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The Light of Home: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Belonging by Diana Farid, Illustrated by Hoda Hadadi

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The Light of Home: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Belonging
Author: Diana Farid
Illustrator: Hoda Hadadi
Published September 17th, 2024 by Orchard Books

Summary: A universal story about displacement, migration, and the many ways we find home, from the talented author-illustrator team of Diana Farid and Hoda Hadadi.

Nur has always loved her home by the sea, where water glimmers along a straight horizon.

But when Nur and her family are forced to leave, they begin a long journey to an unfamiliar place. Here the horizon curves and twists, and the moonlight no longer glitters across the water. For Nur, nothing in this new place feels like home.

Then one day, Nur’s mother brings her a new set of paintbrushes. Nur’s brushstrokes help her connect the place she’s lost to this new horizon, and she finds home again through her own creativity and heart.

The Light of Home will resonate with anyone who has ever had to leave a place they’ve loved.

From author, poet, and physician Diana Farid and artist Hoda Hadadi comes this introspective story about belonging and the power of creativity. For readers of Yuyi Morales’ Dreamers and Yamile Saied Mendez and Jaime Kim’s Where Are You From?

About the Creators: 

Diana Farid is an award-winning author and poet. Her picture book, When You Breathe, was a National Council of Teachers of English Notable poetry book. Her novel in verse, Wave, was the 2022 Cybils Award winner for poetry novel and a School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book. She is also a physician and associate professor of medicine at Stanford University. To learn more, visit dianafarid.com.

Hoda Hadadi is a children’s books illustrator living and working in Tehran, Iran. She has illustrated more than forty books for children and has won numerous international prizes, including the New Horizons Bologna Ragazzi Award and the Grand Prix of Belgrade.

Instagram
Diana Farid: @_artelixir
Hoda Hadadi: @hodahadadi_artpage
Orchard Books/Scholastic:  @scholastic
Blue Slip Media:  @blue_slip_media

Facebook
Diana Farid: N/A
Hoda Hadadi: Hoda Hadadi
Orchard Books/Scholastic: Scholastic
Blue Slip Media:  Blue Slip Media

Twitter/X:
Diana Farid:  @_artelixir
Hoda Hadadi: @hoda_hadadi
Orchard Books/Scholastic: @Scholastic
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch

LinkedIn:
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Review: Farid’s picture book puts the reader right in the middle of a family’s flee as refugees from their home and all their possessions. With the introduction of the characters’ lives and loves starting the book, the reader will feel the sadness and longing that Nur feels. It helps the reader feel the urgency and the fear. It helps build empathy for those put in the situation of being displaced.

But that is only one important aspect of the book. The book also highlights the importance and therapeutic properties of art, which is proven and so powerful. Nur uses art to help heal her feeling of loss and being lost.

Farid and Hadadi were the perfect duo for this book because Farid’s lyrical text blends beautifully with Hadadi’s collages to create a beauty of a picture book.

Discussion Questions: 

  • Before Nur’s family must flee, how did Nur and her family feel about their home?
  • What are some reasons why families may be displaced?
  • Why is it so hard for Nur to adjust to her new home?
  • How is Nur’s new home different than her home by the sea?
  • How does Nur work through her emotions?
  • What are some ways that help you work through big emotions?
  • What figurative language does the author use? How does it add to the imagery of the story?
  • How do the illustrations add to the story?
  • Why do you think the author wrote Nur’s story?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Picture books that take on big issues in an approachable way

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

Stay Angry, Little Girl Inspired by Madeleine L’Engle, Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan

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Stay Angry, Little Girl
Inspired by: Madeleine L’Engle
Illustrator: Michelle Jing Chan
Published August 6th, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) / Macmillan

Summary: An empowering message inspired by a beloved quote from Madeleine L’Engle’s enduring classic A Wrinkle in Time.

“Stay angry, little Meg,” Mrs. Whatsit whispered. “You will need all your anger now.”

This picture book encourages girls everywhere to proudly share their ideas and emotions, even if those traits will be met with resistance. Because being brave, sensitive, stubborn, curious, loud, kind, and playful helps them build strength and stay true to themselves.

Michelle Jing Chan’s bright artwork welcomes girls of all backgrounds to use these important affirmations.

“[This book] gives girls a full-throated endorsement to be true to themselves… Empowering.” —Kirkus

About the Creator: Michelle Jing Chan is a queer Chinese American illustrator who grew up in Colorado and lives in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by nature, cultural folklore, and fantasy, Michelle aspires to illustrate diverse, empowering stories her younger self would have loved. When she’s not drawing, she can be found attempting new recipes, reading, or watching spooky TV shows.

Review: This book takes everything that misogynists pin on little girls as negative and shows how they are powerful traits that make us better people. As a woman who was told as a young child that she was too big, physically, emotionally, and vocally, I give this book a standing ovation because there are so many girls who are told not to be angry or kind or curious or loud or stubborn or… or… or… This book truly illustrates that these traits can be the superpower within us to be a better person or to make the world a better place. What makes the book even more powerful is the illustrations because they take very scarce text and show the how and why all while including characters that will connect with every reader.

Tools for Navigation: Read this book aloud and have it lead to amazing conversations to help end misogynistic thoughts!

Also, free coloring sheets can be downloaded here (provided by the illustrator)!

Discussion Questions: 

  • What is a trait that you have been told is negative about you? How is this trait something that makes you a better you?
  • Think of a trait that is often seen as negative. How can this trait be reframed to be positive?
  • What do you think the author’s purpose was in creating this book? The theme of the book?
  • How can someone being told that something about them is “bad” affect them over time?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Affirmations, Girl Power books, Any reminder to be true to yourself

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Nicole Banholzer PR for providing a copy for review!**

Discussion Guide for The Lilies by Quinn Diacon-Furtado

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The Lilies
Author: Quinn Diacon-Furtado
Published: April 30th, 2024 by HarperTeen

Summary: One of Us Is Lying meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in this don’t-dare-to-look-away dark academia thriller that explores how secrets can rot an institution–and the people who uphold it–from the inside out.

Everyone wants to be a Lily.

At Archwell Academy, it’s the ticket to a successful future. But like every secret society, there is something much darker beneath the surface … sometimes girls disappear.

When four Archwell students find themselves trapped in a time loop, they must relive their worst memories, untangling the Lilies’ moldering roots and unraveling the secrets at the core of their school … before they destroy their futures forever.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the discussion guide I created for Cake Creative:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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The Dinosaur in the Garden by Deb Pilutti

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The Dinosaur in the Garden
Author & Illustrator: Deb Pilutti
Published May 21st, 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Summary: After waiting millions of years, a T Rex thinks a curious girl might just find the clues he left behind, making his story part of hers.

It’s been millions of years since this dinosaur has been so excited. There’s a girl—a curious girl—exploring the land right where he used to live!

Will she be the one to find the clues he left millions of years ago?

Could she be the one to bring his story back to life?!

This lyrical picture book captures the vastness of geologic time while also showing how close the traces of the distant past can be—as long as we are curious enough to look.

Praise: “The author of 2020’s clever and engaging Old Rock (Is Not Boring) tackles the theme of geologic time from another angle. . . [The book] ends with an enticing invitation to join in dinosaur research and study. . . An engaging suggestion that hints of the past are there for the finding, if we will but look.” —Kirkus

About the Author: Deb Pilutti wrote and illustrated Old Rock (is not boring), Ten Rules of Being a Superhero, Bear and Squirrel Are Friends, and The Secrets of Ninja School, and illustrated Idea Jar by Adam Lehrhaupt. Deb lives with her husband and their border collie, Wilson, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Follow her on Twitter @dpilutti.

Review: Deb Pilutti, like she did in Old Rock, does a great job giving voice to things that may not usually be heard. I think we often hear from dinosaurs living in their own time, but not often do we hear from a dinosaur from the past; this is how the creator takes her book to the next level–this isn’t just another dino book! She also is great at creating really entertaining picture books with a scientific element, and although the messages of the book are clear, she does this without turning the book into a didactic narrative. Another really fun read by Deb Pilutti!

Tools for Navigation: This is a wonderful interdisciplinary text! It will make a great read aloud and will lend itself to amazing visual literacy analysis, but it also is a jumping off point for a lesson about dinosaurs!

First, I would use the book to have students look at different characteristics of the dinosaurs introduced and why the characteristics are what they are.

Second, I would have the students see if all of the dinos included are from the same time period and make a timeline of when they lived.

Third, I would change the conversation to talking about fossils and paleontology, utilizing some of the author’s notes in the back. (Also, it would be fun to look at if there are any fossils that have been found in your area!)

Fourth, I would would use our unnamed protagonist to start a conversation about what each student wants to be when they grow up (and maybe have them find a book connected to that career).

Discussion Questions: 

  • How does the creator show you in the images when the dinosaur is alive versus when it is not?
  • What other clues do you pick up in the images that aren’t in the words?
  • Which dinosaur in the book is your favorite?
  • How are the dinosaurs the same? Different?
  • How did the dinosaurs become extinct?
  • How did the fossil in her backyard influence our protagonist?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Dinosaurs, science

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Aubrey at Penguin Young Readers for providing a copy for review!**

Educators’ Guide for Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon

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Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions
Author: Navdeep Singh Dhillon
Published: February 8th, 2022 by Dial Books

Summary: For fans of Sandhya Menon and Adam Silvera, a prom-night romantic-comedy romp about a Sikh teen’s search for love and identity

Sunny G’s brother left him one thing when he died: His notebook, which Sunny is determined to fill up with a series of rash decisions. Decision number one was a big one: He stopped wearing his turban, cut off his hair, and shaved his beard. He doesn’t look like a Sikh anymore. He doesn’t look like himself anymore. Even his cosplay doesn’t look right without his beard.

Sunny debuts his new look at prom, which he’s stuck going to alone. He’s skipping the big fandom party—the one where he’d normally be in full cosplay, up on stage playing bass with his band and his best friend, Ngozi—in favor of the Very Important Prom Experience. An experience that’s starting to look like a bust.

Enter Mindii Vang, a girl with a penchant for making rash decisions of her own, starting with stealing Sunny’s notebook. When Sunny chases after her, prom turns into an all-night adventure—a night full of rash, wonderful, romantic, stupid, life-changing decisions.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions, including a play list!, on the author’s webpage.

Recommended For: 

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Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic by Margaux Meganck

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Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic
Author & Illustrator: Margaux Meganck
Published

Summary: Everything and everyone has a place in the universe, but for a little speck, lost at sea, it will take an extraordinary journey to find it.

Deep in a tide pool, too small to see,
Thousands of tiny specks go forth.
Each one searching
for a place to stay, and grow, and thrive…

The little speck does not know what it is, only that it wishes to find out. And so it embarks on a journey across the sea. From sun-flecked surf to darkest depths, past schools of fish, storm-tossed ships and hungry eels…. Until, at last, it finds exactly what it was looking a place to belong.

In vivid watercolor paintings, Margaux Meganck brings this tale to life, seamlessly shifting perspective to show how even the tiniest creatures—every barnacle, every child, every star in the sky—contributes to something greater than itself.

★ “A poignant, reflective story that’s every bit as relevant to children as it is to adults. . . . Deeply moving.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)

About the Author: Margaux Meganck spends her days dodging raindrops and drawing from her imagination in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Her author-illustrator debut, People are Wild, received two starred reviews and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Her illustration work has earned multiple accolades. Speck is the second book she has both written and illustrated. To learn more, visit margauxmeganck.com.

Instagram:
Margaux Meganck: @margauxmeganck
Knopf/Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blue_slip_media

Facebook:
Margaux Meganck: N/A
Random House Children’s Books: Random House Children’s Books
Blue Slip Media: @blue-slip-media

Twitter/X:
Margaux Meganck: @Margaux Meganck
Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch

Review: This beautiful book is two fold. First, it is a fantastic ocean journey of a speck as it carried along the current and through the ocean, past so many creatures, and to its forever home. The journey is told in poetic verse that will be a great read aloud. Second, it is a story about being lost and figuring out where you fit in the best. Meganck brilliantly combined these two purposes. And the illustrations are another level of the book. They complement the lyrical tale of the speck’s journey, showing the reader all of the sea creatures and ecosystems within the ocean. This is a wonderful book.

Tools for Navigation: Because this book has a science and an social emotional learning aspect, it would be a wonderful inclusion into a classroom or library program because it can lead to all sorts of conversations including journeying into the ocean (pair with other ocean books, listed below) and then move to the theme and how the speck’s journey is an extended metaphor for our life.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What creatures did the speck encounter along its journey?
  • Why do you think the author titled the book an “epic?”
  • What lesson can you take from the speck into your life?
  • Based on where the speck ended up, what sea creature was it?
  • What other specks are there in the sea?
  • How is the speck’s journey similar to life?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Puff: All About Air by Emily Kate Moon, Whale Fall: Exploring Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart, Kind by Jess McGeachin, In the Night Garden by Carin Berger, The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey by Jason Chin, Over and Under the Waves by Kate Messner

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting

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The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants
Author & Illustrator: Philip Bunting
Published March 19th, 2024 by Crown Books for Young Readers

Summary: Take a peek under the rock, and discover what we can learn from the world of the ant, in this delightful blend of nonfiction and inspirational humor by author-illustrator Philip Bunting!

There are ten quadrillion ants in the world, and yet I bet you never thought they could teach you anything. But these tiny creatures can do big things when they work together–just like people!

With his signature humor and graphic illustrations, Philip Bunting delivers facts, laughs, and heart all in this special book that teaches that the answers to many of life’s biggest questions can be found in your own back yard (once you’re ready to look).

★ “This overview of ants combines cleverly designed graphics and a funny text to convey major concepts about the familiar insects.” —The Horn Book, starred review

About the Author: Philip Bunting is an author and illustrator whose work deliberately encourages playful interaction between the reader and child, allowing his books to create a platform for genuine intergenerational engagement and fun. Philip’s books have been translated into multiple languages and published in over thirty countries around the world. Since his first book was published in 2017, Philip has received multiple accolades, including Honors from the Children’s Book Council of Australia and making the list for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2018. He lives with his young family on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Visit his website: philipbunting.com.

Instagram:
Philip Bunting: @philip.bunting
Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blue_slip_media

Facebook:
Philip Bunting: N/A
Random House Children’s Books: Random House Children’s Books
Blue Slip Media: @blue-slip-media 

Twitter/X:
Philip Bunting: N/A
Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch

Review: This book is a joy! Anyone who has read a book by Philip Bunting knows that his work excels at bringing play into the reading to make the book a bit silly, interactive, and full of informational magic. The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants is the same. I loved the little jokes throughout the book that will definitely get readers giggling, the illustrations are just so playful and perfect for the book, and I learned so much about ants! It definitely is a multi-purpose book, for pleasure and for learning, which will be a winning read aloud!

For more about the book and to hear from the author, visit his interview, “Using Well-Placed ‘Humour’ as a Trojan Horse for Information,” on Fuse 8.

Tools for Navigation: There is so much in this book that is PERFECT for science which makes it an amazing cross-curricular tool. My first though is I think it would be awesome to see students use this book as a mentor text to create their own book about another insect which would include research, science, creative writing, and visual art.

The vocabulary in this book is wonderful as well, both when it comes to science and just tier 2 words such as nuptials, mandibles, reproduces, fragrant, and more.

Oh, and math, there is something here for you too! When looking at the number of ants, it compares human vs. ant weight which would be a fantastic math problem!

Discussion Questions: 

  • If there are ten quadrillion ants in the world and 8 billion people in the world, and they weigh about the same, how much do each set weigh?
  • Do you think the queen is the most important ant in the colony?
  • Why are ants so important for the world?
  • What can we learn from ants?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Informational books with humor

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**