A Photo-Friendly Family? The Worm Family Has Its Picture Taken by Jennifer Frank

MRS. WORM LAY AT THE TOP OF A GIANT DIRT PILE, WATCHING HER CHILDREN PLAY.

SHE HOPED SHE'D ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW SQUIRMY, SLIMY, AND CUTE THEY WERE AT THIS AGE.

Suddenly Mrs. Worm has an idea. She calls a photographer, Mr. Muskrat, and makes an appointment for a family photo!

Her oldest daughter Emma Worm can't wait to tell her BFF, Ellie Chipmunk. Ellie's family has a lovely group photo, all with dazzling, big smiles! Sadly, Emma realizes that her family picture will be bereft of bright, toothy smiles.

WORMS DON'T HAVE TEETH!

Her friend Abigail Cat just has to brag about her day at the beauty salon getting her fur all foofy-foofy for her portrait.

Not an option for the Worm family, thinks Emma.

And her buddy Olivia Butterfly can't help boasting about the rainbow of colors her family flaunt in their photo. Emma realizes that that the grayish-brown of her family is not going to amaze and delight any viewer's eyes. She frets all night.

HOW WAS HER FAMILY GOING TO MAKE THEIR PORTRAIT SPECIAL?

WAIT! They can rent costumes! And what fun all the Worms have trying on fake teeth, hats, wigs, and snazzy clothes! What a family photo this is going to be!

But when they arrive at the photography studio, Mr. Muskrat stops them at the door, claiming that his next appointment is with the Worm family. And Worms do not have teeth. Or hair. Or wild colors. He's right, the Worms all agree. But we all can do one thing really well.

They can spell! And they wiggle and curl and squirm into a clever cursive pose that spells...

CHEERS

All families are different in their own particular ways, in Jennifer Frank's just published, The Worm Family Has Its Picture Taken (Anne Schwarz Books, 2021), in a story that spoofs the competition between families while affirming the unique qualities that each family has. Two-time Caldecott Award-winning artist David Ezra Stein struts his comic illustrative gifts in multimedia drawings that will have kids rolling in the aisles at this one, while perhaps appreciating their own families' quirks and perks. Says Publishers Weekly, "A terrific pairing of new and veteran talent, as well as a gentle but firm nudge for any child who’s felt the pang of familial embarrassment.”

Be Yourself! Dear Boy, by Paris and Jason Rosenthal

DEAR BOY,

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

BE KIND.

HONESTY WILL NEVER LEAD YOU DOWN THE WRONG ROAD.

There are many things a parent wants to say to a child, and in this sequel to to Amy Krouse Rosenthal's best-selling advice for girls, Dear Girl, (see review here), the late Amy Krouse's daughter Paris and son Jason Rosenthal have written a companion book for boys, Dear Boy, (Harper, 2019). Parents of boys will find the authors' advice says a lot, including their closing:

KNOW THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS TURN TO ME.

One Size Fits All! Not So Small At All by Sandra Magsamen

Have you ever felt like you're just too small

To do important stuff in the world at all?

But look closely! There are plenty of teeny-tiny creatures that do really significant things for us all.

After all, bees are pretty small, but what they do is neat. They pollenate, so we have flowers, grains, and veggies, to eat.

Ants are mighty mites who can move big freight. All they have to do is cooperate!

A little worm can squirm and turn soil over, acting like a wiggly little bulldozer.

Sandra Magneson's brand-new Not So Small at All(Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2018) points out the great things that small things do, and reminds youngsters that they have what it takes to do important work in the world, too.

You see, small can be big in so many ways.

It's just by being you that you'll always amaze!

Fun, kind, caring, creative, honest YOU.

And to make little ones feel that they have the power within to do great things, author Magsamen appends an empowering list of "Big Facts About Small Things." Artist Magsamen offers simple blackline faux naif illustrations with humorous small ones doing big things to inspire the little ones to think big as they grow big.