Publisher Preview Spring/Summer 2025: Part One Featuring Cuento de Luz, Post Wave, Lantana, Little Island, and Marble Press

Ha ha! It’s been a minute but I’m finally ready to show you a whole PLETHORA of cool books coming out this year from small publishers far and wide. Thanks to the machinations of Ellen Myrick and Publisher Spotlight I’ve all SORTS of books to show to you today. Enjoy the following!

The Vase with the Golden Cracks by Fran Nuña, illustrated by Zuzanna Celej

English ISBN: 9788419464958

Spanish ISBN: 9788419464934

Publication Date: May 6, 2025

The art of Kintsugi is the star of the show in this particular picture book. Now we’ve seen Kintsugi picture books before, but what I particularly like about this book is that the plot diverges a bit from the norm. In this tale a boy’s father owns a large, beautiful vase. Into this vase the man places words. These are words that only exist in the Japanese language and don’t really have an equivalent elsewhere. Curious? There’s a whole list of them at the back of the book (my personal favorite is “Irusu” or “The act of keeping quiet and pretending no one is home when someone knocks on your door”). When the boy accidentally breaks the vase, rather than getting upset the father teaches him the art of Kintsugi, repairing the cracks with gold. Since this book originally comes from a Spanish publisher, it’ll be published simultaneously in English and Spanish, with a Japanese language glossary in the back.

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A Little Sailing Lesson by Sara Stefanini

ISBN: 9798895090138

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Now we change gears and take a look at a book from an Italian author/illustrator. This is a dreamier and less plot-forward picture book title. It’s the kind of book unafraid to muse on life a little. Meet Aldo. An experienced sailor, he and his young companion take lessons from what’s happening around them on and around the sea. I’m not going to go so far as to label this a graduation picture book (you all understand what I mean by that term) but it’s definitely along those lines. A title that makes it clear that the journey is far more important, sometimes, than the destination.

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A Dog’s Tale: The Story of a Little Dog with a Big Imagination by Kiko

ISBN: 9798895090015

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

We’ve done Spanish. We’ve done Italian. I guess that means it’s time to do something a little French next, oui? Now I’ve more than one co-worker in my building that goes downright goofy for any picture book starring a pug. I don’t know what it is about pug owners, but they have an inability to resist seeing their little furry companions rendered in pen and inks on a page. This particular pug goes by the name of One-Eyed Jack (of course he does) and he’s unafraid to regale you with his tall tales. His adventures include everything from being rescued by a whale to finding an island and befriending the elephants there. Note the graphic novel style paneling used on the illustration pages. It’s an oddly beautiful piece for such a silly little premise.

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The Ordinary Life of Jacominus Gainsborough by By Rébecca Dautremer

ISBN: 9798895090107

Publication Date: May 27th

First off, 500 points for the titular rabbit’s name in this book: Jacominus Gainsborough. That’s just golden right there. The art in this story sort of strikes me as what would happen if you gave the picture book Animalia by Graeme Base a plot. In this tale, we are treated to twelve different scenes that take place in the various seasons. What’s more, Jacominus grows up over the course of the story. The end result is a celebration of a life. And those illustrated spreads? Every one of them is an homage to a great work of art. Little wonder that overseas the book has won the Grand Prix de L’illustration de Moulins, the Prix Franco-Allemand pour la Littérature de Jeunesse, and the Prix Chrétiens de Troyes.

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The Playdate by Uje Brandelius, illustrated by Clara Dackenberg

ISBN: 9781836290148

Publication Date: April 8, 2025

It’s not every picture book that’s written by a former Swedish press secretary AND former frontman of pop band, Doktor Kosmos. Personally, I love that Uje Brandelius decided to add “Picture Book Creator” to his resume as well. Now this title deals with a topic that we don’t see enough of in our picture books: economic diversity. In this story a girl goes for a playdate and slowly the reader comes to realize that the mom is a housekeeper and that the playdate is with the child of the woman who owns the house. Then comes a dire moment. The girl is having a great time but then she takes a toy from the boy’s pile of them. Now the mom’s job could potentially be in peril. The book reminded me, in some ways, of both Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes (the guilt!) as well as last year’s The Last Day Julian Was My Best Friend by Jody Jensen Shaffer. The difference? Neither of those books introduced this economic element. Fascinating stuff.

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Meep by Máire Zepf, ill. Paddy Donnelly

ISBN: 9781915071668

Publication Date: June 24, 2025

If you know me then you know that I go gaga for science fiction picture books. Science fiction anything, really, but picture books in particular. In this story our hero is the titular Meep, a little robot who is sent to Mars. While she is on the planet she searches for alien life and engages in all sorts of different adventures. One thing I liked about the book was that it made it clear that Meep was destined to return to Earth at the end. Consider this for those kids a bit too young to see The Wild Robot in theaters but very much into robots of every stripe. Me? I just love it whenever Mars shows up in a book.

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Giant by Judith McQuoid

ISBN: 9781915071637

Publication Date: June 3, 2025

A quick show of hands: How many of you knew that C.S. Lewis was raised in East Belfast in his formative years? Granted, this was probably covered in John Hendrix’s extraordinary dual biography Myth Makers from 2024. In any case, this isn’t a work of nonfiction. It’s a fictionalized novel, that follows Jacks (his nickname) and his friendship with a working class boy. Based on a true story the two have adventures and fun together and it’s a neat way to give a little insight into what C.S. Lewis might have been like as a child. For fans of historical fiction, Narnia, and life in the past.

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Giant Baby by Liz Rosenberg, illustrated by Eva Byrne

ISBN: 9781958325247

Publication Date: March 25, 2025

I mean, I thought I might end with that last book… and then I remembered the giant baby. Giant baby, you say? Sign us all up! All baby picture books are, to a certain extent metaphors. What I like so much about this one is just how blatant it is with its storytelling. In this story, Ezra seems all cute and small when you put him to sleep, but in the middle of the night he grows bigger and bigger. Then he goes out and has some fun on the town. The only trouble is, he absolutely has to get back to his bedroom before his parents come in to check on him. Goofy, silly, and did I mention that it involves a giant baby?

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That’s all I have for you today, but stay tuned next month when I’ll show you even MORE fun and eclectic titles from the small publishers. Thanks yet again to Ellen Myrick and her team for taking the time to show me all these incredible titles.

Filed under: Publisher Previews