12. Gnome and Rat: First Snow

12. Gnome and Rat First Snow (Gnome and Rat #3) Lauren Stohler. 2024. [November] 80 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book]

First sentence: A four-letter word for 'something fluffy and white, that falls overnight...'

Premise/plot: Gnome and Rat star in their third adventure together in Lauren Stohler's Gnome and Rat First Snow! Rat and Gnome have been invited to Rat's family event Nest Fest. But the journey to get there, well, it is packed with a lot of missteps and adventures. 

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved the first book. I haven't read the second book--still on order at the library. The third book is one I wanted to love: it sounds FUN. However, it just didn't charm and delight me like the first book. Though the misadventures were technically different/distinct, the journey to get there just seemed so slow-paced to me. Granted I am NOT the target audience, obviously. I do enjoy the characters. I will definitely read the second book when it arrives.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

11. Noodles on a Bicycle

 

11. Noodles on a Bicycle. Kyo Maclear. Illustrated by Gracey Zhang. 2024. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, Caldecott Honor, historical picture book, picture book]

First sentence: When the deliverymen set off in the morning, we sit outside
and watch
and wait
for the flicker of pedal and wheel.

Premise/plot: Noodles on a Bicycle is a historical picture book set in Tokyo, Japan. Soba deliverymen are the star of the show--the scene stealers. 

My thoughts: This one left me speechless-mostly. This was my first introduction to the subject! It would be an understatement to say I was captivated and in awe--at the whole concept let alone the execution. I loved learning something new. I loved the story. I loved the WRITING. Such a beautiful narrative style. I enjoyed the illustrations.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

10. A Mouse Family Christmas

  

10. A Mouse Family Christmas. Deborah Underwood. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book, holiday, Christmas] 

First sentence: On Christmas Eve, the house on the corner was quiet downstairs...and joyful upstairs, as the big, bustling Mouse family prepared for Christmas.

Premise/plot: A mouse family makes a lonely [old] man happy during a snow storm when they decorate his Christmas tree in the night.

My thoughts: Is it odd to be reviewing a Christmas book in January? Perhaps. In my own defense, I put the book on hold months ago and I've been patiently waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. I had every hope that it would be cataloged and shelved before Christmas. Alas. The good news? The book is delightful. I love the story, the characters, the illustrations. I enjoyed seeing the upstairs/downstairs stories. This one reminded me of Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree and The Tailor of Gloucester.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

9. Chooch Helped

 

 

9. Chooch Helped. Andrea L. Rogers. Illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, siblings, family, picture book]

First sentence: This is the baby. We call him Chooch. The word for boy or son in Cherokee is atsutsa.  

Premise/plot: A sister is terribly, horribly annoyed with her younger brother--or bother as the case may be. The book is set within a Cherokee family/community; while the book is not wholly bilingual, the book certainly has an emphasis on introducing new words to readers. 

My thoughts: This one won/earned the Caldecott Medal in 2025. (The awards were announced earlier this morning). It is totally normal for me to be unimpressed with the winner. My artistic taste--or artistic eye--for better or worse never has aligned at all--not even a little bit--with the majority of winners. What I absolutely love, love, love and am drawn to is never what the judges are looking for--apparently. Which is fine. To each their own. Picture books have always had the most potential for being polarizing because you've got TEXT and ART. 

The story is simple, relatable, enjoyable enough. The art just wasn't for me--personally. You may love it. I think anyone with a sibling can appreciate this one.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

8. Silent Movie

  

 

8. Silent Movie. Avi. Illustrated by C.B. Mordan. 2003. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars, historical picture book, immigration]

First sentence: One hundred years ago people from all over the world are moving to the United States of America. Some want adventure. Some are fleeing hardship. Others come because they believe America is the "Promised Land." Among those who seek a better life is a family from Sweden. The first to go is Papa...

Premise/plot: Silent Movie is not a wordless picture book. However illustrations--told within black and white frames--do the heavy lifting in terms of story telling and characterization. The words assist the artwork.

The premise is relatively simple: A mother and son who have recently arrived in America--New York City, I believe--struggle to find the "Papa" who came before. Relatively alone and without resources, the pair struggles to find a way to make it. A chance--oh so fortunate--encounter with a movie maker (director?) leads to a happy ending! The boy is cast in a silent movie and the father recognizes his son on screen and the family is able to reunite!

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. The illustrations and text pair wonderfully together to convey the story of immigration experience at the turn of the twentieth century. (The story is set circa 1909.) 

This one might be appreciated more by readers who have seen at least one or two silent movies and understand the concept. However, there's no reason why this picture book couldn't come first and serve as an introduction to the early days of movies. 

Some/many silent movies are "shorts" and are about twenty minutes in length. There are silent movies for just about any genre. 

This one could be read by a wider range of ages.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

7. Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right

Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2024. [December] 40 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, picture books, nonfiction]

First sentence: Hi, Righty! Did you know...there was a time when people could get into trouble...really, really BIG trouble--

Premise/plot: At its most literal (taken at face value) this is a pun-filled nonfiction picture book about perceptions through the centuries of being left handed (as opposed to right handed). 

My thoughts: I don't know if I'm disappointed because it is Mo Willems and I was expecting to absolutely love it above and beyond OR if it is just truly not my taste. Perhaps a bit of both.

While I almost-almost appreciated some of the illustrations, for the most part they just were not for me. I found them weird, odd, over-the-top. Of course, art is in the eyes of the beholder. Some readers may find the illustrations to be a great fit and wonderful.

The text was okay, fine, nice enough. Again, I am a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, HUGE fan of Mo Willem--usually. Like his writing usually appeals to me above and beyond. These are books that I reach for again, again, again. The writing was just so so-so. There was one scene that made me smile--the one about cookies. But for the most part, I wasn't super impressed.

The subject is perhaps not the most thrilling, HOWEVER, I do think it's a fine subject. I don't know that left-handed prejudice is alive and well, a current, relevant "thing." I don't think it's been much of an issue for decades. That is, I think it's been steadily declining as an issue for decades. It just is--and no one really cares.

 I do think that this book is not to be taken at its most literal. There are a lot of elephants in the room (not literal, sadly, I wouldn't have minded a cameo from Elephant). I do think the book is a way to talk about other subjects. This tone is heavy-handed (pun-intended). In this sense I think it's a bit didactic. Here's the thing--and I've said this before--a conclusion can be one you agree with (or one you don't agree with, for that matter), and if it's written in a didactic way it can be a bit of a turn-off.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

6. What-a-baby

 

6. What-a-baby First Words Book. (Whataburger). Blue Star Press. 22 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board book, novelty book]

First sentence:  Whataburger. Lettuce. Tomato. Onion. Pickles. Patty. Cheese. Bacon. 

Premise/plot: A board book of vocabulary words taken from the Whataburger menu. This novelty book for the youngest of fans may delight adults more than little ones, however, any time spent reading aloud to little ones is a bonus. 

What would make this one even better would be if there was an audio book read by Matthew McConaughey. 

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I thought it was fun in a novelty-silly way. The illustrations could be better, could be worse. They have a retro-dotted style about them. I liked the wide range of words included. 

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

5. Pizza and Taco: Coolest Club Ever

 

5. Pizza and Taco #9: Coolest Club Ever! Stephen Shaskan. 2025. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book, series book]

First sentence: Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Hey! Whoa! Whoa! Ooh!

Premise/plot: Pizza and Taco have starred in nine books together. In this ninth book in the series, Pizza and Taco are excited about starting an after school club, however, they are not the only students starting a club. Can these two have the coolest club ever? And just what should their club be about?

My thoughts: I have read all nine books in the series. Some I have loved, loved, loved. Some I've barely liked. Still this series has more hits than misses as far as I'm concerned. I think the little things that might keep me from "loving" or "gushing" about an individual title in the series probably wouldn't be an issue for the target audience. Series for this age group thrive on having readers who LOVE comfort, familiarity, and predictability. Book characters are FRIENDS. And there's something awesome about coming back again and again to spend time with beloved friends. 

I do recommend the series. I am always happy to pick up the newest book in the series. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

4. Mustache Baby

 

4. Mustache Baby. Bridget Heos. 2016. HMH. 36 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: When Baby Billy was born, his family noticed something odd: He had a mustache.

Premise/plot: His parents anxiously wait to see if Baby Billy's mustache will turn out to be a "good-guy" mustache or a "bad guy" mustache. Readers see "Baby Billy" through his toddler years. And in fact, while most of the time his mustache is a good-guy mustache, there are SOME days when it is in fact, quite the opposite. "But a funny thing happened. As Billy got bigger...his mustache grew and curled up at the ends."

My favorite scene is probably when he robs a train: "A train robber so heartless that he even stole the tracks." The expression on his face is PRICELESS.

My thoughts: I loved this one. I wished I'd known about it when it first came out in 2013. I don't know how I missed such a great book. It is now available in board book format.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

3. Sabrina Sue Loves the Mountain

 

3. Sabrina Sue Loves the Mountain. Priscilla Burris. 2024. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [early reader, animal fantasy, ready to read, chickens and farms, 3 stars]

First sentence: Sabrina Sue lived on a farm. She liked to walk through the fields. One morning in the distance she saw--a big, tall mountain.

Premise/plot: Sabrina Sue--a chicken with dreams--stars in her sixth ready to read early reader. This chicken is always dreaming big. In this one she dreams of mountain climbing.

My thoughts: I have enjoyed Sabrina Sue in the past. I do think she's an enjoyable--albeit silly--character. For better or worse if you've read one, you've essentially "read them all." I think that could be a good thing for young readers who find satisfaction in predictability and sameness, an assurance that things will stay just the way they like/love them. This one is not as absolutely silly as some of the previous books in the series. Recommended for fans of spunky chickens.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

2. Mr. Fox's Game of "No!"

 

2. Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" David LaRochelle. Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. 2024. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars]

First sentence: Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up for a battle of wits and test your brain with my nearly impossible Game of "No!" Here's how it works: Every time I ask a question, you have to say "NO!" If you accidentally say "YES," then you have to go all the way back to the beginning of this book and start over. Are you ready to play?

Premise/plot: Perhaps not necessary after that first paragraph, but I'll give it a go. Mr. Fox playfully teases young readers with a fun, silly game. [It has the same vibes of Simon Says.] Through a series of questions, readers may be tempted to say yes...

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I do think it would be a playful book to read aloud with little ones. It does invite audience participation, if you will, so a group setting might be a good fit. Definitely reads younger and not older.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

1. The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah

1. The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah. Jane Yolen. 2024. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]

First sentence: The first problem Rochel-Leah had was that she was a girl. 

Premise/plot: This picture book is set in a small Russian village--a shtetl--in the 1830s. Rochel-Leah, our heroine, wants more than anything to learn to read. But there are many, many, many obstacles standing in the way. She has spunk and determination, but will that be enough???

My thoughts: This picture book is based on a story passed down through many generations in Jane Yolen's family as happening to a cousin of a cousin of a cousin or some such like way back when. Regardless of its origin, the story celebrates gumption and a LOVE of words, of stories, of the power of such. 

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers