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What caught my attention: What initially caught my attention with this book was the title. I wanted to know more about what "Sweet Creatures" were and how that had anything to do with going to bed. After that, I saw the illustration on the front cover and saw animals I recognized, but with different colors and patterns. I was curious if these were the sweet creatures and why they looked a little different.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed the colorful images and way the words are displayed on the page. The words are displayed in different ways and not formatted in the typical "chunk of text" you would normally find which adds to the narrators voice.

Personal memories/connections: I have memories of being a child and not being sleepy at bedtime, yet my parents would create unique ways to get me to go to sleep. Whether it were telling a story, coaxing me with my favorite stuffed animal, or giving me an ultimatum, I found this story reflective of something most kids relate to, bedtime.

Connection to professional practices: This book would make a great read aloud book with younger children (K-2) because there are many different noises the animals and child make in the book. It would help students in those early years begin making connections to onomatopoeias and sounds in books. This book would be fun to use on theme days like pajama day or to share with parents if their child is having trouble falling asleep.

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What caught my attention: This book caught my attention because tamales at Christmas time was a tradition my family does every year. The cover reinforced my interest by showing the tamales and a grandmother with children, which reminds me of my family.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed the warm pictures and images of family. It made me feel nostalgic, and I know that feeling would intensify during the holiday season. At the end of the book the authors added a picture of the grandmother that they based the book off of which humanizes the characters written about in the story. They also included a tamal recipe along with instructions if people wanted to follow along at home. Additionally, it shows the hard work that goes into making tamales.

Personal memories/connections: Personal memories are what drew me to this book initially. I made an immediate connection to a holiday tradition that feels special to me. The book also reminds me of my grandmother who made tamales every year and posed as a matriarch for my family that passed down cultural traditions. Making tamales in Hispanic households is a family event, and seeing that explained in this book made me feel seen. Books like this didn't exist when I was younger.

Connection to professional practices: This book is very culturally sensitive and would make for a great read-aloud during Hispanic Heritage month and during the holiday season. Classroom teachers and librarians would be sharing a relatable story with their Hispanic students/patrons while also sharing new information with students who aren't familiar with Hispanic cultural practices.

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What caught my attention: I picked up Bad Kitty off of the shelf because I recognized the title. Bad Kitty was around when I was a young child and it made me nostalgic to see the book in a library. I was never a huge reader of this book or author as a kid, but the character is so iconic I still had a strong reminiscent feelings towards the book.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed how silly the story was and the illustrations of Kitty being good and bad. The pictures and examples made me giggle.

Personal memories/connections: My roommate and I have two cats and his cat is a silly black cat like Kitty. The images reminded me of him and I imagined him doing all of the things Kitty did in the book.

Connection to professional practices: Bad Kitty is great exposure to the alphabet for young children and also builds vocabulary with unique phrases. This would be great for teachers to discuss letters, their sounds, and alphabetic order.

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What caught my attention: When looking through the stacks at the library, this book was much taller than the others on the shelf. I could see the first fourth of the illustration on the cover. That is what caught my attention.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I thought it was a cute story about family. I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing, however, this book felt very simple and the story didn't have much substance. For children learning to read this might not be as big of a deal, because decoding is taking precedence over the storyline. However, I prefer books that have both aspects.

Personal memories/connections: I can't identify any immediate personal memories or connections to the story. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, I think it goes to show that sometimes people pick books up because they stand out for other reasons (like the book being tall!)

Connection to professional practices: This book is very quick for a read aloud. It would be a good example for students to insert themselves into the story. After reading the book, questions like "What would you do if you were the dad or children?" "Can you imagine having 10 children?". Kids would benefit from making real-world connections from the text.

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What caught my attention: I picked up this book because I read the novel Wonder and made a connection to this book. I didn't know the author wrote a picture book to go along with the story, so I was interested.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed the uplifting story and lesson taught by this book. I think it is an important lesson for children to learn. Something I think the book lacks is what makes Auggie different. In the novel you find out about his condition. It would be good for young students to also understand Auggies condition. The book also doesn't formally introduce Auggie, many of the key details from the novel are only implied in this picture book.

Personal memories/connections: I have personal memories with reading Wonder in middle school. An elementary student would probably not make this connection unless they have an older sibling that read the book. However, everyone can remember a time that they didn't feel like they fit in somewhere. Or, a time they thought someone else didn't fit in somewhere, and felt guilty about it. I can connect with the book on that level.

Connection to professional practices: This would make a great book for an SEL lesson in a classroom. Passing on themes of kindness, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. It could spark discussion about the treatment of others and cause students to introspect. This book could also be used for a lesson on theme and/or main idea.

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What caught my attention: This book was on display at the TRC and that's what initially caught my eye. Along with that, the bright colors and interesting art style was something I was intrigued by. "Tumblebaby" is an uncommon phrase so I wanted to know more

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I loved the art style and the silly phrases in the book. Parts of it rhymed which was fun as well! There is also part of the book that pops out that I was not expecting so that was a fun surprise. Lastly, the end of the story had a fun twist that students would enjoy.

Personal memories/connections: I don't have any specific memories to this book. However, the ending implies that the reader is the Tumblebaby, and that connects the readers with the book.

Connection to professional practices: I think this is a fun and engaging story to read to students when there is a (very rare) amount of spare time or awkward time between transitions. I can't think of a specific time where this book would be used for something specific.

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What caught my attention: The cat! Cats are one of my favorite animals so that caught my attention. When I pulled it off the shelf, it had a Caldecott Award so that reinforced by want to read it.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: The pictures were definitely award winning. There were so many different interesting textures and designs used. The story itself is cute, but repetitive. The illustrations were definitely what stands out about this book.

Personal memories/connections: Like I said previously, I connected with the fact the story was about a cat, which many children would too.

Connection to professional practices: Teachers could use this book during earth day to talk about different characters. Additionally, they could use this book to talk about self-perception for an SEL lesson. "If you looked in the pond, how do you see yourself?"

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What caught my attention: The cover is bright! I believe this was also on display, so I saw a lot of colors and wanted to know more.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed how interactive this book was, which I wasn't expecting. There is opportunity to touch the book, tilt it, flip it, and more! Kids can make it their own by interacting with the pages and art.

Personal memories/connections: I personally remember learning about mixing colors by myself and in a classroom. It would be a great opportunity for students to say "I did that once!"

Connection to professional practices: This book would be great for an art lesson. It is interactive and would get students in a creative headspace to start mixing colors and painting/coloring. It would be great for an arts and crafts program.

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What caught my attention: I read this book as a small child and wanted to refresh my memory of what its about. This version is a pop-up book which made the spine of the book thicker than others which was eye catching as well.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I enjoyed remembering the story as I was reading and how my mom used to read this to me. I never saw the book with pop-ups so that was interesting to see!

Personal memories/connections: When I saw this title, I was immediately taken to my childhood bedroom. My mom read this to me as a kid and had it on a shelf with stuffed animals surrounding it. This book was very nostalgic for me.

Connection to professional practices: This is definitely a book for little ones. I think this could be used to build relationships with small kids to make sure they feel loved and safe in a class. It could also be a good mothers or fathers day book.

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What caught my attention: The two characters caught my attention. The illustrations look like they have fun adventures that would be interesting to read about.

What I enjoyed/didn't enjoy: I didn't realize the book was a collection of short stories. They are very sweet and have a theme or moral to them, which is something I liked. However, to students who haven't encountered a book like this it would probably be confusing. It isn't set up like chapters where the story continues, all of the stories are separate and that should be clearer.

Personal memories/connections: I don't have any personal memories tied to this book. However, the friendship between the two main characters is one many people can relate to and is a common trope I had an easy time connecting to.

Connection to professional practices: These would be cute stories to share with young children to explain that some books are set up in short stories. Even in upper elementary grades when students start writing narratives, this may be a good way to show students what not to do when setting up a storyline.