September 21 – World Gratitude Day

About the Holiday

In 1965 an international gathering in Hawaii established World Gratitude Day as a time for people everywhere to formally appreciate and give thanks for all the wonderful things in the world. In 1966 the attendees celebrated World Gratitude Day on this date in their individual countries, beginning a tradition that has grown over time. The benefits of positive thinking have become well documented. The founders of Gratitude Day also recognized that by taking a day to celebrate the amazing parts of our lives we might become happier, more content people.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me this book for review!

It’s Almost Time for . . . Thanksgiving!

Written by Maisha Oso | Illustrated by Tom Knight

Once October rolls around, the holidays come in quick succession, each with their own particular decorations, activities, food, and fun! How do you keep each one special and distinct for your kids? Maisha Oso has the answer with her It’s Almost Time for . . . series of books for holidays we love to share with our family and friends. Her newest book gets kids excited about transitioning from Halloween to Thanksgiving, as they help a Mom and Dad, big brother and little sister spruce up their farm, replacing skeletons and jack-o-lanterns with hay bales, pumpkins, and festive wreaths as their horses, turkeys, and the boy’s little lamb try to help.

Illustration copyright © 2026 by Tom Knight. Text copyright © 2026 by Maisa Oso. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Then it’s on to planning the menu. Everyone can agree on “mac n’ cheese, potatoes, peas,” and, of course, turkey, but maybe not so much on the doughnuts. Fortunately, the crisp autumn air beckons with an invitation for an impromptu game of football in the yard with the whole family. Soon, the big day arrives, and the kitchen is bustling—kids included. With the turkey finally in the oven, it’s time to relax and watch the grand parade on TV with floats, bands, dancers, and confetti. Next, with delicious aromas wafting through the house and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends arriving, it’s time for dinner and remembering “why you’re filled with gratitude” on this special day. Yes, “spending time with those you love / makes this a life worth living. / You’re belly’s stuffed? You’ve had enough? / Today must be . . . “

Waiiiit . . . What? That was unexpected! With the turn of the page, Oso upends the story in hilarious fashion. But were there clues all along? Alert kids may have been watching the boy’s constant companion who’s embraced all the traditions of Thanksgiving but interpreted them in his own endearing way. Oso lovingly gets things back on track, though, as the boy explains the holiday to his little friend and the whole crew gather for a picture to commemorate another Thanksgiving!

Maisha Oso’s jaunty, rhyming celebration of Thanksgiving welcomes young readers to join in on all the fun of fall and this family holiday while infusing the preparations and dinner with humor, and surprises. Readers will be delighted to point out their own familiar traditions and are sure to giggle at Lamb’s enthusiasm for a spring holiday. Oso’s final rhyme will have kids and adults happily chiming in.

Tom Knight invites readers to a tidy pink farmhouse where the kids are eager to help, the food is home-grown, and doughnuts are in the pantry but, sadly, not on the menu, as the family prepares for Thanksgiving. Humor abounds in Knight’s depictions of Oso’s puns and the lamb’s contributions to the celebration. Heartwarming images of the family gathered around the table and thinking what they’re grateful for can prompt children to share their thoughts.

A charming and heartening way to introduce Thanksgiving traditions to the youngest children while renewing excitement for the holiday with older kids, It’s Almost Time for . . . Thanksgiving! is a picture book with surprises that will entertain the whole family.

Don’t miss Maisha Oso and Tom Knight’s It’s Almost Time for . . . Christmas!, their upcoming It’s Almost Time for . . . St. Patrick’s Day!, It’s Almost Time for . . . Easter!, and It’s Almost Time for . . . Halloween!

Ages 4 – 8

Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2026 | ISBN 979-8347108015

About the Author

Maisha Oso is the author of picture books Buster the Bully, My Hair Is a Book, Before the Ships, and the It’s Almost Time For… series, as well as the Venus Washington chapter book series. She writes stories to empower, entertain, and encourage emotional intelligence in young children. A former strategy and analytics professional from New York City, Maisha is currently working in her most challenging role to date: a stay-at-home mom of three tiny humans. You can visit her at MaishaOso.com and follow her on Instagram.

