Picture Book Roundup: Ordinary Wonders

The Night Walk, The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures, and The Lost Package focus on simple pleasures and everyday services we take for granted.

The Night Walk by Marie Dorléans. Floris Books, 2020, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 2-6

Does your family take walks? Some of our fondest memories are family walks around the block after supper. This family prefers the dark. In the middle of the night Mama wakes two sleepy kids: “Let’s go, so we get there on time.” Outside, they walk calm streets to the sound of crickets chirping and the scent of summer air. They meander past the hotel, past the last house on the edge of town, along the railroad tracks and up to a grassy meadow. After resting under the stairs for a while Papa reminds them, “We need to keep walking, so we get there in time.” And at the top of a rocky hill, they arrive in time . . . for sunrise.

A family experiences the everyday world from a unique angle and enjoys the discovery together. It might get  you thinking about planning your own night walk before summer’s over.

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Roaring Brook, 2021, 40 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 2-5

Roberta tells us that her calling is to rescue bugs and caterpillars, who are always getting into trouble: “Tiny creatures need friends who can rescue and understand them.” Her classmates don’t understand, and her teacher is always commanding her to wash up after handling worms. Not even the creatures understand sometimes (especially the ones that bite). Roberta doesn’t just rescue; she observes and studies and appreciates the tiny world. Her knowledge comes in handy when the classroom is infested with baby spiders and she knows how to get them outside where they belong. Budding nature-lovers may want to imitate her technique using paper origami boxes. If so, folding directions are included.

Overall rating: 4

The Lost Package by Richard Ho, illustrated by Jessica Lanan. Roaring Brook, 2021, 40 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 2-5

In Queens, New York, a girl wraps a box carefully for mailing and adds some artistic touches. It goes to the local post office, then to the central facility with its miles of conveyer belts and sorting machines. The next stop is the nearest airport to fly west, but on the way the truck hits a pothole and the package flies out. Lonely and neglected for at least a day, the box is finally discovered by a boy and his mother. They could have passed it by, but kindness intervenes, and the package eventually gets delivered in a once-in-a-lifetime twist of coincidence. Kids generally don’t wonder how those wonderful packages that arrive in the mail get where they’re going. This simple story may rouse their curiosity as well as their appreciation. The author has a soft spot for the USPS—be sure to read his note at the end.

Overall Rating: 4

Read more about our ratings here.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

Review: We Wait for the Sun is another “night walk” story.

Review: Kids who love tiny creatures will love The Beetle Book!

Reviews: Wondering about the “how” of other ordinary functions? See How Does My Home Work? for younger readers, and The Way Things Work Now for middle graders.

We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.