Cover of Tan’s book, all sepia tones, which looks like an old, worn out, possibly leather covered tome, a scrapbook/photo album with a large inset photo of a hunched middle aged man in a tweed-ish suit, carrying a worn out leather suitcase, looking down, greeting a white alien animal that is kinda like a blend of rounded shark head, large mouse ears, friendly dog posture, four legs, long lizard-like tail.

Phelan’s cover: Shows a farm boy, 1930s vibe hat/clothes/work apron, framed in a darkened barn doorway, flashlight and radiating light pointed through the rising dust storm at the viewer, with a somewhat Reaper-ish shadow behind him, a drooping cloak-sleeved hand reaching for the boy’s shoulder…

thought sim vibes pairing wld def be Shaun Tan’s Arrival—it is a good match w/ the B&W futurism…but to strengthen a #HatTrickLit experience, pair also w/ Storm in the Barn (Phelan) for B/W moodiness, quiet menace of a sandstorm…

All w/ few/no words.

Great #GraphicNovel!

@mackidsbooks.bsky.social

Picture of No!, by David McPhail. Shows a large shouted NO! word bubble title, which is coming from a very young child coming through a doorway (dressed in little brown boots, overly large greyish coat, red mittens and red ear flap hat).

War, by José Jorge Letria… A stark, muddy greenish greyish background sky cut into by a black cliff jutting in from the left side; on the cliff top, looking out toward the sky is a vague general type figure, oversized greyish background-black trench coat, helmet with plume, hands crossed together behind his back.

Why War Is Never A Good Idea, by Alice Walker, illustrated by Stefano Vitale…one of her poems made into a picture book. Features a bright, beautiful jungle scene mostly blocked out by thick black bars running across much of the cover (on which the title words and author/illus credits are printed).

GREAT book!

#HatTrickLit or #FourScores:
See also: pair w/ these anti-war books—virtually wordless No!, up through slightly incr word counts, still quite minimal…carefully chosen minimal language evokes the theme in much more depth and pain than extra words would, and as enhanced by the artwork.

The graphic design style meets cartooning elements vibes could lead to some good #HatTrickLit pairings:

Any Owen Davey stuff for graphics/facts blend; Elise Gravel’s bug works for that cartooning insect edge; see also Du Iz Tak for a perfect reading pairing.

Little PicCollage with Cat Nap larger in the middle, with rows of read alike books all around it. Text says, “My brain hears about a new, intriguing book coming out next fall and I start thinking of #ReadAlikes…” in one spot, then two other text boxes say, “Possible CAT NAP #HatTrickLit pairings…?” and “Possible CAT NAP #FourScores or more pairings…?” Books pictured: For museum/art museum connections: You can’t take a balloon into the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Where’s the Artist; I spy an alphabet in art; A night at the museum. For dogs (instead of a cat) jaunting into and through famous paintings: Dogs’ Night. Griso the one and only: it’s also about transformed works of world art—with unicorns. For weird, wonderful, often surreal cat (and mouse) adventures with multi-artistic styling or tie-ins: Mimi’s Dada Catiifesto; Inside Cat; A most mysterious mouse; Mr Wuffles.

Heard about Cat Nap; saw @fuse8.bsky.social review/interview w/ Brian Lies.

Sounds like an intriguing art specimen. Now on future orders list. Esp since I can’t not think of #ReadAlikes for #HatTrickLit, #FourScores or more pairings…
(See ALT re: logic)
afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/10/s...

Thx!

My specialty:
Finding unique/funky/related/vibes fit books as #ReadAlikes to make sets of 3 ( #HatTrickLit )
or 4 ( #FourScores )

Lunch break browsing…
Some really cool stuff coming up in the fall from @nosycrow.bsky.social (sigh, waiting is hard).

Already thinking of #HatTrickLit pairings for the Mega book; def Actual Size books by Jenkins; Mega Predators by @mstewartscience.bsky.social
+
…

How To Apologize catalogue record: “From the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award-winning creators of See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog comes a funny and handy guide that explains just how (and how not!) to say "I'm sorry."” “Wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone knew how to apologize? Luckily, this humorous guidebook is full of practical tips about when, why, and how to say you're sorry. From a porcupine who accidentally popped his friend's balloon to a snail who was running so fast he stepped on a sloth's toes, hilarious examples and sweet illustrations abound. For both listeners who are just learning and older readers who need a refresher, this book will come as a welcome reminder that even though apologizing can be hard, it doesn't have to be complicated.”

An Annoying A, B, C catalogue record: “Imagine a preschool classroom with 25 cranky kids and one beleaguered teacher. It only takes one small annoying act from Adelaide to set off a chain reaction of bad behavior. Dexter is drooling, Flora is fuming, Jasper is jeering, Kirby is kicking . . . and before you know it, Stella is stumbling, Todd is tumbling, and Winthrop is weeping. Oh, oh, oh! What will it take to turn this annoying day around? Readers will be amazed and amused to see what happens when Adelaide . . . apologizes.”

Thx @kylelukoff.bsky.social & Julie Kwon for such a fun and informative epistolary apology mystery journey!
Entertainment, humour, learning skills, SEL growth—nice!
📚👍
Now, #TLsky folks, turn this into a #HatTrickLit experience by pairing it with two more great, humorous-but-serious #apology books…

a wacky is-it-my-turn-yet-? book like Z Is For Moose and with classic Each Peach Pear Plum (or Previously) for nursery rhyme allusiveness as a #HatTrickLit experience.

(Score 3x with 3 connected/related/see also #kidlit reads = #HatTrickLit)

#skybrarians #LibrarySky 📚

The cover of Sam and Eva features two kids drawn in black/white/grey tones: A Black (American) boy, right side up, and an Asian (American) girl, upside down, both in the midst of drawing/painting/printing the title and a marmot-y creature and a velociraptor-ish creature.

w/ old school wild rhyme like Fox in Socks, or w/ one-upmanship of I’m On It, by @atsurumi.bsky.social.

Next:
Sam & Eva, @debbieohi.com is an epic drawing battle that gets out of hand, but may lead to a new, creativity-based friendship…if they can see things the same way…?

Make it a #HatTrickLit…

Three great books to be discussed in this thread. Each one will have a separate picture with the ALT text to describe their covers…

Cover of TheGoat, The Stoat, And The Boat, by Em Lynas and Matt Hunt. Features blue background of watery waves with a bright green sailboat (white sail), with a large seated goat (with big yellow checkered coat) and small stoat in it.

#ThisBookTheseReasons
📚👍 🧵
3 fab new #ReadAlouds:

The Goat/etc, by @emlynas.bsky.social & Matt Hunt (no relation) will be fun to read to kids with all the zany rhyming, silly battle over the boat, and the sharing-is-the-better-way resolution.

Make it a #HatTrickLit experience by pairing it…

Catalogue record, Finding Wild, by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Abigail Halpin. It says… “A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think. There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an adventure away from their urban home and discover all the beauty of the natural world. From the bark on the trees to the sudden storm that moves across the sky to fire and flowers, and snowflakes and fresh fruit. As the children make their way through the woods and back to the paved and noisy streets, they discover that wild exists not just off in some distant place, but right in their own backyard.”

Catalogue record for Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith. Says: “Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. "Written" by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.”

Catalogue record for Looking For…, which says: “A young girl shares stories and facts about the woods near her home while catching up with her mischievous dog, Peppermint. When her dog Peppermint wanders off, this little girl isn't too worried; they both know their way around the woods. On her way to find Peppermint, she regales us with stories and information about the area, from encounters with spiny porcupines and protective mother coyotes all the way back to the mile-thick glaciers that shaped the landscape. Parts of the story are highlighted with art-within-art glimpses of the girl's journal, where she's captured her exploits in drawings. Author-illustrator Maxwell Eaton is back with another genre-bending picture book full of fun facts and witty asides. Detailed illustrations bring wild critters to life and keep the reader guessing what's next. Any young reader with an interest in science and the natural world will want to hike out into the forest with Peppermint and her humans.”

