(3) K-3 Illustrated by Estrellita Caracol. A young girl and her family watch and wait for fireflies to come out at night. Caracol’s striking paper-collage illustrations are a good match for Nelson’s child-friendly text, both of which capture the magic of a firefly show: “It’s like the sky dropped in!” Facts about fireflies, including information about their life cycles and bioluminescence, are helpfully appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(1) 4-6 Brinkley Yearbooks series. This addition to the Brinkley Yearbooks graphic novel series (Picture Day, rev. 9/23) stands on its own. Alexandra Olsen -- or Al -- loves baseball. Her middle school's team has won nine back-to-back championships, and they are shooting for a "full decade of baseball dominance." With encouragement from the new coach, Al tries out and makes the cut; she becomes the only girl on the team. When the school's attention-obsessed athletic director calls in a news crew to report on the gender-inclusive baseball season, Al's teammates end up resenting her for hogging the spotlight despite her best efforts to share it. Meanwhile, the school's girls' basketball team is crushing it on the court, but their record-setting season is all but ignored. As Al tries to rebuild teamwork and trust on and off the field, her best friends are also branching out, joining the art club and resurrecting a retired school mascot (a goose called "The Brinkley Beak"). These friends are part of Al's stellar support system, which buoys her spirits as she reclaims and reframes her story. With bold black outlines, striking color work, and dynamic layouts, the art adds further depth to the well-paced plot, memorable characters, and well-realized setting. In one impressively delineated scene, characters converse clearly while playing a chaotic game of dodgeball. Rollicking and tender, this comic knocks it out of the park.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leah Giles. This accessible picture book explains the concept behind Purple Up! for Military Kids, an annual day to honor children with family in the military, as one town prepares to celebrate it. Friendly pastel-hued illustrations emphasize purple. An author’s note gives more information about Purple Up!

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kris Aro McLeod. The tart green apple is a relatively recent variety, and we have one unsung woman from culinary and agricultural history to thank. Fortson's picture-book biography introduces the woman whose combination of skill, determination, and luck produced the Granny Smith apple. Maria Ann Smith's journey begins as the Industrial Revolution in England takes away migrant farm labor opportunities for her to support her family. Immigrating to Australia as a skilled laborer, Smith eventually buys her own orchard, where a strange new apple grows out of a compost pile. The narrative of Smith's life story is interspersed with inset text boxes addressing topics such as apple grafting and Australian history (some of which may be hard for readers to follow). Detailed watercolor illustrations provide glimpses into the life of a migrant farm worker and orchardist. Back matter includes a timeline of Smith's life and an author's note on the effects of British colonization on Australian Indigenous communities.

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

(2) 4-6 Classmates Chloe and Maddie, both twelve, used to be best friends. Now they decidedly aren't, and they're dismayed to find themselves in the same bunk at a drama camp. Scenes of the summer (and a production of Wicked) alternate with flashbacks to the previous school year (and The Music Man), gradually revealing the embarrassing secrets each has about the other and the incident that caused the rift. The dynamic between Chloe, a professional child actor (but, lately, not child star), and Maddie, a self-described "chubby Jewish girl with thick glasses and a tendency to fall over at the worst possible moments" (she has dyspraxia), has settled into patterns that leave both feeling frustrated. They're each figuring things out about themselves, and what seems a simple case of an unbalanced friendship reveals itself to be more complex as the two eventually speak honestly about issues that have long festered between them. The book doesn't reach for tidy resolutions, but there's lighthearted fun to be had along the way, including some creativity with golem stories in a screenwriting elective and (spoiler alert) a sweet queer romantic subplot for one of the girls.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) Myer's graphic memoir is a welcome transracial adoption story told from the adoptee's point of view. Adopted from South Korea by a white couple, Sarah (who now uses they/them pronouns) basically knows nothing about their birth parents and wonders: "Did they WANT me? Why did they let me go?" An outsider in basically every way in their rural Maryland town, Sarah has a rough time at school. Artistic abilities that help them gain popularity with elementary-school classmates can't shield them from race- and gender-based bullying during adolescence. Though they often fight back both verbally and physically, the years of abuse take their toll; at moments when Sarah is feeling especially bad about themself, and during retaliation, Myer imagines themself as a monster. Sarah finds solace through a love of anime: "cosplaying male characters with whom I identified was my sole means of expressing my queerness." Myer uses color, shading, and line effectively, and varies panel size with excellent results. Those who stick with the unflinching depictions of the bullying Myer endured will be rewarded with an engaging--and ultimately hopeful--narrative of a young artist developing their own true identity. Back matter includes websites for resources and support, an author's note, and photos.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 Tween relationships and identity development are the focus of this engaging contemporary graphic novel. It is middle-school picture day, and Viv is determined to make her mark. Motivated by the potential for online attention and inspired by an affirming social media influencer, she impulsively chops off her signature braid. The act--along with the newly styled haircut that follows--turns heads and boosts her confidence; she finds herself exploring different social connections and trying new activities. However, these new experiences and the attention they offer distract her from her loyal best friends and their long-term project to create a roller-skating routine celebrating a favorite fandom. After she pressures her friends to share their not-yet-ready routine publicly, and it does not go well, Viv is forced to reckon with the impact of her insensitive behavior. The bubbly, thickly lined illustrations showcase the characters' styles and electronic interactions (texts, social media posts, etc.) with panache. The tensions and resolutions are portrayed through heartfelt dialogue and with pacing that feels authentic for the seventh-grade characters and the setting. Recommended for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Kaja Kajfež. This idiosyncratic biography of women who defied gender-normative clothing (for reasons strategic, practical, personal, etc.) is full of tantalizing historical details and a curious tone that acknowledges historical records are often imprecise, incomplete, or misleading. Twenty subjects, from ancient history (Amazon warrior Hypsicratea, first century BCE) through the twentieth century (African American pro baseball player "Toni" Stone), are profiled in surprising depth in each six- to eight-page chapter. The entertaining narratives are supplemented with archival images and quirky sidebar anecdotes, as well as full-page illustrated portraits. Meticulous source notes, an extensive bibliography, and an index (unseen) are appended.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ariel Landy. Jillian already has two grandmothers, and though she's happy with her new stepdad, the new bubbe who joins the family along with him takes some getting used to. Bubbe smothers her in lipstick kisses, uses Yiddish terms Jillian doesn't understand, and claims her matzo ball soup is "the best soup in the universe"--and therein lies the real problem. Welcoming Bubbe in feels like disloyalty to Noni (and her meatball soup) and Gram (and her gazpacho). The lively third-person narration ("She had no choice. In the name of grandmas, it was time for a protest!") sticks closely with Jillian and her strong but evolving feelings, with details in the cartoonish illustrations adding humor (keep an eye on the pets). The conclusion is, unsurprisingly, delicious, with plenty of family warmth and a hint of a new member to come. Back matter includes three soup recipes as well as resources for adults on blended and interfaith families.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) 4-6 Cho's riveting work of historical fiction begins on April 29, 1992, when four Los Angeles police officers are acquitted in the brutal beating of a Black man, Rodney King. Twelve-year-old Jordan Park's parents close their liquor store early, bracing for the unrest to come. They expect Koreatown to be targeted by protesters since, two weeks after television footage showed King being beaten, a fifteen-year-old Black girl, Latasha Harlins, was shot and killed by a Korean American store owner. With his parents busy at the store, there's no time for Jordan to tell them that he's been suspended from school for cheating on a ­Spanish quiz (again). Having had an argument with his father and been told he is a disappointment, Jordan tries to atone by setting off on a dangerous and fraught journey: bringing his father a gun to use for self-defense, if necessary. ­Jordan's first-person narrative offers a fresh Korean ­American perspective on what were then called the L.A. Riots; on racism; and on immigration. This debut middle-grade novel by Cho, well known for his acting work, achieves a complexity of theme that is welcome for this audience. It's an important, even profound, story, yet related with a light touch. Jordan's journey will have readers following right alongside him as he navigates the vicissitudes of this moment in history and his place in his family. Back matter includes an extensive and informative author's note.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Less extreme than the dramatic hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters occurring around the globe, the weather crisis affecting this book's fictional place reveals a slower dismantling of land and its inhabitants. Jillian Robichaux lives in the Cajun community of Boutin in the wetlands of Louisiana. Gradually, coastal erosion is destroying the town: the bridge that connects Boutin to the mainland is unsafe; the school cannot be repaired; and businesses, homes, and even a cemetery are now underwater. The future is clear: families must leave. For Jillian, the inevitable exodus feels like an abandonment of her entire culture and her definition of who she is. Guillory's well-crafted setting includes a cuisine of jambalaya, gumbo, and turtle sauce piquant; a sprinkling of French phrases; and Cajun names. The biggest loss, and the one developed most artfully, is the sense of community created in Boutin over generations. The townspeople nurture that history through their stories, which Jillian and her friends capture in an ambitious oral history project that preserves those memories. Jillian's grief, and her trepidation about facing a now unmoored future, ring true and give the novel its heart, while the issues of preserving one's environment and heritage, although strong, never overtake the narrative but offer readers much to ponder.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) YA On April 14, 1865, just days after the conclusion of the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth shot (and killed) President ­Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. Booth would die more than two weeks later during the attempt to apprehend him, and attention shifted onto his accomplices and co-conspirators. Caught up in the plot was the widow Mary Surratt, who ran a Washington, DC, boardinghouse that Booth and other conspirators (including Surratt's son) frequented. ­Surratt's guilt by association and the hearsay surrounding her role in the plot were enough to condemn her to the ­gallows after one of the most unusual trials in American history. Miller (The Borden Murders, rev. 1/16) finds the unlikeliest of protagonists in Surratt. Using court transcripts and contemporaneous secondary sources, Miller pieces together information surrounding Surratt, her family, and her boardinghouse guests during and after the assassination of the sixteenth president. Extensively researched, the narrative is carefully organized to give readers the bearings necessary to follow specifics of the many witnesses and their multiple versions of events. The story lays bare the shocking disregard for judicial normalcy as Surratt and her co-defendants were tried in a peacetime military court while simultaneously tried by the newspapers of the day. True-crime fans will be enthralled by this compelling nineteenth-century case and the woman at its emotional center. Appended with an author's note, list of sources, and an index (unseen).

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) PS The "WHOOOSH!" and "CRRRREAK!" of a swing is interrupted by the "dit dot drip!" of raindrops, and "soon, there are more." A brown-skinned, dark-haired father and daughter reluctantly head to the car; as the rain increases, sound words are playfully incorporated into each scene. The little girl looks anxiously up at the sky, and her drooping head and shoulders as they go into the house show her disappointment. The dad's solution of playing a video game cheers her up, just in time for a big "RRRRUMBLE CRASH!" The lights go out ("zzzzt!") and the following very dark double-page spread shows shadowy shapes and lots of swirling sounds. A blanket fort and flashlight make a cozy, safe space to play checkers and wait out the storm. Perkins's digital art resembles linocuts, with circular imagery moving the story along. Like Davis's Sunny-Side Up (rev. 5/21), this is a tale both about the weather and about weathering disappointment. The joyful puddle-jumping "FWOOSH!" that ends the book should have preschoolers looking forward to rainy days.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday. From Chinese ruler Ai of Han to gun-safety activist X González, this browsable volume is intended to encourage curiosity about and further research on fourteen LBGTQ+ activists, poets, politicians, artists, and thinkers from around the world and throughout history. By eschewing specific gender and sexuality labels in her text, Prager focuses on each subject as a human rather than as representative of any particular group. The page design is lively and inviting; each colorful double-page entry features a stylized portrait on the left-hand page and very brief biographical information on the right. Included are birth and death (if applicable) location(s) and date(s), a descriptive and inspirational statement ("You can be RESILIENT like Josephine [Baker]"), a one- or two-sentence paragraph with general information, and a quotation. Website resources are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Olivia has a plan for the cross-country RV trip she and her older sister, Ruth, are taking with their mother's cousin and his wife: re-create--in reverse--the photo scavenger hunt they'd carried out when they moved from California to Tennessee three years earlier. Olivia hopes rediscovering the moments of delight will help Ruth, who is clinically depressed, handle her condition better. Olivia, an aspiring photographer, spends the trip watching the world through her camera and keeping an eye on Ruth. Ruth's depressive episodes often coincide with Olivia's plans for force-cheering her sister, and she tries to balance supporting Ruth with her own enjoyment of the trip. This drives a wedge between them, until things reach a crisis point and Ruth has to be hospitalized. Allen vividly captures Olivia's caretaker tendencies ("I needed to do whatever I could for my sister; to turn my volume down if things were too loud for her") and how her attempts to manage Ruth's depression are simultaneously futile and necessary. Olivia's literal and metaphorical journeys in the book work well together, and Allen does a good job of showing depression's impact on an individual and a family in a realistic but child-appropriate way. The book's resolution--happy for the moment, but with no guarantees for the future--is spot-on.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) YA Reyna, an artistic Afro-Caribbean teen, comes to terms with the past and paints a new picture of the future in this Caribbean spin on Austen's Persuasion set in the author's native Tobago. After her mother's death, Reyna has all but accepted her narrow existence as the primary caretaker of her family's oceanfront resort. Everyone seems to be moving on except her--her father has a new love interest, her best friend is heading off to college, and her first-and-only ex-boyfriend, Aiden, has become a global music star after leaving the island two years ago. When Aiden's glamorous, jet-setting friends book a villa at the resort as a birthday surprise for him, Reyna's dad inveigles her into acting as their tour guide. Romantic tension builds as the old flames are forced to revisit their bad breakup and unresolved feelings. Faced with big changes at the hotel, Reyna must decide if she's ready to heal from loss, reclaim her stifled artistic talents, and give love a second chance. The narrative seamlessly moves back and forth from the present to the early years of Reyna and Aiden's childhood friendship and eventual star-crossed love. Populated with a cast of believable characters and flush with authentic Trinidadian English dialogue, the story artfully draws from its captivating tropical backdrop. A layered, bittersweet tale of young love, self-discovery, and redemption that marks a promising debut for Dass.

Reviewer: Summer Edward | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) 4-6 Lara starts her own detective agency, whose cases involve a few pranks and a missing brooch, but she mostly ends up focusing on the mysteries about the people around her. One of those mysteries: why her younger sister Caroline, who's just joined her in middle school, doesn't seem to want her help and protection. The sisters, whose perspectives alternate in the third-person-limited narration, are both on the autism spectrum, and Caroline uses a speech device. Their difficulties in interpreting social cues play a natural role in the conflicts within their large family; classmates' reactions to Caroline form another conflict. Also naturally integrated is the family's "Ashkephardic" Jewish faith and practice, particularly--after pranks and detective work both go too far--in themes of atonement related to the High Holidays. A sensitive and frequently funny family and middle-school story with two distinctive, memorable heroines.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maris Wicks. Mary Anning (1799–1847) loved "treasure hunting" with her father and brother along the storm-pounded cliffs of their seaside English hometown, Lyme Regis. The treasures were fossilized shell and bone "curios" they'd sell to tourists. After their father died, her brother discovered what he thought was a giant crocodile head, but it was Mary, at just thirteen, who painstakingly uncovered the entire body. The skeleton (which she thought looked like a dragon) made newspaper headlines before being sold and displayed in a museum and named an "ichthyosaur" (fish lizard). During her lifetime, self-taught Anning discovered five additional extinct creatures, including two species of plesiosaurs. Though she rarely received proper credit at the time, today she is considered the "mother of paleontology." Marsh's mainly upbeat, child-centered text is complemented by Wicks's (Primates, rev. 5/13; Astronauts, rev. 5/20) comic illustration style. Bold pencil outlines and vibrant, digitally colored hues almost pop off the page. Wicks incorporates a few graphic-novel staples--dynamic character expressions, sound effects, and speech bubbles--to add playful touches to the story. Also noteworthy are the recurring luminescent drawings outlined in white that denote Anning's imaginings, whether of extinct creatures she hopes to (or does) discover or of her deceased father watching over her. Back matter includes more details about Anning's life, quick facts about "Mary's dragons" (also creatively featured on the endpapers), information on "How to Become a Paleontologist," and a selected bibliography.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(1) YA On February 5, 1908, conjoined twins were born to Kate Skinner, an unwed mother, in Brighton, England. Mary ­Hilton, the opportunistic bar owner who had hired the expectant mother for no pay in exchange for midwifery services, quickly adopted the girls from Skinner and proceeded to charge customers for a peek at them. Carnivals of the time featured a variety of so-called "freaks," people with atypical physical features. Capitalizing on this, Mary began touring the twins, first in England, then Europe and Australia, before landing in America. Here they made the jump to vaudeville, becoming a sensational box office hit in the 1920s. When Mary passed away, guardianship passed to her daughter and son-in-law, who continued to shamelessly exploit the twins. Ultimately, however, the sisters broke free of their control and began managing their own business affairs, though much less successfully. After their careers ended with a steady mix of burlesque shows, nightclub acts, and state fairs, they retired to North Carolina, working in a grocery store, before passing away in 1969. True to form, Miller's (The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne ­Quintuplets, rev. 9/19) account is meticulously detailed and draws a clear line between facts and speculation, especially when it comes to the motivation of various characters. This comprehensive biography also provides a healthy dose of social history, particularly as it relates to entertainment, gender roles, and disability. A section of ­black-and-white captioned photographs is inserted in the middle, while an author's note, bibliography, and source notes are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) YA Thirteen-year-old Eli and her big sister Anna, seventeen, are used to fending for themselves and covering up their mother's excessive drinking; they've been doing it for years. However, things come to a head when Mom is charged with a DUI and is sent to rehab for ninety days. The girls temporarily evade social services by having Anna impersonate their aunt Lisa, but after learning that Mom lost her job, and without a paycheck forthcoming, they have to reach out to estranged or unknown family members (the girls have different fathers). Armed with Mom's old address book, they set off on a road trip and wind up having to face some unsettling truths about themselves and their decision-making, in a complicated and often unfair world. Eli, who identifies as gay, is bright, funny, and resilient, always willing to forgive her mom's erratic behavior. Anna is more prickly and angry than Eli, but largely out of guilt at not being able to protect her sister. The book's tone is sharp and insightful but never judgmental, and the characters' voices are distinctive and realistic. Moon offers up powerful and positive life lessons wrapped in an engaging, tender, and satisfying story.

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021