(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bianca Diaz. Spending time with an older neighbor, a boy named Wilson daydreams of "one day" fixing up her house, which has fallen into disrepair. The determined Wilson shares his ideas with his whole community. The payoff comes when "one day" arrives, and readers discover that Wilson was not just daydreaming but thoughtfully putting a plan into action. Diaz's sunny mixed-media art mirrors the collaborative spirit of the story.

Reviewer: Minh Lê | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) YA Bounty hunter Nixy is paid by parents to pull fellow teens out of the virtual-reality world of MEEP when they exceed the time limit. When the game's developer hires her to find his son, she discovers he's not hiding but trapped. Readers probably won't see the shocking ending coming, and Durango adeptly balances breathless gaming action with rich character development.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck. At the narrator’s father’s music store, "people come...to buy dreams and memories." Customers stop by and tell their stories (a series of linked free-verse poems), each connecting to a Latin musical style or dance. Illustrations accompanying the girl's narration are in black and white while the visitors' tales appear in vibrant color. A useful author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) PS Illustrated by Robert Goldstrom. This lilting poem describes a boy's dream journey as he and his companions sail the nighttime skies: "In a dream the full moon was a yellow balloon. / We followed its trail and grabbed on to its tail." Constellations come alive and interact with the traveler until he sails home. The deep-blue-hued pages contain memorable images, including smiling clouds and a genial moon.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eleanor Taylor. King Big Daddy of Great Gorilla Villa summons his kin via mouse messenger. The rhymes introducing each of his ten relatives, who employ diverse modes of transportation (including pogo stick), have the clickety-clack precision of a train. Meanwhile, the cheeky art ups the humor quotient: look for brand-new-baby gorilla Priscilla--the reason for Big Daddy's summons--in her propeller-driven highchair-throne.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Unable to live up to his warrior father's expectations, thirteen-year-old Kehl instead develops his skills as a cartographer. After being kidnapped by pirates and forced to map the uncharted waters surrounding the Empire, Kehl learns that his future depends on breaking from his past. Detailed evocation of setting makes this story an enjoyable read. An author's note describes the tale's inspiration.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Tom Pohrt. Young slave Calepino has lived a privileged life, taught to read and write at a wealthy noblewoman's estate in seventeenth-century Colombia. He leaves his sanctuary to assist a doctor at a leprosy colony, but puts the doctor, a Jewish refugee of the Inquisition, at risk trying to help another slave boy. The story's characters are well defined, and the setting is vividly described.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. After a carpet beetle announces the annual Pest Fest talent show, Ladybug, Butterfly, et al., take turns singing their own praises. The refrains beginning "Pest Fest! Pest Fest!" throw off the book's rhyme scheme, but the text and the art, which shows the bugs to scale against human body parts, will enlighten readers, who will cheer for the contest's unlikely winner.

Reviewer: Nell Beram