We might think of reading as a solitary activity, but of course that’s not always true, especially when it comes to children’s books. My husband and I read aloud to our kids almost every night. More and more often, they read aloud to us. I read to the children I meet at schools during my author visits, I read books to discuss at a monthly book club with friends, and I always love hearing about what other people have read, because really, is there anything better than the thrill of discovering that someone else’s favorite book is your favorite book? Each time I make a connection with a fellow reader, I’m reminded of the power books have to bring us together as family members, as new friends, as a community.
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In the spirit of community, I enlisted my friend Jen Kraar, a children’s writer and bookseller here in Pittsburgh, to give me a little help with this month’s children’s book roundup. Jen recommended the first title on this list to me, and now I’m recommending it to you, along with nine more new books for you to share with your own friends and family. I hope you enjoy them—and I’d love to hear about what else you’re reading!
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Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn, The World to Come
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
(Magic Cat, November 5)
Recommended for ages 1-5
Here’s a picture book that’s lyrical in the most literal sense: Its words, by nature writer Robert Macfarlane and musician Johnny Flynn, enjoyed a first life as lyrics on the pair’s 2021 musical release Lost in the Cedar Wood. Now, the song “The World to Come” has morphed into a mesmerizing picture book. Colorful art from illustrator Emily Sutton provides a loose narrative structure: a parent and child explore nature together, spying blackbirds, owls, and otters and even running into a band of musicians along the riverbank. For adults and kids alike, The World to Come is a hopeful celebration of poetry, music, and the natural world.
Angela Dominguez, Lolo and Birdie: I Want More! / ¡Quiero Más! (Lolo and Birdie #3)
(Henry Holt and Co., November 12)
Recommended for ages 2-4
Lolo and Birdie are the best of friends, but they’re not exactly the same. Birdie is a bird, to start with, and Lolo is a dinosaur. Birdie is practical; Lolo is passionate. And Birdie speaks English, while Lolo speaks Spanish. They have no trouble understanding each other, though, and Birdie tries hard to comply with Lolo’s request of más flores, bringing him all the flowers from the garden and hauling in truckloads of dirt to grow even more. The illustrations and smart dialogue exchanges allow readers who know only one of the two languages used in the book to follow along with both characters on their funny adventures.
Icinori, trans. Emilie Robert Wong, Thank You, Everything
(Enchanted Lion, December 3)
Recommended for ages 4-8
As a writer, I spend a lot of time trying to find the right words, so I’m frequently awed by books that tell powerful stories with very limited text. Thank You, Everything is a nearly wordless picture book that begins like a list of simple gratitudes (“Thank you, colors. Thank you, house.”), but readers will soon realize that the illustrations are telling a bigger story—an adventure story, even, about a trek out of the house (“Thank you, door”), through a jungle full of creatures (“Thank you, caution”) and up into the sky (“Thank you, hot-air balloon”). Kids and adults will love searching through the eye-catching artwork to catch new story details with every reading.
Mina Javaherbin, My Father’s House
Illustrated by Lindsey Yankey
(Candlewick, November 19)
Recommended for ages 4-8
In this autobiographical picture book drawn from author Mina Javaherbin’s memories, young Mina narrates a day spent exploring her father’s hometown of Isfahan, Iran. People of many different religious traditions live in the city, and Mina and her father pass by a local synagogue, church, and mosque, each exquisitely depicted by illustrator Lindsey Yankey. But the best treats wait inside Mina’s father’s childhood home, where there are horses to feed with handfuls of sugar, pigeons to visit on the roof, and a dinner gathering with loved ones. My kids and I very much enjoyed My Grandma and Me, Javaherbin and Yankey’s previous picture book about love, tradition, and family, so I’m looking forward to adding My Father’s House to our collection.
Readers interested in picture books about twentieth-century Iran might also be interested in Azadeh Westergaard’s The One and Only Googoosh, a biography of the famous Iranian singer, also out this month.
Edward van de Vendel and Anoush Elman, trans. Nancy Forest-Flier, Mishka
Illustrated by Annet Schaap
(Levine Querido, November 12)
Recommended for ages 7-10
Even if I didn’t write this column, I’d be recommending Mishka to readers far and wide. It’s a short illustrated story about a young girl named Roya who announces to her family that they really should have a pet. After journeying from Afghanistan and waiting for years in refugee centers, they’ve finally been given permission to stay in the Netherlands for good, in their own home. And what’s a home without a sweet pet dwarf rabbit who’ll cuddle with you, pee on you (it’s a compliment, really!), and listen to your family’s stories? As Mishka the rabbit settles into the household, Roya, her older brothers, and her parents discover that caring for Mishka allows them to open up about their memories of the journey from Kabul, both good and bad, and to navigate the challenges and joys of their new life. Originally published in Dutch and based on coauthor Anoush Elman’s true stories, Mishka has already won children’s literature awards around the world. Now it will charm and delight English-speaking readers, too.
Meika Hashimoto, Off the Map
(Scholastic, November 12)
Recommended for ages 8-12
Kids who enjoy survival stories and off-grid adventures will love hopping in a canoe with Marlo, the protagonist of Off the Map, as she sets off on a long paddle with her dog, Cheerio, and her outdoor-guide mom on Alaska’s Yukon River. Marlo is glad to have a reason not to think about the people in her life who’ve disappointed her, especially her former best friend Amos. But she’s shocked to find out that her mom has invited Amos and his dad along on the canoe trip. It’s hard enough to be stuck in a canoe with someone who’s betrayed your trust, but when the kids’ boat takes a wrong turn over a waterfall, Marlo and Amos (and Cheerio) suddenly find themselves alone in the wilderness. The kids’ quest to reconnect with their parents shapes the plot, but their journey to make amends with each other is at the heart of the story.
Andy Warner, Spices and Spuds: How Plants Made Our World (Andy Warner’s Oddball Histories #2)
(Little, Brown Ink, November 5)
Recommended for ages 8-12
Spices and Spuds is part comic book, part world history course, and entirely fascinating for readers of all ages: it explores how the cultivation of ten different plants shaped human history. The crops that creator Andy Warner has chosen as his focus—including corn, rice, tea, and tulips—allow him to give young readers an introductory overview of many different historical events and eras and the sometimes surprising connections between them. After a few hours lost in this book’s eye-catching and funny comic-style panels, your young reader might be able to tell you a little bit about the Phoenicians, the Dust Bowl, the Little Ice Age, the Asante Empire, and World War II. They’ll certainly understand that plants have inspired and influenced civilizations around the world, and that the materials we choose to grow and consume can have long-lasting, globe-spanning consequences.
Tina Cho, The Other Side of Tomorrow
Illustrated by Deb JJ Lee
(HarperAlley, November 12)
Recommended for ages 8-12
Set in 2013, this compelling graphic novel tells the story of two children determined to escape the oppression and poverty of life in North Korea. After his mother leaves to find money and food in China, ten-year-old Yunho works collecting scrap metal, which he sells to make enough money to care for his grandmother until the day he receives word that it’s time to follow his mother across the river. After her own older relative dies, eleven-year-old street seller Myunghee decides to cross the river herself. Told in alternating points of view, the narrative follows both children on their journey along the “Asian Underground Railroad,” which is often harrowing; author Tina Cho and illustrator Deb JJ Lee remain both honest and thoughtful as they depict the children’s experiences finding their way across countries toward safety, freedom, and a sense of home.
Marisha Pessl, Darkly
(Delacorte Press, November 26)
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Adult readers familiar with Marisha Pessl’s novels Night Film and Special Topics in Calamity Physics will be as excited as I was to dig into Darkly, a YA thriller that showcases Pessl’s talent for page-turning, puzzle-like plots and brilliant twists. The Darkly game factory was once overseen by Louisiana Veda, a legendary and mysterious game designer. Veda died years ago, but her cult following remains, and seventeen-year-old Dia Gannon counts herself as a devoted fan. When Dia is chosen for an internship at Darkly, she can’t imagine why she’s been selected to join six other teens at the factory on the remote island, but she can tell right away that there is more to this internship than meets the eye. Old documents and photographs add to the novel’s immersive, modern-Gothic atmosphere.
Tirzah Price, In Want of a Suspect (Lizzie & Darcy Mysteries #1)
(HarperCollins, November 12)
Recommended for ages 14 and up
Tirzah Price’s debut novel, Pride and Premeditation, retold Jane Austen’s most beloved tale as a murder mystery, casting Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as competing solicitors on the trail of a killer. Now In Want of a Suspect, the first in Price’s spinoff series, finds Lizzie and Darcy on the same side, both professionally and romantically speaking. When Lizzie looks into the cause of a suspicious fire that killed her client’s brother, she finds herself unpicking a satisfyingly tangled knot of secrets, past loves, and smugglers—in short, all the things a reader might hope to find in a good historical mystery. Readers don’t have to be Janeites to enjoy this entertaining story, nor is familiarity with Price’s earlier books required to follow the mystery’s twists and turns.
