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Out at Home, by Cal Ripken, Jr. and Kevin Cowherd; Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, 202 pages ages 8-12.

Out at Homeis the fifth novel in the All-Stars baseball series penned by baseball legend Cal Ripken and sports writer Kevin Cowherd. Here, two rivals must work together in order to win the championships. Mickey Labriogla is the dedicated catcher for the Dulaney Orioles, whose position on the team is suddenly jeopardized by the arrival of Zoom, an arrogant newcomer with undeniable talent. Eventually, the Orioles make it to the “Super Regionals” where they will have to face the indomitable Laurel Yankees, (Zoom’s former team) and the boys must set aside their differences if their team is to have any chance of winning. Ripken and Cowherd combine their prolific understanding of the game to craft an engaging story about overcoming adversity through teamwork. 

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The Baseball Player and the Walrus, by Ben Loory, illustrations by Alex Latimer; Penguin, $16.99, 32 pages, ages 5-8.

We’ve all heard the saying ‘money can’t buy happiness,’ and that phrase certainly rings true in this quirky tale of friendship and happiness. Here, a wildly successful baseball player feels unfulfilled and lonely, until the fateful day he decides to visit the zoo where he meets a belching, fish-eating walrus. Smitten, the baseball player wants to bring the creature home, and builds a state-of-the art walrus enclosure behind his home, where they spend many days playing catch and enjoying each other’s company. Soon, baseball season starts, and while on the road, the athlete discovers that he would rather be with his friend than sitting in faraway hotel rooms. So, he quits. Unfortunately, caring for walruses is expensive, and the bills start adding up. What will the ball player do when his companion is carted away? Debut picture book author Ben Loory explores unending devotion with words that even the youngest readers will understand, while Alex Latimer’s hand-drawn illustrations are spot-on.  

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Lullaby & Kisses Sweet: Poems to Love with Your Baby, by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Alyssa Nassner; Abrams Appleseed, $15.95, 44 pages, ages 0-3.


Babies love being read to, and they will adore listening to this lyrical collection of original poetry curated by poet Lee Bennett Hopkins. The anthology’s thirty selections are divided into five topics, ranging from food to bedtime. Parents will notice some A-list authors among the group, including Marilyn Singer, (the Tallulah series) Jane Yolen (How Do Dinosaurs….? series) and J. Patrick Lewis (World Rat Day: Poems About Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of.). The sturdy, casebound board book is perfect for exploring little hands, and artist Alyssa Nassner’s bright and engaging illustrations make this a delightful introduction to all the sensory joys of poetry.

Wish, by Matthew Cordell; Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, 48 pages, ages 3-6.

Sometimes parents wait a long time before children come along. They plan, live, cope with disappointment, until one day their wish comes true. Matthew Cordell’s charming elephant couple explores what it means to begin a family, and how adults deal with unexpected challenges. “We listen…. And we wait… but you never come. And everything stops.” will no doubt resonate with some families more than others. One day, while the patient pachyderms stroll along the beach, a crack of lightning splits the ocean apart, and a baby arrives on a small sailboat. There’s nothing preachy or overly saccharine here – Wish is a wonderful, simple and totally heartfelt way for parents to remind their children how much they are loved.

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Flora and Ulysses, The Illustrated Series  is out in paperback! Kate DiCamillo’s 2014 Newbery award winning story about a self-descrbed cynic and her furry sidekick is an uproarious tale that deserves pride of place on any child’s bookshelf. (Really, anything by DiCamillo is a surefire hit.)

Already read Flora and Ulysses? Check out Leroy Ninker Saddles Up, the latest offering from National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature where a lonely wannabe cowboy falls in love with an old mare named Maybelline. DiCamillo fans will recognize many characters from her Mercy Watson series who return here for some good old-fashioned horsing around.

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Sweep Up the Sun, by Helen Frost, photographs by Rick Lieder; Candlewick Press, 32 pages, $15.99, all ages. (Published March 10)

Haven’t we all had that dream where we’re flying with the birds? Live out those fantasies while reading award-winning author Helen Frost’s lyrical invitation to soar alongside feathered friends in Sweep Up the Sun. At its most basic level, the poem is exploring birds in flight, but it is also a rally for cooped-up children to return outdoors, to spread their wings, and take off for unexpected adventures. Stunning, in-flight photographs of Chickadees, Cardinals, White-Breasted Nuthatches are courtesy of Rick Lieder, who previously collaborated with Frost on Step Gently Out. An informative glossary (with information gleaned from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) provides distinctive characteristics, migration patterns and feeding habits of the eleven birds featured in the book. Consider this volume a lovely introduction to backyard birding, an invitation to observe these beautiful creatures often perched just outside our windows.

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Toad Weather, by Sandra Markle, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez; Peachtree Publishers, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 4-7.

Sometimes it rains cats and dogs. In Philadelphia, it rains toads. Actually, the wet weather brings about the annual vernal toad migration, and on one particularly rainy March day little Ally and her family head out into the streets to see something spectacular – for a few weeks each spring, millions of toads across the country head to water in order to find mates and lay eggs, and the Roxborough neighborhood in Philadelphia is the real-life setting for this migration – there are even volunteers who set up ‘Toad Detours’ to ensure that the amphibians make it across the busy roads. (Toads flood the streets en route to nearby the ponds and reservoir.) Award-winning veteran author Sandra Markle has written over two hundred books for children, and each one is a treat – Toad Weather’s text is a lyrical sing-songy ode to a city transformed by rain, and to the everyday magic that takes place right at our feet. Gonzalez’s luminous pastel and watercolor images of wet toads and earthworms evoke the sense of wonder when we find magic in our everyday surroundings.  Don’t skip the informative author’s notes that explain how dedicated groups ensure the life cycle continues for these little croakers.  

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Toad Weather, by Sandra Markle, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez; Peachtree Publishers, $16.95, 32 pages, ages 4-7.

Sometimes it rains cats and dogs. In Philadelphia, it rains toads. Actually, the wet weather brings about the annual vernal toad migration, and on one particularly rainy March day little Ally and her family head out into the streets to see something spectacular – for a few weeks each spring, millions of toads across the country head to water in order to find mates and lay eggs, and the Roxborough neighborhood in Philadelphia is the real-life setting for this migration – there are even volunteers who set up ‘Toad Detours’ to ensure that the amphibians make it across the busy roads. (Toads flood the streets en route to nearby the ponds and reservoir.) Award-winning veteran author Sandra Markle has written over two hundred books for children, and each one is a treat – Toad Weather’s text is a lyrical sing-songy ode to a city transformed by rain, and to the everyday magic that takes place right at our feet. Gonzalez’s luminous pastel and watercolor images of wet toads and earthworms evoke the sense of wonder when we find magic in our everyday surroundings.  Don’t skip the informative author’s notes that explain how dedicated groups ensure the life cycle continues for these little croakers.  

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My Secret Guide to Paris, by Lisa Schroeder; Scholastic Press, $16.99, 216 pages, ages 10-13.

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower, written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli; Viking Juvenile $17.99, 48 pages, ages 5-9.


With the snow slowly melting here on the East Coast our thoughts suddenly turn to Paris in the springtime, and these two titles are just the thing to tap into that certain je ne sais quoi that captivates visitors to the City of Light. Lisa Schroeder’s My Secret Guide to Paris is an effervescent story about a young girl who adores everything about Paris. Even though Nora has never actually visited the city, she falls in love with it by listening to her grandmother’s tales of the Eiffel Tower and chocolat chaud. Just before they are set to visit Paris together, grand-mere passes away, leaving behind a sort of scavenger hunt for Nora, who, in the process of uncovering her grandmother’s mysteries, also learns how to heal her grief. Lifelong Francophiles will adore sharing this sweet romp with young readers, and the sprinkling of mots français throughout lends just the right air of authenticity.  

Meanwhile, Greg Pizzoli’s uproariously true story about master con-man Robert Miller will fascinate  readers from start to finish. At a surprisingly hefty forty-eight pages, Tricky Vic stands out from the standard picture-book fare, (most offerings meet the industry standard 32 pages) but that shouldn’t deter interested parties; every page is full of bold, retro-graphic style illustrations accompanied by a story as wild as it is factual. In 1925, the Eiffel Tower was, at the grand old age of thirty-six, already in a state of disrepair and exceedingly unpopular among Parisians. Enter Robert Miller, aka “Count Victor Lustig”, aka “Tricky Vic,” a lifelong con man who made his living defrauding aristocrats through cardgamess and selling fake counterfeit money-making machines. He even managed to con Al Capone as way to gain the mobster’s trust. Miller’s biggest score was tricking a French scrap metal dealer into buying the Iron Lady. Would you believe he even tried to sell the Eiffel Tower twice?  What child wouldn’t want to read about someone this delightfully despicable, someone who so fully embodies the meaning of the word chutzpah?

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Puss in Boots, by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Clementine Sourdais; Little Gestalten, $16.95, 32 pages, all ages.

Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Clementine Sourdais; Little Gestalten, $16.95, 32 pages, all ages.

Just as every generation reinvents Shakespeare to suit its own needs, we also reimagine classic fairytales. Here, the beloved tales of “Puss in Boots” and “Little Red Riding Hood” are accompanied by the intricate cut-paper illustrations of French artist Clementine Sourdais. Designed to be read like a traditional book, the cutouts on each page fold onto each other, creating a complex masterpiece visible from both the front and back boards. Sourdais employs a spare color palette of black and white, plus an accent color – blood red for “Little Red Riding Hood” and regal yellow in “Puss in Boots.” When opened accordion style, each image is full of vibrant detail. Another surprise awaits readers if they take a flashlight to the books and project the pictures of wolves, cats and wayward little girls onto a wall.  These tiny, charming treasures – each volume measures a dainty 5.5 inches by 6 inches – breathe new life into stories almost two centuries old and will delight young readers and pop-up collectors alike.

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Peace is an Offering, by Annette le Box, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin; Dial Books, $16.99, 32 pages, ages  3-6. (March 2015)

Award-winning author Annette le Box makes a peace offering in her seventh book for children with a deceptively simple poem that spreads the message of attainable and shareable peace. Uncomplicated themes appear in the form of birthday party invitations and sharing a great joke with a friend. Le Box demonstrates that peace comes through sharing time, patience and kindness, especially when loved ones are gone. Le Box manages to evoke 9/11 in a touching scene where she writes “And even in the wake of tragedy, even then, you might find her. In the rubble of a fallen tower. In the sorrow of your darkest hour.” Adults will understand the reference even if children don’t, especially with Stephanie Graegin’s pencil and watercolor illustration of a family sitting on a park bench looking out on New York City.  This volume’s sweet words nurture tender seeds of love and friendship, showing what wonderful fruits kindness can bear.