(2) PS Illustrated by Hanna Cha. This warm-hearted playground-set concept book focuses on circles and on counting from one to ten. "One circle...bounces! Two circles...roll!" Warm-toned, digitally colored ink illustrations depict a child bouncing a basketball and another cycling up on a two-wheeler. More friends appear, each shown with a circular or spherical item. Some of these items are toted (hula hoops, flying discs), some are built into the playscape (climbing rings, sprinkler heads), and all are intended for cooperative enjoyment. After we get to ten circles--in the form of festively decorated cookies--the count returns to the beginning. The children join hands as "one circle gathers. One circle opens. One circle grows. Circle Round." The message of inclusion, underscored by the illustrations' casual diversity in characters' skin tones, ethnicities, genders, and abilities, is clear for very young children--all of whom would likely be welcomed enthusiastically into this circle of friends.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Guatemalan Maria, Korean Jin, and Somalian Fatimah appeared in I'm New Here. Now the focus is on their American classmates and how everyone benefits from interacting with the new kids. For instance, Jesse gets Maria to play on their soccer team, and she's "unstoppable." Watercolor and digital illustrations depict welcoming, diversely populated classrooms, and the simple text with speech balloons supports young readers. A note further discusses "connecting across differences."

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Mia and her older brother Simon find themselves embroiled in international intrigue when their foreign-aid-worker father is arrested while they are visiting North Korea. The siblings discover they possess dangerous photos that must get out of the country. Character development is weak, but the action scenes keep things interesting. Information about North Korea and short fictional profiles revealing daily life there are interspersed throughout.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) PS Illustrated by Susan Gal. The arrival of spring, with its flowers, budding trees, baby birds, and butterflies, is celebrated with magic words (alakazam, presto chango) and gatefolds that open to show what the magic has wrought. Simple rhymes tell the story: "A silent sky, / then birds come winging. / Mumbo jumbo! / Noisy singing!" Vibrant, full-bleed mixed-media illustrations enhance the joy and the transformations.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(3) PS Illustrated by Susan Gal. From the creators of Abracadabra, It's Spring! comes an homage to another season. Simple rhyming text incorporating magic words leads to gatefolds revealing fall's transformations: "Chipmunks dig / their burrows deep. / Sim sala bim! / They're fast asleep." Illustrated with richly colored charcoal and digital-collage art, this is a perfect choice for autumn storytimes.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Jin from Korea is having trouble learning English letters but has a great imagination. Maria from Guatemala wants to show off her soccer skills, but she's afraid to play because of her limited English. Fatimah from Somalia slowly begins sharing her drawings with the class. Watercolor illustrations extend the simple, direct text of this useful introduction to assimilation. An autobiographical author's note adds value.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Through vividly recalled stories, Dara learns of her grandmother's (Lok Yeay) life in Cambodia with her beloved brother before the invasion of the Khmer Rouge. Later, when Lok Yeay learns of her brother's death, Dara consoles her devastated grandmother with a hopeful story of her own. Lush oils illustrate this sentimental refugee story; information on Cambodian heritage is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien. A mother-son team profiles sixteen activists or resistance groups and social movements, from Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh to Muhammad Ali to 2003's worldwide Iraq war protest. The book begins with Gandhi, and a common thread is commitment to the credo of nonviolence. Sections include context-setting background information and shadowy black-and-white drawings. A significant and timely offering. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Based on a seventeenth-century novel, this story of Hong Kil Dong, a boy born to a noble father and commoner mother, is full of intrigue, as he fights for the rights of the poor in fifteenth-century Korea. The graphic-novel format showcases a large cast of characters and detailed landscapes. Extensive author notes--also presented in graphic-novel design--give contextual information.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt