Solidly fun book about the ways that water travels around the world. Part water cycle, part fairy-tale, with simple colorful illustrations. Read alongside When Cloud Became a Cloud, or maybe read this one first with a younger child and then graduate to that one. 

Great illustrations! I especially love the unapologetic view from the bottom of the food chain. Who eats krill? Practically everybody, with humorous toothy illustrations.  

Solid history, told engagingly. I like the recipes at the end of the chapters! 

Terrific paranormal mystery! I can't wait to read the second one. 

I always love a good smash the patriarchy tale. And found friendship, and a honest yet relatively gentle portrayal of parental favoritism. So great! 

Won an award, and it is pretty, but I wish this had a plot.

Super fun read, early midgrade, hand to readers just graduating from chapter books. Feels like a fairy tale for its combination of complexity of symbolism with simplicity of story line. Read-alikes are The Girl Who Stole An Elephant by Farook and Emblem Island by Aster 

This book was so intensely emotional that I stopped reading for a week 3/4 of the way through because I was worried someone would die and I wasn't able to handle the idea of my beloved characters dying. But then I came back to it, because it's just that good. And my mind keeps coming back to reminisce over the best moments. Without spoiling the book, I can say with confidence that it takes a very skillful author to weave together such seemingly disparate topics into a cohesive story, and that Aoki has done it. Deals with the devil, trans experience, refugee experience, classical music, lesbian romance, and spaceships all come together in the lovingly detailed down to earth setting of San Gabriel Valley. 

a solid read aloud about things coming and going into and out of our lives. 

one of those children's books that is written for adults