{"id":27236,"date":"2018-10-02T07:30:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=27236"},"modified":"2018-10-02T07:30:46","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T11:30:46","slug":"welcome-everyone-picture-books-that-invite-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=27236","title":{"rendered":"Picture Books That Invite Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I’m in need of heartening, I turn to books. I’ve been so happy this fall to bring to the store several beautiful new books that feel like open arms welcoming and celebrating all of our citizens. Here are a few of my favorites. I hope you’ll share some of yours in the comments.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First Laugh\u2014Welcome Baby!<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Rose Ann Tahe\u00a0and Nancy Bo Flood, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Charlesbridge).\u00a0in this bright picture book, Navajo author and artist Tahe and Nelson, together with Flood, share a joyful tradition from the Navajo Nation: the first person\u00a0to make a baby laugh gets to host the First Laugh Ceremony, a big party welcoming the baby to the community. <\/span>(Bonus: The book also mentions similar celebrations from other cultures.) What a wonderful tradition!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nDreamers<\/strong><\/em><\/a> by\u00a0Yuyi Morales (Holiday House\/Neal Porter) I wish everyone could have heard Yuyi Morales introduce this book earlier this year at BookExpo; her beautiful words and art about an immigrating mother and\u00a0child made a roomful of hundreds of booksellers tear up. Dreamers\u00a0<\/em>is a\u00a0glorious answer to anyone who wonders what gifts\u2014and they are legion\u2014newcomers to this country bring with them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Day You Begin<\/strong><\/em><\/a> by\u00a0Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael L\u00f3pez (Penguin\/Nancy Paulsen) Everything about this book invites\u00a0empathy. L\u00f3pez’s utterly appealing illustrations\u00a0and Woodson’s poetic, compassionate text\u00a0illuminate\u00a0the experiences of any\u00a0child who has felt (or been treated) like an outsider. One way to begin to belong is to share your unique story\u2014and this book will\u00a0encourage many children to find their voices. This may be my favorite picture book of the year, and\u00a0it’s a crowded field, so that’s saying something!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Someone New<\/a> <\/strong><\/em>by\u00a0Anne Sibley O’Brien (Charlesbridge) I love how this book connects with its companion book, I’m New Here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which\u00a0introduced three children, Maria, Jin, and Fatimah,\u00a0adjusting to\u00a0elementary school in the United States after moving\u00a0from Guatemala, South Korea, and Somalia. Now\u00a0Someone New<\/em>\u00a0shows the experiences of three American children, Jesse, Jason, and Emma, meeting and ultimately welcoming these new students. Both books\u00a0are sensitive to\u00a0the variety of feelings children encounter as they navigate new cultures and experiences.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I Am Human:\u00a0A Book of Empathy<\/strong><\/em><\/a> by\u00a0Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds\u00a0(Abrams). This first-person account of what it means to be human\u2014the choices we make, the range of emotions we feel\u2014is resonant for all of us. Verde’s text is simple in the best sense: its clarity and thoughtfulness make it an effortless read-aloud. And\u00a0you’d be\u00a0hard-pressed to find a warmer artist than Peter Reynolds; his characters, as always, radiate\u00a0sweet humanity. This will be a BIG book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nWe Are Grateful\u00a0Otsaliheliga<\/strong><\/a><\/em> by\u00a0Traci Sorell, illustrated by Fran\u00e9\u00a0Lessac (Charlesbridge). As Thanksgiving draws near, with its conversations about “the meaning of Thanksgiving,” I can think of no better addition to the discussion than this fabulous paean to gratitude from Cherokee author Sorell, who shares\u00a0a year full of Cherokee Nation celebrations dedicated to thankfulness. This book moves me greatly; it is a generous-spirited book, and everything about it, from the beautiful Cherokee language and characters to the thoughtfulness that lies behind each celebration, feels like a gift. Lessac’s art is a sprightly contribution to the informative and\u00a0lyrical text.<\/p>\n

ShelfTalker readers, have you been discovering more welcoming new picture books? Please share them in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New books that help celebrate and create community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}