Friends, family, and food (for thought)

Oh Dear, Look What I Got!

Michael Rosen
Candlewick, 40 pages

In 1989, author Michael Rosen and illustrator Helen Oxenbury released their award-winning We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Children who have delighted in that book’s classic rhyming cadence and soft watercolor and pencil illustrations will enjoy the familiar feel of Rosen and Oxenbury’s newest joint effort. The story shows a boy going from shop to shop in search of items including a carrot, hat, and coat. A series of misunderstandings, though, results in the shopkeepers instead giving the boy a slew of animals whose names rhyme with his shopping list. The amusing progression is punctuated with the repeated refrain, “Oh dear, look what I got! Do I want that? No, I do NOT!” The final few page-turns feature a riotous dose of animal mayhem that culminates with a satisfying ending. Ages 3–6

The Wild Robot on the Island

Peter Brown
Little, Brown books for young readers, 48 pages

Rather than a new installment in the popular Wild Robot series, Peter Brown’s latest release is a picture book adaptation of his first novel about Roz the robot. The plot mirrors the original chapter book: A crate containing Roz falls from a ship and washes up on a deserted island. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the island animals that eventually become her friends. Each spread features Brown’s vibrant paper and ink illustrations as he introduces younger readers to Roz’s world and her special bond with an orphaned goose. While Wild Robot fans who were hoping for a new Roz adventure may be disappointed with this abbreviated recap, the picture book version offers a visually engaging read that affirms the values of kindness and friendship found in Brown’s earlier works. Ages 5–8

John Calvin’s Illustrated Institutes

Paul Cox, Martin Williams, & Joy Williams
P&R Publishing, 80 pages

In this graphic novel collaboration, illustrator Paul Cox and editors Martin and Joy Williams offer an appealing and accessible format to help children understand the key points of John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. This inaugural book in a planned series focuses on the doctrine of knowing God and knowing ourselves, as found in Book 1 of Calvin’s Institutes. Students Theo and Geneva take a journey through time and space as their guide John Calvin presents his Institutes in layman’s terms alongside comic-book style panels that help visually depict the material. Each chapter ends with a summary as well as thoughtful questions to ponder and discuss, making this introduction to systematic theology a resource the whole family can enjoy. Ages 8–12

Family Feast!

Carole Boston Weatherford
Crown Books for Young Readers, 32 pages

Carole Boston Weather­ford’s rhyming cadence combines with Frank Morrison’s expressive oil paintings to convey a sense of warmth and joy surrounding an extended family’s holiday feast. Big Ma and Pops wake early to begin preparations in the kitchen as they await the arrival of sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers. As the family members crowd together in the kitchen, everyone pitches in to fill the dinner table with an assortment of family favorites that create a “scent of love from many hands.” Before everyone fills their plates, old and young join hands around the table and Pops leads the family in giving thanks to God. The book artfully celebrates the gift of family and the beauty of coming together: “Tastes like home when family meet; a bond so warm, so strong, so sweet.” Ages 4–8