Regard for dandelions varies as much as the locations where they grow. Some people strive to keep their yards free of the common spring weed, while others love picking dandelions for yellow bouquets, and still others cannot resist blowing on the white puffs to scatter seeds. Whether you fall in the camp regarding the dandelion as a yard nuisance or a cheerful weed, there’s no denying that dandelions are remarkable in their resilience. Little Dandelion Seeds the World highlights the various ways dandelion seeds scatter to grow in various environments around the world.

Here are three reasons to love this book:

• Is it fiction? Is in nonfiction? Author Julia Richardson’s lovely, lyrical text with repeating refrain reads more like a fiction, but the content contains many interesting facts about dandelion seeds. The result is that readers will be engaged fully with this book and learn without realizing it.
• Artists Kristen Howdeshell and Kevin Howdeshell have done a wonderful job creating the diverse places dandelions grow. Readers will feel like they are swept along with a dandelion seed carried in the wind.
• While many are very familiar with dandelions seeds blowing away to scatter across fields, many probably don’t think of other ways the seeds are transported to other areas, and this book highlights many.

Before reading this book, I didn’t know dandelions grow on all seven continents. I thought they were a plague only to American lawns and gardens, but now knowing they grow even in Antarctica, I have come to have more respect for the small weed.

In full disclosure, I have a connection to the writer, but anyone who reads Little Dandelion Seeds the World will agree it’s a beautiful book. I highly recommend this book for ages 4-8, and it would make a wonderful choice to use in a nature study during the spring when dandelions abound.

Here are three reasons to love this book:

• Author Tracy Newman’s tone is more inspirational than informative. While the content is a true account of Itzhak’s younger years, Newman’s text never reads like dry biography. Readers feel Itzhak’s passion and love for creating beautiful music.
• Illustrator Abigail Halpin presents a colorful palette that complements Newman’s text perfectly. “When Itzhak listened to music, a vivid rainbow of colors appeared in his mind – hues from dark green to red to yellow. Music brought Itzhak intense joy. And tears. Itzhak loved it.” Vibrant spreads with swirling musical lines, flowers, and breezes all portray a passionate spirit.
• Adults may feel a deeper connection to the story when they learn that Itzhak Perlman is the solo violinist featured on the hauntingly beautiful Schindler’s List soundtrack.

I recommend this picture book for ages 6-10, though the content is appropriate for younger children and older children (and adults) will be inspired by Itzhak’s perseverance. I also suggest that after reading the book, you play some of Perlman’s performances (such as Schindler’s List) to make a deeper connection.

Before She Was Harriet explores the many roles Harriet Tubman had throughout her life. Although she is most well known for her role in guiding slaves to freedom, Harriet also served as a spy in the Union army, a suffragist, and a nurse. In this Coretta Scott King Honor book, readers will be inspired by the various ways that Harriet demonstrated courage again and again and again.

Here are three reasons to love this book:

• Illustrator James E. Ransome’s gorgeous watercolor illustrations offer unique points of view and interesting uses of color.
• Author Lesa Cline-Ransome tells Harriet’s story in verse. The text is sparse, but lyrical and lovely.
• The perfect structure tells us Harriet’s life in reverse (and the title hints at this!), starting with Harriet in old age and taking us back all the way to her early days as a young girl enslaved and working in the fields.

Before She Was Harriet is a great choice for readers six to ten years old. It would make an excellent historical selection, but could also be used to demonstrate the many facets of a person’s life.

Hair Love, written by Matthew Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, is a beautiful tribute to loving father-daughter relationships everywhere.

Here are three things I like about this book:

• This could have been an overly sweet picture book, but Cherry and Harrison have balanced the poignant content with the right amount of fun and energy. The result is a heartwarming story instead of a saccharine one.
• The protagonist is proud of all the different things her hair can do. She doesn’t want to change her hair – she just wants it to cooperate for her special day!
• The story demonstrates the lengths fathers will go to make their daughters happy.

Hair Love would be a beautiful gift choice – either from father to daughter for a special day or daughter to father for Father’s Day. I recommend this book for kids ages 3-7.

Side by side with stacked plates they glide.
My father twirls my mother by one hand.
Laughing, she spins into his arms,
then out again, like a yo-yo on a string.

And so two children spy on their parents as an evening kitchen clean-up turns into a celebration of love and family. Maurie J. Manning has created a beautiful testimony to family love in her lyrical and exuberant Kitchen Dance.

Here are three things I like about this book:

• The story is a beautiful glimpse of an ordinary moment, made extraordinary. Love oozes from the pages – between husband and wife, parents and children.
• Manning’s artwork is glorious – full of color and color. In particular, I love the facial expressions on every page.
• Though not a rhyming text, Manning’s writing is rhythmic. Readers will feel like they are swaying to the music and part of the dance.

Kitchen Dance is a beautiful family read-aloud, particularly for children ages 3-7. It would be a wonderful choice for a bedtime read.

I thought of a rhythm in my mind…

And so begins a young girl’s celebration of dance, music, and rhythm . I Got the Rhythm inspires kids to express their inner selves to connect with others in their community.

Here are three things I like about this book:

• Author Schofield-Morrison’s text encourages readers to experience the rhythm with all their senses. Kids will want to clap and snap right along with the young dancer in the pages.
• Morrison’s buoyant illustrations add another layer of liveliness. I love the diversity of characters and wide range of vibrant colors.
• The strong sense of community in this book demonstrates how we can lift others up while at the same time being true to ourselves.

I Got the Rhythm is a great read-aloud for ages 3-6. For extra fun, kids could act out the motions as they happen in the book, ending with a big group dance party when the book is finished.