Review by Amanda Smith

One author –
                    pen crafting inspiring scenes
One illustrator –
                     brushes brimming with colorful dreams
One picture book –
                   overflowing with heroes and queens.

One Perfect Plan: The Bible’s Big Story in Tiny Poems (WaterBrook), written by Nancy Tupper Ling and illustrated by Alina Chau makes the essence of the Bible accessible to young readers in a colorful and engaging way. Each spread features two or more stories from the Bible, written in easy-to-understand language. Nancy’s “tiny poems” are laced with affirming messages of love and hope. Repetition and a catchy refrain invite young listeners to “read” along.

Alina Chau’s soft illustrations unfurl and flow in vivid watercolors across the pages, perfectly complimenting Tupper Ling's lyrical writing. Rife with symbolism and layered details, young readers will love pouring over the pages – perhaps while their adults tell them the more complete stories summed up in the poems. (Scriptural references are listed underneath each poem.)

Whether one reads this book in one sitting, or use it as a jumping off point for deeper study, One Perfect Plan: The Bible’s Big Story in Tiny Poems imprints the message of God’s love on the readers’ hearts.

WaterBrook also created a five-day devotional with YouVersion that readers could use alongside the book to dive deeper into the stories. You can access that here.

On Writing:
In One Perfect Plan Nancy Tupper Ling condenses a document of over 1,200 pages into a 435-word picture book keeping the overall theme intact, and ensuring each poem and each page drives towards the main message. Bravo, Nancy!

Whether you are writing a biographical picture book, or something based on a big historical event, or if you want to make other lengthy historical texts accessible to young readers, One Perfect Plan serves as an excellent mentor text for tight language, laser-like focus, and a kid-friendly approach.
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Learn more about Nancy 's books www.nancytupperling.com/ and visit Alina Chau's dreamy gallery to learn more about her artwork and other books.

Review by Annie Cronin Romano

Some children love the magic of words and books. Others are fascinated by different interests, such as music, dance, animals, or sports. In LEO + LEA, Wesolowska tells the story of a young child, Leo, who is intrigued by numbers. When the chaos and noise of the schoolyard overwhelm him, Leo seeks out a quieter spot to focus on his love of numbers. He is soon joined by his new classmate, Lea, and discovers that he is not alone in his unique interest, for Lea adores patterns and includes them in her artwork. Together they share their intersecting fascination with numbers and patterns with their teacher and classmates and embrace their new friendship.

Monica Wesolowska’s debut picture book LEO +LEA (Scholastic Press, 2022) employs sparse, lyrical text, and cleverly uses the Fibonacci sequence as the numbers in the story as she depicts Leo’s blooming interest in math. (And no, I didn’t pick up on that fact on my own—thank goodness for the author’s note!) The illustrations by Kenard Pak are equally evocative and expressive, using subtly increasing intensity in the colors as the story progresses (also inspired by Fibonacci’s sequence as pointed out in the artist’s note). The author and illustrator meld the interaction of text and art seamlessly, allowing each to contribute uniquely to the unfolding of the story’s events. The subtle themes of individuality, friendship, and celebrating all interests comes through clearly yet gently. A delight to read aloud, LEO + LEA is a story that you’ll want to count among your picture book collection. This treasure is also an excellent social-emotional selection for the classroom. (Fiction picture book for ages 4-8)

On Writing
Monica Wesolowska’s debut picture book (she has written for adults) is a strong example of sparse, balanced, and well-paced writing that takes a unique approach to conveying the importance of recognizing and embracing the interests of all.