(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shawn Harris. Meloy and Harris depict one family's anarchical bedtime routine within their ramshackle lighthouse-esque domicile. ­Rollicking rhymes, narrated by a young family member, set the scene: "We all got / tucked in early. / A full tomorrow waits. / But here / It's almost midnight. / And everyone's awake!" The activities listed in the peppy text begin sedately enough, with Grandma doing needlework and Dad baking bread. But as the night wears on, the events get wilder and wilder: "the cat is giving poke tattoos and prank-calling the cops." The protagonist, who is the only one trying to get to sleep, mostly observes and wrings hands ("I'm really not quite certain how much more that I can take"). But just as our narrator decides to give up on restfulness--the sun comes up, and the wild family members' eyelids go down. Harris's exuberant, page-filling illustrations ("printed in three spot-colors...grayscale plates were rendered with India ink, charcoal, and pencil") feature richly saturated hues. While the outside is all midnight-blues and whites (think Tomi Ungerer), nothing about the indoors is conducive to sleep, with a bright sunshiny yellow that would disrupt anyone's circadian rhythms.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nikki McClure. With terrific enthusiasm for his subject, musician-author Meloy uses rhyming verse to tell Seeger's story, paying equal tribute to the singer's musical and activist efforts. The text is by turns clever, cute, and exhausting. Bannerlike gold bands emblazoned with song lyrics festoon McClure's striking cut-paper art in black, white, and gold. Recommended listening and notes are appended. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Carson Ellis. In 1961 Marseille, France, twelve-year-old Charlie witnesses children working together as pickpockets, and he becomes an active participant in their schemes. Charlie's worlds collide when the Whiz Mob gang works a Big Tip--a gala at which his American diplomat father is an important guest. Fans of the more fantastical Wildwood Chronicles will appreciate this clever caper's similarly witty, self-aware narrative voice and personality-filled pencil illustrations. Glos.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(4) 4-6 Wildwood Chronicles series. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. Separated, Prue (accompanied by talking bear Esben), bandit-in-training Curtis, and Curtis's sisters fight multiple threats to Wildwood. An enormous cast of characters--human, animal, and supernatural, all quirky as ever--and the scope of the kids' respective quests make this trilogy-ender harder to follow than previous volumes, but witty descriptive language and warm black-and-white illustrations invite readers into this enchanting forest world.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) 4-6 Wildwood Chronicles series. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. Reunited, Prue and bandit-in-training Curtis set out to restore Wildwood's true heir. Meanwhile, an avaricious entrepreneur forces a group of "Unadoptable" children to breach Wildwood's magical boundary. Wry humor, suspense, and distinctive fantasy elements make this lengthy novel a quick read. Ellis's detailed illustrations (both black-and-white spot art and color full-page tableaux) capture the human and animal characters in all their quirky glory.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) 4-6 Wildwood Chronicles series. Illustrated by Carson Ellis. When her baby brother is carried by crows into the Impassable Wilderness, plucky twelve-year-old Prue follows--and Prue's friend Colin follows her. Prue and Colin are soon separated, then both are entangled in ongoing hostilities between bandits, forest creatures, and the witchy Dowager Governess. Meloy's witty prose and Ellis's nuanced black-and-white illustrations create an alluring arboreal society.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher