Quiet, Calming Picture Book: Breathe In, Breathe Out

 

Breathe In, Breathe Out

A calming sensory book 

by Dori Elys

Illustrated by Laura Roode

Little Simon

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2025

12 pages

ISBN: 9781665974820

Publication Date: August 12, 2025 

Calming pastel illustrations and interactive features will soothe wandering minds and fidgety hands. The reader learns to count slowly and breathe in and out. The youngest readers are taught to slow down and listen to their heartbeats. Unique design features are a sliding "window" to reveal the sun, a puffy cloud to touch and crinkle, and flowers who can dance. 

What a wonderful addition to the bedtime routine. Read this one first to calm the little one and gain their attention. Or read this one last to sooth them and get them ready for sleep. Once they master the breathing, it can be useful in stressful situations and help them to quiet down in order to sleep. 

Breathe In, Breathe Out is baby's first yoga breath tutorial presented not as a boring lesson but a quiet time of reading and resting. 

Highly recommended ages 1 and up. 

Exceptional Picture Book: Heartfelt

 

Heartfelt

by Elaine Vickers

Illustrations by Samantha Cotterill

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division 

2025

56 pages

ISBN: 9781665929769

If you can judge a book by its cover, Heartfelt will be the one you'll fall in love with. Sheer joy on a child's face as they dance, arms overhead through a shower of red and pink hearts capture the true spirit of this lovely picture book based on the author's own experience of teaching children to do "Secret Service." A bag of paper hearts was given to each child to give one to each person they'd like to "gift." It could be a neighbor, teacher, parent, friend, or anyone the child thought deserved to be recognized. They would leave a heart, sometimes secretly, and share their experiences in the group the next week. The children involved were excited to share the care and love and once back in the group, excited the share the discussion. 

The child in the book leaves hearts for the neighbors with a bag of warm cookies. A bag with a heart is left for the mail carrier and the child makes a picture with a heart for her friend. As they continue the heartfelt giveaway, the child thinks about love and even though they have passed out all their hearts, they realize love and care is all around them right in their own neighborhood. 

Elaine Vickers shares this example of a HUGE idea that will impact children and those around them. If every child could experience this heartfelt fun, the world would be a different place. 

Highly, highly recommended for preK to grade 4. 

Sweet Message: Bear Feels Sad

 

Bear Feels Sad

by Karma Wilson

Illustrations by Jane Chapman

The Bear Books 

 Margaret K. McElderry Books

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Divison

2025 

40 pages

ISBN: 9781665936576

This charming story of a "woe is me" bear and his busy woodland friends is sure to strike a chord with children. Rhyming prose and beautiful illustrations capture a lonely bear in his "deep, dark lair," who sits wondering where all his pals are. Each scurrying and flying creature is busy foraging, gathering, fishing, digging, and cerebral raven is writing poetry, "and cannot be disturbed." 

Bear tries hard to entertain himself. He builds a blanket fort, but it's no fun without friends to share. He goes and a long walk to pass the time and finds a beautiful field of flowers. Even sadder now since his friends can't see it, he decides to pick a flower for each of his friends. 

Hurrying home, Bear discovers his fort is full of his friends who have come to visit and share their gifts. All the animals laugh and talk for hours, and Bear is happy. 

Illustrations by Jane Chapman are colorful and gorgeous. Bear Feels Sad should be a frontrunner in any children's picture book award this year. Its positive message about friendship and sharing make this book a ten out of ten. 

Highly recommended for every bookshelf. Ages 1 and up. 

 

Halloween Pick: One Happy Haunted House

 

One Happy Haunted House

by Jeffrey Burton 

Illustrations by Neil Clark

Little Simon

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2025

14 pages

ISBN: 9781665973465

Who can resist a haunted house shaped book? The colorful cover features smiling monsters including a happy green hairy beast whose cauldron says "Shake me for surprises." If the book is tilted, monsters slide out. 

This board book is heavier than most due to the design where the surprise monsters are sandwiched between two panels. One Happy Haunted House is a great gift idea for any new parent and parents of toddlers. Halloween is a fun holiday for children, and this book will get them even more excited to plan their costumes. 

Recommended ages 1 and up. 

Graphic Novel Pick: Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys

 

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

Adapted by Stephanie Williams

Illustrations by Sas Milledge

Viking

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
2025

256 pages

ISBN: 9780593621189

Available July 29, 2025 

It was only a matter of time before someone would finally create the graphic novel for The Raven Boys, which I believe might be Stiefvater's best work--better than the Shiver series. 

Four rich boys from Aglionby, an all boys' posh school, hire a psychic to figure out why one of them was on a tape recording he doesn't remember making. Blue Sargent lives and goes to school in the non-rich and privileged side of town. She comes from a family of psychics but has never had the "gift.' She is able to "amplify" spirits during her mother's readings, and attends the a session her mother asks her to sit in on: a reading booked by the boys. 

The boys are told they are looking for something and they are. Their fascination with finding ley lines, lines of sheer energy. gets them excited to imagine waking one of The Legend of the Sleeping Kings," King Glendower who it's said is buried right near their town in Virginia. 

The graphic novel format make Stiefvater's story accessible to reluctant and visual readers making this a must-have purchase. Buy multiple copies and put one in graphic novels and one on the shelf next to The Raven Cycle series of books. Highly recommended grades 7 and up. 

Halloween Pick: Eek! Halloween!

 

Eek! Halloween! 

by Sandra Boynton 

Illustrations by the author 

Boynton Book Works

An imprint of Simon & Shuster

2025

24 pages

2025

Sandra Boynton is always a child's favorite board book creator

. Frightened chickens cower and cover their eyes. They dare not peek: they might see a witch or a wizard or worse. It's scary outside, and their wide-eyed fright faces show it! 

It's not until a kind pig tells them to relax...it's just Halloween, that the chickens calm down. 

Boynton books are known for their fun rhymes and sometimes silly stories and Eek! Halloween! delivers. This is a lovely book for any toddler. It's easy to read, easy to hold and most of all: easy to love. 

Make this book your new favorite Halloween read for pre-school and ages 2 and up. Highly recommended Halloween fun. 

Picture Book Pick: Brave

 

Brave

by Weshoyot Alvitre

Illustrations by the author

Kokila

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

2025

32 pages

ISBN: 9780593531600

“[T]he celebration of a young boy who is deeply loved, valued, and respected, and how activism can come in many forms, including growing one’s hair out, are powerful messages that are presented with thoughtful care” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, recommended review

My Review: 

Brave is the story of a young boy and his father who celebrate their traditions by growing their hair and wearing braids, something their grandfathers and fathers could not do as American schools and society forced them to cut their hair. Their ancestors wore their hair long as a sign of bravery and strength. 

"Braids are brave," is the beginning line of the story, and the boy embraces growing his hair even though sometimes it hurts when his mother combs it and braids it. Having long hair is a sign that you are proud of your hair. Your hair represents strength to face your enemies. 

When kids at school bully and tease, the boy remembers his father's words and tells the kids, "STOP!" He is proud he stood up to them and stood up for himself. He is brave. 

His father teaches him to, "Be brave when they force you to sing, even though they won't let you speak your language on your own land." 

Mostly pastel illustrations by the author were made using gouache (a tricky, often difficult type of watercolor), watercolor and ink depict the softness and sweetness of the father/son bond and deep love for each other. 

Highly recommended for all collections grades K-5. 

Artistic and Captivating: Wind Watchers

Wind Watchers 

by Micha Archer

Illustrations by the author

Nancy Paulson Books

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

2025

32 pages

ISBN: 9780593616550

Wind Watchers is a gloriously beautiful book, stunning in creativity and artistry. Illustrations by Micha Archer are in inks and collages made from layered tissue paper and her own homemade stamps. The layering effect creates shards and pinpricks of color peeking through and captures the subject of "wind" in each design. 

