(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Giulia Ghigini. Septimus is a badger undergoing an identity crisis. Unlike forest badgers, he doesn’t live in a den but instead in a cozy, tidy seaside cottage where he enjoys opera and collects shells. Solitary, thoughtful, kind, and courtly, he certainly shares some literary DNA with Badger from The Wind in the Willows, but this badger lacks community. Shy and tentative, but aware that he needs connection, Septimus takes an unusual approach to making a friend by inviting a seagull to share tea, conversation, and some interesting outings. Their differences make for challenges, especially as Gully has only one word -- “caw” -- but their friendship seems to be working until Gully suddenly disappears. When a couple of tough-talking snail detectives decline to take the case, Septimus falls into despair. A flock of gulls provides the answer: Gully is nesting. Will impending parenthood threaten the warm but delicate relationship between badger and gull? It’s all witty, absurdist, mannered, and gently tongue-in-cheek -- The Ugly Duckling with a dash of La Traviata. Self-actualization is the theme, but it never weighs down this confection. Deadpan full-page pencil illustrations, beautifully composed, support and expand the text’s particular flavor of elegance, gracious living, and wry humor.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Christopher Denise. A folksy omniscient narrator tells the tale of two families, rabbit and human, that share a territory. Young cottontail Alice and her brother Thistle are enjoying their first spring in their home of Burrow. Humans Carl, his baby sister, and his hapless idealistic back-to-the-land parents have just moved to a nearby country farm. Carl and the bunnies find a common goal in foiling a rapacious real estate developer by ensuring the viability of the farm as Carl and the rabbits, with a little help from their friends (fox, bald eagle, family dog), invent and carry out various schemes. As an animal fantasy, this lies somewhere between Watership Down and The Tale of Peter Rabbit, with detailed and fascinating rabbit world-building à la Adams ("Rabbits have four birthdays a year, one for each season, so the kits of her litter were three months old in human time") and cozy, cadenced prose à la Potter ("brave the meadow, dodge the dog, outwit the farmer, and tunnel beneath the garden fence"). The storytelling is relaxed and digressive, the humor genially satiric, and the dialogue sparky. Fans of Cynthia Voigt's Young Fredle (rev. 3/11) will feel right at home, and readers of Charlotte's Web will delight in several sly echoes. An excellent choice for a family or classroom read-aloud.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. In this spirited conclusion to the series featuring upstanding governess Penelope Lumley and her "incorrigible" raised-by-wolves young charges, all identities are revealed, disguises thrown off, relationships explained, villains dispatched, and long-lost loved ones returned. The arch narration and tongue-in-cheek humor that characterized the previous five volumes will here carry readers through to the tidy and satisfying but forward-looking ending.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. In this fifth installment, exemplary governess Penelope Lumley comes closer to solving the ongoing central mysteries, from curing the Ashton family curse to discovering the identities of her three raised-by-wolves charges. She also admits her love for Simon--and, in a cliffhanger ending, is exiled to Russia. Wood's narration is as cheeky as ever; the plot continues to be filled with humorously exaggerated incident.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. This fourth series entry finds plucky governess Penelope Lumley visiting her alma mater, the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, where trouble ensues and more of the mystery surrounding the Ashton family and Penelope's three orphaned, raised-by-wolves charges is revealed. As ever, the sprightly narration is the strongest feature, and fans will revel in the voice even as the plotting slows.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. The adventures of plucky governess Penelope Lumley and her three raised-by-wolves charges continue, with somewhat less purpose than in the previous series entries. First they go on a hunt through the forest for a missing ostrich; then take part in a séance with a mysterious outcome. Still, the narrative balances action, humor, and tongue-in-cheek "edification"--whether on acronyms, literature, or famous philosophers--with a light touch.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) YA Under the influence of the evil Oleander, Prince of Poisons, Jessamine (The Poison Diaries) commits murder and then flees. She is searching for Weed (who's also looking for her), but as she travels she begins to forget both Weed and who she once was. The prose is elegant, though too little happens--the opening killings excepted--to keep readers engaged throughout.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. In this second installment, plucky governess Penelope and her unusual charges (three orphaned children raised by wolves) leave the family's country estate to visit London, where they continue their eclectic education and discover more clues to their mysterious pasts. The tongue-in-cheek narration and highly sympathetic main characters nicely balance the over-the-top-eventful plot. Fun for Lemony Snicket fans.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) YA Jessamine and her father are fascinated by Weed, an enigmatic young man with astonishing botanical knowledge. Jessamine's father, who keeps a locked garden of poisonous flora, tries to learn Weed's secrets. Jessamine falls in love--until she gets sick, and Weed must turn to the dangerous poison garden to heal her. A suspenseful, eerie historical novel with an extrasensory twist.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(2) 4-6 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. Miss Penelope Lumley is governess to three uncivilized (understandably, as they've been raised by wolves) children on a full-of-secrets country estate. Let the over-the-top characterizations, ludicrous situations, and tongue-in-cheek humor begin! This first installment is practically all setup, settling Penelope in and introducing various mysteries. Like Lemony Snicket, Wood has the gift of simultaneously sending up and inhabiting the story she's telling.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2010

(3) YA Best friends Emily and Philip are obsessed with the smash Broadway musical Aurora, which they've seen countless times. After finding out that the show is closing, the two go to great lengths to obtain tickets; this includes lying to parents, going heavily into debt to Emily's grandmother--and worse. Aspiring thespians will be charmed by this heartfelt and humorous valentine to musical theater.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin