Wordless

The Dog Walk

It’s time for Grandma’s dog to go for a walk. The eager pooch tugs the boy’s hand, excited to get going. But where will they end up? This is a dog walk like no other, through amazing fairy-tale worlds, paintings come to life, Escher-esque castles, an intricately cluttered antique store, and past countless delights: walking teapots, miniature steamboats, giant hedgehogs and islands with sails.

Isla To Island

Marisol loves her colorful island home. Cuba is vibrant with flowers and food and people…but things are changing. The home Marisol loves is no longer safe, and then it’s no longer her home at all. Her parents are sending her to the United States. Alone.
Nothing about Marisol’s new life in cold, gray Brooklyn feels like home, not the language, school, or even her foster parents. But Marisol starts to realize that home isn’t always a place. And finding her way can be as simple as staying true to herself.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XIV, Issue 4.

Every Little Kindness

When one act of kindness sparks another, anything is possible As a girl searches for her lost dog, a simple act of generosity ripples into a wave of good deeds. In the course of a single day, each considerate action weaves lives together and transforms a neighborhood for the better.
This wordless story, told in beautiful illustrations reminiscent of a graphic novel, demonstrates how every little kindness, shared from person to person, can turn a collection of strangers into a community, and–even though we might not always see it–make the world a more vibrant and compassionate place to be.

The Paper Boat

At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl’s family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family’s own. Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope.

Journey

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free.

A New Day

This classic, much-loved board book without text leads young children through the rhythms of the day. The fun, simple illustrations show children doing everyday activities such as getting up, having breakfast, feeding the ducks, making lunch, playing and enjoying a bedtime story. This chunky book is perfect for little hands, and children will love to spot the detail in each picture.

Hocus Pocus Takes The Train

Hocus Pocus, a rabbit who lives inside a magician’s hat, is about to board a train when he’s surprised to spy another rabbit nearby. Though he’s disappointed when he realizes it’s actually only a stuffed rabbit (which clever young readers will know all along!), Hocus Pocus soon comes to understand it’s a treasured toy that has been accidentally left behind by a small child, and he quickly jumps into action to try and reunite the two.

Jumping Penguins And Laughing Hyenas

If a camel gets angry, he will throw up green gastric juice over you. A sloth moves so slowly that green algae grows in his fur. Even a blind chameleon takes the color of its surroundings. Bologna Ragazzi Award winner Marije Tolman, creator of The Tree House and The Island, illustrates in her distinctive style curious, funny, bizarre, unbelievable, disgusting and weird facts about fifty different animals. The animal facts are straightforward nonfiction, Marije Tolman’s illustrations are pure fantasy, creating a combination that is sure to engage readers.