Three young children call out to the wind. What will it do today? 

The kids celebrate wind throughout the seasons. Wind is a catalyst for trees to shed their leaves or petals, blowing rain clouds in, helping kites take flight, and scattering seeds in the fall. The wind is always there even on hot, still summer days, it barely ripples the pond, but it's there: constant. 

Wind Watchers is likely to score several awards this year and could win the Caldecott. It's that great. A must have, must read for every child and collection. An excellent gift for any artist or art lover. 

Ages 2 and up. A masterclass in mixed media usage. 

Non-Fiction PB Pick: Let's Fly

Let's Fly

Barrington Irving's Record-Breaking Flight Around the World

by Barrington Irving and Chana Stiefel

Illustrations by Shamar Knight-Justice

Dial Books for Young Readers

an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC

2025

40 pages

ISBN: 9780593532133

Aviation enthusiasts will be soaring over this new autobiography (written with co-writer Chana Stiefel) about Barrington Irving, a young black man who dared to dream big and broke barriers in flight, in life and continues to foster the dreams of kids from all over the world through sharing his travels and adventures online. The first black man to lly solo around the world, he was also the youngest to do so until 2012 when his record was broken, but he will always be the first black man to fly solo around the globe. 

When young Barrington meets Captain Gary Robinson, a black pilot, in his parents' book store, a dream is born. Captain Gary takes Barrington to see his jet. Barrington was hooked. On his sixteenth birthday, Captain Gary gave the gift of flying lessons to Barrington. He inspired Barrington to pay it forward and do something to help others. Barrington's big idea is to fly around the world, but he does not have a plane. With donated parts and a lot of begging, companies helped Barrington build his plane that he christened "Inspiration." With children watching, he climbed into the cockpit and set out on his ninety-seven day flight journey. 

He continues to inspire and teach aviation and dreaming to thousands of kids. He founded Experience Aviation which teaches STEM to after-school kids. Over 5,000 kids have now completed the course and most went into math and/or science fields. 

Complete with charts, maps, fab facts, records, timeline and bibliography, Let's Fly is a must have, must read for every collection. This book is a great gift to inspire young people who dream of flying, 

Highly, highly recommended. 

Ages 2-up for entertainment; ages 4 and up for inspiration and fostering dreams of flying. 

]

Board Book Pick: Dinosaur Roar! The Tyrannosaurus Rex

 

Dinosaur Roar!

The Tyrannosaurus rex 

by Peter Curtis

Illustrations by the Dinosaur Roar Company Limited 

Based on Dinosaur Roar! by Paul Strickland and Henrietta Strickland

In collaboration with The Smithsonian Enterprises 

National Museum of Art 

Simon Spotlight 

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division 

2025

26 pages

ISBN: 9781665972697

This sturdy board book is perfect for little hands. With fun, rhyming text, children will be introduced to the most fearsome dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus rex which means "tyrant king lizard." It is indeed the strongest of any land animal that has ever lived with a roar louder than thunder. Dinosaur Roar has a softer side as shown through his friendship with Dinosaur Squeak, a small dinosaur called the Compsognathus. 

Illustrations of each dinosaur along with pronunciation guide is located in the front of the book with Tyrannosaus rex facts following the story.

Dinosaur Roar! is a great first dinosaur book to get readers excited by dinosaurs (as if they need much nudging). Ages 18 months and up. 

Bold Words From Black Men

 

Bold Words From Black Men

curated by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli

Illustrated by Desire Cesar "El Cesart" Ngabo

A Denene Millner Book

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster

2025

112 pages 

ISBN: 9881665930642

Bold Words From Black Men is a treasure trove of quotable quotes from black actors, performers athletes, politicians, and other famous pubic figures. 

From Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, "You gotta be able to compete. Steel sharpens steel. You gotta get out there and earn your spot. It's not given," and from Lebron James, "Don't be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed," wise words from two world famous black men who are at the top of their games respectively. 

The reader will find words of wisdom, life lessons, introspective thoughts to ponder and true compassion, From baseball great Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in the major league, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." Imagine the impact Robinson had and still has on generations of young black men and women. His life lives on. 

From funny man Eddie Murphy, in a pensive moment for a comedian, I suppose, he offers, "Positivity, creativity, forward motion. Those three things pretty much cover everything. Whenever things get crazy, if you go back to that, you get grounded." Pretty smart advice from a man who spends his life getting laughs. 

There are fifty quotes from fifty different black men gathered by the author Dr. Tamara Pizzoli. Powerful words in a powerful book and a great gift idea for any young tween, teen or new high school graduate, first year college student and yes, even adults will become a book the reader goes to find inspiration or healing. 

Highly recommended grades 5 and up. 

Non-Fiction Pick: The Keeper of the Stories

 The Keeper of the Stories 

by Caroline Kusin Pritchard

Illustrated by Selina Alko 

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

an imprint Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division 

2025

40 pages 

ISBN: 9781665914970

 Illustrations by Selina Alko capture the tragedy of a fire that consumed the Theological Seminary Library in 1966. For 130 years, the library was a work and study place which housed 200,000 books, newspapers and magazines, some dating back as far as the Middle Ages. Although thirty-five fire houses responded, the fire lasted nine hours and destroyed 70,000 books, but the neighborhood came together immediately to save the stories, 

In a project known as "Operation Booklift," people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, it did not matter, volunteered to help with the damaged books, forming a human chain to pass books down the line into cartons and later onto carts. The people knew the stories and the words were worth saving for everyone. What a testament to humanity! 

The water from the fire hoses had water logged most books, but thousands of hands dried book pages with paper towels and they even freeze dried books to save them.

Prithcard's prose hits at the heart with repeated lines, almost like a chorus, "Keep our stories alive" which gives the story rhythm. It MUST be read aloud to hear the beauty of the story, Exemplary design throughout the book changes the text placing in every two-page spread using the entire page drawing interest. 

Photos and a page detailing the event follow along with an author's note and a list of sources. There is even a link to a full interview with the author and the library's head librarian of twenty years. 

The Keeper of the Stories will be front and center come awards season. A must have for every collection. If your library is well-funded, you'll want to put one copy in history and another in picture books. 

Grades 1-4. This would be an excellent book to teach about non-fiction versus fiction. 

 

The story opens with, "A library is a keeper of stories. A keeper of memories. A keeper of hope," which is as true today as it was in 1966. 

Fun With Math, Yes, You Read the Title Right! Mega Math Maze

 

Mega Math Maze: A Multiplication Adventure

by Kjartan Poskitt

Illustrations by Seb Burnett

Workman Kids

An imprint of Workman Publishing 

Hachette Book Group, Inc. 

2025

48 pages

ISBN: 9781523530854

Learning and practicing multiplication tables is now fun! Kjartan Poskitt's creation of a fun adventure through connecting mazes will entertain and capture a reader's attention using questions, fun comic characters called numbugs who lead the way, dialog bubbles, a variety of settings and die-cut pages with possible correct answers. 

There is no right or wrong order to complete the mazes. The reader has the choice to visit the adventure of their choice featuring the swamp, the jungle, Yeti Mountain, Termite Mound, or visit the crowd of penguins in Polar Pathways. There are fourteen different mazes to explore and enjoy. 

Bonus pages are a treasure! Excellent "insider" tips include times table tricks that would have come in handy when I was in school, but now that I know the "Amazing Two Times Table" trick, I will be able to use it to multiply any two numbers as long as I can add and divide by two. Who knew there were tricks and patterns in math? Well, probably Einstein, but he was a genius. The average fourth grade math student probably does not see patterns or invent tricks to learn multiplication. If Mega Math Maze were used as a teaching tool, students would be able to easily master multiplication and use critical thinking and engage their brain the entire time. Learners would more likely stay on task and have fun doing it. Students might engage with other students as they go through the mazes, even making it a springboard for collaboration and dialog. 

Captivating, colorful, comic illustrations by Seb Burnett capture the personalities of the numbugs, the beauty of the African animals, the silent stealth of the nocturnal animals in the forest and on Yeti Mountain, wolves look on with happy smiles as the blue Yeti emerges, bug-eyed and furry, seemingly ferocious but secretly playful as he has a snowball in his hand ready to launch at an unsuspecting someone. Gleeful and whimsical! This is math? Yes, please. 

Highly, highly recommended for ALL learners, even if adult. You will pick up some fancy tricks that will amaze you. 

Grades 4 and up, and yes, all adults. Excellent tool for use in home schools. A MUST HAVE, MUST EXPERIENCE book. 

 

The ABCs of Women's History

by Rio Cortez

Illustrated by Lauren Semmer

Workman Kids

Workman Publishing 

Hachette Book Group, Inc. 

2025

64 pages

ISBN: 9781523523290

Remarkable women who came before us showed us the path to equality, justice, knowledge, freedom and using our hard work and voices to bring about change. This important book features women who questioned the status quo and joined movements to ensure civil rights and worker rights. 

This gem of a book will motivate girls to stand up for what they believe and are passionate about. My favorite page reads, "We have the right to our bodies, to education, and free speech, and the right to work at whatever we please." A two-page spread shows a diverse group of girls who know that no means no. They will never go backward. 

Among the famous women mentioned are Shirley Chisholm, Sally Ride, Kamala Harris, Gloria Steinem and many more. Pages in the back list terms used and famous figures mentioned under each letter of the alphabet. The only drawback is the publisher's choice in solid color endpapers instead of eye-catching illustrations. 

Recommended for every history buff, every young girl who dreams,  and every library. Grades 3 and up. 

Non-Fiction Picure Book: Poo Pile on the Prairie

 

Poo Pile on the Prairie

A Tiny Habitats Book 

by Amy Hevron

Illustrations by the author

Beach Lane Books

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2025

48 pages

ISBN: 9781665935029

Rave reviews: 

*This incredibly amusing addition to the Tiny Habitats series is a treasure. . . . A spectacular snapshot of a truly special—if slightly smelly—small world.
– Booklist, STARRED REVIEW, 02/01/2025
* An interesting and beautiful story about this important prairie ecosystem contributor. Highly recommended.
– School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW, 2/1/25
* Hevron blends whimsy and science for an enchanting and much-needed reminder that complex ecosystems can be found in the most unlikely of places.
– Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW, 12/15/24

My Review: 

Poop on the prairie sounds nasty and smelly, but Amy Hevron enlightens readers showing them that a pile of bison poop is really an ecosystem for all kinds of creatures. When a bison poops, dung beetles and worms make it their home and soon flies lay thousands of eggs that in turn feed birds and turtles.The poo pile enriches the soil and soon prairie wildflowers grow. 

The flowers entice bees, crickets and birds. In the spring butterflies emerge. In the winter, snow covers the pile, soaking it into the grasses which will feed the bison and the cycle will begin again. 

A double page spread follows the story with illustrations of the animals found on the prairie who benefit from that pile of bison poop. In "The Scoop on Bison Poop," readers learn that over three hundred different types of insects call a single poop pile their home. Because bison poop is so rich in microbes and nutrients, it makes the soil rich. Seeds are also found in bison poop. When bison graze they spread these seeds over the prairie and the flowers that sprout attract butterflies and bees. One single pile of poop is responsible for sustaining the prairie ecosystem. 

Additional reading and selected sources are listed for those who want to learn more about poo on the prairie. Illustrations use mixed media of pencil, markers and acrylics. 

Highly recommended ages 4 and up.