Here are 60 books that A Squash and a Squeeze fans have personally recommended if you like
A Squash and a Squeeze.
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I’m a poet, children’s writer, and songwriter from Drogheda, Ireland. Ballads were always part of my family life. My favourite uncle, Gerry Cullen, is a song collector and singer who was central to the revival of folk singing in Drogheda. It was only when I embarked on a Creative Writing PhD in 2015 that I fully recognised the influence of ballads on my work. This has brought me deeper into ballad studies and I have just begun a postdoctoral fellowship at University College Dublin to reclaim lost street poets and tenement balladeers of 19th-century Ireland. For me, the ballad is a peerless narrative form: compact, rhyming, rhythmic, and memorable.
In 1961, American illustrator Peter Spier won a Caldecott Honor for his version of this ancient song, and in 2014 he revisited his book, turning the black and white illustrations into glorious colour. As a scholar of ballads, I’m thrilled by their persistent popularity. The first evidence of “The Fox” is in a manuscript in the British Library from the second half of the fifteenth century, with its chorus—“Pax vobis, quoth the fox, for I am going to the town.” It’s clearly the same song, just missing the ‘o’ after town.What’s the attraction? Besides Spier’s shimmering double spreads of Americana, there’s tight storytelling with great visual details, a tune, a chorus, and a hero’s journey with a happy ending—for Fox and his family, at least!
This Caldecott Honor book from beloved illustrator Peter Spier is a spirited take on a classic American folk song.
"[Spier's] finely detailed, action-packed New England autumn vistas are almost startlingly beautiful."—The New York Times
Over fifty years after he won a Caldecott Honor for The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, legendary illustrator Peter Spier went back to this time-honored favorite in 2014 to paint the half of the book that was originally printed in black and white. In this glowing, restored vision of Spier’s beloved classic, follow the wily fox as he roams a sleepy New England town…
I’m a poet, children’s writer, and songwriter from Drogheda, Ireland. Ballads were always part of my family life. My favourite uncle, Gerry Cullen, is a song collector and singer who was central to the revival of folk singing in Drogheda. It was only when I embarked on a Creative Writing PhD in 2015 that I fully recognised the influence of ballads on my work. This has brought me deeper into ballad studies and I have just begun a postdoctoral fellowship at University College Dublin to reclaim lost street poets and tenement balladeers of 19th-century Ireland. For me, the ballad is a peerless narrative form: compact, rhyming, rhythmic, and memorable.
Galway-based writer Kate Thompson heard the Scottish folk song "Annan Water" in her local pub. It tells of a doomed rider who crosses a flooded river to meet his Annie. Thompson fills out the sparse narrative into a modern setting, and makes the ballad a character in her story when Michael is haunted by the words: "And woe betide you, Annan Water / By night you are a gloomy river." She harnesses its resonance, harness being apt as the story centres around Michael's horse-dealing family as well as his attraction to another Annie. There is tragedy in the story, as in the ballad—Thompson believes children should not be protected from death. Certainly children brought up on ballads, as I was, face sisters killing sisters, hangings, and, of course, drownings.
. Michael first sees Annie one morning on the banks of Annan Water, when he is out exercising two horses from his parents` stables. That first impression of her never leaves him. She triggers in him a desire to get to know and understand her and in doing so, to understand himself . Complicated by the fact that he is haunted by the tune and words of a song about the Annan Water, he finds there is no easy answer to the way he must go- to get to know Annie seems as impossible as interpreting the words of the…
I’m a poet, children’s writer, and songwriter from Drogheda, Ireland. Ballads were always part of my family life. My favourite uncle, Gerry Cullen, is a song collector and singer who was central to the revival of folk singing in Drogheda. It was only when I embarked on a Creative Writing PhD in 2015 that I fully recognised the influence of ballads on my work. This has brought me deeper into ballad studies and I have just begun a postdoctoral fellowship at University College Dublin to reclaim lost street poets and tenement balladeers of 19th-century Ireland. For me, the ballad is a peerless narrative form: compact, rhyming, rhythmic, and memorable.
Patricia Forde is one of the stars of Irish writing, and this magical book was always meant to inspire a song. It’s the story of Fia, who longs to visit the mythical island of Hy Brasil, and finally reaches it by walking across a moonbeam. Her adventures with creatures, real and legendary, are realised in glowing illustrations by Nicola Bernardelli. The book was commissioned by Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture with versions in Irish and in English. Local composer Anna Mullarkey wrote a song to accompany it. Story, song, and pictures combine to show how a child’s imagination becomes part of the enchantment of a special place: “Fia felt the pull of magic in the air / and the pull of her own strong heart.”
Fia looks out her window and across the bay. She longs to see the mysterious island, which appears and disappears in the water.
One night a moonbeam reaches across the bay and leads her to the island. She walks with magical creatures, dances with a host of girls and boys, and visits the bottom of the sea and the stars in space.
Lyrical text with gorgeous colour illustrations, from a multi-award-winning Irish author. Based on the mythical Irish island of Hy Brasil, which lies off the west coast of Galway.
I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina where I was loved, nurtured, and mentored by several brilliant, creative, and powerful Black women. One of those women was Dr. Maya Angelou, who was close with my Grandmother, Queen Mother Frances Pierce, and was my mom's God-Mother. She and the other authors on this list are all women who I respect professionally and love dearly. I am a picture book author, a Grammy-nominated children's musician, and a father of two. I have read these stories to my children and am so proud to live in the great state of North Carolina with so many talented, genuine, and inspirational Black women.
Fellow musician Rhiannon Giddens is the author of Build a House, a tender story about a banjo-playing little girl and her musical and resilient family.
As the descendent of formerly enslaved Afro-Carolinian banjo and fiddle-playing musicians, Giddens gives readers a unique glimpse into the history of North Carolina and lots of inspiration for the future! Did I mention she's also a Grammy winner and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient?
Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens celebrates Black history and culture in her unflinching, uplifting, and gorgeously illustrated picture book debut.
I learned your words and wrote my song. I put my story down.
As an acclaimed musician, singer, songwriter, and cofounder of the traditional African American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon Giddens has long used her art to mine America’s musical past and manifest its future, passionately recovering lost voices and reconstructing a nation’s musical heritage. Written as a song to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth—which was originally performed with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma—and paired here with…
I have been captivated by the emotional power of picture books since I was a child and have spent my adult life reading, sharing, and trying to write the kinds of books that connect to the youngest of readers on a deeper level. In Looking for Smile, I tried to write about the day when I was five years old and experienced real sadness for the first time. This became a story about Bear and his friend, Smile. My favorite kind of picture books are those that make me smile and tear up at the same time. I decided I would share some recent books that have had that effect on me…
This is a deeply touching story about the increasingly relevant topic of stranger fear. A weary blue creature arrives in a strange land carrying a large suitcase. Not knowing what to make of this stranger; a fox, a bird, and a rabbit break into its suitcase to discover its secrets. What they do uncover is a photo of the creature’s lost home. So they come to see all that that the creature really is and all it has lost. In a larger sense, the story speaks to how difficult it is to see what each of us is carrying inside our own “suitcase.” And how important it is to listen.
Shortlisted for the 2020 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
"At a time when over 65 million people are forcibly displaced around the world, this beautifully illustrated and wise, gentle tale of tolerance and kindness for fellow humans resonates deeply. I hope all parents share The Suitcase with their children." - Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner
"A simple, powerful way to introduce the idea of kindness to strangers to young children" - Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo
"Welcome and understanding are at the heart of this children's book by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. Beautifully illustrated,…
I’m
the happy father of five children, born between 2000 and 2017. So in my adult
years, I have quite constantly lived in the company of young children, and I’ve
started inventing stories for them. I have now six albums published in France,
all of which were originally imagined for my kids just before we switch off
the light for sleeping. Born in 1975, I live in Paris, I’m the chief editor
of Philosophie magazine (a monthly publication with 50 000
readers), and I’ve published twenty novels and essays alas not available in
English. I’m the president and co-founder of a creative writing school located
in Paris, Les Mots.
I
have all the albums of Julia Donaldson, and I must say that I appreciate her
work a lot, she plays with sonorities like in nursery rhymes. The
Highway Rat is especially praised by my kids, and I think it’s because
the hero is openly cruel and abominable, stealing the food of other animals
with no pity at all… And, well, he’s arrogant and shameless but obviously
punished at the end.
The rollicking adventurous picture book from the number one bestselling author and illustrator of The Gruffalo, Stick Man and Zog. 'Give me your buns and your biscuits!
Give me your chocolate eclairs!
For I am the Rat of the highway,
and the Rat Thief never shares!'
Life is not safe for the other animals, as the villainous Highway Rat gallops along the highway, stealing their food. Clover from a rabbit; nuts from a squirrel - he even steals his own horse's hay.
Will he finally meet his comeuppance, in the form of a cunning duck?
I’m an award-winning author of picture books for kids. I’m also a veterinarian and science educator, and many of my books have a STEM focus. I write books that are interactive, engaging, and playful. I do this by using humor and by writing in a question-and-answer format that encourages children to think and call out answers before the page-turn. During this time when so many of us have not been able to be in the same room with the kids we read with and to, I’ve found interactive books to be the best at holding attention and connecting. I hope they work well for you, too.
Sophie befriends a squash meant for dinner, and her parents respect this relationship, her emotions, and her decision-making. Even after the squash begins to rot. There’s gentle humor here, but it’s not a laugh-out-loud book, or an overtly interactive book. So why list it here? Because it’s just fantastic storytelling that never fails to completely capture the online attention of classrooms of kids I’ve read it to (and a niece more times than I can count). A perfect story can do that. And it has a scientific solution to the dilemma! I adore and recommend it for that reason as well.
On a trip to the farmers' market with her parents, Sophie chooses a squash, but instead of letting her mom cook it, she names it Bernice. From then on, Sophie brings Bernice everywhere, despite her parents' gentle warnings that Bernice will begin to rot. As winter nears, Sophie does start to notice changes.... What's a girl to do when the squash she loves is in trouble?
The recipient of four starred reviews, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor, and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, Sophie's Squash will be a fresh addition to any collection of autumn books.
I grew up on a farm in a musical, artistic family. Poetry, music, animals, and laughter were the fabric of daily life. I happened to be gifted with the ability to draw. With a particular passion for horses, I eventually earned my art degree and created the cartoon character Fergus the Horse. I truly believe that when extraordinarily skilled illustrations are combined with extraordinarily skilled writing to create a published work, then the projected age recommendation for readers becomes irrelevant.
Every page of this book by Shel Silverstein holds a new surprise.
When writing and illustrating my own books, I've learned to enjoy creating surprises for my readers, whether in the text or the illustrations. I love it when readers ask me, "How did you think that up?" That is exactly what I would love to ask Shel Silverstein. With his endlessly playful imagination, each poem and each page of drawing takes you to a land of ideas you didn't know existed.
There is a certain level of sophistication in children's books where age-appropriate recommendations fall away. This is one of them. For a bedtime read-aloud, it is just as much fun for the parent or grandparent as for the child. It invites them to laugh together. Reading to kids doesn't get better than that.
There's a light on in the attic. I can see it from outside, And I know you're on the inside ... lookin' out.
Step inside the mind of Shel Silverstein and you'll discover a magic homework machine, a Polar Bear in the fridge and a Meehoo With an Exactlywatt. But beware stolen knees, the babysitter who likes to squash children - and the nighttime peril of the Whatifs! This is the second book of beloved poems and pictures from the marvellous master of nonsense, Shel Silverstein.
I loved cooking and baking since I was a child, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I rediscovered the joy of the kitchen. Even though I may enjoy tossing off a batch of eclairs on a whim or experimenting with sous vide, I can get into a cooking rut of last-minute dinners and grab-and-go meals and forget why I enjoy it in the first place! These five books never fail to remind me of the figurative (and sometimes literal) magic of making delicious food with my own hands.
This sweet romance might be short in length, but it’s long on culinary delights and the idea that food can bring people together.
The book’s main appeal is the internal journeys of the food blogger heroine and chef hero, but I can’t lie—the mere mention of things like blueberry-and-basil scones has me rushing to my baking supplies to figure out my own version…and the scene involving butternut squash lasagna with browned butter, sage, and apples has my mouth watering every time.
In fact, I might need to take a break from this book rec to whip up a dupe.
I left the corporate pigeonhole in 2015 and flew out into the Great Expanse. Ever since, I have been a catalyst for people’s self-expression across different media and formats. My work is a direct consequence of this motivation. I am a person branding coach, writer, editor & book coach and voiceover artist. I prefer depth over width, silence over noise, calm over chaos. My thinking is a blend of structure and free flow. My work is more than just work to me: it is a core part of my being. Being of a contemplative nature, I often ask myself big questions about value- creation, impact, empathy, collaboration, etc. I live in the Indian city of Bangalore (Bengaluru) with my family.
I was thinking of writing a book like this when I saw it in a bookstore! Someone had already written it! It tells us how various people from diverse backgrounds chucked their profession or job (because they didn't like it or didn't find it suited to themselves) to do what they really wanted to do.
I can relate strongly to this book because this is what I did too, a few years ago. The chapters are written in the first person by the people who jumped. This gives the reader a greater sense of live action.
Each story has a lesson or two. Read a story, mull over what you learned from it, and then move to the next one. This book should help you set the "caged bird of your heart" free.
If you're at a crossroads, this is the book you need to read to begin chasing your dreams. Includes a foreword by Sheryl Sandberg.
Do you have a little voice in your head telling you to pursue the thing you love? Leaving a comfortable job to pursue a passion is a brave, bold move - but it's far from impossible. In this inspiring read When to Jump founder Mike Lewis has curated a community of people to share their stories about taking the leap into the unknown - people from all walks of life who left the safe inertia of…
