24 Comments

I’ll read anything with Maurice pictures or with a title like “I’ll Meet You at the Cucumbers” 🥒!

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RIGHT?! I bought it almost sight unseen 😂

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Down Under the Pier caught my eye! I love the extended list in your Bookshop. I'm determined to stick to a summer reading routine with nightly read-alouds.

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It’s a gem.

And you got this! If there’s any way I can help or support you, don’t hesitate to reach out.

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I always want to go out and buy every single book you talk about, but for some reason these ones in particular. The artwork in these!!

And I'm definitely more on your side of the spectrum, and I had to deliberately force a big mental shift when I decided that living close to DisneyWorld was worth the....Florida summer ugh. If it could be a crisp autumnal 57 degrees every day I would be a happy girl.

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loved loved The World Belonged to Us

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I was honestly so moved by it the first time I read it out loud, I got tears in my eyes. My kids thought I was nuts. But there is something really, deeply true and amazing there.

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Yes I read it to piper while sitting in the library (she is definitely “over” picture books - so sad- so just did it to appease me) and I got choked up too!!!

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Your posts are so consistently excellent, Sarah. Also: I’m with you on the summer thing! Give me September to March and I’m good 😆 We gotta plan a Milwaukee thing before it’s sweltering. ❤️

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YES! Email me, lady.

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Will do! ❤️

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Love this list! One of these books will be hitting my list as well because I love it so much! 😄 Also Moon pops is a book I didn’t know I needed—there’s such an ethereal, serene quality to it. Amazing list as usual!

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Great recs! I'm enchanted by Moon Pops and enjoyed learning more about Heena's unique process from an interview on YouTube

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I have to admit that it took some time, but Moon Pops grew on me, mostly because of Heena’s process. I could pour over the illustrations for a long time (and have).

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I can always find something I haven’t read on your lists! These all sound wonderful.

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That makes my day!

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It’s hot as hell in Texas! Buckle up! The cover on the Pier book makes me want to read it on sight alone!! And your review of the Cricket book means I have to go find it straight away for my musically inclined 3yo who loves all the sing song books sooooo much. Plus the bugs down here are LOUD!! Great list!! Bust out the popsicles and the splash pads, it’s summertime

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I'm with you on summer heat - I positively melt. My perfect temperature is about 65 degrees. Sunny but with an ever-so-slight wind or chill. 75 is getting up there. I'm sweating by then. 100? I'm ANGRY. lol

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Omg SAME 😂

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Totallyyy. I'm a writer more so than an illustrator, so I am usually reading for the words and story. Moon Pops was a bit of a wild, rocky ride on the first read. I kept thinking I had skipped over a page or was missing some important detail. I had the same experience with Magic Candies. There's something very cinematic and expansive about her stories/process though, like we're only getting a small window into some larger story---so of course some beats are missing. I imagine, too, the fact that it's translated contributes to that feeling of slight disorientation.

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I think you're right on all fronts.

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Great recs and I’m so with you on the heat!! Washington has been a much better match for me than Utah so far 😂 we’ll see this summer

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"Moon Pops"?! What a title. I have requested/ordered all of these and can't wait to kick off summer reading on the back patio with popsicles with these books.

I adore Stead's illustrations -- Bear has a Story to Tell is a favorite at our house.

The title "I'll Meet you in the Cucumbers'" reminded me of another garden-related book we like -- "The Bunny Band". Have you read it?

Happy Summer! I don't love the heat, but I do enjoy that the rhythm of life slows a bit. I'm here for it.

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The Bunny Band -- I have not! You know I love it when you suggest books to me 😉

Happy summer to you, too. I hope you're surviving Maytember and feeling less pressure than you did last year.

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