Fireworks by Matthew Burgess illustrated by Catia Chien

My dad loved the fireworks here in Sydney every New Year. He would either want to head into the city or locally there was a small hill where people gathered. When I was a young child we walked through a harborside suburb to a vantage point opposite our iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. I even remember walking in the dark with my cousins, and I remember the special clothes I was wearing!

In this story, Fireworks, it is a very hot summer day. The two kids cool off under a fire hydrant and then they head to the park where they enjoy huge watermelon slices. 

Grandma cooks their dinner and then the kids climb to the top of their city building. 

"On this summer night, we climb the ricket ladder to the silver tar rooftop still soft from the day's sun and we wait for the first pop!"

It's a fabulous fireworks display and one of the best pages comes at the end where we see the way the colourful images are still exploding in their minds and dreams.

Bookseller blurb: As a hot day sizzles into evening, everyone on stoops and sidewalks looks skyward on this special summer night—the Fourth of July! Words and art blossom into flowers of fire across the sky, making this a perfect read for firework enthusiasts in cities and suburbs everywhere.

Is this book about the 4th of July - probably - but that's okay. We have fabulous fireworks here in Australia on New Year's Eve and at other times so really this story does translate very easily across the world. I have put some of other picture books that include fireworks at the bottom of this post. Betsy Bird also talks about this book being a book about summer heat and my own favourite US book on that topic is Come on Rain by Karen Hesse. Fireworks is set in New York city but that's okay too - our kids know about that city and others like it with tall buildings and large parks.

Think about the wonderful words your library group or young reading companion will encounter in this book: greet; venture; steamy; bodega; sax (saxophone); onlookers; salsa; rickety; finale; charcoal sniff; extinguished; and lull.

Bodega - that's a word you may not know. It is a small Spanish speaking grocery store.

Fireworks contains a gatefold - Besty Bird explains this: Let’s say you’re a children’s book author or illustrator and you wanted to put a gatefold into your book. A gatefold is a spread of pages that physically open up outside of the confines of the book’s dimensions in some manner. Historically, librarians have not been huge fans of gatefolds because they have a tendency to rip over time. What makes the gatefold in “Fireworks” so extraordinary is that it’s vertical rather than horizontal. It also tucks so perfectly into the book that it might take an adult reader a couple seconds before they realize it’s even there. Only the thickness of the paper gives away its presence. Now here’s the kicker: Did you know that a gatefold can only appear in a book at just the right moment? Because of the physical nature of how books are made (the folding of the pages together) gatefolds can only come at certain moments. So part of what’s so amazing about this book is that its gatefold comes at precisely the right moment, both physically and from a literary perspective. It’s a marvel of simultaneous engineering and storytelling.

If you share this book with a group of older readers in grades 4-6 please take the time to talk about pace and word placement - the final page turn and final word of this book is sure to have been one of the many reasons Fireworks was selected for this enormously prestigious award.

When you read enough picture books you shouldn’t allow yourself to have favorites. Still, I state loud and clear for the record, that this is without a doubt my favorite firework-related summertime picture book ever. Beautiful, weirdly touching, and utterly original. “Swish Zing Tizzle-ting POOF!”

Take a look at the book trailer on the author web page.

Read some reviews:

Kirkus Star review

Horn Book

Waking Brain Cells

You can see more books illustrated by Catia Chien here and here is the web page for Matthew Burgess. I previously talked about The Bear and the Moon;

Betsy mentions that there should be more books about fireworks. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything shared a few in her blog post. I remembered a book from my former library which was regularly requested by our art teacher but sadly I cannot find a cover image to share here. This book is from 1983 published by A and C Black - Firework Party by Peggy Blakeley. 

Fireworks is the winner of the 2026 Caldecott Medal and yet here in Australia it is listed at over AUS$53 as the retail price - I have seen it also listed for AUS$38 but even that will be way beyond the budget of every school library her in Australia - why oh why? My friend and I have seen this issue with other Caldecott winners and honor titles - see the bottom of this post for some covers. It is true that some Caldecott titles are not really relevant for our Australian children, but Fireworks (and Watercress) most certainly are. I previously talked about past winners here.

