A few months ago we checked out City Cat(2013) by Kate Banks from the library.  It is an incredibly fun story about a very smart stray cat who wants to go on a European adventure with a family.  City cat travels through Europe to Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany.  It is beautifully illustrated by Lauren Castillo.  I quickly fell in love with City Cat and am sure you will too, just watch this book trailer.

This book was my introduction into the beautiful illustrating style of Lauren Castillo, she has such an incredible talent, I wanted to share some of her books with you and one very special one that will be published in April.

Yard Sale(coming in April of 2015) written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Lauren Castillo, a book about big changes for one petite, her family is moving from their home into an apartment and she needs to get rid of a lot of her things in order to fit everything into their new home.  I think that this book speaks to so many families who have had to downsize and move to new home, but why I am so excited about this book is the message that home is who you choose to live with not where you live.

Nana in the City (2014) written and illustrated by Ms. Castillo is a 2015 Caldecott Honor Book.  This book is about a little boy who goes to visit his nana in the city at her new apartment.  At first he doesn’t like the city, it is too busy, too loud and too scary.  Nana assures him in the most delightful way by making him a red cape that helps him to be brave.  The next day the two explore the city and the boy begins to realize that the city is quite extraordinary.

The Troublemaker (2014) written and illustrated by Ms. Castillo is about a boy who is bored on a warm summer day, he takes his sisters rabbit and of course gets caught and is in trouble.  When other items start to go missing everyone assumes it’s the brother, but this time there is another culprit.  Just wait until you see who is the mischievous one stealing everyone’s snugglies.

 The Reader (2012) written by Amy Hest and illustrated by Lauren Castillo – let me start by saying that this book had me at the title.  I love books about books and reading.  This book is about a little boy who has a pup and a suitcase and they are on a mission.  It is quite snowy out and our protagonist is pulling a red sled along with his suitcase, it is a tough job, but he is ready for the challenge.  They get to the top of a big hill and this is where the two decide to stop and read their story together.  After they are done sharing in their story on the snowy hill off they go on the sled.  It is a really sweet story about a reader enjoying a story with his pup.

I adore Lauren Castillo’s amazing illustrations.  She has a Society 6 shop Studio Castillo where you can check out more of her designs, like totes, prints, shirts etc.  These are just a few her most recent books, I am sure your petites will love them.  I love that so many of these books feature little boys who are kind, inquisitive, readers, sensitive, strong and brave.  I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the months to come.

Make sure to check in tomorrow for details