April & Mae and the Animal Shelter
Megan Dowd Lambert, author
Megan Dowd Lambert is the author of A Kid of Their Own, A Crow of His Own, Real Sisters Pretend, and Reading Picture Books with Children. Her experiences as a white mother of seven children in a blended, multiracial, queer, adoptive family inform her work as an author, reviewer, and educator. A former children's literature instructor at Simmons University, Megan reviews and writes for Kirkus and Horn Book; is a consultant with EmbraceRace, a community focused on race and kids; and serves on the curation team of Our Shelves, a subscription box service that features racially diverse, LGBTQ+, and feminist characters and families.
Read more about Megan.
Briana Dengoue, illustrator
Briana Dengoue is a Philadelphia-born-and-based illustrator and graphic designer. She holds a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and is a firm believer in the fact that representation matters. She is always hoping that her work reaches someone who may look like her and see the world like her.
Read more about Briana.
- Coming soon!
Children's Literature
April and Mae are best friends, and so are their cat and dog. Every day, they do an activity together. One day, they decide to help at an animal shelter. Since April and Mae are good at different things, they help the shelter in different ways. Mae makes and sells lemonade to raise money for the shelter. April writes a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, asking readers to adopt pets from the shelter. Cheery illustrations effectively show a range of emotions April and Mae experience throughout this story. Though both girls get discouraged along the way and worry their help won't be enough to care for all the animals at the shelter, they ultimately comfort and encourage one another. A positive message and gently paced story make this a great story—and buddy series—for early elementary school readers.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-262-7
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-414-0
Ages: 5-8
Page count: 48
6 x 9