Early Years (ages 2-6)

A Serious Thought

One night, a little boy goes to bed, but instead of sleeping, he starts thinking all kinds of thoughts. Dangerous thoughts. Admirable thoughts. Questionable thoughts. Beautiful thoughts … until a very serious thought occurs to him. If Earth is just a tiny marble floating in space, and he is but one child among many living on this marble, what does his existence matter in the grand scheme of things? Deceptively simple black-and-white drawings poignantly illustrate the boy’s journey as he considers this serious thought. This thought-provoking story by Estonian artist Jonas Taul will resonate with anyone who has ever been kept awake at night by life’s big questions.

Weekend Dad

This home is home because my dad is here, and it’s nothing like home because my mom isn’t here, thinks the boy in this story when he enters his dad’s new apartment for the first time. His dad moved out on Monday and now it’s Friday night, the start of his weekend with his dad. The boy and his dad follow their normal weekend routine — they eat eggs for breakfast, play cards and spend time at the park. And then they do the same things on Sunday. It is hard to say goodbye at the end of the weekend, but Dad gives his son a letter to remind him that, even if his dad can’t always be there, the boy is loved. Naseem Hrab has written a poignant yet hopeful story, strikingly illustrated in Frank Viva’s signature style, about what happens when parents separate, and the new reality of having two homes.

Sean Awesome: The Dog Next Door

Ms. Yellow and Mr. Wide is a wife and husband duo who created the Sean Awesome Series one cut-paper scene at a time. They live in the beautiful city of Vancouver and try very hard to be an awesome Mommy and Daddy to their real life son Sean. Inspired by her teaching experience and their own son, Ms. Yellow and Mr. Wide created Sean Awesome to share the joy and love of becoming a family. Ms. Yellow studied Literature and Education. She worked as an editor at WWD magazine. Later she spent many years working closely with children and parents as an Early Childhood Educator.

Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-Niimi’idim

When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle’s stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers–all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow.

The Return

A young woman gets on the bus and rides out of the big city. She arrives in the countryside, where she is as big as a giant, looming over a tiny house, a garden and her tiny grandmother. The cabbages and the apple trees are far below. Her grandmother smiles up at her in her yellow hat. The young woman bends down to give her little grandmother a big kiss, and then she smells her grandmother’s cooking. She has returned home. When they sit down at the table, the young woman has shrunk to a child-like size, and the two share a meal together in the garden. In this gentle, wordless story Natalia Chernysheva beautifully captures the feelings of coming home to comfort and memories and of returning to our childlike selves.

Birdsong

When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of arts and crafts. Can the girl navigate the changing seasons and failing health of her new friend? Acclaimed author and artist Julie Flett’s textured images of birds, flowers, art, and landscapes bring vibrancy and warmth to this powerful story, which highlights the fulfillment of intergenerational relationships and shared passions.

Let’s Work

Cynthia Weill scores again with an early concept book that bring every kind of job to life, including the work of the dedicated palm weavers of Flavio Gallardo’s workshop, whose miniature palm weavings illustrate this playful book, teaching children words for work in two languages. The weavers live in the village of Chigmecatitlán in the Mixteca part of the Mexican state of Puebla. With tremendous skill and patience, the artisans of this region practice palm weaving, a craft which came to Mexico even before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 15th century. Imagine being able to hold all of the illustrations in one book in the palms of your hands. You can do that with the tiny weavings in Let’s Work. Most pieces are no larger than a dime!