Lush green foresty cover of Yuval Zommer’s The Wild, which has the forest scene lying curled as though a dragon-ish creature, head curled towards tail and hind feet.

For a #HatTrickLit
(3 great #ReadAlikes)
experience, pair Wildful with Finding Wild & Sidewalk Flowers.

Take it to #FourScores
status by adding in Looking For Peppermint…
See also, The Wild.

More 📚👍 matching suggestions fellow #TLsky, #skybrarians? 📚

Cover of Plantzilla, by Jessie Nolen and David Catrow. Shows a plump, quirky, “nerdy” boy with glasses and sweater vest next to a potted plant set on a board with wheels and a leash attached to pull it along. The plant is a slightly menacing looking wonderfully bizarrely spiky leafed cacti-thingy with weird flower extensions.

Cover of Perfectly Peculiar plants on catalogue record summary screenshot, which says: “Perfectly Peculiar Plants is an exuberant celebration of the weird and wonderful world of plants, perfect for budding botanists and armchair art lovers alike, busting with color and providing unexpected facts.”

⬆️ Oh, and I forgot to mention that Prunella has a stellar bright pink with black line art #SecretCover.

Ferry effortlessly works in extended plant metaphors to her protagonist growing up without ever feeling forced. Skills!

#HatTrickLit pairings?
—perhaps Plantzilla; def Perfectly Peculiar Plants

Catalogue record summary for Laika: “Eisner Award Winner: Best Publication for Teens | Eisner Award Nominee: Best Reality-Based Work Laika was the abandoned puppy destined to become Earth's first space traveler. This graphic novel follows her journey. Nick Abadzis masterfully blends fiction and fact in the intertwined stories of three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, once a political prisoner, now a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet Union's space program, and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika's health and life. This intense triangle is rendered with the pitch-perfect emotionality of classics like Because of Winn Dixie , Shiloh , and Old Yeller . Abadzis gives life to a pivotal moment in modern history, casting light on the hidden moments of deep humanity behind history. Laika's story will speak straight to your heart.”

Catalogue record summary for Laika picture book: “Discover the amazing adventure of the first astronaut dog! Laika is a stray dog living on the streets of Moscow when she is chosen to be the first ever animal launched into orbit. But her rocket disappears, and everyone thinks Laika is lost forever. In Owen Davey's imaginative take on a true story, Laika is rescued by new owners and finds the perfect home on a planet far, far away.”

pairings of Laika, #GraphicNovel, by @nickabadzis.bsky.social and picture book Laika: Astronaut Dog, by Owen Davey to take Aiko to a #HatTrickLit experience.

📚 #TLsky #skybrarians

I just bought this for the school library, and it is indeed, a very strong, empathetic book about a more hidden element of many people’s lives—having a family member incarcerated; and how it affects a child (young sibling)

#ThisBookTheseReasons

📚👍

Make it a #HatTrickLit experience with these two⬇️

This was a great interactive reading experience filled with incredible art.

It will be a popular sign-out, for sure, in any library.

For a #HatTrickLit experience, pair readers with mindbending Meanwhile by Shiga, and one of the recent reboots of the original Choose Your Own Adventure series.

Three pictures of the covers of the three GNs mentioned. sandy and Tallulah are pictured here on the cover floating in front of their spaceship or space station windows. The book is by Molly Brooks.

The cover of Zita. A young space girl stands in a. White pants and tunic outfit with gray gloves and boots and a bright green cape flowing behind her while standing in a superhero arms akimbo pose. Lots of other space, scenery and space city scenery, plus some of the characters from the book are in the background.

The cover of Dumplins. A purple haired young girl and a funky space suit with giant gravity boots strides across a crunched robot while holding the hand of a strange alien character, and dragging behind her a chicken dress like a human professor. Lots of other space scenery in the background and there’s notably a giant whale-looking creature with open mouth floating towards her from the edge of the book.

Thinking Grace Needs Space could be easily turned into a #HatTrickLit of #FourScores space GN #ReadAlike festival by pairing it w/ Sanity & Tallulah, Zita the Space Girl, and/or Space Dumplins.

Such a great adventure novel!! Nuts To You, by Lynne Rae Perkins. An engaging anthropomorphic squirrel society, yet still has interesting facts about real squirrels and habit loss due to human intervention in an area woven in. From catalogue record: “After surviving being carried off by a hawk, a young squirrel resolves to find his way home, as his best friends begin their search for him.”

Scaredy Squirrel picture book, by Mélanie Watt. It features a nervous grinning cartoonish squirrel peeking up from the bottom of the cover,waving at the viewer—the title is at the top with a large red arrow pointing to Scaredy. Catalogue summary: “Scaredy Squirrel is afraid to leave his nut tree, but when he is finally one day forced out of his home, he discovers some interesting things about the great unknown.”

Pic book: Secret Life of Squirrels, which shows a real squirrel appearing to be dropping a letter into a blue drop-mouth mailbox. The author/photographer, Nancy Rose, builds dollhouse type props and sets and waits for curious squirrels to interact with them outdoors. "Mr. Peanuts, a rather unusual squirrel who enjoys playing the piano and reading, learns that everything is more fun with a friend"--Provided by publisher.

If a person wanted to pair some other books with Evergreen to make it a squirrelly #HatTrickLit or #FourScores experience, these picture books and novels would take you on that journey…

OTHER book rec 📚👍 pairings, folks?

(See also, alt text details)

Several images from The Sartorial Librarians. In the top left corner, the cover of the book Together We Swim, which shows a mother guiding her son through a swimming lesson. In the top right corner, the logo of The Sartorial Librarians Podcast, featuring a close up of a sweater and tie. In the center, the cover of Together We Ride, where a father is teaching his daughter to ride a bike. In the bottom right corner a picture of The Sartorial Librarians - Christopher Hunt and Paul Vinelli, wearing the outfits to be discussed on this episode. In the bottom left corner the cover of the book I Love... by Minne and Natali Fortier. The cover features a child wearing enormous red shoes made for an adult.

Truncated images from The Sartorial Librarians, Episode 1. Some parts of the original top half of the picture are barely visible. But, in the bottom left is the cover of Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, where father and son bears are dressed in raincoats and waders, fishing poles over shoulders. In the bottom right corner a picture of The Sartorial Librarians - Christopher Hunt and Paul Vinelli wearing the outfits they discuss in the Library Looks portion of the show.

One image with four book covers in a row: The Perfect Sushi; Masala Chai, Fast and Slow; All We Need Is Love and A Really Soft Pillow; Dipnetting With Dad. Each one is about a child having special learning and sharing time with a loved adult.

Thinking on themes of special comfort moments w/ family members to make some #HatTrickLit, #FourScores, #QuintupLit pairing book recs 📚👍

In Ep 4, we talk up 3 such books:
Apple apple.co/4f4RTfl
Spotify bit.ly/3NmGhJ5

See also, Ep 1, father/son bears.

Consider pairing those w/ these…

ANY TO ADD?

3) When I do book recs, like #ThisBookTheseReasons, etc, I tend to suggest more pairings ( #ReadAlikes ) to extend the theme/topic, or make sets, via #HatTrickLit (3 great books) & #FourScores (4 greats)…
Look some up, if curious.
See also,
bsky.app/profile/exli...

4) Bookmarks 🔖 ⬇️

📚👍
Do you have book rec #ReadAlikes?

Wow! A fantastic,engaging, funky-illustrated,simple language,extensive look at all things related to Gender Identity For Kids,
by Andy Passchier. They really nailed it!

I’d suggest making it a #HatTrickLit or #FourScores w/ related A Kids Book About…

📚 #TLsky

Cover of Bink and Gollie, by Kate DiCamillo and Alyson McGhee illustrated by Tony Fucile. It shows a very short, blonde wild-haired white girl rollerskating next to a very tall more kempt white girl rollerskating, which kind of sets up the opposites attract and complement each other aspects of their friendship throughout the series.

The cover of Cornbread and Poppy by Matthew Cordell. It shows two anthropomorphic mice in a very homey scene, sitting at very fancy wooden chairs and table having tea and biscuits, with a view of mountains out the window in between them. They look like they’re dressed warmly in boots and perhaps snow suits sweaters with tuques (yep, I’m Canadian, so those are tuques) on their heads.

The cover of snail and worm: three stories about two friends, by Tina Kügler. The cover is very jaunty. The title is hand lettered in bright red capital letters all slightly askew above and below that picture frame made out of twigs with a picture inside that shows a cartoony worm and snail smiling for the camera. There are loose leaves strewn about the cover and plant leaves stretching into the picture.

Alright, we need more book recs📚👍that fit the above⬆️category, folks.

#HatTrickLit experience: add to Bear & Bird by pairing it with Bink & Gollie and Cornbread & Poppy.
Then, make it #FourScores by adding in Snail & Worm Are Friends.

More?

(Also, I love a good ampersand, which all three use here)

📚👍
I have a few kids at the library who are obsessed with foxes. They were in their glory when I put this book in their hands: How To Find A Fox.

Pair it w/ upcoming And, Too, The Fox, plus my all-time favourite Fox for a #HatTrickLit experience (three guaranteed scores)…
We talk about Fox here…

Looking through more of my old place #ThisBookTheseReasons book rec tweets and found a good thread of #BodyPositivity ones…

See next comment for pics extending from #HatTrickLit pairings to #FourScores experiences on the theme…

📚
I’m going to revive my practice of sharing book pairings (a.k.a., #ReadAlikes) with my hashtags #HatTrickLit (the main rec + 2 pairings) and #FourScores (adding a 4th pairing), like so…

ExLibrisMrHunt on Instagram: "#ThisBookTheseReasons One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey, by @henrycoledraws, has gorgeous black & white drawings with tons of texture, shading, crosshatching...and one i... 5 likes, 0 comments - exlibrismrhunt on November 1, 2020: "#ThisBookTheseReasons One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey, by @henrycoledraws, has gorgeous black & white drawings with tons of texture, s..."...

Such a great book. Beautiful artwork. I once wrote a #ThisBookTheseReasons review of it, complete with some #HatTrickLit book pairings ideas, for those wanting to know a little more about how/why this is useful.

www.instagram.com/p/CHECB-wBRi...

#ThisBookTheseReasons
I read The Mona Lisa Vanishes… last week. It was even better than the Siebert hype I’d heard. I’d read about the famous theft before, via these #HatTrickLit pairings, but this engaging story packed in tons and f new details (re: Leonardo & the theft) with major flair. It has…

I Want has parents skillfully dissuading a daughter from wanting so many dogs (at bath time, asking how will you bathe them?, etc).

Make it a #HatTrickLit experience: pair this multitude of canines on every page with The Very Kind…, plus Miss Moon, to see the joy of illustrating so many pooches.

Here are some consent #readalikes to make Connor Kissed Me into a #HatTrickLit or #FourScores experience…

(Related to side-eye,) There’s also a very satisfying hidden cover.

An ode to an ode as back matter guides adults to an idea about how the book could be a mentor text for writing similar odes with kids.

#HatTrickLit pairings?
See pics…

Cover of the picture book I Am A Tornado, by Drew Beckmeyer. Read ALT for next pics for pairings to go with this book…

Book: When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry… One of four pairings shared in these images. All are Social Emotional Learning (SEL) books about anger management. See also, Norton Juster’s Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie about mood swings and finding equilibrium.

Book: The Snurtch.

Two book covers: Ravi’s Roar and Sometimes I’m Bombaloo.

#ThisBookTheseReasons
Masters the voice of the irrationally angry. Literal tornado weather knowledge combined with metaphorical tornado anger management. A very soothing good listener cow. “I’ll be right here, Tornado.” Very satisfying.

#HatTrickLit experience? #FourScores? Pair with…
(See pics)