A Star Shines Through

by Anna Desnitskaya

Someone Just Like You

by Helen Docherty, illustrated by David Roberts

We Are Definitely Human

by X. Fang

Three big-eyed, blue-skinned creatures crash their vehicle at Mr. and Mrs. Li's farm. But they are definitely human, or so they say. You can tell because one makes business, one plays sportsball, and one wears hat. This laugh-out-loud picture book is about helping strangers, no matter how strange.

I Know How to Draw an Owl

by Hillary Horder Hippely, illustrated by Matt James

I Know How to Draw an Owl is my favorite picture book of 2024. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, yet as quiet as an owl gliding through the trees, it depicts a serious issue with subtlety and sensitivity. Belle and her mom have been sleeping in their car in a forested park. It's scary being in a strange new place, but one night Belle finds comfort in the huge eyes of a majestic owl who seems to be welcoming them. Through minimal text that packs a punch, local author Hilary Horder Hippely has crafted a meaningful book that stays with you for a long time.

John the Skeleton

by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated by Adam Cullen

The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets

edited by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Merce Lopez

Drawn Onward

by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Matt Rockefeller

If You Run Out of Words

by Felicita Sala

After a long phone call one day, author/illustrator Felicita Sala's daughter asked her, “Mum, what if you talk so much that you run out of words, and then there won’t be any left for me?” Her daughter's worry developed into a picture book where a little girl asks her father the same question. Dad is ready with an answer: "I'd have to go pay a visit to the Elves' Word Factory." But what if he gets lost in the woods? The father answers his daughter's questions by weaving one fantastical scenario after another as he tucks her into bed. Sala's rich and vibrantly colored illustrations make this a beautiful bedtime book to share.

Roy Is Not a Dog

by Esme Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman

Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup

by Giovanna Zoboli and Mariachiara Di Giorgio