Rafael tries to save his toys from his baby sister, Essie, by building a wall from shoeboxes, toilet paper rolls, and other household objects in this playful exploration of spatial sense and geometry.
Visit the Brighouse branch for our new STEAM picturebook area, where you will find Again, Essie? and lots more!
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| Kumo the basful cloud |
Kumo’s duties end for the day with her wafting into a well-deserved “delicate, dreamy sleep,” having learned that both being seen and being unseen can be good. Sprinkled with Japanese vocabulary, Kumo will impart a new appreciation for clouds and show readers how it can sometimes be frightening to step into the world, then reassuring them that others are willing to help when we overcome our bashfulness.
There aren’t a lot of picture books that portray what it’s like for a child to live under dictatorship. Innosanto Nagara, the Indonesian-born graphic artist and acclaimed author/illustrator of A Is for Activist and Counting on Community, tells his own story of facing dictatorship and oppression in My Night in the Planetarium. At the age of seven, he watched his father, a playwright, put on plays that indirectly lampooned the corrupt and violent rulers of his country in the 1970s and 1980s. Sometimes the youngster acted in the plays. Ultimately, this love gives both parents and children the strength they need to survive and thrive in the most difficult of circumstances.
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| Lost and Found Cat |
In August of 2015, an Iraqi family fled their home, traveling by car and on foot along with their cat, Kunkush. When the family reached Greece, Kunkush escaped from his carrier. They searched for him for hours, but finally had to continue on their journey. Volunteers found the feline a few days later and became determined to reunite him with his owners.
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| Lizzy and the Cloud |
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| Abalone Woman |
Abalone Woman is the third book in the Little Wolf series for young readers. Here, Little Wolf has a bad dream but it reminds her to learn more about Indigenous culture and the importance of passing on knowledge to the new generation. When Little Wolf encounters injustice in her community, she turns to her family for the strength to fight back.
Local author Spathelfer has all three picturebooks at the Richmond Public Library:
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| Abuelita and Me |
An empowering story of a girl and her grandmother travelling by bus across the city when racist slurs are directed at the grandmother, Abuelita. How the two decide to react to this situation gives an example of a way to maintain dignity and respond with positivity when someone is being mean.
