*Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures (2020)

*Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures by Tricia Springstubb (2020) is a truly lovely story. And I enjoyed Elaheh Taherian’s collage illustrations. Everything about this book is heartwarming. There’s no conflict. There’s no drama. Candlewick Press doesn’t drag readers uphill through anxiety towards some kind of conflict resolution. This is a gentle tale of inter-generational friendship. A young child named Kahlil  lives upstairs from an elderly gentleman named Mr. Haggerty. They share a backyard and get to know each other. Springstubb subtly weaves a theme of words across her pages: Kahlil needs help reading some words in his books, and Mr. Haggerty needs help remembering the names of things. The story ends with “One of the best words of all.” 

*Amos: The Story of An Old Dog and His Couch (1987)

*Amos: The Story of An Old Dog and His Couch by Susan Seligson (1987) is a Weekly Reader Book published by Little, Brown & Company. I imagine it was fun to receive a Weekly Reader story. This book is a thin 8 ½ x 11 paperback stapled at the spine. And it’s such a fun story! Amos’ owners go out a lot and leave him home alone and lonely. One day, Amos accidentally discovers that his old couch can move, fast. Amos follows his owners when they drive away. In one hilarious scene, they’re all at a yard sale where Amos’ owners recognize their couch. Since we need a bit more drama, Amos drives around on his own and. . . no, he doesn’t get lost. . . he gets stuck in rush hour traffic! The ending is sweet and reminds us that dogs are family. Bowie Schneider’s illustrations are just perfect. 

Snowball The Bear Who Saved Christmas (2012)

Snowball The Bear Who Saved Christmas by Jerry Gamache (2012) is written in Spanish and English. The Spanish translation is by Silvia and Carla Puky. Snowball is a young bear who gets lonely one extremely cold winter when his parents say he can’t play outside. So what does he do? He sneaks out and gets lost, of course. It happens to be the night before Christmas Eve and Snowball accidentally finds Santa’s workshop. Suddenly, it’s covered by an avalanche! Now the story writes itself. Snowball’s parents find him and together they dig through an avalanche of snow to free Santa and his elves. How does Santa reward Snowball? You guessed right! 

*Clifford We Love You (1991)

*Clifford We Love You by Norman Bridwell (1991) is timeless. I wonder if Bridwell consulted child development specialists when he wrote about Clifford. “Clifford was feeling down-in-the-dumps.” I found it genuinely unsettling to see Clifford wearing a sad expression. He stops eating and howls at night. The vet finds nothing wrong with Clifford. I wanted to know why Clifford was distressed, but, of course, dogs can’t talk. It’s any dog owner’s nightmare. The children in the neighborhood try to cheer Clifford up, but nothing works. Finally, Emily Elizabeth writes a song for him. A key feature of her song is that it celebrates who he is and what he does. The music and lyrics are on the last page. 

*Said The Little Raccoon to the Moon (1974)

*Said The Little Raccoon to the Moon by Miriam Morton (1974) is a one-of-a-kind find for me. It’s old, worn appearance, dark palette, and woodcut cover image made it easy to pass over. But it peaked my curiosity. Not many picture books have illustrations from woodcuts. And this book’s copyright is owned by the Xerox Corporation. It’s a Level 5, Unit 4 book from 360 Magic Circle Books Reading by Ginn and Company. I’ve listened to hundreds of webinars about reading programs over the last three decades.  My, how reading instruction has changed, and backtracked, and manifested in rubrics and pedagogy by university professors and publishing companies! Here is an example from the 1970s. The text is repetitive, the story sequence of actions by a young, lonely raccoon. This little critter asks the omnipresent moon to play. “The moon did not say no.” I admire Jon Provest’s woodcuts. I wonder if a contemporary young reader would give this book a second look given the brightly colored, digital art they often see today. 

Luoise Loves Art (2014)

 Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light (2014) is equal parts the story of a young artist and story of a sibling relationship. Louise is obsessed with drawing. "So little time, so much to draw." Her drawings are taped to the walls of her house. Her home is her gallery. As younger siblings sometimes do, Louise's little brother copies his older sister--sort of. He's found scissors. His forte is paper cutting. When Louise discovers he's cut something out of one of her drawings, she traumatized. And yet, she finds a way to make things right. This illustrations are done in with a very limited palette. There's lots of red and black and gray. 

Come With Me (2017)

 Come With Me by Holly M. McGhee (2017) is a lovely story about adults helping a young child to feel agency in a world that can be quite frightening. McGhee writes on the first page of the book "Come With Me is written in honor of friendship, bravery, and the fact that we aren't powerless, no matter how small and insignificant we may feel." The young girl in this story sees anger and hatred on the television news. When she asks her parents how she can make the world a better place, their answers are simple and doable. They go about their daily lives by showing kindness and friendliness. Nevertheless, the parents acknowledge their own fear when their little girl wants to walk the dog on her own. They let her go; "They would not live in fear." That's not quite the end of this gentle story. I won't give away the lesson. Pascal Lemaître's illustrations are minimalist and convey the simple moral of this story.