Picture Book

Felix After The Rain

A young man called Felix hides all of his sorrow inside a large black suitcase that he carries with him wherever he goes. One day, a small boy opens the suitcase whilst Felix is sleeping. Felix wakes and the tears that he had been carrying for so long suddenly pour from him. Felix is uplifted, free and his heart is full of joy. Felix embraces the world, and the world embraces him. This book is a wonderful resource for young children to talk about sad feelings and how they might feel better if they confide in another person.

There’s Room For Everyone

A child grows and discovers the world. As he lies awake at night, he sees there’s enough room in the sky for all the stars and the moon. When he visits the ocean, he sees there is enough room for all the fish, even for the whales. As he grows up, he doesn’t understand why people fight for space.

The Owl and the Two Rabbits

When two rabbit sisters ignore their parents’ warnings and decide to play outside on the open tundra, a hungry owl soon spots them and decides they will make a delicious meal. As a chase ensues, the sisters must act quickly, using the owl’s own greed against him in order to get away. A traditional Inuit story and cautionary tale, this book presents a centuries-old narrative for a new generation of readers.

Finding Narnia: The Story Of C. S. Lewis And His Brother Warnie

Before C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, he was a young boy named Jack who spent his days dreaming up stories of other worlds filled with knights, castles and talking animals. His brother, Warnie, spent his days imagining worlds filled with trains, boats and technology. One rainy day, they found a wardrobe in a little room next to the attic, and they wondered, “What if the wardrobe had no end?” Years later, Jack began to think about what could be beyond that wardrobe, and about a girl named Lucy and her siblings. This picturebook biography introduces the beloved creator of The Chronicles of Narnia to a new generation of children who see hidden magic in the world around them.

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.

Tahi

This is the true story of the remarkable team effort to save a kiwi that lost its leg. The fictional narrator of the story is a schoolboy who is doing a project on kiwi. This is very much a multi-layered story with the tale of the kiwi running alongside the story of the boy and his attempts to impress his teacher. As well as those stories, great factual detail about kiwi appears in the boy’s notebook on every spread. Weta Workshop, the Artificial Limb Centre and Wellington Zoo all joined forces to provide this kiwi with an artifical leg.

Get Off That Camel!

From the time Meena was a baby, she’s been obsessed with camels. This fixation only becomes stronger when she’s gifted a real camel for her birthday! Absolutely thrilled with her new pet, Meena simply refuses to get off that camel! This delightful story by veteran children’s author A.H. Benjamin is accompanied by Krishna Bala Shenoi’s vibrant, colorful illustrations, and promises to take readers on a ride they’ll never forget.

What Grew In Larry’s Garden

Grace thinks Larry’s garden is one of the wonders of the world. In his tiny backyard next door to hers, Larry grows the most extraordinary vegetables. Grace loves helping him – watering and weeding, planting and pruning, hoeing and harvesting. And whenever there’s a problem – like bugs burrowing into the carrots or slugs chewing the lettuce – Grace and Larry solve it together. Grace soon learns that Larry has big plans for the vegetables in his special garden. And when that garden faces its biggest problem yet, Grace follows Larry’s example to find the perfect solution. Inspired by a real person, author Laura Alary has written a heartwarming story about how amazing things can grow when you tend your garden with kindness. In this case, Larry, a teacher, is helping to grow community. He has his students grow tomato plants that they then give away to their neighbors with personal notes. It offers a powerful lesson on the influence of generosity, while encouraging young children to become community activists in their own neighborhoods. This uplifting story fosters an appreciation for neighborhood and community at a time when that sentiment seems to be eroding. The book also contains an environmental message about harvesting your own vegetables and, with Kass Reich’s colorful illustrations, works beautifully for a life science exploration of growth and changes in plants. There are character education connections to caring, cooperation, empathy, kindness, perseverance and teamwork.

The Big Litlle Thing

It unexpectedly arrived. It brushed passed someone in the street. It weaves its way in and out of people on the street. It catches people completely unawares. But what is this It? They call It happiness! In this outstanding book, award-winning illustrator and author Beatrice Alemagna captures the pure pleasure of embracing the small things in life. Following in the footsteps of A Lion in Paris, the striking and poignant illustrations bring this sensitive story to life.

I Dream Of A Journey

Akiko Miyakoshi’s enchanting picture book explores how an innkeeper who spends his days at the crossroads of others’ journeys secretly longs to have adventures of his own. People from all over the world come and go at the innkeeper’s little hotel. He enjoys meeting them, and many even become his friends. Only, sometimes, when he goes to sleep at night, the desire to travel far away himself wells up inside him. He dreams of packing a big bag and journeying wherever he pleases, from one unfamiliar town to another. He imagines stopping to visit friends and having wonderful and unexpected experiences. The innkeeper continues to go about his daily routine at his hotel, but, someday, he is sure, he will explore the world.