Familius – serie

An interactive gift book adventure to combat mom guilt from therapist Rebecca Fox Starr. Which path will you choose?Motherhood is a constant barrage of choices. Bottle or breast? Alone time or playtime? And how much is too much screentime? No matter the choice we make, mothers often end up feeling guilty, as if we are never doing enough. But no more! In the style of a decision-making game, therapist Rebecca Fox Starr guides moms through the apocalyptic newborn phase, the jungle of toddlerhood, and the dead ends and booby traps of raising teens with one simple message: You are doing a great job. You are more than enough. Every page leads to a new choice, and every choice you make creates a personalized journey where healing tools and practical advice are your companions. Which path will you choose? The perfect gift for mothers who are doing their best every day, Am I Doing This Right? is the comforting affirmation we need to show ourselves some compassion and appreciate the choices we make each day for the families we love.

Explore nature and nurture your love for gardening in the picture book Tree for Me by poet and author Carole Garber and illustrator Helena Pérez García, perfect for Arbor Day, Father’s Day, and beyond!There are amazing trees that live in our world—yellow poplar, American beech, crepe myrtle, and so many more! But how do you know which ones are which?Follow along in this heartwarming tale as a father lovingly teaches his son to identify eight common trees in a park and then surprises him with his own tree to plant and nurture. With beautiful, realistic illustrations and true facts interwoven throughout the story, A Tree for Me makes learning about trees fun! And as a bonus, resources to help you pick and plant a tree are included at the end of the story, so you can surprise your child with a trip to the nursery and their very own “tree for me.”

2026 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL HOT OFF THE PRESS PICKDiscover the wonderful world of insects as Lydia collects bugs for show-and-tell in this picture book perfect for little entomologists.Lydia loves bugs. She loves big, bouncing bugs and small, squiggly bugs. You know who doesn’t love bugs?Lydia loves bugs, but her father and brother do not! Scared of all things creepy crawly, they often run away or set her bugs free.But you know who else loves bugs? Lydia’s mom. She’s an entomologist, and she helps Lydia collect bugs for a very special day at school, when Lydia gets to show and tell her classmates all about her bugs. And now everybody loves bugs!Packed full of adorable insects, Lydia Loves Bugs is the perfect picture book for any little nature lover or aspiring bug collector.It has singing bugs and silent bugs, slightly stinky bugs and fly-away bugs, with an underlying message about being seen and understood. Every page comes with fun wordplay from Heidi Stemple and cute illustrations from Yuliya Pankratova that make creepy-crawly insects seem not so scary, and young readers can discover facts about their favorite bugs at the end of the book.Who knows? After reading this story, even your child might develop a love for STEM and all things creepy-crawly.

A board book about sibling adventures, squabbles, and reconnection, following three different pairs of sistersThere’s something special about sisters. When sisters play together, magic happens! A sister is a friend for life, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be disagreements sometimes. Follow three cute sets of sisters as they play and explore together, argue, and ultimately reconnect. For anyone with girls who need a little nudge to get along, Sisters Are Sisters Forever is a sweet reminder that arguments happen, but sincere apologies can mend any rift. With simple text from author Brooke Jorden and gentle illustrations by Sejung Kim, this adorable board book is the perfect gift for siblings.

A new paperback format filled with 365 days worth of daily tips, inspirational quotes, and motivational short stories from foster care expert Dr. John DeGarmo Foster parenting is both a rewarding and a challenging job, a lifestyle of continuous learning and new experiences, and The Little Book of Foster Care Wisdom will be there to support you as you, in turn, support your foster children. Filled with 365 days worth of daily tips, inspirational quotes, and motivational short stories from a foster care expert, this book is a must-read for modern child-welfare advocates, adoptive parents, and foster parents. It provides inspirational content every day, including instructions, tips, anecdotes, and more.

From the king of viral hacks, Jason Goldstein, comes a compilation of his best 101 secrets to save you money, time, and dirty dishes With secrets featured on his viral @chophappy account, as well as never-before-seen hacks, 101 Kitchen Secrets is the guide every home chef needs to cook like a pro. You’ll save money, use fewer dishes, and have dinner on the table in no time with these easy tips.

2026 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL HOT OFF THE PRESS PICKHear the songs and calls of 14 birds from North America at the press of a button with this comprehensive guidebook and soundboardHigh in the treetops, way up in the sky, there’s a symphony. The chirring of an American robin, the whistle of a black-capped chickadee—these birdsongs all come together to create the sounds of your backyard. But do you know which sound belongs to which bird?With this fully illustrated guidebook and soundboard, kids can learn the whistles, chirps, and coos of 14 birds from North America by simply pressing a button. Each page comes with stunning watercolor illustrations from Zev Labinger that capture the birds in their natural habitats, accompanied by fun facts from June Smalls that cover everything from population size to nest structure. And you’ll find true-to-size illustrations of each bird’s egg! Packed with everything a kid needs to stay entertained and engaged, Hear Them Sing is the best first guide for young birders and outdoor adventurers. All you have to do is look up!

A gentle counting poem and astronomy guide in one, this beautiful picture book blends a classic rhyme with fun facts for young space lovers.In our solar system,On the fiery hot sunBurned a mother solar flareAnd her little flare, one.“Sizzle,” said the mother.“I sizzle,” said the one.So they sizzled and they poppedOn the fiery, hot sun.Based on the poem “Over in the Meadow,” this galactic counting book guides readers from the sun all the way to the far reaches of our solar system with adorably anthropomorphized planets. It is designed to make the vastness of outer space feel cozy and accessible, offering a sweet, simple way to introduce early math and science without overwhelming young minds.Beautifully balancing a soothing narrative with foundational STEM concepts, this versatile book is perfect forwinding down at bedtime with a calm, predictable rhyme that helps toddlers relax and settle into a peaceful routine;reading aloud to curious children, with rhythms and friendly planets that younger listeners will enjoy while older readers explore deeper facts about orbits, moons, and celestial bodies on each page; andbringing early science to life with a visual journey that naturally sparks interest in learning.

A CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL HOT OFF THE PRESS PICKA rhyming picture book from singer-songwriter Tyler Hilton, with a musical bedtime routine to bring the house down!Who’s ready to sing?Who’s ready to play?Then help me in welcoming DADDY on stage!Daddy is going to bring the house down with a private concert in the living room. Bring all your stuffed friends to the living room and enjoy the show!From actor and musician Tyler Hilton comes a sweet window into the mind of a child, Daddy’s #1 fan, as her father serenades her with all her favorite nursery rhymes and bedtime songs.With hilarious illustrations by Eugenia Nobati, Daddy: Live in Concert is a rockin’ good time until bedtime. Perfect for Father's Day, baby showers, and nightly tuck-ins, this sweet story is a must-have gift for every girl dad and music-loving family.

Unlocking the Power of Fatherhood. In this essential guide for dads with young children, Tal Eyre shares insights and practical strategies to form unbreakable bonds, foster growth, and create a mission-driven family. Activate your dad mode today! You’re going to be a dad!—words that don’t feel real until nine months later when the new baby arrives. You hold that small life in your arms for the first time, and BOOM, Dad Mode activated! All your feelings as a proud new dad coalesce into one astounding commitment: lifelong connection to your child. But how do you do this dad thing? From author Tal Eyre, Dad Mode: 25 Ways to Connect with Your Children is the ultimate guidebook to jumpstarting Dad Mode and fostering an unbreakable connection with your child. Organized into bite-sized chapters, with action steps and a full-color illustration by Bernardo França for each way, this book makes connection easy for dads in a hurry.It covers topics from oxytocin and parenting styles to emotional intelligence and family culture, focusing on children ages 0–12. Everything you need to connect, reconnect, and remain connected for life is at the tips of your fingers!The perfect gift, Dad Mode is an ideal way for partners, family, and friends to support a new or expecting father as he steps into the most important role of his life.

Join a mother-to-be and her daughter in this enchanting picture book adventure filled with love, reassurance, and cherished connections, preparing young hearts for the arrival of a new sibling while discovering the wonders of nature. Every cabin day is a paddle-on-the-lake day. You’ll be paddling with us too, coming-soon baby. Mom and me and you in our blue canoe. A mother and daughter spend the day on the lake, admiring the local flora and fauna and considering the way their paddling routine might change when a new baby arrives. For nature lovers with a growing family, The Blue Canoe is a poignant picture book conversation that gently addresses a child’s natural worries about shifting family dynamics while celebrating the unchangeable bond between mother and child. The details of the animal families they encounter bolster the child’s confidence and reinforce the mother’s loving reassurance that even though a new baby will bring change, some things are as reliable as the sunrise.

CBC Hot of The Press August 2024 PickWith art and text by Brad Sneed, this lift-the-flap picture book turns a mother and daughter into different animals as they go through their morning routine Sneed’s hilarious story goes beyond the typical “After a while, crocodile!” call-and-response and introduces kids to wordplay, rhyming, and obscure animals. With three pages of fun facts about all the animals featured in the book, After a While, Crocodile is both interactive and educational.

OCTOBER 2024 HOT OFF THE PRESS CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL PICKWith a cast of characters as quirky as the artwork by author and illustrator Gabe Jensen, Nocturnal Nico follows the title character as he resists bedtime, mirroring the nocturnal creatures outside in the moonlight Nico doesn’t want to sleep—he must be nocturnal! Like the owl in the tree, Nico is alert. Like the bat flying in the night, Nico isn’t afraid of the dark—or is he? With comic-like illustrations and obscure nocturnal animals throughout, this picture book will help your little night owl get to bed. Hopefully!Includes one page of backmatter explaining the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals and the adaptations that allow them to thrive at night.

A 2026 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL KIDS' FAVORITES SELECTIONTake to the sidewalk with this colorful picture book to inspire artistic expression and imagination!A pair of adorable siblings explores the incredible power of a piece of chalk, transforming the world around them. With people of all ages from their neighborhood coming along, they use their bucket of chalk to make some sidewalk magic.Rhyming text by Chelsea Tornetto and increasingly colorful illustrations by Laurel Aylesworth make Chalk the Walk a celebration of imagination. Grab a piece of sidewalk chalk and join in the fun!Faded pavement.Walls of gray.Boring city streets?No way!

Discover hope and encouragement in Little Drop of Courage: A Daily Guide for Cultivating Courage Through Gentleness and Self-Compassion, a gentle and easily applicable book, created by an artist and mental health advocate who understands the journey firsthand.Sometimes all we need is a little boost of courage to stop should-ing ourselves and take back the narrative of our own life! From the popular Instagram account @iamhayleykaye, illustrator and mental health advocate Hayley Kaye encourages readers to care for themselves through brightly colored illustrations and messages.This mini-book is the perfect gift for anyone to cultivate gentleness and self-compassion!

A guided journal for mothers-to-be, providing space to hear your inner voice and transition through each stage of the journey more connected to your pregnancy, your baby, and your evolving self. Pregnancy is a time like no other, a season of limbo: the baby is here but not here. We enter a dreamy phase between being and becoming, suspended in wonder with amazement of what we are creating and curiosity for who we are carrying. We can get so caught up in the new life growing within us—distracted with facts and logistics, shoulds and shouldn’ts—that we might easily forget to acknowledge the other transformation taking place as well: the redefining of our own identity. With a modern, minimalist design, 9 Months of Wonder is designed to help you to document the liminal space between here and there while softening into the season you’re in. In these journal pages, you’ll find a safe place to record and process your experiences, reflect on the ups and downs, move through fears, and honor the metamorphosis taking place in you as you give birth to the new life of your child and the new parts of yourself. A thoughtful gift for baby showers.

A whimsical bedtime story that sparks imagination and laughter as the summer moon mirrors a child’s play, becoming a cherished favorite for young readers year-round and a perfect bedtime bonding experience. Rising moonShining moon,Magic as a June moon. A story of seasides and summertime, in June Moon, the rising and setting of the moon mirrors a child’s imaginative play and bedtime routine, all bathed in the natural magic of an evening in June. With gorgeous illustrations and seamless transitions between reality and the fantasy of a child’s view of the night sky, readers of all ages will reach for this lilting bedtime poem again and again.

2026 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL HOT OFF THE PRESS PICKSend your child’s favorite dinosaurs off to bed—and your child, too!—with this rhyming bedtime story that teaches the value of sleepStomp and swim and fly and creep!Yawn . . . these dinos need their sleep.Now it’s time for nighty night.T-Rex pulls his blankie tight.Just like your little dinosaur, these dinos love to play. But unlike your little dinosaur, they also love to sleep! Velociraptor snuggles under a cozy fern, Brontosaurus hugs his bear, and pretty soon, they all fall asleep until morning. But shh, don’t wake them! They need sleep to stay healthy, big, and strong, and so does your little dinosaur.A sweet rhyming picture book perfect for your bedtime routine, Nighty Night, Dinos combines 11 of your child’s favorite dinosaurs (something they love) and the importance of sleep (something they, well, tolerate). But these gentle illustrations of dinosaurs tucked into bed will make bedtime seem exciting, and pretty soon you’ll have a snoozing little dino, too.

