(3) 4-6 Saturday Cooking Club series. Liza is excited to turn thirteen, but Nana is determined to throw her a very un-Liza-like party. Her best friends sympathize, but they're busy with their own issues: Frankie is giving her image an overhaul and Lillian has a crush on a boy. The likable friends lean on one another for support as they navigate family issues, boys, and baking desserts.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(3) 4-6 Saturday Cooking Club series. Best friends Frankie and Liza partner with new girl Lillian for their immigration project. For hands-on research--and with their hesitant moms in tow--the seventh-grade Brooklynites enroll in a cooking class. With several kitchen mishaps and rotating narration of the girls' perspectives, the authors skillfully use the cooking class to highlight the benefits of diversity--socially and in cuisine.

Reviewer: Sophie Williamson

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pedro Martin. Parker (a perpetual nose-picker) flicks his boogers into the fish tank, wipes them on the walls, and feeds them to his dog. Although his family and teacher disapprove, Parker continues picking until his finger gets stuck up his nostril. Martin's bold, digitally rendered cartoon illustrations are full of gross-out humor, but the point of the joke wavers uncertainly.

Reviewer: Mark Adam