(1) YA This deeply personal and poetic graphic novel illustrates the heroic actions of everyday Dutch people as they resisted the Nazi regime, as well as the lingering trauma inherited by subsequent generations. An omniscient blackbird with the ability to "sail between time and place" guides readers, and at times the characters, through the events of two seemingly disparate timelines. In 1943, headstrong Dutch university student Emma becomes involved in the covert relocation of Jewish children. When a group of defiant artists recruits Emma to participate in the forging and transportation of official documents, the stakes escalate with deadly consequences. In 2011, Annick, a young woman living in Amsterdam, sets out on an unexpected journey through her family's complicated WWII history, uncovering her ill grandmother's long-lost brother (and potential bone marrow donor). Art (embodied by the blackbird) as an act of defiance and source of inspiration is central to the story, with a series of handmade prints serving as a catalyst for revealing hard truths, merging past with present. The present-tense prose and print-block style digital illustrations are equally expressive, often hinting at meaning through an evocative phrase or dramatic shift in page layout. Van Lieshout seamlessly integrates black-and-white photographs, many from the actual resistance group Underground Camera, into panels and layouts. Extensive back matter highlights the real-life individuals and events that inspired and informed the narrative.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) PS Big Kid Power series. Direct-address text describes the protagonist's journey from crib-sleeper to "BIG KID!" It can be scary ("This bed is VERY BIG!"), but self-soothing is key ("I pull my lovey close"). Simple digital illustrations in a limited palette plus thick black lines and white outlines keep focus on the narrator. The book's petite, square shape and sturdy binding are well designed for little hands.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) PS Big Kid Power series. Direct-address text describes the protagonist's journey from tantrum-thrower ("I screamed...I pounded on the floor") to "BIG KID!" ("When I'm upset, I take a little break..."). Simple digital illustrations in a limited palette plus thick black lines and white outlines keep focus on the narrator. The book's petite, square shape and sturdy binding are well designed for little hands.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) PS Big Kid Power series. These volumes discuss getting-bigger milestones in a way that little kids can grasp. Direct-address text describes each protagonist's journey from diaper- or binky-user to "BIG KID!" Simple digital illustrations in a limited palette plus thick black lines and white outlines keep the focus squarely on each toddler narrator. The books' petite, square shapes and sturdy bindings are well conceived for little hands. Review covers these Big Kid Power titles: Bye-Bye Binky and I Use the Potty.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(2) PS Big Kid Power series. These volumes discuss getting-bigger milestones in a way that little kids can grasp. Direct-address text describes each protagonist's journey from diaper- or binky-user to "BIG KID!" Simple digital illustrations in a limited palette plus thick black lines and white outlines keep the focus squarely on each toddler narrator. The books' petite, square shapes and sturdy bindings are well conceived for little hands. Review covers these Big Kid Power titles: Bye-Bye Binky and I Use the Potty.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(3) PS A counting book, an airport primer, an introduction to international signage, and a simple travel story--van Lieshout's book packs a lot into its pages. Each spread features a numeral (from one to ten, then one hundred and up), a common pictogram, and a few words of text ("Check-in desk"; "Security officers"). The cleanly designed spreads hold up well in this smaller-size board-book edition.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(3) K-3 Hopper and Wilson's protagonists ride a paper airplane into space to find the perfect star to claim as their own private light source. When mouse Wilson gets lost, an extra-bright star helps him find his way back to elephant Hopper. Despite the elaborate staging and wholesomely trippy art, the message is sweetly simple: stars, like friends, belong "with each other."

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS A counting book, an airport primer, an introduction to international signage, and a simple travel story--van Lieshout's book packs a lot into its cleanly designed pages. Each spread features a numeral (from one to ten, then one hundred and up), a common pictogram, and one or two words interpreting the image: e.g., "Check-in desk"; "Security officers." Perfect for pre- and in-flight entertainment.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(4) PS A journey along a highway allows for alphabetical connections to road signs, including A for airport, D for detour, O for one way, etc. A few that are altered to fit the content are a stretch (Q for quack is a duck crossing sign). The crisp digital illustrations in bold road-sign colors are dramatically stark.

Reviewer: Liane Behrens

(4) K-3 After stuffed-animal friends Hopper and Wilson--an elephant and a mouse, respectively--imagine what it's like at the end of the world, they set sail in a newspaper boat to find out. Even during this contemplative (a little overly so) story's most dramatic moment--Hopper falls overboard--van Lieshout's spell of calm is unbroken, thanks to her tempered colors and expanses of white.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Bear Tumble and friends follow tracks in the snow and stumble upon a "red thing." Tumble claims the scarf-like object (named "wubbie") as his own and is fiercely possessive of it--until he needs his friends' help. Though the overall design is attractive, the story is slight and anticlimactic.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Out for a walk, mama hen and her brood come to a sidewalk's edge. Peep's sisters make the leap, but he chickens out. Electric yellow and green watercolors spill through the delicate line drawings. The text occasionally breaks the boundaries of the pages (designed by Molly Leach) to echo Peep's panic and eventual triumph. An effective (though purposeful) depiction of overcoming fear.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) K-3 Moody seal Splash isn't keen on embracing the day: "Don't bother rising today, sun." When the sun floats over to Splash's iceberg, Splash realizes he must return it to the sky. This baldly allegorical tale is slightly less overblown than its predecessor, Bloom! Van Lieshout's use of yellow, representing the sun and its force, is effective in the otherwise cool-colored art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram