Mo Willems, New York Times bestselling, award-winning author-illustrator, zooms in on the smallest things in the universe to explore one of life’s most elemental questions in this nonfiction picture book about the relationship between size and scale.
In are you small? a little question sends readers on a big adventure to see the smallest of the small. From an average-size kid . . . to a cookie crumb . . . Some examples are quite odd for the target age group (three to five years old): a water molecule, an electron even a single quark! Other examples are far more obvious choices to help those being read to discover that size is a matter of perspective. For example a hamster, a grain of sand, a baby tooth.
Use of colour and illustrations are great to prompt dialogue between adult and child as this early-learning concept book features bold text, expressive art, and real-world science.
are you small? is the perfect companion title to Mo Willems’ breakout title, are you big? which we reviewed here.
Both books are published by Union Square Books and are available from bookshops and online.
Two People Can, written by award-winning Zimbabwean poet Blessing Musariri and beautifully illustrated by British artist Maisie Paradise Shearring, is another children's picture book which explores broad concepts by focussing in on the personal and private.
This is a poetic and uplifting picture book story about the impact the departure of a dad has on a young boy called Shingai feeling alone and lost.
Shingai's mum is equally bereft and struggles to deal with Shingai's emotions which he expresses by doing naughty things like chopping all the heads off the flowers in the garden... In the end his mother joins in. "I miss him too!" Shocked, Shingai shouts for her to stop...
A stunning story, beautifully illustrated, about the complex range of emotions a child experiences when a parent leaves, told from the perspective of a young boy.
An important book about overcoming sadness with hope, love and empathy, that will help children understand their feelings . . . and ultimately help them find a way forward.
Published by HarperCollins children's Books and available from bookshops and online.