(2) K-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Faye and her father arrive at a cabin by a lake. Her first-person narration addresses someone who's not there: "Your chair is empty...The quilt you made smells like you." Faye doesn't identify her mother, but it's clear that's who she's missing. "Dad does everything different." Longing to feel close to her mom, Faye takes out Faye & Mama's Mouseboat just as thunder rumbles in the distance. As the storm begins in earnest, Faye feels her mother all around her. "The clouds sweep in fast and bring me so much more of you." After the storm passes, Faye returns to shore, where her father is waiting for her. Halpin's digital, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations create a dreamlike atmosphere that perfectly captures the story's mood. Dark blues and grays dominate the scenes when depicting sadness; warm reds telegraph comfort and safety. A good book to help children cope with loss and to help them discover fresh starts even during the most challenging times.

Reviewer: Weileen Wang | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Steve Light. Roads, bridges, basketball courts, skyscrapers--so much of our world is made out of concrete, the combination of stone, sand, water, and cement that is our most ubiquitous modern building material. Without getting too bogged down in technical nitty-gritty, Theule presents readers with the fascinating story of concrete, from its ancient nonstructural uses to today's massive feats of engineering. The brief, clear expository text delivers the information well (as readers learn, for instance, the difference between tensile strength and compressive strength), with additional details provided by conversational, often humorous word balloons from various figures found in the illustrations. Light's pen, ink, and watercolor art is bright and engaging, with plenty of white space. Occasional double-page spreads convey the magnitude of the giant structures depicted, such as the Roman Colosseum, Three Gorges Dam, and Salginatobel Bridge, all made possible by the invention of reinforced concrete. Bright blues and greens are used throughout, highlighting the environment and providing contrast to the gray and earth-tone structures. Hand this to fans of Macaulay's building books (such as Castle and Underground). A bibliography is appended.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) YA Illustrated by Adam S. Doyle. Farmer Bald is dead, leaving his sadistic son Bones in charge. But chaos erupts when Bones's nemesis Fat, a fairy, sets out to murder him. Their escalating conflict spells trouble for everyone, from Mrs. Bald down to the mangy cat. These loosely interconnected short stories are, at times, both twistedly funny and grisly. Doyle's splattery black-and-white illustrations capture the grim tone.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson