Geo Librarian

SERAFINA MAKES WAVES words by Matthew Burgess, pictures by Robin Rosenthal Dial Books for Young Readers, 2026 ISBN: 978-0-593-69963-8 Source : purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK This purr-fectly adorable picture book introduces an irresistibly over-the-top new kitty character who’s ready to make a big splash! Meet Serafina! If there’s one thing you should know about Serafina, it’s that she absolutely, positively HATES water. Running faucets, rain, or the sea? No thank you. So even though she looks fantastic in goggles, Serafina is NOT happy to be forced into a swim class by the powers that be. NOTHING can convince her to get into that disgusting pit of seething water. Nothing, that is, except maybe a very beloved old friend who needs a hand. From acclaimed creators Matthew Burgess and Robin Rosenthal comes an unforgettable picture book that shows how trying new things can ...

  WHO'S MAKING THAT BIG STINK? written by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Erica J. Chen Charlesbridge, 2026 ISBN: 978-1-6235-4625-0 Source: eARC from publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Eww! Who smells like rotten eggs and smelly feet? Yuck! Whose burps smell like cow poop? Find out which animals stink (and why) in this reeky, cheeky guessing game for ages 3-7. Animals make all sorts of smells for all sorts of reasons! Can you guess the stinker from its stink? Simple clues and laugh-out-loud art make this guessing game perfect for rowdy read-alouds. Fun facts from a world-class zoologist reveal the science behind the stink. REVIEW Appealing digitally-created illustrations and an intriguing topic make this book very kid-friendly. Illustrations of animals noticing a smell, "Ewww" or "Yuck" open a two page spread describing a smell before the pa...

  THE DINO DOOR written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Renee Kurilla Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2026 ISBN: 978-1-6659-5783-0 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Where the Wild Things Are gets a charming dinosaur twist in this whimsical rhyming picture book with adorable and vibrant art about a boy who discovers a magical door to the land of dinosaurs! Do you dare to see what’s behind the Dino Door? Dinosaur. Dino…door? Dino more! When a secret door appears in a small child’s messy, toy-strewn room just when they need it most, they discover a world full of real-life dinosaur friends! But what happens when it’s time to go back home? With clever wordplay and engaging, child-friendly art, beloved author Josh Funk and New York Times bestselling artist Renee Kurilla invite readers to a world full of wonder, humor, friendship, and,...

  BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US written by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnacion Red Comet Press, 2026 ISBN: 978-1-63655-192-0 Source: author for review (Thanks!) Ages 6-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A powerful reverso poem about two girls separated by barbed wire and 80 years of history Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Ba...

TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD Barbara Hillary, the First Black Woman to Reach the North and South Poles written by Deborah Blumenthal, illustrated by Anastasia Magloire Williams Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-6659-2773-4 Ages 6-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Go exploring with Barbara Hillary, the first Black woman to set foot on both the North and South Poles in this thrilling and inspiring picture book biography about perseverance, imagination, and following your dreams. As a young girl, Barbara Hillary imagined a life of adventure. Despite facing hardships in her childhood and illness as an adult, she never gave up on her to travel the world and explore hard-to-reach places. So, at age seventy-five, she became the first Black woman to set foot on the North Pole. Less than four years later, she did the same at the South Pole. Barbara loved everything the world has to of...

  ZOMBIE AND BRAIN ARE FRIENDS written by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, illustrated by Laan Cham Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-5476-1973-3 Source: purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Zombie in Love meets Gustavo, the Shy Ghost in this story about a young zombie who must Are brains friends…or food? Zeb comes from a family of farmers-zombie farmers. Each week they pickle, bake, fry, and sell their grain-fed, free-range brains to be enjoyed by the masses. Zeb understands that brains are food, not pets…until one day he comes across the tiniest, pinkest, squishiest brain he ever did see! Can he convince his parents that his brainy bestie is better off as a member of the family than family dinner? REVIEW Zeb's family of zombies raise brains for consumption. When a baby brain tumbles into his arms one day and he sees how pink and how squishy it is, he names it...

  AGGIE AND THE GHOST written & illustrated by Matthew Forsythe A Paula Wiseman Book Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-5344-7820-6 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher for review. ABOUT THE BOOK From Matthew Forsythe, the creator of the acclaimed and beloved Pokko and the Drum, comes a surprising and pleasing picture book about rules. And sharing. And an epic game of tic-tac-toe. Aggie is very excited to live on her own—until she finds out her new house is haunted. But no fear, the situation is nothing that can’t be fixed with a carefully considered list of No haunting after dark. No stealing socks. No eating all the food. But the ghost doesn’t like playing by the rules and challenges Aggie to an epic game of tic-tac-toe—winner gets the house. REVIEW In this rather unusual book, Aggie moves into a house only to discover that the place is haunted b...

  BEANSPROUT written & illustrated by Sarah Lynne Reul Charlesbridge, 2025 978-1-62354-475-1 Source: publisher for review Ages 5-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK What happens when you do everything right, but it doesn’t work out? When classmates start having success with their seeds, one student's just won't sprout. A picture book about planting and growing, where grown-ups and kids can talk about disappointment, emotions, and second chances. It's seed-planting time in Ms. Greene's classroom! One of the kids has big predictions for their mystery seed and does everything just so to make sure it grows. But as all the other seeds start to sprout, theirs . . . doesn't. So they proclaim they'll never try to grow another seed again! But when they learn the leftover seeds will be thrown out, they start to think about second chances and enlists their classmates to hel...

  WHOA PANDA! written & illustrated by C.S. Jennings Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-593-32478-3 Source: publisher for review Ages 3-6 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK From “Whoa!” to “Way to go!,” this is a humorous and heartwarming look at the importance of communicating personal boundaries. Panda gets excited when he sees a potential friend. So excited, he’s apt to put his cold, wet nose right in their face! Eeek! Whoa Panda! Fortunately Panda has a friend to help him navigate how close is too close. And before long, he is able to say “Way to go, Panda” instead of “Whoa Panda!” With irresistible art and a simple, encouraging text, this entertaining picture book is perfect for helping little ones become more self-aware of personal boundaries. REVIEW After waving at the narrator, Panda runs and hugs the 'narrator' (shown in the illustrations with a closeup of Panda's fac...

  THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES written by Kate Messner Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-5476-1639-8 Source: ARC from author/publisher Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK One summer. 46 mountain peaks. A second chance to make things right. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn's about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady's headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer...climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother's dog, and they can call it even. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn b...

  THE SEARCH FOR CARMELLA: What Mystery Lurks in the Deep? written & illustrated by Chloe Savage Candlewick Press, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-5362-3897-6 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Ever since Dr. Rose was a little girl playing in rock pools, she has always loved exploring the sea and the weird and wonderful creatures living there. Now, as a marine biologist, Dr. Rose is in search of a sea creature rumored to reside within the ocean’s hidden depths, a mysterious beast that many speak of but no one has ever seen: Carmella. With her team of scientists and explorers, descending in a submersible to the unfathomable dark of the deep ocean, what incredible creatures will Dr. Rose discover inhabiting a nearly pitch-black world? Rich with the magnificent sea life that can be found in deep water, Chloe Savage’s strikingly illustrated tale of a stro...

POP! GOES THE NURSERY RHYME written by Betsy Bird, pictures by Andrea Tsurumi Union Square Kids, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-4549-6046-1 Source: purchased  Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK In this laugh-out-loud spin on a classic nursery rhyme collection, a feisty weasel continuously interrupts the narrator’s carefully prepared recitation—adding exuberant mischief to the timeless rhymes we all know and love.The sensible Secretary Bird wants nothing more than to get on with their job of properly narrating a classic nursery rhyme book. But something is afoot in the orderly land of nursery rhymes . . . a zippy little Weasel has entered the scene! As the Secretary Bird tries to get through the rhymes—from Little Miss Muffet to Jack and Jill—the Weasel bursts in, throwing everything into a comical tailspin. Can the Secretary Bird put an end to the chaos?In Pop Goes the Nursery Rhyme, influent...

  POETRY COMICS words and pictures by Grant Snider Chronicle Books, 2024 ISBN: 978-1-7972-1965-3 Source: purchased Ages 9 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK From the cloud-gazing hours of early spring to the lost bicycles of late autumn, Grant Snider’s brilliantly illustrated Poetry Comics will take you climbing, floating, swimming, and tumbling through all the year’s ups, downs, and in-betweens. He proves that absolutely everything, momentous or minuscule, is worthy of attention, whether snail shells, building blocks, the lamented late bus, or the rare joy of unscuffed shoes. These poems explore everything you never thought to write a poem about, and they’re so fun to read you’ll want to write one yourself. Not to worry, there’s a poem for that, too! FOR COMIC BOOK These poems for kids are brightly illustrated in graphic novel-style panels, adding a delightful new element to appr...

  BRUCE SAVES THE PLANET written & illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins Disney Hyperion, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-368-09020-9 Source: purchased Ages 7-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK From unwitting mother to unwitting . . . environmental activist? Save the planet with #1 New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins's beloved Mother Bruce. Bruce was a bear who liked to be by himself. But that wasn't easy for him, as mother to four geese and three mice. Luckily, he could enjoy a day of peace and quiet while fishing. But his quiet haven is full of beetles stealing his lunch. And protestors loudly trying to save the forest from the construction of a factory. Will Bruce and the residents of Soggy Hollow manage to save the planet? REVIEW Bruce finds himself inadvertently at the heart of a protest to stop the destruction of the local forest. As per the norm for this grumpy bear, B...

  ALPACAS HERE, ALPACAS THERE written by Carrie Tillotson, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri Beach Lane Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-6659-4202-7 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 4-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Learn all about alpacas in both North and South America in this rhyming nonfiction picture book full of these darling fluffy friends! Alpacas here, alpacas there depend on people for their care. Thousands of years ago, people living high in the Andes Mountains of South America domesticated alpacas from wild animals. Today, millions of alpacas are still raised in the Andes, but alpaca farming has also spread to North America and around the world. Find out all there is to know about the lives of alpacas, here, there, and everywhere! REVIEW Alpacas Here, Alpacas There introduces young readers to alpacas that live in North America and South America. A vibrant combination of poetic and expo...

  HELLO, I'M AN AXOLOTL by Hayley & John Rocco G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-593-61821-9 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Meet the axolotl in this clever, funny, and informative nonfiction picture book, part of a series that focuses on endangered species. “Wild, fun, and truly eye-opening, Meet the Wild Things gets us up close and personal with some of the world's most amazing creatures. With this series, Hayley and John Rocco are doing more than entertaining our kids—they’re inspiring them to care about the future of our planet.” —Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of the Ordinary People Change the World series Did you know that axolotls have a superpower? They can regrow lost limbs, tails, and even parts of their hearts and brains! And they sparkle! That's because they have special cells in their bodies that reflect light lik...

VOLCANOES written by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen Chock Orchard Books, 2024 ISBN: 978-1-338-87467-9 Source: purchased Ages 6-10 Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK The team behind the acclaimed book Caves returns with an enticing exploration of one of the most explosive wonders on the planet -- Volcanoes! A rumble. A tremble. A grumble. Growing, growling, getting hot. When will it... POP?! Using evocative storytelling, Nell Cross Beckerman leads children on an adventure through the radioactive wonders that are volcanoes. From deep down on the ocean floor to extraterrestrial volcanoes, Beckerman guides readers with dramatic, poetic language. Nonfiction text on every page allows for deeper understanding of the topic. Illustrator Kalen Chock's stunning illustrations have been praised as "atmospheric" and "striking," and readers will be delighted as each new page...

  SATURDAY MORNING AT THE 'SHOP written by Keenan Jones, illustrated by Ken Daley Beach Lane Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-6659-4080-1 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Spend Saturday morning at the barbershop in this upbeat picture book celebration of the spaces and places that bring communities together. It’s Saturday morning. We hop in the car. Mom’s heading to work, and I’m geeked to go spend the day at the ’shop! The barbershop is a sound booth, an art gallery, a playground, a classroom, and so much more. It’s a place for artistry and comradery and, most importantly, community. Come spend the day feeling all the style and wisdom and joy at the ’shop! REVIEW Having never been to one, this joy-filled look into the workings of a black barbershop opened my eyes. The young boy at the heart of the story doesn't just get his hair cut, oh, no, he has an ...