Watercress by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin

Watercress isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be.

The prose is spare and poetic. The watercolor illustrations are subtle, immersive, and rich with emotion. This book whispers truths: about shame and pride, about family and survival, and about the painful beauty of remembering. The Wardens of Magic

Understated, deep, and heart-rending -

bring tissues. Kirkus Star review

The big mystery of this Caldecott winning book is that it was not distributed here in Australia and yet this is a story that could easily translate to our context. AND this book won the 2022 Caldecott Medal. You can still buy this book but the hardcover edition of this book costs between AUS$35 and AUS$47 and so will be beyond the budget of most school libraries. Trove only list ten public and university libraries with this book. Luckily, I was able to re-read Watercress in a public library a couple of weeks ago - Green Square Library. I discovered it there a couple of years ago. You can see the whole book on this video. Here is an interview with Andrea Wang and Jason Chin.

Here is the synopsis from Wikipedia: A young girl is in the car with her brother and parents when they come across wild watercress growing on the side of the road. Her parents excitedly pull over and instruct the children to help them gather the watercress. The girl feels embarrassed to be seen by passing cars and disgusted by the mud and snails that are on the plants. The watercress is prepared for dinner that night, but the girl initially refuses to eat it because she is ashamed of their "dinner from a ditch". Her mother brings out a picture from her childhood and, for the first time, talks about the famine that her family suffered. Feeling guilty, the girl takes a bite of the watercress. She discovers that she likes the taste and reflects on the new memory she and her family have created.

My former school had a unit of study with the Grade 6 classes about our multicultural country here in Australia - Watercress is a book I would have loved to share as a part of this class topic alongside other books about The Refugee Experience Through Picture Books. 

You should also look for this book which is based on the years in China of the great famine.

Sparrow Girl

Author note from Andrea Wang: This story is about the power of memory. Not just the beautiful memories, like the ones my mother and father had about eating watercress in China, but also the difficult ones, the memories that are sometimes too painful to share. It starts with my own distressing memory of being made to pick watercress that was growing wild by the side of the road. As the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in a small, mostly white town in Ohio, I was very aware of how different my family and I were from everyone else. It's hard to feel like you don't belong, and collecting food from a muddy roadside ditch just made that bad feeling more intense for me -- something my very practical parents didn't understand. When I was young, my parents didn't talk about their memories of China, of growing up poor, losing siblings, and surviving war. I don't blame them -- these are difficult topics to discuss with children. But it's important, too, for children to understand their family history. Perhaps if I had known about the hardships they had faced, I would have been more compassionate as a child. Maybe I would have felt more empathy and less anger. More pride in my heritage and less shame. Memories have the power to inform, to inspire, and to heal. This story is both an apology and a love letter to my parents. It's also an encouragement to all children who feel different and to families with difficult pasts -- share your memories. Tell your stories.

Prizes for Watercress:

• Caldecott Medal Winner
• Newbery Honor Award
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
• Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award 2022
• New England Book Award Winner
• 2021 Boston Globe – Horn Book Honor Book
• 2021 Cybils Award 

See more here. 

I previously talked about these books by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin:

Luli and the Language of Tea

Life after whale

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo

"I went to stay with my Nana at her new apartment in the city. 

I love my nana but I don't love the city."

At its heart this simple picture book is about point of view. The little boy finds the city is loud and scary. But his nana says it is wonderful - bustling, booming and extraordinary.

Nana has such wisdom. She makes the little boy a cape and the next day she shows him that the city is not at all scary because he can now be brave in his fabulous cape. Now slow down and take time to really look into the illustrations because, as is the way with the best picture books, at this point the pictures go way beyond the text. 

You will love sharing this book with your young reading companion and a bonus they might hear/discover a wonderful new word - extraordinary. Nana in the city was a Newbery honour title in 2015. Unfortunately, this book is outrageously expensive here in Australia at over AUS$42. I borrowed my copy from a well-stocked school library - they were lucky to purchase this book back in 2015 for AUS$20. 

What does the Caldecott mean to you?  It means so much to know that the committee felt my book was worthy of such an incredible honor. I am just so thankful. Now, because of this silver sticker, many more children will experience NANA—Maybe even while sitting on the lap of their own Nana—and that blows me away. This book was written as a tribute to my grandmother, who I traveled to New York to visit during my childhood summers, and to my late editor, Frances Foster, who was like family to me in New York City. 

Throughout, Castillo’s soft, warmly colored art expresses the child’s changing feelings about the city while also depicting the characters’ close bond. Kirkus

Publisher blurb:  In this magical picture book, a young boy spends an overnight visit with his nana and is frightened to find that the city where she lives is filled with noise and crowds and scary things. But then Nana makes him a special cape to help him be brave, and soon the everyday sights, sounds, and smells of the city are not scary—but wonderful. The succinct text is paired with watercolor illustrations that capture all the vitality, energy, and beauty of the city.

If you read this book with a preschool or Kindy group you could compare the themes of Nana in the City with Town Mouse and Country Mouse. I have put a few picture book versions in this post. And then you can read the sequel Nana in the Country. Here is the web site for Lauren Castillo.

This is a Story; Our friend Hedgehog

See lots more Lauren Castillo books here.

Here is the blurb for Nana in the Country: When Nana comes from the city to visit her grandson in the country, the boy is so excited to teach her about all the wonderful things he does on the farm where he lives—feeding the ducks, milking the cow, even tending to bees. But to his disappointment, Nana already seems to know how to do just about everything. And she isn’t the least bit nervous about picking up bugs or easing a hen aside to collect an egg. But then a storm hits in the night, and the boy must take the lead and make sure the animals are safe and dry. And it turns out there are many more unique-to-the-country adventures to surprise his beloved Nana with.

Last Stop on Market Street Matt de la Pena illustrated by Christian Robinson

Through simple yet powerful storytelling, Matt de la Peña explores themes of gratitude, perspective, and community. CJ begins the story feeling envious of what others have, 

but as he listens to his grandmother’s wisdom, he comes to see value in his experiences—in the people they meet, in the music of the streets, and in the sense of belonging 

that isn’t tied to material wealth. The book captures how young children process social differences and how caregivers can shape their understanding of privilege, joy, and human connection. Reading is Resistance

Last Stop on Market Street is a timeless masterpiece transcending age and genre, creating an immersive reading experience that will stay with readers long after turning the final page. This book is not just a journey through the city; it’s a journey of the heart—a celebration of diversity, resilience, and the beauty of the human spirit. Allow yourself to be transported by its magic. 

The Children's Book Review

It is easy to see this is part of CJ and his grandmother's weekly routine. After church they head to the bus stop. CJ has lots of questions but it is the answers that are truly special. His grandmother is filled with the joy of life even though clearly, as we discover, life is tough - she always has a positive answer to questions such as 'Nana how come we don't got a car?'; 'How come we always gotta go here after church?'; and 'How come it's always so dirty over here?'.

The bus is filled with many different people - not in a forced didactic way - if you have been on a suburban bus, you have seen they are usually filled with a variety of people from all walks of life. We see an older lady, a businessman, a young boy with tattoos, a blind man with his guide dog and a guitar player. The bus feels like a small community. His grandmother reacts to each person in a genuine and warm way - what a beautiful example for CJ to follow. When the guitar man plays his tunes, the experience of this bus ride becomes quite magical - but where are they going?

Last stop on Market Steet is a soup or community kitchen. It is in a poor part of town, but CJ sees a rainbow and the scene is transformed. Now look closely at the final page - have CJ and Nana come here for food - no - why are they here?

Last Stop on Market Street won the 2016 Caldecott Medal. 

Other awards:

• 2016 Caldecott Honor Book
• 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
• #1 New York Times Bestseller
• New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of 2015
• NPR Best Book of 2015
• Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015
• Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2015
• 2015 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• Horn Book Best Book of 2015
• The Huffington Post Best Overall Picture Book of 2015
• Boston Globe Best Book of 2015
• Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2015
• 2015 E.B. White Read Aloud Award Finalist

The air smelled like freedom, but it also smelled like rain, 

which freckled CJ's shirt and dripped down his nose.

He ducked under his nana's umbrella, saying 'How come we gotta wait for the bus in all this wet?' 'Trees get thirsty, too,' his nana told him. 'Don't you see that big one drinking through a straw?' CJ looked for a long time but he never saw a straw.'

You need to take your time reading this book - the story unfolds slowly.

Last Stop on Market Street doesn’t make political points. It just shows a visit to a soup kitchen from a small child’s perspective. The lead up to their arrival shows community spirit and strangers being nice to each other (whether they are heavily tattooed, or elderly ladies, or blind men with guide dogs). And the soup kitchen is an extension of that – from CJs point of view, it is about being nice to others and helping those who need help. So while it may be, on one level, an ‘issue’ book, it is also a simple ‘day in the life’ story of a little boy, who just happens to regularly go to a church, and take a bus to help out in a soup kitchen. It can be read in that simple way for children to enjoy and make sense of however they wish. But it also opens a window to experiences that are (hopefully) outside of their own and make them think about the difficulties that other people suffer....  It’s an observation of the world, designed to make us and our children think. Rhubarb and Wren

Christian Robinson’s acrylic and collage illustrations are smart, captivating snapshots of CJ’s day as he watches and interacts with a variety of people on the bus and at the soup kitchen. The visual camaraderie of the passengers—old and young, tattooed, talented, and disabled—as they talk together and smile at one another will cheer readers. The color scheme of bright and pastel colors shared from page to page enhances the book’s themes of interconnectedness and cohesion, and the clean, unadorned images reflect the idea that often the simple things in life really are the best. Celebrate Picture Books

Companion books (including one for older readers):

It's a no money day

Free Lunch

Caldecott Medal and Honor titles 2000 to 2025

 

The Medal shall be awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations be original work. Honor books may be named. These shall be books that are also truly distinguished.

A “picture book for children” as distinguished from other books with illustrations, is one that essentially provides the child with a visual experience. A picture book has a collective unity of story-line, theme, or concept, developed through the series of pictures of which the book is comprised.

 A “picture book for children” is one for which children are an intended potential audience. The book displays respect for children’s understandings, abilities, and appreciations. Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen and picture books for this entire age range are to be considered.

Each book is to be considered as a picture book. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the illustration, but other components of a book are to be considered especially when they make a book less effective as a children’s picture book. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc.

The committee should keep in mind that the award is for distinguished illustrations in a picture book and for excellence of pictorial presentation for children. The award is not for didactic intent or for popularity

I was curious to see how many of the previous Caldecott winners and Honor titles I had read and hopefully talked about here on this blog. My friend and I are constantly frustrated that either a Caldecott book does not arrive here in Australia or if it does the price is so high no school library could ever expect add this book to their collection. This means I have not seen, for example, the 2025 winner Chooch Helped and while I have read Watercress (2022) I am very keen to see this one again so I can talk about it here in some depth.

Hot Dog

Knight Owl

Mel Fell

Wonder Walkers

We are Water Protectors

Bear came along

Hello Lighthouse

Thank you, Omu!

A Different Pond

The right word

Extra Yarn

Green

First the egg

Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too

Olivia

A Different Pond by Bao Phi illustrated by Thi Bui

"a powerful, multilayered story about family, memory, and the costs of becoming a refugee". Kirkus Star review

"Both my parents worked multiple jobs to survive and support us in a country whose people did not understand why we were here at best, and blamed us for the aftermath of the war at worst. My father would sometime take us fishing with him, before the sun came up - for food, not for sport." Bao Phi

A Different Pond won a Caldecott Honour in 2018. I would share this book with older readers aged 10+. 

Bookseller blurb: Acclaimed poet Bao Phi delivers a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son and between cultures, old and new. A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event--a long-ago fishing trip. As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. The New York Times has said that Bao Phi's poetry "rhymes with the truth." Together with graphic novelist Thi Bui's striking, evocative art, Phi's expertly crafted prose reflects an immigrant family making its way in a new home while honoring its bonds to the past.

Image source: Let's Talk Picture Books

Spare and simple, a must-read for our times. Kirkus Star review

Can I recommend you read this book more than once. There are plot fragments in so many of the lines of text - small statements that belies huge issues or past stories.

Read these and in brackets I have added my interpretation:

"In the kitchen the bare bulb ... " (The family cannot afford to add decorations such as light covers and it may be that they are renting this very basic home).

"to me his English sounds like gentle rain". (This boy is proud of his dad and he intuitively understands his dad has had to learn a new language in this strange land. It is fantastic that this young boy can ignore the awful comments by the school bullies).

"I got a second job". (Dad is hard working and really wants to provide for his family. He is willing to work long hours and on weekends so their fishing expedition has to happen well before dawn. We also read that mum has to work all day on Saturday too).

"I feel the callouses on his hand when he squeezes mine". (Dad is hard worker - and his work is a form on manual labour. I wonder if, given different opportunities he might have been able to complete higher levels of education and perhaps have a 'better' or more highly paid job).

"One day, his brother didn't come home". (This is a fragment about the events of the Vietnam war and the devastating impact of this on his father).

"I wonder what the trees look like at that other pond in the country my dad comes from". (This sums up the power of this story).

Companion books:

Read more here.

Hot Dog by Doug Salati

It is a hot day. The dog is hot but luckily his owner has a plan. First they have to navigate the hot and busy city streets. The pavement is so hot and everything is way too noisy and busy. In fact the little dog finally collapses and refuses to walk on. 

Luckily the lady is able to hail a taxi and they travel, slowly, to the train station. Then there is a ferry ride. Their intended destination is the beach so it is lucky that there is a beach umbrella shop right beside the ferry wharf. On the beach the dog is free to run and roll and enjoy the ocean spray. He collects rocks and pebbles and his owner makes a beautiful picture on the sand. Finally, it is time to go home so she gathers the pebbles and the pair of friends retrace their journey by ferry, train and on foot. The city is so much better now that the weather has cooled down. At home they enjoy a snack and then head to bed for a night of sweet dreams. 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has been waiting for this book to arrive in Australia. Hot Dog won the Caldecott Medal in 2023 but until this year the price was way too high for a school library budget. In the US this book was published by Alfred K Knopf but the copy we have here is from Pushkin Press UK.  Now that this book is a good price AUS$25 I highly recommend you consider adding it to your library - a perfect book to read on a very hot summer day.

In Australia we would call this a Sausage Dog but in the US he is a Wiener Dog which you could associate with hot dogs (the food)! Weiner is a German word meaning sausage. 

In this conversation Doug Salati talks to Horn Book. See other books by Doug Salati here.

Salati expertly captures the stifling claustrophobia of hot and crowded city streets. One can almost feel the palpable temperature shift when the colors on the pages move from vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows to blues and greens, like a tonal reprieve. Happily, the book avoids demonizing cities in favor of the country, showing instead how a bad day affects your every sense. Spare poetic text also perfectly captures this small canine’s mindset. Kirkus Star review

Practically a wordless book, the storyline delves deep into the mindset of an average dog, an average owner, and the cool seaside breezes that can pivot a day from miserable to marvelous. ... For my part, the thing that struck me about the book right from the get go was the way in which you empathize with this little dog. You feel the heat that it’s experiencing. The loud sounds. The crowded streets. Is it possible to convey sensory overload through the printed page? If so, Salati has mastered it. SLJ Betsy Bird. (Click this review extract to see Doug Salati talking about his book)

Minimal, impressionistic free-verse text beautifully sets scenes and conveys character and emotion, expertly matched by the illustrations. Claustrophobic vertical panels, angular lines, and hot oranges, reds, and yellows (of the city) give way to expansive, sometimes full-spread horizontal panels and cool blues and greens (of the island escape). Horn Book

When I read Hot Dog I thought of this very old book:

American Library Assocation’s 2025 Youth Media Awards Winners

You can see a list of all the awards and winners here. I am just focusing on books that might be of interest to children here in Australia or books that hopefully we will find in our libraries or bookstores in the coming months. Sadly some of these book will be very expensive here in Australia. I do recommend you check out all of the other winners - many are Young Adult titles perfect for High School libraries. 

In our Australian context it would be good to explore the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Lola, written by Karla Arenas Valenti, is the 2025 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award winner. I previously talked about Loteria by Karla Arenas Valenti illustrated by Dana Sanmar. 

I am always keen to see the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English, in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. One of the honor titles is Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup, written by Giovanna Zoboli, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio. I have this on order from a bookseller so I will be talking about it here on this blog soon. I was able to preview Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup at the IBBY Congress in Trieste last year. The Mildren L Batchelder winner John the Skeleton is already available here from Gleebooks. Here is the Kirkus Star review. 

John Newbery Medal

Kirkus review

Erin Entrada Kelly has won numerous awards, including the 2018 Newbery Medal for 

Hello, Universe a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space.

Newbery Honor Books

• Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar 
• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All written and illustrated by Chanel Miller 
• One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome 
• The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (I am excited to read this one)

Randolph Caldecott Medal

Kirkus Star review

Caldecott Honor Books

Kirkus review

• Home in a Lunchbox illustrated and written by Cherry Mo 
• My Daddy Is a Cowboy illustrated by C.G. Esperanza, written by Stephanie Seals 
• Noodles on a Bicycle illustrated by Gracey Zhang, written by Kyo Maclear
• Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, written by Anita Yasuda 

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

Read my blog post.

Thanks to my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything 

for adding this splendid book to her library.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book

Kirkus Review

Publisher page - Simon and Schuster

Vacation by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Mark Teague

Geisel Honor Books

Kirkus Review

Here is my post about other books in this series

• Fox versus Fox, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor 
• Towed by Toad, written and illustrated by Jashar Awan 

Kirkus Review

I was also very pleased to see Louder than Hunger by John Schu received an honor in the Schneider Family Book Awards for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience. I read this book on my Kindle last year - please note it is a Young Adult title.

Kirkus Review

Here is a blog post about the winners from Literacious which links with Amazon if you would like to explore the award-winning books further.