20 New Picture Books (June 2022)

What an incredible batch of new picture books this month! I can’t wait to tell you about them…

BEST PICTURE BOOKS OF 2022

New Picture Books (June 2022)

Every Dog in the Neighborhood by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
DOG ADOPTION
Grandma insists that Louis doesn’t need a dog because there are already enough dogs in the neighborhood. Since City Hall doesn’t keep records on dogs, Louis begins to count the dogs himself, house by house, meeting many dogs, people, and other animals. His final count is 19–until his Grandma says that he missed one. Can you guess which one he missed? Illustrations with essential details help narrate this beautiful, heartwarming story of a persistent boy’s quest for a dog.

The Monster on the Bus by Josh Lieb, illustrated by Hannah Marks
SCHOOL BUS
In this hilarious wheels on the bus trip to school, the illustrations show one crazy thing after another including a T.Rex and wizards. What will the kids do? They take charge and fix all the things so they reach school safe and sound! But what will the ride be like on the way home?

Whistling for Angela by Robin Heald, illustrated by Peggy Collins
OPEN ADOPTION
A tender, heartwarming beautiful story of love and adoption. Daniel hopes to learn to whistle by the time he meets his new little sister. But, when he meets her, he still can’t whistle. That’s when, in a heart-strings-tugging moment, the baby’s birth mom named Jessie teaches Daniel how to whistle. When he does, the baby Angela stops crying. Then it’s time to say goodbye to Jessie, the birth mom, and it’s both happy and sad. (I CRIED — it’s so emotionally resonating and beautiful!!)

Thursday by Ann Bonwill, illustrated by Kayla Harren
DIVORCE
Brilliantly crafted and written, this is the BEST picture book about divorce I’ve ever read. On Thursday, the girl learns about her parents’ divorce. Narrated by her stuffed unicorn friend who comforts her as everything in her life changes and she feels many feelings. The unicorn’s presence helps her remember things she likes to do — and shows her that helping someone else can make things a little better, too. Eventually, Thursdays become just Thursdays again. AMAZING!

Poo-Dunit? A Forest Floor Mystery by Katelyn Aronson, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis
ANIMAL SCAT / COMPARE & CONTRAST
One morning, Mouse finds a huge poo outside her house — and she decides to investigate to find out who pooed it. Mouse asks the forest friends if it’s theirs but they each explain why their poo is different in DETAIL (gross and informative!) until they finally discover who did it. But then they have to get it out of Mouse’s way — and the mice work together to spread it as fertilizer for flowers.

The World Belonged to Us by Jaqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
MEMOIR / SLICE-OF-LIFE
Retro art immediately draws the eye to this nostalgic look back “In Brooklyn in the summer not so long ago.” We see the community of people whose kids experienced playful adventures, friends, and fun! “We spun tops and learned to take turns and flicked our double-dutch ropes into blurs.”

Pineapple Princess by Saina Hahn
FUNNY
A hilarious adventure of a girl with a big personality and big imagination! Narrated in first person, this little girl says she’s deeply misunderstood– that nobody believes she’s really a princess. So she takes matters into her own hands and makes herself a pineapple. Funny narration with a strong voice (mentor text alert!) shows us what happens when her pineapple crown attracts flies who end up being fickle, not loyal, subjects. But, don’t worry — she’s got a new plan…

Pink is Not a Color by Lindsay Ward
IDENTITY / COLOR THEORY
Learn color theory in a sweet story about identity, belonging, and the journey of life — in a darling story about Pink. When Pink questions why she’s not in the rainbow, she learns that she’s a tint, not a color. She starts questioning who she is. A friend reminds her that we need pink for sunrises and sunsets and so much happiness.

Mouse’s Wood: A Year in Nature by Alice Melvin
SEASONS / MONTHS OF YEAR
This gentle story follows a year in the life of Mouse who spends time in nature and with friends. Lift-the-flaps and gorgeous illustrations accompany his first-person narration. “In March I help out Hedgehog (newly woken by the spring). The wind shakes sheets and tosses trees. The finches flit and sing.”

Big Problems, Little Problems by Ben Feller, illustrated by Merce Lopez
PERSPECTIVE
You’ll love this close father-son relationship as much as I do! As the father and son get ready for each day, they help each other find perspective about things that go wrong by asking if it’s a big problem or a little problem. The dad is open about his feelings of frustration and his strategy of deep breaths. When Sam accidentally spills Dad’s coffee, Sam asks Dad questions to determine if it’s a big problem or a little problem. Their questions are an important model for us all to help us reframe our perspectives!

PegaSisters Go to Camp by Brooke Hartman, illustrated by MacKenzie Haley
SIBLINGS
A cute story about learning to appreciate a little sister. Lily and her little sister Filly are going to Pegasus Camp! But Filly annoys Lily so she yells at her to go away. But she soon realizes that she misses her little sister’s fun presence. Read this with your daughters –it’s such a lovely reminder of the many positives in a sister relationship.

Days Like This by Oriane Smith Alice Gravier
PERSPECTIVE
See something from two different perspectives in oversized illustrations of a sunrise, strawberry mornings, chocolate afternoons, and evenings when the night has swallowed everything, among other scenes.

Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua
NEW STUDENT WELCOME
A new student from China named Lin doesn’t speak at school but Amy notices that he talks a lot with his sister after school. Amy wants Lin to feel welcome so she invites him to her dumpling party and makes him a welcome sign in Mandarin.

Monsters in the Fog by Ali Bahrampour
PERSPECTIVE
A donkey named Hakim travels up a mountain to give his friend Daisy a sweater he knit for her. He’s warned by a goat that there are monsters up the mountain. Along the way, he approaches different animals who look scary in the foggy conditions but once he gets closer, they’re not scary monsters. And then, they find his friend Daisy–who is a monster.

Mi Ciudad Sings by Cynthia Harmony, illustrated by Teresa Martinez
SLICE OF LIFE / NATURAL DISASTER
A little girl walks, twirls, dances, and listens to the vibrant city — until an earthquake silences the city. She rescues a dog and they run home to help her neighbors pick up and rebuild. Rebuilding means singing and finding the music of the city again.

Juna and Appa by Jane Park, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino
FATHERS
It’s Saturday at the dry cleaning shop when Juna gets to help Appa who is worried about a lost jacket. She decides to help and is pulled back and forth into a pretend world with animal dads who care for their young like an appa bird on a nest, an appa water bug carrying eggs on his back, and a Darwin frog with tiny frogs inside his mouth. Even though Appa doesn’t find the lost jacket, he closes the shop so they can go get tacos and will look for it on Monday.

The Melody by Oded Burla, illustrated by Assaf Benharroch
TRADITIONS / JEWISH STORY
Once there was a melody that searched the world for someone to listen to it. Eventually, he finds a mother and baby and the melody becomes a lullaby. This is a Jewish tradition of teaching the Torah to the next generation to keep the melody alive.

Lupe Lopez Rock Star Rules by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
MAKING FRIENDS
Lupe starts kindergarten as a rock star looking for fans not friends– and she gets into trouble for her loud drumming. On the second day, she tries to follow the rules and is invited to be in a band. She learns that friends are better than fans.

Tractor by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
FARM VEHICLES
I actually use the example of tractors and farm books as a topic that we don’t need more books for BUT, this one is so good, one more adds to the canon in a good way…Perfect for preschoolers with repetition and onomatopoeia — this story introduces the jobs each farm vehicle does, asks the reader a question, then turn the page to discover the name and picture of the vehicle. FABULOUS illustrations! “Down on the farm, let’s shower the dirt. Whoosh it! Swoosh it! Splish! Splash! Spray! Down on the farm, let’s shower the dirt. What’s watering those fields today? // A sprinkler!”