Children's Lit Newsletter 4/22/26

I'm more behind than normal, so I wasn't able to let people know I was including their books. So, there may be some more giveaways next week. For now, here are reviews plus a couple of giveaways. :-)

"MO CAME HOME THAT FIRST DAY WITH A GRIN ON HIS FACE, "THINGS TO EAT AND FREE HEAT?! WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE!" And so begins the story of Big Mo, whose voracious appetite is out of control!! He cannot stop consuming (does this sound familiar?)

A book that represents "our infinite demand on a finite planet." Big Mo is engaging without being pedantic. Delightful rhymes that flow when read aloud, and charming illustrations, Big Mo is a great addition to your Earth Day shelves (and year round, of course)

To enter the giveaway for a free signed copy with a special doodle, go to Megan Padalecki's contact page: https://www.padaleckistudio.com/contact and put Big Mo Giveaway as the subject line.

GIVEAWAY WILL END AT MIDNIGHT ON APRIL 29

You can access the free Teacher's Guide (I never know where the apostrophe should go, am I talking about one teacher or all teachers? Such are the problems that occupy my brain.) :-)

https://www.padaleckistudio.com/blog/2015/4/21/earth-day

One of my favorite things is the 'Gift' that picture books often have under the jacket. THE OCTOPUS by Guojing does not disappoint. A beautiful two page spread (is it a two page spread if it's the outer cover? Publishing nerds, discuss! BUT (and?) the two page spread is also in the interior of the book) of the little girl swimming underwater hand in arm with the octopus. I learned (from the back matter - another thing nerdy me loves) that octopus (pi?) do not have tentacles, they have arms!

This book is completely wordless, and says SO VERY MUCH! The art is so beautiful, much of it could be framed individually. It follows the story of a girl who finds a small octopus caught in those horrible plastic rings that hold soft drink cans together. She rescues it and the turtle enchants her shell, so that the little girl can join it under the water. The beauty of the underwater world is also endangered by the trash that people generate.Again, like BIG MO, a story with a message without being pedantic (I hate 'message' books that completely neglect story).

You can win a copy of this stunning book by following @mbc_books on Instagram and send a DM The Octopus. A random winner will be chosen. DEADLINE IS 4/27 AT MIDNIGHT

This book gently addresses hard issues, like divorce, shared custody, and trying new things.

Okay, I went to the publisher's website, and they just said it so darn well, that I'm copying and pasting.

QUICK NOTE: I forgot to reach out to the author and publisher until today regarding a giveaway, so there may be one next week.ff

What You’ll Love Inside:
Nature as Comfort: Shows how the peace of the natural world can ease anxiety and foster connection.
Creating with Our Feelings: Encourages emotional expression through imaginative, hands-on projects.
Visual Beauty: Lush, expressive illustrations and a cover rich with detail and texture bring the beach—and Rowan’s journey—vividly to life.
Family-Centered Resilience: Highlights the strength of family bonds and offers an empowering lens for children navigating shared custody or life’s many changes.

--

Lazily yours, Sharon

RANDOM HOUSE IS GIVING AWAY A COPY OF BECAUSE OF A SHOE to a reader of this newsletter!! You can enter here (only open to mailing addresses in the U.S. and Canada). You must enter by April 30th

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpLIY-15UqI7Axmk-pbwh7yd1LaWDA3wRCD5N9kPkLR48UJQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Saturday, April 25, 2026

11:00AM – 12:00PM

Brisbane

Description

Join Bethanie Murguia for an exciting PLCAF workshop!

In this one-hour workshop, attendees will learn to use facial expressions and body language to bring their characters to life. Attendees will draw a range of emotions and postures. By the end of the workshop, each attendee will have created their own unique and compelling character.

Bethanie has created nearly twenty picture books. She is the creator of the Wagnificent middle grade graphic novel series from Macmillan Books and is currently working on a graphic novel with Candlewick Press. Her books have received many accolades, including starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

In April and May, join Redwood City Public Library for One Book, One Coast, which unites libraries and communities across California, Oregon and Washington around a shared book and conversation. The 2026 selection, They Called Us Enemy, is George Takei’s graphic memoir of his childhood incarceration during World War II. Read along to learn how shared books and stories build stronger communities.

Read along and attend the programs happening in May to join the discussions it inspires. Save these dates:

Morrish Collection: SAT MAY 9 at 1pm

Seeds of Activism: THU MAY 14 at 6:30pm

Book Bites: TUE MAY 26 at 12pm

Live-stream with George Takei: SUN MAY 31 at 2pm

Check out what your local indies are doing that day!! All kinds of great events, swag, and special products ONLY available on April 25!!

From the Random House Website:

A thoughtful, poignant look at the AIDS crisis in the United States that includes primary source interviews, history, medical research, and cultural touchpoints.

The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the power of youth activism, how creativity and community can be vehicles for social change, and how bigotry and misinformation led to inequality in care.

The early days of the AIDS crisis saw LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities making strides in the fight for equality. As many people in positions of power were slow to act or actively didn’t pay attention until their own communities were affected, the fight for equality turned into a fight for their lives. Grassroots efforts filled in gaps where mainstream medicine and politics failed, and over time, a cultural shift of awareness emerged, which led to more research and more treatments. And while the disease has transitioned from a death sentence to one that people can live full lives with, there are still people dying of HIV/AIDS today because they can’t access the care they need. The fight may have begun decades ago, but is not yet over.

Award-winning author David Levithan and University of Cambridge PhD Gabriel Duckels detail a brief history of the epidemic, touching on key moments and figures, such as Ryan White, ACT UP, Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci, Pedro Zamora from MTV’s The Real World, and the Names Quilt. Threaded throughout are poems, essays, and other creative works, in addition to first-person interviews and narratives. The most important takeaway is that we must remember. We need to know what happened and why. Our voices are powerful, and they can make a difference.

Donna Lambo-Weidner has sailed the seven seas with swashbuckling pirates, crossed blades with sword-wielding knights, and circumnavigated the moon in a cardboard box...all before the age of eight. Now that she’s earned a Bachelor of Arts, lived on two continents, and raised four kids (humans, not goats), Donna writes books for children based on her childhood adventures laced with her actual life experiences—dogsledding in the arctic is one. She lives in Northern California with her husband and a rambunctious Labrador Retriever.

Join us for book reading of her latest picture book, There Are No Dragons in this Book!

Children/YA book author Dashka Slater and illustrator/author Lisa Brown in conversation

Jewish Arts and Bookfest
Sunday, May 3, 2026

at UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA

What do Frog and Toad, Curious George, Shrek, and the Wild Things have in common?

They were all written and illustrated by Jews. Join children’s book creators Lisa Brown and Dashka Slater for a conversation about groundbreaking picture book artists like Maurice Sendak, Ezra Jack Keats, and William Steig, and how their backgrounds, whether by design or not, influenced their thoughts about visual art, writing, and childhood.

------

HOW I WISH I COULD BE AT THIS!! The amount of growing AntiSemitism in this world is terrifying (and shocked me out of my complacency). This discussion is going to be AMAZING!! Two brilliant and talented Jewish Women in Conversation.

About Lisa Brown

Lisa Brown is a New York Times bestselling illustrator, author, and cartoonist of more than twenty books. Her award-winning picture books include: The Airport Book, The Hospital Book, The Moving Book, Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert, and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming, by Lemony Snicket, and is the creator of the “Baby Be of Use” series of board books for McSweeney’s. Her comics include The Phantom Twin, a graphic novel for young adults, and Long Story Short, a literary comic strip collection. She writes essays and book reviews for New York Times and other publications, and is senior adjunct faculty at the California College of the Arts. Lisa lives in San Francisco, where she chairs the board of 826 Valencia and drinks too much coffee.

Photo Credit: Kristen Sard

About Dashka Slater

New York Times-bestselling author Dashka Slater has been described as a “triple threat” for her success in journalism, adult fiction, and children’s literature. The author of many books of fiction and nonfiction for children, teenagers, and adults, her work has been translated into more than fifteen languages and has sold more than a million copies. She has received numerous awards for her writing, including the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award gold medal for Accountable, the 2023 Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Award for her short story, The Jeanines of Summer, and the 2018 Wanda Gág Read Aloud Award for her picture book, Escargot.

Her books for younger children include the beloved Escargot picture book series, The Feylawn Chronicles middle grade fantasy series, and The Antlered Ship, which received four starred reviews and was named one of the best picture books of the year by Amazon.com. Her New York Times best-selling young-adult true crime narrative, The 57 Bus, has received numerous accolades, including the Stonewall Book Award, and was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Her latest nonfiction narrative, Accountable, was the first young adult title to ever receive the prestigious J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize from the Columbia Journalism School and Harvard’s Neiman Foundation for Journalism and received numerous additional awards.

Photo Credit: Amy Sullivan

I try (when I have time/energy/spoons) to visit store websites and pull event information. However, the best way to get your events in is to e-mail me directly with FOR THE NEWSLETTER as the subject line. There are over 2000 subscribers to this newsletter - plus it gets posted on Facebook, Twitter (I said what I said), BlueSky and my local NextDoor. I am happy to spread the word, it's just easier if 'the word' (not the religious one) comes directly to my inbox

I'm only as good as my sources, so please do feel free to share events, good news, etc.! Please e-mail me at sharonlevin at mindspring dot com and put For the Newsletter as your subject line.

I'm always happy to feature giveaways. There is NO paid advertising in this newsletter - I do not require anything to feature a giveaway. I'm just happy to do it.