(2) 4-6 In the five years since her parents divorced, twelve-year-old Holly has lived in and visited lots of places with her actor father; she is used to not feeling rooted in any one spot. Now her father has flown off to San Francisco for his "big break" in A Midsummer Night's Dream while Holly goes to Burlington, Vermont, "a city she'd never heard of in a state she'd never been to," to stay with her uncle Vincent for a month. Holly hasn't seen him since three Christmases ago, but she remembers a lot about him: he's gay; is a year younger than her father; lives alone in a small town outside Burlington; and runs a bookstore, where he is "drowning in books." The beautiful cover illustration and even Holly's name refer to her love of plants, and the metaphor will not be lost on readers: Holly yearns for roots in her life, and Uncle Vincent and his community just might be the ones to help. And, sure enough, she does find much of what she's looking for. Holly is a well-drawn, likable protagonist dropped into a New England setting, where she thrives. A gentle, uplifting, and memorable story.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 "Why doesn't the world have a pause button?" eleven-year-old Peter Harrison wonders. A lot is happening in his world: he's on Official Caregiver Duty for his beloved grandfather who has Alzheimer's; his best friend, Tommy, is moving away; he's nervous about starting middle school in the fall; and he's trying to save the manatees in the Indigo River near his central Florida home. Spending their days playing along the canal, Tommy and Peter are the founding (and only) members of the Discovery Club, constantly in search of animal species to document in their "Discovery Journal." Their biggest find is a huge manatee near mean old Mr. Reilly's dock. It's injured, with long scars on its back, indicating that it's been hit by a motorboat, and Peter blames Mr. Reilly. In fact, Peter's angry finger-pointing accusation of Mr. Reilly is caught by the local news, and the story goes viral. Peter's attempts to save Zoe (his name for the manatee) become the heart of the novel, and debut author Griffith adroitly weaves in the other threads of the tale around it. Peter grows up that summer and finds an apt metaphor for his life in his love of nature. His story is full of sadness, adventure, and beautiful scenes on the Indigo River. Any writer who can make readers cry about "a gray, rubbery island" of a manatee has done his job well.

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

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joanie Stone. Power (1794-1871) was a self-taught naturalist who had to fight to be recognized for her discoveries about sea life. The Parisian dressmaker moved to Sicily after her 1818 marriage; inspired by the island's natural beauty, Power was drawn to study marine creatures. Designing "one of the world's first aquariums built for scientific study," she was able to observe living animals; her study of the paper nautilus resolved an age-old scientific mystery about its shell. This compelling picture-book biography of a trailblazing woman scientist is enhanced by period-setting illustrations featuring blues, greens, and beachy browns. Griffith concludes with more about "Jeanne's Life and Legacy," the paper nautilus, "Marine Biology and Conservation," a note about historical research, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn