Big Boy 4014 Roars Back to Life

Lynn: Train-lovers, big and small, will love Marsha Diane Arnold’s new picture book, Big Boy 4014 and the Steam Team: the World’s Largest Steam Engine Roars Back to Life (Sleeping Bear Press, 2025). The Big Boys, 25 huge locomotives, were built between 1941 and 1944. They were used to pull extremely heavy loads through the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and were critical in hauling soldiers and military supplies during WWII. So long at 132 feet, the Big Boys had to be articulated to manage curves on the tracks. After the war, diesel locomotives began to replace steam, and Big Boy 4014 pulled her last load in 1959. Eventually, all but 8 were scrapped. 4014 sat in a museum in Pomona, California, for over 50 years.

But in 2013, something amazing happened. The Union Pacific Railroad wanted to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike – the completion of the 2 ends of the first transcontinental railroad. A Big Boy was needed, and the “Steam Team” had only 6 years to get 4014 operational once more!

Since she sat more than a mile from any track, the first huge task was to move her somehow to the tracks. New tracks and a huge loader got 4014 connected to tracks, where two diesel engines then pushed and pulled her all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the Union Pacific Steam shop. The Steam Team went to work!

The story chronicles their efforts and ultimate success in getting 4014 rolling once again. Not only did she make the Celebration, she also started on a series of cross-country tours. allowing people around the country a chance to see her roaring past.

Adam Gustavson’s glorious illustrations take full advantage of the extra-wide pages with dynamic scenes and nearly steal the book. He uses perspective wonderfully, providing extraordinary views from above, below, close up, and far away.

Arnold’s text is perfectly suited for young readers but provides ample information for train fanatics. The sound effects make the book a wonderful read-aloud, as does the large size. A lengthy and fascinating Author’s Note with much more historical information and photos is included.

Let your readers roll with this outstanding book, which will be loved by readers of ALL ages.

Island Storm – a Moment in Time

Lynn: In Brian Floca and Sydney Smith’s new book, Island Storm (Neal Porter/Holiday House, 2025), a boy and his small sister set out to “see the sea” as a large thunderstorm brews offshore of their island home. As the clouds gather and the wind increases, the pair, holding hands, push further and further along the coast, past boarded-up vacation homes and into the strangely empty town. At each pause, they push and pull each other and decide to go on. When a thunderous boom shakes the ground, the children turn and race for home as the wind picks up and the rain begins. Cold and wet, they see their mother, searching for them, and fling themselves into her arms. Safe, to be comforted and warmed as the storm rages. The concluding pages depict a calm, beautiful day that follows as the pair explores their beach together.

This gorgeous lyrical book is definitely one of the year’s best for me. Floca’s dynamic evocative text thunders with the sounds of the approaching storm, yet softens with the undercurrent of love and reassurance the children feel for each other and their home. That exciting, slightly scary feel of pushing boundaries is beautifully depicted, as is the undercurrent of a solid understanding of love and protection that surrounds them.

Sydney Smith, whom I deeply admire too, shines here with stunning watercolor and gouache illustrations, all with a deeply affective use of colors, perspectives, panels, and full-page designs. The two children are small against the towering storm, never quite sharply drawn, but clearly the focus of each page as they test their courage, always supporting each other.

Brilliant in every aspect, these two artists create a powerful snapshot of a brief experience, but one that reveals volumes about relationships, experiences, emotions, and childhood.

One kid – Two Jobs! The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi

Lynn: Some background here. I spent my career in a district with a very large ELL population. We’re not big – 7000 kids but 1200 of them are English Language Learners. Over 33 different languages other than English are spoken in our kids’ homes.

SO, I am familiar with searching for resources for our kids, their teachers, AND their families, and there hasn’t been a lot out there. I am heartened by what is being written lately! But, having said that, this extraordinary book touches a chord that will be so deeply heard by kids like ours across the nation. Children are often more capable of learning a new language than their parents, and they are frequently called upon to interpret for them. It is a fact of life in schools and towns in our country, and it puts an immense burden on these students.

Olivia Abtahi nails the issue with her new picture book, The Interpreter (Kokila/Pengin Random, 2025), and while she does it with humor, the truth of it is anything but funny. As she says from the first page, ” Some kids had one job: to be a kid. Cecelia had two.” The young girl in our story loves helping her parents and doing this important job. But it is hard to be this grown-up “professional” interpreter AND be a kid! It is exhausting – and maybe she should have said something earlier. The resolution is hopeful and offers other helpers out there, with parents realizing that their child needs to be a child too.

This is getting long, but I don’t want to leave without highlighting the brilliant illustrations by Monica Arnaldo. Created with watercolors and crayons, Arnoldo uses color masterfully. Pay attention to the color of the speech bubbles, the color green that dominates in the over-reliance on Cecelia in an adult role and in the exaggerated perspectives on the end papers. This is a very kid-appropriate book, but the depth offered in both text and illustrations takes it to another level. I hope the committees are watching this one because it is stellar. Please note too that Cecelia’s oversized green suit waxes and wanes as her responsibilities alter.

This is a book that will speak to so many kids and that librarians and teachers have been wishing for. A must purchase, whether your population is non-English speaking or not.

Can Composting be Fun?

Lynn: I would have thought composting would be one of the last subjects that could make an engaging picture book but Brianne Farley has done just that with Worm Makes a Sandwich (Putnam/Penguin Random, 2025). Farley comes at the subject somewhat sideways but this approach takes a potentially muddy subject and makes it funny and appealing to a young audience.

Pink and very polite, little worm asks readers if he can make them a sandwich.

“I know what you’re thinking…Worms don’t have hands. Worms cannot make sandwiches!”

Worm starts making the sandwich with delectable garbage, Sorry – NOT for your sandwich, the garbage is for me he tells us. And over the next pages, worm narrates while a little girl goes through the processes of adding garbage to a compost pile, then insect poop and the resulting dirt to the garden. Seed planting is next, and a lot of waiting for the plants to grow.

At one dark moment, worm has deep self-doubts about the success of this sandwich, but a red ripe tomato on the vine saves the day. And, indeed, the child makes a delicious sandwich with the tomato, allowing the worm to preen. A comic little touch at the end is a perfect dessert to follow.

Kids will love the story and the illustrations, which are created in watercolors, gouache, and colored pencils, and have wonderfully varied perspectives. Along the way with all the giggles, kids will learn a LOT about composting and how to do it.

Helpful back matter includes more information on composting, how to do it, what to use, the equipment needed, and why we should all be doing this.

The story is a fun read-aloud for classrooms, story hours, and laptime reading, and is an ideal STEM book. If you had no hands, could you make a sandwich?

Want to Escape? Try The Zebra’s Great Escape!

Lynn: Many of us may be looking for books about escapes, good over evil, and with touches of humor, now more than ever.

Katherine Rundell’s latest, The Zebra’s Great Escape, (S&S, 2024), is a perfect example, her first for a younger audience, and it is a delight. Longer than the usual picture book, this is divided into 3 parts, which makes handy stopping points for a younger child’s bedtime reading. But who will want to stop???

Meet Mink, a child who doesn’t believe in bedtimes. Out late playing, she meets a baby zebra and discovers he and all animals can talk through colors and feelings in her mind. When the baby begs for help, Mink takes him home where he tells her his story of his parents being stolen by an evil man and taken away in a cage. Gabriel, for that is the zebra’s name, has been searching ever since.

Mink, with the help of the grumpy dog next door and other nearby animals, discovers the zebras are being held in a faraway country house by an evil man, Mr. Spit. They are off to the rescue.

Rundell uses words with magical skill. She respects her young readers and her vocabulary choices are challenging but the meaning is made clear through context. The story is paced to increase the readers’ engagement and suspense and she provides a terrifically evil villain they will love to hate. The conclusion is delightfully satisfying.

Enhancing the story are Sara Ogilvie’s illustrations, which have a slightly Edward Gorey feel to them. She uses digital and hand-drawn illustrations, rich colors, and details with a perfect humorous touch.

The entire package is a delight and one that is bound to be read over and over. I missed this one when it came out but please grab this for a your own great escape.

Moving Day – for the House!

Lynn: I loved this interesting and inviting picture book about a very unusual subject – physically moving a house! Teri Roche Drobnick’s debut picture book, Moving Day (Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House, 2025), is based on a true event—moving the Englander House in San Francisco to a new location 6 blocks away. The practice was common in the early 1900’s and later. My best friend in childhood had a father whose business moved all sorts of buildings and I remember watching some of those. Few children today, however, ever witness such an effort and this book adds to the fun by making the house itself the narrator. Readers hold their breath as the house tells of teetering and tottering and even walloping a light post before settling into its new home.

Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s watercolor and ink illustrations are comedic and charming, adding whimsical details like feet to the house and its own colorful carpet bag luggage. The perspectives are wonderfully designed to add interest including a two-page spread featuring a long long hill with the top of the house just peeking over the summit.

Backmatter includes an Author’s Note with additional information and a photograph of the Englander House being moved. Don’t miss the end pages either as they are peppered with colorful sketches of crazy house all with feet.

This will make a great read-aloud as well as a discussion starter for conversation about moving and all the emotions surrounding that experience.

Become a Spider with Jumper and Jessica Lanan

Lynn: Can you imagine ever being a spider? Many of our young readers would shout yes to that Jumper question. Author/Illustrator Jessica Lanan is right here to help with her new book, Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Jumping Spider (Roaring Brook, 2023) where readers can spend the day with Jumper, an impossibly cute Regal Jumper as she hunts in a backyard garden. A human child and her family work in the garden while Jumper also goes about her life, hunting and avoiding being hunted.

Jumper is a completely engaging little creature only the size of a bean but with some extraordinary abilities that Lanan demonstrates in brilliant and beautiful illustrations, giving young readers context and comparisons that make the little spider’s talents fully understandable. Jumper is shown, for example, making a leap after prey while in the background, the little girl also jumps. A double-page spread dramatically reveals what it is like to see with Jumper’s 8-eyed vision. Some scenes are spider-size perspectives and some are from the child’s perspective. Lanan has used ink, watercolor, and gouache and the illustrations are truly beautiful as well as being accurate, and extremely effective, helping children to comprehend a spider’s world.

Extensive back matter provides a plethora of additional information, including a 6-part guide for locating and observing spiders. Science has never been so fun! This is an ideal choice for a STEM classroom or to use as a writing prompt.

Squash the Cat Makes a Big Mistake

Lynn: It’s fall so squash is a common topic! But this time I don’t mean the vegetable – I mean the cat! Sasha Meyer’s new and very funny picture book, Squash, the Cat (Random Studio, 2023) introduces a cat named Squash and his best friend Maggie. Squash is the perfect name for this orange and definitely squash-shaped cat.

Squash is “an early breakfast followed by a mid-morning nap kind of cat.” Maggie, however is a later riser but a “wild playdate” kind of girl. But Maggie and Squash are perfect for each other just the same. Together they take on all challenges and always have each other’s back. Until, that is, Squash, thinking he is saving Maggie, makes a BIG mistake!

This sweet and appealing story shows what happens when a best friend makes another sad. Small children will understand both Squash and Maggie’s feelings and cheer when Maggie decides that even if best friends forever aren’t perfect, that is OK. Meyer’s large bright illustrations wonderfully convey both friend’s experiences and gently underscore the idea that friends forgive each other. This is a wonderful book to use to start discussions about friends and what happens when someone makes a mistake.

I adored the illustration in this tale! Just looking at Squash makes me laugh. But I may have a slight bias here Will on couch since I share a house with a remarkably similar and squash-shaped cat.

Sy Montgomery Introduces Kids to Turtles

Lynn: The publisher blurb for Sy Montgomery’s new book describes her as “part Emily Dickinson, part Indiana Jones” and I think that is not wrong. I am a huge fan of Montgomery’s many books and look forward to each new one. Often her books are filled with stunning photographs but this time, she teams up with wildlife painter Matt Patterson to bring one of my favorite creatures to kids with The Book of Turtles (Clarion, 2023).

Montgomery and Patterson take the basic concept of a nonfiction information book to a new level with this wonderful book. Excellent writing provides fascinating facts on turtles in a captivating way. Did you know that by 220 million years ago, turtles looked the way they look today—flourishing alongside dinosaurs? Different types of turtles are introduced along with many did-you-know additional facts. Did you know that Eastern Box Turtles can climb fences or that turtles are as smart as laboratory rats?

The Celebrity Turtle Profiles were my favorite part of the book. Here you meet some famous turtles such as Lonesome George, Myrtle the green sea turtle in the New England Aquarium who loves to photobomb film shoots, and the couple at the Austrian zoo, Poldi and Bibi, who after 115 happy years together, finally couldn’t stand each other. An excellent section on how to help turtles provides practical advice.

Matt Patterson’s beautiful and carefully accurate paintings illustrate the book. Turtles come to life with his skillful brush and the book is so visually enticing that it won’t stay long on the shelves.

All the stars for this must-purchase! Kids will love this one!

A Walk in the Woods: a Loving Collaboration

Lynn: In 2019 old friends, Nikki Grimes and Jerry Pinkney asked each other why they hadn’t done a book together? They embarked on the work for A Walk in the Woods (Holiday/Neal Porter, 2023) choosing the rare theme of an African American child interacting with nature. Sadly, Jerry died before finishing the artwork. The collaborative work had brought them both joy and it was an even harder blow for Grimes to learn of Jerry’s death on her birthday.

Fortunately for all of us, Jerry’s son Brian decided to finish the manuscript using his father’s watercolor techniques. The result is this sensitive, beautiful, and moving book.

After the death of his father, a grief-stricken boy finds an envelope from his father, revealing a map of the woods they had walked together and a red X marking a spot. At first, the boy’s heart aches, revisiting the places he and his father explored. But the farther he walks the more his grief is soothed. “Can you smile and cry and the same time?” he wonders and the answer of course is yes. Grimes’ verses capture the sights and sounds of the woods and the inner hurt of the grieving boy. Readers walk with the boy as nature does its healing work. Deeply evocative, beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a gem! It is a celebration of a creative life and a remarkable depiction of the healing power of nature and love. Wonderful back matter includes notes from Nikki Grimes and Brian Pinkney.

It was a special treat me to read this book at the American Library Association’s recent conference in Chicago and even more of a treat to have it signed by Nikki and Brian. The book means so much to adults who have read and loved the work of these three talented people. But more importantly, this book will speak to and move the children it is intended for. This is must purchase for every collection serving children.