(2) K-3 Illustrated by Claudia McGehee. This account of the rusty-patched bumble bee life cycle is told from the perspective of the queen. The story opens in winter, as a hibernating queen bee awaits the arrival of spring. That single creature's "tiny body (not even an inch) holds everything she needs to create a whole colony of bees." As spring arrives and turns to summer, the meadow environment awakens: plants populate the habitat, other wildlife return, and the bee proceeds to build a nest, start laying eggs, and raise the workers who will attend to her care. McGehee's wonderful scratchboard and watercolor illustrations are bursting with the colors and movements of flora and fauna, yet also delicately detailed in portraying bee anatomy. Even the negative spaces are not quite empty, filled with thin lines that indicate movement in the wind and a dashed line that traces the path of the bee as she finds a place for a nest. By the last days of autumn, just one bee--a new queen--is left. The text echoes the introductory pages to emphasize the beginning of a new cycle: "What's inside this hole in the ground? / Next year's rusty-patched bumble bee queen." End notes include more information about these creatures and the decline of the species, as well as steps readers can take to help conserve bees in their neighborhoods.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) 4-6 Young Amelia arrives in San Francisco in 1851 with her mother and family friend Estelle. Amelia quickly learns what it takes to get by in a city run by men. From dressing as a boy in order to sell newspapers to taking a harrowing hot-air balloon ride, Amelia's gumption is admirable. Ketchum offers a pleasurable and well-researched glimpse into mid-nineteenth-century America.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by C. B. Mordan. In 1828, the Damron family leave their Illinois homestead and set off for Kentucky. Mama and Papa both die early in the trip, leaving Jesse and her siblings to travel the rest of the way alone. Originally published as a newspaper serial, the fast-paced, present-tense narrative is written in short, cliffhanger chapters, each accompanied by an effective illustration; an author's note contains historical background material.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) YA African-American entrepreneur Bridget "Biddy" Mason, entertainer Lotta Crabtree, and Susan LaFlesche Picotte, the first Native American woman to receive a medical degree, are among those profiled in this collective biography. Examining the varied roles women played in the nineteenth-century western expansion, the smoothly written text is accompanied by occasional black-and-white photos of the subjects.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta