Rest of non-HC childrens' books of 2022

I read Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics back in September for Hispanic Heritage Month. It was purchased from Book Outlet. This brightly colored picture book contains short poem-bios of notable Hispanic figures from history (many of which I had not heard about) written by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. I've enjoyed every book I've read from Engle and know her to be a notable Hispanic author of Hispanic books for kids. This was no exception, and I learned a lot from this book, and want to learn more about the people in it.  Highly recommended. 5 stars, keeping.  Trigger warnings (that I remember): racism, discrimination, poverty, sexism, injustice

 

Another purchase from Book Outlet, Viva Frida is a dreamy picture book of/on/about Frida Kahlo. It's not really a biography as much as it is a book celebrating Frida, her aesthetic and imagination. It's written by Yuyi Morales, who has created many beautiful latine picture books, and the illustrations are actually pictures taken by Tim O'Meara of Yuyi's beautifully styled marionette puppets of Frida, Fulang Chang (Frida's monkey), the iconic Frida deer, etc. There are a few traditional illustrations for the dream aspects which are by Yuyi. This was a lovely, dreamy celebration of Frida and I enjoyed it. 4 out of 5 stars. No trigger warnings that I can think of, except dolls/marionettes

I hadn't bothered to put this in my reading spreadsheet, but I also bought and read another Frida kids' book from Book Outlet, per my goal to own every book about Frida Kahlo. A Parrot in the Painting: The Story of Frida Kahlo and Bonito is an early reader book for like first graders. It's a fictionalized story of Bonito, Frida's parrot, trying to think of things to do that would make Frida paint him. She'd painted her other pet animals but not him. It's a cute story that kids might enjoy. I may give this one to my nephew when he's old enough. No star grade. No trigger warnings except possibly for birds and animals, owning exotic pets (in the 1940s)

 

Okay, that's it, since the rest of the picture books I read were from HarperCollins or its subsidiaries, and the strike is ongoing.