Where is Everyone? by Tom Schamp (September 2021;
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7450-5; Hardcover $14.95; Ages 2+; 14 pages)
A toaster, a refrigerator, a sink, a bed, a car. Most kids can recognize
these and other things that are part of their everyday lives. Leave it to Tom
Schamp to imagine a different way of seeing them. As kids pore over these
brightly colored and highly detailed pictures they’ll be delighted to discover
a monkey on a surfboard and an elephant in a bowler hat— all inhabiting the
same shapes they recognize in their homes. Each whimsical illustration offers a
chance to explore, discuss, and giggle at the unexpected. Every page will
encourage kids to think creatively and differently about the world around them
and the possibilities that lie hidden in the things we see every day.
When I See Red by Britta Teckentrup (September 2021;
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7494-9; Hardcover $14.95; Ages 4+; 40 pages)
The heroine of this beautifully illustrated story feels her anger like a
storm in a dark forest. It sweeps her away, and she thunders and howls. She
pours down her emotions like sheets of rain; rage surges like a wind whipping
angry waves. Her anger takes her on a wild ride.
Appropriate for a wide variety of ages, this book illustrates many aspects of
anger that are often hard to articulate— how overwhelming it is, how isolating,
even scary. But it also shows anger to be a source of power and an agent for
change. Teckentrup’s impactful, boldly colored paintings skillfully evoke the
way intense anger can take us on an emotional journey, one that can be both
exhausting and affirming. This beautiful tribute to one girl’s experience of
anger offers readers the opportunity to make sense of, and talk about their own
feelings of rage in a time when that kind of understanding is more important
than ever.
The Weather Pop-Up Book by Maike Biederstaedt (September 2021;
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7393-5; Hardcover $25; Ages 5+; 15 pages)
In her hugely successful books Creatures
of the Deep and What’s
in the Egg?, as well as her enormously popular series of greeting
cards for the Museum of Modern Art, Maike Biederstaedt has established herself
as one of the preeminent paper artists working today. Now Biederstaedt takes
book engineering to new heights as she immerses readers in five electrifying
weather scenarios. As each spread unfolds, a meticulously designed landscape
emerges—a freighter balances like a nutshell between high waves in the sea; a
tornado takes terrifying aim at a truck trying to outrun it; a rain-spewing
storm cloud towers like a skyscraper over a farm house. Nature’s delicate
beauty emerges in the intricate shapes of a snowflake and in the luminous arc
of a rainbow. Each page features an informative description of its weather
event and the book closes with sobering commentary on the effects of climate
change. A wondrous introduction to weather for budding climatologists, this is
also an artistic tour de force that collectors will treasure.
At the Height of the Moon edited by Alison Baverstock, Matt
Cunningham, and Annette Roeder (September 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7480-2;
Hardcover $24.95; Ages 5+; 160 pages)
Drawing from centuries of artistic and literary traditions from around the
world, this gorgeous bedtime book pairs works of art with poems and short
fiction. Divided into eight thematic sections it features dozens of
double-paged spreads that families will turn to again and again as part of their
bedtime routine. The carefully chosen, diverse selection of images includes
works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Utagawa Hiroshige and Henri Le
Sidoner among many others, beautifully reproduced in luminous color.
Accompanying these artworks are poems, mediations and short fiction that range
from lighthearted verse to eerie folktales. Together these words and pictures
create meaningful impressions that children will treasure and remember as they
drift off to sleep—and hold onto for the rest of their lives.
Is There Life on Your Nose? by Christian Bortslap (September 2021;
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7497-0; Hardcover $17.95; Ages 6+; 56 pages)
Germs, microbes, bacteria—these days those words are fraught with fear and
uncertainty. But they’re not all bad. In fact, most of them make life and
nature possible. Christian Borstlap’s playful, boldly colored illustrations and
cheerful text will help kids understand that microbes are everywhere—in our
noses and tummies, in the food we eat, in the air we breathe. From the world’s
largest organism in Oregon’s Blue Mountains, to the bacteria that started life
on earth; from microbes that help recycle plastic, to yeast that makes bread
taste good—this book shows the incredible diversity of these tiny beings and
how they affect every aspect of our lives. Borstlap uses both science and humor
to demystify a potentially scary subject, and closes with double-page spreads
that are packed with information to satisfy the most curious readers.
