Big new titles perfect for the littles.
Nothing Special by Desiree Cooper (author) and Bec Sloane (illustrator) (Wayne State University Press). “Jax jumped out of the car and ran into his grandparents’ arms. It had taken a whole day to drive from Detroit to Virginia. He thought they would never get there, but they made it.” What will the little boy do during his visit, he asks. “Nothing special,” PopPop says, but he’s wrong. From fishing for crabs to wishing on shooting stars, everything Jax and his elders do together is magical. Unique textile-rich graphics turn this sweet tale of generation-spanning affection into something truly special.
The Story of Ukraine: An Anthem of Glory and Freedom by Olena Kharchenko and Michael Sampson (authors) and Polina Doroshenko (illustrator) (Brown Books Kids). “Ukraine is a beautiful country, with the Carpathian mountains to the west, the sparkling Black Sea to the south, and the Dnipro River at its heart…But the best thing about Ukraine is the people — more than forty million sincere and talented citizens who love their country and will defend it at any cost.” This lushly illustrated, fact-packed look at Ukraine — complete with Ukrainian text on the facing pages — is a poignant celebration of a nation currently fighting for its survival.
One & Everything by Sam Winston (Candlewick Studio). Once, endless stories filled the world. That is, until a particular tale decided it was the only one that mattered. “When this story approached another, older story, instead of listening to it, this bold story said, ‘Actually, I am the One, the Only story.’ And it ate up the older story in one gulp.” But there’s never just one story, is there? Of course not! Soon, the One, the Only story literally bursts to reveal all the world’s tales — told in everything from Cuneiform and Hieroglyphics to Syloti and Thaana — in this surprisingly stirring ode to the power of language.
