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Writer's pictureCourtney Guy

Library Book Haul

We visit the library every week, and while I always go with a list of books to pick up, I inevitably leave with a lot more than planned. While the kids read and play, I take the opportunity to browse the books recommended by the librarians. Their selections are always spot on, and I can’t resist adding a few to our stack. Here’s what we picked up this week and why these books stood out to us:



This beautifully illustrated biography introduces kids to the life and art of Frida Kahlo. We’ve read many books from the Little People, Big Dreams series and love how they make historical figures accessible and engaging for young readers. These books are perfect as an introduction to historical figures for kids in kindergarten through second grade, although older kids might need additional books to dive deeper and get more detailed information.



We already have Actual Size in our home collection, and since my kindergartner has recently taken an interest in dinosaurs, we decided to borrow Prehistoric Actual Size from the library. The illustrations are captivating, showing the actual size of various parts of prehistoric animals—like the teeth of a Giganotosaurus, which are as big as my hand.



My kids love Mercy Watson. This funny chapter book, with its adorable illustrations, tells the story of a toast-loving pig who often finds herself at the center of silly adventures. It’s a perfect choice for early elementary kids beginning their chapter book journey.





This was a wonderful librarian recommendation—how did I not know about this book before? It’s definitely one I’ll be adding to our home collection. Through simple yet powerful illustrations and text, the story explores themes of inclusion, kindness, and the strength of community. The plot centers on a king who wants everyone who doesn’t look like him to leave his kingdom and demands a wall to keep "others" out. However, some of these "others" are the wall builders, so they must return to the kingdom to complete the wall. Later, when the king wants a garden, he needs the gardeners to come back as well, and so on. This clever narrative delivers a meaningful lesson, and it was by far our favorite book of the week.



This book introduces kids to the groundbreaking Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, with vibrant colors and stunning illustrations that capture her unique style. I love introducing the kids to abstract art as a way to show them that creativity has no limits. My kindergartner enjoys drawing and is quite good at it, while my second grader finds it more challenging. Books like this help him see that art can take many forms—it doesn’t have to look a certain way to be meaningful. A great companion book to pair with this one is The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.



This book is a retelling of a story written by Zora Neale Hurston. It’s a poetic tale of love, resilience, and connection, brought to life with beautiful illustrations. While it’s a lovely story, it’s one I’ve decided not to share with the kids for now. My second grader isn’t interested in love stories, and the narrative touches on the experiences of enslaved people—a topic I haven’t yet introduced to my kindergartner.



I enjoy books that feature story collections, so I was excited to find this one by Toni Morrison. However, while I liked it, I didn’t love it. The collection includes eight stories, three of which are presented as graphic narratives. While I personally enjoy graphic stories, I find them a bit tricky to read aloud to kids since you have to point to each frame as you go. My son loves graphic novels, but the text in these stories is written in cursive, which he hasn’t learned to read yet. That said, there are some standout stories, like a sweet tale about a grandmother spending time with her grandchildren while their mom is away and a unique twist on the classic tortoise and hare fable.

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