Book picks similar to
Setsuko and the Song of the Sea by Fiona Barker


picture-books
repeating-lines
ecocritical
absence-of-parents

That's Disgusting!


Francesco Pittau - 2001
    Adorable artwork on every spread accompanies simple text. Swallowing a worm, smelling a sock, playing in the cat litter . . . That's Disgusting! Not for the faint of heart, this kid approved book focuses on a love of all things icky and gross. Firmly focused on fun, That's Disgusting! is the perfect distraction to help your young gross out expert learn to read.

Birrarung Wilam: A Story from Aboriginal Australia


Aunty Joy Murphy - 2019
    Below, Birrarung begins its long winding path down to palem warreen.Yarra Riverkeeper Andrew Kelly and Aboriginal Elder of the Wurundjeri people Aunty Joy Murphy join to tell the Indigenous and geographical story of Melbourne’s beautiful Yarra River — from its source to its mouth and from its prehistory to the present day. The writing dazzles with poetic descriptions of the trees, plants, and wildlife that thrive in harmony along the iconic waterway. Lush and vibrant acrylic paintings from Indigenous illustrator Lisa Kennedy make the mighty Yarra come to life — coursing under a starry sky, drawing people to its sunny shores, mirroring a searing orange sunset. Jewel-like details in the illustrations offer opportunities for discovery on every page. As gorgeous and powerful as the river itself, this stunner invites all to come to Wilam: home.End matter includes an authors' note and a glossary of the Woiwurrung words used in the story.

Alma and the Beast


Esmé Shapiro - 2019
    From the utterly original imagination of the author-illustrator of Ooko comes a story about celebrating differences and making new friends. For fans of Where the Wild Things Are and Wild.Alma lives happily in her hairy world, where she can braid the trees, comb the grass, pet the roof and feed her plumpooshkie butterfly. Until one day . . . a hairless, button-nosed beast appears in the garden! At first Alma is scared but when she realizes the beast is lost and misses her hairless home, Alma offers to help her find her way back. As the two take a fantastical journey through the red-headed woods and the bearded mushroom glen to the beast's bald abode, they discover that they are much more alike than different.This quirky and charming story about friendship, tolerance and perspective invites readers into a surreal, fantastical world that evokes Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are and The Lorax.

The High Street


Alice Melvin - 2011
    Open the flaps to see inside the shops, where unusual things are going on. Should those wild animals be upstairs in the pet shop? Will the plates fall off the wall in Mr. Cooper’s China Shop? Can Sally find everything on her list? Children will pore over this charmingly illustrated interactive book to find out.Each shop is depicted in Alice Melvin’s trademark highly detailed illustrations that both evoke a previous age and yet remain strongly contemporary. Rhyming text and repetition of Sally’s shopping list make this book perfect for reading aloud. Praise for The High Street“A satisfyingly unique ending. The inventive format and crisp retro details will put this at the top of every curious little girl’s reading list.”–School Library Journal

Dragons: Father and Son


Alexandre Lacroix - 2014
    But Strokker isn’t confident about his skills and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. How will be prove himself without upsetting his dad and everyone around him? A funny and moving story about the bonds between fathers and children, with a positive, peaceful message – and all the magic and mayhem you’d hope for in a tale about dragons.

The Story of Rosy Dock


Jeannie Baker - 1994
    An introduction to environmental awareness describes how a single rosy dock garden in Australia was spread throughout the country on the wind, threatening the native plants and animals in the southern, central, and western regions.

This is My Rock


David Lucas - 2015
    "It's not yours," he bleats at Eagle. "Or yours," he grumbles at Bear. "Nor yours!" he shouts at the other goats. But standing atop a mountain all day and night can be lonely, especially when you have no one else to play with. . . .With simple wit and beautifully detailed illustrations, David Lucas weaves a tale about sharing and friendship.As an illustrator and writer, David Lucas finds inspiration in the beauty and magic of the natural world. His first book with Flying Eye was A Letter for Bear, published in 2013.

Old Pig


Margaret Wild - 1999
    I must be prepared." Granddaughter knows that her beloved Old Pig will soon be gone— but her love and memories will still be there. This tender, softly illustrated story of love and loss will comfort children dealing with death for the first time. "In a few short pages, shows that death can be a celebration of life and a loved one's contributions to it." — "School Library Journal."

Duck, Death and the Tulip


Wolf Erlbruch - 2006
    Death, Duck and the Tulip will intrigue, haunt and enchant readers of all ages. Simple, unusual, warm and witty, this book deals with a difficult subject in a way that is elegant, straightforward, and thought-provoking.

Pinocchio: The Origin Story


Alessandro Sanna - 2015
    This version is also about life on the molecular level and what it means to think about our composition as human beings from the point of view of energy and cosmic matter.Born in 1975, Alessandro Sanna is one of Italy's leading contemporary illustrators. He has earned wide recognition for his work, which has appeared in the New York Times Book Review and the New Yorker. He is a prolific and popular author and has received many awards. He lives and works in Mantua, Italy.

Beyond the Fence


Maria Gulemetova - 2017
    One day, however, he meets a wild pig who introduces him to life 'beyond the fence'. Quirky and charming, this debut book contains important messages about individuality and making your own choices.

Dragon's Alphabet Soup: Learn ABCs with Eric the Dragon


Rachel Yu - 2010
    The beautiful and adorable illustrations will charm your little ones into visiting this ABC book over and over again. This is a definite must have book for your favorite preschooler to 1st grader.

There Is a Tribe of Kids


Lane Smith - 2016
    . .he trails a colony of penguins, undulates in a smack of jellyfish,clasps hands with a constellation of stars, naps for a night in a bed of clams,and follows a trail of shells, home to his tribe of friends.If Lane Smith's Caldecott Honor Book Grandpa Green was an homage to aging and the end of life, There Is a Tribe of Kids is a meditation on childhood and life's beginning. Smith's vibrant sponge-paint illustrations and use of unusual collective nouns such as smack and unkindness bring the book to life. Whimsical, expressive, and perfectly paced, this story plays with language as much as it embodies imagination.

Max Kowalski Didn't Mean It


Susie Day - 2019
    He loves their trips to the fair and Dad's no-nonsense attitude when Max gets in trouble at school. But everything changes when mysterious boxes and even more mysterious wads of cash start turning up at their house, and when Dad disappears it's up to Max to look after his three sisters until Dad comes home.Determined to keep the family together, Max takes his sisters to a remote village in Wales, where he's convinced that no one will find them. What Max doesn't expect to find is new friends, new questions, and a very old legend. Just how easy is it to look after three kids with no grown ups around? Where did Dad go, really? And what are the whispers Max keeps hearing, of a golden dragon, asleep under the mountain...?