Berliners by Vesper Stamper; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Knopf 320 pp. g 10/22 978-0-593-42836-8 $21.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-42837-5 $24.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-42838-2 $10.99 An engrossing look at the emerging new world order after World War II, told through the experiences of one...
The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Mac Barnett; illus. by Jon Klassen Preschool, Primary Orchard/Scholastic 48 pp. 10/22 9781338673845 $18.99 Frequent collaborators Barnett and Klassen serve up a delectable rendition of the oft-retold folktale. The bare-bones narrative “clip clops” along with abundant humor and plenty of verbal delights, repetition,...
Yellow Dog Blues by Alice Faye Duncan; illus. by Chris Raschka Primary Eerdmans 32 pp. g 9/22 978-0-8028-5553-4 $18.99 This book about a lost dog is also a musical and cultural journey along the Mississippi Blues Trail. Duncan’s (Just like a Mama, rev. 3/20) freewheeling narrative...
Tumble by Celia C. Pérez Intermediate, Middle School Kokila/Penguin 368 pp. g 8/22 978-0-593-32517-9 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-32519-3 $10.99 Spanish paper ed. 978-1-64473-592-3 $12.95 Twelve-year-old Adela Ramírez has a loving family, a robust middle-school life, and an awesome best friend in her small New Mexico town, known for its love...
The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to Save Carnegie Hall by Megan Hoyt; illus. by Katie HickeyPrimary, Intermediate Quill Tree/HarperCollins 40 pp. g7/22 978-0-06-304527-9 $18.99This picture-book biography tells the story of virtuoso violinist Isaac Stern, with an emphasis on his commitment to preserving the...
The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson; illus. by Leo EspinosaPrimary Paulsen/Penguin 32 pp. g5/22 978-0-399-54549-8 $18.99e-book ed. 978-0-399-54550-4 $10.99Spanish ed. 978-0-593-53019-1 $18.99This lyrical paean to unstructured play does not wax nostalgic or hark back to a simpler time. Rather, Woodson sets out to capture (and brilliantly succeeds in...
Gibberish by Young Vo; illus. by the authorPrimary Levine Querido 40 pp. g2/22 978-1-64614-110-4 $17.99Dat, the young Asian protagonist of this involving picture book, has traveled far to reach his new country and is about to start his first day of school. His mother warns, “When people speak it will...
Family of Liars by E. LockhartHigh School Delacorte 320 pp. g5/22 978-0-593-48585-9 $19.99Library ed. 978-0-593-48586-6 $22.99e-book ed. 978-0-593-48587-3 $10.99This formidable prequel to We Were Liars (rev. 5/14), focusing on the wealthy Sinclair family a generation before that novel’s events, opens with a harsh truth, and a spoiler. Johnny, one of...
This Golden State by Marit WeisenbergHigh School Flatiron 400 pp. g3/22 978-1-250-78627-2 $18.99e-book ed. 978-1-250-78626-5 $10.99Poppy, seventeen, and her younger sister, Emma, have grown up on the run. Their parents, though loving, are fugitives from justice who use fake identities to settle in small towns all around the country and...