This picture book, Take Me Out to the Ball Game! by Jack Norworth, brings the classic baseball song to life with colorful, cartoon-style illustrations. A boy tries to convince his father to take a break from work and join him at the ballpark to cheer for the home team. The story captures the excitement, sounds, and energy of a baseball game. The artwork and familiar lyrics make it a fun and engaging read-aloud for young readers and families, especially those who enjoy sports and music.

I recommend this title as an additional purchase for elementary libraries. It is a joyful, easy read that works well for read-alouds and helps share the classic spirit of baseball with young students.

This fun picture book, Can You Grow a Striped Banana?, uses bright illustrations and a sweet story about a mother and her daughter. The daughter asks for silly and impossible things, like growing a striped banana or stretching like a giraffe. Her mom kindly explains that she can’t do those things. The requests keep getting sillier, which makes the story funny and engaging. In the end, the mom shows that even though she can’t do everything, she will always find ways to show love and care for her child. The message is simple and easy for young readers to understand.

I recommend this title as an additional purchase for elementary libraries. It would make a fun read-aloud for kindergarten students because of its humor, bright illustrations, and sweet message about love and acceptance.

This lighthearted picture book by Carrie Finison follows Steven, a boy who loves sharing things by making everything perfectly even. He thinks the best way to share is always to split things in half because it feels fair and balanced. But Steven soon learns that not everything can be split evenly, like a nickel, a book, or a playground slide. He begins to explore other ways to share, such as taking turns or giving one to each person. As the story continues, Steven starts to wonder if something can be fair even when it isn’t perfectly even. The playful story helps readers think about sharing, fairness, and problem-solving in real life.

I recommend this book as an additional purchase for elementary libraries. It is a fun and engaging way to introduce the concepts of fairness and sharing, and it encourages class discussion. The humor and simple explanations make it a good fit for primary students learning social skills and cooperation.

Gwei the Hungry Ghost by Emeline Lee is a sweet story about a ghost who cannot seem to fill his empty belly. During Ghost Festival, Gwei searches for the perfect food, but nothing satisfies him. When he meets another hungry ghost and decides to share his food, he learns that friendship can be just as important as a good meal. The story introduces readers to Chinese folklore and features warm, colorful illustrations. This book shares a meaningful lesson about kindness, generosity, and friendship.

This heartwarming story follows Caius as he tries to help his elderly neighbor, Mr. Johnson, remember the rest of his favorite song. Even though Mr. Johnson struggles with memory loss, music continues to bring him comfort and joy. Caius searches through library books and recordings, determined to find the song and help his friend. The story explores important themes such as kindness, helping others, aging, memory loss, and living with physical challenges. It also introduces young readers to topics like Alzheimer’s disease and the importance of supporting elderly members of the community.

I recommend this title as an additional purchase for elementary libraries. The book presents valuable messages about empathy, service, and understanding people with memory loss in a gentle and age-appropriate way. The inclusion of characters experiencing Alzheimer’s disease and using a wheelchair helps promote awareness and inclusion. However, the story feels somewhat incomplete, lacking the details and cohesiveness needed to fully connect the plot and characters. At times, it seems as though important pieces of the story are missing, which may leave readers wanting more development. While the themes are meaningful and worthwhile, the overall storytelling is not as strong as the message it aims to deliver.

This funny graphic novel by Anne Appert follows the Loch Ness Monster as he tries to explain why certain birds have unusual colors. While Ness tells exciting stories, Puffin repeatedly points out that the stories are not based on real science. Throughout the book, readers are introduced to actual facts about birds and learn about the importance of telling the difference between facts and misinformation. The colorful illustrations and humorous characters will appeal to many young readers.

I recommend this title as an additional purchase for elementary libraries. The book offers opportunities to discuss science, misinformation, and critical thinking. However, the graphic novel format and talking animal characters may make it difficult for some younger readers to distinguish between the fictional stories and the factual information. While the real science content is included, it can sometimes be overshadowed by the humorous narrative. Libraries looking to strengthen collections on media literacy and evaluating information may still find this a useful supplemental title.