Marsha Elyn Wright

“Walter had a best friend named Xavier. They hiked up the hill together. They painted pictures together. They were quiet together. Walter and Xavier were best friends.” Then gently and slowly, they were not.
Walter and Xavier do everything together together. This cheerful mouse and green-footed fowl are best buds…happy in their close friendship. Then as it often happens, they drift apart until Xavier strikes up a friendship with Penelope, a hedgehog. Right away, Walter is angry. Loneliness settles in. There’s a “big hole in his heart where Xavier used to be. It felt like the hole would be there forever.”

“This is a rock. He lives on the Nature Finds shelf in room 214, with an acorn, some moss, and a piece of bark…. He has been sitting on this shelf for as long as he can remember.”
Rick is soooo tired of being sedentary. After listening to the teacher talk about the power and importance of rocks in nature, this clump of gray with glue-on eyes and an inked-on smile decides it’s time to fulfill his dream and leave the shelf. With a bit of happenstance, he escapes the classroom and ventures into the great outdoors.

“Maybe you just finished eating lunch. That’s THE END of lunch. But don’t worry. There’s still dinner. And sometimes dessert.”

Sometimes? Always! Author John Bray offers readers a new way of looking at life. His new book THE END joyfully explores the possibilities that await us at endings, in-between times and beginnings. Bray’s playful, humorous text creates an endearing re-aloud. Illustrator Josh Cleland magnifies the text with vibrant, playful artwork. When children come to the end of THE END, they’ll want to begin again.

Before, the sun drenched the yard. Our neighbor’s laughter danced in the streets. Now, the streets are quiet. Papa is gone, and we are no longer safe here. We are leaving, too.
Based on actual events at the Tijuana/San Ysidro border, author Stephen Briseño’s moving story—The Notebook Keeper—follows Mama and her young daughter, Noemi, as they seek asylum in the United States. Illustrator Magdalena Mora uses heartfull illustrations to depict this emotional journey, fleeing from a home in Mexico to the U.S. border.

Who doesn’t love a smidge of magic and pixie dust mixed into their day? Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother has nothing over Jess Townes, the clever author of a new picture book Spellbound. This enchanting story crafts a fun, fresh twist on new-sibling relationships and the magic of love that binds them.