Roy Is Not A Dog by Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman. Tundra, 2024. 9780735265967.
Weasel believes he knows all the people on his paper route except Roy, who is a bit mysterious. After observing Roy a bit, Weasel concludes he’s a dog, but he’s unable to convince his friend Pam Pam. So Weasel sets out to get proof.
Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup by Giovanna Zoboli & Mariachiara Di Giorgio. English translation by Denise Muir. Candlewick, 2024. 9781536233391.
After Mr. Lepron and his family gather the vegetables he loves, he makes a soup so amazing that it becomes famous. So many people want his soup that Mr. Lepron opens a factory and starts shipping it around the world. And that continues for a while until things go terribly wrong because of the soup’s secret ingredient. (It’s so secret even Mr. Lepron doesn’t seem to understand what it is.)
Di Giorgio’s illustrations are beautiful, often unexpected, and delightful even in the book’s sadder moments.
Ohchungdang Candy by Jung-soon Go. Translated by Aerin Park. Levine Querido, 2025. 9781646145140. 128pp.
This is author/illustrator Jung-soon Go’s book about her grandparents, two Korean war orphans who made a life together in a small South Korean town. Go spent every school break with them, and had a special bond with her playful, friendly grandfather. Her grandmother had a more reserved personality, but she saw he grandparents being sweet to one another. Jung-soon’s grandpa’s cancer diagnosis is painful, as is the way he quickly shrinks and stops smiling. When he’s gone her grandmother withdraws even more from the world, and then she’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
I’ve never read a picture book like this — it’s such a special love letter to the author’s grandparents. It won a much-deserved Special Prize at the 2023 Korean Picture Book Awards.
