Easy Readers
Fox & Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories (Early Chapter for Kids, Books about Friendship, Preschool Picture Books) (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Sergio Ruzzier
Chronicle Books
Nominated by: Josh Funk
This second book in the Fox & Chick series is written for preschool and up. Kids and adults will laugh and enjoy the book’s comic-book-type format and simple speech-bubble dialogue between two unlikely friends. Despite their opposite personalities, Fox and Chick always manage to have fun together, although nothing ends up as intended. Children will love each of the three new tales. The simple colored frames enhance the stories in just the right way. Readers will appreciate every single thing about this book, including even the feel of each page and the cover. This book is meant to be held and shared.
Frank and Bean (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Jamie Michalak, illustrated by Bob Kolar
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Charlotte
With delightful odd couples like Frank and Bean, there’s no reason for early readers to ever feel pedantic or dry. This book is a model of wit and heart. Readers will get to know Frank and Bean over four short chapters. The simple text manages to do a lot with a little. The dialogue is top notch, and the characters are memorable and silly in the most endearing ways. Colorful illustrations add funny details and layers of meaning. This is a book grown ups will love as much as children.
Hello, Crabby!: An Acorn Book (A Crabby Book #1) (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Jonathan Fenske
Scholastic
Nominated by: Becky L.
There’s an early reader for every child, and this one is for anyone who loves a good crankypus. Crabby is (ahem) very crabby. He doesn’t like sand in his shell. And he takes a hard pass on salt in his teeth. Oh and he would really rather not with the sun in his eyes. But that’s life for a crab. Readers will giggle at his silly speech bubbles and read on to see if he will always be so very crabby. This simple graphic-novel format is a great fit for new readers who are building literacy skills.
Yasmin the Superhero (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Picture Window Books
Nominated by: Aneesa Mumtaz
Yasmin is a curious kid who is always seeking out some sort of adventure. In Yasmin the Superhero, she decides to become Super Yasmin and defeat evil villains just like the superheroes she reads about in books. However, she can’t seem to find any evil villains in her neighborhood. Along the way, she helps her neighbors whenever she can, not realizing how much of a hero she already is. Yasmin is a relatable character and her adventures are full of energy and optimism. Her caring family’s Pakistani culture is woven into the story, and readers can find more information in the back matter. The whole series is great, and Yasmin the Superhero is a standout choice.
Early Chapter Books
A Is for Elizabeth (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Paige Keiser
Feiwel & Friends
Nominated by: Sondra Eklund
Elizabeth’s teacher has assigned her second grade students the task of creating a name poster, which will then be displayed in alphabetical order. Nasty Anna will get to go first again! Elizabeth, determined to go first for once, spells her name a whole new way to get around the unfairness that is alphabetical order. This laugh-out-loud story written by Rachel Vail will have children agreeing, giggling, and most importantly, reading. Vail’s just-right language for the early-chapter-book reader paired with the hilarious story to which all kids (except those named Anna) can easily relate will have readers happily turning pages through all fifty chapters. Simple sketches by Paige Keiser aid the imagination plus leave space for sometimes less than three sentences. Kids will not be intimidated by long rows of dialogue or pages upon pages of unbroken text. This is the perfect starter for those ready to take on chapter books.
Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet (1) (Frankie Sparks, Third-Grade Inventor) (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Megan Frazer Blakemore, illustrated by Nadja Sarell
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Melissa Fox
When the teacher announces the class gets to vote on a pet, aspiring scientist Frankie Sparks just knows that a pet rat (intelligent and perfect for research!) is her class’s destiny. All she needs to do is convince the rest of the third grade to think the same way… This promising first book in a series written by Megan Frazer Blakemore will have children learning about animals, design thinking, and emotional intelligence while turning the pages to meet the new pet. Nadja Sarell’s scientific-style illustrations showing a diverse cast of children are visually appealing and just plentiful enough to make the leap to more complex chapter books accessible to readers.
Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India (Amazon, IndieBound)
by by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy
Candlewick Press
Publisher/ Author Submission
In Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship Stories from India, Prince Veera has been given the opportunity to stand in his father King Bheema’s stead to help judge and settle disputes of his countryman. He and his best friend, Suku, are faced with cases involving greed, unfairness, prejudice, superstition and more in these individual tales. Prince Veera is fair, kind, and extremely clever with each situation arriving at the best possible solution at the end of each. A baker proposes that people should be charged for simply enjoying the smell of his sweets while another man wants the woman next door to stop her beautiful singing because it distracts him from his work. The eight stories are folkloric in style with an ancient mood, but Chitra Soundar has created modern originals. Early readers will enjoy the format of the book, the cleverness of the boys, and the foolishness of the subjects. Reflective yet refreshing.
Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Alex T. Smith
Peachtree
Nominated by: Charlotte
Mr. Penguin has decided to be a professional adventurer. His first official adventuring job is to find a hidden treasure in the Museum of Extraordinary Objects. Mr. Penguin and his sidekick Colin the spider are on the case! However, it turns out the adventuring business is much more dangerous and tiring than Mr. Penguin thought. The two of them must face alligators, waterfalls, and jewel thieves all in search of the treasure. Chapter-book readers will be drawn into the quirky adventure from the very beginning, and it will keep them laughing along the way.
Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit’s Bad Habits (Amazon, IndieBound)
by Julian Gough, illustrated by Jim Field
Silver Dolphin Books
Nominated by: Dr. Cheryl S. Vanatti
This early chapter book is laugh-out-loud funny and fun for newly independent readers and their parents too. Bear wakes up early because her food has been robbed! She makes the best of waking up in winter by working on a snowman. Rabbit comes along and is quite curious, but doesn’t want to help; Rabbit wants to make a snowman of his own. But before that happens, we see Rabbit eat some food. BEAR’S FOOD! Rabbit is the robber! Then Rabbit does something truly awesome. He eats his own poo. Polite Bear asks about why, and there’s a great explanation. It doesn’t look like these two will be friends, until a wolf comes along and Rabbit things twice about how he’s interacted with Bear. I LOVE that Bear is a girl and Rabbit is a boy; typically the bigger/stronger animals are male in kids books, while the smaller/meeker ones are female, so it was nice to see this flipped on its head. There are laugh out loud lines in this book, and lots of drama and conflict. Rabbit is a rather rotten character for most of the book, which I think is great; it shows how characters can change and is a reminder that not everything always ends in happily ever after. The illustrations are dynamic and feature excellent facial expressions. A great start to a series that I know kids will love.