Year: 2026

Goldfinches

Sophie Rosen , ,

Oliver, Mary. Goldfinches. New York: Viking, 2026.
A poem to greet spring by the life-giving American writer, Mary Oliver. Exquisitely illustrated by Melissa Sweet, whose delicate artwork and scientific details carry readers into a new realm of wonder. Accompanied by a lengthy afterword, this picture book is most highly recommended for everyone – 9 to 90 years old – who loves nature.

“Have you ever been so happy in your life?”

“One more thing I want to mention before the pages actually begin. Writing poems, for me but not necessarily for others, is a way of offering praise to the world.” from Long Life: Essays and Other Writing (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2004)

More poems turned into picture books

Poems to read and memorize

Write your own poems

Dedushka

Sophie Rosen ,

Spaeth, Katerina. Dedushka: Memories of My Grandpa and Ukraine. Mankato, MN: Paw Prints Publishing, 2025.

Kharkiv is the setting for this story by a Ukrainian American artist remembering her childhood in Ukraine’s second largest city, with more than one million residents before the Russian invasion. Chatting with people on the streets, preserving food from the garden for the winter ahead, watching the news on television, dying Easter eggs using red onion skins…. Katerina and her grandfather do everything together. He is her best friend. And this tender memoir honours their love for each other. Accompanied by two recipes – for Easter bread and dyed eggs – and an author’s note, glossary, and numerous photographs, this picture book is recommended for readers and listeners 5 to 14 years old. 

More picture book memoirs

More stories about grandparents

More stories set in Ukraine

 

Cobweb

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Morpurgo, Michael. Cobweb. London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2024.
The Napoleonic Wars ended on June 18, 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. Thousands had died. But one French drummer boy survived. Scots Guardsman Matthew Clay, who kept a diary of his experiences on the battlefield, rescued him. Inspired by this history, Morpurgo’s tells the story of a drover’s dog leading cattle to market in London where he meets two soldiers and befriends a young French drummer boy. Beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman and well-designed with widely-spaced lines of print, this inspiring novel is highly recommended for readers 8 years old and up. 

More historical novels

More stories of war 

More dog stories 

More stories told from unusual – or multiple – points of view

My Father’s House

Sophie Rosen ,

Javaherbin, Mina. My Father’s House. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024.
Many years ago, Muslims and Jews lived peacefully together in Iran. When Cyrus the Great, in 539 BCE, said the Jewish people, who had been taken into captivity in Babylon, could return to Judea, many returned. But some decided to stay in the Persian Empire and over 2,000 years later, a sizeable Jewish community still thrived in the city of Isfahan. In this autobiographical picture book, little Mina visits the city with her father, chats with her father’s friend David, enjoys a picnic, explores a mosque, and returns to her father’s childhood home to share a meal with her grandmother. She falls asleep thinking of her father’s words: keep exploring and learning for the whole world is your home. Gently cheerful illustrations by Lindsey Yankey and a lengthy author’s note and glossary help to create a heart-warming and hopeful story highly recommended for readers – and listeners – 5 to 12 years old. 

More stories set in Iran

More picture book memoirs

Clara and the Birds

Sophie Rosen , ,

Simpson, Emma. Clara and the Birds. Varennes, QC: Milky Way Picture Books, 2024.
Where do you feel you belong? Where are you happy? In this gentle picture book, a little girl enjoys watching birds but finds people more difficult. Other children describe her as shy, but she feels lonely. Until one day when she rescues a small bird in the forest and life changes. Clara might still be shy sometimes, but she can also be brave enough to make friends. A quietly sweet story to share with kids five to eight years old.

More stories of solitude

Another story about overcoming loneliness

The Eclipse of 1919

Sophie Rosen

McCully Emily Arnold. The Eclipse of 1919: How Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity Changed Our World.New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025.
What is a theory? Is it an idea or an opinion or a guess? Not for scientists. For scientists, a theory is an explanation of the natural world that is based on repeated, carefully-conducted observations and experiments. An explanation that builds on scientific laws and provable facts.
Albert Einstein, born in Germany in 1879, was not an outstanding student at school. But he was outstanding at thinking about mysterious things. Like what would happen if he travelled faster than the speed of light? Even once he’d graduated from college – fourth in his class of five students – he kept thinking about that question. He had an idea that energy, mass, motion and time were all related.  But how could he find evidence for his idea? How could he conduct an experiment that could be repeated over and over again? Why, an eclipse of the sun!

This brilliant picture book by Emily Arnold McCully tells the story of how Einstein came up with the theory of general relativity and how he tested his theory with the help of astronomers and scientists in England. A prologue and an author’s note provide more information. Wonderful pen and ink and watercolour illustrations greatly enhance this biography for readers eight to thirteen years old. Happily recommended for anyone wanting to understand more about the natural world.

Students conducting research projects: note how the author provides a lengthy list of sources at the end. Always properly list where you found your information! Art students: notice how the layout on each double-page spread shows emotion and creates movement.

More books about Albert Einstein

More books to expand your general knowledge

More picture books for artists

How Democracies Die

Sophie Rosen ,

Levitsky, Steven and Daniel Ziblatt. How Democracies  Die. New York: Crown, 2018.
What are four signs of authoritarian behaviour? The first chapter of this 231-page book by two Harvard professors of government provides an answer. Lack of commitment to democratic processes. Rejection of legitimate political opponents. Acceptance and encouragement of violence. Willingness to limit the rights of opponents. The authors then go on to provide a more detailed explanation of these traits and how they have been demonstrated in American history. While the book in its entirety is only suitable for adults and students of American history, the basic outline is a useful starting point for any class studying forms of government and can be applied to both real-life and fictional situations. Highly recommended. 

Stories about authoritarian societies

Guide for reading fiction

Guide for reading nonfiction

More books for adults