(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carson Ellis. This heart-tugging story centers on "a kitten, hungry and dirty, / scared and alone, / meowing sadly, / needing a home." On a walk in the neighborhood with their dog, a child and adult ("the dog's people") spot the kitten under a car. The dog barks at the kitten; a woman jogging nearby calms the dog; adult twins carrying boxes to or from a moving truck donate an empty box for the kitten; a man drinking tea on his front porch offers it milk; and everyone carefully coaxes it into the box. The child gains a new pet, and the kitten ends up "now full-bellied and clean, / no longer alone, / purring happily. / Home." De Sève (Zola's Elephant) constructs the story cumulatively; as the tale unfolds, she regularly negates the notion that its beating heart is about one character alone--the kitten or the child or the neighbors. Ultimately, instead, it's about "stopping / and listening / and... offering / and asking / and working together." The final pages are immensely rewarding: Ellis (In the Half Room, rev. 9/20), who paints a diverse and idiosyncratic community of caring and concerned neighbors--strangers no more--gathers everyone together in the kitten's (and her people's) home. Dialogue on the concluding spread reads: "I can't believe you two lived next door this whole time and we never met." That is precisely what the story is about.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. A young girl imagines that her new next-door neighbor, Zola, already has a best friend: an elephant. Hesitant to say hello, the narrator finally finds the courage to overcome her shyness and discovers a new friend. Gorgeous, sweeping, dreamlike illustrations fill the pages, conjuring up the story's fantasy elements and providing readers with an enchanting invitation to add their own interpretations.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Bob Staake. Rowan yearns for a shiny new fire truck for his birthday, but he receives an older, used model from his grandfather; the man reminisces as he refurbishes "Red," restoring Rowan's excitement through increasingly dramatic stories. Sepia vignettes depict Rowan literally being pulled into memories, and Red's worn textures offer a meaningful contrast to the flat, geometric graphic style that dominates the book's art.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Illustrated by Paul Schmid. Peanut has a new blue ball that she doesn't want to share with Fifi. Fifi conjures temptations to entice Peanut to play: designing a hat for the ball, introducing a seal named Bob to do tricks with it, and more. Strong graphic shapes and heavy black lines set against a warm, creamy ivory background help convey the story's pleasing tone, despite the girls' tempestuous dynamic.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jen Corace. Young sheep Mathilda's world is filled with "Gray skies. Gray stones. Gray sheep, gray sheep, gray sheep." When an orange balloon floats by, Mathilda's imagination fills with color, as she realizes "anything was possible." Corace's uncluttered illustrations with lots of white space match the simple story and capture the optimism of the buoyant (literally) little sheep.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Peter de Sève. A sophisticated duchess has no time for the "normal as they come" Earl of Norm. But when the palace cook takes ill, the earl wins the duchess's heart...with an ordinary sandwich. In this entertaining story about getting past surface-level impressions, both text and illustrations feature extravagant royal humor (e.g., the keen-to-impress earl wears "a brightly brocaded cape borrowed from his flamboyant twin brother").

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Loren Long. A boy's toy boat is swept out to sea and finds that freedom among the larger boats is intimidating without his friend's companionship. The writing is poetic, but the plot lacks suspense, making it difficult to become emotionally invested in the boat's reunion with the boy. The nuanced, expansive acrylic illustrations are more striking than the story.

Reviewer: Heather Barrett