Title: Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story
Author: Mariel Jungkunz
Illustrator: Monica Paola Rodriguez
Publisher/Date:  Astra Young Readers (October 3, 2023)
The “gist”: Lucía has moved from Puerto Rico to Ohio and is worried that her “Three Kings Day” celebration is in jeopardy– with no grass for the camels and snow covering the pinecones, will the kings even find her?
My favorite part: I love the different hispanic foods which are mentioned such as pan de aqua. Makes me hungry and curious to try them!
My response as a reader: As a white New England Christian, I also celebrate Three Kings’ Day, although in a very different way, so it’s cool to see how she celebrates with her family. I felt connected to Lucía and wanted to help her know that others in her new home also know about the magi.
My “take-away” as a writer: All of today’s picture books are beautiful examples of writing what you know– and thank goodness agents and editors are seeking that out these days. I just love hearing these stories!

Title: Wish Soup: A Celebration of Seollal
Author/Illustrator: Junghua Park
Publisher/Date:  Little, Brown BYR (December 5, 2023)
The “gist”: Sohee is excited about the lunar new year and the Korean traditions she celebrates with it. She wants to be an eonni or “big girl” this year, but she’s frustrated that every time she wants to sit down with some of the special rice cake soup, she’s called away to help the family.
My favorite part: I love the colorful Korean traditional dress illustrated here, particularly the adorable suit her little brother wears!
My response as a reader: Another book with a recipe at the back! Yum! They’re popular these days (hey, MY book has recipes too!), but there’s a good reason! So fun to be able to extend the enjoyment after the book is over!
My “take-away” as a writer: I love that this is not just a story about family traditions, but it’s also funny. However, while I rarely criticize anything I’m reviewing, but I do wish there were a little more explanation here. Fortunately I’m an adult (and I know a tiny bit about Korean culture), so I can look up anything I’m confused about, but some families might not have the ambition to do that and might miss out.

Title: Raaga’s Song: A Diwali Story
Author/Illustrator: Navina Chhabria
Publisher/Date:   Running Press Kids (September 26, 2023)
The “gist”: Raaga wants to audition to sing at the Diwali mela, but first she needs to overcome her nerves. With the help of her grandfather, she learns to find her voice.
My favorite part: The scene in which people gather to hear her sing reminds me of Snow White, when all the woodland creatures come around, enchanted by Snow White’s voice.
My response as a reader: I love the colors in the illustrations such as the cover– the purples and golds add gorgeous richness.
My “take-away” as a writer: Navina does a lovely job weaving the story through different time frames– from her grandfather’s story about the first Diwali to her audition for the Diwali mela to her actual performance. As a writer I know how hard it is to fit in all those elements without totally inflating your word count!

Title: My Cousin’s Mermaid
Author: Anna Staniszewski
Illustrator: Ewa Polewska-Koziello
Publisher/Date:  Barefoot Books (September 5, 2023)
The “gist”: When a girl from the US goes to Poland to visit her cousin Karolina, she is nervous that her polish isn’t good enough, but she finds she and her cousin have a lot in common, including their love of mermaids.
My favorite part: I’ve been to Poland a couple times and although I haven’t seen the mermaid mentioned here, I have seen the dragon of Krakow described in the backmatter, so it was really fun to learn more about Polish legends.
My response as a reader: I was really curious about the title of this book and kept misreading it as “My cousin IS a mermaid” (which would be in interesting story as well). I loved how the “Mermaid of Warsaw” was used as a link between the two cousins.
My “take-away” as a writer: Like the other stories featured in this post, the author here has done a great job of weaving a new language into the English text without confusing the reader. In this way, the text is comforting for those who know the culture being explored, while not alienating for those who are experiencing it for the first time.

Title: Hanukkah Upside-Down
Author: Elissa Brent Weissman
Illustrator:Omer Hoffmann
Publisher/Date:  Harry N. Abrams (September 19, 2023)
The “gist”: Two cousins live on opposite sides of the globe, but both celebrate Hanukkah together and compare their experiences.
My favorite part: I loved how they each got each other the same cute t-shirt for Hanukkah.
My response as a reader: One of my friends has a daughter and granddaughter in Australia whom I follow on social media. It’s fun to see how the seasons change and affect the activities for different holidays so this book would definitely appeal to lots of types of families celebrating holidays away from each other.
My “take-away” as a writer: I loved the elegant parallel structure of something different in each place, then something the same for each day of Hanukkah (Latkes, Dreidel, Sufganiyot, etc.).