April Books of the Month

Two of my longtime critique buddies, Dianne White and Karen Jameson, have three inspiring, wonder-filled books newly out in the world: FINDING GRATEFUL, IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, and WAKE UP, WOODLANDS!

“Mama says you don’t need a map to find grateful.” In Dianne White and Faith Pray’s FINDING GRATEFUL, after their car breaks down, a child relates how her mama encourages her to notice "this thing/that thing/anything, really.” The child realizes she can find grateful in a smile, or “a cold spray on a hot day.” She pays attention to wiggling toes, and the smell of honeysuckle, indeed, to all the wonder of the here and now. The uplifting, lyrical prose will sweep readers along, and it’s deftly illustrated in an appealing, fully-rendered yet sketchy style that conveys movement and enthusiasm. This child’s eye view of mindfulness is a lovely and comforting read.

IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, also written by Dianne White and this time illustrated by Nanette Regan, is an inspirational, board book take on growing up and becoming your best self. Opening verses (“There’s a time to begin/and a time you will wait./A time when you're early./A time when you're late.”) are accompanied by an infant in a crib and a toddler learning to walk, followed by the child aging up and growing her life experiences. “There’s a time for inside/and a time to go out./Small moments of quiet./Big moments of SHOUT!” The text is smooth and song-like and begs to be read aloud, while illustrations, loose and evocative, are active or contemplative in turn. IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, with its gentle push for this child to “show the world who you are: confident, courageous, a bright rising star!” is sweet and lovely. This book would be a terrific gift for new parents, or graduates of any age!

WAKE UP, WOODLANDS, written by Karen Jameson and illustrated by Marc Boutavant, is the rhyming, beautifully illustrated follow up to 2020’s WOODLAND DREAMS, created by the same talented team. As a group of kids emerges from a cabin to celebrate the end of winter, the text calls out to a succession of sweetly nicknamed critters to do the same:

Wake up, Tiny Whiskers.
No more storming
Woods are warming
Sweep your sleepy dreams away.
Scamper out to meet the day.

Smoothly written stanzas “croon a song” of spring, and bright, bucolic illustrations showcase children and animals alike, as they make their way across these colorful pages. WAKE UP, WOODLANDS works as a lovely companion to WOODLAND DREAMS, a story about bedding down for winter, or on its own as a paean to spring.

--Lynn