Tag Archives: Fiction

Elem. – Goats Afloat

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Evans, Lezlie. Goats Afloat. Illustrated by Julia Pattion. Two Lions, 2025. 978-1662520259. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades Pre-K-2. 

It’s Granny Goat’s birthday, and five of her gran-goats decide to surprise her with a homemade birthday cake. There’s just one problem: a nasty troll guards the bridge to Granny’s house. So, the gran-goats decide to go by boat. They all climb into the canoe and set sail. The young goats encounter many obstacles along the way and even lose the cake! They watch as it sinks into the water–glug, glug, glug. Feeling disheartened and down, they finally arrive at Granny’s house. She warms them up and cheers them up, emphasizing that they are the true gift when an unexpected visitor arrives: the local troll. He brings the salvaged and soggy birthday cake and tells the gran-goats to take the bridge next time. 

THOUGHTS: This is a cute picture book reminding all that so often things don’t go as we planned. This story focuses on the importance of teamwork, flexibility, and resilience. An adorable read for students in the lower grades. 

Picture Book

Goats Afloat follows some goats who want to bring their Granny Goat a birthday cake! However, they don’t want to take the bridge because of the troll so they devise another plan! As they set off on their journey, chaos ensues. At the end of their journey, they are soaking wet with no cake to show for their troubles, when the doorbell rings! Granny Goat opens it to show the bridge troll, with cake in hand! Next time, the goats can just take the bridge.

THOUGHTS: This is a funny picture book that will make readers laugh out loud while reading! The illustrations add so much to the story and will definitely make the reader need to go back through a second or even third time! Highly recommended for any elementary school collection.

Picture Book

Elem. – A Forest Song

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Hall, Kirsten. A Forest Song. Illustrated by Evan Turk. Random House Children’s Books, 2025. 978-0-593-48036-6. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-2. 

A young boy walks through the forest. At first, the woods feel strange and unfamiliar, but eventually, mystery transforms into awe and wonder at all the marvels the woods have to offer. A sensory delight through the woods and eventually back to the warmth and safety of his own bed, the story’s main character comes to appreciate the forest’s majestic song. A Forest Song is a cento poem, meaning that the lines of the story are the stringing together of lines from other poems. Readers will easily recognize the classic words of Emily Dickenson, Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert Frost. The illustrations of Evan Turk are bold and brazen, creating warm autumnal hues and transforming the forest flora and fauna into their own unique characters. 

THOUGHTS: I loved the structure of this story, using the cento poem format to blend the words of famous poets together to make a new story was unique and refreshing. The story is lyrical and has a beautiful message. This would be a great picture book to share with students during fall or in conjunction with a poetry unit. The book also includes an author’s note about her own experience writing this book, a list of poets and their lines used throughout the story, as well as a note on cento poems. 

Picture Book

Elem./MG – The Dragon’s Apprentice

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Riley, James. The Dragon’s Apprentice. Labyrinth Road. 2025. 978-0-593-81317-1. $18.99. 229 p. Grades 4-6. 

Ciara lives in the land of Skael where an evil warden and his men have made life miserable for the local people. Ciara finds a magical book in the old Dragon Mage’s tower–the diary of Bianca of Skael. Ciara reads the book over and over in hopes of learning the long lost art of magic, something only the emperor and his son are allowed to know and practice. Betrayed by her best friend, the emperor’s men learn that Ciara has the book and has been hiding it for years. They come to arrest Ciara and her mother, but Ciara escapes and hides in the Dragon Mage’s tower. Desperate to save her mother, she turns to the book one last time. She sees a marking in the book that she’s never noticed before, an ancient symbol. Tracing the symbol with her finger, she conjures a sleeping dragon, Scorch. Can Ciara convince Scorch to help her free her mother? Can Ciara learn enough magic to banish the evil warden from Skael for good?

THOUGHTS: Ciara is a bold 12-year-old protagonist who teams up with a cranky and stern dragon to save her mother and village from an evil villain. The characters are energetic and fun. While the book ends with a giant cliffhanger (setting the stage for the second book in the series), this would be a good read for children who enjoy dragons and fantasy.

Fantasy

Elem. – The Peddler of Puddles

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Ferry, Beth. The Peddler of Puddles. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Clarion Books, 2025. 978-0-063-31834-2. Unpaged. $19.99. Grades PreK-2. 

“Everyone loves a good puddle!” In this colorfully illustrated children’s book, by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld (Stick and Stone 2021), the Peddler travels the countryside making puddles for his friends. This wide-brimmed hat-wearing turtle loved his job, spreading joy to all those he encountered through the simplicity of playful puddles. One day, the Peddler encounters the biggest puddle he has ever seen: the ocean. After a fun-filled beach day with a little girl, the Peddler realizes that he’s missing something important. With the help of his loyal friends, the Peddler, an on-the-go inventor, creatively solves his problem with a lasting solution.

THOUGHTS: This is a delightful children’s book that focuses on themes of friendship, giving, and home. I loved the kindness of the Peddler and his willingness to give without the expectation of payment. This would be a great spring-themed storytime read for younger children.

Picture Book

Elem. – The Couch in the Yard

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Hoefler, Kate. The Couch in the Yard. Illustrated by Dena Seiferling. Neal Porter Books, 2025. 978-0-823-45675-8. $18.99. 48 p. Grades PreK-2.

Set in the hills of rural Appalachia, The Couch in the Yard is an imaginative story about a family and their unique nightly tradition. As the sun goes down and the sky turns pink and purple, the family ties their couch to the top of their old rusty car. Everyone hops in, including the dog, and they begin their adventure. They travel across gravely roads, up into mountains, and through the hollows of their country home. Their rusted old car and yard couch take them to creative and imaginative places far and away and ultimately back to the love and safety of home. This is a sweet story about the power of imagination, love, and creativity. The rhyming verse and figurative language make this part story and part lyric lullaby. Dena Seiferling’s illustrations are beautiful and whimsically fun, bringing the story’s unique setting into focus for readers.

THOUGHTS: This story demonstrates a deep respect for rural landscapes, culture, and the people who live in remote locations. This story challenges readers to re-imagine “junk” and to spark a creative view of their world. Themes of the love and security of family, the power of creativity, and the wonder of small moments make this book a gem.

Picture Book

Elem. – Where to Hide a Star

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Jeffers, Oliver. Where to Hide a Star. Philomel, 2024. 978-0-593-62224-7. Unpaged. $22.99. Grades PreK-1. 

Author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers is back with another volume in his The Boy series. Where to Hide a Star, opens with the unnamed boy playing a game of hide-and-seek with his two friends, penguin and star. When the star is accidentally forgotten in a rowboat during the game, the boy and penguin go looking for it, but it is nowhere to be found—the rowboat has drifted away! Thankfully for the star, the boat washes ashore at the North Pole, home to a girl who loves stars. Together the star and the girl go on many adventures and become fast friends. Meanwhile, the boy and the penguin have recruited their friend the Martian to help them locate the star. When they arrive at the North Pole, the boy is torn–he wants to take the star home, but he doesn’t want the girl to lose her new friend and be unhappy. The girl is similarly conflicted. The dilemma is solved when the Martin suggests a game of hide-and-seek. He hangs the star in the night sky so both the girl and the boy can always see their star friend. 

THOUGHTS: This delightful friendship story will find a home on many elementary shelves. While the title will be best appreciated by those who have read the prior titles in the The Boy series, readers with no background knowledge of the series will also be able to enjoy this story of friendship and sharing.

Picture Book

Elem. – I Worked Hard on That!

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Wall, Robyn. I Worked Hard on That! Illustrated by A.N. Kang. Simon & Schuster, 2024. 978-1-665-93872-3. Unpaged. $16.99. Grades PreK-2.

