(2) PS Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Snuggle up with this cheerful day-in-the-life depiction of a mother and her baby. Mama is clad in overalls, ready for an active just-the-two-of-us day with her child. Simple phrases, all containing the word mama, grace almost every page, and rhyming lines create a rhythmic cadence. Affection permeates the scenes as baby first awakens (“Mama cuddle / Mama swing // Mama dance / Mama sing”), then plays inside and out all day (“Mama horse / Mama hug // Mama chair / Mama tug”) before settling down at night with a bath and a book (“Mama pillow on a Mama bed // Mama dreams in baby’s head”). Straub’s verse focuses on toddler-friendly activities such as playing peek-a-boo, naming body parts, walking and climbing, laughing, and eating; through it all, “Mama love grows and grows.” The mainly warm color palette in Lewis’s digital art reflects the tenderness shared between these two throughout the day, while a cool palette accompanies bedtime calmness. An ideal read-aloud (à la Raschka’s Mama Baby, rev. 3/20) for mama-obsessed toddlers.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Tapping into a source of fascination for many kids, Taylor explores the complicated, potentially messy, and sometimes gross process of eating and drinking as an astronaut on a space station--from what food choices are available and how they're prepared, to meal etiquette, to the practicalities of keeping one's food in the right place in a zero-gravity environment. Taylor's conversational tone means that asides about oddities like what happens to the trash or why it's bad to burp in space (more than just air comes back up your esophagus, oh no!) feel naturally incorporated. Lewis's digital art features crisp, energetic scenes of smiling astronauts and their meals floating through a carefully rendered space station, often focusing in on food-related details of the spacecraft such as the panel where astronauts attach food pouches for hydration. Extensive back matter includes sources, additional information on why space meals look the way they do today, further reading, and photos of real astronauts enjoying food on the International Space Station.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. A picture-book biography of the world’s all-time strongest female chess player traces the Hungarian trailblazer’s journey from child prodigy to becoming the youngest chess grandmaster in history. Wallmark relates how Polgár’s coaches and uber-supportive family helped her make all the right moves to maximize her talent, and recounts the iconic, aggressive endgames that propelled her to international stardom en route to her crowning achievement. The book does not stand on ceremony when it comes to calling out the flagrant misogyny in the chess world, but sacrifices some emotional texture by failing to register other challenges Polgár and her family faced. Lewis’s digital illustrations in a palette of mostly neutral colors underscore Polgár’s steadiness and cool-headedness, as well as the stability provided by her parents and sisters.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Stone lions Patience and Fortitude stand guard at the New York Public Library. One morning Fortitude wakes up to find Patience missing. He searches the library, encountering other artworks, and finally finds Patience in the children's room. In this NYPL-tour masquerading as a story, Funk's rhyming text occasionally stumbles, but Lewis's brown-and-tan-hued digital illustrations have cool retro flair. Information about the library is appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. A prince must choose a bride, but all the women he meets lack...something. He realizes what's missing when a knight in shining armor saves him from a dragon. The simplistic story works as a valentine to same-sex love, but several verses stumble over themselves to complete a rhyme; the glossy illustrations conjure classic Disney movie stills.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. The personified Sun (with a capital S) takes center stage to narrate this cheery, tongue-in-cheek celebration of itself, Earth's nearest star. A surprising amount of science is included among the humor, including the concept of gravity and Sun's comparative size and location in the solar system and the galaxy. The illustrations, created with colored pencil and digital tools, feature the star shining and smiling throughout. Factual back matter adds depth.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Since Tuesday's father's death, neither Tuesday nor her famous author mother, Serendipity, have felt compelled to write. But when Serendipity's story villain captures Tuesday's fictional friend Vivienne, it's up to Tuesday to find her--and herself--in the land of stories. Powerfully evocative writing creates both heart-rending moments and joyful ones. An excellent ending to a whimsical trilogy (Finding Serendipity; A Week Without Tuesdays).

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: You Should Meet series. Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Calkhoven introduces "the father of surfing" in this easy-reader biography. She focuses on Kahanamoku's unique swimming and surfing abilities, and his success in four Olympics in the early 1900s. The appealing design features a large font and Lewis's engaging cartoonlike illustrations. The book concludes with a mini Hawaiian glossary and short history and culture sections.

Reviewer:

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. The fate of storytelling is in the hands of young writer Tuesday and her Winged Dog, Baxterr (Finding Serendipity). Summoned to the land of stories after real and imaginary worlds start colliding, Tuesday must find the Gardener, the only one who can right their universe. This timeless meta-fantasy presents fully realized worlds and writerly musings aspiring authors will relish. Retro illustrations appear throughout.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. When Tuesday McGillycuddy's famous author mom goes missing--just as she's about to finish her latest book--Tuesday and her dog, Baxterr, travel to "the place where stories happen." In the tradition of such classics as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Chronicles of Narnia, this every-day fantasy features memorable characters, a fully-realized imaginary world, and the inevitable good-versus-evil showdown. Stylish black-and-white spot art adds humorous touches.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Mandy Berr stomps and roars through two more adventures, both featuring her trademark enthusiasm and troublemaking ways. Gutknecht's heroine frequently crosses the line from sassy to intolerable, but there's just enough redemption to balance the tally sheet by the end. Lewis's black-and-white line drawings add comic relief, and Mandy's "List of Lessons" summarizes what she has (reportedly) learned from her escapades. Review covers these titles: Pizza Is the Best Breakfast and Never Wear Lipstick on Picture Day.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Mandy Berr stomps and roars through two more adventures, both featuring her trademark enthusiasm and troublemaking ways. Gutknecht's heroine frequently crosses the line from sassy to intolerable, but there's just enough redemption to balance the tally sheet by the end. Lewis's black-and-white line drawings add comic relief, and Mandy's "List of Lessons" summarizes what she has (reportedly) learned from her escapades. Review covers these titles: Pizza Is the Best Breakfast and Never Wear Lipstick on Picture Day.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Second grader Mandy endures a series of social tribulations, from the revelation that her underwear can be seen through her pants to being denied the starring role in the Presidential Pageant. Gutknecht's sassy heroine and Lewis's spot cartoons will appeal to fans of Junie B. Jones and the like, though the plot--and accompanying lessons--feel formulaic.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby