October 13 - Failure Day

 

9780063093218

For weeks, Snake has looked forward to sculpting the most spectacular clay pot in art class. But when his pot breaks and his teacher confuses Snake’s pot with Turtle’s, Snake takes home Turtle’s masterpiece to show his family and pretends that he made it. Now, Snake will have to craft a way to repair a broken pot and a broken friendship.

9780063280229

Author Waka T. Brown and artist Yuko Jones join forces for this picture book about a young girl who learns to appreciate life’s imperfections when her grandmother teachers her about the Japanese art form kintsugi.

Miki Amelia Masuda liked everything in her life to be perfect. Her room was immaculately clean. She only ate round cookies, not the broken ones. And if a stuffed animal had a tear in it, she couldn't bear to look at it. So when she accidentally drops and breaks her favorite teacup, she’s devastated. How can a broken teacup ever be perfect again?

Days later, Miki's grandmother, Obaachan, presents Miki with the fixed teacup. But it’s not perfect! Each crack is highlighted by a gold streak of paint—almost as if to show off the imperfections!

9780593533147

Joan’s life is wonderful, wild, and grand—
running and playing as much as she can!
Days full of fun, where she’s never alone.
And then . . .
came . . .
the cone.

For Joan the dog, life is different now. With her cone, she gets trapped in the doggy door. And she doesn't command the same respect she once did at the dog park. Through funny challenges and mortifications, Joan reflects on her pre-cone glory days, including what led to her injury (let's just say, certain choices were made). But with time, Joan begins to see there is love and life and joy beyond the rim of the cone—and sometimes popcorn inside it too, because, it turns out, the cone makes a great snack bowl.

This picture book is guaranteed to make kids and caregivers laugh, and see the trials of life—and dogs in cones—in a whole new way.