LET'S BUILD A FORT TOGETHER

A group of school-aged children have a couple of things in common: they enjoy spending time with one another, and they love to build forts. Why? Because Fort-Building Time is a great way for put their imaginations to work during any time of the year. From building igloos to setting up a tent to building a life-size castle and tree house, creating and building with different materials can be so much fun. What kind of fort would you build with your friends?

Megan Wagner Lloyd and Abigail Halpin are an extraordinary team. They’ve created a picture book that shows how cooperation results in something bigger than expected. The imagination can lead to many adventures throughout the year. The beautifully drawn illustrations of each diverse character add a great amount of warmth, and invite readers to build a fort right alongside them. A sheer delight!

For 2-7.

A TREAT FOR ANY SEASON

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons, by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Julie Morstad, is nothing but a pure delight. The poems, grouped by season from spring to winter, focus on small moments of the day in perfectly childlike yet lyrically evocative language. Be it getting rain boots soggy, eating peanut butter sandwiches at the beach, watching the last leaf fall from a tree, or sitting by the fire on a cozy snow day, Fogliano finds innovative new ways to relate these universal experiences through the lens of childhood wonder with a striking economy of language. 

Meanwhile, Morstad's lovely goache-and-pencil-crayon illustrations perfectly compliment the simple yet charming words, showcasing a diverse cast of children experiencing all the earthly pleasures each season has to offer. 

This makes a perfect book to share with preschoolers through second graders, no matter the date on the calendar. 

APPLES AND ROBINS

All you need for apples are circles and the color red.

As summer ends, the apples in a tree hang just out of reach. What would you need reach the fruit? In this French import by Lucie Félix, cut-out shapes and bold colors ask and answer a series of questions to tell the story of an apple tree through the seasons.

The magic of this deceptively simple picture book is in the author’s ability to transform ordinary shapes and colors into tangible solutions. Six rectangles make a ladder. Two circles become an apple with a single missing bite. Three triangles, two circles, and an oval take flight as a red-breasted robin.

Apples and Robins invites young readers to exercise their problem solving abilities and imagine the potential in shapes. Pair with Christie Matheson’s delightful interactive book Tap the Magic Tree.

Ages 4+

THE MALONEYS' MAGICAL WEATHERBOX

The Maloney siblings Neil, Liz and Owen have a secret: their father is the Weatherbox keeper.  Right outside of the family's house is an old telephone booth.  Now this isn’t just any old telephone booth….this one is MAGICAL!  Mr. Maloney has a tough job.  Four times a year the phone rings and he must answer it to change the season, but when autumn comes and the phone doesn’t ring the Maloneys become anxious.

Will there still be a chance for the Maloneys to save the seasons? Maybe they should turn their attention to their new tourists.  After all, the chaos started after they showed up.  Or, maybe it’s the most mysterious character of all, Mrs. Fitzgerald, their neighbor.  Will the Maloneys and the rest of Midland Ireland be doomed forever?

The Maloneys’ Magical Weatherbox by Nigel Quinlan takes place in Ireland in this engaging tale full of unique characters all tangled up.  The book touches on gender bias, the climate and team work.

For ages 9-12

ROSARIO'S FIG TREE

Rosario is a gardening magician according to his young neighbor next door.  Rosario knows exactly when to plant the vegetable seeds and she loves helping Rosario care for the garden. One day, Rosario decides to dig a hole for a potted fig tree he recently bought.  He takes the tree out of the pot and places it in the ground and watches it grow.  He gives figs to his friends and neighbors but when winter rolls around his young neighbor could not understand why Rosario would bury the tree.  

In Rosario’s Fig Tree, author Charis Wahl has written a simple story about the young neighbors' experience with gardening.

For ages K-2nd grade