Mario Makes a Move

According to Publishers Weekly in a starred review, this picture book “capture[s] the exuberance of the creative spirit alongside the quirks of a character accepting his limitations.” Mario is a squirrel who loves to invent amazing moves, like the Super Looper and Tail, Don’t Fail. But though his parents ooh and ahh at whatever he does, his friend Isabelle is not so easily impressed. When she points out that anyone can have a move, Mario must find some other way to stand out.

Sometimes being amazing is hard work, as shown in this zany yet accessible picture book from Jill McElmurry, illustrator of The One and Only Marigold and Little Blue Truck. Young readers will instantly recognize themselves in Mario, as he searches for his one-of-a-kind talent. Here is a hilarious read-aloud that will have little ones oohing and ahhing—and trying out some moves of their own.