(2) PS Illustrated by Annabel Tempest. Johnston and Tempest bring the fun to this bright, bouncy read-aloud that tells the stories of ten children who sustain minor injuries in the midst of happy, active days. Tempest's dynamic illustrations are packed with polka dots, swoops, and swirls--a perfect way to capture the energy of children like Mallelita, who encounters a cactus while jumping on her pogo stick, and Jazelle, who knocks a tooth when her bike crashes. ­Johnston revels in the type of silly invented language that becomes part of many families' vernacular. Delilah, for instance, falls and "cronkled up her knee," and Anita, picking roses, is "­stingered by a bee." Tempest does excellent work with facial expressions as each child journeys from beaming joy to a convincing assortment of grimaces, cries, and howls. Many viewers will recognize children who look and act like themselves in these pages, and the schadenfreude will make them giggle (and perhaps also squirm). More than acknowledging that an adventure is worth a bump or scrape, this book presents bruises and abrasions as normal side effects of living and, most of the time, something a caregiver can kiss away. The bandage-filled cover and endpapers offer even more humor.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tomie dePaola. An imp, a goblin, and a scalawag attempt to outdo one another in the telling of scary stories. Each includes what they collectively believe to be the scariest creature of all--but when that creature actually does appear, it wins them all over by proving its own storytelling prowess. Previously published as Four Scary Stories (in 1978), this crative, metafictive, silly-not-spooky tale features lively, vivid-hued illustrations starring dePaola's recognizably round-faced characters with their easy-to-read thoughts and funny facial expressions.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) YA On her family's long-haul space freighter, the Harland, Pendt knows that she is useless. Without "star-sense" or other valued skills, Pendt is left waiting until she can legally enter a contract at age eighteen to begin earning back the calories and oxygen she consumes. Watching her cousin forced into a pregnancy, however, Pendt begins to guess what sort of contract awaits her. She escapes at Brannick Station, where twin brothers Ned and Fisher Brannick suggest a deal: in exchange for a male heir, they'll protect her in the event that the Harland returns. (Fisher can't operate the Y ­chromosome–locked Net like his brother, and while the reason is treated discreetly, it makes the eventual Pendt/Fisher romance that much sweeter.) The world-building is compelling, offering up: the claustrophobic (and loveless) Harland; the station where Pendt is finally given the calories she needs to work her "gene-sense" magic; a galaxy-wide ruling body, the Hegemony, which holds the twins' parents hostage; and the rebellion that Ned would join if he weren't tied to the station. This engrossing, triumphal sci-fi tale is a gritty space-wizard drama in the tradition of Anne McCaffrey.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tiffany Bozic. In simple yet poetic language accessible to young readers, Johnston describes trees' place in nature: "Trees are friends. Their branches say, Come. Come. Climb." The observations are accompanied by visually soothing acrylic-on-wood paintings--in some, the wood grain of the substrate is preserved, adding texture--that show identifiable trees, birds, animals, wildflowers, fungi, and amphibians, as well as children. Less science lesson than appreciation for these stately companions, the text ends with back matter that names the trees pictured, gives further reading for children and adults, lists websites for tree advocacy organizations, and offers author and illustrator notes.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. An exuberant narrator explains what letters are ("Each letter has a name, wonderful and strange") and how they're used ("You can shuffle them around to make loads of mighty words"). Johnston furnishes scads of examples--"Roll them in your mouth like lollipops. / Clunk. Acrobat. Trout. Quesadilla. Flibbertigibbet"--that Minor brings to lyrical life in animal-studded fantastical scenes.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Amy June Bates. The relationship between a single mother and her child is celebrated as viewers follow a boy growing up under his mother's tender gaze and loving touch, culminating with the child--now an adult--showing her the same loving care in her old age. Soft and lovely, Bates's watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations capture the sentimentality conveyed by the text.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) 4-6 Adapted by Mary Beth Leatherdale. Illustrated by Josh Holinaty. This rousing volume celebrates Canadian inventions and achievements, from early history to today. Each spread features a single innovation, described in brief text and nearly monochromatic digital art, color-coded for its section ("Smarter," "Smaller," etc.). Well-organized conceptually and aptly ending with advice to future innovators, this book adheres to its patriotic objective, a useful counterpoint for U.S. audiences. Timeline.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(2) YA In Johnston's alternate history, the British Empire is still vast and strong with a multiracial populace that values equality. Eighteen-year-old Crown Princess Victoria-Margaret travels to Canada, where she befriends Helena and her beau, August. Readers follow their alternating perspectives as the relatable characters navigate society balls, secrets, and unconventional romance (involving an intersex person). Johnston's world-building is a unique mix of Victorian customs and advanced technology, while also thoughtfully addressing timely topics.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Suki Boynton. The fourth volume of these reissued folktales (first published in 1981 as part of Maid of the North) features active, wise, and independent women. The eleven tales from diverse world traditions include the titular gender-norms-defiant tale and the infamous "Scheherazade." Phelps reimagines the tales in an enchanting and evocative voice, aided by Boynton's occasional illustrations; includes an introduction by Renée Watson. Reading list.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Suki Boynton. This folktale collection centers on women as clever, witty, and strong, with ten retellings (originally published in 1981 in a larger collection) from Scandinavian, British, Irish, German, Swahili, Chinese, Punjab, and First Nations' traditions. As stated in her preface, Phelps "exercised the traditional storyteller's privilege" to reimagine the tales in one enchanting and evocative voice. The volume includes an introduction by Daniel José Older and occasional sepia illustrations. Reading list.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA Cheerleading co-captain Hermione Winters is drugged and raped at cheer camp and terminates the resulting pregnancy. Since she can't remember the rape, it's almost as if it happened to someone else. Well-developed secondary characters--including her fiercely protective best friend, therapist, and coach--are a strong support system in a compelling, emotional story in which Hermione struggles to piece things together.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) YA Anakin Skywalker's former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, uses her Jedi training to rescue her new friends on an Imperial-controlled farming moon. Johnston fills gaps in Ahsoka's story between the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. The story's leisurely pace transitions into an action-filled ending. Fans will be pleased, but readers unfamiliar with the source material aren't given enough background.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) YA In a "Sleeping Beauty" reimagining (set generations after its companion novel A Thousand Nights), spinner's son Yahsaa and his friends run away with their kingdom's princess to break the curse that will let a demon possess her. Lyrical writing fits the slow unfolding of the plot, which focuses on character relationships and an organically growing romance. In comparison, the bittersweet ending feels rushed.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Hadley Hooper. Lizzie, playing happily by herself in a park, comes face-to-face with a small dog. She's hesitant, but the dog's dapper old man owner gently encourages her to join them on a walk (Mom waves permission from a bench). The story is told in adverb-filled text; in her light-toned relief-print illustrations, Hooper's attention to detail encourages viewers to notice both foreground and background activities.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(4) YA Heart of Dread series. In this series conclusion (Frozen; Stolen), heroine Nat and love interest Wes battle multiple villains (including Wes's sister) to create a new world from the wreckage of the old one, a task which may only be accomplished through Nat's unique magic. The seemingly nonstop fight scenes grow wearisome, but the themes of fate and sacrifice are compelling.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(2) YA Famed dragon slayer Owen Thorskard and bard Siobhan McQuaid (whose hands were severely burned in The Story of Owen) begin compulsory service in the Oil Watch, protecting the world's carbon sources from hungry dragons. The story of how the squad comes together to accommodate Siobhan's disability and her transformation into a star in her own right is highly gratifying.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(3) YA The king has killed every bride he’s taken, so when he comes to their village, the sister of the prettiest girl convinces him to marry her to protect her sibling. But she has a plan to survive and also gain the power to save the tormented king from himself. Beautiful lyricism and dynamic characters offset a slow pace in this Arabian Nights retelling.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Walker. In a standard first-day-of-school story, a confident new first grader proclaims that he needs five friends and describes all the learning and playing he'll do with them. While the text's rhyme and meter are at times labored, Walker's joyful cartoonlike illustrations depict kids delighting in show-and-tell, snack time, and recess, among other activities also not specific to first grade.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(2) YA In this original fantasy, eleventh-grade budding composer Siobhan McQuaid is asked to be bard to teen dragon-slayer-in-training Owen. Johnston has great fun reimagining history in a dragon-filled world. Modern references live comfortably next to those from Viking sagas, often to comic effect. And the final confrontation, due to Siobhan's wry, heroic narration, is nothing short of epic.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. Lyrical verse and lush gouache watercolors give a giant sequoia's imagined perspective on the forest life around "him" as seasons and years pass, creating a portrait of a wise and benevolent ancient being. The text--full of alliteration, assonance, and consonance--begs to be read aloud. A few vertical spreads capture the tree's majestic height. "Some notes on sequoias" appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher