The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Clarion Books
(pub. 1.21.2025)
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Molly Golden
Illustrator: Paola Escobar
Character: Margery Williams
Overview:
"As a child, Margery Williams lost the father she adored and had to move to a city far away. She found solace visiting the animals in a wild and wonderful park near her new home, and in her toys—toys that became real to her. As an adult, she watched her children use their own imaginations to work through difficult times, and, inspired by their play, she wrote The Velveteen Rabbit."
Tantalizing taste:
"Margery's father gave her imagination all the room it needed to leap and soar.
Margery pulled big books off his shelves.
She traced wings, outlined paws, sketched ears.
As her scissors snipped, paper scraps fluttered to the floor.
Like magic! Animals played in the palm of her hand."
And something more: Molly Golden, shared in the Author's Note: "During the dark days of [World War I], Margery found fables, fairy tales, and poetry to be a source of hope. The stories and poems respected children's sorrow and embraced their joy. The writings gave Margery an appreciation of the timelessness of childhood."
Updated: Apr 1
The Story of Puerto Rico's First Female Mayor
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Little, Brown and Company
(pub. 9.3.2024)
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Monica Brown
Illustrator: Rosa Ibarra
Character: Doña Fela
Overview:
" Though she was born before women on her island were allowed to vote, Felisa Rincón de Gautier did not let that stop her from becoming the first female mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1946. Easily spotted on the streets of San Juan by her flair and the jasmine flowers braided into her hair, she radiated style and grace. Doña Fela, as she affectionately came to be called, loved her city.
Doña Fela was always ready to listen to problems and find solutions. With determination and resilience, she brought lasting change to the island."
Tantalizing taste:
"Doña Fela, alcaldesa, believed it was love, not just politics, that got things done. The people of San Juan loved her, and she loved them back. She won every election and served as mayor for decades ... and she taught every child in Puerto Rico that, in the sunlight that comes after the rain, flowering dreams can grow."
And something more: Rosa Ibarra, shared in the Artist's Note: "Doña Fela lived on Caleta de San Juan, one street over from my family, in a house that is now a museum in her honor...She was always outside and available to all, a loving woman to whom people were instantly drawn... I always felt affection for Doña Fela, but the more research I did, the more I appreciated what a visionary she was for her time and how much she did for the Puerto Rican people."
- Mar 23
Updated: Apr 19
A Story of the Seasons Sylvia Plath Kept Bees
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Viking
(Penguin Random House)
(pub. 2.11.2025)
32 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Amy Novesky
Illustrator: Jessica Love
Character: Sylvia Plath
Overview:
" Sylvia Plath is remembered for her stirring poetry and the tragic legacy her work left behind. But it is lesser known that she was a beekeeper and completed her last book of poems while tending to her bees and harvesting honey.
The Poet and the Bees shines a new light on the life and work of Plath through the lens of her last seasons with her beloved bees—and how during their short and busy lives, they filled her with inspiration and hope."
Tantalizing taste:
"Love, my seasons.
Love, bees don't live long.
Alive for a bright, quick moment, then gone.
Their work done.
Little bodies given to the ground.
But honey lives forever. Words, too."
And something more: Amy Novesky shared in the About Sylvia Plath section in The Poet and the Bees: "[Her book titled] Ariel was published in 1965. But the poems were not printed in the order that Sylvia had left them; her husband had put then in an order he felt was stronger and more reflective of her narrative.
The Poet and the Bees was inspired by Sylvia's original manuscript, which, the poet noted, began with the word love and ended with her series of bee poems...The final word of the collection was spring. Love and spring. Two hopeful words reflecting a poet's love of the world and its small beauties, like books, babies, and bees."
Author Amy Novesky explains "I write poems and keep bees, too [and I've had the pleasure of savoring Amy's bees' delicious honey]. I wanted to write this story because, despite being a writer, one of the only things I knew about Sylvia Plath was how she took her life... And of course, she is so much more than her legendary death.
I want young readers to know that. Sylvia felt things deeply, didn't shy away from the tough stuff, and had a sharp sense of humor, and those qualities show in her poems, many of which are honest and intense."
Writer and poet Amy Novesky, as always with her beautiful lyrical language, found a way to share a story of poet Sylvia Plath that not only rings true, but resonates, inspires and uplifts the reader.
