Creative characters and curious creatures

Because Barbara

Sarah Mackenzie
(Waxwing Books 2024)

This picture-book biography introduces readers to illustrator and author Barbara Cooney, who is known for her work in books such as Ox-Cart Man and Miss Rumphius. As Mackenzie traces Cooney’s life from aspiring girlhood to her golden years, the unifying theme centers on Cooney’s determination to do whatever she set her mind to while making the world more beautiful through her art, gardens, and philanthropy. Eileen Ryan Ewen’s watercolor and gouache illustrations reflect the text, capturing Cooney’s warmth and spirit. An author’s note highlights Cooney’s many roles, from mother and gardener to adventurous world traveler and connoisseur of picnic-­planning. By book’s end, readers will wish they had had the opportunity to know Mrs. Cooney personally. Ages 4-8

One Long Line

Loree Griffin Burns
(MIT Kids Press 2024)

Although scientists Jean-Henri Fabre and Terrence Fitzgerald were born in different centuries and never met, they shared a passion: studying pine processionary caterpillars. In this short chapter book, author Loree Griffin Burns delves into the two scientists’ worlds and the curious creatures they studied. Both were fascinated by how the caterpillars followed a leader caterpillar in a single file. Fabre’s and Fitzgerald’s detailed observations fueled their research into what enables the caterpillars to follow each other, what happens when a leader caterpillar is removed, and what role pheromones play in their precise procession. The story, which includes illustrations by Jamie Green, will resonate with budding entomologists and leave families marveling at God’s imaginative insects. Ages 7-10

Before the Seed

Susannah Buhrman-Deever
(MIT Kids Press 2024)

Biologist Susannah Buhrman-Deever dives into the diverse world of pollination in this vibrant picture book. Each spread highlights different ways pollination occurs, which depends on both the plant and the pollinator. From the common (bumblebees pollinating tomato plants) to the almost bizarre (the blunt-veined orchid gluing pollen onto the eyes of the snow pool mosquito), each example will fill young readers with wonder. The text, along with Gina Triplett and Matt Curtius’ digitally rendered ink and acrylic illustrations, serves to remind readers of all the unique ways God designed our natural world to function. Note: Two “millions of years” comments, and one sentence says “plants have found ways” to make pollen move, rather than pointing to their God-given design. Ages 6-9

When Beavers Flew

Kristen Tracy
(Random House Studio 2024)

During the mid-1900s, the town of McCall, Idaho, had a problem: It wasn’t big enough for both its booming population and the local beaver colony that was damaging new construction and ravaging area farmland. As townspeople grew more irritated with the rodents, Idaho Fish and Game warden Elmo Heter knew he had to come up with a way to save the beavers. His plan: parachute-drop 76 of them into the Chamberlain Basin, a remote area that today is part of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness. As outrageous as Heter’s scheme might seem, it worked, and families will enjoy learning about this unique slice of conservation history. Luisa Uribe’s illustrations incorporate detailed drawings from Heter’s journals and research notes, giving children lots to pore over as they listen to the book. Ages 4-8