Disclosure: I received books to review. Opinions shared are mine.

I’ve been so impressed by the beautiful books that have published recently for children. Today’s children’s books contain houghtful text, art-quality illustrations, and meaningful topics. Check out this treasure trove of books from Prestel Junior!

When I See Red by Britta Teckentrup (September 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7494-9; Hardcover $14.95; Ages 4+; 40 pages)

This book gives children an age-appropriate way to describe their emotions. You’ll find yourself amazed with the depth of this topic.

The heroine of this beautifully illustrated story feels her anger like a storm in a dark forest. It sweeps her away, and she thunders and howls. She pours down her emotions like sheets of rain; rage surges like a wind whipping angry waves. Her anger takes her on a wild ride.

Appropriate for a wide variety of ages, this book illustrates many aspects of anger that are often hard to articulate— how overwhelming it is, how isolating, even scary. But it also shows anger to be a source of power and an agent for change. Teckentrup’s impactful, boldly colored paintings skillfully evoke the way intense anger can take us on an emotional journey, one that can be both exhausting and affirming. This beautiful tribute to one girl’s experience of anger offers readers the opportunity to make sense of, and talk about their own feelings of rage in a time when that kind of understanding is more important than ever.

The Weather Pop-Up Book by Maike Biederstaedt (September 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7393-5; Hardcover $25; Ages 5+; 15 pages)

I loved playing with this book! Pop-up books are fun, and this one makes learning seem like a game.

In her hugely successful books Creatures of the Deep and What’s in the Egg?, as well as her enormously popular series of greeting cards for the Museum of Modern Art, Maike Biederstaedt has established herself as one of the preeminent paper artists working today. Now Biederstaedt takes book engineering to new heights as she immerses readers in five electrifying weather scenarios. As each spread unfolds, a meticulously designed landscape emerges—a freighter balances like a nutshell between high waves in the sea; a tornado takes terrifying aim at a truck trying to outrun it; a rain-spewing storm cloud towers like a skyscraper over a farm house. Nature’s delicate beauty emerges in the intricate shapes of a snowflake and in the luminous arc of a rainbow. Each page features an informative description of its weather event and the book closes with sobering commentary on the effects of climate change. A wondrous introduction to weather for budding climatologists, this is also an artistic tour de force that collectors will treasure.

At the Height of the Moon edited by Alison Baverstock, Matt Cunningham, and Annette Roeder (November 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7480-2; Hardcover $24.95; Ages 5+; 160 pages)

You’ll wonder if this book was actually written for adults. It has the most beautiful artwork, combined with classic works of literature and poetry.

Drawing from centuries of artistic and literary traditions from around the world, this gorgeous bedtime book pairs works of art with poems and short fiction. Divided into eight thematic sections it features dozens of double-paged spreads that families will turn to again and again as part of their bedtime routine. The carefully chosen, diverse selection of images includes works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Utagawa Hiroshige and Henri Le Sidoner among many others, beautifully reproduced in luminous color. Accompanying these artworks are poems, meditations and short fiction that range from lighthearted verse to eerie folktales. Together these words and pictures create meaningful impressions that children will treasure and remember as they drift off to sleep—and hold onto for the rest of their lives.

The Book of Labyrinths and Mazes by Silke Vry and illustrated by Finn Dean (September 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7474-1; Hardcover $19.95; Ages 7+; 96 pages)

Remember the book of puzzles you used to enjoy as a kid? This is the new-and-improved version! I especially liked that it contained mythology.

This brilliant book on mazes and labyrinths in history and the modern world encourages young readers to really think about why these puzzles are so appealing. Filled with photographs, drawings, artwork, illustrations, and puzzles, it takes a thematic approach to these enigmatic works. Why are we sometimes afraid to get lost—and why does the idea excite us? How do mazes and labyrinths figure in history and mythology? What can nature tell us about humankind’s obsession with lines, spirals, and patterns? Along the way children will learn about the labyrinth designed by Daedalus for King Minos in the ancient city of Crete; the mystery of the Hemet Maze Stone in southern California; and the magnificent labyrinth at the Cathedral of Chartres. They are encouraged to trace their fingers along a labyrinth to experience its soothing effect, to solve maze-related number puzzles, and to create their own mazes and labyrinths. Packed with fun facts and engaging ideas, this book will help children understand why mazes and labyrinths are so popular, while inspiring them to identify and create these fascinating puzzles in their own world.

The Day Time Stopped by Flavia Ruotolo (October 2021; ISBN: 978-3-7913-7489-5; Hardcover $14.95; Ages 5+; 48 pages)

What a fun way to introduce science concepts!

One afternoon in Italy, a little girl is about to take a bite of her delicious popsicle when time . . . stops. At that very moment, across the planet, people and animals are frozen in action— captured by this book’s warm, quirky illustrations and clever, time-stamped captions. A penguin hatches in South Georgia; a little girl gets a haircut in Brazil; a family sits down to breakfast in California; a tiger falls asleep in Bangladesh; a boy’s football ball gets stuck in a tree in Cape Verde. The sheer enormity of planet Earth can be impossible for young kids to grasp. Here, in this playful introduction to time zones, hemispheres, and life in different climates, kids will identify with all the ordinary things going on at the same time in our extraordinary world.

One lucky reader will win all 5 hardcover books thanks to Prestel Junior! The giveaway is open to US readers ages 18+. Void where prohibited by law. Good luck!