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(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Rashin Kheiriyeh.
Arlo accidentally drops a book onto the mayor's head. The mayor retorts, "Books are dangerous...they act like seeds, which grow into ideas, and ideas turn into questions." Books get destroyed and the town suffers until Arlo's stories sprout a burgeoning book tree that inspires others to become book gardeners. The allegorical tale's striking mixed-media illustrations feature lots of books in many different languages.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Brothers Hilts.
Seaver is an orb spider, but unlike his multitudes of siblings, he doesn't weave circular webs. Inspired by the constellations to weave triangular, square, or even hexagonal patterns, he stays true to himself despite others' scorn. The storytime-perfect repetitive structure and lightly spooky, limited-palette illustrations work together to build tension while breezily tying in learning opportunities about shapes, constellations, and self-expression.