- Dec 8, 2025
The Wondrous Tale of Joey Ramone
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Drag City (Chicago)
pub. 9.26.2025
51 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jay Ruttenberg
Illustrator: Lucinda Schreiber
Character: Joey Ramone
Overview:
"Gabba Gabba We Accept You is a children's picture book that tells the story of how a kid who was bullied and felt like a misfit grew up to become a hero to so many as lead singer of The Ramones.
This story speaks to one of the greatest silent majorities in the world – all the kids who feel a little off. It contains an essential message that the world of punk rock has always meant to communicate. All of us, regardless of our diverse and non-exclusive design, have something that we are meant to have and share, in a place that we can call our own. As children, these things may appear to many of us as problems and shortcomings.
The challenging passages of life that brought Jeffrey Ross Hyman to the place where he became Joey Ramone provide a natural lesson to young folks navigating their way through the complexities of growing up."
Tantalizing taste:
"This was the splendor of Joey Ramone. He was always Jeffrey Hyman - awkward, tall, shy Jeffrey Hyman, who was born sick, who spent years being taunted by bullies, who so often felt out of place and uncomfortable. But Jeff never curved to the world.
Jeff curved the world to him."
And something more: An excerpt from the Kirkus review: "With eloquent wordplay, Ruttenberg gives readers an intimate sense of Joey Ramone’s life and times without ever tipping into fictionalized details or faux dialogue. Even the lack of backmatter (nary a timeline or bibliography in sight) cannot overshadow the frenzied fun on the page.
The bold colors and sheer delight of Schreiber’s art make Ramone an appealingly larger-than-life figure, each page vibrating with music and movement.
Above all, Ruttenberg underscores the inclusive nature of Ramone’s music; the titular lyrics (from the song “Pinhead”) serve as a rallying cry for outsiders everywhere. Space is left at the end for kids to write their own songs (librarians beware!)."
- Dec 4, 2025
a story about Arnold Lobel
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Viking Books for Young Readers
(Penguin Random House)
pub. 9.23.2025
40 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author and illustrator: Emmy Kastner
Character: Arnold Lobel
Overview:
"Arnold Lobel was many things: a quiet observer, an avid reader, and the kind of man who kept a gorilla suit in his closet, just in case. Above all else, Arnold was an artist and a storyteller.
And he infused pieces of himself in the characters he created. This made sharing his books with the world scary sometimes—but his stories would go on to inspire and delight readers and live on in their hearts for generations."
Tantalizing taste:
"Arnold gave Frog and Toad the stories
from his own life.
He was a very good friend.
He knew what it meant to be generous,
to be lonely,
to worry,
to be thankful,
to celebrate…
and how difficult it was to eat just one cookie.
Arnold Lobel tenderly put his entire being
into the friendship of a frog and a toad.
His inside, out."
And something more: Emma Kastner in the Dear Reader section explains: "I didn't want to make this book. I was wildly intimidated by the thought of telling Arnold Lobel's life story … one cold October day, as I was watching my daughter play tennis at the YMCA, I set down the biography of Lobel I was reading and briefly closed my eyes. I thought, Arnold, am I going to make a book about you? I wasn't trying to actually ask his spirit. Maybe I was asking myself? Either way, that very instant, a woman sitting near me hit my knee and shouted, "Frog!"… I saw her pointing to the actual frog who was hopping toward me and then stopped at my feet! A frog? On the indoor tennis court? On a cold October day? That's the moment I gave up trying to fight myself from making this book and knew that I was meant to pursue it. What a tremendous honor it has been diving into Arnold Lobel's life and work. I am forever changed as an artist."
- Nov 21, 2025
The First Woman to
Serve on the United States
Supreme Court
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Sleeping Bear Press
pub. 5.1.2025
40 pages
Ages 6 - 9
Author: Molly Golden
Illustrator: Julia Breckenreid
Character: Sandra Day O'Connor
Overview:
"On September 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to be a Supreme Court Justice in United States history. But who was Sandra Day O’Connor?
In the 1930s, it was hard to imagine any woman sitting on the highest court in the country, let alone a girl from a ranch in Arizona. At that time, girls (and women) were expected to learn how to keep house and cook meals. But even at a young age, Sandra knew she wanted a life beyond the traditional roles expected of women.
No one told Sandra what she could and couldn’t do. By challenging the assumptions of what women could and should do, Sandra opened the doors for others to do the same. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first, but her work ensured that she would not be the last!"
Tantalizing taste:
"Sandra cast the deciding vote in many important cases that helped protect civil rights, gender equality, religious freedom, and the environment.
Sandra believed people could learn from each other when they came together. She insisted all the justices meet for lunch once a week. Sometimes she sat in their ofice until they agreed to join."
And something more: The back matter explains that "After Sandra retired from the Supreme Court, she ... continued to avocate around the world for what she believed in: democracy, equal justice under the law, and the rule of law. She even carried a copy of the Constitution in her pocketbook."