Here two of the 2026 honor titles (there are four in total)

Every Monday Mabel

Watercress and Hot Dog

Awards for Fireworks:

     2026 Caldecott Medal

     Charlotte Zolotow Honor for Outstanding Writing in a Picture Book 

     SCBWI Golden Kite Honor for Picture Book Illustration and Text

     Society of Illustrators Gold Medal 

     A NYT/NYPL Best Illustrated Book

     Kirkus’ Best Books of 2025

     School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2025

     Publisher’s Weekly Best Picture Books of 2025

     Blue Ribbon Award 2025

You can also find fireworks in these:

See inside this book here

Noah's New Home

A Gift for Nana

Trees by Verlie Hutchens illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong

"Each tree offers a story a clue a dance that makes it its very own self."

We read about the maple; aspen; oak; palm; willow; apple tree; spruce; dogwod; sycamore; white pine; birch and sequoia.

Most of the trees in this book will be unfamiliar to Australian children but that is why you should read it. The tree names are beautiful and many are sure to be encountered in other books and perhaps in real life as young readers grow older. The other reasons to find and share this book are the beautiful art used in the illustrations and the poetic text. 

The artwork is full of sensitivity and whimsy and highlights the interconnectedness of all life; this is where the book truly shines. Some spreads invite readers to turn the book lengthwise, allowing the tall trees to pierce the sky. Others, like the panorama of the palm tree, playfully dance widthwise across the page, following the breeze. In many spreads, children are dwarfed by the trees’ magnificence, admiring them, playing beneath their leaves, or even being antagonized by a windy branch. School Library Journal

There is a feeling of exuberance. Throughout the well-laid-out book, the art, a skilled merging of printmaking and digital techniques, deftly complements the text, using facts about each tree to create divergent moods—including a surprisingly foreboding mood at the end. Language is elegant and accessible, with personification as the useful, key poetic device. Kirkus

It must have been hard for the library to decide where to place this book - poetry [811] or trees [582.16] - trees is where you find this book. The CIP (cataloging in publication) put it in poetry. It's a library dilemma but either way this is a special book.

Here are three text samples:

Birch, when other trees wear lifeless black, struts in royal etmine robes.

Willow dances in her narrow kimono with elegant sweeping sleeves wafting gentle wind.

Aspen, tall and graceful, dances on her tippy toes. Her golden leaves like castanets shimmer in the breeze.

Click here to see more pages

I am a little curious as to how this book came to be in the school library where I work as a volunteer. The inscription by the Teacher-Librarian says it was a donation - I wonder who or why?  This book was published in 2019. This book is now out of print but you may find it in a public or school library - even perhaps here in Australia!

Jing Jing Tsong is a mom, musician, and surfer whose grown-up job is drawing pictures. Her technique, which layers color and texture, is influenced by her experiences working in traditional stone lithography and monoprints. She is the illustrator of Seven Samosas and the New York Times bestselling A Bucket of Blessings, both written by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal; First Morning Sun by Aimee Reed; and Feathers and Hair, What Animals Wear by Jennifer Ward; among others. Jing Jing and her husband live on an island in Washington state.

Story Rug by Sophie Blackall illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

This book is sure to create a craze in your library or classroom for braiding and for making braided rugs - even small ones. I really enjoyed the repeated refrain used in this story as Noah and his friends approach each problem:

"I want to braid. Noah knows Mrs Morena will have an idea. She always has an idea."

"But how to join the strips? Noah knows his Dad will have an idea. He always has an idea."

"It's too much braid to fit in Noah's backpack. But what to do with it? Everyone knows Noah will have an idea. He always has an idea."

There is one small plot jump in this story - I am sure your class will have ideas when you discuss this. The kids braid many different cloths. The braid is so long. Noah has a terrific idea and he tells everyone to meet him at the library which I assume is the local town or city public library. The kids coil the braiding and form a huge rug - a story rug. Turn the page and the next scene is back in the classroom. 

Do make time to linger over the end papers and notice the extra details in the classroom. This might seem obvious, but this book takes place over a few days and on each new day at school the kids are wearing different clothes. The way the kids also weave in their stories made me think about the stories people share over quilts. Here is a Pinterest of quilt books from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything.

Blurb from Illustrator webpage: The children of Class 203 are learning to braid. They started with hair and shoelaces, and now the children have brought rags from home. Their braid gets longer and longer until one idea transforms it into an extraordinary surprise for their teacher. Here is the story of a rag rug, woven through with the stories of the scraps used to create it and those told during its making. The result is a special handmade spot where the whole class can gather, ready for more stories.

Braids together the personal and the communal—and will hopefully inspire real classrooms to follow suit. Kirkus

You can hear Sophie Blackall talking about her book here to NPR with Phoebe Wahl.

You can see a video about braided rugs in this review by The Bottom Shelf (Barbara Braxton).

It is such a celebration of kids working together to create the most amazing thing, interweaving not just the fabrics but their own lives and their stories, sharing snippets of their diverse out-of-school time.

You will know Sophie Blackall from all her fabulous books - take a look at this post. The difference with Story Rug is that Sophie penned the text and did not do the illustrations - instead we have vibrant pictures by Phoebe Wahl. I previously talked about her book Sophie's Chickens.

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

The night Ganwar lost his hand was the night I lost my father and brother, the night of men in the sky with guns, the night the earth opened up like a black pit and swallowed my old life whole.

Why am I here, when so many others are not? Why should I have a desk and a pair of fine jeans and a soft place for my head to rest? Why should I have the freedom to hope while my brother and father sleep in bloodied earth?

Kek arrives in America on a freezing cold winters day. He has come by airplane from Sudan. He has watched as his father and brother have been killed and he has had to leave his mother behind after their refugee camp was attacked. Kek is picked up by a social worker named Dave. Kek does have an aunt and cousin in America so he will be able to live with people from his family. On the way to their apartment Kek sees a lonely cow standing in the snow. He has asked Dave to stop the car so he can get close - Kek cared for his father's cattle back in Sudan. And so this story begins ...

You can have your dogs and cats, your gerbils and hamsters and sleek sparkling fish. But you will have lived just half a life if you never love a cow.

This is an early verse novel from Katherine Applegate - here are some text quotes that really show her skill with this form and her brilliant word choices and placement:

I am a tall boy, like all my people. My arms stick out of the coat like lonely trees.

I try some English, but my mouth just wants to chew the words and spit them on the ground.

Six long scars line his forehead, the marks of manhood I watched Ganwar and my brother receive in our village ceremony. How jealous I had been that day, too young for such an honor.

He had many cattle, my father, and the respect of our village, but it was his voice that made him a rich man among men. His voice was deep, like a storm coming, but gentle, like the rain ending.

It’s a strange pain to be with those you belong to and feel you don’t belong.

I have my father’s will, my brother’s eyes, and my mother’s light. She is like newborn sun, fresh with promise, the just-beginning moments before the day fills like a bucket with good and bad, sweat and longing. Even her laughter has sun in it. Always when I think of her I see a cloudless day blooming full, I feel warmth on my shoulders, I know hope’s embrace.

I don’t have the cattle for such a fine desk as this. Oh, she says, you don’t have to pay for this desk, Kek. School’s free here. You just bring your mind and your smile every day, OK?

Bookseller blurb: Kek comes from Africa. In America, he sees snow for the first time and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter--cold and unkind. In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she's missing. Kek is on his own. Slowly, he makes friends: a girl who is in foster care, an old woman who owns a rundown farm, and a cow whose name means "family" in his native language. As Kek awaits word of his mother's fate, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.

Home of the Brave was published in 2008. I read an ebook version as, I expected this book would now be out of print, - but luckily it is not so can I suggest you add this book to your library shopping list or make a request to your local public library to add this book to their shelves. 

If you are book talking Home of the Brave I would use the 'chapter' entitled "How not to wash dishes". I was reading this part, and I just had to stop because I knew a huge disaster was coming. 

The free verse writing makes it a quick read, although I found myself pausing to reflect on the story or just admire Applegate's word choice. YA Books Central

Each week I travel on a bus and train to volunteer in a hospital library. This gives me plenty of time for reading. Today I started and completed Home of the Brave. As I stepped off the bus the lady sitting beside me commented on the form of this book. She had never seen a verse novel before. I was so happy to talk about this format and how books told as verse novels usually contain very emotional stories and that this book - Home of the Brave was no exception. 

I only have one tiny quibble which is why I gave Home of the Brave (perfect for readers aged 10+) four and not five stars. When Kek meets the owner of the cow Lou, he tells her he comes from Africa - but Africa is not a country. I hoped he would say the name of his country - Sudan. 

There are four parts in this book and each begins with an African proverb:

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

You only make a bridge where there is a river.

One doesn’t forego sleeping because of the possibility of nightmares.

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.

Companion books:

Moo

The Colour of Home 

(This is a picture book which I often share with Grade 6 students)

The Pencil by Susan Avingaq illustrated by Charlene Chua

When Susan's mother leaves their iglu to help a neighbour with a birth, she and her sister Rebecca and brother Peter are left in the care of their father. Play for the children includes having a jumping contest, a game of hide-and-seek and the two older girls practicing their letters on the frost surface of the ice window. But when Ataata pulls out the pencil from the special box of Anaana's things, everything changes. The pencil is already very short from Anaana's writing of letters to people in other camps, using whatever paper she might save including from tea boxes and sugar bags, but it is still gold. Anaana always said that we needed to be very careful with the pencil and that it wasn't a toy. Ataata also gives Susan a piece of paper and suggests she draw pictures for her brother. Though nervous, she draws seals and caribou and her family. Then Rebecca practices her writing, and Peter draws some scribbles and their father draws different inuksuit. The pencil gets shorter and Ataata has to sharpen it with his knife. Source: CanLit for Little Canadians

Authors Avingaq and Vsetula understand life in Nunavut, Canada, and embed in the story the importance of being responsible for belongings and caring for them wisely. A helpful glossary of the Inuktitut words (italicized on first reference within the story) is included in the backmatter. Kirkus

Listen to an audio sample here. This book (2019) is available here in Australia but sadly it will be well beyond the budget of most school libraries. 

While we were in Canada my friend and I tried to read lots of Canadian indigenous titles. The Pencil is one we found in library and it is a story that has lingered with me. My friend had talked about this book previously in this blog post. 

At the IBBY Congress in Ottawa IBBY launched their newest list: IBBY-UNESCO Collection of Remarkable Books in Indigenous and Endangered Languages.

This list links with International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032).

The Collection is both a celebration and a call to action. It invites readers, educators, publishers and institutions worldwide to discover the richness of books created in Indigenous and endangered languages, while encouraging the production and dissemination of new works. By highlighting stories rooted in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts, it affirms that languages are not only to be preserved, but to be actively used, shared and continuously reimagined. The development of this Collection has been both an ambitious and deeply enriching process. The final Collection offers a journey across regions and traditions, showcasing how children, through more than 152 languages, engage with stories that reflect their realities, imaginations and identities.

Over 500 titles were submitted from around the world and 169 were eventually selected for this inaugural list representing 150 languages. You can see the full list with detailed annotations here. I previously talked about the book by David A Robertson from Cananda that is included on this list. He was a Keynote speaker at the IBBY Congress. 

Here are the criteria for the UNESCO IBBY List:

● Books for children and young people (picture books, novels, biographies, graphic novels and nonfiction) presenting high-quality standards in terms of text and/or illustration; 

● books published between January 2018 and December 2025; 

● books originally published in an Indigenous and/or an endangered language, and original bilingual books including at least one Indigenous and/or endangered language;  

● books expressing the intention of, or relation to, one or more of the 10 outputs of the Global Action Plan of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages; and 

● books and publications that adhere to UNESCO principles and respect 

political neutrality. 

Here are a few of the Australian titles:

These books are not included in the IBBY UNESCO catalogue but they were some I read in the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver:

You can read more about these and many others here.

Grandma Chickenlegs by Geraldine McCaughrean illustrated by Moira Kemp

Following the tradition of Cinderella, following the death of her mother, a stepmother arrives in the home and the father heads away on business. The awful stepmother in this story is making beautiful clothes for her own two daughters and has set Tatia to menial household tasks and of course gives her no food. She then hatches a plan to 'get rid of' young Tatia. She sends her into the woods to ask the witch named Grandma Chickenlegs for a sewing needle. Young Tatia is able to take the little rag doll gifted to her by her late mother. This magic doll will be vital to her survival. 

You might expect, as I did, that Tatia would complete a series of good deeds and that Grandma Chickenlegs would reward her with treasures or a better life but alas this is not the case. Grandma Chickenlegs is evil. She sets Tatia to work weaving at the loom all night. Then we read these really chilling words:

"Heat the water and fill the bath. You know I like my food washed before I eat it." 

Perhaps I should have talked about Hansel and Gretel.

Tatia is by nature a very kind child. When Grandma Chickenlegs gives her white bread rolls, butter and bacon she readily shares these with the cat (bacon), the dog (the rolls), and the squeaky door (the butter). Later she also gifts her ribbon to the magic elm tree in the garden.

Her kindness means she is aided in four perfect ways and so she is able to escape from the witch (Grandma Chicklegs) and even better she meets her absent father at the end of her journey. On his return home he banishes the evil stepmother and her daughters and Tatia along with the cat and dog all live happily ever after.

When you share this book (I hope you can find it in a library) with your class or library group you could use this sentence to talk about word placement:

"Around the garden, on four scratching, paltry legs ran the bleak shack. Its fence was made from whitening bones, the gateposts topped with skulls. The front door swung on its hinges squealing like a thing in pain. Its keyhole gnashed tiny, tinny teeth."

Moira Kemp's illustrations are bright and colorful -- almost comical in the scenes in Grandma Chickenlegs's house, and cheerful when Tatia is at home with her father. Pictures cover most of both pages of the open book, with text integrated into one side. Little details, like the curlers in Grandma's green hair when she's awakened, her teddy bear, and the iron teeth left on the nightstand, will appeal to observant readers. MLIS Understanding

Using twisted perspectives and vigorously applied colors, Kemp creates a set of wild, garishly lit climactic scenes dominated by the grimacing, green-skinned granny—perfect counterpart to McCaughrean’s colorful prose style... Kirkus

I am a fan of Geraldine McCaughrean but looking at her web page I can see there are SO many more of her books that I need to find and read! She has written more than 170. Click here to see some I have talked about here. I especially plan to re-read Pack of Lies. 

Boy oh boy I SO wish I had discovered this book (published in 2020) back when I was in my school library - it is one that I would have loved to share with my library readers in Grade 3 or 4 and then we would have read The Talking Eggs:

The Talking eggs

My friend recommended Grandma Chickenlegs because we were talking about this Middle Grade book I read recently and I commented that I needed to know more about Baba Yaga. It is interesting that both stories involve a magical doll. 

A Wolf for a Spell

Will's Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov

Opening lines:

My father is a far-thinking man. He stands, feet firmly planted on ground, his hand over his eyes blocking the blinding sun. I stand to the left of him, stroking Belle, our gray mule. For what seems like hours, Father stares at the horizon. I can’t imagine what he sees. Not truly. I asked once: “What’re you looking at?” Without looking at me, he answered, “Dirt.” Dirt is all around. Not worth staring at, I think. Near or far, it’s all Texas soil.

And the story continues:

It feels as though Ma and I have a pact. I don’t know what our pact is, but Ma includes me in ways Father never does. She makes sweet treats, tucks me in bed, kisses my forehead, and, sometimes, lets me have a carrot for Belle. She talks to me calm, sensible. Yes, Father is a far-thinking man. Father’s life isn’t here or now. It’s out there, somewhere else, in a future time. I think I’m too close to him, too near to count.

