Here are 100 books that These Olive Trees fans have personally recommended if you like
These Olive Trees.
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Growing up, my family was a meat and potatoes family. The food was good but it was never really about the food. It was about eating together. When I got older, I ventured beyond the world of meat and potatoes, made more friends to eat with, and learned more and more to enjoy the little things in life. My two books are about food but also not really. They're community books. Family books. Adventure books. Same thing with the 5 books on my list. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Ah! This book is so rich and wonderful! The illustrations are unique, textured, impactful, and balanced. The story is warm and fun, and I appreciate how it turns it around with the people sharing with Omu at the end.
The illustrations tell me, "Hey, this is a really good book!" and they do not lie. It deserves the awards it won. I just love how the story and illustrations are so simple yet so full. It's a classic.
A generous woman is rewarded by her community in this remarkable author-illustrator debut that's perfect for the Thanksgiving season, perfect for fans of Last Stop on Market Street.
Everyone in the neighborhood dreams of a taste of Omu's delicious stew! One by one, they follow their noses toward the scrumptious scent. And one by one, Omu offers a portion of her meal. Soon the pot is empty. Has she been so generous that she has nothing left for herself?
Debut author-illustrator Oge Mora brings a heartwarming story of sharing and community to life in colorful cut-paper designs as luscious as…
Selected by Deesha Philyaw as winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction, Lake Song is set in the fictional town of Kinder Falls in New York’s Finger Lakes region. This novel in stories spans decades to plumb the complexities, violence, and compassion of small-town life as the…
Growing up, my family was a meat and potatoes family. The food was good but it was never really about the food. It was about eating together. When I got older, I ventured beyond the world of meat and potatoes, made more friends to eat with, and learned more and more to enjoy the little things in life. My two books are about food but also not really. They're community books. Family books. Adventure books. Same thing with the 5 books on my list. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
This book has a beautiful message and beautiful illustrations. The words and colors are as warm as the meals the girl has with friends. The book tackles the tough subject of a girl feeling self-conscious about her family's food and culture, yet it's handled so smartly.
The whole book is just warm and beautiful. I find it inspirational to me as both an author and illustrator.
Stay for Dinner is a powerful story that celebrates culture and connection through food, from the creators of The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name, winner of the 2022 Children's Book Council of Australia's Award for New Illustrator.
Reshma loves dinnertime with her family. Her family eat with their hands - not just finger food type-eating, but hands-on squishy eating. When she's invited to stay for dinner at her friends' places, she finds out that they all eat in different ways. Some go ting ting with their cutlery, and others go click clack with their chopsticks. So what will…
Growing up, my family was a meat and potatoes family. The food was good but it was never really about the food. It was about eating together. When I got older, I ventured beyond the world of meat and potatoes, made more friends to eat with, and learned more and more to enjoy the little things in life. My two books are about food but also not really. They're community books. Family books. Adventure books. Same thing with the 5 books on my list. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
My Love For You Is Always feels like a hug. I love how it explains a parent's love toward their child using food. It's smart, simple, and satisfying.
I can imagine reading it to my daughter for bedtime. Sometimes I just want to express to my daughter Lucie how much I love her, and I feel like this book would be a fun way of doing that. Using the food theme was a good choice by the author. I think it's a great little book.
Warm like tea? Sweeter than red dates? A mother shares her love for her child as the two prepare a delicious meal together--perfect for fans of Guess How Much I Love You, Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You, and Mama, Do You Love Me?
What is love? a child wonders. What does it feel like, smell like, taste like? How does it move? How long does it last?
And as she prepares a traditional Chinese meal for her family, the child's mother replies: her love for him is rosy as wolfberries, warm like tea, sweeter than the red…
Selected by Deesha Philyaw as winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction, Lake Song is set in the fictional town of Kinder Falls in New York’s Finger Lakes region. This novel in stories spans decades to plumb the complexities, violence, and compassion of small-town life as the…
Growing up, my family was a meat and potatoes family. The food was good but it was never really about the food. It was about eating together. When I got older, I ventured beyond the world of meat and potatoes, made more friends to eat with, and learned more and more to enjoy the little things in life. My two books are about food but also not really. They're community books. Family books. Adventure books. Same thing with the 5 books on my list. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Hungry Roscoe is hilarious. I love it. I always feel that humor is so important in picture books, and funny books were always my favorite as a young chap.
It has such a fun story, and I can imagine that it was a blast to illustrate. The pictures really push the humor. I had so much fun reading it, and I kept thinking, "Boy, this is great. I hope they stick the landing." And they really did! I love the ending. It's a really good book.
Roscoe is a hungry raccoon fed up with eating rotten junk out of the bins. What he wouldn't give for a lovely bit of fish or some fresh, juicy fruit -and where better to find food than at the zoo! An excellent idea, except for the grumpy zookeeper who's intent on keeping Roscoe OUT. But Roscoe's come up with a plan to disguise himself as a zoo animal. . . . What could go wrong?
I am a picture book author/illustrator who writes humorous stories. One of my favorite techniques for instilling humor in my writing is for the illustrations to show the reader more than the characters’ know. It’s so much fun for kids to realize and be in on the joke before the characters in the book. I love a storytime where the kids get engaged and start pointing out what’s really happening and start talking to the characters to try to change their actions. I also love a good twist ending that makes the reader say, “How did I not see that coming?!” and these are the perfect kind of books for it.
The premise of this book is just hilarious. On their first day of school, a class thinks their teacher is a sandwich sitting on the desk at the front of the class. What?! Hilarious!
Because we see the scene through the classroom window, the reader knows that the teacher’s car was smashed by a fallen tree, and he’s stuck in the parking lot dealing with it. But the twist at the end has the reader questioning how much they actually knew all along!
2
authors picked
Mr. S
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
Prepare for plenty of giggles as a kindergarten class arrives for their first day of school, but can't find their teacher-only a delicious-looking sandwich and the words "Mr. S" scribbled on the chalkboard. Chaos ensues as the kids argue whether or not the sandwich must be their teacher. A comical, first day of school book of mayhem and chaos by Monica Arnaldo, perfect fans of Miss Nelson Is Missing.
"This might be the funniest first-day-of-school book I've ever read." -Adam Rex, New York Times bestselling author of School's First Day of School
As an autistic person, I know just how critical authentic autism representation is. It was a book that first opened up the possibility for me that I might be autistic—and looking back, I realize that that book may have some problematic portrayals of what it means to be autistic. But I was so hungry for representation that I took what I could get. Because of this, when I see myself in books with autistic protagonists, I can’t help but cheer! I know there are quite a few great books with autistic representation, and there are so many more I’d love to include here, but here are five of my favorites. I hope you enjoy!
This book uses the fantastic metaphor of an “upside-down” bat in a world of mammals.
At school, everything she does is perceived as “wrong” because it is different from the world of her classmates and instructor. But Bitsy learns to find joy in her differences and takes initiative to celebrate the strengths of not just herself but her classmates.
This picture book is a great way to introduce readers, young and old, to being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world, as well as how to welcome neurodivergent folks and create a neurodivergent-inclusive space.
A little bat struggles to fit in only to learn to celebrate differences in this heartfelt picture book from an autistic perspective about starting school, making friends, and seeing what makes each person special.
Bitsy is a little bat with big star dreams of making friends at her new school. But when she arrives, Bitsy doesn't feel like she fits in. The other kids sit on their chairs, but sitting upright makes Bitsy dizzy. The other kids paint with their fingers, but Bitsy would rather use her toes. Everyone tells Bitsy she's doing things wrong-wrong-wrong, so she tries harder...and ends…
As a children’s book author, a parent and a teacher for small children, one of the greatest things about children’s media is the friendships that develop among some of the most unusual characters. Like a sea sponge and a starfish in SpongeBob Squarepants, a mouse, and a dog with Mickey Mouse and Pluto. This of course extends into children’s books and it’s an extension of how young children don’t concern themselves with how different the other person is, they focus on what is the same. Something people should hold onto as they grow but often don’t.
A charming book about a stick and stone who become friends. Told with very simple language we follow the story of Stone from when he was alone to being teased by Pinecone and having Stick stand up for him (because that’s what sticks do!). They play and go on adventures to the shore when a big hurricane sweeps them away, and Stone must save his best friend, Stick!
The illustrations are wonderfully crafted in colored pencil and watercolor. This is a beautifully done book that works extremely well in storytimes with small children. My class loves this one.
When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with a Pine cone, the pair become fast friends. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favour? The author Beth Ferry writes warm, rhyming text that includes a subtle anti-bullying message even the youngest reader will understand. The New York Times best-selling illustratorTom Lichtenheld imbues Stick and Stone with energy, emotion, and personality to spare. In this fun board book about kindness and friendship, Stick and Stone join George and Martha, Frog and Toad, and Elephant and Piggie as some of the greatest friend duos in children's literature.
I am a former hospital chaplain. My job was to accompany people through the earliest stages of dealing with crisis, trauma, and grief. In four years, I responded to more than 750 deaths, along with countless car accidents, gunshots, stabbings, miscarriages, stillbirths, violence, and unimaginable abuse. With a front-row seat for the worst of this world, faith became much more complicated. I wrestle every day but still cling to faith amid the spiritual and mental scars.
I know this is a children’s book, but sometimes I need more pictures and less words. This book reminds me that God is close, tender, and deeply personal, not cold, distant, and demanding. This helps me feel safe to question, wonder, wander, doubt, and believe.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The late, beloved Rachel Held Evans answers many children's first question about God in this gorgeous picture book, fully realized by her friend Matthew Paul Turner, the bestselling author of When God Made You.
Children who are introduced to God, through attending church or having loved ones who speak about God, often have a lot of questions, including this ever-popular one: What is God like? The late Rachel Held Evans loved the Bible and loved showing God’s love through the words and pictures found in that ancient text. Through these pictures from the Bible,…
I am Virginia Mendez, mother of 2 and author of 2 children’s books and a parenting book about the topic of gender equality from childhood. My day job is in Diversity and Inclusion Consulting, and I train companies and schools on how to bring more gender equality into their organisations. I wasn’t always a feminist, but I was by the time I was pregnant with my first child, and it made me determined to make the world a more fair place for everyone. Everyone.
This is an absolute favourite of mine as a gift for new baby boys.
It is in rhyme and has very easy illustrations. It is never too early to let people know that feminism is for everyone, including boys, and to show in an easy way the things that they can do to help but also expand the options for them.
Feminism begins at home—and My First Book of Feminism (for Boys) is where it begins!
Simple illustrations paired with engaging, rhyming text make the compelling, age appropriate argument that girls and boys are equal, plain and simple. Humorous, familiar scenarios are treated as teachable moments for very young boys (ages 0-3) who will ideally grow up without ever questioning women's equality. From "no means no," to "women's rights are human rights," important, grownup ideas are made clear and fun for young, impressionable minds. This is the book every mom should read to her son!
We are two dads, both with three kids, who are on a journey of trying our best to raise our kids in the way of Jesus. Of particular interest to us both is exploring how Jesus overcomes evil. Does He beat up the bad guys like superheroes do? Does He drop bombs on them, like nations do? With all the struggles kids experience at school—and everything they hear about evil occurring around the world—we think it’s important for kids to learn how Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, even from the earliest ages.
As we dive into the difficult work of enemy love and peacemaking, we quickly discover that loving someone often begins with forgiving them. And further, once you forgive someone, this opens the door to authentic friendship.
I have some comical memories of saying “bless you” to a particular bully in school as though this were a magic trick that would completely change the situation. While it may have been a good start, I now realize that forgiveness is more about an ongoing posture of the heart than it is about using “magic words” to fix everything.
This book doesn’t just show us how Jesus forgives us (through the story of Peter’s restoration), it also gives kids a roadmap to understand the deeper realities of forgiveness.
Bible storybook that points young children to Jesus, the friend who forgives.
Do you ever talk before you think? Mess up? Let others down?
That’s what Peter did, again and again and again, and it led him to abandoning his best friend, Jesus.
Peter loved Jesus. He felt terrible when he pretended not to know him. He thought all was lost when Jesus died.
But after Jesus rose from the dead, he went and found Peter and forgave him. He explained that his death took the punishment for all of Peter’s mistakes and that his resurrection showed that the penalty…