Kiara the spider always has created basic spiderwebs, just a means to catch prey. Then one day, she sees a web that is a work of art. Inspired, Kiara decides to spin her own artistic web. After some trial and error, she’s finally hit upon a great design, when a squirrel runs right through her web, destroying it. Upset and frustrated, Kiara shouts, “Hey! I worked hard on that!” Further attempts get destroyed by birds and humans, leaving Kiara angry and sad. Just when she’s ready to give up, Kiara meets Orb, the older spider who created the web that first inspired Kiara to start creating. Orb invites Kiara to join him in creating his next work of art. Together, they create a gigantic web incorporating various designs and colors. When it too, is destroyed, Kiara is ready to give up forever, until an encounter with Paws the squirrel causes her to reexamine her perspective. Maybe the creative process is just as important as the end product…

THOUGHTS: This delightful story shows the many facets of the creative process–inspiration, trial & error, persistence, and patience, for example. Readers will be able to relate to Kiara’s frustration when things don’t work out the way she wants. They will hopefully also realize, like Kiara, that happiness can be realized through the creative process and learning new things. 

Picture Book

Elem. – A Hat for House

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Perrott, Audrey. A Hat for House. Illustrated by Druscilla Santiago. Putnam, 2024. 978-0-593-61577-5. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PreK-2. 

“One very windy day, House lost his hat.” The opening sentence of A Hat for House identifies the dilemma facing House in this picture book by Audrey Perrot. House’s hat (his roof) has blown off in a storm. Naturally, this causes quite a bit of trauma and sadness for House. How will he ever recover from this loss? Will he ever feel like himself again? Thankfully, House’s friends and neighbors (both animal and human) come together to lend a helping hand. Soon House’s yard is cleaned up and a temporary roof installed. When a storm breaks out just as work is finishing up, House is able to return the kindness of his neighbors by providing a dry place to wait out the storm. Days later, a new permanent roof is installed, giving House a snazzy new hat. Perrot’s text is complemented by Druscilla Santiago’s digital illustrations that transform a house into a character with personality–the windows are eyes, the blinds eyelids, the door a mouth, etc. 

THOUGHTS: This story of loss, helpers, community, hope, and rebuilding deserves a spot on elementary shelves. While House initially is uncertain about how he will recover from the storm, he soon displays a sense of optimism and the text incorporates humorous elements as his neighbors come together to help him in his time of need. House’s story is a reminder that although we may experience tough times at points in our lives, there are helpers out there willing to lend a helping hand. 

Picture Book

Elem. – Seashell Key

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Heuer, Lourdes. Seashell Key. Illustrated by Lynnor Bontiago. Amulet Books, 2024. 978-1-419-76741-8. 73 p. $14.99. Grades 1-3.

This new series about the locals who live in a seashore town is perfect for grades 1-3.  Broken up into four short stories, readers meet Mateo, who makes unique kites; Sasha and Sophia, sisters who love finding all the special treasures the beach offers; Eli, Ezra, and Elana, siblings who give tours of their home which is a lighthouse; and a fourth short story that brings all the friends together at a favorite local fruit stand.

THOUGHTS: This adorable book of connected short stories is perfect for those who vacation “down the shore.” This is a great way to introduce the concept of short stories to the littlest readers.

Early Chapter Book
Fiction

Elem. – Here Are the Seeds

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Brown-Wood, JaNay. Here Are the Seeds. Illustrated by Olivia Amoah. Kids Can Press, 2024. 978-1-525-30830-7. Unpaged. $21.99. Grades PreK-2. 

Told in a cumulative tale style format, Here Are the Seeds tells of the journey of two children and the seeds they plant to grow a garden. The story opens with the pair and “the seeds that will help our garden grow.” Over the course of the growing season, the pair discover that their garden will need soil, sun, water, as well as creatures like worms and organisms like mushrooms in order to create an ecosystem in which the seeds will grow and flourish. At various points during the story, the children’s garden will face an obstacle (“Oh No!” the narrator declares). For example, when part of their garden isn’t growing as fast as the other portion of the garden, the pair discover not enough sunlight is reaching a section of the garden. When obstacles are encountered, the children must try to solve the problem. (In the example above, they decide to transplant the poorly growing plants to the sunny portion of the garden). Backmatter includes an explanation of the elements needed to make a garden grow. The text is enhanced by Olivia Amoah’s vibrant and expressive digital illustrations. 

THOUGHTS: The topic and cumulative style format of this title would make it an ideal springtime read aloud. Natural stopping points (the “Oh No” refrain) occur throughout the text, and would allow for student discussion about the problem the children encounter in their garden during the growing season as well as suggestions/predictions about how the children could remedy the problem.

Picture Book