of bad weather, and when the snow is too much for her to overcome, Izzy is helped along the way by some other friends.  When they all get to Bear's, she has a sad look on her face— but keep turning the pages for an ending worth celebrating!

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Author & Illustrator: Oge Mora

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 4-8

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Year: 2019

For Ava and her mother, Saturday is THE day, a day for visiting the library, getting hair done, and spending time in the park.  And on this Saturday, they have something very special planned in addition to their usual routine— attending a puppet show!  But things don't always go as we plan them, as Ava and her mother experience.  So how can this Saturday still be special for them?

Last year Oge Mora's debut picture book Thank You, Omu! was a Caldecott honor book (and a great read-aloud), and the author/illustrator has followed that effort with another outstanding book in Saturday, once again creating colorful collages to tell a story about the common pleasures and joys (and frustrations) of life.  Take your time with this charming story about a girl spending time with her mother, and be sure to enjoy the endpapers.  Whatever Mora's next book will be, I certainly look forward to it! 

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Author: Barbara Bottner

Illustrator: Chris Sheban

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 4-8

Publisher: Neal Porter Books

Publication Year: 2019

It's the season of sniffles, the beginning of that time of year when many children battle colds, including the protagonist of What a Cold Needs.  As the story opens, she's obviously miserable, but by the end of the book, as she gets all the helpful things that a cold needs, that red nose is gone, and she's back to her usual, fun self and even ready to help a family member get what he needs when the sniffles stifle him.

What a Cold Needs is like "Grandma's famous chicken soup"— warm and delightful, full of what will make you feel better.  Barbara Bottner and Chris Sheban's cheery book would make a nice addition to any bookshelf and medicine cabinet alike!

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Author & Illustrator: Sophie Blackall

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 5-8

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Year: 2018

Sometimes you see a book and put it on your list, and it takes you a while to finally buy it or check it out.  Then it sits on your stack until you finally get around to reading it.  This was the case for Hello Lighthouse for me, and I'm glad I finally read it— it's a great book!

Sophie Blackall's 2018 Caldecott-winning Hello Lighthouse is a treat for readers, a quiet narrative that details the duties of lighthouse keepers, those men and women of past eras who tended to lighthouses.  Her illustrations are colorful and elegant, and every part of the book adds to its charm, including the endpapers and a surprise gatefold page.  And Blackall's lengthy "About Lighthouses" author's note is a bonus.  For those with an affinity for the sea, this book will become a quick and lasting favorite!

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Author: Deborah Bruss

Illustrator: Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson

Genre: Picture Book 

Target Ages: Preschool and Older

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Publication Year: 2018

At the end of the day, after the sun goes down and the stars begin to shine, it's time for the town to rest— and it's time for the snow plow driver (and his sidekick canine in the passenger seat) to go to work as snow falls and covers the community in a blanket of white.  After prepping the snowplow, he begins his long route, clearing a path for the citizens who will use the roads when the new day begins.

Being a native Texan, I'm sure the idea of a thick snow is much greater than its reality, and Good Morning, Snowplow! takes its readers on a ride that shows the duty of the snowplow when the snow covers everything around.  The town, fictitious and unnamed, clearly represents a community in one of the northern U.S. states, and its hero, the snowplow, shares the spotlight with its dutiful driver (and his dog).  Fancher and Johnson's artwork pair well with Bruss's rhymes, and older readers will enjoy the author's nod to Robert Frost.  And as the years go by, when the first flakes of autumn and winter fall each year, the cover of Good Morning, Snowplow! will be opened again!

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Author & Illustrator: Gaia Cornwall

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 4-8

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Year: 2017

After he finishes his swimming lessons and swim test, Jabari announces he's going to jump off the diving board and that he "isn't scared at all."  But even though it "looks easy," Jabari doesn't quite make his way up the ladder to the diving board.  Fortunately, Dad is there to encourage Jabari, letting him know that it's okay to "feel a little scared."

Jabari Jumps isn't a long story, chronologically, but within it, readers get to take a big jump with Jabari, tagging along with him on his journey of courage to face a fear, leaping with him out of his comfort zone and into the thrill of doing something new and fun.    

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Author: Yamile Saied Méndez

Illustrator: Jaime Kim

Genre: Picture Book

Target Ages: 4 to 8

Publisher: Harper

Publication Year: 2019

When a young girl is asked by her peers and teachers "where are you really from?" she goes to Abuelo for answers.  Abuelo tells her she's from many places and peoples, poetically recalling and recounting the story of their people's journeys.  And when his granddaughter still asks "where am I really from?" Abuelo points to his heart and answers for himself and for those family members who came before him.

Where Are You From? is a love poem to ancestry, and readers will reflect upon and appreciate their own heritages, no matter where they are from.

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Author: Various; Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrator: Ellen Shi

Genre: Picture Book Poetry Collection

Target Ages: Early Elementary School

Publisher: Wordsong

Publication Year: 2018

It's that time of year again: outfits and uniforms are laid out, backpacks are filled with the necessary supplies, lunchboxes and bags are filled with snacks, and hearts and minds wonder what the new school year will bring!  And for those children experiencing the classroom for the first time, school can be a placed filled with mystery— Who will teach them and what will they be like?  What's in all of those rooms, and what will they be learning in them?  Where is the cafeteria, the playground, the gym?  Will I like school?

School People is a wonderful collection of poetry selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins that introduces kids to the different people they will meet on the school staff, everyone from the bus driver to the principal to the custodian.  And like the variety of the faculty, the poems come in a variety too, featuring both formal and free verse poetry.  Ellen Shi's colorful illustrations compliment the poems well, making the school staff and their work in their spaces welcoming to both the students on the pages and the students who are reading about them.  Children and parents and guardians will enjoy School People, and so will the teachers, administrators, and school staff the collection poetically celebrates!

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