About the Illustrator

After an enjoyable stint as a graphic designer, Tom Knight is now proud to be using his imagination as a full-time career. Drawing on a long and abiding love of imagery from children’s literature, Tom has worked for a diverse range of publishers, including Little Tiger Press, Templar, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, and Macmillan. He has also turned his hand to authoring his own titles and is the author and illustrator for the Good Knight, Bad Knight chapter book series and picture book Jimmy Finnigan’s Wild Wood Band. He does all this from a poorly temperature-controlled studio in the garden, where he is constantly distracted by the greedy birds that hang out by the feeder outside his window. Follow him on Instagram.

World Gratitude Day Activity

I’m Thankful For . . . Activity Page

Get the kids—or the whole family—together to write or draw what you’re thankful for with this I’m Thankful For . . . Activity Page!

You can purchase It’s Almost Time for . . . Thanksgiving! from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

September 18 – National Respect Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday was established to help people focus on how they can be more respectful of others—family, friends, and others around us. Showing respect comes in many forms from appreciating and acknowledging others’ and your own abilities, intelligence, talents, and opinions to using good manners, listening to and including others, and recognizing each person’s humanity and gifts. Today’s book speaks to past injustices while offering hope and inspiration for a future where all people are respected.

Thank you to Heyday and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me this book for review!

Alice Piper Speaks Up (Fighting for Justice, Volume 3)

Written by Sage Andrew Romero and Loralee Sepsey | Illustrated by Morgan Thompson

Readers meet Alice Piper as a 13 year old helping her mother and sisters prepare tüba (pine nuts) “in the age-old tradition of the Numu (Paiute in English) people.” They then learn about her home, a bit of the history of the Numu people in California, and that Alice Piper was not the name her parents gave her. Instead, it was one assigned to her by the California Census Bureau based on the rancher her father worked for, whose last name was Piper. They’ll also discover that across California the government renamed place names and erased other Native cultural identifiers with the idea that “if indigenous people lost their cultures, they wouldn’t keep fighting for their land and sovereignty.” Alice’s given name is no longer known, but her father’s Numu name was Maw-che (changed to Pike Piper by the government) while her mother’s was Pow-we-we-ni (changed to Annie).

Illustration copyright © 2026 by Morgan Thompson. Published by Heyday copyright © 2026.

A typical school day for Alice starts early—well before the sun is up. She attends the Indian day school nearly 40 miles away, traveling by her father’s horse-drawn wagon. Here, the “children don’t learn much reading, writing, or arithmetic. / Instead, they learn how to become maids, laborers, and live-in helpers,” always using proper English and “forbidden from speaking Numu.” Alice longs to go to the new school being built in town. She imagines herself in class, talking with other students, learning from books, becoming “the best person [she] can be.”

Text copyright © 2026 by Sage Andrew Romero and Loralee Sepsy. Published by Heyday copyright © 2026.

When she asks her parents if she can enroll, they know that “Indian students aren’t welcome in schools built for white children,” but they agree to fight for her. Alice’s struggle to go to public school parallels regional fights over land, access to water, and power in the area, conflicts Alice knew she could assist if she was more educated. At the time, schools were segregated, precluding many Native children from attending. On the first day of the new school year, when Alice and other Numu students ask to enroll, their request is denied.

Alice and her parents don’t stop there. They find support from ministers Frederick G. Collette and Beryl Bishop-Collette and lawyer J. W. Henderson, who sued the School Board of the Big Pine School district. Authors Sage Andrew Romero and Loralee Sepsey chronicle the case, pled in the California Supreme Court between February and June, 1924, relaying the arguments and the judges’ ruling in Alice’s favor that was declared on the same day that “President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 into law.” They also describe other pivotal court cases that took on segregated schools in other states and for the country as a whole.

Readers also follow Alice as she attends middle school and high school and, following graduation, works at an Indian boarding school, “caring and watching over the children in the dormitories” and empowering Indian children who were still in the boarding school system.” Today, Alice Piper is celebrated with her own annual day—June 2, commemorating the anniversary of the Alice Piper v. Big Pine School District decision. June 2, 2024 saw the 100th anniversary of her groundbreaking win.

Following Alice’s life story, readers learn how they can speak up for what’s right as well as find acknowledgements, source notes, a bibliography, photo credits, an index, more about the authors and illustrator, and short summaries of two more books in the Fighting for Justice series: Fred Korematsu Speaks Up and Biddy Mason Speaks Up.

Sage Andrew Romero and Loralee Sepsey harness the power of poetry and biography to introduce young readers to Alice Piper and relate her life experiences in ways that touch their hearts and minds. In each chapter’s introductory poem, children are immersed in Alice’s viewpoint and feelings about events throughout her life. These events are then explained in depth through accessible language and using original, primary source photographs, newspaper clippings, and legal documents. Key words are called out in color while their definitions appear in a sidebar. Timelines orient readers to important dates in each chapter. Sprinkled throughout are questions prompting readers to think about their own relationship with important concepts.

Morgan Thompson’s vibrant and evocative illustrations open each chapter, lending this book another exceptional approach into the life of this young trailblazer. Each illustration keenly captures the nature of the Numu way of life, the discrimination Alice felt, and Alice’s unstinting enthusiasm for education. Readers also see images from the court case, inside classrooms, and of Alice working with students at the Indian boarding school.

Young people will come to this book from varied backgrounds but it will be impossible for any reader to be left unaffected by Alice Piper’s life and work and by extension the experiences of Indigenous people across the country. A comprehensive lesson on civil rights and the fight for equality, Alice Piper Speaks Up will dismay and inspire young activists to continue to advocate for justice for all. Alice Piper Speaks Up is a must for all libraries, classrooms, and civic-minded children.

Ages 8 – 12+

Heyday, 2026 | ISBN 978-1597147057

About the Authors

Sage Andrew Romero is from the Tovowahamatu Numu (Big Pine Paiute) and Tuah-Tahi (Taos Pueblo) tribes. The founder and director of the AkaMya Culture Group, a nonprofit dedicated to cultural revitalization, he lives in Big Pine, California. Follow him on Instagram and learn more on the Native American Media Alliance website.

Loralee Sepsey is a writer and a member of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley. Based in Santa Ana, California, she lives with her husband and their two cats. Visit her at loraleesepsey.com.

About the Illustrator

Morgan Thompson is a Cherokee (Cherokee Nation) artist with a love for Indigenous stories. When she’s not working, she enjoys a bit of stomp dancing or some beading on the side. Visit her at skadoodlin.com.

You can purchase Alice Piper Speaks Up (Fighting for Justice, Volume 3) from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

September 17 – Constitution Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Constitution Day commemorates the official signing of the United States constitution in 1787 by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention, whose purpose was to forge an agreement between the states which would allow a central government the power to enforce its decisions and allow the new country to stand as an international force, while maintaining a reasonable level of independence within the separate states. This document has formed the basis for the development and running of the United States ever since while periodically being amended to reflect changes over time.

Thank you to Harry N. Abrams for sending me this book for review!

We the People Is All the People

Written by Howard W. Reeves | Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Howard W. Reeves opens his and Duncan Tonatiuh’s patriotic tribute with the Preamble to the United States Constitution, inviting readers to contemplate the meaning of this groundbreaking paragraph, and especially its evocative first line—”We the people of the United States.” Reeves and Tonatiuh then encourage children and adults to really look around their town or city, their state, and the country as a whole with a fresh appreciation that “‘We the people’ is all the people.”

Illustration copyright © 2026 by Duncan Tonatiuh. Text copyright © 2026 by Howard W. Reeves. Published by Harry N. Abrams copyright © 2026.

Reeves offers straightforward and thought-provoking prompts urging readers to consider who these people embraced by the Constitution actually are. He begins close by with “people next door,” then branches out to people “down the street, and across the country.” He takes readers to various living situations—houses, apartments, and shelters—and to a variety of places of worship.

He reminds us that the Preamble’s timeline is open-ended, welcoming “people who were here, who arrived later, who still come today.” Reeves then asks readers to ponder the universal experiences of belief, doubt, struggle, and achievement as they apply to the people around them at work, school, the store, passing on the street. He also initiates an appreciation for the diversity of those you cheer for on favorite teams, those who help you achieve your goals; those who teach; and those who help you eat, stay healthy, and remain safe at home and in the world.

In closing, Reeves reminds us with moving clarity that everything this country is built on, has achieved, and continues to achieve is accomplished by us: “people who look different ways, love different ways, and communicate different ways.” We are “children and adults. Family, friends, and strangers. We the people is ALL the people.” Author’s and Artist’s Notes follow the text.

Howard W. Reeves’ lyrically cadenced story gives adults and children a heartfelt opening for discussions on so many topics concerning the United States from historical events—both proud and heartbreaking—to current concerns about our future. Reeves prompts readers to think deeply to view and understand our country’s vast population from various perspectives and with the same consideration they give themselves.

Matching Duncan Tonatiuh’s instantly recognizable artwork with Howard W. Reeves’ text was a stroke of inspiration as his textured, collage-style illustrations immerse readers in landscapes as quiet as pristine mountain terrain and as bustling as a gleaming city. Tonatiuh’s eloquent images make reflective connections across pages, as exemplified by a woman whose hair fans out as a backdrop to rural, suburban, and city life and a woman whose hijab provides a pathway for worshipers attending a church, a mosque, and a synagogue.

In a particularly affecting spread, an indigenous woman stands with arms and braids outspread to support original settlers, enslaved people, and immigrants who built the transcontinental railroad, as well as farm workers and those building new technology now and in our future. Each page shows the diversity and the commonality of our country’s vibrant population, allowing readers to see themselves and their community in the fabric that is America.

We the People Is All the People is a standout must for all library and classroom collections. The book will also inspire compelling and profound discussions for families and homeschoolers.

Ages 4 – 8

Harry N. Abrams, 2026 | ISBN 978-1419776496

About the Author

Howard W. Reeves is an editor of many award-winning picture books and novels for children and adults. His work often focuses on American history, and he is passionate about editing books that celebrate diversity, equality, and inclusion. He was one of the founding instructors for the School of Visual Arts MFA Design Program. Reeves lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

About the Illustrator

Duncan Tonatiuh is a Mexican American award-winning author and illustrator known for children’s books that explore history, identity, and social justice. Born in Mexico City and raised in San Miguel de Allende, he later studied at Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College in New York City. Tonatiuh’s books have received numerous honors, including the Pura Belpré Medal, the Robert F. Sibert Award, and multiple New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book selections. Visit him at duncantonatiuh.com.

You can purchase We the People Is All the People from these booksellers

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Picture Book Review

September 16 – Chef Appreciation Week

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Chef Appreciation Week was established in 2013 by Donald and Lisa Crutch to encourage people to offer their appreciation for all the dedication and hard work shown by those who work in the culinary industry as well as home chefs. Every year the week is celebrated with the theme “Great People Inspire Great Food!” Today, the holiday has grown to be the largest global recognition of chefs and culinarians, celebrated across the United States and in more than 30 countries around the world. As today’s book demonstrates, even the youngest chefs can come up with new and creative recipes.

Thanks to Scholastic Press for sending me this book for review!

How Not to Make a Jelly Sandwich

By Ross Burach

As kids open the book to the first page, Frankie immediately welcomes them with a simple, five-step recipe for making a jelly sandwich. Sounds yummy, and the sandwich begins where you might imagine—with two slices of bread. Easy-peasy, right? Well, at the store, Frankie passes up the wrapped-bread and instead recommends buying a traffic cone and two pool accessories as a way to procure your slices. Then it’s just a quick trip to a duck pond, some clever impersonations, and a generous granny with bread to share, and you’re well on your way to that first delicious bite!

Step 2, of course, involves the jelly. As everyone knows “opening a jar of jelly is very straightforward.” All you need to do is find an elephant, lure it to a playground, “kindly ask it to sit on the whirly-go-round and tightly grip the jar” in its trunk while you hang from the monkey bars and hold onto the lid as the elephant spins round and round. Hear that familiar “Pop!”? You’re moving on to Step 3: Applying the Jelly, which, as you know, “is super simple.” In fact, you may even have all the required components in your house already! Got a dog, a bathtub, some bubbly soap? You’re good to go!

With two jellied-up slices of bread, you’re in the home stretch. All you’re going to need is basic coordination. You know, the type needed to “organize a joust” between well-matched knights who can “smush” those slices together in style. Finally, the “least complicated step of all”: cutting your sandwich. Sure, you’ll need a little help—I mean helper—but with a bit of training and the right enticement, you’ll be eating that jelly sandwich in . . . well . . . Just make sure you’ve made plenty for all your new friends.

Following the story, Ross Burach gives readers a glimpse into Frankie’s alternate brainstorm for making a jelly sandwich and then invites them to write their own silly steps.

In his latest book, Ross Burach takes on sequential writing with laugh-out-loud silliness that will spark kids’ creativity while showing them that there are as many ways to complete tasks as there are people to devise of them. As he sets up each step, readers may think they know what’s coming next, but Burach serves up plenty of surprise ingredients that will keep kids and adults giggling. Burach’s hilarious illustrations are full of hijinks and puns, and alert readers will be happy to spy guest appearances from some of his other books.

Sweet fun for delicious read aloud story times, How Not to Make a Jelly Sandwich will quickly become a favorite treat, requested again and again from libraries and home bookshelves.

Ages 4 – 8

Scholastic, 2026 | ISBN 978-1338877090

Ross Burach is the creator of the riotously funny Very Impatient Caterpillar series that includes The Very Impatient Caterpillar; The Little Butterfly That Could; Goodnight, Butterfly; and Make Way for Butterfly. All the books combine humor with curriculum-friendly science topics and relatable social-emotional themes. Ross’s other acclaimed books include the picture book Truck Full of Ducks, the board books I Love My Tutu Too!, Potty All-Star, Hi-Five Farm!, and Hi-Five Animals!, named the best board book of the year by Parents Magazine, and the Acorn early reader series Bumble and Bee. He also illustrated Audrey Perrott’s Moo Hoo and Baa Haa. His most recent title is How NOT to Make a Jelly Sandwich. Ross lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. You can visit him online at rossburach.com.

Chef Appreciation Week Activity

How Not to Make a Jelly Sandwich Activity Pages

Kids can have fun building their dream sandwich and writing their own sequential list on How Not to Brush Your Teeth with these creative activity pages from Ross Burach and Scholastic!

You can purchase How Not to Make a Jelly Sandwich from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

September 15 – Read a New Book Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

The beginning of a new school year is a terrific time to celebrate Read a New Book Month! Whether your child’s reading tastes have broadened, their reading level has changed, or they’ve discovered new and fascinating topics to explore over the summer months, there are new books just waiting for them! Whether the books are recently published—like today’s book—or just new to your child, there are countless fictional stories and nonfiction books ready to inspire, thrill, and entertain your young reader. This month visit your local bookstore and library and stock up on books for your kids and everyone in the family!

Thank you to Scholastic for sending me this book for review!

Tiger Terror (Max Beast #2)

By Maddy Mara

Ever since Max’s parents left everything behind to embrace van life, Max has already gained a new perspective—literally! On his family’s last stop to explore a sunken yacht, Max tangled with another kid named Hector. He ended up with Hector’s magic amulet that gave him the power to turn into a great white shark and stop a group of criminals. Now, while taking a hike on a mountain path that passes a native animal sanctuary as well as billionaire Benson Leech’s ranch—where it’s reported he keeps illegal animals—Max spies Hector among the group. He knows that he needs to protect the amulet from Hector’s nefarious plans and heads off on his own.

Illustration copyright © 2026 by Khadijah Khatib. Published by Scholastic copyright © 2026.

The path Max takes leads him directly to a cave where he’s jumped by a tiger. As he’s trying to protect himself, Max feels the amulet “sinking into his skin” while the “amulet’s infinity symbol glowed out of his chest.” In moments, Max had transformed into a tiger! He was still becoming comfortable in his new stripy skin and wondering how he could protect his parents and the other hikers from the rogue tiger when a pack of wolves surrounded him. After a nip in the leg, Max chases the wolves away then finds the dead elk they had hunted.

When Max decides to take the elk to the tiger as a peace offering, he discovers that the tiger has two cubs to feed. Hungry himself, Max bounds away, soon discovering Benson Leech’s ranch and overhearing his plans to sell the tiger Lena’s, two cubs—even if it means shooting Lena to recapture them. Max is just formulating a plan to tell Lena when Hector appears, having followed him all along.

Only interested in making money, Hector betrays Max and Lena, and the four tigers are caged, awaiting the buyer who’s expected in only 30 minutes. Will Max be able to free them and escape to safety? Will Lena understand and trust him? And what about Hector—what choice will Max make when his adversary needs help? The surprise twists and heart-pounding action will keep readers flipping the pages until the compelling ending.

Thrills, peril, and life-altering decisions lurk around every corner in Maddy Mara’s second Max Beast book. Tiger Terror is an exhilarating page-turner that grabs both eager and reluctant readers and holds them enthralled with the combination of a likable protagonist, a compelling adventure, and relatable humor. Max is a quick-thinking, conscientious character that young readers will identify with and cheer on through every obstacle and encounter with Hector. The story is also punctuated with riveting black-and-white illustrations by Khadijah Khatib that place readers in the midst of the action at key moments.

An electrifying follow up to Sharknado Warning (Max Beast #1), Tiger Terror promises to be a favorite addition to home and library collections. Watch for Raptor Alert (Max Beast #3) coming in February.

Ages 7 – 10

Scholastic, 2026 | ISBN 979-8225002787

About the Authors

Maddy Mara is the pen name of Australian creative duo Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger. Hilary is a writer and former publisher; Meredith is a writer and teaches English as a second language. Together they have written or created many bestselling series for kids, including Dragon Girls, Dragon Games, and Forever Fairies. Dragon Girls has over 1.5 million copies in print and is available in multiple countries and languages. They live on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people in Melbourne, Australia. Visit them at maddymara.com.

Read a New Book Month Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-book-bag-craft

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

True book lovers can’t go anywhere without a book (or two or three) to read along the way. With this easy craft you can turn a cloth bag into a kid-size book bag perfect for carrying those new books you get this month!

Supplies

Printable Templates: Books to Read Template | Books to Love Template
Small cloth bag, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the bag that sheet sets come in.
Cloth trim or strong ribbon, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the cloth handles from upcycled grocery hopping bags.
Scraps of different colored and patterned cloth. Or use quilting squares, available at craft and sewing stores
Pen or pencil for tracing letters onto cloth
Scissors
Fabric glue
Thread (optional)
Needle (optional)

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-books-bag-craft

Directions

Print the sayings and cut out the letters
Trace letters onto different kinds of cloth
Cut out cloth letters
Iron cloth bag if necessary
Attach words “Books to Read” to one side of bag with fabric glue
Attach words “Books to Love” to other side of bag with fabric glue
Cut cloth trim or ribbon to desired length to create handles
Glue (or sew) handles onto the inside edge of bag

You can purchase Tiger Terror (Max Beast #2) from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

September 14 – National Live Creative Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

National Live Creative Day was established to encourage people to embrace their innovative side. There are so many ways to be creative from the arts to science to sports to how you express yourself. Kids seem to know this inherently as they go about exploring and interacting with all the new things they see, hear, and do every day. Introducing kids to all kinds of hobbies, subjects, and professions expands their definition of creativity and their outlook on the future. Encouraging them to use their particular talents, helps them build confidence and find their place in the world. Today’s book entices children to look deeper, beyond the surface of what they see and do to discover a whole new way to interact with the world.

Thank you to Carolrhoda Books and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me this book for review!

Take It Apart

Written by Katey Howes | Illustrated by E.V.

From the outside if you saw a little girl unravel a wool sweater, unscrew all the workings of an alarm clock, dismantle a tricycle, and take a mallet to an old animal skeleton, you might think you were just in the presence of a “Destroyer.” But if you could look inside this girl’s mind, you’d see her “gears spinning” as her eyes and hands go to work with the disassembled pieces to understand how the original items operated and to create something new. Her curiosity turns, in fact, to multi-disciplinary inspiration: “Breaking things down is a science. An art. / Need solutions? Need answers? Just . . . take it apart!”

Illustration copyright © 2026 by E.V. Text copyright © 2026 by Katey Howes. Published by Carolrhoda Books copyright © 2026.

Got old technology? Unused items? They have a wealth of knowledge to share with the uninitiated, and for tinkerers, crafters, and inventors, they can be “quite the supply of nuts, bolts, screws, and springs” ready to become something new or repair something well-loved. But the “take-it-apart-er” mindset doesn’t stop there. It can be applied to so many disciplines, such as reading (breaking down words into each “. . . syllable. Letter”) and math (grouping numbers to “understand better”) and science (looking deeply, “magnified”).

When you start looking around in your yard or garden and even at some of the food you eat, you’ll soon see that the natural world already uses “take it apart.” You can join in on your own or with friends, or maybe start an after-school club where lots of kids provide “a good wrecking crew.” You just never know what you can make, learn, or do when you discover “the genius of take it apart.”

Through polished rhymes full of verve, permission, and inspiration, Katey Howes stirs up excitement for uninhibited, hands-on learning that allows readers to tinker, make connections, and have “Ah-Ha!” moments of understanding that can be extrapolated to a multitude of other experiences. Howes’ verses burst with reminders that nature; math, reading, and science; crafts such as building, sewing, mechanics, and other practical skills are all based on “take-it-apart” and its partner “put-it-together.”

Readers can feel the excitement and brimming sense of wonder as a variety of kids unleash their curiosity on a wide range of objects in E.V.’s action-packed illustrations. Early in the story, a little boy frets as his sister pounds on some old bones, but a few pages in he’s happily using the ribcage as a bridge for the contraption he’s built to make his breakfast. His sister, meanwhile, is solving problems around the neighborhood—including a broken birdhouse and mailbox, a leaky hose, and a teddy bear with a torn leg—in E.V.’s clever montages that show the problem and the girl’s ideas on what spare parts could be used to fix it. E.V. also takes kids into a classroom, behind a microscope, underground, and into an unused room that becomes an “Imagination Station” to further facilitate their experimentation.

A catalyst for unfettered fun that leads to a lifetime competency in practical skills, Take It Apart is a book kids will absolutely love and is a must for all public, school, and classroom libraries as well as for home collections.

Ages 4 – 9

Carolrhoda Books, 2026 | ISBN 979-8765648568

About the Author

Katey Howes was an award-winning children’s author and poet whose books celebrated curiosity, creativity, STEAM learning, and social-emotional growth. Her acclaimed works include Be a Maker, Rissy No Kissies—named a Kirkus Best Children’s Book, a Rise: A Feminist Book Project List selection, and a Keystone to Reading Book Award nominee—Woven of the World, Grandmother Thorn, and Where the Deer Slip Through, which has been named one of Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2025. Take It Apart (Carolrhoda Books, August 2026), continues her legacy of inspiring young readers to explore, invent, and discover.

To learn more about Katey Howes and her books and find a free Take It Apart curriculum guide, visit kateyhowes.com/books/take-it-apart/.

About the Illustrator

Elizabet Vuković grew up around makers in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Her mom introduced her to making with fabrics. She and her sister accompanied their dad on many trips to the hardware store for his constant home renovation projects, and her sister continues to use Elizabet as her guinea pig for many outrageous inventions. Elizabet graduated with a degree in optometry before deciding to go back to school for illustration in San Francisco, where she currently resides. Visit her at elizabetvuković.com.

Live Creative Day Activity

Creative Inspiration Box

For young inventors, tinkerers, and crafters, having bits and pieces of this and that as well as some tools to work with all stored in one place encourages creative thinking. Filling the drawers of a tool box or tackle box with items like springs, brads, wheels, hinges, plastic piping, pieces of wood, glue, tape, and simple tools can spark a child’s imagination. Keep an eye out at home or yard sales for these types of small items as well as old objects to disassemble or take your child along to the craft or hardware store and choose items together!

You can purchase Take It Apart from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

September 10 – African Fabric Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

African Fabric Month™ was launched in 2016 by Lisa Shepard Stewart of Cultured Expressions, Inc. The celebration “promotes the artistic and practical uses of such fabrics as ankara prints, batik, kuba, adinkra, bogolan/mudcloth, korhogo, adire, kente, and more, and serves to honor and promote the cultures that create them.” While Stewart shares her love for African fabrics year round through special online and in-person events, this month-long holiday puts particular focus on the global positive contributions of the weavers and other textile artists of Africa. To learn more about the holiday as well as ongoing events and activities, visit culturedexpressions.com.

Thank you to Charlesbridge and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me this book for review!

Anansi and the Talking Cloth

Written by Caroline Brewer with Kwasi Asare | Illustrated by Ekua Holmes

Anansi the spider, chief storyteller and trickster, lives in a city “well-known for its talented weavers, / who work their hands and feet in a fascinating fever” to create “kente, the talking cloth.” Each unique cloth made by the spider weavers tells a story revealing truths, courage, how to spread peace or the fact that “our families are more precious than gold.” The city brims with sunshine, vibrant foliage, music, and smooth transportation. Even the “rainbows glow with a sparkly dew.”

Illustration copyright © 2026 by Ekua Holmes. Text copyright © 2026 by Caroline Brewer with Kwasi Asare. Published by Charlesbridge copyright © 2026.

Even though Anansi gathers the spiders together to tell his wise tales, he doesn’t always adhere to them himself. For instance, while the spider weavers create unique and beautiful cloth by hand, many people “strut about in machine-made brands” that are cheap and quickly fashioned, but have no stories to impart—including Anansi himself! As time passes and the spider weavers’ sales slip, the weaving industry folds, and the once-vibrant community fades. The kente weavers cry, and Anansi wants to help.

But Anansi resorts to his trickster ways and tries to scare the weavers into returning to their looms, but they aren’t fooled. With the help of his wife Aso, Anansi finally sees that the “weavers feel mistreated by the spiders of the city.” By buying machine-made cloth, they “rip at the fabric of every weaver’s dream” and destroy “community pride.” Anansi listens to his wife’s suggestions and calls the community together to thank the weavers, but is it too late to restore the sunshine, singing and dancing, vivid colors, and vibrant kente talking cloth to the once hip city?

Back matter includes an Author’s Note discussing the legends and history behind Anansi and kente cloth as well as an Illustrator’s Note about a trip Ekua Holmes recently made to Ghana.

In Anansi and the Talking Cloth, Caroline Brewer, in consultation with master kente-cloth weaver Kwasi Asare, created an original Anansi story, which is at once as timeless as classic Trickster stories and as current as debate over fast fashion versus lasting quality. Brewer’s stylish storytelling weaves rhymes and the spirited rhythms of assonance, consonance, and alliteration to envelope readers in her magical imaginings of spider weavers creating valuable kente talking cloth—a term created by Brewer for the story. The jaunty cadence flows from page to page, making the story a joyful, riveting read aloud. Through Aso’s thoughtful answer to the weavers’ strike, Brewer also strikes a universal chord for showing respect and gratitude.

Ekua Holmes’ electrifying collage illustrations in glorious overlapping hues of blue, orange, red, green, and yellow bring the intricate patterns and vibrant colors of kente cloth to the page. Young readers will be awed by the spider weavers as they use their many arms and legs to weave talking cloth and be fascinated by images of people and spiders mingling in the city, shopping, dancing, making music, and gathering to hear Anansi’s stories.

With underpinnings in Ghanaian culture and the legacy of kente cloth production, Anansi and the Talking Cloth is a highly inventive and jazzy read aloud that is pure fun while also imparting the values of storytelling and guarding precious traditions. The book is a must for any public and school library collection and would be on frequent rotation for home story times.

Ages 5 – 8

Charlesbridge, 2026 | ISBN 978-1623544218

About the Authors

Caroline Brewer is an award-winning children’s book author, artist, environmentalist, literacy consultant, and creator of Nature-Wise, a program for students and teachers that blends literacy and nature exploration. Caroline is also author and illustrator of Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature and author of Say Their Names. She lives in the Washington, DC, metro area. Visit her at carolinebrewerbooks.com.

Kwasi Asare was born in Nsawam, near the capital city of Accra, Ghana, and is one of Africa’s most prominent and accomplished weavers known for kente cloth, the highly prized Ghanaian cloth that traditionally symbolizes royalty, honor, and leadership. For the United Nations’ fiftieth anniversary in 1995, he created a new kente cloth design. Until 2017, it replaced the original cloth created by Kwasi’s father, A. E. Asare. Visit him at kwasiasare.com.

About the Illustrator

Ekua Holmes was awarded a Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King’s John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, Robert Siebert Award, and Boston Globe–Horn Book award for Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, her first illustration project. She won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration twice: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets and Stuff of Stars. Visit her at ekuaholmes.com.

You can purchase Anansi and the Talking Cloth from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

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