Included on the SCBWI Recommended Reading List 2020 Everyone loves a parade, right? Well, almost everyone! In this colorful picture book, young readers can take a rollicking, rhyming journey through some of the most celebrated parades in the United States. Music, costumes, food, and fun. The sights and sounds of a parade are exciting! From Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year to St. Patrick's Day and LGBTQ+Pride, each celebration is a joy for kids, and most adults. With rhyming text and bold illustrations, children will love this festive and humorous look at some of the country's most well-known parades that features a surprise ending.

Exquisite artwork and an exceptionally tender text showcase the special bond between a mother and her daughter. Every day after school, Luisa goes to Walter's World of Beauty to watch her mama work—cutting, coloring, and curling customers' hair. Before they go home, Mama puts her tip money in a special envelope for Luisa—for college. She wants to give Luisa the world! But Luisa has a plan of her own. For Mama's birthday, Luisa wants to give Mama the world. . . . This touching story of a loving child and a single, hard-working mother is sure to be a favorite of families everywhere.

A funny and encouraging alphabetic book about all the things animals CAN'T do but kids CAN! Every parent teaching their children new skills will be happy to have this super-positive picture book on hand. Bees can't ride bicycles, penguins can't play ping-pong, and zebras can't go zip-lining. No one is good at everything, but that shouldn't stop you from trying! Here is a funny and encouraging picture book for any child learning how to tie their shoes, ride a bike, spell their name, or do a variety of new things. Follow a hilarious alphabet of animals, and see all the things they can't do but kids can—from doing gymnastics to flipping pancakes to playing a xylophone. Along the way, young readers will learn that it's okay if they can't do everything; they can still have a LOT of fun trying.

Every day is a new adventure down on the Dino Ranch! Come along with Min, Miguel, Jon, and their dino partners for pre-westoric fun! There is never a dull day down on the Dino Ranch! When the Tinhorns trick the Dino Ranchers, Min proves that no matter the circumstances, you should always do the right thing and help.Join siblings and junior ranch-hands Min, Miguel, and Jon as they work together to save the day!

Vincent Rubio, the most hard-boiled reptile detective ever, is back on the case in the third installment of Eric Garcia’s cult mystery series about dinosaurs who are still alive and committing crimes in L.A. Rubio’s latest assignment: the dinosaur mafia. As fans of Anonymous Rex and Casual Rex already know, the dinosaurs faked their extinction and live among us, disguising themselves as humans in elaborately designed latex costumes. Anyone could be a dinosaur. Your podiatrist. The crotchety old man who lives next door. Julia Roberts, it is well known, is actually a Stegosaur. When the head of the Raptor mafia asks Vincent Rubio to perform a service, he has no choice but to head for Miami to investigate a team of Hadrosaurs who are muscling in on Raptor territory. It’s dangerous business. Make the wrong move and your tail gets chopped off. Eric Garcia’s third Rex novel is a wildly entertaining mystery and an instant classic of dinosaur mafia fiction—further proof that this gifted author really knows where the bones are buried.

During her mother’s absence, a young girl discovers the joys of gardening—and the rewards of persistence and a sharp eye—in a sweet intergenerational story. A young girl must stay with her grandparents while her mother is in the hospital. At first, it’s hard at first to focus on anything but missing and worrying about her mom. But then Grandpa suggests that she help out in his garden. And what a garden it is! There are rows and rows of vegetables and all kinds of flowers, but the most beautiful of all are Grandpa’s sweet peas. Maybe, Grandpa suggests, she can take care of them over the summer and enter them into the flower show when the season ends. The problem is, nothing seems to go right with the sweet peas. No matter what she does, the flowers keep dying. Until finally, the mystery is solved—but will the sweet peas bloom in time for the show? If only her mother were there . . . With warm, child-friendly illustrations and a simple narration, author-illustrator Hazel Mitchell tells a timeless story about holding on to hope in hard times and finding the strength and determination to see it through. A brief author’s note at the end offers a bit of history and a few details about sweet peas for aspiring gardeners.