(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes. Born into a German circus family in 1884, Katie Brumbach dazzled audiences with incredible feats of strength. Conrad opens her tale with Brumbach's legendary win over strongman Eugen Sandow, after which she renamed herself Sandwina. (The author says in her closing note that there is no written record of the victory but: "This legend has been told over and over again.") Readers learn of Sandwina's romance with a skinny acrobat named Max who became her husband -- and stage prop -- and of their immigration to the United States and her subsequent career. Conrad adopts the tone of a carnival barker to reel off her subject's many feats of strength: "Sandwina balanced a 1,000-pound cannon on her chest. When eight men placed a half-ton stone onto Sandwina's back, she threw it off!" Holmes matches Conrad's delivery with a poster-inspired design that leans into Sandwina's charismatic stage presence, topping her burly form with a pile of blue, curlicued tresses, and is complemented by flourishes of display type (which sometimes threaten to overwhelm the narrative). Occasional ticket-shaped callout boxes convey additional information, such as the fact that Sandwina and other circus women joined the suffrage movement. Beneath Conrad's breathless narration runs a strong current of body positivity: "Sandwina proved strength was beauty, and beauty was strength. Katie's bold costumes showed off every muscle." Photographs accompanying the back matter back this claim up. A rousing introduction to a larger-than-life figure.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ibon Adarne & Rachel Yew. An early-twentieth-century eco-advocate and an abundant natural wonderland come to life in this picture-book biography. Patterned, poetic language tells two intertwining stories: the first of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890–1998), a journalist who used poetry, literature, and on-the-ground activism to prevent development of the Florida Everglades; the second of the Everglades themselves, a "trickle of water" that, over generations, became the sprawling home to nine different habitats. Striking jewel-toned illustrations capture the grandeur of the Everglades' ecological landscape, as well as show off the myriad critters that live there. A tribute to the remarkable persistence of an unconventional centenarian and the wetlands she advocated for and adored. Four concluding pages provide information about some of the Everglades' flora and fauna, more about Douglas, ideas for readers to help, and sources.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald