(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dav Pilkey. Only-child Maya, a young Black girl, receives a present from her granddaddy: an un-ruly and very large pink pig named Julius to be her companion. Julius creates chaos in the household but also brings a riot of fun and joy to Maya’s life. Exuberant, boldly colored, and inventive illustrations in acrylic, watercolor, fabric, instant coffee (see “inventive”), crayon, and India ink use a variety of purposely unsettling perspectives while always centering Maya and Julius’s experiences. A reissue of a 1993 picture book with an unexpected but winning author/illustrator pairing.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dav Pilkey. A small African American girl and her companion, a Caucasian boy, explore the world described by poet Richard Blanco on the occasion of Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration. The verbal imagery is striking, and Pilkey's acrylic and India-ink paintings (done in the style he used in The Paperboy) make the adult thoughts more accessible to children.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth