Picture This: Wolfie the Bunny

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora

When the bunny family finds a baby wolf on their front doorstep, they’re smitten. They decide to take him in as their own—all of them, that is, except for Dot. “He’s going to eat us all up!” she exclaims again and again as her parents fuss over and spoil the new baby. When all the food in the house disappears overnight, will Dot’s parents finally see the light?

OHora’s bold and colorful illustrations and Dyckman’s comic storytelling gifts combine to create a perfectly timed, laughter- and drama-filled tale of families and new siblings. Wolfie and Dot are sent to the store to replenish the carrot supply, Dot scowling, Wolfie cheerfully wearing a pink bunny onesie, when a bear decides the Wolfie would make a perfect dinner! Dot must think fast if she’s going to save herself or Wolfie. It’s sure to be a blast with kids.

Picture This: Sidewalk Flowers

Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and  Sydney Smith

In this beautifully illustrated, wordless picture book, a little girl collects flowers growing out of the cracks in the sidewalk as she walks with her father. He is absorbed in the tasks at hand: talking on his cell phone and getting from here to there. She, on the other hand, is constantly looking, observing, and collecting. When she sees a dead bird, she takes one of the flowers from her bouquet and leaves it with the bird. leaves one of the flowers with it. Soon, she’s giving out her bouquet, one flower at a time, to the man asleep on a park bench, the dog who says hello, her mother, and so on. Regardless of whether the recipients notice her gift she continue to give.

Sydney Smith illustrates Jo Arno Lawson’s story with mostly black and white pen, ink and watercolor. He includes colored accents: her red coat, the yellow cabs, her flowers, multicolored jars. Still, black and white dominate the pages until she starts giving away her flowers. Then color starts to fill the pages. There's a lot of nuance to appreciate here: the location of the flowers (did you noticed the one page where someone is peeking at her through a window?), the people and activities and architecture that fill the streets, the way her father constantly has to wait for her to catch up, etc. Beautiful book.

Picture This: This is Sadie

This is Sadie by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Sadie has a big imagination. A box is not a box to Sadie. It’s a great ship! Sadie especially loves the places and adventures that books take her on. She has lived under the sea, been raised by wolves and even grown wings. Morstad’s illustrations are a perfect fit. I especially liked how she created full color spreads for Sadie’s imaginings, taking the reader into another world for just those pages. Charming and whimsical.

Picture This: Ice Cream Summer

Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sis

Joe writes a letter to his grandpa, describing all his summer adventures: reading, writing, swimming, traveling, going to day camp, map making, the list goes on.

You might be wondering where the ice cream is, considering the title. For that you need the illustrations. Ice cream is barely even mentioned in the main body of the text, but every page is filled to the brim with ice cream. Obviously Joe has a one track mind. Math problems and vocabulary revolve around ice cream. When he visits New York, the skyscrapers resemble cones, as does the ferris wheel, baseball bats, fish, ships, an octopus, lighthouses, pelican beaks, and even the Washington monument sits in a bowl. No doubt it will become a game for readers to find all the ice cream on a page. As he mentions learning about China, Europe and America, the illustrations include tidbits about the invention and history of ice cream. There’s a lot for kids to look at and enjoy in this ode to ice cream.

Recent Read: The Thing About Jellyfish

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Zu used to talk a lot—she would fill up empty spaces with scientific facts and explanations of the natural world. But after the death of her best friend, Franny, Zu doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t believe that Franny could have drowned like they say. There must be an explanation. And so, as her parents take her to therapy, and she goes to school and works on homework, Zu ponders how Franny must have been killed by a deadly jellyfish sting. Zu’s mission to prove the real cause of Franny’s death is mixed with recollections of Franny—how they became friends, what their friendship was like, and how it started to crumble.

These memories were my favorite part. They were so vivid and real. They sparked memories of my own. As the Zu’s past with Franny unfolds we begin to understand the motivation behind her drive to prove the “true” cause of Franny’s death. it's heartbreaking. The Thing About Jellyfish is the very definition of lyrical. It sometimes felt like a painting, blending thoughtful descriptions of the natural world with recollections of the past and contemplation about our place in the universe. Lovely, but I also think not for everyone.

The Thing About Jellyfish releases September 22