oh tight!
My favorite books for January 2026
The Wildest Thing by Emily Winfield Martin
This is the same author as another recent fave, The Littlest Family's Big Day, which was an homage/sorta sequel to "The Little Fur Family." Winfield Martin seems to like this vibe, as her new book is definitely a nod to the classic "Where the Wild Things Are."
Compared to Maurice Sendak's work, this is quite a bit more chill and friendly. (WTWTA scared the holy hell out of me when I was a kid) (I really love it now). This one is about a girl with loving supportive parents and she goes on a relatively non-threatening dream adventure with animals and plants taking over her house.
Personally I prefer the original text with it's unnerving danger and abusive parents, but this is still a really stunning work and a very early contender for best picture book of the year. Jane (4) loves this book.
This one has a ton of hype around it and it's well deserved. Like the above title, it's a story of a kid getting lost in their imagination. This one is very cute and super relatable, especially for parents who have had to put up with kids who complain about the titular issue. Great art and a fun twist at the end.
What a Small Cat Needs by Natalia Shaloshvili
Another for the list of translated artsy picture books that are clearly not made by AI that Reilly loves. This one is capital W Wonderful. Absolutely beautiful art and quiet writing. Reading it to Jane, she was very attentive, curious and enthralled.
A grown up book I enjoyed:
This one came out a bit ago but I picked it up because I am trying to read more historical fiction. There is a wonderful ladies book club where I work and I've suddenly become their book recommender. They really like historical fiction. I only like historical fiction that is short and atmospheric, less detail oriented. It's hard to find. This book by Lauren Groff really worked for me. It's a fictional account of the entire life of the writer Marie de France.
A bastardess cousin of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie is shunted off to a broken down abbey to become a nun. Although she is an atheist, she realizes quickly that she's very good at running things and starts to turn around the fortunes of the abbey while also grappling with her stifled queerness. Over the years she becomes the head abbess, bans all men from their territory and builds a labyrinth, among other feats.
I really enjoyed this. It's at times very bleak and upsetting, but astonishingly I came away from it feeling pretty good about life. One of the better novels I've read in a while.
That's all for January, thanks for being here!