April 2025 Prime Picks

Reviewer's Choice

Cocoon: Creating Homes With Heart
Ali Heath
Mitchell Beazley
9781784729721 $39.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Cocoon: Creating Homes With Heart is packed with color photos and advice that encourage home decorators to understand the elements of creating a warm ‘home sanctuary’ refuge from the modern world.

Ali Heath goes beyond advocating a particular style, promoting a holistic approach to decorating that embraces all senses and opportunities for connection as she shows how an entire home can be made into a comfort zone.

Photos from homes around the world illustrate this concept in creative ways, covering all kinds of environments large and small. Many admonitions that open these chapters will prove thought-provoking, moving beyond design alone to consider emotional impact and response:

“Instead of adapting to the energy in our spaces, influence and shape that energy.”

Libraries will find Ali Heath’s approach thoroughly engrossing, offering a very different and warmly inspirational touch that will fit in nicely in arts, home design, and general-interest collections.

Girl Unmasked
Emily Katy
Monoray
9781800961418 $14.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life is a memoir of difference and discovery that tells how 21-year-old Emily Katy comes to terms with discovering she’s autistic—at age 16.

Her personal struggles with OCD, school and other systems which did not recognize her autism and therefore made her life much more challenging, and her family’s interactions with her pre- and post-diagnosis makes for an involving story of struggle, safety, self-harming, and solutions to problems Emily was only able to tackle after diagnosis and better understanding.

This vivid memoir, packed with raw emotions and insights, is the best way anyone who is not autistic can better understand its emotional challenges and impact, making Girl Unmasked highly recommended for anyone interested in the autism experience and solutions to common problems.

Hamlyn/Octopus Publishing
www.octopusbooks.com

Hamlyn’s cookbooks provide libraries and home cooks with a rich collection of recipes that will appeal to busy cooks looking to make the most of homemade efforts and time.

Nick Valdez’s The Pickle Jar: Recipes for Making and Using Pickles and Ferments (9781804192740, $24.99) comes from a UK pickle brand and teaches how cooks can make and use their own pickles at home.

Health connections between digestion and eating fermented foods appear alongside pickle-making ideas and recipes for using them. The blend of basic recipes with a knowledge of fermentation, and dishes making the most of pickling processes, pairs mouth-watering products with alluring color photos.

Sonali Shah’s Dip In: 80 Delicious Dip Recipes for Enertaining, Snacking & Beyond (9781804192726, $19.99) promotes expanding the usual use of dips to apply to small dishes as well as snacks.

Ordinary store ingredients come with an attention to using spice combinations in new ways for fare such as a Coconut & Spiced Black Bean Dip with Pineapple Salsa, Crab & Kohlrabi Remoulade, and Japanese-Style Potato Salad.

These variations on traditional ideas of creating and using dips will prove exciting to cooks who want to expand their repertoires of easy, exciting foods to create and serve.

Megan McKenna’s Love Gluten Free: Easy, Delicious Recipes to Enjoy Together (9780600638827, $26.99) comes from a media personality and singer whose celiac and wheat allergy diagnosis resulted in her interest in tasty recipes that everyone can eat and share, gluten-free or not.

From food made for sharing to date night dishes, dishes for celebrations, and variations on classics such as a No-Fish Chicken Caesar Salad or the author’s own creations, such as My Very Own Fine Tomato Bolognese, this cookbook is packed with innovations and attractions not to be found elsewhere.

Jeremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen (9780600639121, $26.99) provides some 70 recipes specific to the country’s unique dishes, from its famous street food to hotpots and desserts. Color photos on facing pages add interest and attraction to such recipes as Black Pepper Beef & Potatoes Hong King Style, Cumin Beef & Spring Onion Fried Baos, and Marbled Tea Eggs.

The variety of Hong Kong style cooking will attract anyone interested in translating this country’s iconic cuisine to their home kitchen.

All are appealing cookbooks that not only expand a cook’s collection and repertoire, but invite innovative thinking and healthy results.

Memories of Gascony
Pierre Koffmann
Aster/Octopus Publishing
9781783256402 $29.99
www.octopuspublishingusa.com

Memories of Gascony has been out of print for a long time. It now appears in a revised edition with modern photos and a redesigned appearance to attract new generations to its special blend of Gascony gastronomy and memories.

Chef Koffmann juxtaposes his culinary memories and approaches with such dishes as Sweetbreads with Mushrooms, a simple Shoulder of Lamb with Potatoes, and a double-cream Lamb Stew in a White Sauce.

The scope and appeal of this blend of memoir, culinary reflection, and recipe collection makes it a classic “must have” for any serious cook or cookbook collection.

Pull Up a Chair
Martha Collison
Kyle Books
9781804192429 $32.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Pull Up a Chair: Recipes for Gatherings Big and Small, from Morning to Night offers recipes big on flavor and low on prep requirements, making them perfect choices for busy cooks who want to produce eye-catching, delicious food for entertaining, with a minimum of effort.

It’s geared to all kinds of entertaining, from brunches to three-course dinners, providing foolproof results from recipes such as Salt-and-Pepper Sea Bream, Creamy Chicken Cacciatore, and Sticky Pomegranate Brisket with Vermicelli Rice.

Color photos on facing pages give additional incentive to relish this cookbook’s easy approach to entertaining, making Pull Up a Chair a top pick for cooks who want infallible results that are eye-catching and look like much more work than they are.

Young Adult/Children

Candlewick Press
www.candlewickpress.com

These new arrivals from Candlewick Press provide young readers with a wealth of picture books as perfect for read-aloud as they are for library acquisition.

Síne Quinn’s The Faerie Isle (9781536240719, $18.99) gathers tales of Ireland’s folklore, featuring exceptionally lovely illustrations by Dermot Flynn that lend well to read-aloud enjoyment.

There are leprechauns, shapeshifters, giants, and also facts about Irish folklore that will please a wide age range with vivid tales and a few truths presented in lively language suitable for folk story-telling tradition.

Megan McDonald’s Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies (9781536201420, $17.99) will also lend to either read-aloud or advanced elementary-level pursuit.

Lenny Wen’s inviting illustrations capture the story of flower fairies who have been cursed. Eliza of the Elves discovers this as she enters their kingdom. The solution is a compendium of flowers that, together, can cure; but “magic is not easy to detect, at first.”

Eliza must overcome some barriers in order to gather the elements of cure and change in this winning story of botany, magic, and adventure.

The flowers are fast losing their scents. Can Witch Hazel help, and can she overcome the Demon Wind to cure them?

This fine fairytale will attract a wide age range.

Chloe Savage’s The Search for Carmella: What Mystery Lurks in the Deep? (9781536238976, $18.99) tells of marine biologist Dr. Rose, who dreams of locating an exceptionally strange creature that is the stuff of legends.

As Dr. Rose and pilot Annie enter a submersible vehicle that could bring them to see the legendary Carmella, their journey captures the joy and imagination of exploring strange new undersea worlds, bringing science and fictional drama together with inviting drawings to capture young reader attention.

Georgie Birkett’s Bedtime is Boring! (9781536241273, $17.99) returns the Cherry Street characters to a new story in which young frog Cosmo finds life far too busy to sleep when he should.

Bedtime is boring! How he figures out that, in order to enjoy the activities of daytime, he’d better sleep, makes for a compelling lesson kids will have fun absorbing as Cosmo and his tired Mommy learn lessons about how to approach bedtime differently.

Emily Arrow’s Dear Bookstore (9781536210599, $17.99) is illustrated by Geneviève Godbout and presents a dialogue between a little girl and the local bookstore she loves.

“We’re glad you’re here!” say all the residents of an inviting book-filled refuge. Kids will absorb the comforts and invitation of a good bookstore via the young reader’s welcoming experiences.

Timothy Knapman and Jean Jullien’s The Greedy Wolf (9781536240696, $18.99) explores just why seven clever goats can fend off a big, hungry wolf, but it takes a twist in retelling the Grimm’s “The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats” that readers won’t see coming.

In this version, home-alone youngsters are too clever to answer the door where a “mailman” claims to have an important delivery, or an ice-cream man is giving away free ice cream.

Delightful scenarios will engage both young listeners and read-aloud parents in a zany story of clever young thinkers.

Michelle Worthington’s Ruby’s Repair Café (9781915167651, $18.99) receives joyful illustrations by Zoe Bennett as it features a girl who loves to fix things in her Repair Café.

Facing competition from a new department store’s offerings, Ruby sees business fading because everyone wants shiny new things.

How can she save her family business?

A fine story of a clever girl who demonstrates business sense and savvy about what people really want makes for an engaging story.

All are highly recommended as library acquisitions and for read-aloud adults seeking high-quality books.

Wm. B. Eerdmans
www.eerdmans.com

These new arrivals from Eerdmans gather stories picture book readers will find diverse and original.

Alain Serge Dzotap and Marc Daniau’s Adi of Boutanga: A Story from Cameroon (9780802856296, $18.99) will reach ages 10 and older with the story of thirteen-year-old Cameroonian Adi, who loves her childhood play ... until an uncle decides she’s now old enough to get married!

How can Adi maintain her childhood freedom when a powerful relative has plans for her future as an adult?

The first-person narrative offers rich insights into family and women’s roles in Cameroon.

Mabi David’s How Do You Eat Color? (9780802856388, $18.99) will appeal to ages 4-8 with its pairing of engaging color drawings by Yas Doctor with the tale of a boy, a girl, and a chameleon who encounter the amazing fruits and vegetables of their world.

The story, translated from Filipino, profiles the foods of the Philippines in an exceptionally colorful way as kids are invited to understand the daily lives and culture of the islands.

A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World by Matt Forrest Esnwine (9780802855718, $18.99) will reach kids up to ten years old with poems that portray different kinds of rainbows in life.

It contributes to Eerdmans’ ‘Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers’ series, pairing rainbow science with an artistic inspection profiling poems from a range of contributors, from Marilyn Singer and Nikki Grimes to Janet Wong.

The diversity of the people, poems, and situations makes for an exceptional survey that also shines via gorgeous illustrations by Jamey Christoph.

All are excellent choices for discriminating elementary-level picture book collections.

Everything is Poison
Joy McCullough
Dutton/Penguin
9780593855874 $19.99
www.penguinteen.com

In Everything is Poison, Carmela Tofana has a long-held dream of becoming part of her mother’s apothecary in 17^th century Rome. Finally, at age sixteen, she’s allowed into the inner sanctum. But her lessons on potions and perils reveals a darker side of apothecary that leads her to realize that life and death medicine runs dangerously close together.

As she uncovers a secret which introduces new revelations about her life and world, Carmela struggles to reconcile her heart’s dreams with new truths.

Young adults looking for engrossing stories of young women who navigate dangerous adult territory will relish the intrigue and insights packed into Everything is Poison.

New Frontier Publishing
www.newfrontierpublishing.us

New arrivals from New Frontier Publishing are top recommendations for libraries seeking lasting lending value from bright, appealing picture books.

Just-In Time to Be Kind by Michele Hornsby and Rizkia Gita (9781915641199, $18.99) tells of superhero kid Justin, whose power is arriving just in time to be kind.

His adventures begin at the local grocery store, where he helps an elderly shopper load groceries into her car. Then he makes a trip to the bank, where he observes a homeless man sitting outside it with a cardboard sign and an empty cup.

His supportive mother helps him figure out how he can help each person in a wonderful message about kindness, caring, and family interactions that help Justin look around his world to make it better.

The message of empowerment and the colorful way in which Justin’s life becomes richer because of his superpower will translate to fine discussions between kids and read-aloud adults.

Jess Rose’s Fantastic Frankie (9781915167330, $18.99) tells of a fox who is fabulous, amazing, and fun with his various colorful costumes.

Not everyone appreciates him, however. As Frankie tries to make everyone happy, he finds that he only is making himself feel more unhappy, while those who appreciated his originality miss the originally colorful Frankie, even if he was fancy and not very fox-like.

Kids and read-aloud adults will appreciate the important message about individuality and pleasing others delivered in this zany story of a creative, sensitive little fox.

Beverly Tatwahi’s Gogo The Mountain Gorilla (9781915167255, $18.99) receives fine illustrations by Sawyer Cloud as it explores a mountain gorilla’s life. It’s one of seven tales of connections between endangered animals and children that spans seven continents.

This fourth book in the series tells of Kito, who comes upon a mountain gorilla in the forest and learns to understand it in a way that changes his life. A warm story of rescue and connection evolves which is uplifting and thought-provoking.

Kaye Baillie and Tracie Grimwood’s Boo Loves Books (9781912858804, $17.99) both celebrates books and reading and tells of a field trip that involves not books, but an animal shelter visit.

This worries Phoebe, who frets about reading and doesn’t know anything about dogs. Her mandate to read to Big Boo changes her perceptions about what is possible in a tale that will delight read-aloud adults looking for a very different story about literacy and animals/human relationships.

All are fine selections, sporting unique themes and colorful attraction, promising enduring library lending interest.

Paloma and the Red Carpet
Carme Lemniscates
Tilbury House
9781668944912 $18.99
www.tilburyhouse.com

Paloma and the Red Carpet tells of Paloma, who arrives at a big, strange building where many children live happily. There, a cozy red carpet invites her to draw, read, learn a new language, and enjoy.

When the children discover they’ll have to leave their magical refuge because the building is too old, fear replaces their feeling of safety. How can Paloma and her friends adjust to yet another new home, which will never be the same without the magic red carpet?

A fine story of new experiences, discoveries, creativity, and friendship introduces important themes about adaptation and change for young picture book readers.

Read-aloud adults will appreciate the story’s many discussion points about learning a new language and culture, and changing concepts of safety and home.

Penguin Random House
www.penguin.com/kids

New arrivals from Penguin offer picture book readers diverse choices pairing vivid illustrations and compelling writing.

Girls on the Rise by Amanda Gorman (9780593624180, $19.99) is illustrated with appealing, colorful drawings by Loveis Wise as it captures the feeling that girls can be strong and powerful ... especially when they work together.

Amanda Gorman’s poem celebrates and rallies girls’ efforts, pairing free verse with reflections suitable for roundtable discussion: “But here’s the thing:/When one girl stands up, She is never alone.”

Pat Zietlow Miller’s Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card—and Helped Change History (9780593524909, $18.99) enjoys fine illustration by Jerry Jordan as it explores how one man defied the notion that libraries were only for white people, spending his life advocating for change.

During the course of exploring John Lewis’s pursuits, young readers receive thought-provoking history, accounts of legal and social challenges, and a biography that reads like dramatic, accessible fiction which ties together many insights about Lewis’s life, times, and impact.

Collections seeking picture book biographies of early civil rights leaders whose contributions were notable (yet perhaps under-mentioned) will want to add Unstoppable John to their collections.

Olivia Abtahi’s The Interpreter (9780593620441, $18.99) features colorful, good-size illustrations by Monica Arnaldo as it explores the importance of a bilingual girl charged with helping her Spanish-speaking parents navigate the world around them.

Young Cecilia gets tired, sometimes, of being an interpreter. The job holds much responsibility. But, how can she reduce or leave her role?

The thought-provoking story introduces a dilemma that will foster communication between adults and children who feel compelled to help them.

Sharing the Dream by Sheila P. Moses (9780593617298, $18.99) features art by Keith Mallett, moving through a single day in American history through a child’s eyes as she participates in the March on Washington.

How she absorbs the words, speeches, and inspiration of civil rights leaders and participants such as Dr. Martin Luther King is the foundation of a thought-provoking celebration of freedom and struggle that will enlighten many young readers.

N.H. Senzai’s Prince Among Slaves: The Remarkable True Story of an African Prince Enslaved in Mississippi, and His Journey Home (9781984816986, $19.99) chronicles the 1700s life of West African Prince Abdulrahman Sori, who was kidnapped from his home and taken to America, where he became a slave.

How he was forced to move from the life of an educated scholar fluent in five languages to that of a field worker makes for a gripping story that comes to life for young readers.

All are exceptional choices, highly recommended for libraries interested in increasing their diversity of book subjects at the picture book level.

Simon & Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com

These new arrivals are highly recommended for libraries seeking picture books that will be lasting library standouts.

Amy Hevron’s Poo Pile on the Prairie (9781665935029, $19.99) is a “Tiny Habitats” book that looks inside a pile of poo to consider the little plants and creatures that live inside of it.

A seasonal examination of the poo pile’s evolutionary process is accompanied by attractive, colorful illustrations that invite kids to consider its changing ecology.

Carrie Tillotson’s Alpacas Here, Alpacas There (9781665942027, $19.99) receives bright drawings by Elisa Chavarri as it explores alpacas in their native South American home, as well as in North America.

Illustrations follow the daily care and natural history of the alpaca, with contrasting pages highlighting differences between South and North American cultures.

Kids will find these comparisons thought-provoking, especially when accompanied by read-aloud parental guidance.

Alex Willan’s Mermaids Are the Worst! (9781665962599, $19.99) presents the zany story of mermaids who show up in the middle of Gilbert’s goblin getaway, introducing their festivities in a manner that translates to annoyance.

How can Gilbert find bliss on the beach with so many active mermaids taking over his world in the 105^th Annual Mermaid Tournament of Awesomeness?

Read-aloud parents will especially appreciate this fun story’s underlying messages about differences, energy levels, expectations, and adaptation.

Meet the Mini-Mammals: A Night at the Natural History Museum by Melissa Stewart (9781665947169, $19.99) presents especially notable, outstanding illustrations by Brian Lies as it introduces some of the world’s smallest mammals.

Which mammal is the tiniest of all? A fun cavalcade of creatures emerges with full-page, gorgeous, colorful illustrations to capture young reader attention.

All are top picks for libraries seeking books that will attract, educate, and entertain.

Sleeping Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com

These diverse, intriguing picture books deserve profile and mention in elementary-level libraries and by read-aloud adults. All are exceptionally colorful and compelling.

Talulah the Mermaid and the Great Lakes Pledge (9781534113176, $18.99) will reach ages 4-8 with its special celebration of Great Lakes creatures, where Tallulah the mermaid will be honored as the Great Lakes Mermaid.

She takes the pledge, but finds it involves a learning curve about environmental dangers, natural history, and tasks she must undertake to keep everything connected and healthy.

Brooke O’Neill’s appealing drawings of mermaids and animals creates a lively interplay between message and image.

Chelsea Tornetto’s Seasons on the Farm (9781534113060, $18.99) receives uplifting, colorful illustrations by Karen Bunting as it follows life on the farm over four seasons, examining different types of work and how it is incorporated into daily and seasonal chores.

Rhyming text reinforces the appeal, enhancing read-aloud experiences:

Days grow longer, corn grows tall.
Tailgates can do more than haul.

Sherry Fellores’s This is the Crew That Builds Our School (9781534113190, $18.99) is especially bright and bubbly, featuring colorful animal drawings by Sam Caldwell that reinforce a rollicking rhyme about building a school.

The animal illustrations make the projects even more engaging and fun; while the rhymes describe how things work together (“This is the way the power comes, ROLL and TWIST, CHECK THE LIST!”).

Kyla and Jedidiah Mora’s Today My Brain is a Dinosaur (9781534113541, $18.99) reviews what it feels like to live with autism, ADHD, and other neurodivergencies. Illustrated by Mette Engell, it follows a young boy who wishes he could be like all the other boys.

One day he may feel like a fearsome dinosaur; the next, he may be fielding a storm of inner turmoil.

How the boy channels these feelings to face the world in the best possible way makes for a story of understanding for all young readers.

Elisa Boxer’s Pine Cone Regrown: How One Species Thrives After Fire (9781534112964, $18.99) enjoys engaging illustrations by Kevin and Kristen Howdeshell as it shows how a pine cone survives a forest fire, and how life can regrow from devastation.

Lovely art and simple language capture forest ecology before and after the fire, making for a beautiful story that will appeal to a wide age range.

All are fine picks that promise lasting library lending value and attractive read-aloud choices.