Math and Mooncakes: A Review of Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes (Storytelling Math)

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Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes (Storytelling Math) 
Written by Natasha Yim  
Illustrated by Violet Kim 
Published by Charlesbridge 
Ages 3-6 
Available August 12, 2025 

It’s time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Luna is excited to celebrate with her family! When her favorite cousin, Mina, comes to Luna’s house, they’re both looking forward to eating the delicious mooncakes that Mina’s mom brought for dessert. While they wait for dinner to cook, the girls play detectives and quickly discover a real-life mystery to solve: someone is stealing the mooncakes one by one! Luna and Mina follow each clue, including handprints, a blue thread, and a lost shoe, to find the thief, ruling out suspects as they go. When they discover Mina’s little brother, Bei-Bei, is the thief, they’re proud that they solved the mystery and can continue celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Natasha Yim’s newest installment in the Storytelling Math series creates a fun, intriguing story that showcases an important Chinese holiday. Yim’s interactive mystery encourages readers to consider clues alongside the girls to solve the case. At the same time, she showcases the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and how it can be celebrated. Yim explains more in the backmatter, where she tells readers when the festival happens and why, as well as how the reasoning skills in this story are important in math. She suggests other reasoning activities, like figuring out how the eight remaining mooncakes can be shared amongst 10 people. Violet Kim uses gouache, crayon, and colored pencil to create modern cartoon-style illustrations. Their bright, full-color palette brings the mystery and celebration to life. Her illustrations support the text in encouraging paying attention to detail by showing visual hints, like who is wearing blue clothes. Both entertaining and educational, Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes is great for supporting the development of critical thinking and reasoning skills.

Butler Bookshelf

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For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re celebrating books about identity, individuality, and being your authentic self. Our feature pick is So Devin Wore a Skirt by Shireen Lalji, illustrated by Lucy Fleming. Nanabapa’s birthday party is today, and the rest of Devin’s family have picked out their outfits for the party. Devin is going through all of his clothes, but he just can’t find something to wear. When he spots his sister’s skirt lying out, he thinks he’s finally found his perfect outfit. But what will everyone say? At first he tries to hide the skirt, but once his family sees it, he discovers that his family are happy to see him wearing whatever makes him happy.

Check out more picture books about being yourself below!

Alfred Blooms
Carrie Kruck
Illustrated by Carmen Mok
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

Kente for Jojo
Bernard Mensah
Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

The Littlest Drop
Sascha Alper
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
Random House Children’s Books/Anne Schwartz Books
Available now!

Many Things at Once
Veera Hiranandani
Illustrated by Nadia Alam
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

So Devin Wore a Skirt
Shireen Lalji
Illustrated by Lucy Fleming
The Quarto Group/Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Available now!

2025 Butler Scholar

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Each year, the Butler Children’s Literature Center is proud to offer one aspiring youth librarian additional supports during their MLIS journey. In addition to a financial award. the Butler Scholar is matched with a professional mentor and works with the Butler Center curator on events and the creation of a tool to support other youth librarians.

Kiara Lyons began her career as an English teacher, then worked in college access with underrepresented communities before making her way into library programming. Through her work in libraries, she hopes to create opportunities for people to engage in programming that is representative of the community and that celebrates diverse identities.

For more information about the award or to make a donation to the scholarship fund, please contact the Butler Children’s Literature Center at butler@dom.edu.

Butler Bookshelf

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Graphic novels are a favorite of readers and librarians everywhere — and one of the best things about them is that they can cover almost any subject, all while packed with fun and engaging pictures. This week, we’re looking at a selection of the graphic novels in the Butler Center’s collection. Our feature pick is Camp Frenemies by Liz Montague. After her sixth grade teachers declare her unsociable, Bea is sent packing for a week at summer camp, At Camp Chordata, everyone seems to think she’s weird for carrying around her stuffed rabbit, Roger, and her new “nestmate,” Virginia, seems set on ruining her life. But as the week wears on, Bea begins to discover that being sent to summer camp isn’t the prison sentence she thought it would be.

Check out more graphic novels below!

Camp Frenemies
Liz Montague
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

Fart Boy and Reeky Dog
Joan Holub
Illustrated by Rafael Rosado
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Free Piano (Not Haunted)
Whitney Gardner
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Available now!

Halfway to Somewhere
Jose Pimienta
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

On Guard!
Cassidy Wasserman
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Celebrating Our Differences: A Review of We’re Different and it’s Totally Cool!

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We’re Different and it’s Totally Cool!
Camey Yeh
Random House Children’s Books/Crown Books for Young Readers
Ages 3-6
Available July 22nd, 2025

We’re Different and it’s Totally Cool! is a celebration of all of the things that make us different and unique from one another. Yeh points out the ways that everyone is special, on the outside and within, and the things we have in common with each other. In the end, being different is what makes each person interesting!

Yeh’s book is packed full of color and visual interest. The striking illustrations are bold and bright, and made to draw attention. There’s lots to hunt for on each page, including a variety of human and animal characters who reoccur throughout the book. Simple phrases and repetition build a story that’s easy to follow along with, leaving the pictures as the star of the show.

Yeh’s message of diversity and individuality will be a good introduction to the concept of differences for young readers as they begin to enter daycare or school and begin to meet and interact with a wide variety of people. Exciting visuals mean the potential for re-reads is high, and the book may be enjoyed over and over again.

Butler Bookshelf

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July is Disability Pride Month, and we’re celebrating by highlighting a selection of the Butler Center’s picture books about disability. Our feature pick is Marcel With a Splash by Julia Sorensen, translated by Shelley Tanaka. When Marcel is born, he seems just like any other baby, except for his webbed toes. Soon, though, his doctors notice signs that he has Down syndrome. Too young to know or care what these words mean, Marcel grows and learns at his own pace in his pre-school days. Filled with evocative colored pencil illustrations, Sorensen’s book follows Marcel through his early life, his struggles, and his triumphs.

Check out more picture books on disability below!

Ady and Me
Rich Pink and Roxy Pink
Illustrated by Sara Rhys
The Quarto Group/words & pictures
Available now!

All About Brains: A Book About People
Lake Bell
Illustrated by Rachel Katstaller
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Available now!

Marcel With a Splash
Julia Sorensen
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press
Available now!

Seven: A Most Remarkable Pigeon
Sandra Nickel
Illustrated by Aimee Sicuro
Available now!

Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe
Amy S. Hanson with Wanda Diaz Merced
Illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza
Available August 19, 2025

Butler Bookshelf

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Today marks the start of National Anti-Boredom Month during the month of July. To celebrate, we are sharing a list of books for all ages that may just hold the perfect cure for boredom. Whether it’s a book to teach a little one how rocks change or a thrilling young adult novel full of twisty secrets to uncover, there are books on this list to educate, entertain, and encourage creativity this month and beyond. An especially adventurous title on this list is The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn’s Great Big Wish by Shawn Harris. In this charming picture book, readers meet the teeny-weeny unicorn again on his newest quest. This time, he’s trying his hardest to become big like he’s always wished he could be. When a fairy princess hears about his wish, she tells him that it will come true he finds something “teeny-weeny-er” (11). The teeny-weeny unicorn searches and searches until his finds a tiny bud. By the time he gets back to the princess, the bud has blossomed–and his little sibling wobbles out! Paired with Harris’s bright and colorful chalk pastel illustrations, this sweet picture book is just right for any soon-to-be big siblings.

Check out more boredom-busting books below (and follow our blog and social media pages to discover more new reads everyday)!

At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom
Written by Erin Entrada Kelly
Published by HarperCollins Publishers/Greenwillow Books
Available now

Rocks’ Journey
Written by Sally M. Walker
Illustrated by Kim Smith
Published by Candlewick Press/mit Kids Press
Available now

Snowglobe 2
Written by Soyoung Park
Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort
Published by Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press

Squeak Seeks!
Written by Peter Curtis and Patty Michaels
Published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/SIMON SPOTLIGHT
Available now

Survive This Safari
Written by Natalie D. Richards
Published by Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press
Available now

The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn’s Great Big Wish
Written and illustrated by Shawn Harris
Published by Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now

Portrait of a Portraitist: A Review of Daring: The Life and Art of Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun

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Daring: The Life and Art of Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun 
Written by Jordana Pomeroy 
Published by Getty Publications 
Ages 12-14 
Available July 29, 2025 

Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun was destined to become an artist. Born in France on April 16, 1755, her father saw her artistic potential and encouraged her to create art. Before she turned 20, she gained admittance to a prestigious union of painters called the Academy of Saint-Luc, building her reputation as a talented portraitist. She was forced to flee France during the revolution because of her loyalty to the monarchy. Elisabeth traveled through Europe with her daughter and her daughter’s governess, supporting them with her portraits of prominent figures, like Catherine the Great. After 12 years, Elisabeth was able to safely return to France, though she continued to love travelling throughout Europe and painting portraits. Elisabeth died at the age of 86, leaving behind a legacy as a trailblazing woman in Europe’s aristocratic art world. 

Pomeroy’s extensive knowledge of art and history, gained from her years of experience as a curator of many art museums, shines through in this biography. Pomeroy creates a detailed portrait of the artist and her work by drawing heavily on Elisabeth’s own memoir. She includes personal details about Elisabeth and her relationships while carefully reminding readers that Elisabeth’s perspective is just one side of the story. Pomeroy also masterfully incorporates other important historical people, events, and practices, such as information on wet nursing. This helps develop Elisabeth’s world and allows readers to better understand the society that she lived in. Images of Elisabeth’s famous paintings are included, as well as other work from other artists, showing readers both Elisabeth’s beautiful work and the work of her contemporaries and influences. Pomeroy includes notes, an index, and selected sources for further reading, as well as a brief “cast of characters” for quick reference at the beginning of the book. Overflowing with fascinating art history, this inspirational biography is great for highlighting the impact of women in the arts.  

Butler Bookshelf

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For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re celebrating cultures from all around the world! These books feature a wide variety of cultural traditions that bring people and families together, from Brazil to Korea to Iran. Our feature pick is A Festa for Luana, by Joana Pastro and illustrated Duda Oliva. Luana is excited to spend the summer visiting her grandparents in Brazil, and she arrives just in time for the Festa Junina — a monthlong festival of celebration. As she reckons with what it means to be Brazilian and American, Luana comes up with her own special ways to combine and celebrate the two cultures. Paired with Oliva’s vibrant soft pastel illustrations, A Festa for Luana captures the warm feeling of being at home within a family and a culture.

Check out more books about world cultures below!

Down on the Bayou
Glenda Armand
Illustrated by Alleanna Harris
Random House Children’s Books/Crown Books for Young Readers
Available now!

A Festa for Luana
Joana Pastro
Illustrated by Duda Oliva
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Picking Tea With Baba
Xu Bin
Translated by Shan Chen
Illustrated by Yu Yin
Charlesbridge
Available now!

Rose Weaves a Garden
Rashin Kheiriyeh
Random House Children’s Books/Anne Schwartz Books
Available now!

Shoes Off, Please
Helena Ku Rhee
Illustrated by Myo Yim
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

Working Harder and Smarter: A Review of Tenacious Won’t Give Up

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Tenacious Won’t Give Up
Pam Vaughan
Illustrated by Leanne Hatch
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Ages 3-7
Available June 24th, 2025

All of the kids in Tenacious’ neighborhood are having a Wheel Parade, and Tenacious wants to lead the charge on her bicycle. Once she sets her mind on something, she never backs down, and this is no different. But riding her bike is different than any challenge she’s ever faced before – even trying her hardest, she can’t seem to stop herself from crashing. When her sister, Sage, encourages her to work her “smartest” instead, Tenacious discovers that hard work and problem solving can go hand in hand.

The tale of Tenacious’ tenacity shows that trying a new approach can be just what we need to get past a hurdle. Vaughan’s story is fast-paced and engaging with a core message about perseverance and flexibility, with plenty of alliteration and onomatopoeia that make the story an exciting read aloud. Hatch’s illustrations are full of movement, capturing Tenacious’ bike rides in heavily textured full-page pictures.

Tenacious Won’t Give Up could be a wonderful motivator for readers facing a tough challenge, especially those who are learning to ride a bike.