(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Comstock. Bright, eye-catching digital illustrations provide the first signs of a stimulating adventure. Ward delivers on this promise but also offers a solid and informative introduction to one of the five senses, as readers/listeners are asked to notice, investigate, and learn about sound. The book opens with a young boy hearing a sound--a card catching on bicycle spokes. The author explains that the "card moves back and forth very fast" and that both card and spokes are making a sound because they are vibrating. Turn the page and there's another sound, this time made by a cricket. "Its wings vibrate. That's what makes the sound." Listeners are then asked to take a Slinky-like toy and discover how to make sound waves. For those youngsters lacking the equipment, Comstock's illustration clearly shows the process. This pattern, of ­introducing a concept and then ­providing simple experiments to demonstrate it, ­continues throughout, as readers are asked to create high and low sounds, a simple musical instrument (a pan flute), and a string telephone. Colored rectangles throughout highlight main ideas, and the repetition of words such as vibrate, as well as the concept that vibration creates sound, ensure understanding. Experiments requiring adult help are indicated as such, and many of the materials used are everyday items. The book concludes with a glossary. Imagine this sound--the ­vibration from two hands quickly ­clapping: bravo!

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(4) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Yeats's family is falling apart as his often-depressed father strains his mother's patience. To salvage their relationship, Yeats must travel into a volume of The Arabian Nights to save his father's childhood friend, stuck within its pages for twenty years. An engaging premise, varied characters, and lush setting help overcome the wordy prose and sometimes-plodding action.

Reviewer: Natasha Gilmore

(3) 4-6 Grassland Trilogy series. After escaping enslavement by the Spears, Coriko, Pippa, and their friends find themselves searching for their former homes. Pippa's joyous reunion with her father quickly turns into war against the soldiers. While several scenes are incredibly violent, overall the story explores themes of love, friendship, and peace. Fans of the series will enjoy this trilogy-ender.

Reviewer: April Mazza

(3) 4-6 Grassland Trilogy series. Coriko's entire world consists of his forced labor in Grassland and his love for his cellmate, Pippa. But war is coming, and the only hope for survival lies in escape. Ward's intriguing society is populated mostly with children whose only knowledge is empirical, and Coriko's blank-slate perspective is unique and compelling.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) 4-6 Grassland Trilogy series. The escaped children of Grassland want to settle down in happy couples, but they're instead captured and sent off to deal with the Spears. In order to keep his beloved Pippa safe, narrator Coriko becomes what he hates. Coriko's voice is so compelling that even when the story is too slowly paced (as it often is), readers will keep turning pages.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin