(3) K-3 Illustrated by Isabel Muñoz. Jason loves being Jewish, but some cruel words from his classmates at his Jewish school make Jason, who’s Black, question whether he belongs. As he grows up and pursues a singing career, Jason continues to feel disconnected from his religion—until a Belgian Shabbat service inspires him to become a cantor and celebrate both his heritages. Though the biography’s subject is lesser-known, Jason’s quest to find acceptance and community—underscored by the soft-colored illustrations—is a relatable one.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(1) K-3 Hatteras Island off the coast of North Carolina is the scene for Chin’s latest: an examination of a hurricane (based on several real ones) brilliantly told in segments alternating between actions of island residents and those of scientists. After piquing readers’ interest with a dramatic cover depicting an angry sea and a line of evacuating cars, Chin defines a hurricane and describes early tracking measures by meteorologists who observe the storm. A dual countdown begins. On Monday, the storm forms off the coast of Africa and moves west across the Atlantic as residents warily continue with their daily activities. On Tuesday, scientists follow the storm’s path; residents begin discussing arrangements. And so on. The climax occurs when the storm makes landfall. Short narrative descriptions and spot art depict what is happening on shore: the rising surf, the destructive winds, the calm of the eye, and the hurricane’s return with its change in wind direction. And then it’s over. People return to their homes and help one another with the cleanup. Chin (The Universe in You, rev. 1/23) masterfully juxtaposes the experience of people affected by the hurricane with the larger scientific context; stunning illustrations in pen and ink, watercolor, and gouache bring life to massive weather phenomena and to smaller-scale scenes. Extensive back matter adds useful details about storm formation, meteorology, and forecasting; an author’s note addresses concerns about the importance of the meteorological community’s work and the effects of climate change. Suggested sources for further inquiry complete this outstanding book.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(1) 4-6 Track series. Middle-school athletes Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny each have their own titles in Reynolds's Track series (most recently Lu, rev. 11/18); now it's Coach's turn. Who was he before he was an inspiring leader? How did he grow up to be so committed to his athletes' lives? Reynolds delineates how track star Carl Lewis guides Otis (Otie) Brody's path in his youth. Watching the 1984 Olympics on television with his father and witnessing Lewis winning the gold medal for the hundred-meter event took a boy who "wasn't the athletic type. Couldn't catch a ball, or dribble, or tackle" and made him a runner. Now, four years later, he's a sprinter, with "9.99," Lewis's medal-winning time, written on his hand before each race. In Ghost (rev. 11/16), sprinter Castle Cranshaw says of his troubled home life, "You don't know what it's like, Coach. You don't know." But in this installment, we learn that Coach Brody does know. At the conclusion of the story, when young Otie is talking about his Olympic dreams, his mother says, "I think you gon' make it. But if for some reason you don't, guess what? I think you'd make a pretty good coach." A strong entry in the series that provides backstory for the coach who has been there from the beginning.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

(1) YA Seventeen-year-old Neon is in his girlfriend Aria's bathroom, wracked with anxiety because, for the two of them, "tonight is for our first time." Twenty-four seconds earlier, he was rushing to the bathroom and shutting the door. Twenty-four minutes before that, he arrived at Aria's house. And twenty-four hours before that...and so on. The unusual narrative device drops readers immediately into the action and then zooms out to contextualize the moment, introducing a fully realized, frequently hilarious cast of characters who offer advice on sex and relationships. Neon's mother, for example, who has no reservations about loudly discussing pleasure and masturbation with her son -- in a crowded diner. His grandmother, who, while telling stories about her deceased husband, advises that "a little imperfection takes the edge off things." And his well-intentioned friend Dodie, whose explanation of foreplay includes attention to "what he called the...volvo." Their guidance (aside from Dodie's, naturally) and obvious love for Neon has helped shape him into an attentive and respectful boyfriend; there's no betrayal or big interpersonal conflict here. Instead, this is, in Neon's words, "a special, regular story where two people meet and help each other make something beautiful, at the risk of making a mess." The simple plot is balanced by Neon's narration, which sparkles with rhythm and wordplay.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) YA Illustrated by Zeke Peña. In the previous installment (Miles Morales, rev. 9/17), sixteen-year-old Miles ("Boricua and Black and Brooklyn as hell") was bitten by a radioactive spider, became the latest Spider-Man, and defeated the Warden, head of an ancient white supremacist organization. Now he sits in In-School Suspension (ISS) for standing up to his racist history teacher, along with classmate Tobin Rogers, who is in ISS for removing books--Baldwin, Morrison, Angelou, Angie Thomas--from the school library. Even more weirdly, Tobin was eating the pages; all that were found were the books' spines. Add a termite infestation at school for an intriguing puzzle for Miles to solve. This sequel is more multilayered than the first installment, with action-packed digital drawings, Miles's first-person poems, and a third-person narrative all capturing a day in the life of Miles Morales--his neighborhood, his crush on Alicia Carson, his friendship with Ganke, and his conflicts with teachers. There is room, though, for a climactic action scene in the boys' bathroom, where a creepy monster is thrillingly unmasked.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Raúl the Third. Set one week after its predecessor (Stuntboy, in the Meantime, rev. 1/22), this illustrated novel follows Portico Reeves through one very eventful day as the self-appointed superhero struggles with anxiety ("the frets"), dabbles in misbehavior, and confronts his parents' recent separation. When Portico's mother sends him off on what should be a short two-floor trip to his father's new apartment for their very first "DAD-urday," the young hero is weighed down by both literal and figurative baggage: carrying a garbage bag of old apartment leftovers and the fear of permanently being "in-between" his parents. Once Portico meets up with his two best friends, he quickly strays off-course thanks to run-ins with bizarre bullies, eccentric neighbors, and out-there scenarios (like catching seventeen iguanas). Presented as if episodes of a retro TV show (complete with theme music, commercial breaks, etc.), each self-contained chapter generally features a new problem and speedy resolve; however, Reynolds's imaginative, layered storytelling continuously explores large, overarching themes of family, friendship, and belonging with recurring motifs and metaphors. Supporting and expanding the lively text are Raul the Third's kinetic illustrations, playful characterizations, and eye-popping spreads. A lived-in, tactile quality to the overall design is achieved through thoughtful coloring, engaging layouts, and an incorporation of real-world textures such as bricks, plaster, and paint. While a realistic resolution is achieved for Portico's family, Stuntboy's outrageous adventures (thankfully) don't seem to be over yet.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey. An intriguing photograph of writers Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing at a party at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is the springboard for Reynolds's first (traditional) picture book. In 1991, people in Harlem gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium and the literary brilliance of its namesake. At the "fancy-foot, get-down, all-out bash," guests boogie to the beats and bops of music as renowned word-makers are pictured leaning in from the spines of books on the shelves, captivated by the dazzling whirlwind of excitement. The master poet, Langston Hughes, was called "the 'word-making king.'" He "could make the word America look like two friends making pinky promises to be cool, to be true" and turn words into laughter, "bringing joy to the little and the big." In his own evocative and kinetic style of word-making, Reynolds exudes reverence for Langston and the festive tempo of the occasion. The Pumphreys' vibrant illustrations, created with digitized handmade stamps, extend the theme of wordsmithing in creative interpretations of text, as in the double-page spread of Angelou and Baraka dancing with the letters of their first names forming the shape of their bodies. A jubilant tribute to the enduring legacy of one of the most prominent voices of the Harlem Renaissance and others whom he has inspired.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(1) K-3 Chin follows his acclaimed Your Place in the Universe (rev. 11/20) with an equally stellar exploration of the tiniest components of matter conceptualized by science. The book opens with a brown-skinned child who uses a wheelchair visiting a Southwestern desert. The United States' smallest bird, butterfly, and bee, in turn, alight on her finger, in close-ups that ultimately zoom in to a hair on that finger and put in motion a journey inward to the "building blocks" of biology and physical science. The expedition moves from skin cells to molecules, then to atoms, protons, and elementary particles. Each page-turn, ending in suspenseful sentence breaks ("But the cell nucleus is gigantic compared to... / ...everything else inside the cell"), takes readers to the next step inward. Chin's stunning watercolor and gouache illustrations, colorfully detailed and scientifically accurate, employ perspective to draw readers into observations of life and matter within the smallest possible spaces. The back matter adds details to the text's brief definitions and delineates where the art departs from settled science (in color and spatial relationships). The main text ends philosophically: we are all made of "the same stuff as everything else in the universe," and yet each of us is a "singular person, who can think and feel and discover... / ...the universe within."

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Jason Griffin. Reynolds's introspective narrative poem, with a young man at home during quarantine as its speaker, shares the stage with Griffin's emotive collagelike illustrations done in Moleskine notebooks and reproduced on the pages to make it look like a real teen's journal. The first-person text is presented in three parts, or "breaths." In "Breath One," the narrator says he's "sitting here wondering why / my mother won't change the channel // And why won't the news change the story / And why the story won't change into something new." Along with concerns about the world outside, he thinks about his father coughing behind closed doors, his sister talking about protests, and his brother lost in video games. When the wonderings get to be too much, the narrator reminds himself to breathe "in through the nose // out through the mouth." By the end of "Breath Three," the narrator realizes that his "oxygen mask" for living through this uncertain time is the people he loves and the moments they share. The poem and images create an authentic-sounding adolescent narrator trying to grapple with the confusion and fear of the double pandemic (COVID-19 and systemic racism) he is facing. The book ends with a conversation between the two Jasons about their collaborative process for creating this work during the pandemic.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) YA Before he was National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jason Reynolds was a twenty-something aspiring poet newly arrived in NYC with his friend Jason Griffin, who was trying to make it in the art world. "A poet. An artist. Black. White. We were college roommates. Now, close friends." This book, first released in 2009, is set up like a journal or scrapbook, presenting words and visuals mostly in stream-of-consciousness conversation that reveals the coauthors' artistic ambitions and day-to-day experiences. Themes such as friendship and allyship; fear and ambivalence; impatience and persistence; and, above all, yearning for creative expression emerge, along with occasional autobiographical details (first apartment, family illness, party-crashing) and dialogue that provide snapshots of a time and place in these young creators' lives. The rest is history, as their latest collaboration, Ain't Burned All the Bright (rev. 3/22), won a 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, among many career-spanning accolades for each. An eye-opening portrait-of-the-artists archive filled with memories, ephemera, and optimism (and appended with a new afterword by Reynolds and Griffin).

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) 1-3 A trio of best friends--a worm (named Blue), frog (Barry), and rabbit (Pancakes)--cheerfully careens through an action-packed adventure in this graphic novel for the primary set. At its core, the story is about listening to your friends and respecting that their needs may be different from your own. But that moral center is secondary to a frenzied chase after a beach ball, which catapults the three into contact with a jumbled cast including aliens, flying mustachioed pigs, and a duck celebrating a birthday inside a volcano. The illustrations feature simple shapes and saturated colors, with objects and characters almost constantly darting around the pages or shooting through the bright pink-and-orange sky. This book is in many ways a celebration of the comics form, and despite the goofy chaos of the story, the authors carefully incorporate new visual storytelling strategies one at a time, making this a strong introduction for readers who are still learning how comic tropes work. The book ends with illustrated character sketches of the three friends. A joyful, slapstick romp.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) 4-6 In this vivid graphic novel, adventurous thirteen-year-old Iris believes that she has explored every last corner of her small hometown with her best friend, the trepidatious Sam. She acutely feels Bugden's limitations and how they hinder her boundless ambitions. After a fight with her mom, Iris camps out at the river, her place of solace and possibility. Sam finds her in the morning, peering down at the strangely dried-up riverbed. Iris ropes Sam into exploring the riverbed, which soon leads them to the dripping remnants of a once-submerged town. The more Iris investigates, the more she realizes how cautious (and complacent) Sam has become, and this frustration culminates in an outburst that separates the two friends just as the first traces of true danger appear. A skilled animation artist, Pamment balances his plentiful and cinematic sequential storytelling with bright, personality-building dialogue to create a cohesive and immersive narrative in both art and text. Detailed visual motifs and many potent sound effects handily extend the narrative beyond the page and activate readers' senses. Hand this mesmerizing tale about hidden histories and friendship growth spurts to cautious and intrepid young explorers alike.

Reviewer: Niki Marion | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Raúl the Third. Color by Elaine Bay. This ingeniously crafted illustrated novel offers a multifaceted and heartfelt take on the classic superhero story. Portico Reeves is a kid with a "secret secret"--he likes to think of himself as Stuntboy, a homegrown and self-styled superhero whose power is "making sure all the other heroes stay super. And safe. Supersafe." The selfless Stuntboy protects the quirky and racially diverse cast of characters in his apartment building, particularly his own family members and his best friend Zola. Instead of super strength or flight, Stuntboy performs a variety of odd "stunts" to help others, which also lets him burn off some energy. When he is Stuntboy, the young hero isn't affected by his anxiety, or "the frets," which are made worse for Portico by his parents' constant bickering and his relentless bullying by "Herbert Singletary the Worst." In ten episodic chapters, Reynolds employs fast-paced, realistic dialogue loaded with wordplay and humor. A parallel narrative, in the form of the television show Super Space Warriors, artfully reflects Portico's parents' impending separation. Raúl the Third's cartoon illustrations are integral, active components of the story. From the smallest possible detail in a skyline to commanding double-page action spreads, the art makes Portico's world feel real and vibrant. Bay's color work is invaluable, oscillating between pulsating palettes and subdued screentones. Keeping to the superhero tradition, the creators end on a cliffhanger, leaving readers with a promise of more adventures to come.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(3) 4-6 Adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul. Illustrated by Rachelle Baker. Cherry-Paul adapts Reynolds's YA "remix" of Kendi's National Book Award–­winning Stamped from the Beginning for a middle-grade audience. Reynolds's forthright conversational voice comes through; the book's chronological organization is similar to its YA counterpart. Accompanied by black-and-white halftone illustrations, short readable chapters hit on main points, and occasional sidebars provide related information. "Pauses" in the main text clarify concepts and give readers a chance to gather their thoughts about how deep white supremacy runs and what being antiracist means. A seven-page timeline and a glossary are appended, as are lists of suggested picture books, chapter books, and books for older readers.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(1) K-3 The relative sizes of objects can be endlessly fascinating to curious young minds. How many books tall is an eight-year-old? How many eight-year-olds standing on shoulders reach the height of an ostrich? What makes Chin's (Grand Canyon, rev. 1/17; and others) new science picture book exceptional is how far he takes the concept. Beginning with a group of children and a telescope, the story proceeds through imagined scenarios (see: ostrich example above) to compare trees (from oaks to redwoods); buildings (the Eiffel Tower to the Burj Khalifa to the planned kilometer-high Jeddah Tower); objects in space. As we progress through the pages, the units of measurement grow from inches to feet and then miles, until we are measuring in millions of miles and finally light years, as readers discover our place in the Milky Way and beyond. Complex concepts (such as local galaxy groups and super clusters) are clearly defined throughout in simple captions elucidating Chin's watercolor and gouache art. Maintaining accurate scale in the comparisons of earthbound objects throughout the first half of the book introduces the concept of relative size in an easy-to-understand way. When Chin moves out beyond Earth's atmosphere, he takes greater and greater artistic license in his depictions of the inconceivable vastness of our galaxy and everything beyond. Extensive back matter delves deep into current understandings of the size, age, and complexity of the universe. Sources are listed along with child-friendly websites for further exploration of the big and small ideas presented in this out-of-this-world science picture book.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(1) YA Illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff. Reynolds has skillfully edited and rearranged his original verse novel (Long Way Down, rev. 7/17) to create room for Novgorodoff's impressionistic ink and watercolor illustrations to flourish, resulting in an adaptation that feels authentic to its new comics format. Fifteen-year-old Will's older brother, Shawn, is murdered. According to "The Rules," Will must not cry or snitch, but must seek revenge. Soon after the murder, Will leaves his apartment with his brother's gun and a resolve to kill. As Will descends in the building's elevator, he is inexplicably confronted by a deceased victim of gun violence at each floor, from old friends to the father he can barely remember. Each encounter further shakes Will's confidence in "The Rules" and in his deadly plans, leading to an open-ended conclusion. Novgorodoff's cartooning is never static; at times she opts for clearly defined panels and figures, and at others she forgoes panels entirely and leaves characters abstracted or incomplete. These artful decisions offer readers insight into Will's emotional state at any given moment. The layered, fragmented layouts found across many spreads have potent impact, along with stylistic touches such as Polaroid photos, video screens, and storyboards seamlessly substituted for panels. Scenes of violence are starkly portrayed, including a double-page image of Shawn's dead body; however, the complex and unjust reality of Will's position remains front and center, in sharp focus.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017; January, 2021

(2) YA Gurley uses the star-crossed-lovers theme to good effect in his YA debut set in a (fictional) blue-collar California oil town. The romance between alternating narrators Vanessa (an aspiring astronomer) and Zach (an artist) is tentative and chaste but emotionally intimate as they unpack their respective family baggage. This love story is also a timely, moving statement about income inequity and a reminder that everyone struggles.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(1) 4-6 Ten blocks. Ten stories about middle schoolers, each filled with humor and heart. The characters cope with difficult problems, but they are first and foremost ordinary, good kids. Names, jokes, and details are cleverly woven between tales to show the interconnectedness of the characters' world, while the individually distinct stories remind us that you never know what someone else is going through.

Reviewer: Autumn Allen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. Dewey loves popping bubbles. One day, a bubble escapes him un-popped and the boy goes to humorously extraordinary lengths (and heights) in pursuit of it. This simple tall-tale theme, the repetition of the text, and the series of airborne vehicles Dewey boards on his popping quest should all appeal to young picture-book crowds. Rockefeller’s digital illustrations are cinematic and beautifully detailed.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 In eighteenth-century France, "dreamer" Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and his more practical brother, Jacques-Etienne, used their complementary skills to invent and launch the first hot-air balloon. Playful digital paintings depict the invention's intricate details and capture the remarkable flight over verdant countryside and Louis XVI's Versailles. An attractive and informative introduction to these pioneers of flight. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan