January 2025 Prime Picks
Reviewer's Choice
Reviewer's Choice
Forgotten
Skills of Cooking
Darina Allen
Kyle Books
9781804192764 $39.99
www.octopuspublishingusa.com
Forgotten Skills of Cooking is not a typical collection of old-fashioned or lost recipes, but a key to using ingredients that involve forging, curing meats, growing herbs and vegetables, or smoking food (among other routines and “lost” culinary traditions).
Its 700 recipes draw important links between forgotten food processes that can lend to home achievement and recipes that make the most of the homemade produce.
Dishes such as Crispy Chicken Livers with Lime, Pork and Apple Burgers, and a Rose Petal Syrup excel in covering production and usage in an inviting manner that returns forgotten skills to everyday household efforts.
Hollywood
Blackout
Ben
Arogundade
Cassell
9781788405492
$26.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Hollywood Blackout: The Battle for Inclusion at the Oscars documents how minorities and women have largely been left out of Hollywood awards. It uses statistics to follow the process of a system which has embedded discrimination into its very structure.
Ben Arogundade’s revisionist history of the Oscars documents many battles by minorities and women who fought for inclusion in the past … and are still fighting today. Individual stories of such battles capture the ceremonies, politics, and costs of Hollywood acclaim. This will prove eye-opening even to the most avid of Hollywood enthusiasts.
Libraries adding Hollywood Blackout to their collections will want to see that patrons beyond the usual Hollywood reader learn about this title. It should be central to discussions of inclusion, documenting historic struggles that have (until now) received relatively little public or media attention.
Hugh
Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book
2025
Hugh
Johnson (Margaret Rand, Editor)
Mitchell
Beazley
9781784729592
$17.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book’s annual publication means that a wealth of wine facts are updated, maintaining the relevancy of wine information for buyers, restaurants, and anyone involved in the wine industry.
New to this edition is a color supplement on Pinot Noir that concludes the book with much discussion and a narrow focus on the grape.
The pocket size, of necessity, translates to small print. Readers should be prepared for a lot of information packed into a very small font size.
That said, the value of a book packed with information on varieties, food pairings, and wine history should not be underestimated. There’s a reason why Hugh Johnson’s annual guide has become an industry standard reference. This is it.
Self-Care
for Winter
Suzy
Reading
Aster
9781783256358
$19.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Self-Care for Winter: Seven Steps to Thriving in the Colder Months addresses a common form of depression that hits many in the cold of winter. It covers an alternative, better way of embracing the season without its usual impact on energy, productivity, and self-expectations.
Psychologist and self-care author Suzy Reading creates seven easy steps that encourage extra nourishment and health in the winter, applying lessons from nature to strengthen these revised approaches to life.
From maximizing light and color to outdoors meditation, star gazing, and woods baths, a wide range of rituals that embrace the season provide satisfying alternatives to those tired of dreading winter months.
Young Adult/Children
Is a
Book a Box for Words?
Harriet Ziefert and Mercè Galí
Red Comet Press
9781636551258 $18.99
www.redcometpress.com
Is a Book a Box for Words? is a picture book exploration of boxes and their uses. It pairs a thought-provoking survey by Harriet Ziefert with the engaging illustrations of renowned Spanish book illustrator Mercè Galí.
Simple, one-sentence descriptions of boxes and their design, usage, and differences accompany illustrations that celebrate the diversity of the box.
Read-aloud parents who might initially think that a focus on boxes will be boring will be delighted by the lively, colorful box explorations that expands their use and value in imaginative, fun ways.
Open Me
… I’m a Dog!
Art Spiegelman
Toon Books/Astra Books for Young
Readers
9781662665486 $18.99
www.astrapublishing.com
Open Me … I’m a Dog! blends words and images in the lively picture book exploration of a puppy who claims to literally walk from the pages of this book.
A child might think this is just a book, but the puppy refutes this notion with a creative discussion of a wizard’s curse, the perils of chewing up a witch’s best broom, and a series of transformations that includes meeting a ‘magic maiden of the mountain’ who “sang like a bird and smelled like a fish.”
Read-aloud adults will find it just as whimsical and fun as their young listeners, while libraries will appreciate Open Me … I’m a Dog!’s colorful, wonderfully creative plot.
Penguin
These new picture book arrivals from Penguin give young readers engaging stories paired with superior, colorful illustrations.
Stephanie Ellen Sy’s Aroof! (9780593697054, $18.99) receives fine illustrations by Daniel Tingcungco and tells of a community that bands together after a storm tears a roof off a house.
Young Maya and her Tatay are determined to return the roof to its owners, and Tatay packs it up for delivery. What kind of a roof can be packed up and toted? A thin metal roof, typical of Philippines homes.
As Maya and her Tatay embark on a very long journey, many helping hands aid them in their endeavor to return the roof to a family that might be cold, and missing it.
Solid lessons about helping and community involvement are imparted during the course of an appealing journey that read-aloud adults will find especially valuable not just for its messages on helping others, but its portrait of the Philippines.
Gabrielle Balkan and Shana Gozansky’s How to Be a Witch (9780593751190, $19.99) features engaging art by Carmen Saldaña as it considers what makes a witch a witch.
Contrary to young peoples’ beliefs, a witch might not be all bad. All it might take is loving others, to bring magic alive in the world.
This engaging picture book covers the not-so-negative personality of a witch in an appealing manner containing many subliminal messages that read-aloud adults can profile to young listeners.
Oliver Jeffers offers Where to Hide a Star (9760593622247, $22.99) to both prior fans of the tales of boy and penguin and newcomers who will appreciate boy’s vivid game of hide-and-seek with his friends Penguin and the star.
The star isn’t very good at hiding, though, and can always be found. How can he participate in such a game?
A gentle story of friendships, differences, and play presents fun for picture book readers and listeners.
Brad and Kristi Montague’s Fail-A-Bration! (9780593697146, $18.99) celebrates those who try and fail, offering a lively and supportive survey of various kinds of failures as it explores why a “standing ovation” should be given to those who pick themselves back up to try again.
Whether it’s making mistakes, failing to do art or baking, presenting the wrong gift to a friend, or incurring the laughter of those who think they’d know or do better, the story encourages kids to understand that “failing is part of a process. It helps to remember you’re not done.”
This is a message many an adult would do well to heed, themselves, making the picture book not just warm and celebratory, but worthy of the entire family’s thought-provoking discussion.
All are fine recommendations for elementary-level libraries and read-aloud parents alike.
Simon & Schuster
These new arrivals from Simon and Schuster represent top-notch recommendations for elementary-level libraries, read-aloud parents, and picture book readers who look for vivid blends of plot and illustration.
Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague present three friends who enjoy life in the “Bat, Cat & Rat” series. The Cozy Home (9781665930420, $17.99), the first book in the series, follows the three into a new living situation as they unpack, find their special (and sometimes unexpected) places in the new house, and face disparities in jokes and funny choices.
Vacation by the same authors (9781665930444, $17.99) presents three-and-a-half new adventures that follow the trio when they decide to vacation together. Once again, differences and similarities highlight attractions and possible problems in friendship that adults can easily use to guide young listeners. The introductory lessons about relationship-building, acceptance, and different ways of viewing life are embedded into these exceptional, fun, whimsical tales.
Ariel Bernstein’s Mable Wants a Friend (9781665940405, $18.99) receives engaging illustrations by Marc Rosenthal as it explores how a girl who always gets what she wants meets Chester, who doesn’t always agree with how she succeeds.
The two have a disagreement that leads Mabel to think that they shouldn’t be friends … but Chester’s appeal has won him a place in her life. She only has to enact some personal changes to find a revised role acceptable not only to him, but to herself.
Read-aloud parents will especially enjoy the opportunity to cover subtler nuances of relationship-building than is featured most picture books about disparate friendships.
Phil & Lily Rosenthal’s Just Try It! (9781665942638, $18.99) will reach ages 4-8 with its story of father Phil and his stubborn daughter Lil.
Phil’s motto about food is “just try it!” But Lil knows in advance what her likes are … so why should she taste something new that she just KNOWS she won’t enjoy?
The father-daughter connection is as strongly presented as Phil’s motivation for encouraging his daughter to be flexible and open to trying new things. The plot will especially engage food-reluctant kids and parents who also want to encourage them to reach out and experience new tastes and opportunities in life.
Stacey Patton’s Not My Cat (9781665927963, $18.99) receives inviting illustrations by Acamy Schleikorn and is based on a true story, lending it added appeal for ages 4-8.
Staceypants lives in a lovely house and keeps it exceptionally clean. When she finds a scruffy stray cat on her fence, Staceypants is not inclined to take him in. She well knows that cats cause disruption and even need a messy litter box—so she knows she doesn’t want a cat.
It may take repeat visits for the cat to win her heart, but eventually it does … so when it vanishes, Staceypants experiences an epiphany that young readers will find especially relatable.
Read-aloud parents will find Not My Cat a particularly winning tale of connection and discovery.
Valeria Wicker’s Grown With Love (9781665947084, $18.99) tells of young green thumb grower Oliver, who helps his neighbors with their own plant problems … except for Mrs. Kroftombottom, who apparently has a black thumb.
Despite his best efforts, everything he tries to grow for her dies. When he attempts to remedy this bleak situation, he uncovers more insights about her life that is likely to effect a greater change than just being able to support other living things.
Libraries and parents will appreciate this lively story of growth that operates on several levels of discovery.
You Are Not Sleepy! by Mark Teague (9781665940740, $18.99) tells of a sleepless pig who tries everything to fall asleep, from combating too much light to facing scary darkness. A host of problems evolve over getting to sleep, from moths that are attracted to the light to building a bed so warm that others in the house want to join him.
What is a sleepless pig to do?
Kids receive a fun story of an increasingly zany situation in a tale steeped in hilarious moments of problem-solving and new dilemmas.
All are highly recommended picks for personal picture book collections and elementary-level libraries alike.
The Soul
of the Violin
Nívola Uyá
Cuento de Luz
9788419464705 $19.95
www.cuentodeluz.com
The Soul of the Violin is inspired by the true story of Gaspar Borchardt, a violin maker. Here, he embarks on an adventure prompted by a search for an special tree for instrument-making. Not just any instrument, either … an exceptional one.
His journey is filled with music, magic, and a quest that involves a forest’s nature and inhabitants as it evolves themes of trust, patience, and perseverance.
Exceptionally lovely full-page illustrations mark a gorgeous biography that simmers with nature, melody, and an appreciation of the world. These elements will lead read-aloud parents, elementary-level libraries, and picture book readers to appreciate The Soul of the Violin’s extraordinary celebratory story.