The Book of Labyrinths and Mazes by Silke Vry and illustrated by Finn
Dean (September 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7474-1; Hardcover $19.95; Ages 7+;
96 pages)
This brilliant book on mazes and labyrinths in history and the modern world
encourages young readers to really think about why these puzzles are so
appealing. Filled with photographs, drawings, artwork, illustrations, and
puzzles, it takes a thematic approach to these enigmatic works. Why are we
sometimes afraid to get lost—and why does the idea excite us? How do mazes and
labyrinths figure in history and mythology? What can nature tell us about
humankind’s obsession with lines, spirals, and patterns? Along the way children
will learn about the labyrinth designed by Daedalus for King Minos in the
ancient city of Crete; the mystery of the Hemet Maze Stone in southern
California; and the magnificent labyrinth at the Cathedral of Chartres. They
are encouraged to trace their fingers along a labyrinth to experience its
soothing effect, to solve maze-related number puzzles, and to create their own mazes
and labyrinths. Packed with fun facts and engaging ideas, this book will help
children understand why mazes and labyrinths are so popular, while inspiring
them to identify and create these fascinating puzzles in their own world.
The Book Of Labyrinths and Mazes by Silke Vry and Finn Dean was amazing. I didn’t read it to my toddler class, only showed them so pictures however I did read it while they napped. It is brilliantly done. I loved how this book about labyrinths and mazes also felt very much like a self help book about life! It also opens the mind to how many mazes and labyrinths we see in our every day lives. Your fingerprint, brain, intestines, and inner ear are all labyrinths. Fascinating book!!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it and have grown to love anything @prestel_publishing puts out. Visually the books are stunning. The covers need to be displayed.
The Day Time Stopped by Flavia Ruotolo (October 2021;
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7489-5; Hardcover $14.95; Ages 5+; 48 pages)
One afternoon in Italy, a little girl is about to take a bite of her
delicious popsicle when time . . . stops. At that very moment, across the
planet, people and animals are frozen in action— captured by this book’s warm,
quirky illustrations and clever, time-stamped captions. A penguin hatches in
South Georgia; a little girl gets a haircut in Brazil; a family sits down to
breakfast in California; a tiger falls asleep in Bangladesh; a boy’s football
ball gets stuck in a tree in Cape Verde. The sheer enormity of planet Earth can
be impossible for young kids to grasp. Here, in this playful introduction to
time zones, hemispheres, and life in different climates, kids will identify
with all the ordinary things going on at the same time in our extraordinary
world.
I Saw a Beautiful Woodpecker by Michał Skibiński and illustrated by
Ala Bankroft (October 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7486-4; Hardcover: $16.95;
Ages 6+; 128 pages)
It is the summer of 1939 in Warsaw, Poland and Michal is an eight- year-old
boy just finishing his school year. In order to improve his handwriting,
Michal’s teacher gives him a simple assignment: keep a journal, writing one
sentence a day. Eighty years later, Michal’s diary has been gorgeously
illustrated with beautifully atmospheric paintings. Eloquent in its simplicity,
the journal is a remarkable artifact that captures the innocence of childhood
and the trauma of war. The journal starts out with a typical boy’s
observations: “July 15: I went to a stream with my brother and teacher.” “July
23: I found a caterpillar.” However over the course of weeks, menacing details
emerge. “July 27: A plane was circling over Anin.” “September 1: The war has
begun.” “September 3: I hid from planes.” “September 14: Warsaw is bravely
defending itself.” These haunting entries are interspersed with visits from
relatives, a soccer game, a trip to a park, an ice cream cone. Photographs of
pages from Michal’s diary enhance the poignancy of this simple record—an
ordinary holiday interrupted by war; a life changed forever by an extraordinary
moment in history.
MICHAŁ SKIBIŃSKI was 8 years old and a schoolboy at Warsaw Primary school
when he wrote this diary in the summer 1939. Today he lives in a retirement
house for elderly priests. ALA BANKROFT is a painter, photographer and film
animator living in Warsaw, Poland.