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Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom [Wayside School] by Louis Sachar; illus. by Tim Heitz Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 182 pp. g 3/20 978-0-06-296538-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-296542-4 $10.99 Yes, per the introductory author's note to this fourth book about the wacky elementary school, it's been forty years since the first...
A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story by Caren Stelson; illus. by Akira Kusaka Intermediate, Middle School Carolrhoda 40 pp. g 8/20 978-1-5415-2148-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5415-8219-4 $18.95 Each evening Sachiko’s family gathers around their table in Nagasaki, Japan. Before the Second World War, Grandmother’s bowl is the centerpiece...
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk Intermediate, Middle School Dutton 359 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55556-8 $17.99 Since the Great Depression forced twelve-year-old Ellie’s family to move from town up to Echo Mountain, she hasn’t known how to interact with her mother and older sister; they miss their former life and blame...
Not all deserving books bring home ALA awards. Our annual Mind the Gap Awards pay tribute to our favorite books that didn’t win. Here’s how we reviewed our 2020 winners. A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein; illus....
The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl; illus. by the author Primary Knopf 40 pp. g 8/20 978-1-9848-9336-9 $17.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-9337-6 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9338-3 $10.99 Wahl’s picture book tells an affecting story about loss and starting over. In it, interdependent text and art channel a Molly Bang–like artistic style...
How to Find a Bird by Jennifer Ward; illus. by Diana Sudyka Preschool, Primary Beach Lane/Simon 48 pp. g 8/20 978-1-4814-6705-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-6706-3 $10.99 “There are a lot of ways to find a bird.” The two children in this enticing and beautiful picture book demonstrate how. After doing...
Sharuko: El arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello by Monica Brown; illus. by Elisa Chavarri; trans. into Spanish by Adriana Domínguez Primary, Intermediate Children’s/Lee & Low 40 pp. g 8/20 978-0-89239-423-4 $19.95 This picture-book biography of Peruvian archaeologist and educator Julio C. Tello (1880–1947) forefronts...
With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle Middle School, High School Atheneum 150 pp. g 2/20 978-1-5344-2493-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-2495-1 $10.99 Written in first person, this heartfelt verse novel tells the fictionalized story of Rubén Darío (based on his autobiography), who was born...
I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner High School Imprint/Macmillan 347 pp. g 8/20 978-1-250-20769-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-20770-8 $9.99 Fourteen-year-old Maisie characterizes her 1960s coming-of-age in the Bronx as “one of those fairy tales / where the witch eats the child.” And for good reason. Her perfume mogul dad...
The Book of Fatal Errors by Dashka Slater Intermediate Farrar 322 pp. g 7/20 978-0-374-30119-4 $16.99 Slater (winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Nonfiction honor for The 57 Bus, rev. 1/18) here presents an entertaining, fantastical summertime story. Twelve-year-old Rufus’s grandfather lives at Feylawn, an estate overtaken by nature and,...
Worse Than Weird by Jody J. Little Intermediate, Middle School Harper/HarperCollins 265 pp. 3/20 978-06-285258-8 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-285253-3 $7.99 Expressing disapproval of one’s parents’ values and lifestyles is a rite of passage for many tweens, and Mac (short for MacKenna MacKensie MacLeod) is no exception. Her family lives off...
The Water Bears by Kim Baker Intermediate Lamb/Random 264 pp. g 4/20 978-1-9848-5220-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-5221-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-5222-9 $9.99 Newt Gomez dreams of leaving Murphy Island, his isolated home in the Pacific Northwest — especially after he was attacked by a bear a year ago, which left...
Cityscape: Where Science and Art Meet by April Pulley Sayre Preschool, Primary Greenwillow 40 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-289331-4 $17.99 Sayre (Warbler Wave, rev. 3/18; Being Frog, rev. 1/20) has a knack for pairing minimalist poetry with dramatic photographs. Here she turns her attention to urban settings where “science, math, art...
Whose Footprint Is THAT? by Darrin Lunde; illus. by Kelsey Oseid Preschool, Primary Charlesbridge 32 pp. 10/19 978-1-58089-834-8 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-63289-721-3 $9.99 Following the format of Whose Poop Is THAT? (rev. 3/17), Lunde poses the title question seven times about seven different animals in a series of four-page sequences,...
Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington; illus. by Theodore Taylor III Primary Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills 48 pp. 11/19 978-1-62979-558-4 $18.99 This picture-book biography of renowned African American entomologist Turner (1867–1923) begins with a signature quote: “The study of biology trains the powers...
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo High School Quill Tree/HarperCollins 422 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-288276-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-288278-3 $11.99 In this sharp and compelling verse novel (a 2020 Boston Globe–Horn Book honoree), sixteen-year-old Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and dreams of medical school. Sixteen-year-old Yahaira Rios...
Whoo-Ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story by Maria Gianferrari; illus. by Jonathan Voss Primary Putnam 32 pp. g 3/20 978-0-399-54842-0 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-399-54843-7 $9.99 Readers follow a pair of great horned owls and their owlets from winter into the next autumn in this life-cycle narrative told in haiku....
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 357 pp. 2/20 978-0-06-274253-3 $18.99 After a consensual (and vividly described) sexual encounter with her boyfriend that, to her surprise, ends in her beginning to menstruate for the first time, sixteen-year-old Bisou is attacked by a wolf on her...
The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown; illus. by the author Middle School, High School First Second/Roaring Brook 206 pp. 3/20 978-1-62672-925-4 $24.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-924-7 $17.99 In this dark graphic novel with an unconventional cast and setting — an ode to outsiders, “freaks,” and misfits everywhere — Jane and Isabel...
A New Green Day by Antoinette Portis; illus. by the author Preschool Porter/Holiday 40 pp. 4/20 978-0-8234-4488-5 $18.99 In this exuberant celebration of a summer day, readers engage with compelling page-turns to solve simple nature riddles. “Morning lays me on your pillow,” the book opens, “square and warm. Come out...
Where’s Baby? by Anne Hunter; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Tundra 40 pp. 1/20 978-0-7352-6498-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-7352-6499-1 $10.99 “Have you seen Baby, Mama Fox?” Mama Fox feels certain Baby is “somewhere,” and so Papa Fox begins the search, like a game of hide-and-seek. “Ba-by! Are you indoors?...
A Stopwatch from Grampa by Loretta Garbutt; illus. by Carmen Mok Primary Kids Can 40 pp. 4/20 978-1-5253-0144-5 $17.99 “When summer started, I got Grampa’s stopwatch. I don’t want his stopwatch. I want him.” The accompanying illustration shows a child sitting all alone on a porch swing, bereft. We next...
Kaia and the Bees by Maribeth Boelts; illus. by Angela Dominguez Preschool, Primary Candlewick 40 pp. 3/20 978-1-5362-0105-5 $16.99 Kaia knows that she should appreciate bees, and she would if she weren’t so scared of them. It doesn’t help that her apiarist father cares for two hives on the roof...
Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom; illus. by Shane W. Evans Primary Harper/HarperCollins 40 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-246331-9 $17.99 As Big Papa drives his (unnamed) grandson to school, he learns that the child would rather not go because he’s scared. The solution? Big Papa’s “time machine” — visually...
In the Role of Brie Hutchens… by Nicole Melleby Middle School Algonquin 265 pp. g 4/20 978-1-61620-907-0 $16.95 When the novel opens, thirteen-year-old Brie’s mother almost stumbles upon Brie looking at a soap opera star’s Playboy photos online. Brie distracts her mom by claiming (falsely) that she’s been chosen to...
Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt Middle School Chronicle 417 pp. 10/19 978-1-4521-7288-0 $18.99 Seventh grader Kate’s (“Ponytail”) life is largely defined by pressure from her mom to become captain of the cheerleading squad and by her friends’ similar expectations; less popular, gangly girl Tam (“Redwood”) has had a...
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 409 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-299029-7 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-299031-0 $9.99 Winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, this British verse novel by a poet and drag performer offers a welcome exploration of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality....
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski High School Farrar 358 pp. 3/20 978-0-374-30638-0 $18.99 As a member of the Half Kith (the lowest, most oppressed caste in society), Nirrim is focused on avoiding the notice of the militia, who extract tithes of blood, hair, and teeth from Half Kith they...
The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann; illus. by the author Primary Candlewick 56 pp. g 5/20 978-1-5362-0736-1 $17.99 City-dweller Ernestine has never been camping, but when Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha invite her, she gets her dad’s okay and starts preparing: new flashlight and sleeping bag, a homemade batch...
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly Intermediate, Middle School Greenwillow 392 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-274730-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-274732-7 $9.99 In the foreground of this novel are three siblings. Twelve-year-old Fitch lives for video games and is angry through and through. His twin sister Bird is an amiable,...
It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear; illus. by Julie Morstad Primary Harper/HarperCollins 48 pp. 10/19 978-0-06-244762-3 $17.99 "In early 1960s America, a country with laws that separated people by skin color," Japanese American artist Gyo Fujikawa (1908–1998) helped break the color barrier...
Green on Green by Dianne White; illus. by Felicita Sala Preschool, Primary Beach Lane/Simon 48 pp. g 3/20 978-1-4814-6278-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-6279-2 $10.99 Do we need another picture book about the seasons? When it’s this good, the answer is an emphatic yes. White’s text is written in eminently readable...
Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder; illus. by the author High School Dial 202 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55302-1 $18.99 This moving and candid graphic memoir offers a refreshingly honest portrayal of grief and growing into adulthood “for anyone struggling with loss who just...
In My Anaana’s Amautik by Nadia Sammurtok; illus. by Lenny Lishchenko Preschool Inhabit Media 24 pp. 4/20 978-1-77227-252-9 $16.95 A baby’s perspective of being held in its anaana’s (mother’s) amautik (“the pouch in the back of a woman’s parka where a baby can be carried”) is explored in lulling, sensory-rich...
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 218 pp. 9/19 978-1-328-96001-6 $22.99 Paper ed. 978-1-328-57549-4 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-358-12816-8 $8.99 Alexander's Newbery Medal–winning verse novel of the same name (rev. 5/14), about African American twins and middle-school b-ballers Josh and JB Bell, is an ideal choice for graphic-novel adaptation, with its on-court action, swaggering narrative voice, and poignant emotional pitches. Anyabwile's (of Alexander's Rebound,...
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate Crown 229 pp. 1/20 978-1-9848-9297-3 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-9298-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9299-7 $9.99 When G’ma asks Scoob to go on “a little adventure” during spring break, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes (especially since he’s been grounded for fighting...
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis with Traci Sorell Intermediate Tu/Lee & Low 209 pp. g 9/19 978-1-62014-839-6 $18.95 This novel (based on McManis's childhood) is set against the background of U.S. government actions beginning in the 1940s that terminated the status of many Native Nations and forced relocation of families living on reservations. With a stroke of the pen, in 1954, eight-year-old Regina Petit...
The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott; illus. by Geneva B Primary, Intermediate Random 170 pp. g 10/19 978-1-5247-7049-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-7050-1 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-7051-8 $9.99 According to Aunty, "every problem has a solution." But what if your problem is a dragon that won't stop growing? This sequel to Dragons in a Bag (rev. 9/18) alternates between Jaxon, the previous book's protagonist, and Kavita, sister of Jaxon's best friend Vikram....
Stella Díaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez; illus. by the author Intermediate Roaring Brook 196 pp. 1/20 978-1-250-22911-3 $16.99 This sequel to Stella Díaz Has Something to Say (rev. 5/18) finds Stella wanting to do something big: save the oceans. After a family vacation to Mexico, Stella (less shy...
Charlie & Mouse Outdoors by Laurel Snyder; illus. by Emily Hughes Primary Chronicle 48 pp. 3/20 978-1-4521-7066-4 $14.99 Their fourth outing (most recently Charlie & Mouse Even Better, rev. 5/19) takes the siblings into the Great Outdoors for a family camping trip…but first a “Boring” (the title of chapter 1)...
The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories [Fox + Chick] by Sergio Ruzzier; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Chronicle 56 pp. 3/19 978-1-4521-5289-9 $14.99 Ruzzier presents three more brief adventures, in hybrid picture-book/early-chapter-book/comic form, about friends Fox and Chick (The Party and Other Stories, rev. 3/18). The first...
Ants Don’t Wear Pants! [Giggle and Learn] by Kevin McCloskey; illus. by the author Primary TOON 40 pp. 9/19 978-1-943145-45-4 $12.95 In this fifth entry in the Giggle and Learn series of nonfiction early-reader comics (most recently, Snails Are Just My Speed, rev. 7/18), two peppy young people investigate ants’...
See Me Play [I Like to Read] by Paul Meisel; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Holiday 32 pp. 6/19 978-0-8234-3832-7 $15.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-4314-7 $9.99 The amiable yellow dog from Meisel’s previous entries in the estimable I Like to Read series (including Meisel’s Geisel Honor–winning See Me Run) returns...
Snail & Worm All Day by Tina Kügler; illus. by the author Primary Houghton 32 pp. g 9/19 978-0-358-06364-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-16846-1 $12.99 The two inveterate invertebrate pals (Snail & Worm, rev. 5/16; Snail & Worm Again, rev. 5/17) return in another set of adventures in three easy-reader-style chapters. “Best Day Ever,” as described by...
Hike by Pete Oswald; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Candlewick 40 pp. g 3/20 978-1-5362-0157-4 $17.99 A new day dawns as a father wakes his child so they can head out from their city home into the country to go on a daylong hike. They see all sorts of...
Summer Song by Kevin Henkes; illus. by Laura Dronzek Preschool Greenwillow 40 pp. 4/20 978-0-06-286613-4 $18.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-286614-1 $19.89 Henkes and Dronzek complete their seasonal quartet (beginning with When Spring Comes, rev. 3/16) with a joyful ode celebrating summer and its myriad natural wonders and seasonal sights and sounds....
This Place: 150 Years Retold by various authors; illus. by various artists Middle School, High School HighWater 265 pp. 5/19 Paper ed. 978-1-55379-758-6 $36.00
e-book ed. 978-1-55379-782-1 $29.00 This comics anthology celebrates Indigenous peoples and stories of Canada past, present, and future. In a foreword, writer Alicia Elliott asserts that Indigenous people have...
SLAY by Brittney Morris High School Simon Pulse 323 pp. 9/19 978-1-5344-4542-0 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4544-4 $10.99 "By day, I'm an honors student at Jefferson Academy. At night, I turn into the Nubian goddess most people know as Emerald." Seventeen-year-old narrator Kiera is not just a gamer; she is (secretly) the creator of the hugely popular multiplayer gaming community SLAY, which is...
Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco High School Sourcebooks Fire 371 pp. g 3/20 978-1-4926-7266-1 $17.99 Tala and Alexei are refugees from the magical kingdom of Avalon, living in the troublingly conservative Royal States of America. Alexei, the crown prince of Avalon, can use magic, while Tala has the...
Love from A to Z by S. K. Ali High School Salaam/Simon 342 pp. 4/19 978-1-5344-4272-6 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4274-0 $10.99 Zayneb, a Muslim American high school senior, leaves for spring break in Doha, Qatar, a week early when she is suspended for a note she wrote in class about her Islamophobic history...
The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas Middle School, High School Tu/Lee & Low 348 pp. g 9/19 978-1-62014-804-4 $19.95 Mulan has studied martial arts since childhood to prepare for her generation’s duel against a rival family for possession of two legendary swords. But the duel is postponed...
Maximilian & the Curse of the Fallen Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller [Max’s Lucha Libre Adventures] by Xavier Garza; illus. by the author Intermediate, Middle School Cinco Puntos 213 pp. g 1/20 978-1-947627-30-7 $19.95 Paper ed. 978-1-947627-31-4 $12.95 e-book ed. 978-1-947627-32-1 $12.95 This fourth series entry is another entertainingly...
Comics: Easy as ABC!: The Essential Guide to Comics for Kids by Ivan Brunetti; illus. by the author and various artists Intermediate TOON 56 pp. 4/19 978-1-943145-44-7 $16.95 Paper ed. 978-1-943145-39-3 $9.99 Brunetti, comics educator and cartoonist of TOON titles Wordplay and 3x4, offers a noteworthy and intriguing comics how-to...
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley; illus. by the author; color by Whitney Cogar Intermediate, Middle School RH Graphic/Random 223 pp. g 5/20 978-0-593-12524-3 $20.99 Paper ed. 978-1-9848-9684-1 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9686-5 $9.99 This tender graphic novel by Alex Award winner (for Relish) Knisley illuminates the challenges of finding oneself in...
Home Base: A Mother-Daughter Story by Nikki Tate; illus. by Katie Kath Primary Holiday 32 pp. 3/20 978-0-8234-3663-7 $18.99 Although our two protagonists spend little of the book together, they are connected throughout by their hard work and achievement. This family of two starts the day in a groggy daze...
My Mama by Annemarie van Haeringen; illus. by the author; trans. from Dutch by Bill Nagelkerke Preschool Gecko 32 pp. 3/20 978-1-776572-67-0 $17.99 Told from the baby’s point of view (“I’ve known my mama for a long time”), this playful offering explores, through two elephant characters, the strong emotional bond...
Mama Baby by Chris Raschka; illus. by the author Preschool Candlewick 32 pp. g 3/20 978-0-7636-9060-1 $14.99 In this artfully composed picture book, Raschka gets to the emotional core of the relationship between a young child and a trusted adult. Mama, on the verso, looks adoringly at her child, a...
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang; illus. by the author; color by Lark Pien High School First Second/Roaring Brook 446 pp. 3/20 978-1-62672-079-4 $24.99 “I’m just not a sports kind of guy,” begins Yang in this comics-format offering that brilliantly combines journalism, memoir, and sports history. Yang, who taught math...
The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein Middle School, High School Little, Brown 426 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-01258-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-01651-3 $9.99 In this companion novel to Code Name Verity (rev. 5/12) and its prequel The Pearl Thief (rev. 5/17), and featuring characters from both, Wein takes her turn at...
Kent State by Deborah Wiles Middle School, High School Scholastic 132 pp. g 4/20 978-1-338-35628-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-35630-4 $10.99 On May 4, 1970, four students were killed by the National Guard on the campus of Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War and the bombing of...
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming; illus. by Eric Rohmann Primary Porter/Holiday 40 pp. 2/20 978-0-8234-4285-0 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-4304-8 $11.99 A worker bee breaks out of her honeycomb cell and begins a task-filled life in her colony. The “teeming, trembling flurry” of bees within the...
The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith Middle School, High School Putnam 311 pp. g 2/20 978-1-5247-3790-0 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-3791-7 $10.99 Almost buried alive in a bombing by Allied forces in 1945 Chiran, Japan, fifteen-year-old Hana feels as though she is already dead, just going through the...
The Islamic month of Ramadan is a solemn holiday of fasting, charity, and additional prayer, culminating in the joyous feasting of Eid al-Fitr. Ramadan mubarak to those observing, and Happy Eid! We’d like to call your attention to reading suggestions from our friends at KitaabWorld, who review and recommend children’s...
Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford; illus. by Michele Wood Primary, Intermediate Candlewick 56 pp. g 4/20 978-0-7636-9156-1 $17.99 “I entered the world a slave…I was a slave because my countrymen had made it lawful, in utter contempt of the declared will of heaven.” Our...
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed; illus. by Victoria Jamieson; color by Iman Geddy Intermediate, Middle School Dial 264 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55391-5 $20.99 Paper ed. 978-0-525-55390-8 $17.99 This poignant graphic novel about growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp is based on co-author Mohamed’s experiences...
International Holocaust Remembrance Day (established by the United Nations General Assembly) is January 27 and Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, the United States, and other countries) is in April or May (in 2020 it's April 21). All of the following titles were recommended by The Horn Book Magazine and...
¡Vamos!: Let’s Go Eat by Raúl the Third; illus. by the author; color by Elaine Bay Primary Versify/Houghton 40 pp. g 3/20 978-1-328-55704-9 $14.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33070-7 $9.99 Little Lobo and his canine sidekick Bernabé, whom we met in ¡Vamos!: Let’s Go to the Market (rev. 3/19), are getting ready...
Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome Intermediate, Middle School Holiday 199 pp. 1/20 978-0-8234-4442-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-4633-9 $10.99 Lymon Caldwell, a secondary character in Finding Langston (rev. 9/18), tells his story in this companion novel that explores the question, “Are bullies born or are they made?” Lymon lives with his...
In the Woods by David Elliott; illus. by Rob Dunlavey Primary Candlewick 40 pp. g 4/20 978-0-7636-9783-9 $17.99 Once again Elliott (On the Farm, rev. 3/08; In the Sea, rev. 1/12; and others) captures the essence of a habitat and its creatures in poetry that manages to be both pithy...
Village of Scoundrels: Based on a True Story of Courage During WWII by Margi Preus Middle School, High School Amulet/Abrams 294 pp. g 2/20 978-1-4197-0897-8 $16.99 In 1940s Vichy France, a remote mountain-plateau village known for sheltering refugees fleeing Nazi persecution houses a unique and innovative high school that draws...
Fing’s War by Benny Lindelauf; trans. from the Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen Intermediate, Middle School Enchanted Lion 411 pp. 6/19 978-1-59270-269-5 $16.95 This sequel to Nine Open Arms (rev. 9/14) falls into two parts. In the early chapters we follow the fortunes and adventures of the Boon family, in 1938...
Catherine’s War by Julia Billet; illus. by Claire Fauvel; trans. from French by Ivanka Hahnenberger Intermediate, Middle School HarperAlley/HarperCollins 168 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-291560-3 $21.99 Paper ed. 978-0-06-291559-7 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-291561-0 $10.99 This graphic novel (adapted from a novel by Billet and inspired by her mother’s life) follows teenage Rachel...
Feed Your Mind: A Story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant; illus. by Cannaday Chapman Primary, Intermediate, Middle School Abrams 48 pp. 11/19 978-1-4197-3653-7 $17.99 Beloved African American playwright August Wilson, known for his ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle and other dramas, is introduced to young readers in this elegant picture-book biography....
What Color Is Night? by Grant Snider; illus. by the author Preschool Chronicle 48 pp. 11/19 978-1-4521-7992-6 $15.99 “What color is night? / Is it only black… / and white?” So begins an evocative picture book that urges young viewers to “look closer” at the night — to see, for...
I’m Brave! I’m Strong! I’m Five! by Cari Best; illus. by Boris Kulikov Preschool, Primary Ferguson/Holiday 32 pp. 10/19 978-0-8234-4362-8 $18.99 In this intrepid bedtime story, an independent young girl confronts and overcomes her fear of the dark by reminding herself, “I’m brave! I’m strong! I’m five!” It’s time for...
Brown Baby Lullaby by Tameka Fryer Brown; illus. by AG Ford Preschool Farrar 32 pp. g 1/20 978-0-374-30752-3 $16.99 Chronicling the nighttime routine of a family, Brown has penned a bedtime story that is immediately warm and relatable for families with young children. We follow an Afro-Latinx couple as they...
Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray; illus. by Zachariah OHora Preschool Houghton 32 pp. g 3/20 978-1-328-86683-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33076-9 $12.99 As the sun sets over a rooftop community garden, it’s time for the garden’s vegetables to get some rest. “Turnips tucked in tightly. / Potatoes closing eyes. / Tuckered-out...
Do I Have to Wear a Coat?: A Journey Through the Seasons by Rachel Isadora; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Paulsen/Penguin 32 pp. g 3/20 978-0-525-51660-6 $17.99 Isadora’s (I Hear a Pickle, rev. 1/16) characteristic ink and watercolor art uses vignettes set against white backgrounds to show children joyfully...
Almost Time by Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney; illus. by G. Brian Karas Preschool, Primary Clarion 32 pp. g 1/20 978-0-544-78581-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-16693-1 $12.99 Waiting for spring can wear on one’s patience, but readers may find comfort sharing the burden with Ethan and his (apparently single-parent) father,...
The Old Truck by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey; illus. by the authors Preschool, Primary Norton 40 pp. 1/20 978-1-324-00519-3 $17.95 e-book ed. 978-1-324-00520-9 $12.15 The author-illustrator brothers tell the story of a family farm and the truck that assists with chores. As the hard-working truck ages, so does the...
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead Intermediate Lamb/Random 218 pp. g 4/20 978-1-101-93809-6 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-101-93810-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-101-93811-9 $9.99 From the outside it appears that Bea lives a charmed life. She has loving (albeit divorced) parents; an involved extended family; a kindly, funny teacher; a loyal...
Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson High School Holt 484 pp. 8/19 978-1-250-16265-6 $19.99 Jase and Kazi (from Dance of Thieves, rev. 11/18) are on their way back to Hell’s Mouth with news that Tor’s Watch is to be recognized as a kingdom and that Jase’s family, the Ballengers,...
The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson High School Greenwillow 442 pp. g 4/20 978-0-06-269190-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-269192-7 $10.99 Set in the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, this engrossing fantasy follows two threads about protagonist Red. In the present, the teenager is devastated when her planned...
The Queen of Nothing [Folk of the Air] by Holly Black High School Little, Brown 293 pp. g 11/19 978-0-316-31042-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-316-31040-6 $12.99 In a stunning act of betrayal, the High King, Cardan, exiled Jude (secretly his wife and the ostensible Queen of Faerie) to the mortal world...
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron High School HarperTeen 490 pp. 9/19 978-0-06-287095-7 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-287097-1 $8.99 Arrah was born into a family of powerful witchdoctors, though magic has always evaded her. But when children are abducted and omens of death appear in the market streets, Arrah doesn’t need...
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi High School Holt 405 pp. 12/19 978-1-250-17099-6 $19.99 In Orïsha, where magic has recently been restored (Children of Blood and Bone, rev. 5/18), Princess Amari tries to unite the kingdom to prevent it being torn apart by the magic-using rebels called the...
York: The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby Middle School Walden Pond/HarperCollins 449 pp. 5/19 978-0-06-230696-8 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-230698-2 $7.99 Despite the destruction of their beloved apartment building at the end of the previous book (York: The Shadow Cipher, rev. 5/17), codebreaking twins Theo and Tess Biedermann, along with artistic...
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent Intermediate, Middle School Harper/HarperCollins 282 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-289670-4 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-289672-8 $7.99 Cassie is enlisted by her neighbors to find their missing peacocks — again — because of her skill at noticing details. But there are plenty of other things for the Australian...
The Thief Knot: A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford; illus. by Jaime Zollars Intermediate, Middle School Clarion 456 pp. 1/20 978-1-328-46689-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-16427-2 $9.99 In the Liberty, a part of Nagspeake (Greenglass House, rev. 9/14, and sequels) where retired rogues and smugglers find sanctuary from the long...
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon by Kim Chaffee; illus. by Ellen Rooney Primary Page Street 40 pp. 4/19 978-1-62414-654-1 $17.99 This stirring picture-book biography introduces Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official race number. “Running was magic” to twelve-year-old Kathrine, but...
A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D’Aquino; illus. by the author Primary Princeton 40 pp. 9/19 978-1-61689-836-6 $17.95 D’Aquino offers young readers “the story of an artist you may have never heard of”: Ruth Asawa (1926–2013), a Japanese American creator of nature-inspired wire sculptures....
Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou by Bethany Hegedus; illus. by Tonya Engel Primary, Intermediate Lee & Low 48 pp. 8/19 978-1-62014-587-6 $20.95 In propulsive free verse and vibrant illustrations, Hegedus and Engel present the life and legacy of Maya Angelou (1928–2014). The book opens...
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park Middle School Clarion 260 pp. g 3/20 978-1-328-78150-5 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33083-7 $9.99 In 1880, fourteen-year-old Hanna and her father settle in the (fictional) town of LaForge, in Dakota Territory. Papa is white; Hanna’s late mother immigrated from China and had both Chinese and...
A Girl like Me by Angela Johnson; illus. by Nina Crews Preschool, Primary Millbrook 40 pp. g 2/20 978-1-5415-5777-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5415-7891-3 $18.99 It seems not even the sky’s the limit for the imaginative, adventurous, inventive girls depicted in this inspirational picture book. Johnson’s upbeat text, paired with Crews’s...
Just like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan; illus. by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Preschool, Primary Millner/Simon 32 pp. 1/20 978-1-5344-6183-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-6184-0 $10.99 An homage to all the African American women who are mothering children not biologically their own. Carol Olivia Clementine lives with Mama Rose because “Mommy...
Johnny’s Pheasant by Cheryl Minnema; illus. by Julie Flett Primary Minnesota 32 pp. g 11/19 978-1-5179-0501-9 $16.95 Minnema (a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and Flett (of Cree-Métis descent) present an engaging and humorous intergenerational story of patience, hope, and surprise. Johnny spots a motionless pheasant in...
The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars 142 pp. Viking 3.95 Library edition 3.77 Illustrated by Ted CoConis. The demand for realism in children’s fiction continues to call forth a spate of problem books, some of them relatively successful, some scarcely more literary than case histories. But seldom are...
Pluto Gets the Call by Adam Rex; illus. by Laurie Keller Primary Beach Lane/Simon 48 pp. 11/19 978-1-5344-1453-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-1454-9 $10.99 Rex and Keller dramatize Pluto’s demotion to dwarf planet status in this smart and playful offering of informational comedy. Rex’s wry and engaging text is told completely...
Celebrate Black History Month beyond February with the following recent picture book biographies of inspiring Black figures, recommended for sharing with young readers all year long. Anderson, Beth Lizzie Demands a Seat!: Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights 32 pp. | Boyds Mills & Kane/Calkins | January, 2020 |...
Not a Bean by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez; illus. by Laura González Preschool, Primary Charlesbridge 32 pp. 9/19 978-1-58089-815-7 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-63289-667-4 $9.99 “Jumping beans” are not in fact beans but moth larvae that have burrowed into the seedpods of the yerba de la flecha shrubs found alongside arroyos in...
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