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Hedgehog sets sail looking for The Friend Ship. Other animals join him along the way in this sweet picture book about, you guessed it, friendship. – Recommended by Rae Ann Parker |
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Adam Rex is simply one of the funniest writers out there, period. This hilarious tale of epistolary pining is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever fallen in love with someone from afar. As with the best picture books, the words tell only part of the story — be sure to pay particular attention to the endpapers! – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
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I love everything about this picture book: The simple, understated text, the way Italian illustrator Alice Lotti uses the space of each page to convey Elephant’s bulky sweetness, and the way Elephant’s minimally illustrated facial features convey a full range of emotions, from wistfulness to hope to happiness. You will not find a more adorable book to share with someone you love this Valentine’s Day. – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
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I absolutely loved the first Storm Whale book, and this one is right up there with it. Here, we’re reunited with Noi as he goes on a quest to find his dad in a snowstorm… only to meet with an unexpected friend! The illustrations are colorful and tender and make me want to hug every character. A must-have for all picture book lovers. – Recommended by Ashley Herring Blake |
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Sparse writing and gorgeous photography tell the story of snow in winter. Two pages at the end take each simple line of the story and provide more scientific information about snow. Perfect reading for winter! – Recommended by Jackie Gregory |
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In the pantheon of picture book masters, few, if any, come close to Margaret Wise Brown, and now we have a brand new book to add to her canon. 2017 is shaping up to be a doozy of a year; at least we can read this book together every night. – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
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A little girl in a bright red coat walks home from school as fluffy white snowflakes begin to fall. The snow thickens, and a young wolf pup is separated from its pack. What follows when the paths of these two characters cross is a story of empathy and kindness that feels both fresh and timeless. – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
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There’s a small category of picture books that I think of as must-read-alouds. Until now, the epitome of this category was Emily Gravett’s Orange Pear Apple Bear — but Emily Jenkins’ brilliant new A Greyhound, A Groundhog is threatening to usurp the top spot. Chris Appelhans’s gorgeous watercolors have an increasingly kinetic quality that more than matches the energy of Jenkins’ wordplay. This one is destined to be a new storytime favorite. – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
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“Pets that don’t turn out as expected” is another of my favorite picture book themes, and Mark Pett’s Lizard from the Park is a wonderful addition. Walking home through the park, Leonard finds an egg and takes it home, but Buster, who hatches from the egg, turns out to be not quite the ideal pet for a New York City lifestyle. This is a sweet, funny story about friendship and belonging, with a neat twist at the end for particularly observant readers. – Recommended by Stephanie Appell |
| For those who can’t resist a good graphic novel: |
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Warning: This graphic novel for young readers is very silly. Fans of Hello, My Name is Octicorn will enjoy it. My favorite part is when Narwhal shares a book with Jelly that is completely blank … because it’s an “imagination book” that can be about anything you can dream up. – Recommended by Jackie Gregory |
| For advancing readers: |
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Ed. note: Normally if two booksellers like a book equally, we ask them to decide which of them will recommend it for the list. In this case, Rae Ann and Ashley both adored this book so much and with such enthusiasm that we’re featuring both recommendations. Also, we didn’t want them to have to arm-wrestle for it.
13-year-old Rose Lee Carter wants to trade her summer days in the cotton fields for a life up North with her mama who left her behind. The murder of Emmett Till in a nearby town changes Rose Lee’s life and possibly her plans. Midnight Without A Moon is an important novel that blends fact and fiction in 1955 Mississippi. – Recommended by Rae Ann Parker
Young Rose Lee Carter finds herself at odds with her own family, knowing the South has to change and trying to decide if she has the courage and strength to be a part of that movement. I wish I could put this beautiful, raw, historical novel into every kid’s hands. – Recommended by Ashley Herring Blake |
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This new anthology compiled by some of the best and brightest middle-grade authors today, including Newbery Award winners Kwame Alexander and Jacqueline Woodson, features 10 stories that celebrate diversity and individuality. It’s 2017 and everyone deserves to see themselves represented in books. These stories are an excellent place to start. – Recommended by Katherine Klockenkemper |
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In this beautiful and thought-provoking poetry collection, Nikki Grimes uses the “Golden Shovel” method to create original poems based on the works of poets who wrote during the the Harlem Renaissance. Gorgeous original artwork by famous African American illustrators accompanies each poem. The book includes information on the Harlem Renaissance, as well as biographies of each poet and artist. – Recommended by Jackie Gregory |
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“Be Original. Don’t Get Caught.” That’s Maggie’s motto when she cooks up engineering marvels and surprise hacks during Oda Middle School’s last year in existence. This prank-filled novel is great for fans of school stories. It’s full of laughs and adventure. – Recommended by Rae Ann Parker |
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The perfect book for the girl who loves science. Middle school isn’t easy for Madeline, especially as she deals with her grandfather’s death and her blood disorder. All she wants to do is help her dad with his experiments at the lab where he works. But when new friends come her way anyway and then read what she wrote about them in her secret notebook, she starts to figure out a formula for friendship. – Recommended by Ashley Herring Blake |
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I FINALLY read Chris Colfer’s modern-day fairytale masterpiece The Land of Stories. Better late than never to get addicted to a series with perfect amounts of magic, fantasy, and good-old-fashioned adventure, right? (See the full series here, or start with book one, The Wishing Spell.) Full disclosure: I’m a 20-something millennial of the Harry Potter generation, but I found Colfer’s books to be just as enthralling and magically escapist as Rowling’s saga. These are classics in the making! – Recommended by Katherine Klockenkemper |
| For young adults (or adult YA fans): |
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In a reimagined Brooklyn, everyone knows that if you fall in love with a Devonairre Street girl, you might just end up dead. Lorna Ryder has spent her life in disbelief and grief, but when her best friend’s boyfriend dies suddenly, she starts to wonder if she’ll ever be able to choose love. Lush and lemony, this book is a gorgeous feast about the nature and cost of love. – Recommended by Ashley Herring Blake |
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In American Street, debut author Ibi Zoboi has written a stunning story about family, first love, and the crossroads of faith and hope. Fabiola and her mother are finally on their way to the United States from Haiti when Fabiola’s mother is detained by Immigration Services in New York. Fabiola must continue alone to Detroit, where she is welcomed by her aunt and cousins. As she struggles to make sense of her new life and longs to be reunited with her mother, Fabiola begins to realize that the American Dream is nothing like she imagined it would be.
This story is both beautifully written and masterfully told. Writing from Fabiola’s perspective, Zoboi captures her homesickness for Haiti, her complicated relationships with her family, and the harsh and unfamiliar streets of Detroit in evocative and lyrical prose. She also unspools tightly structured narrative threads with skillful ease, not wasting a single page. When Zoboi interrupts Fabiola’s narration to present the story from the perspectives of other characters and even from the perspectives of the settings themselves, she reminds us not just that every person is the protagonist of their own story, but that places, too, have stories constantly being written, revealed, lost, and found.
Ibi Zoboi’s American Street is young adult fiction at its very best: Aching, revealing, and so true it hurts, and hurts good.
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| And finally, if Beyoncé is reading this, we just want you to know we’ve made some selections for Blue Ivy and the twins. Here’s the official Parnassus BEYONCÉ BABY BOOK REGISTRY: |
For big sister to enjoy on her own:
To read with new baby siblings:
- Hot Dog, Cold Dog — Because those who come in pairs don’t have to be exactly the same.
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom — If your dad’s name is Jay Z, you need an alphabet book from A-Z.
- A few books about music in case you’d like to follow in the family footsteps: This Land Is Your Land; Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker; The Legendary Miss Lena Horne; Trombone Shorty; and Wynton Marsalis’ Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!
- But maybe you’ll want to do something different? So here’s Ada Twist, Scientist, too.
- Bee: A Peek-through Picture Book — Our favorite buzzy bug that starts with the letter B.
- Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows, and Purples — A fun kids’ cookbook with ideas for things you can make out of lemons and other fruits.
- Hooray for Fish — For anyone going through a mermaid/merman phase.
- This Is Our Baby, Born Today and We Sang You Home — Two of the sweetest baby books.
- 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up — So you’ll never run out of great reads . . . although we’re also here for you whenever you need more ideas.
(Click any title above to shop the Beyoncé book list.) |
The Friend Ship
Best in Snow 
Wolf in the Snow
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance 
American Street
Musing 