Faith, feelings, and friendship

Jude and the Extraordinary, Spectacular, Miraculous Day

Jessica Dennis Bush
Crossway, 40 pages

Every day begins in the same ordinary way for Jude: He gets up from bed, eats his breakfast, and takes the simple lunch his mother packed before following a well-traveled path to the sea. But one day Jude arrives at the sea and encounters something unusual: Thousands of men, women, and ­children have gathered to listen to a man named Jesus. The captivated crowd soon grows hungry, though. Jude answers the call to share his lunch of five loaves and two fish, and then he watches as an ordinary day becomes extraordinary through Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Bush’s paper collage illustrations give children lots to pore over while they ponder the ways Jesus filled hungry hearts as well as hungry bellies. Ages 4–7

The Sweetest of Lemons

Daniel Nayeri
Levine Querido, 48 pages

In this Persian-inspired fairy tale, a family stops at a roadside rest stop where Abbas the storyteller weaves a tall tale about three brothers, a giant, a princess, and “a lemon so perfectly sweet that it cured sadness itself.” In the story, the prized lemon grows on a tree that belongs to a poor family, but each year someone steals the lemon before the family can sell it. The hero of the tale sets out to retrieve the lemon. Along the way he must overcome challenges and rescue a captive princess. Rahele Jomepour Bell’s vibrant gouache and collage illustrations offer a feast of textures to behold, while Nayeri’s story features themes of heroic courage and sacrificial love, and a lesson about how suffering can make you selfish unless you use it to build strength. Ages 5–8

Arlo Takes Off

Betsy Childs Howard
Crossway, 40 pages

After Arlo’s favorite TV show airs an episode promoting the message that you can be whatever you feel, Arlo goes to bed and has a dream that he can fly. When he wakes, he decides to follow his heart so he can feel light and free like in his dream. Arlo makes a set of kite wings and then leaps from his tree house, realizing too late that while his heart might feel like it can fly, his body is limited to its innate design. As Arlo suffers the consequences of his fall, his parents remind him “we can’t be whatever we feel like inside; we can only be what God made us to be.” The story’s timely message offers a springboard for families to discuss with children why feelings don’t define identity and the importance of accepting and thanking God for the way He has made them. Ages 4–8

Orris and Timble: Star Stories

Kate DiCamillo
CandleWick, 80 pages

In Star Stories, author Kate DiCamillo brings to a conclusion her early reader trilogy about unlikely friends Orris the rat and Timble the owl. One day Timble invites Orris to accompany him on one of the owl’s evening flights so the rat can see for himself the wonders of the night. Orris refuses to go, though, because he is afraid of the unknown. Timble reassures Orris that the rat can trust his owl friend, and eventually the rat acquiesces. Although at first Orris is still scared, with Timble he is safe, and Orris soon discovers his fear is gone because of their mutual trust and friendship. Carmen Mok’s delightful gouache and pencil illustrations appear on every page spread and will keep new readers engaged as they navigate the 10 short chapters. Ages 5–8