(2) K-3 Who needs human friends when you have a steadfast, potentially terrifying animal companion by your side? A lonely young girl imagines a day spent with a lion in this winsome picture book. After mane-grooming and tea-sharing, the pair heads boldly to the city park -- "without an adult," the narrator notes proudly -- to march right past her two (human) friends who have "decided that best friends should be in twos, not threes." Shocked and amazed at the leonine spectacle, those two follow, beginning what will become a long parade of fascinated fans who are visibly delighted to watch a lion shoot baskets, score free ice cream, and disrupt traffic. In digitally assembled gouache, pastel, and watercolor art, Pilutti creates a cohesive, stylized cityscape with loose lines and plenty of texture. The bright-orange, blurry-edged lion leaps out against mostly cooler backdrops. Dissonance between the narrator's confident words describing the perks of lion friendship and the illustrated reactions of terrified adults adds both humor and a layer of emotional depth: she wants companionship, yes, but also to wield a little power. A happy ending arrives when the narrator is revealed to be illustrating her fantasies with sidewalk chalk; in the absence of an actual lion, sharing her creativity both cheers her and attracts friends old and new.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2026

(2) K-3 Henry loves wearing a fish costume that matches his pet goldfish, Marigold, and plans to wear it when he starts school -- a milestone about which he is anxious. His parents try to reason with him; they offer reassurance and eventually bribes to go to school without the costume, but he remains unconvinced. New school clothes can't compete with his "wonderful suit made of shiny scales, with flippery fins and a long tail." His fish costume "felt like wearing a hug," and, as he confides to Marigold, "What if I need a hug?" The gouache and wax pastel illustrations with "a bit of digital painting" are primarily in soothing shades of blue, making Henry in his bright orange costume the focal point of the compositions. Henry prevails and shows up on the first day in his costume. His classmates stare; no one sits near him at circle time. Things begin to change when Henry befriends Lucy, who is wearing cat ears. After meeting this kindred spirit, he slowly sheds parts of his fish suit. That he never totally abandons it displays the great respect and care with which Pilutti depicts this specific child's experience. A picture book that should definitely "go to school," to the library, to homes, and to wherever apprehensive kids and their peers may be.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2025

(3) K-3 Ruby is spending a week at ninja school, where each "sapling" is to discover his or her "secret skill." Ruby fears that she'll never find hers, but her fellow students' homesickness gives her a crafty idea. (The book concludes with instructions for making two different stuffed-animal dragons.) Pilutti's skills are whiz-bang plotting and creating art as warm as it is witty.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Despite conventional thought and because they are friends, Squirrel knows that Bear will not eat him, and Bear knows he will not eat Squirrel. However, after a long hibernation, Squirrel does look particularly appetizing--that's why Squirrel is ready with delicious blueberry pancakes. Neat gouache illustrations in muted tones add humorous details to this story about the essence of friendship: trust and understanding.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Well, that's handy: the ten rules of being a superhero are great rules for kids as well (number seven: "Superheroes must rest so that they can recharge"). The rules, demonstrated by (toy) Captain Magma and (owner/sidekick) Lava Boy, don't add up to more than the sum of their parts, but they set up cool vignettes and a terrific visual joke using perspective.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Linda Bleck. In this city-mouse-and-country-mouse update, each of two boys eagerly anticipates his visit to see the other, who is living somewhere that seems "perfect." It's all pleasingly executed if unclear whether each boy's subsequent disillusionment with his friend's living environment reflects personal preference or just homesickness. Kids will be wooed by the turn-it-over-to-read-the-other-story format and the clean-lined illustrations packed with community-specific details.

Reviewer: Nell Beram