It’s time for more books! I get so excited every month when new picture books come out and this month, there are quite a few! Check out these new April picture books that were released in 2024.
I’m sharing all of these books on video as well! Check out the New Books April 2024 on my Youtube channel.
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New Books April 2024
All I Need to Be by Rachel Ricketts
An inspiring picture book guiding children in heart-centered and mindfulness-based practices in the face of fear, anxiety, and racial injustice.
When the world gets to be too much, we can always take a moment to look within ourselves for love, support, and healing. This lyrical mindfulness guide filled with an inspiring, positive self-esteem message helps young ones, especially Black and Brown children, feel big feelings and celebrate their whole being.
Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George
Aloha Everything, is a magical story that will take you on a journey through the islands of Hawaiʻi!
In this exciting adventure, you’ll encounter mighty canoes crashing over ocean waves, regal hawks soaring high above the clouds, and brilliant lizards jumping nimbly through forest trees! Most importantly, you’ll meet a courageous young girl named Ano who learns, grows, and comes to love her island home with all her heart.
Aloha Everything is both a captivating read and a fantastic educational resource for learning about Hawaiian history, ecology, and culture. There is also a pronunciation guide and glossary providing additional information for those looking to learn more about the rich language and culture of Hawai’i.
How Animals Sleep by Jiri Dvorak
How do animals sleep? Curious young minds will discover the variety of ways the animals featured in this picture book sleep. Some sleep nearly all the time while others hardly at all; some sleep underwater while others standing on one leg; some sleep in snow while others in the baking hot desert. . .
Animals featured: Pelicans, Parrotfish, Bumblebees, Sea Otters, Seals, Polar Bears, Flamingoes, Hazel Dormice, Giraffes, Cats, Green Tree Pythons, Foxes, Peacocks, Camels, Dogs, Common Swifts.
Archie Celebrates an Indian Wedding by Mitali Banerjee Ruths
Kindhearted Archie is back! Her Poppy Uncle is getting married in a big Indian wedding, and Archie and new friend Emma realize that love and fun are universal.
In this cross-cultural friendship story, Archie helps Emma, who isn’t Indian, learn everything she needs to know when Archie’s Poppy Uncle and Emma’s Auntie Julie get married. The girls go to the mehendi party and sangeet together. They help Julie at the wedding, steal Poppy’s shoes, and eat ladoos at the reception. Now Archie and Emma are friends—and cousins!
Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle
Butt or Face? Volume 2 continues the delightfully cheeky challenge with a whole new set of animals from all over the world. Examine a close-up photo of an animal and then guess whether you’re looking at the top or the…um…bottom. The answer is revealed on the next page with a compete photo of the animal!
Also included are factual animal details along with how these animals use camouflage or other trickery to engage with their home. Readers will discover animals like the alien butt spider who turns leaves into burrito-like hideaways, the leaf-tailed gecko whose body mimics the leaves and bark of a tree, and many more!
How to Catch a Dream by Alice Walstead
From the How to Catch series comes an all-new story about life’s greatest adventure: catching your dream!
This time, there are no traps to build or maps to follow, but only milestones to achieve! Everything you need to catch your biggest dream is already in you! How to Catch a Dream is a celebration of resilience, bravery, persistence, and true belief in yourself.
A great big world is out there waiting…It holds your biggest dream it’s true. Excitement, joy, and adventure are ready…Now catching the dream is up to YOU!
From My Head to My Toes by Aly Raisman
From My Head to My Toes gently introduces young readers to the topics of consent and bodily autonomy in a positive way. Cheerful and informative, this story focuses on the powerful message of self-love. Aly’s inspiring words are paired with expert-vetted resources, giving adults the tools to begin having these essential conversations with kids from a young age.
Love Grows Here by Chloe Ito Ward
After a racist encounter, an Asian American girl decides to fight hate by spreading love. Aiko learns that Japanese Americans were once put in prison camps in her own country―the US―and that there are still some people who don’t like her, for no reason. But Aiko also learns that people respond to acts of kindness.
Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo
Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris “make the good and noble choice” (as the king on his prized sardine can might recommend) and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences?
Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm by Lindsay H. Metcalf
Discover how both outdoor and indoor farms sustainably grow the food we eat throughout the year in this vibrant, rhyming picture book.
Discover how the food you eat is grown both outside—and inside! Join two children as they explore the inner workings of an outdoor farm and an indoor farm. You’ll see how a variety of amazing machinery like tractors and drones along with innovative farming techniques yield the wonderful food we all love to enjoy.
A Place for Feelings by Corey Ann Haydu
A poetic picture book about what to do when your feelings are just too big to put somewhere—a gentle encouragement for young readers looking to find ways to share their feelings instead of keeping them hidden.
In Mara’s very tidy town, there’s a perfect place for everything. There’s a rose garden for roses. A rack in Mara’s hallway for her muddy-day shoes. There’s even a jar for cinnamon-swirl-rainbow-sprinkle cookies. But when Mara’s feelings are too wild, too messy, too much, where will they fit?
Not a Smiley Guy by Polly Horvath
From the day he’s born, Ernest has few complaints. His family is lovely; the world has a lot to offer. He’d like there to be more elephants around, but hey, you can’t have everything. Ernest is just as happy as the next guy.
The trouble is, everyone around him is obsessed with smiling. His parents smile when he learns to walk, when he learns to talk, when he learns to button up his snowsuit. But smiling just isn’t for Ernest, and they can’t let it go. When drastic, elephant-related measures are taken, and Ernest still doesn’t smile, the whole family learns that sometimes loving someone means meeting in the middle.
Not a Smiley Guy is an ideal conversation starter for kids just discovering that we each have our own ways of showing how we feel. Readers who struggle to be understood will resonate with Ernest!
The Truth About the Couch by Adam Rubin
Most people think couches are just for sitting, or maybe napping, and don’t give it a second thought. But did you know couches can go berserk if you don’t feed them a steady diet of coins, cell phones, and remote controls? And did you know some couches are grown on a farm? (Where do you think the term couch potato comes from?) Some come from two chairs who love each other very much, and some are actually aliens in disguise. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…
Which of these new April books 2024 will you grab first? Your students are sure to love all of them! And, if you are looking for more new books, check out these lists:
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Looking for more books to read aloud with your students? Grab this FREE list of books to teach Social Emotional Learning skills! SEL skills are more important than ever before. This book list of social emotional learning topics will make it so much easier to teach these skills to your students. The titles are split up by SEL skill and competency. This will make it easy for you to teach just one at a time!
Save these New April Books 2024
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to these new books when you are ready to read them aloud with your students.
