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Overground Railroad by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illus. by James Ransome Primary, Intermediate Holiday 48 pp. 1/20 978-0-8234-3873-0 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-4390-1 $11.99 “Some walked. / Some drove. / But we took the train north.” In 1939, as part of the Great Migration, young Ruth Ellen and her parents leave North Carolina,...
Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale by Sam Wedelich; illus. by the author Primary Scholastic 40 pp. g 6/20 978-1-338-35901-5 $17.99 In this clever spin on the classic tale, Chicken Little makes it clear — right from the get-go — that she’s got plenty of pluck. “Who are...
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne Middle School, High School Viking 176 pp. g 4/20 978-0-45148-154-2 $19.99 In her preface, “Not the History You Learned in School,” Dionne sets the historical scene with the 2016 presidential campaign. Having...
Willa the Wisp [The Fabled Stables] by Jonathan Auxier; illus. by Olga Demidova Primary Amulet/Abrams 96 pp. g 10/20 978-1-4197-4269-9 $12.99 “At the top of the world sat an island. And at the heart of that island lived a boy named Auggie.” So begins this early chapter book full of...
You Matter by Christian Robinson; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Atheneum 40 pp. g 6/20 978-1-5344-2169-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-2170-7 $10.99 No saccharine self-esteem book, this is a powerful affirmation of each reader’s worth. Robinson’s text is loaded with child appeal (“When everyone thinks you’re a pest. / When...
The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe; trans. from Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally Intermediate University of Minnesota 320 pp. g 9/19 978-1-5179-0568-2 $34.95 Asbjørnsen and Moe first published their Norske folkeeventyr (“Norwegian folktales”) as a pamphlet in 1841; through the...
Five questions for Evette Dionne Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne, Viking. Be a changemaker Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal; Roaring Brook. Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling; Feiwel....
The lyric “You can’t live with ’em, you can’t live without ’em” from The Muppet Movie got stuck in my head last week as I was working on our siblings section for this month’s Notes. Perhaps it was my subconscious’s way of telling me something (though my older sister and...
Last week we highlighted the fiftieth anniversary edition of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends, a book which arguably introduced one of the most famous animal pairings in children’s literature. The following five recent offerings for primary readers (and “What (Exactly) IS an Easy Reader?” anyway?) continue in that...
The relatable main characters in these five recent novels for middle-grade readers learn that siblings can go on magical adventures together, look after each other, provide inspiration, serve as unlikely allies, help one another find their place, and so much more. Check out the siblings tag on our website for...
In addition to the Black women suffragists whom Evette Dionne spotlights in Lifting as We Climb, history is filled with people making a difference tackling important social issues by bringing awareness and/or being an activist. Here are six such nonfiction stories for middle school and teen readers. Jane Against the...
Last month, in recognition of the Nineteenth Amendment’s centennial, we featured Lifting as We Climb (Viking, 12 years and up) by Evette Dionne among other books about women’s suffrage. The subtitle of Dionne’s book, however, focuses readers’ attention on a very specific, vital, and too-frequently overlooked — and/or whitewashed —...
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade; illus. by Cozbi A. Cabrera Primary, Intermediate Abrams 48 pp. g 4/20 978-1-4197-3411-3 $17.99 Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) grew up on the South Side of Chicago “with little money to spare,” but her childhood home was rich in volumes of...
Baloney and Friends by Greg Pizzoli; illus. by the author Primary Disney-Hyperion 87 pp. g 4/20 978-1-368-05454-6 $12.99 In this energetic and amusing comics-styled easy reader, Baloney — an amiable orange pig — interacts with his friends Bizz (a bumblebee), Peanut (a blue horse), and Krabbit (an often crabby and...
One Golden Rule at School: A Counting Book by Selina Alko; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Ottaviano/Holt 40 pp. g 6/20 978-1-250-16381-3 $17.99 Within the familiar rhythms and routines of a school day, viewers count from one (“One backpack”) to ten (“Ten chickpeas lined up for lunch”) and back...
Frog and Toad Are Friends [I Can Read Book] by Arnold Lobel; illus. by the author Primary Harper/HarperCollins 72 pp. g 9/20 978-0-06-298343-5 $18.99 Here is a welcome new edition of this iconic, Caldecott Honor–winning easy reader, reissued with a section at the end of seven pages of background material....
How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion by Ashima Shiraishi; illus. by Yao Xiao Primary Make Me a World/Random 40 pp. g 4/20 978-1-5247-7327-4 $17.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-7328-1 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-7329-8 $10.99 With a voice that’s distinctive, lyrical, and inspiring, teenage rock-climber Shiraishi...
Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror by Natasha Farrant; illus. by Lydia Corry Intermediate Norton 217 pp. g 5/20 978-1-324-01556-7 $19.95 The framing structure for this collection of princess stories is elaborate. When an enchantress is invited to be the godmother to a princess, she realizes that she doesn’t know...
13 Stories About Harris by Amy Schwartz; illus. by the author Preschool Holiday 40 pp. g 7/20 978-0-8234-4249-2 $18.99 Thirteen short stories follow city dweller Harris on preschooler-sized adventures. A very few seem geared toward adult sensibilities; most tap directly into authentic early-childhood behaviors and experiences. Harris, completely absorbed in...
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee Middle School, High School Houghton 386 pp. g 9/20 978-0-358-13143-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33000-4 $9.99 Chee follows up her successful fantasy trilogy (The Reader and sequels) with this very different work of historical fiction, drawing on her personal family and cultural history for...
A Thousand Glass Flowers: Marietta Barovier and the Invention of the Rosetta Bead by Evan Turk; illus. by the author Primary Atheneum 48 pp. g 8/20 978-1-5344-1034-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-1035-0 $10.99 In fifteenth-century northern Italy, on the island of Murano, where glassmakers thrived, lived young Marietta Barovier. Marietta dreamed...
One Year at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks; illus. by the author Intermediate, Middle School First Second/Roaring Brook 172 pp. g 7/20 978-1-250-21909-1 $22.99 Paper ed. 978-1-250-21910-7 $14.99 Originally published as The War at Ellsmere in 2008 (by SLG Publishing) and now back in print with revamped art, this graphic...
A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games by Lori Alexander; illus. by Allan Drummond Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 128 pp. g 4/20 978-1-328-58079-5 $17.99 Before Dr. Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), there was no treatment for a broken spine; paraplegics were deemed incurable and usually died in a matter...
The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate; illus. by Patricia Castelao Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 338 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-299131-7 $18.99 Applegate revisits the beloved cast of characters from her Newbery Medal–winning The One and Only Ivan (rev. 1/12), but this time from a different viewpoint. Bob, the tenacious mutt (“some...
Sun and Moon Have a Tea Party by Yumi Heo; illus. by Naoko Stoop Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. g 7/20 978-0-385-39033-0 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-385-39034-7 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-385-39035-4 $10.99 Sun and Moon meet for a late-afternoon tea party and discover the disparities between their worldviews. As they...
Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw; trans. from Dutch by Laura Watkinson Intermediate NYRB 220 pp. g Paper ed. 978-1-68137-426-0 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-68137-427-7 $9.99 In a village in the Netherlands, in the winter of 1944–45, teen Michiel van Beusekom becomes involved in anti-Nazi resistance activities — hiding and feeding...
The Fabled Life of Aesop by Ian Lendler; illus. by Pamela Zagarenski Primary Houghton 64 pp. g 3/20 978-1-328-58552-3 $18.99 Lendler gives depth to a collection of Aesop’s fables by incorporating them into the story of their teller’s life. Working off what few facts scholars have pieced together from historical...
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...
Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers and members of the staff of the New York Times; illus. by various artists Intermediate, Middle School Versify/Houghton 144 pp. g 8/20 978-0-358-40830-7 $18.99 e-book ed....
How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; illus. by Ziyue Chen Primary, Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 80 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-284130-8 $18.99 This well-sourced account of the fight for American women’s suffrage begins in 1909 at a protest march in London. It...
The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho; illus. by Jess X. Snow Primary Kokila/Penguin 48 pp. g 8/20 978-1-9848-1486-9 $17.99 Young Korean girl Dayeon admires her diver grandmother (“You are like a treasure-hunting mermaid”) and wants to be like her. Grandma is a haenyeo, one of many...
In young dino Penelope Rex’s picture-book debut, she learned that We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. Now the pony-loving T. rex is back in Ryan T. Higgins’s We Will Rock Our Classmates (Disney-Hyperion, 4–7 years). Readers discover her equally passionate love of rock ’n’ roll when she signs up for the...
Five questions for Ryan T. Higgins We Will Rock Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins, Disney-Hyperion. September learning One Golden Rule at School: A Counting Book by Selina Alko, Ottaviano/Holt. Swing by Michael Hall, Greenwillow. Field Trip to the Ocean Deep by John Hare, Ferguson/Holiday. Nana Akua Goes to School...
I can only laugh, mordantly, as we send you this, our annual Back-to-School issue of Notes from the Horn Book. There are some funny (We Will Rock Our Classmates), adventurous (Field Trip to the Ocean Deep), courageous (Something to Say), and sporting (Dragon Hoops) choices among them, but much as...
These YA books — three novels and a graphic memoir — document what can be a tumultuous and transitional time in people’s lives; this school year, especially, stories of tumult — and triumph — may be appreciated by readers. See also Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen...
Middle-graders and middle-schoolers, who are on the cusp of adolescence during an especially challenging time, may take comfort or inspiration from the following school-set stories about young people dealing with personal challenges. See also We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow); and for pure escapist ridiculousness, Louis Sachar’s...
No matter what form learning takes starting in the fall, the following picture books may entertain, and perhaps even enlighten, young readers. See also The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard; illus. by Oge Mora (Schwartz & Wade/Random); and for silliness The Cool Bean...
Race Through the Skies: The Week the World Learned to Fly by Martin W. Sandler Middle School Bloomsbury 185 pp. g 7/20 978-1-5476-0344-2 $24.99 The rate of innovation during the first decade of flight is as astounding now as it must have been at the time. Sandler’s compelling look at...
The Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid by Kate Hattemer High School Knopf 293 pp. g 2/20 978-1-9848-4912-0 $17.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-4913-7 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-4914-4 $10.99 Jemima serves with the Senior Triumvirate at her tradition-steeped prep school, and though she’s invested in her role, she’s also eager to shake up...
Brown Girl Ghosted by Mintie Das High School Houghton 289 pp. g 3/20 978-0-358-12889-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-13130-4 $9.99 Sixteen-year-old Violet Choudhury is a cheerleader; the best friend of Meryl, a popular iconoclast; and a daughter who never knew her dead mother and barely sees her largely absent father. She’s...
We Didn’t Ask for This by Adi Alsaid High School Inkyard 352 pp. g 4/20 978-1-335-14676-2 $18.99 At a worldly and diverse K–12 private school in an unnamed country outside the U.S., the high schoolers look forward to the school’s legendary lock-in, planning all year for sanctioned events such as...
Something to Say by Lisa Moore Ramée; illus. by Bre Indigo Intermediate, Middle School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 373 pp. g 7/20 978-0-06-283671-7 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-283673-1 $9.99 Janae is a loner and plans to keep it that way in middle school, that is, until she meets outgoing, audacious Aubrey, who...
Things Seen from Above by Shelley Pearsall; illus. by Xingye Jin Intermediate Knopf 262 pp. 2/20 978-1-5247-1739-1 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-1740-7 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-1741-4 $9.99 April, beginning sixth grade and dealing with her own friendship issues, takes an interest in a younger student with puzzling behaviors and a surprising...
Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez Intermediate, Middle School Riordan/Disney-Hyperion 421 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-02283-5 $16.99 Sal and Gabi are back in the sequel to Pura Belpré Award–winning Sal & Gabi Break the Universe, only this time they have to fix the universe — and during tech...
One Time by Sharon Creech Intermediate Cotler/HarperCollins 272 pp. g 9/20 978-0-06-257074-1 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-257075-8 $17.89 e-book ed. 978-0-06-257077-2 $9.99 Gina Filomena, eleven, has been told that she has an overactive imagination. Few teachers or classmates have seen this as a gift until the new language arts teacher, Miss...
Love, Love by Victoria Chang Intermediate, Middle School Sterling 214 pp. g 6/20 978-1-4549-3832-3 $16.95 This semiautobiographical verse novel begins with eleven-year-old Chinese American girl Frances Chin witnessing an attack on her older sister, Clara, behind their school. (Frances herself has endured taunts centered on race: “you’re SO SO ugly...
Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist Intermediate, Middle School Crown 195 pp. g 8/20 978-0-593-12136-8 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-12137-5 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-12138-2 $9.99 Isaiah Dunn is not your typical hero. Heroes usually win, but Isaiah seems to experience a lot of losses: losing his father on...
Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker; illus. by April Harrison Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. g 6/20 978-0-525-58113-0 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-525-58114-7 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-525-58115-4 $10.99 Although her grandmother, Nana Akua, is her “favorite person in the whole universe,” young Zura is not excited about...
Field Trip to the Ocean Deep by John Hare; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Ferguson/Holiday 40 pp. g 9/20 978-0-8234-4630-8 $17.99 Hare’s follow-up to Field Trip to the Moon (rev. 9/19) again features a compelling setting, a not-too-scary adventure, and immersive illustrations. This wordless story begins on the book’s...
Swing by Michael Hall; illus. by the author Preschool Greenwillow 40 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-286617-2 $17.99 The title spread introduces a school — a place of learning and growth — where outside the classroom window a swing set stands empty and waiting. A letter L sits alone on one of...
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...
We Will Rock Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins; illus. by the author Primary Disney-Hyperion 48 pp. g 7/20 978-1-368-05959-6 $17.99 This second installment about T. rex Penelope (We Don’t Eat Our Classmates, rev. 9/18) centers on the school talent show. Penelope loves to rock and roll, and using her...
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...
War at the Snow White Motel and Other Stories by Tim Wynne-Jones Intermediate, Middle School Groundwood 245 pp. g 5/20 978-1-77306-047-7 $16.95 e-book ed. 978-1-77306-048-4 $11.99 Most of the protagonists in these nine short stories are twelve years old and bumping into the realities of human nature — their own...
Good Guys, Bad Guys by Joanne Rocklin; illus. by Nancy Carpenter Preschool, Primary Abrams 32 pp. g 5/20 978-1-4197-3417-5 $16.99 Rocklin and Carpenter present a rollicking homage to neighborhood kid–summertime play. The story begins on the title-page spread as two children get ready to greet the morning. On the left-hand...
On the Horizon by Lois Lowry; illus. by Kenard Pak Middle School, High School Houghton 80 pp. g 4/20 978-0-358-12940-0 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-12938-7 $9.99 In a poetry collection that’s as much structure as style and theme, Lowry considers two events: the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. In the...
You’re Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Griffin Burns; photos by Ellen Harasimowicz Primary Charlesbridge 40 pp. g 4/20 978-1-58089-686-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-63289-834-0 $9.99 With her latest book, Burns (Tracking Trash, rev. 3/07; The Hive Detectives, rev. 5/10) has earned the right to add...
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...
Bo the Brave by Bethan Woollvin; illus. by the author Primary Peachtree 32 pp. g 4/20 978-1-68263-182-9 $17.99 When Bo’s two older brothers, Erik and Ivan, set off from the castle on a quest to hunt a monster, they refuse to allow her to join, sneering that she’s too little....
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....
Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling Middle School, High School Feiwel 305 pp. g 6/20 978-1-250-24457-4 $19.99 Conkling (Radioactive!, rev. 3/16; Votes for Women!, rev. 3/18) opens this insightful biography of the feminist icon with a close call. In 1956, when she was twenty-two, Steinem called off wedding...
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 357 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-282025-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-282027-3 $10.99 At seventeen, Felix Love feels marginalized as a Black teen, an aspiring artist, and a trans male. His mom left the family when he was ten, and although his...
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...
Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbet Intermediate, Middle School Candlewick 357 pp. g 4/20 978-1-5362-0619-7 $18.99 “Sometimes the real danger is not what you thought it would be at all.” So begins the story of Darleen, young (fictional) star of silent movie serials. It is 1914, and...
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; illus. by Michaela Goade Primary Roaring Brook 40 pp. g 3/20 978-1-250-20355-7 $17.99 The book opens with a young Indigenous girl collecting water with her grandmother, who tells her that “water is the first medicine.” Vibrant blues, greens, and purples depict the river...
In the picture-book biography Sharuko: El arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri; translated into Spanish by Adriana Domínguez (Children’s/Lee & Low, 6–9 years), author Monica Brown tells the story of Julio C. Tello, “one of the most important archaeologists in all...
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...
Five questions for Monica Brown 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, Children's/Lee. Exploration and curiosity Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington, illus....
Did you miss the Speeches? We have them — the Coretta Scott King, Newbery, Caldecott, and Legacy acceptance speeches — in the latest issue of The Horn Book Magazine. Print subscribers should be receiving the issue per usual; it is also available in digital format for all comers for free....
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...
Encourage middle- and high schoolers to read poetry beyond National Poetry Month by sharing with them these four historically set books in verse. And also check out 2020 Boston Globe–Horn Book Fiction and Poetry honor book verse novel Clap When You Land and our Five Questions interview with author Elizabeth...
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...
This may not be a typical summer for most kids, but that doesn’t mean middle-grade readers can’t embark on summertime adventures with the characters in these four new novels. And don’t miss Lucy Knisley’s recent summer-set graphic novel Stepping Stones or our Five Questions interview with the author/illustrator from the...
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...
Channel the inquisitive Sharuko with the following nonfiction picture books, which encourage readers’ curiosity about the outdoors (city or country; in-person or virtually). 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 ...
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...
Again Again by E. Lockhart High School Delacorte 293 pp. g 6/20 978-0-385-74479-9 $18.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-99185-1 $21.99 e-book ed. 978-0-385-39139-9 $10.99 In this novel set in the same world as The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (rev. 5/08), Lockhart explores the intersection between love and the multiverse. The summer...
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....
Most Wanted: The Revolutionary Partnership of John Hancock & Samuel Adams by Sarah Jane Marsh; illus. by Edwin Fotheringham Intermediate Little, Brown 80 pp. g 3/20 978-1-368-02683-3 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-06129-2 $12.99 Here readers meet the original American political odd couple: Samuel Adams, the serious and staunch patriot, and John...
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...
Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy; illus. by Shawn Harris Primary Chronicle 48 pp. 3/20 978-1-4521-7805-9 $17.99 Meloy and Harris depict one family’s anarchical bedtime routine within their ramshackle lighthouse-esque domicile. Rollicking rhymes, narrated by a young family member, set the scene: “We all got / tucked in early. / A...
In Search of Safety: Voices of Refugees by Susan Kuklin; photos by the author Middle School, High School Candlewick 246 pp. g 5/20 978-0-7636-7960-6 $24.99 Hewing to a definition of refugees as “people who are forced to leave their country because they are being persecuted,” Kuklin profiles five such young...
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...
Jules vs. the Ocean by Jessie Sima; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Simon 48 pp. 5/20 978-1-5344-4168-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4169-9 $10.99 Intent on impressing her older sister at the beach, Jules plans to build a big sandcastle. When the waves foil her plans, she assumes “the Ocean” is...
Today is Juneteenth, a day of celebration for many, who commemorate June 19th, 1865, the date enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their emancipation. To view three recommended books on the subject, click here. For even more discussion of this day, read this Floyd Cooper Talks with Roger and also Robin...
Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond; illus. by the author Primary Farrar 40 pp. 3/20 978-0-374-30899-5 $18.99 Expanding his series of picture books on environmentally friendly community projects (see Green City, rev. 1/16; and Pedal Power, rev. 1/17), Drummond takes readers...
Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 254 pp. g 3/20 978-1-338-15786-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-15788-8 $11.99 Growing up in Santa Maria, a (fictional) country “somewhere in the Américas,” Maximiliano Córdoba is familiar with the legends of the Guardians and the Hidden Ones they led to safety —...
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...
Change is never easy to deal with (and it’s particularly hard for everyone right now), but these recent books for middle-graders may help readers feel less alone in their experiences. 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,...
June is Pride month. Here are some recent books for middle schoolers and high schoolers about LGBTQIA+ young people coming into their own identities. See also Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land (a 2020 Boston Globe–Horn Book Fiction and Poetry honoree; read our review in the upcoming July/August Horn Book...
In Clap When You Land (Quill Tree/HarperCollins, 14 years and up), two teens — Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic, and Yahaira, who lives in New York City — discover they are half-sisters after their father perishes in a plane crash. Told in alternating verse, the story — winner...
Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers by Matthew Cordell; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Holiday 40 pp. g 5/20 978-0-8234-4618-6 $18.99 This authorized biography of Fred Rogers opens as did his iconic television program, with a stoplight flashing yellow, signaling that it is time to slow...
It is a tough time for celebration, that’s for sure. But in this issue of Notes we recommend books for "Pride" and books for "Father’s Day," and I hope those who observe these holidays find a way to do so amidst the at-once turbulent and static conditions we are facing....
For Father’s Day — June 21 — here are some recent picture books that celebrate loving fathers and father figures. See also The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl in the upcoming July/August issue of the Horn Book Magazine (“It’s notable to see a single-father, working-class household represented…”) and our recently...
Five questions for Elizabeth Acevedo Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Quill Tree/HarperCollins. YA Pride fiction 2020 The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins. Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt, Chronicle. In the Role of Brie Hutchens... by Nicole Melleby, Algonquin. The Midnight Lie by Marie...
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