A hilarious picture book that addresses the elephant in the room: how to solve an impossible problem with teamwork before it gets bigger . . . and bigger . . . and flattens everyone! There’s an elephant in the room.It didn’t seem like a big deal at first.But now . . . it’s making me uncomfortable! A family of four is facing one problem: a literal elephant inside their home. Ignoring it works at first, but then it gets bigger . . . and bigger . . . and bigger! Can they listen and work together before they’re flattened by the elephant in the room?A literal interpretation of the famous idiom, The Elephant in the Room is a hilarious example of what happens when you ignore a problem. Perfect for storytime and classroom read-alouds, it introduces idioms, builds problem-solving skills, and is a heartwarming tool for social-emotional growth. And best of all, it’s laugh-out-loud fun for the entire family!With clever dialogue by Hollie Wolverton and giggle-worthy illustrations by Krisztina Buza, this picture book teaches kids that ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away and that it’s OK to ask for help. Because teamwork can solve even elephant-size problems.

Avoid the hidden trap of rewards and raise confident, self-motivated kids with revolutionary, science-based parenting strategies from international sensation Dr. Özgür Bolat—featuring a foreword by Nobel Laureate Aziz Sancar.Every loving parent uses rewards—gold stars, treats, praise, privileges—believing they’re nurturing their child’s motivation and self-esteem. But what if seven decades of scientific research reveal we’re doing the exact opposite? What if the rewards we depend on are creating power struggles, screen dependence, and children who act only when there is something to gain?Drawing on groundbreaking research and real-life cases, The Reward Trap explores the hidden psychological cost of rewards and how parents can avoid the pitfalls of external validation on the road to internal motivation. With expert strategies from award-winning researcher Dr. Özgür Bolat—proven to work at home, not just in a lab—this is the connection-based alternative you've been looking for.Free from the hidden trap of rewards, you will raise children whotake initiative—from homework to daily responsibilities—without being asked, reminded, or pressured;stay engaged and persist through challenges, even when there’s no reward or recognition; andmake good choices because they believe in them, not because they’re told to.No more battles over motivation. No more anxiety about whether you’re doing enough. Just genuine connection and a confident, emotionally secure child who is motivated from within. It’s the kind of inner happiness no reward can buy.

Dive deeper into the authoritarian leaders of yesterday and take practical steps today toward a better democratic society tomorrow, with past and present examples from around the world. How do democracies die? We’re watching it happen in real time. Elected domestic and international leaders are undermining democratic institutions, weaponizing government agencies, and fueling dangerous polarization. Turn on the news—or scroll social media—and the result is everywhere: fear, anger, and a growing sense of helplessness as citizens wonder, I’m just one person—what can I possibly do?More than simple analysis, How to Save Democracy: The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook empowers everyday citizens with practical, peaceful steps to turn anxiety into action and defend democratic institutions. Drawing on history, scholarly research, and her own experience working with refugees across Europe and Asia, Melissa Dalton-Bradford lays out core patterns in the authoritarian playbook, provides global examples of how these patterns have played out in history and modern day, and offers solutions for how citizens—as individuals and as groups—can take immediate action to reverse the erosion of democracy in their communities.

I feel happy! I feel angry. I feel silly! Teaching children how to name their feelings is the first step toward helping them express those feelings appropriately and feeling empathy for the feelings of others. From artist Larissa Honsek, the creator of Opposites and Let's Move!, comes a new cast of colorful clay characters to teach toddlers about emotions because we all have big feelings.

With stunning photography by Mark Lisk on every page, this coffee-table treasure will transport you on a visual journey through the wonders of Idaho A graduate of Brooks Institute of Photographic Arts, Mark Lisk is a prolific photographer whose photos highlight the state’s most beautiful spots, including famous natural landmarks and hidden gems. Each location is marked in the captions so that tourists, hikers, and Idahoans can see their favorites in real life.Designed in a sleek, modern package that looks beautiful on a coffee table, Idaho: Discover the Gem State is a must-own for everyone in love with Idaho.