Book Matches
Matchmaking for some of the most amazing books.
The gifted books are indicated by asterisks (thank you so much to Candlewick and to Chronicle!) and the links are all affiliate, so thank you for using them or for shopping your independent bookstore.
- Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street & Daphne Palasi Andreades’s Brown Girls
- Poetic, immersive, beautiful works of art. Favorites.
- Leda Schubert’s and Clover Robin’s Firsts and Lasts: The Changing Seasons* & Jon J. Muth’s Hi, Koo: A Year of Seasons
- Books that will delight you over and over again. There is obviously the seasonal connection, but both these books particularly shine in beautifully celebrating the specific feelings of the seasons of the year. I also just want to say that I want to frame so many of the cut-paper collages in Firsts and Lasts and kind of want to run shouting through the streets BUY THIS BOOK BUY THIS BOOK. Please save me from that embarrassment and BUY THIS BOOK.
- Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass & Mary Oliver’s Devotions
- Ones to linger over and let change your perspective of the world around you.
- Maira Kalman’s The Principles of Uncertainty and Carter Higgins’ and Daniel Miyares’s Big and Small and In-Between*
- Matching the adult equivalent to a picture book here, but they belong together with their unique whimsy and explorative nature. Each of them have that feeling of almost being an art exhibit and leave you feeling thoughtful and happy. Absolute treasures. Please get these in your hands!
- Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go & Zach Manbeck’s You Are Here*
- The type of book that’s inspiring at any age and a lovely gift for a baby or even a graduate. Please do yourself a favor and look at the beautiful illustrations and advise in You Are Here. I feel happy every time we read it.
- Arnold Lobel’s The Frog and Toad Collection & Matthew Cordell’s Cornbread and Poppy
- Opposite friendships and heartwarming feels.
- Annie Barrow’s and Sophie Blackall’s Ivy & Bean series & Alice Kuipers and Diana Toledano’s Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair*
- Early readers with humor and all kinds of fun mishaps thanks to the magic of imagination.
- Il Sung Na’s A Book of Sleep & Karen Jameson’s and Zosienka’s Where the Wee Ones Go: A Bedtime Wish for Endangered Animals*
- Playful rhyme and alliteration and beautiful illustrations of cute animals, sure to get those soothing sleepy vibes you all need.
- Rebecca Balcárcel The Other Half of Happy & Meg Medina’s Merci Suarez Can’t Dance
- Big Latinx families, earnest voices, and beautiful heart tugging middle grade at their best.
- Jay Fleck’s Crinkle Crinkle Little Car* & a Haba car
- Anyone who is around babies knows they love a crinkly sound and the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, so clearly this is a win. Pair it with this best of all momentum cars (seriously, it’s such a great quality) and an activity toy with lots to explore.
- Ole Risom’s and Richard Scarry’s I Am a Bunny & Allison Farrell’s and Kristen Tracy’s A Kit Story*
- Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor & Jaclyn Moriarty’s The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars & B.B. Alston’s Amari and the Night Brothers
- Middle grade fantasy with feisty leads and fun adventures. The best kind of escapism.
- L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series and Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy Tacy series
- Hi, just your Betsy Tacy evangelist over here reminding you that all of you who adore following Anne will also fall in love with Betsy.
- Robie H. Harris’s and Armando Mariño Somewhere* & Laurenne Sala’s and Mike Malbrough’s You Made Me a Dad
- Magical and filled with love. These both are such perfect gifts for a dad and make me a bit misty-eyed just thinking about how special they are.
- How To Make A Mountain: In Just 9 Simple Steps and Only 100 Million Years!* & Jane Porter’s and Maddie Frost’s So You Want to Be An Owl*
- The humorous tone makes these fact-packed books so much fun. We read them over and over.
- Marianna Coppo’s A Brave Cat* & Calico Critter cats
- This is such a sweet story celebrating the joy of adventure and possibility through the eyes of a cat. Our daughter immediately recognized Coppo’s distinctive warm colorful, and whimsical illustration style as being the same from Such A Good Dog, so clearly it’s the kind that sticks with you! I think this book would be so cute paired with Calico Critter cats, a toy that our daughter has loved since she was little with the small size, moveable arms and legs, and plenty of possibility for imagination.
- Feather Flores’s and Kelly Leigh Miller’s Chicago, Baby! and Washington D.C., Baby!* & a trip (kidding!)
- A rhyming, joyful exploration of Chicago and DC that are ideal for anyone who loves the cities and wants to share that joy with a little one in their life. While it would be amazing to be matched with a trip to the actual place (I’ll go right now, please and thank you), I think a building set like this or magnetic tiles or a train set would be a fun way to continue the conversation about cities and what makes them amazing places to visit.
- Sandra Laboucarie’s and Pierre Caillou’s Ultimate Spotlight: Volcanoes & volcano kit
- An interactive and fascinating book that received an immediate “this is so cool” from our toddler and an even more interactive experiment kit? Your kid is going to be thrilled.
- Yu-Hsuan Huang’s Baby Puppy* & Baby Octopus*
- This finger puppet series is so cute. They’re very simple, but they still make our three year old happy, and of course please the baby, and sometimes you want a cute, quick read before a nap, am I right? I also often keep these in our stroller or car for some quick entertainment, since it’s both a toy and fun read.
- Choose Your Own Adventure books & Laurel Snyder’s and Dan Santat’s Endlessly Ever After: Pick Your Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings!*
- Did you love those choose your own books as a kid? Our daughter finds this original and imaginative picture book so much fun! Would be an excellent gift paired with this magnetic set that also feels wonderfully open-ended for your kid to make up their own stories with.
- Hans Wilhelm’s and Erica Salcedo’s Pigs are Prepared* & Bingo and Bluey scooter toy
- Our toddler loves the flap connection on these Pig books and I love how they model things for kids in a cute way. Pairing it with this Bluey toy our daughter loves because them wearing helmets delights her and I’m guessing we’re not the only huge Bluey fans.
- Hans Wilhelm’s and Wednesday Kirwan’s Little Animal Hugs* & the Cuddleez stuffed animals
- An adorable board book must be paired with the softest, most huggable stuffed animals around.
- Kate Hoefler’s and Jessixa Bagley’s Courage Hats* & Sophie Blackall’s If You Come to Earth
- Lovely on so many levels. Sometimes stories and illustrations come together so beautifully and just leave you wanting more.
- Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? & Mary Laura Philpott’s I Miss You When I Blink
- Fresh and fun with layers.
If you would like to join in on the fun, please go to the submissions page!
