I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.
THE SUITCASE: When a weary stranger arrives one day with only a suitcase, everyone is full of questions, but to learn the answers, they must either trust the newcomer or discover what they risk by not believing him.
IF I HAD A UNICORN: A girl imagines what life would be like if she had a unicorn as a pet. Rhyme
IT’S ONLY ONE!: When Rhino tosses a candy wrapper on the ground and then others begin throwing their trash on the ground, too, and it sets off a chain reaction that ruins their town, it’s up to mouse to fix things.
EVERY NIGHT IS PIZZA NIGHT: Convinced that pizza is the best food, Pipo will eat nothing else, until her fed-up parents send her on a quest to prove that no dishes in their multicultural neighborhood are better, each is the best.
JUST A STORY: A young reader comes upon an alluring book and he starts to read, becoming blissfully unaware of increasingly odd and outlandish occurrences looming all around him.
I TALK LIKE A RIVER: When a child has a bad speech day at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.
FELIX AND THE MONSTERS: A lonely guard’s love for music leads him to discover what’s actually on the other side of the wall he’s guarding.
A BEAR IS A BEAR: When Bear wakes early from hibernation and can’t remember what he is, he tries to be like the other animals, but he realizes he’s not, and only a nap will help him remember. Rhyme
BESS THE BARN STANDS STRONG: Bess the barn was built by able hands to keep the farm animals safe, but when she is replaced by a shiny new barn and left alone, she slumps, until a storm destroys the new barn and it’s up to Bess to save the animals once more.
TIME TO ROAR: When great yellow beasts threaten to cut and burn the forest and destroy the meadow she loves, Sasha the bear and the other animals must find a way to stop them.
FIELD TRIP TO THE OCEAN DEEP: A student is accidentally left behind on a field trip to the ocean deep, where he discovers a treasure chest, falls into a ravine, and makes friends with a mysterious sea creature. Wordless
NOTHING IN COMMON: Two neighbors assume they have nothing in common, until the same bright part of their day is gone–watching the love between an old man and his dog.
Lauri Fortino's Frog On A (B)Log 