Jayden Noticed
by Carolyn Crimi; illus. by Shamar Knight-Justice
Primary    Candlewick    32 pp.
2/26    9781536227307    $18.99

“Jayden was a noticer…He noticed web wheels and egg freckles. Tree knuckles and frog songs…But mostly he noticed rocks.” As much as the young Black boy enjoys discovering things (such as how the moon “looked different every night as it peeked through the branches of his favorite oak tree”), he also enjoys routine and order, carefully assigning meaning to each rock he adds to his collection (a “fort-building rock,” “wishing rocks”) and meticulously organizing them as he reluctantly prepares for his family’s impending move. Once in his new neighborhood, all Jayden notices are its differences from the old one: “His new house was a weird color. The mailbox was in the wrong place. The trees were too short.” Even the rocks have lost their allure. Knight-Justice gives Jayden earnestly creased brows and a slight smile to match his observant, reserved disposition and incorporates construction-paper patterns and snippets of text in the collaged, mixed-media art (readers will find plenty of details in the rocks, trees, and sidewalks Jayden encounters). Crimi gently guides Jayden through his unfamiliar environment, providing him reassurance in the form of special new wishing rocks, a kindred noticer neighbor with a bias toward bugs, and a brand-new view of the moon through his bedroom window. It’s encouragement for all noticers to be comfortable in their curious minds while learning to embrace the unknown.

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.