Welcome to another picture books post! I am still playing catch up as I’ve been zipping through stacks of terrific picture books and haven’t posted enough…whoops! In any event, please enjoy this round up of recently read and recommended picture books. In no particular order, here are the titles: Birdsong, the latest by award-winning, critically acclaimed Cree-Métis author-artist-illustrator Julie Flett, is an incredibly tender and meditative story about a young girl’s growing relationship with an elderly neighbor. Birdsong is a reflective, soft story, balanced with a muted colour palette, and Flett’s storytelling, centering around friendship, the changing of seasons, and loss, is, as ever, elegant and unforgettable. Next up: The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, a joyous celebration of a story about a young boy who is very proudly starting Kindergarten; Guojing’s wordless picture book Stormy: A Story About Finding a Forever Home, an achingly lovely and sweet story about a lost and wary puppy and a young woman whose patience, concern, and love for the puppy lead to something beautiful; Grace Lin’s gorgeous and radiant A Big Bed for Little Snow, a companion to the splendid A Big Mooncake for Little Star, tells the tale of what happens when a young child simply cannot resist jumping over and over again on their wonderfully soft and fluffy new bed; in Matthew Forsythe’s funny and sly- and brilliantly illustrated- Pokko and the Drum, a young frog receives a drum from her parents (who soon regret it), and takes to the outdoors- proudly playing her drum- to some very surprising results…take the time for a re-read if you can, there is a lot of commentary packed in this story!; bestselling and acclaimed author-artist Oliver Jeffers returns with the marvelously effective and streamlined The Fate of Fausto: A Painted Fable, a deceptively simple parable about one man’s unsatiable greed and how he meets his downfall; and last but not least, The Scarecrow, gorgeously written by Beth Ferry and magnificently illustrated by Eric and Terry Fan, this is a heartrending (and hopeful!) story told in rhyme about a scarecrow whose life changes irrevocably when he somehow rescues a little crow. The Scarecrow might have made me tear up more than a bit, it is that affecting; if you can, take the time to explore the Fan Brothers’ art, the details and touches are astonishing. What a lineup of some truly top-notch reads this round-up. Happy reading!