April 22 – Earth Day

About the Holiday

By 1970 awareness was growing worldwide about the damage that industrialization, pollution, and pesticides were causing people and the environment. On April 22, 1970—the date of the first Earth Day—millions of people demonstrated for change. In response, in July of 1970, Republican President Richard Nixon and the U.S. Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency. Between 1970 and 1973 they also enacted laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act and more. Earth Day is now celebrated around the globe as a day for political action and civic participation.

Today, it’s more important than ever for citizens to participate in protecting the environment and speaking up against the policies of the current Republican president and administration so they do not reverse the progress and advancements we’ve made. This year the theme of Earth Day is Our Power, Our Planet and calls for people to unite around renewable energy. To learn more about this year’s theme, and discover ways that you and your kids can make a difference, visit earthday.org.

Thanks go to Terry Pierce and the Yosemite Conservancy for sending me a copy of We Leave No Trace! for review.

We Leave No Trace!

Written by Terri Pierce | Illustrated by Nadja Sarell

In her gentle invitation for the youngest children and their families to enjoy the outdoors while also treating its flora and fauna with kindness, Terry Pierce models the “leave no trace” principles that ensure harmony between people and nature. Pierce touches on such ideas as not collecting natural “souvenirs,” maintaining a small footprint, and always throwing away trash in verses that encourage adults and children to talk about how they, particularly, can be good stewards of the earth as they hike, camp, picnic, or just enjoy a walk together.

While each page spread introduces a different way that kids can pitch in to help nature, Pierce has also included a repeated rhyming couplet that reinforces a child’s pride in supporting a cleaner, healthier environment for all while also having fun. This lively phrase can turn any read-aloud story time into an enjoyable interactive read-along for little ones.

Kids will love hiking through Nadja Sarell’s vibrant landscapes that transports them to a mountain-side lake where various nature-lovers are boating, picnicking, and walking all within sight of a doe and her fawn and a bird that’s flying in low for its closeup; a forested trail in which a girl, instead of taking home a woodpecker’s feather, is snapping a picture of it; a park where ducks swim among lily pads as kids look on from a stone bridge while others play nearby; and more lovely locales. Each page spread also offers lots of opportunities for young readers to point out animals and other elements of nature as well as kid-favorite treats and activities.

We Leave No Trace! is a delightful adventure through nature that provides youngest children with easy and mindful reminders of how they can protect the environment now and for the future. Jaunty rhymes, repeated phrasing, and vivid illustrations that welcome discussion and interaction make this board book perfect for taking along on trips to playgrounds, parks, and other outdoor spots and a top choice for home and library collections.

Ages Baby – 3

Yosemite Conservancy, 2025 | ISBN 978-1951179373

About the Author

Terry Pierce is the author of more than twenty-five books for children, including We Leave No Trace!, Hello Meadow!, and Eat Up Bear! (Yosemite Conservancy), Love Can Come in Many Ways (Chronicle), Soccer Time! (Random House), Mama Loves You So (Little Simon) and My Busy Green Garden (Tilbury House). She is an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying backpacking, hiking, and rock climbing near her home in Mammoth Lakes, California.

About the Illustrator

Nadja Sarell is an illustrator living in Helsinki, Finland. She is the illustrator of We Leave No Trace!, Eat Up Bear! and Hello, Meadow! (Yosemite Conservancy), the Frankie Sparks, Third Grade Inventor series (Aladdin), and The One and Only Wolfgang (Zonderkidz). Nadja graduated with MA in dance from Theatre Academy Helsinki and graduated from North Wales School of Art and Design with BA in illustration for children’s publishing in 2004. Since then she has worked as a freelance illustrator in Finland and abroad. She loves to teach art, illustration, and dance for both children and adults.

We Leave No Trace! joins these two previous books in the Yosemite Conservancy’s “stewardship” board book series by Terry Pierce and Nadja Sarell

Eat Up, Bear!

Curious, hungry black bears just want to eat! Juicy berries, crunchy nuts, tender grubs, sticky honey—that’s good bear food. But if little park visitors and their families don’t watch out, their food will be bear food, too! The bouncy rhyming text and vibrant pictures in this board book show how people of all ages can help keep bears safe and thriving. Perfect for first-time and seasoned campers alike.

Hello, Meadow!

Grassy, flower-filled meadows are really pretty! It’s oh-so tempting to hike and skip right through them. But meadows are actually fragile, and human footsteps and picnics can cause them harm—then they cannot do their important work of providing a habitat for creatures and plants, filtering water, and even storing carbon. The lively text and beautiful illustrations in this sturdy board book show little nature lovers how to easily protect meadows while enjoying one of Earth’s loveliest features.

Earth Day Activity

Image courtesy of Explore More, Clean Less

Paint with Water

It’s fun to get creative with activities you can do outdoors that will leave no trace. Painting with water on boulders or river rocks or on areas of paved park trails or playground sidewalks with paint brushes or your fingers lets you explore your artistic side while being gentle with nature. You can find many more ways for kids to learn about and interact with the environment at Explore More, Clean Less!

You can purchase We Leave No Trace! from these booksellers

Yosemite Conservancy | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

March 21 – Celebrate Spring

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Yesterday we celebrated the spring equinox, which means that spring is officially here! With the coming of longer and warmer days, we’re looking forward to the return of vibrant color on trees and in gardens, birds, bees, and butterflies flitting here and there, all the fun activities the outdoors provides, and, of course, the books that bring cheer and meaning to the season.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House for sharing a digital copy of this book with me!

Little Bunny, Spring Is Here!

By Deborah Marcero

Little Bunny and Field Mouse are walking through the woods. Little Bunny doesn’t see much evidence of spring, yet, and wonders when it will come. Looking at a tiny green shoot, Field Mouse has some good news. “I think spring is coming, Little Bunny,” she says. Little Bunny is excited and wants to go off to find it.

They meet up with Duck, who’s still wearing a winter hat but offers to join the search—leaving someone else behind in the tall grass at the edge of the pond. In a cave they find Black Bear awake and ready to explore. A short walk in the rain brings them to the welcome shelter of Chipmunk’s hollow log. Soon, the rain stops, the clouds disperse, and the sun rises high in the sky. The five friends scan the surrounding hillside, where pale green leaves appear on tree branches, turning darker along with the grass that carpets the meadow.

The rain has also brought bubbling water to the river, and glowing rainbows to the sky. In a blink “Flowers bloomed” and “Bees zoomed! Birds sang.” In fact, “Spring SPRANG!” Little Bunny celebrated. “Spring is here, everyone! And so it was.”

Adorable in every way, Little Bunny, Spring Is Here! will delight little ones with its cute characters, sweet friendships, and magical landscape that blooms in time-bending quickness. Deborah Marcero’s engaging storytelling ushers in spring with repeated phrases that youngest readers will love joining in on. After the rain brings a transformation, Marcero invites little ones to welcome spring’s beauty with lively, two-word rhyming verses. Little Bunny’s final announcement of spring’s arrival is one we all can cheer.

Marcero’s bright and charming illustrations provide surprises on every page as the group of endearing friends goes searching for spring. Wise little readers will have fun recognizing and pointing out the signs of spring, such as tadpoles in the pond, those “April showers,” and blossoms galore before Little Rabbit and the rest of the gang discover them. And don’t forget to look for hearts among the leaves and flowers. Adults and kids will also share a giggle as the little tadpoles line up in the pond for their turn to use Black Bear’s snout as a diving board as, in a bound, each instantly transforms into a frog.

A lovely, multilayered board book, Little Bunny, Spring Is Here! is a perfect read aloud as well as a terrific take-along choice for spring and summer outings to invite kids to find signs of the changing seasons. The book is highly recommended for home, preschool, and library collections.

Ages Birth – 3

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2025 | ISBN 978-0593698969

Deborah Marcero is the author and illustrator of the picture book bestsellers In a Jar, which was called “stunning” in a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and “beguiling” by the Wall Street Journal, and Out of a Jar, which was an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year and was called “simultaneously simple and profound” in a starred review from School Library Journal. She also wrote and illustrated the picture book My Heart Is a Compass and the Haylee and Comet emerging reader series. Learn more at deborahmarcero.com and follow her on Instagram.

Celebrate Spring Activity

Bunny Candy or Organizer Jar

A little bit of candy makes Easter or any spring day sweeter! With this Sweet Bunny Candy Jar, you can give a child, a friend, or even yourself a special treat that will make you hoppy!

Supplies

Printable Hat Rim and Bunny Ears Template
Baby food jar (I used a Beech-Nut Naturals jar)
White fleece, 8 ½ inches by 11 inches
1 piece of colored foam
Small piece of pink foam or felt for nose
Googly eyes (I used oval)
Medium pom-pom
Multi-surface paint, purple (for the hat)
Fabric glue (I used Fabric-Tac)
Black ultra-fine or fine tip permanent marker
Large nail or ice pick
Hammer
Scissors

Directions

Remove label from baby food jar
Clean and dry jar and lid
Trace the hat rim template onto the purple foam
Cut out the rim of the hat and remove the center
Trace the ears template onto the white fleece and cut out

To Make the Body and Face

Cut a 2-inch wide by 7-inch long strip of white fleece
Glue the strip of fleece to the jar under the lip and leaving about ½ inch of glass showing at the bottom
Glue on the googly eyes
Cut a little nose from the pink foam and glue to the face
Make the mouth with the permanent marker on a little piece of fleece, cut out and glue under the nose

To Make the Hat

Paint the lid with the purple paint. Let dry.
(Adult Needed) With the nail or ice pick and hammer, make a hole on either side of the lid to insert the ears. You can make the hole a little bigger with a phillips head screwdriver
Flip the lid over and hammer the edges of the hole flat
Trace the hat rim template onto the purple foam and cut out

To Insert the Ears

Pinch the end of one ear together and push it through one hole in the lid.
Pull it through the hole a bit to form the ear
Repeat with the other ear

Finish the Bunny

Add the foam rim to the lid
Glue the pom-pom to the back of the jar for the tail
Add M&Ms, jelly beans, or other small candy

You can purchase Little Bunny, Spring Is Here! from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

February 13 – It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

If you’re celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 9–15 in the UK and February 14–20 in the US), you can consider yourself a RAKtivist—a Random Acts of Kindness Activist. Being a RAKtivist is awesome! And easy! All it takes is to be kind to anyone you meet. Acts of kindness don’t have to be big, or hard, or expensive. In fact, the best kindness acts are free! If you see someone having a bad day, give them a smile. If someone’s struggling with a box, a bag or keeping their stuff in their locker, give them a hand. Does someone always eat lunch alone? Sit with them and get to know them. There are many other ways to embrace the slogan of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: “Make Kindness the Norm” and show you care about people near and far. You can learn how to become a RAKtivist and find lots of free resources to download for schools, households, and workplaces at randomactsofkindness.org. Here’s a daily Kindness Calendar to get you started!

The Welcome Book

Written by Danna Smith | Illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

New experiences and new people to meet are all around us every day. This is especially true for young children as they begin exploring the world around them. On the playground, in the classroom, at the library, on the bus or subway, in stores, and even during visits by extended family, little ones are always learning how to work or play together with someone new.

In her joyful and openhearted story, Danna Smith celebrates all the opportunities children have to embrace others and make them feel at home. In her uplifting rhyming verses, she tells little ones how much the word “Welcome!” and the warm feelings behind it mean to someone new or someone who is alone: “Welcoming someone shows that you care. / You’re happy to see them. You’re glad they are there.”

Smith also presents a pleasing array of examples of everyday and special occasions when children can make a difference by offering friendship—including calling someone over to join a lunch table or group activity, cradling a new sibling, greeting a dog with hugs, and listening when someone is sad. She ends her story with the reassuring knowledge that friendship shared is friendship gained.

Readers can’t help but smile at Julia Perdomo’s vivid illustrations that radiate the warmth of welcome on each page. Kids will connect with Perdomo’s varied scenes of diverse groups of kids supporting each other as they play and work together. Her expressive characters and clearly depicted situations invite kids and adults to talk about their own experiences in both being the new person and welcoming others as well as to role play “What if?” scenarios.

A bright, cheerful, and thoughtful board book to open the world of kindness, empathy, and friendship to the youngest readers, The Welcome Book is a story parents, teachers, and other adults will love sharing with their little ones and that kids will eagerly reach for again and again. This sweet book would make a heartwarming addition to home bookshelves and is a must for daycare, school, and public library collections.

Pair The Welcome Book with The Thank You Book by Danna Smith and Juliana Perdomo to spark an understanding and appreciation for gratitude in young children.

Ages Baby – 4

Little Simon, 2025 | ISBN 978-1665952026 (Board book)

About the Author

Danna Smith is a poet and award-winning author of numerous books for children, including One Blue Gnu; Rooftop Garden; Wake Up, Freight Train!; and several Little Golden Books. Her nonfiction picture book, The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry, received two starred reviews and is a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year. Danna currently lives in northern California, where she is hard at work on her next book. For more information about her books and teaching activities, visit her website at DannaSmithBooks.com.

About the Illustrator

Juliana Perdomo is a writer and illustrator born in Bogotá, Columbia, surrounded by a huge loving family, friends, bright colors, music, weird fruits, sunshine, and lots of rain but also rainbows. She now lives there with her amazing son, Luca, her rocker partner Iván, and their crazy old dog, Menta. Juliana has a background as a psychologist and an art therapist, but her passion is children’s literature. She tries to make her work diverse, heartfelt and personal, folkish, a bit retro, joyful, and with a Latin touch. She feels deeply grateful to have participated in many beautiful projects: books, puzzles, animations, branding, family portraits, and magazines all over the world. Find out more at JulianaPerdomo.com.

Random Acts of Kindness Week Activity

The Welcome Book Coloring Pages

Have fun coloring these cheerful pages from The Welcome Book!

Welcoming the Rain | Welcoming a New Friend

You can purchase The Welcome Book from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

December 9 – National Llama Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today we celebrate the llama, that South American long-necked animal in the camel family that has traditionally served as a pack animal and provides both wool and meat. Because of their spirited personality and high cuteness factor, llamas make perfect companions for holiday cheer. To celebrate today, lliven up your holidays with today’s book!

Thanks to Joan Holub and Cartwheel Books for sharing a digital copy of Fa-La-La Llama with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Fa-La-La Llama

Written by Joan Holub | Illustrated by Allison Black

Sure, kids can celebrate Christmas with Santa and elves and reindeer, but wouldn’t it be even more fun to party with llamas? Wild and wooly, llamas lend a cheery vivaciousness to the holidays with their fashion sense, their decorating savvy, and their beautiful singing voices—really!

What do I mean? Well, let’s pick a favorite Christmas song—say, “Deck the Halls” with its catchy chorus. You and the kiddos probably sing it this way: “Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la la la la la!” But the sleighful of llamas gathered together in Joan Holub’s board book sing it this way: “Decorate our hats with holly. Fa la la la la la la Llama.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-fa-la-la-llama-hats

Image copyright Allison Black, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Cartwheel Books.

But these festive llamas aren’t just dressing up for the holidays, they’re going caroling, dancing under a disco ball in silly pants, and ice skating on the pond. How do these lovely llamas keep their hooves from freezing? “Mittens warm in snowy weather. Fa la la la la la la Llama.” And how about gifts? Sure! These llamas are adept at “Juggling presents all together. Fa la la la la la la Llama.”

With all the preparations complete, the hot cocoa poured, and a fire crackling in the hearth, there’s only one thing left to do—and that is to say (or sing), “Merry Christmas! Cozy good cheer. Fa la la la la la la Llama. / Wishing you a Happy New Year! Fa la la la la la la Llaaamaaa!”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-fa-la-la-llama-dancing

Image copyright Allison Black, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Cartwheel Books.

Get ready to giggle and “La-la-llaaamaaa” with your little ones in Joan Holub’s effervescent take on a favorite holiday song that also includes touch-and-feel elements that begin right on the front cover, where a shiny ribbed foil evergreen is about to be turned into a Christmas tree. Opening the cover, little ones find that a white Christmas is assured as textured glittery snowflakes fall on a cheerful, pink llama. Other enticing treats include a pink tulle tutu ice-skating skirt, a silver rippled foil-wrapped present, and a sparkly bowtie of netting, foil, and glitter. Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa, and he’s here too with a soft and wooly beard to tickle tykes’ fingertips—and fancy!

If you’re looking for a fun, infectious holiday story to share with your little one, you’ve found it! Joan Holub’s catchy rendition of “Deck the Halls” for the youngest readers is sure to have the whole family “Fa la la la la la la Llama-ing” as you decorate the tree, wrap gifts, bake cookies, and, of course, sing carols. Holub’s word choices make the verses easy for kids to remember, inviting them to read or sing (it’s impossible to resist singing!) along.

Allison Black’s adorable llamas decked out in winter’s most cozy hats, scarves, mittens, and sweaters can’t help but make you smile. Their enthusiasm for the season mirrors children’s own excitement, and their holiday activities will be familiar to kids as well. Black’s vibrant backgrounds, colorful fa-la-las, organically integrated touch-and-feel surprises, and sprinkling of humor make this a book little readers will want to put on repeat.

A perfect pre-holiday or advent gift, joyful story time read, or Christmas day stocking stuffer, Fa-La-La Llama is sure to be a hit with little ones and their grown-ups and is a must for any young child’s holiday board book collection at home, school, or public libraries.

Ages 2 – 5

Cartwheel Books, 2021 | ISBN 978-1338681475

Discover more about Joan Holub and her books on her website.

To learn more about Allison Black, her books, and her art, visit her website.

National Llama Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-llama-coloring-page-2

Dress Up Llama Coloring Page

This cute llama wants to dress up for the holidays! Just download and print to add a scarf, hat, sweater and all the trappings of winter! And don’t forget to add some glittery snow to the scene!

Dress Up Llama Coloring Page

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-fa-la-la-llama-cover

**You can find Fa-La-La Llama at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

October 16 – Get Ready for STEM Day (Nov. 8) and World Science Day (Nov. 10)

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holidays

Today I’m highlighting two upcoming holidays that celebrate science and introduce kids to the wide-ranging applications that science, engineering, technology, and math have on our lives now and as we move into the future.

STEM Day — November 8

Instituted in 2015, National STEM Day aims to encourage kids to explore the fields of science technology, engineering, and math. This year’s theme is “Hands on Learning” to promote creative and impactful experimentation, innovation, and discovery. Children who are introduced early on to the workings of math and science do better as they advance through school and are more likely to choose science-based careers. Solving many of the problems that the world now faces relies on having a workforce who can think inventively to design a better future for us all. To learn more about STEM and to find lots of free ideas and activities to get kids excited about these subjects all year around—from awesome virtual field trips to labs, space centers, museums, and more to detailed lesson plans and printables to hands-on activities from the National Inventors Hall of Fame—visit Create & Learn.

World Science Day for Peace and Development — November 10

This annual, internationally observed day highlights the importance of science in and for society and is sponsored by the United Nations. Its aim is to promote education and awareness of scientific issues that affect the world and its sustainability as well as to underscore the role that scientists play in improving our lives and developing solutions for the future.

Thanks go to Phaidon for sharing a copy of Our Galaxy: A First Book of Space with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Our Galaxy: A First Adventure in Space

Written by Sue Lowell Gallion | Illustrated by Lisk Feng

If you want to WOW your young children, students, or library patrons and make them eager to learn about space, science, technology, engineering, and math, open the cover of Our Galaxy: A First Adventure in Space. Then open it a little more . . . and a little more . . . and all the way around until this awe-inspiring book becomes a sturdy, freestanding globe full of adventure and exploration.