While not book related, I just wanted to say I’m so excited about all the 5- to 11-year-olds who can now get their COVID-19 vaccine! Go get those babies vaccinated! I’m still eagerly awaiting approval for the 2–4 age group, but I’m so excited for the older kids. Of course, with a 3-year-old, I can do nothing of the sort, but I’m going to be leaving more picture book piles around the house in hopes she’ll want to snuggle and read! Hollie Hughes is the author of four picture books for children The Famishing Vanishing Mahoosive Mammoth (illustrated by Leigh Hodgkinson), Ninja Nan (illustrated by Natalie Smillie), Princess Swashbuckle (illustrated by Deborah Allwright), and The Girl and the Dinosaur (illustrated by Sarah Massini). I’m writing this on the first day of below-freezing temperatures here in Nashville, so I’m definitely feeling a strong desire to do nothing but read in my free time. In the winter, all I want to do is snuggle under blankets and read. I love hiking and being outside, but I can’t stand it when the weather gets too cold. While every season is an excellent time to read, I find the winter months particularly ideal for reading. While December might be a slower month for new releases, there are still so many excellent December children’s book releases, including continuations of popular series like The Questioneers and the Baby Loves Science board books, as well as two autobiographical picture books, one by politician and activist Stacey Abrams and another by the first Black lead in “The Nutcracker,” Charlotte Nebres.

The girl from dinosaur island