Winner

Fireworks
by Matthew Burgess; illus. by Cátia Chien
Preschool, Primary    Clarion/HarperCollins    48 pp.
5/25    9780063216723    $19.99

Two young siblings, who serve as narrators, enjoy an eventful summer day that ends with an epic fireworks display. The story begins with them greeting the morning and eating their breakfast with chopsticks and a spoon, then heading outside into a festive urban landscape. They splash in water spraying from a fire hydrant, munch on slices of watermelon, and listen to live music in the park. Burgess packs his poetic text with zesty sound effects and onomatopoeia that make this a must for reading aloud. As darkness falls, the children climb a fire escape “up, up, up” to a roof, where they behold the amazing fireworks display. From start to finish, Chien’s evocative, childlike mixed-media illustrations pop and soar, creating a series of memorable images. The day’s hazy heat is visible; and the fireworks exploding over the skyline are almost audible—a thrilling gatefold catches the display in all its splendor. After the last sizzles fade, Burgess brings the kids back home, where a caring elder lovingly prepares them for bed. As they dream about the pyrotechnics they’ve witnessed, Chien serves up a glorious expressionistic image of their silhouettes filled with dazzling flashes of color. An immersive celebration of summer and siblinghood. BRIAN E. WILSON

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Honors

Every Monday Mabel
by Jashar Awan; illus. by the author
Preschool    Simon    48 pp,
2/25    9781665938150    $19.99

REVIEW TO COME

Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave
by Drew Beckmeyer; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Atheneum/Simon    40 pp.
3/25    9781665926638    $19.99

REVIEW TO COME

Our Lake
by Angie Kang; illus. by the author
Primary    Kokila/Penguin    40 pp.
3/25    9780593698235    $19.99
e-book ed.  9780593698242    $10.99

At the start of this bittersweet ode to the enduring bonds of family, the unnamed young narrator and “Brother” embark on a summer outing, hiking to a jewel-like lake complete with a massive rock perfect for diving. Although they follow all the same rituals (changing, stretching) that “Father used to,” the narrator hangs back, afraid, even as Brother fearlessly dives into the lake’s cobalt depths. What’s changed? The answer prompts the narrator to relive memories of earlier visits to “our lake” with Father and thereby reclaim some former courage. Art rendered in gouache with colored pencil and crayon is saturated with the colors of midsummer. Dark blue and green trees, whose shapes seem to mimic heat waves, rise into a lemon-yellow sky; memory takes shape through teal and chartreuse swirls that mingle with the sky and with the lake’s rich blues. The play of bubbles, light, and shadow on water is especially striking. Without being explicit, the story encourages readers to draw their own conclusions about the siblings’ shared loss. Kang’s debut picture book is a quiet portrait of the ways in which grief takes us by surprise, and its glorious final celebratory splash offers a radiant reminder of how joy and connection can exist alongside sadness. NORAH PIEHL

From the May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Sundust
by Zeke Peña; illus. by the author
Primary    Kokila/Penguin    48 pp.
8/25    9780593700112    $19.99
e-book ed.  9780593700129    $10.99
Spanish ed.  9798217003976    $19.99

Two siblings living in what appears to be a U.S.-Mexico border town embark on an adventure in the desert, following “sundust” as it illuminates the world around them. Amid the vast landscape, they follow a thin pink line, originating from outer space, that interacts with the landscape (and eventually becomes part of starry silhouettes of the children themselves), encountering animals and plants of various shapes and sizes as well as construction of a border wall that nonsensically splits the land. The thoughtfully crafted, lyrical text includes occasional Spanish words (“The desert heat / makes us who we are— / hot / cooked / tostaditas /morenas / beautifully dark / doradites”) and flows with the children’s meanderings. Mixed-media illustrations use a color palette of jewel tones and earthy hues to depict land, sky, other elements of nature, and the children themselves, while sundust is represented in bright pink. Xicano creator Peña (illustrator of My Papi Has a Motorcycle, rev. 5/19), in his author-illustrator debut, offers a depiction of place and wonder that transcends borders and national identity, sharing visually how humans are part of nature and unbound by time and place. A poignant and timely story that introduces young readers to positive depictions of shared natural spaces, the joy of discovery, and themes of bicultural life that apply to both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Concurrently published in Spanish as Polvo solar. NICHOLAS A. BROWN-CÁCERES

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

For more, click on the tag ALA 2026.