Category: New Book

Events, illustration, In the Wild, New Book, picture books, Visits & Programs

Stargazing StoryWalk

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We’re excited to see Matt Forrest Esenwine’s The Thing to Remember About Stargazing all around New Hampshire, this October. See the press release, below!

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PRESS RELEASE

Library StoryWalks® Across NH to Feature Local Author’s New Picture Book

WARNER, NH – Nearly twenty libraries across the state will be featuring the same picture book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House, 2023) by Warner, NH author Matt Forrest Esenwine, on their respective StoryWalks® this autumn.

To celebrate its national publication on Oct. 3, the libraries are installing prints of the book in their StoryWalks® for October and/or November. StoryWalks® usually consist of small, waist-high kiosks where readers can enjoy an outdoor walk while reading the pages of a picture book along their journey.

Esenwine says he’s not sure if this sort of coordinated effort has ever been done before, but he is grateful for the support of the libraries and, specifically, the children’s librarians who manage the StoryWalks®.

“I love being able to share my writing with young people and families, and now in addition to the many libraries and schools I visit, I’ll be able to share Stargazing in the great outdoors – the precise setting for the book itself,” he said.

Participating libraries include Rochester, Litchfield, New London, and Hampstead public libraries as well as many others including Esenwine’s hometown library, Warner’s Pillsbury Free Library, which plans to have his book installed in their StoryWalk® in time for the 76th annual Warner Fall Foliage Festival on Oct. 7 & 8.

Stargazing, which encourages readers to get outside and enjoy the night sky in spare, poetic text, is Esenwine’s eighth children’s book and is illustrated by Italian artist Sonia Maria Luce Possentini.

Newbery Honor Winner author Joyce Sidman has praised Stargazing for “its playful, poetic voice” and national award-winning author/poet Padma Venkatraman says, “Esenwine’s carefully crafted, elegant yet simple words will be treasured by young and not so young readers.”

According to its organizers, the StoryWalk® Project was originally created by Anne Ferguson and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, VT.

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Happy StoryWalking! And happy book birthday, Matt!

illustration, New Book, picture books, Tour Schedule

New Book: Don’t Worry Wuddles

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We’re excited to welcome Don’t Worry Wuddles by Lita Judge into the world. This story follows an energetic little duckling who is eager to keep his friends warm by sharing Wuddles’ warm wool only to leave the benefactor bare! Publishers Weekly called it “downright luscious, rendered in creamy whites, warm browns, butter yellows, and blush pink.” How delightful!

You can also stop by and see Lita in her beautiful studio this October as part of the Monadnock Art Tour! She’s stop number #44. See the full map and more information, here.

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New Book: The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby 3!

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Happy launch day to The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby, Vol. 3 by Marek Bennett! This YA graphic novel brings us the continuing adventures of a Yankee schoolteacher in the Union Army.

JANUARY-MAY, 1864: While Freeman Colby recovers his health in a D.C. hospital, the war works unforeseen changes all around him…. Featuring the stories of schoolteachers & bricklayers, radicals & refugees, nurses & politicians–Drawn from their actual diaries, letters, sketchbooks, & more!

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New Book: Everybody Counts!

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Count on a great new picture book from Matt Forrest Esenwine and Emma Graham!

Everyone is helpful, in large and small amounts.
Everybody matters. Everybody counts!

From the publisher: So begins Everybody Counts!, a creative foreign language counting picture book. Get a taste of diversity as you explore this far-reaching festival of food and count your way to a full plate of fun! Readers will get to learn how to count to 10 in twelve different languages, from Greek and Portuguese to Swahili and Navajo. It’s true: everybody DOES matter. Everybody counts!

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New Book: Almost Everybody Farts: The Reek-quel!

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We’re holding our noses, but still excited, for this new fart-filled book from Marty Kelley!

A companion title to Almost Everybody Farts that’s all about . . . you guessed it! Farts!
Featuring a menagerie of animals and their signature farts (as well as some who don’t!), Marty’s simple digital illustrations perfectly capture exaggerated poses and facial expressions for maximum silliness and minimal gross-out factor, keeping this taboo subject family friendly. The rhyming text makes for a perfect read-aloud experience.

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New Book: Something Beautiful

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A new book from Lita Judge is always something beautiful, and Something Beautiful is no exception!

Mouse, Elephant, and Giraffe have so much in common. They like the same games. They eat the same snacks. They don’t need anyone else! Or do they? When the group takes a chance on opening up, they discover that meeting someone new and seeing things from a new perspective can be truly wonderful.

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New Books from Mark Hoffmann!

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Our lives have been enriched by a new currency-focused book from Kimberly Wilson and Mark Hoffmann!

Pennies, worthless? Non-cents!

Hot off the minting press, Penny feels like a million bucks. But as other coins and bills are spent while she sits forgotten, she begins to doubt her value. She is too small to slot-surf with Quarter. Even penny candy sells for a dime! Refusing to be short-changed, she sets out to find her purpose at any cost.

Readers will laugh at a wealth of money puns, learn a basic lesson on US currency, and discover that self-worth is truly priceless.

A romp of a tale about the surprising similarities between dinosaurs and children from Anne Ylvisaker and Mark Hoffmann!


Iamasaurus. I am noodlevorous. One of the genus Ridiculorous. Mothers abhor us. Babies adore us. We romp and we stomp and we chomp on the floras. 

Turns out kids are not unlike T. rexes. Did you know both creatures share many of the same body parts—maxillae, mandibles, clavicles, ribs. Scapulas, humeri, tibias, fibs? This fun romp of a book will make young readers’ inner dinosaurs roar with delight.

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New Book: The Secrets We Keep

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It’s no secret we’re thrilled that Cassie Gustafson’s The Secrets We Keep is out in the world, with two starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly already.


In the vein of Amber Smith’s The Way I Used to Be and Kelly Loy Gilbert’s Conviction, this heartbreaking yet hopeful young adult novel follows a girl’s struggle to reconcile friendship, sexual abuse, and the secrets we bury deep down inside to survive.

High school freshman Emma Clark harbors a secret—a secret so vile it could implode her whole world, a secret she’s managed to keep hidden away. . . Until the day her best friend, Hannah, accuses Emma’s father of a heinous crime. Following her father’s arrest, and torn between loyalty to Hannah and to her family, Emma is devastated to learn she must testify against Hannah’s word in order to keep her family together. As Emma wrestles with this impossible decision, her fractured past begins to resurface piece by painful piece—causing the line to blur between her present-day reality and the dark fairytales she writes to survive, all of which threaten to expose Emma’s long-buried truths.

The Secrets We Keep explores the complex, powerful bonds of friendship and family, asking the difficult question: at what point does Emma’s loyalty to another become a betrayal of herself? And perhaps the toughest question of all: Can Emma find the strength to finally unbury her secret?

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New Book: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human

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Welcome to planet Earth, A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human by Matt Forrest Esenwine, illustrated by André Ceolin!

Being a human is a lot of work! Thankfully, humans experience many of the same feelings, situations, and challenges, so we don’t have to figure it all out on our own–we can help each other navigate the ups and downs. Full of humor and heart, this engaging guide inspires kids to be humans who are kind, empathetic, and thoughtful. No matter what our day brings, we can choose to practice self-control, compassion, and forgiveness. Don’t worry, young human, it’s okay to make some mistakes along the way–just remember that it’s love that keeps us all afloat at the end of the day.