Geo Librarian

ONLY A TRENZA AWAY: A Tale of Trust and Strength written by Nadine Fonseca, illustrated by Camila Carrosone Shadow Mountain, 2023 ISBN: 9781639930982 Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary are provided by the publisher through Deseretbook.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A little girl feels her father's love as he takes time to braid her hair each night and share imaginative bedtime stories. Every night, Xiomara's (zee-oh-MA-da) papa delicately braids her hair before bed. As he gently tugs and twists and tightens her hair, father and daughter embark on imaginative and fun adventures as he makes up stories about Xia and her trenzas, or "braids" in Spanish. In one story, her trenza becomes a sturdy twisted vine that she uses to bravely swing through the jungle. In another, her trenzas are jump ropes as she catches the beat to play double Dutch with the best players in the neighborhood. But Xia worries what she would do if Papa was not there to he...

LOVE MADE ME MORE by Colleen Rowan Kosinski, illustrations by Sonia Sanchez Two Lions, 2022 ISBN: 9781542006200 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & other materials provided by Blue Slip Media. ABOUT THE BOOK An unexpectedly heartfelt tale of a friendship between a boy and an origami crane that continues throughout the boy’s life. When a boy’s grandmother shows him how to fold an origami crane, the boy and crane become instant friends. They sail around the room and play, but the crane also watches over the boy and comforts him in a time of loss. The crane is always on the boy’s nightstand—it’s the last thing he sees each night and the first thing he sees each morning. Over time, the boy grows older, and the crane becomes dusty. But even when the boy becomes a young man, the crane plays a part in the most important moments of his life. And one day, just like his grandmother before him, the man shows his own son how to fold origami a...

I'LL GO AND COME BACK by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Sara Palacios Candlewick Press, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0717-0 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by Goodreads.com & publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK A tender, beautifully illustrated story about a girl in America and her grandmother in India, whose love stretches between languages and cultures—and across the world. When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences between India and home. At first she feels lonely and out of place, but soon, despite a language barrier, she and Sita Pati are able to understand each other. They form a bond—looking at books together, making designs with colored sand, shopping at the market, playing games, eating chapatis, and sipping warm milk with saffron to bring sweet dreams. When it’s time to part, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave, but then she remembers that in Tamil, people d...

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING by Arthur A. Levine, illustrated by Katie Kath Running Press Kids, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-7624-5906-3 Picture Book Ages 4-8 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Every morning is beautiful when Noah visits his Grandparents. When Grandpa and Noah wake up, they take off singing and hardly stop: walking the dog, splashing through puddles, and eating French toast with cinnamon. But one summer Grandpa seems to have forgotten how to do the things they love. Does he even know who Noah is? Grandma steps in energetically, filling in as best she can. But it is Noah who finds the way back to something he can share with Grandpa. Something musical. Something that makes the morning beautiful again. This is a story about how love helps us find even what we think is lost. REVIEW Okay, I'll admit it, this book brought tears to my eyes.  Probably because it's hard to watch the people we love g...

BEARD IN A BOX by Bill Cotter Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-553-50835-2 Ages 4-8 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A funny father-son romp for fans of Don’t Push the Button! and Mustache Baby. A young boy longs for a beard like Dad’s, and when he discovers a hair-growth product called Beard in a Box, he must have it! He rips open the package, plants the beard seeds, and waits . . . And waits . . . And waits. Hilarious art and a feel-good ending make this the perfect Father’s Day gift for bearded and clean-shaven readers alike! REVIEW In this delightfully funny look at what makes dad so awesome, a young boy figures it's his father's beard that makes him so cool.  So he searches for a way to become awesome like his dad.  When he sees a commercial on TV for a beard in a box, he is ecstatic and orders one right away (after several misadventures, one involving shaving the cat).  But things don't work qui...

A FIRE TRUCK NAMED RED by Randall De Seve, pictures by Bob Staake Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-374-30073-9 Picture Book Ages 3-6 Source: ARC for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A young boy has his heart set on a brand-new toy fire truck, so he is disappointed when he gets his grandfather's rusty old fire truck, Red, instead. But working together, the boy and his grandfather patch Red right up while Grandpa tells his grandson all about the adventures he had with Red when he was a boy. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Randall de Seve is the New York Times bestselling author of ​​ Toy Boat , ​​ The Duchess of Whimsy , and ​​Mathilda and the Orange Balloon . ​Her newest book, A Fire Truck Named Red , illustrated by Bob Staake, is on sale now. ​She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, two daughters and a very wicked dog named Henry Biscuit. Learn more about her at randalldeseve.com . REVIEW De Seve has written a delightful b...

I Love You Just Like This! Sourcebooks Jabberwocky Sesame Street Scribbles ISBN: 9781402297304 $10.99 Hard Cover Amazon  |  B&N  |  BAM  |  !ndigo  |  IndieBound “I love you, Mommy,” Elmo whispered in her ear. Elmo’s mommy smiled. “I love you too, my dear.” “I’ve loved you all your life, every single day. I love you oh so much – I’ll tell you all the ways!” There are lots of ways to say “I love you,” and Elmo and his Sesame Street friends are ready to tell you in as many ways as they can in  I Love You Just Like This! In this heartwarming Sesame Street Scribbles story, Elmo’s mommy tells Elmo “I love you” through numbers, colors, seasons, and more. Join Elmo and the Sesame Street gang as they learn about and express love in ways that will appeal to any child. The perfect picture book for Valentine’s Day,  I Love You Just Like This!  unites parent and child in a me...