Caged is a very poignant picture book based on the author’s experiences as a child in a Hmong refugee camp. It tells how being watched over by guards, eating meager meals, and waiting for approval to leave were normalized in the lives of children. Yet despite all of this, the children’s imagination, youthful joy, and loving connection to family make the story one of hope. While physically caged, the essence of the individual, the families, and the larger community refused to be bound. Creative and colorful illustrations help juxtapose the feelings of confinement and hope.

In the Author’s Note, Kao Kalia Yang describes how a question from her daughter about the detention of immigrant children on the US-Mexican border inspired her to revisit her experiences as a child in a refugee camp. Beyond it’s picture book audience, this powerfully personal story has abundant curriculum connections for secondary social studies.

From seed to sprout, seedling to bloom, See a Pumpkin Grow walks the reader through the life cycle of a pumpkin. The simple text and colorful up-close photographs make the content accessible for young readers. Chapter headings and bold glossary terms provide content support.

This is a perfect addition to all elementary school libraries. See a Pumpkin Grow can be used to support life cycle lessons or to introduce the pumpkin patch or farm field trip.

Despite her family’s poverty, a young girl satisfies her love of music by listening to the songs of daily life through her window. Looking out into the street, the whole world seems at times like a parade. The cats, dogs, cows, and horses add their sounds to the bustling past. It all makes Eloísa want to dance, though she’s too shy to do so out in the street. Also anchoring her to the inside of the window is her mother’s illness. When the village children gather their instruments to practice right outside her window, As Eloísa and her family listened, symphony of music invigorated her mother enough that she ventured outside.

This is a story about the power of music and rhythm of life in a small rural community. It also portrays the feelings of isolation and helplessness when a loved one either does not receive or does not respond to medical care. The story is set in the past in a Cuban village and interspersed with Spanish words.

This is a lovely picture about about relationships; the relationship between an old man and old woman, between the old man and a bird, between an old man and his grandson, and between a grieving family and a community. Music the tie that binds all these relationships together.

An old man plays the piano as his wife paints and hums. The piano music drifts down into the valley and attracts a bird. When the bird adds his song, the old man exclaims, “bravo, little bird!” The old man’s grandson and the bird’s babies join the songs. When the old man dies, the bird, the grandson, and the wife no longer feel like music. A cardinal from the valley below comes to see why the music has stopped. With the encouragement of the little bird, the cardinal brings the music from the valley up to the old woman and the boy, reigniting their music.

With its rich, descriptive text and lovely pictures, Bravo, Little Bird! is highly recommended for all collections.