(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mika Song. Six children in kindergarten through fifth grade share their fears and hopes the night before the first day of school, during that day, and after school. Derby's free-verse poems subtly convey a range of emotions, family situations, and first-day experiences. Uncluttered watercolor and ink illustrations depict the diverse cast of students, parents, and teachers. This upbeat poetry volume should both reassure and entertain young readers.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Sean Qualls. A first-person narrator addresses readers conversationally (sometimes irritatingly so) in this biography of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century African American poet. Dunbar's poems are placed throughout the book, introducing both his work and life story. Qualls's black-and-white illustrations are full of action and emotion, enhancing the informative text. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Every Sunday night, young African American narrator Evie goes "Sunday shopping" with Grandma. They browse advertisements, pretending to visit stores and discussing everything they're "buying." Bright mixed-media illustrations blend realistic portraiture with their flights of fancy. Sharper emotions--worry for Evie's mother in the armed forces; awareness of constrained finances--underlie this cozy story, but Evie and Grandma's joy in each other is reassuring.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(4) 4-6 Kyle's mother is forced to sell their lake house after his grandmother dies and his father leaves. During his family's final trip to the lake, Kyle's friendship with a taciturn elderly neighbor helps him get over his anger and develop an appreciation for life's uncertainties. Despite a narrative voice that doesn't always ring true, this gentle coming-of-age story is enjoyable.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. Nonie is sick and tired of mush for breakfast ("Squishy, yucky, yellow stuff--mush is baby food") and stomps off to Grandma's house. After a morning together at church and then the church picnic, Nonie agrees to give her parents--and the new baby--another chance. Rhythmic text and cool-hued watercolor illustrations depict a loving contemporary African American family.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. When a boy arrives late for school, his teacher raises her eyebrow in disbelief as he describes his harrowing adventures getting there. Acrylic paintings add humorous details to his escapades battling the wild wind gusting outside. Clever design elements (e.g., the teacher's skeptical interruptions are set in red type: "Now, really..." "I find that hard to believe!") also add spark.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky. Two foolish men decide a traveling peddler looks sinister and therefore must have stolen a horse from their village. The pair look very silly when the peddler's bag is opened and no horse is inside, but in a clever twist, the foolish men are proved right, though they never know it. The entertaining story pictures a hook-nosed, swarthy, thieving peddler against stupid pink-cheeked bumpkins.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kate Kiesler. In poetic language, the text relates the nighttime explorations of Taiko the cat. Absorbed in his adventures, which involve dogs, a raccoon, and numerous things blown about by the fall wind, the cat ignores his owner's first call to come in, but after a tense encounter with a strange dog, Taiko welcomes the chance to snuggle up safely in the girl's warm bed. Rendered in dark pastels, the illustrations aptly portray the curious cat and his suburban surroundings.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. A snowstorm prevents Mary, the librarian who drives the bookmobile, from taking her niece Hannah home on Christmas Eve. The older vehicle can't get up the lane to Hannah's house, so Hannah and her aunt happily decide to spend the night in the bookmobile, sustained by many food gifts from their patrons. Acrylic illustrations thoughtfully convey the context of this warmly told, although somewhat contrived, story.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian