Harare Review of Books

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Here’s a list of 30+1 recent and upcoming children’s books. Many thanks to publishers below, and NetGalley and Edelweiss for review copies.

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Cats Are Great But x Stepanka Sekaninova, Adam Wolf – May 2024, Albatros Media
This is a very cute book that’s all about the complexities of caring for pet cats, directed at a young audience. I enjoyed it, and learnt a few more things myself. Highly recommended for carers of children to buy and read together before committing to getting a cat.

No Feelings Today! x Dona Herweck Rice, Aileen Ramirez – May 2024, Teacher Created Materials
I’ve totes felt like Alex sometimes: had days when I had so many feelings that I wanted time off from them. So Alex sets out one morning to have no feelings, and this is about how that attempt goes.

An endearing little story that teaches little ones that you have to take the bad with the good, sometimes.

Rafa Nadal x Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Rocio Ledesma – June 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
I know almost nothing about tennis, but Rafa is one of those stars who seeps into public consciousness—and has done into mine—regardless. And it’s really lovely to read about what a down-to-earth and generous person he is. Also about his uncles who influenced him to play football (which he was apparently also really good at!) and tennis.

Greetings Floof! x C J Hong, A J Smith – June 2024, Kids Can Press
A very cute, very interactive book for young children, about an alien visitor to Earth. Highly recommended.

Usain Bolt x Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Karen Crosbie – June 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A lovely read about Usain Bolt’s rise to fame. Through it, I discovered that he and I have something in common: a scoliosis. This is one of the things I love about good biographies: they make one think “Oh, they’re just like me!” and that’s a great thing for youngsters to realise, which this series does really well.

Taylor Swift x Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Borghild Fallberg – June 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Another delightful addition to this series, this time on Taylor Swift’s rise to fame. It’s a lovely and wholesome story: a young girl find her passion and pursues it with the support of her family, to great success. A very well-executed bio for youngsters and all Swifties.

Simone Biles x Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Nadia Fisher – June 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
I learnt some details about Biles that I didn’t know before that made me appreciate her journey a lot more. If you’ve read other books in this series, you’ll notice that this one is somewhat more sad in tone, because it’s true to Biles’s life and her struggle and doesn’t soften the narrative (much) for its young audience. She’s a star in spite of her circumstances; that’s both realistic and encouraging.

What a Day x Emma Ballantine, Mark Strepan, Harriet Hobday – July 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A gorgeously illustrated and coloured, simple little children’s book to read with little ones at the end of their day. (I would read it to myself too, it’s that comforting.) Highly recommended.

Torla and Smorla and The Lower Than Average Cloud x Kes Gray – July 2024, Happy Yak
A delightful and very sweet book with two very different friends, one of whom is super helpful to the other when they get their head stuck in a cloud. Very imaginative and creative.

How Loud is a Lion? x Stella Blackstone, Clare Beaton – August 2024, Barefoot Books
A gorgeously illustrated book with lots of different animals to encounter as readers try to work out how loud a lion actually is. Encourages little ones to interact with it, and excellent for young readers. Highly recommended.

Shining Bright, Shining Black x Jamia Wilson – August 2024, Quarto Wide-Eyed Editions
Shining Bright, Shining Black combines two previous and excellent books, Young, Gifted and Black, and Young, Gifted and Black Too, with some new material. It celebrates 100 Black leaders from the past and present and from all over the world, including: Naomi Osaka, Nina Simone, Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Barack and Michelle Obama, Naomi Campbell, Albert Luthuli, Wangari Maathai, Sidney Poitier, Maya Angelou, Ava Duvernay, the Williams sisters, Misty Copeland, Beyonce and Solange, Mo Farah, Ntando Mahlangu, Basquiat, and many, many more. In other words, this book has range.

If you haven’t read the two books it compiles, you’re in for a treat here, and you’ll learn more than you can imagine about Black icons across history. So important, because Black histories are often hidden: you may not learn them in school, or if you do, perhaps you’ll get only some random fraction as suits some syllabus. So, this is extra special for its 40,000 foot view of Black history—across time, and across the Diaspora.

At the end of the book is an excellent timeline, as well as a set of questions for discussion and reflection. Also a list of Black trailblazers, and some of the many professions these icons had or have.

Get this for yourself, your library, friends, family, everyone you know, little and big. Very highly recommended.

Paul the Peacock x Tilly Matthews – August 2024, Happy Yak
Paul isn’t the nicest peacock; he can in fact be quite rude to his friends—particularly Norris the Loris. One night, Paul loses his beautiful feathers, and Norris. This is the story of how he learns to humble himself and appreciate his friends more.

Very cute, with lovely illustrations.

Addy’s Chair to Everywhere x Debi Novotny, Jomike Tejido – August 2024, Free Spirit Publishing
This is a sweet little book about inclusion. Addy is a wheelchair user. At first, the kids around her are intimidated and run away 😦 But one child makes friends, then another, and before long Addy and her friends are all playing together.

Has some lovely ideas at the end for teachers to make their classrooms more inclusive.

Planes x Radka Piro, Diarmuid O Cathain – August 2024, Albatros Media
The All Aboard! series from Albatros Media is excellent, and this entry, Planes, is no exception. Wonderful and detailed graphics and a cute character to lead readers through it all, as well as a wealth of information, make Planes a wonderful read for young readers and those who read with them. All of the information is presented in a detailed, scientific, but child-friendly way. An excellent addition to any library.

A Home That Means the World x Victoria Turnbull – September 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A moving story about the loss of home, and the journey to find a new place and community. Beautifully illustrated. I love the message it sends about how this can happen to anyone, and the importance of compassion towards those it has befallen.

Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse x Kelly Collier – September 2024, Kids Can Press
Steve, like most of us, is not particularly exceptional, but he wants to be! One day he finds a golden horn in the forest, and when he puts it on he feels pretty exceptional, and wants all his friends to agree (which, you know, they have to). (There’s a touching realisation at the end about his influence on his buddies.)

A very funny and appealing story for young readers, highly recommended.

Is This a Tiger? x Elina Ellis – September 2024, Kids Can Press
Alex and Atticus are on a quest to identify a tiger. Alex has a tiger journal, and she helps Atticus by telling him about tiger characteristics. A very smart and fun, brilliantly illustrated book to teach young readers about classification and how to identify different animals, while encouraging interaction. Highly recommended.

I Am a Potato! x Ziggy Hanaor, Elliot Kruszynski – September 2024, Cicada Books
Ziggy Hanaor is a gifted children’s author, and I really enjoyed ‘The Egg Incident’. This cute little book is about a small creature that’s trying to figure out what it is, with the help of friends. Happily, all is resolved in the end.

Clever, and great for teaching young readers how to solve the question of what a thing is. The graphic style is very simple, but will suit very young readers.

Whole Whale x Karen Yin, Nelleke Verhoeff – September 2024, Barefoot Books
This adorable books tries to fit one hundred animals onto the page, including a whole blue whale. Very colourful, interactive, and great for teaching kids both to count and to identify different animals. Engaging and charming.

The Day Moon and Earth Had an Argument x David Duff, Noemi Vola – September 2024, Chronicle Books
The artwork is WONDERFUL in this little book; as an occasional doodler, I’m delighted by the style. The story is cute too, leaning towards some kind of romantic involvement between Earth and Moon—which, you know, I’m not sure? Maybe for slightly older kids, who’ll get the small jokes. But it’s also a really fun way to teach children about our solar system; so, recommended!

There’s a Robot in My Socks x Meredith Rusu, Martin Morón – September 2024, 4U2B Books and Media
This little girl doesn’t cope well with changes to her routine or the systems she uses to navigate her world, expressing it all through the robot that lives in her socks. Her mum understands her, but her granny has to learn to work around her resistance when they spend a day together.

Another touching and helpful book for young readers that deals with difficult feelings and what to do with them.

We’re Off to the Forest x Katarina Macurova – September 2024, Albatros Media
A little squirrel and his dad are off to the forest to visit the acorn they planted together. A simple story about caring for nature and the importance of forests and ecological systems for young readers, with very pretty illustrations.

The Spotless Giraffe x Peter Millett, Alison Hawkins – October 2024, Happy Yak
On her first day at Zoo School, Kipekee and her friends try to work out which class she should be in. They take into account each of her characteristics, but Kipekee is unique—because she’s a giraffe with no spots.

Based on a true story (a giraffe without spots!), this is a touching and encouraging book about difference and uniqueness, and how you can still find your place.

Monsters at Bedtime x Laura Baker, Nina Dzyvulska – October 2024, Happy Yak
It’s bedtime, and everything rhymes, and is chaos, and lots of fun. Monsters must be retrieved from downstairs and washed and brushed and smooched and cuddled while they jump and bump and swing and sing and more. A delightful bedtime book.

The Dragon Slayer x Tatyana Feeney – October 2024, Kids Can Press
Freya has everything she wants except one thing: she wants a dragon… to slay! So she sets off on a quest, armour and all, and Reader, she meets a dragon!

Delightful illustrations, and Freya is so many of us girls. A very heartwarming story.

Salvador Dalí x Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Mariona Tolosa Sisteré – October 2024, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
The story of the life of the quirky and delightful Dalí, miniaturised for young readers, with the most enchanting illustrations. May it encourage all quirky children to great things! Highly recommended.

Goat’s Boat Won’t Float: A Goat & Turkey Story a book x Kim A. Larson and Gozde Eyce) – October 2024, The Little Press
Goat’s boat won’t float—because he bought too many oats! (Goat is also prone to fainting spells, poor thing.)

I read this book out loud to myself, which was a complete delight. And if it delighted me, I know it will delight all little ones. Highly recommended.

Mad at Dad x Janie Hao – October 2024, Kids Can Press
Our protagonist is REALLY MAD at her dad, and this is her shouty yelly story. I love that she’s expressive about how mad she is and how it affects her day, and then how she works out that being mad at him doesn’t. mean she doesn’t love him, or that they can’t find a way to make up.

An excellent book about feelings.

Billu Buttons x Gus Singh, Delzin Choksey – October 2024, Modern Marigold Books
Billu is a confident boy who’s not moved by attempts to make him feel bad about things he can’t do—like do up his own buttons, or tie his shoelaces. Billu knows that if he keeps practising, one day he’ll manage—and he does.

An inspiring and encouraging book (worked for me too!); excellent.

Mandeep’s Cloudy Days x Kuljinder Kaur Brar, Samrath Kaur – October 2024, Annick Press
Mandeep loves her dad, and spends a lot of time with him. So when he gets a job where he has to travel, it makes her very sad, so sad in fact that her days seem dark. This little book tells readers how Mandeep learns to find a way to cope with the days in-between, waiting for her dad to get back.

A sweet book about learning to deal with difficult emotions, with gorgeous illustrations.

One extra:
The Grand Hotel of Feelings x Lidia Brankovic – September 2023, Cicada Books
The Grand Hotel of Feelings is just like you and me, hosting many different kinds of feelings. And the manager has learnt the needs and characteristics of each feeling, easy or tricky: like how Sadness is leaky and soft-spoken; or how Anger needs to be put in the biggest room available (and never locked away, because she can turn into other difficult feelings). Gratitude and Peace are restful to sit with. Other feelings, like Confidence and Pride help manage the hotel.

Appealing; charming.