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New at Peter White Public Library

You’re never too young or too old to read a picture book. Even when children learn to read on their own, there are many great benefits to reading a picture book together. When you read a new one, you are on the same footing … neither of you know what will happen next. Picture books are fun, often humorous and create parent-child connection. Check out one of these new picture books in Youth Services at the Peter White Public Library:

“Dreamers” written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Morales leans heavily on her own story to write about a young mother and son immigrating to the United States to escape war. While adjusting to a new culture and language, the mother discovers the library. She learns to read. She learns to write. She falls in love with books. She finds her voice. She dreams again. This bright, bold picture book features the artist’s childhood drawings, her son’s drawings, her first handmade book, along with ink and brushes from a nib pen that once belonged to Maurice Sendak.

“In My Hair is a Garden” by Cozbi A. Cabrera, classmates tease MacKenzie about her black curly hair. MacKenzie wishes for long, straight hair. Her neighbor wise Miss Tillie shows her that like garden plants, which each different in appearance but equally beautiful, different kinds of hair are all beautiful. She patiently shows MacKenzie how to care for and style her hair. A guide and recipe for black hair care offer tips for readers learning how to care for their own hair.

“Sometimes You Fly” by Katherine Applegate, a Newberry medalist, will stir the heart of every adult who has raised a child. Applegate celebrates the milestones of childhood from first birthday to graduation. Featuring both boys and girls, parents are also seen celebrating accomplishments, hugging through the disappointments and failures and making that one-of-a-kind-with-love dessert marking the passing of time. This read-a-loud is great for any age child. It might leave readers hungry for cake.

Birthday wishes are also featured in “Carmela Full of Wishes” by Matt De La Pena. On her birthday Carmela is finally old enough to accompany her brother on daily errands. When she picks a dandelion she dreams of all the wishes she could make when she blows the fluff into the breeze. She struggles knowing which one is the most important, a wish for candies, for a bike, for her father to come back home “after getting his papers fixed” or for her brother to be less mean. When she accidently smashes the flower, her brother surprises her with a field full of wishes near the sea. Which wish she choose is a great conversation starter for children and their families about wishes, and family bonds.

Wordless picture books are treasures of the imagination and “Door” by JiHyeon Lee surprises and delights. A young boy finds a key. The key fits a door. The door reveals a new world. This books features made up creatures using a made up language spending the day in the garden preparing for and celebrating a wedding. What are the characters saying? Word bubbles point toward a storyline, but parents and children can take turns making it up.

“The Dress and the Girl” by Camille Andros depicts the journey of a girl to a new country in a dress sewn with love by her mother. While settling into her new surroundings, the girl’s trunk, where the dress is stored, gets lost. The trunk travels the world and the girl grows up. One day a woman and her daughter notice a dress in a vintage shop and memories come rushing back. Both the dress and woman have a story. And now the dress would be worn again by her daughter.

By Jeni Kilpela

Communications Coordinator

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