Author: Seth Harris

An immigrant from the U.S. trying to make sense of an increasingly saddening world.
culture, family, lgbtq+, social-emotional

Spotlight: Vlad the Fabulous Vampire/Alma and How She Got Her Name

Seth Harris

Vlad the Fabulous Vampire (Candlewick Press)
Written & Illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago

For ages: 4-8
Vlad isn’t like the other vampires. He loves bold fashion and uses his meticulously planned everyday wear to hide something he’s ashamed of. Vlad has bright rosy pink cheeks. These marks on his face make him stand out from the other vampires, so Vlad develops an insecurity about them. He doesn’t realize until the end of the story that every vampire has something they think will make them ostracized from the group. But when everyone acknowledges their differences, they realize they are all the same in unique ways.

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nature, nonfiction corner, science

Nonfiction Corner – The Night Flower/Curiosity

Seth Harris

The Night Flower: The Blooming of the Saguaro Cactus (Candlewick Press)
Written & Illustrated by Laura Hawthorne

For ages: 3-7
This beautifully illustrated nonfiction text uses the life cycle of the saguaro cactus as a way to showcase the diversity of life in the desert. While other depictions of this biome show a barren landscape, Laura Hawthorne’s art focuses on color and vibrancy. Cacti are shown to be perfect homes for desert birds to the point it resembles a high-rise apartment building. Butterflies join the birds as they fill the desert sky, landing to drink from the fruitful cacti. One crucial detail for young readers is that the daytime is a sleepy period in the desert, with the night being when the place comes alive.

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fairy tales, illustration, scary, spotlight

Spotlight: Ten-Word Tiny Tales/The Princess and The (Greedy) Pea

Seth Harris

Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle (Candlewick Press)
Written by Joseph Coelho
Illustrated by 21 Artist Friends

As a child, I cultivated a love of writing that continues with me today. One of the things that sparked that initial hunger to write was being inspired by images I saw in books, film, and television. In Joseph Coelho’s book, he frames these fragmented story bits that imply a more prominent story despite being so simple. A different artist friend takes each fragment and provides their interpretation through an illustration. These illustrations are also evocative of stories that stretch beyond the boundaries of the page. 

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animals, biography, history, poetry, science

Nonfiction Corner – At the Poles/Masked Hero

Seth Harris

At the Poles (Candlewick Press)
Written by David Elliott
Illustrated by Ellen Rooney

For ages: 3-7
Despite what it may look like, the poles of Earth are not lifeless. They are teeming with animals & plants that have evolved specially to live in such cold & harsh environments. David Elliott’s book of poems is split into two halves, one for each pole. You’ll be treated to a verse describing penguins and polar bears, which is to be expected. However, Elliott goes even deeper providing poems on animals as minuscule as the tardigrade (water bear) or as colossal as the giant squid. The poems are written with a sense of humor that keeps them light and fun. 

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animals, illustration, mystery, spotlight

Spotlight: Dakota Crumb and the Secret Bookshop/The Mouse Who Carried a House on His Back

Seth Harris

Dakota Crumb and the Secret Bookshop: A Tiny Treasure Hunt (Candlewick)
Written by Jamie Michalak
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy

For ages: 3-7
Dakota Crumb is a treasure-hunting mouse who gets a request from her cousin to come to Paris and help find a priceless book. Dakota arrives and finds the store, bearing a magnifying glass icon on its door, and proceeds to follow a series of clues. This scavenger hunt leads her through detailed illustrations of the bookstore and eventually into danger when the store has a watchdog. However, this mystery is not what Dakota thought; her discovery at the end signals a celebration of friends and reading.

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author spotlight, family, illustration

Author Spotlight: Christopher Denise

Seth Harris

While born in Massachusetts, Christopher Denise actually grew up in Ireland. However, he would return to the States and eventually attend (you guessed it) the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). At RISD, he honed his illustrative and design skills, working on textbooks and newspapers by providing illustrations. His debut book was The Fool of the World and The Flying Ship, an adaptation of a Russian fairytale. The book was greeted with effusive praise and hailed as a “stunning debut.” It won’t surprise anyone who sees his work to know Denise works in animation. His designs are a perfect fit for that venue.

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Uncategorized

Nonfiction Corner: Water/How Old Is a Whale?

Seth Harris

Water: How We Can Protect Our Freshwater (Candlewick)
Written by Catherine Barr
Illustrated by Christiane Engel

For ages: 5-9
We live in an age of great uncertainty, especially where our planet is concerned. Summer 2021 was the hottest & driest on record globally, and 2022 increased that, with 2023 looking to top the record again. Vast swaths of the Southwestern United States are experiencing significant droughts, and the rationing of water is something on the table. To remedy this & more importantly, to prepare our children, we need them to have a greater depth of knowledge than our generation on these things. This excellent book on water will give any elementary student a detailed yet comprehensive view of our water systems and their importance to the continuation of life on Earth.

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asian-american, social-emotional

Spotlight: My Friend, Loonie/Sari Sari Summer

Seth Harris

My Friend, Loonie (Candlewick)
Written by Nina LaCour
Illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

For ages: 4-8
The narrator, a little girl, finds a great friend in a big yellow balloon. Loonie, as she names it, becomes an integral part of her life. They walk around the neighborhood together; she reads aloud to Loonie, and has dance parties together. Then one day, something terrible happens. The girl loses her hold, and Loonie floats away into the sky. That loss weighs heavily on the little girl. Yet, there comes a day when the same yellow that made her balloon so special starts to show up in other places. A beautiful yellow flower emerges from the family garden and reminds her precisely of her old friend.

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black history, nonfiction corner, social studies

Nonfiction Corner: From Here to There/How Do You Spell Unfair?

Seth Harris

From Here to There: A Book of First Maps (Candlewick)
Written by Vivian French
Illustrated by Ya-Ling Huang

For ages: 3-7
Anna lives in the suburbs. Her friend Zane lives in an apartment building. Zane sends Anna an invite to play and includes a hand-drawn map. However, Anna finds Zane’s map “wrong” because he put his house in the middle. So she decides to make her map based on the locations significant to her, including Grandma, who lives far away. In this lesson, Anna learns about scale and perspective. Her dad explains how maps can be scaled to show greater or smaller regions. She also learns about labels on maps and that maps can serve different purposes.

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humor, middle grade

Middle Grade Must-Read: The Book That No One Wanted To Read

Seth Harris

The Book That No One Wanted To Read (Candlewick)
Written by Richard Ayoade
Illustrated by Tor Freeman

I first saw Richard Ayoade as Moss on the British sitcom The IT Crowd and immediately knew this guy’s sense of humor was in my wheelhouse. Since then, I’ve followed him across multiple projects, from television acting to hosting and even writing & directing feature films. However, I was unaware he had penned a children’s book until I came across this title in the Candlewick catalog, and I had to read it. This book met all my expectations, but I can also understand if it is not every young reader’s cup of tea. Ayoade has a very dry, British sense of humor, and this book is less about a cohesive narrative than the wit of the writing. The child that will love this book will adore it, and the ones who don’t like it will abhor it.

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