(3) 4-6 Very Important People series. Illustrated by Daniel Duncan. In seven chapters geared toward third and fourth graders, Patrick discusses engineer and inventor Latimer's life and work. Born in 1848 to fugitive slaves in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Latimer's remarkable career included work for Alexander Graham Bell and (indirectly) Thomas Edison. Inviting illustrations in blue and gray tones help break up the readable text. Frequent sidebars elaborate on topics in the main text (patents, the Industrial Revolution) and introduce Lewis's contemporaries (Booker T. Washington; "Other Nineteenth-Century Inventors"). The book ends with a list of Lewis's patents, a timeline, brief bios of four modern-day African American inventors, and an extensive bibliography.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jori van der Linde. More celebratory than scientific, this compilation of poems and retold myths (most are also in verse) about the moon is complemented by richly detailed ink-pen and Photoshop illustrations; van der Linde captures the luminescence of the moon in all its phases, the stars, and even the foam from ocean waves. The book's tall, slim trim size lends itself well to the poetry within. A page of moon facts is appended.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Johanna Wright. Lewis's parodies of famous poems are as much homage as humor. Though his scansion isn't perfect, his intentions are commendable, and many of the verses even provide deeper understanding of the original poetry. Carl Sandburg's "Fog" sings a duet with Lewis's "Hail"; Issa's toad converses companionably with Lewis's tiger. Expressively cartooned acrylics complement the playful text with characters of many colors and species.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Balbusso & Elena Balbusso. Using simple, poetic text with an environmental message, this book suggests ways we can learn from, appreciate, and preserve nature. While the mindfulness affirmations ("Let the lake instruct you in stillness") will resonate most with adult readers, the story's message of caring for the earth and its creatures may have broader appeal. The precise digital art adds interest with a luminous, textured look.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins. Two veteran children's poets create a series of sardonic poems imagining the final moments for a variety of prehistoric creatures, arranged chronologically from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic eras. The book's humor doesn't always land, and the cartoony digital illustrations (which include a wild-eyed, bearded paleontologist) are more frenzied than funny. Brief facts below each verse add a useful scientific aspect to the volume.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Uhles. Twenty-nine mostly rhyming poems make hay with the dottiness of days specially designated to celebrate hats, sunscreen, UFOs, zippers, older persons, vinegar, and toilets, among other things. Kids will likely enjoy the silly verse even as it is often clever, singsongy, and uneven at the same time. Colorful illustrations capture the amusing goings-on.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Gary Kelley. Lewis and Kelley (And the Soldiers Sang; Harlem Hellfighters) respectfully relate the story of roughly 420 Navajo code talkers who helped the U.S. win World War II by using their native language for secret military communications. Lewis emphasizes the extraordinary nature of their achievement after a century of unjust treatment by the government. Kelley's illustrations evoke classic (and violent) wartime images and Native American iconography. Bib.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg. In a Polish village, an old man known as the Wren and a girl called the Sparrow defy "the Tyrant's guards" (in Nazi uniforms), who have come to destroy the village's musical instruments. Years later, a boy finds the Wren's hidden hurdy-gurdy and keeps the old man's legacy alive. Rich-hued, angular illustrations echo the lyrical text's themes of hope, despair, and remembrance.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 National Geographic brings us another enjoyable browsing book filled with bright animal photos and jazzy graphics. Spreads feature animals telling jokes in word balloons, rebus riddles, or puzzlers that young readers will love sharing with friends and family. True facts are scattered throughout at random, but the real attraction is the visual and verbal humor. A "joke finder" index is appended.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Minalima. Entertaining poems about eighteen legendary creatures (e.g., chupacabra, Loch Ness Monster, Nandi Bear) are displayed on faux-newspaper pages, signs, and bottle labels. The crisp digital illustrations have a slightly edgy feel; the sophisticated (and chaotic) presentation makes this most appropriate for middle-grade readers. This is an inventive and contemporary twist on well-loved mysteries. Information about the cryptids appears on the back endpapers.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) 4-6 Plenty of local texture adds to the veracity of this story about the Boone Family, who waits out Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, is rescued, and begins a new life in New Jersey. The narrative focuses on thirteen-year-old Reesie Boone, who dreams of fashion school, through the turmoil. Patrick's novel is a true-to-life portrait of one family's post-disaster recovery.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Gary Kelley. The story of an all-black regiment is a revealing lens through which to view the Great War. Lewis brings a stark poetic sensibility to his topic; he references the irony of black men being shipped across the Atlantic, while in Kelley's atmospheric illustrations enslaved men in shackles appear out of the mist. A needed antidote to sentimental WWI books of the centennial year. Bib.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Maria Cristina Pritelli. This rich collection gives readers a sampling of Lewis's poetic versatility. Included are humorous nature poems, moving ones about people such as Rosa Parks and about places such as the Okeefenokee Swamp, riddle poems, and thought-provoking verses. Pritelli's understated illustrations add relevance without overpowering or detracting from the poems--although they are sometimes hard to read against dark backgrounds.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gerald Kelley. Dragons, hippogriffs, ogres--each letter highlights a legendary or mythical monster in this alphabetic tribute. Each monster is described in a silly rhyme, while a sidebar of denser text provides information about its characteristics and origins. Kelley's engaging illustrations vary in style from creature to creature: the skin-walker is loosely rendered in muted browns, while the phoenix is a riot of fiery color.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes. Why should cars be limited to steel and glass? These two dozen short poems offer vehicle lovers delightful automobile alternatives with distinct advantages: e.g., the paper car ("if it breaks down, don't frown, just...quickly shred it") or the hot-dog car ("you just can't beat it. / And when you're done / You simply eat it"). Holmes's subdued-palette, retro illustrations extend the humor.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) 4-6 Poets Lewis and Lyon here give voice to a cross-section of the 250,000 participants of the 1963 March on Washington: from first grader Ruby May Hollingsworth and Aki Kimura, a Japanese American sent to an internment camp during WWII, to Coretta Scott King. Many fine works on the civil rights movement are available; this adds the power of poetic imagination. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(2) YA Seven stories in this collection draw on the black experience in America, taking readers into the Deep South during slavery days through the Civil War and Jim Crow laws. The eighth (titular) story introduces a Spanish merchant who acknowledges his part in the African slave trade. While the prose in these compelling narratives is sometimes pedestrian, the complexity of each moment marks its power.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Photographs by Frederic B. Siskind. Each double-page spread "exhibit" in The Face Bug Museum consists of a poem, a cartoonish but detailed line drawing, and an extreme close-up photo of the subject. Varied forms keep the poems about insects' and other creepy-crawlies' adaptations surprising. A "word from our bugs" expounding further on each species concludes this visually compelling interdisciplinary field guide to tiny creatures.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Raff. Twenty-two obscure but entertaining holidays get their own poems, each one funny, playful, and even instructive. The poems vary in length and style, with a concrete poem in the shape of a flamingo for Pink Flamingo Day and five limericks in honor of May 12, Limerick Day. Raff’s ink washes and drawings feature animals with lots of personality.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Monique Felix. When the river rises during the "wet, rainy season," crocodile Snout (the "Good Ship Crocodile") ferries fireflies, frogs, a hedgehog, and other creatures across; likewise, the fireflies guide him home when he becomes lost. It's a quiet, peaceful story, and the oversize, dramatic double-page-spread illustrations stand out. Unfortunately, awkward text placement near the gutter detracts from the overall book design.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty