A few of my favorite books right now

Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park and illustrated by Ho Baek Lee (Picture Book)

This is an older gem I stumbled upon recently. The illustrations are beautiful! I enjoyed being a part of the family's ritual of preparing bee-bim bop and sitting down with their multi-generational family for prayer and dinner together. Included in this book are lots of sounds that are so much fun to say out loud. The girl who is telling the story is beyond excited about bee-bim bop, and her excitement is evident in both her rhyming words and her dancing movements on every page.

Wings, Waves, & Webs: Patterns in Nature by Robin Mitchell Cranfield (Nonfiction Picture Book)

Both the illustrations and words do a marvelous job describing multiple complex patterns with simplicity and wonder. After reading this, the world will be revealed in a whole new way. You will find patterns everywhere, and your fingers will itch to draw those patterns. It's a book that makes you want to learn more!

My First Learn-to-Talk Book: Things That Go by Stephanie Cohen and illustrated by Lindsay Dale-Scott (Board Book)

It doesn't get much better than this book. The language is clear, easy to read, and fun to say aloud. The illustrations are of real, adorable toddlers. And, included in the back are two pages about how this book works.

How Birds Sleep by David Obuchowski and illustrated by Sarah Pedry (Nonfiction Picture Book)

The illustrations are cozy, comforting, soft, and though illustrated at night, illuminated by the moon and stars, which are sometimes only visible in the light emanating from the pages. The content is also interesting too! My favorite nest was the common tailorbird's nest, which uses leaves sewn together with "threads of plant fibers, caterpillar cocoons, or spider silk."

Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza and illustrated by Sophie Miller (Nonfiction Picture Book)

A wildly imaginative and exuberant exploration of invisible things. The illustrations simply blast themselves off the page. They are SO bright and crazy. The illustration for melancholy feels so right. The lists for things like echoes and feelings are so SPOT on. The more I hold this book and reread its pages, the harder it is to set it down. This book feels like my soul turned inside out. And I think other readers are going to love putting on "their invisible 'invisible thing'-spotting glasses" and watching the beauty inside them materialize right before their eyes.