Father works hard on the farm but while it is true he is no longer a slave, most of the profits from his cotton go to the landowner. Father cannot read but he brings home a notice from the market:

Father and Will set off on their long journey of 400 miles with their faithful mule Belle. "Belle will have to pull for eight hours a day for forty days.”

Nearly a month of travel, Father’s body is more relaxed. He still doesn’t talk much, but there’s an ease, a calm about him. The farther we get from Mr. Thompson’s farm, the more the wide-open, remote land stirs him with wonder.

Going back to the title - Will is racing because there is limited land and thousands of people are rushing to claim their share. It is also a race because Father hopes to make a new home for his wife and his own elderly father. Finally it is a race because three armed men are chasing them after a terrible altercation in one of the towns on their journey. Luckily their new friend Caesar, a former slave and soldier, was able to rescue Will during a robbery of their wagon and he has now joined them on the trail, but these three white cowboys are out for revenge. 

It is so sweet to read the way old Belle their mule loves Caesar's huge horse Midnight. 

Belle loves Midnight. Midnight loves Belle. Standing close to each other, they share water, hay. Belle nudges Midnight’s flank; Midnight rubs his chin against her. Ears flat, Belle is happy. Ears pointed, Midnight scans the surroundings, keeping them safe. No snake or coyote will surprise him. When Midnight is nearby, Belle tugs the wagon with extra energy. It’s like she’s showing off. Resting, like now, they keep close enough to touch.

If you are book talking Will's Race for Home, I suggest reading chapter 22 - the river crossing - it is a dramatic and life-threatening scene which will have your library group on the edge of their seats. (There is also a similar scene in One Big Open Sky but with a more devastating outcome).

Publisher blurb: It's 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don't get to own. So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to the place where land is free-if they can get to it fast enough. But the journey isn't easy-the terrain is rough, the bandits are brutal, and every interaction carries a heavy undercurrent of danger. And then there's the stranger they encounter and befriend: a mysterious soldier named Caesar, whose Union emblem brings more attention-and more trouble-than any of them need. All three are propelled by the promise of something long denied to them: freedom, land ownership, and a place to call home-but is a strong will enough to get them there?

Here is a video of Colby Sharp explaining how much he loved this book. This book is about US History but I am sure readers here in Australia aged 10+ will enjoy this thrilling tale of heroism and the wild west and as a bonus this is a fairly short book which might surprise you because it is filled with action and danger. Listen to an audio sample here. You can see more books by Jewell Parker Rhodes here. 

Here is a fabulous character description from this book that you could use as a model with your older students:

Off to the right is the first Black man I’ve seen during the journey. He reminds me of a great-tailed grackle. Long legs, face. His ankle-length coat, like a bird’s tail, sweeps and gleams iridescent—purplish black. His skin is obsidian dark; his clothes duller, more ash. Even his Stetson hat is black. He leans his shoulder against one of the posts outside the Pioneer Saloon. He doesn’t seem to mind the flow of weary travelers and loud drunks passing by. His dark eyes seem to see everything. Even me!

Jewell Parker Rhodes writes this quick, slick, gripping paean to the Western genre while also tying in fantastic historical details and an overarching tale of a boy and his father bonding at last. ... (This book is) Short and sweet, exciting and touching. Fuse8 Betsy Bird SLJ

Reading this review by Betsy Bird I learned a new term "exodusters". Read more here. 

Will’s Race for Home is a powerhouse Western and coming-of-age story set during a pivotal historical period. Populated with dynamic characters who grow impressively throughout the story, this slim historical fiction title explores an under-examined period in Black history with sensitivity and a spirit of adventure. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as the protagonist navigates moral dilemmas and leaps of faith to find a home for his family. Reading Middle Grade

The short chapters make this fast-paced and eventful ride through the West an accessible and engaging read. Kirkus Star review

Companion book:

One Big Open Sky