Fall | Tanya Konerman, Author

Theme: Gorgeously-Illustrated New Picture Books

It’s Fall!

Written and Illustrated by Renee Kurilla

This rhyming celebration of all things autumn is bursting with joy about the season’s best offerings. Beautiful digitally-illustrated scenes feature cozy, black-outlined drawings saturated in shades of orange, yellow, and red, and feature a classroom of children sharing all they love about the season from nature-related changes such as colorful leaves and honking geese to celebrations of apple-picking, Halloween and Thanksgiving and the food and fun related to each. A final question to the reader, “What things do you love about fall?” will spark many conversations and the urge to get out and enjoy Fall. Delightful!

A River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between

North Africa and the Amazon

Written by Jilanne Hoffmann

Illustrated by Eugenia Mello

In this gentle, lyrical ode to Earth and its interconnectedness, Hoffmann shares the remarkable story of “the river of dust” which flows from Africa, across the Atlantic Ocean, and on to the Amazon Rainforests and beyond. This dust is of vital importance; it shares the phosphorous and iron needed specifically in these areas of the world by phytoplankton, and thus positively affects food webs and climate change. Vibrant, colorful art by Mello sweeps the reader along as the dust travels from desert to clouds to ocean to forests, adding unique perspectives throughout. Significant back matter delves much deeper. Beautiful!

If I Was a Horse

Written and Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

In her signature two-time Caldecott winning style, Blackall captures the delight and imagination of children everywhere who wonder, “What if I was a ___,” this time filling in the blank with Horse. Using a mix of watercolor, fabric, pencil, gouache, wallpaper, and digital media, the artist’s imaginer (revealed at the end) experiences a new kind of freedom, that of galloping in fields, rolling in rain and mud and not being told to take a bath, sleeping standing up, and other wonderful experiences. Delightful patterns serve as colorful backgrounds to the brown speckled horse with a flowing mane and tail. Charming!