A new round-up of wonderful picture books, dear readers! A new stack of shiny new books from the library has offered up some absolutely fantastic picture books you might want to check out. I hope you enjoy!

Here they are, in no particular order: Let us begin with Freedom Soup, written by Tami Charles, gloriously illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, a vivacious and insightful, potent story that balances multiple elements: the bond between a young girl named Belle and her Ti Gran, the passing on of cultural traditions between generations, a brief history of the Haitian Revolution, and how Belle and her family celebrate and welcome their new year with traditional Haitian soup. An exceptional read. Sunny, the delightful author and illustrator debut of Celia Krampien, takes readers on a grand tale involving surprises and hopefulness when a young girl named Sunny faces some grand detours on her way to school. The art and colour palette here is wonderfully inviting and unique, with perfect notes of repetition and story building. Up next we have Julie Colombet’s The Society of Distinguished Lemmings, a marvelous book title that happily meets a marvelous story and art within: about a nattering, critical group of esteemed lemmings who initially dismiss a new bear friend who expresses interest in joining their illustrious group. Colombet’s picture book is made for rereading and poring over thanks to the wonderful illustrated spreads and amazing, madcap details. Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Heather Fox, sees the welcome return of unpredictable Llama (from Llama Destroys the World!), as he places the world in yet another terrifying (yet fluffy!) predicament when his dislike of cleaning, a tidy alpaca friend, and cloning device somehow cross paths! And last but definitely not least, we have Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, written by Coretta Scott King Award winning author Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, a brilliant, standout of a nighttime story: about a young child who faces their bedtime in a parade of imagination, mirroring actions and sounds of various animals. A truly beautiful and mesmerizing picture book that winds its way down to a serene lullaby of an ending, this is a bedtime story not to be missed.