Megan Maynor

On first reading, this picture book is the story of Minnesota twins, making sweet potato pie with mama. They shop at the farmers market—and they peel, mix, taste and try to guess mama’s secret ingredient. But like a sweet potato pie itself, this story is more than it appears. It’s also an invitation to bake together, serve others and remember to have a good laugh. Playfulness and family coziness come through in the text and in the warm illustrations by local artist Christopheraaron Deanes.

“Finn was in a horrible mood. Grandpa wanted to talk about it. Finn did not.” So begins this lovely, poignant picture book, which centers around a child-grandparent relationship and the natural world of Minnesota’s North Shore. Finn, who begins the book hiding under a quilt, begrudgingly agrees to join Grandpa on a walk in the forest—if the quilt comes, too.

Who can resist a duckling on a book cover? Not this reader! But this is an unusual duckling indeed. Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons tells the charming true story of loons parenting a mallard duckling. Loon researchers first observed this duckling riding piggyback on a loon in a Wisconsin lake in 2019, and local author Laura Purdie Salas has captured the story for children and families in this picture book illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis.