(3) PS Illustrated by Grant Snider. Little Blue, an iceberg, breaks off from his iceberg parents--"CRACK!"--and begins an odyssey that takes him far from home and through the water cycle. As with any hero's journey, there are obstacles to overcome: Blue survives melting, evaporating, and condensing. Now a cloud, Blue travels above the ocean and meets some friends who help him get back north to his (still iceberg) parents. This grand adventure has plenty of satisfying tension; the dynamic cut-paper, colored-pencil, and white ink illustrations add color and depth to the pages. An author's note talks about the water cycle, threats to polar ice, and three ways to "fight climate change."

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) PS Illustrated by Grant Snider. A reassuring text and upbeat illustrations get to the heart of our shared COVID-19 experience--gently acknowledging loss and uncertainty while offering a message of hope and resilience. Trinder's spare text leaves plenty of room for Snider's textured colored-pencil pictures to tell a story that's grounded in specifics--school on screens, masked neighbors--yet universal in feeling. On the title-page spread, a boy with brown skin and a yellow jacket approaches a girl with light skin and puffy orange pigtails. She waves as she draws with sidewalk chalk; he waves, too, and carries his own chalk. The text opens with a simple truth: "A story has a beginning and an end"; the illustration shows the two kids collaborating on a rainbow drawing. With a page-turn, the rain starts to fall, and the friends part ways. We next see the girl sitting alone on her front stoop, watching their rainbow wash away: "And there is something in between." The book's focus is on that "something": remote classrooms ("On the other side of a screen // there is a school"), signs of encouragement and support on sidewalks and in windows (including a BLM sign), neighbors helping neighbors, and essential workers on the job. There's also weariness and sadness: "On the other side of sadness // There are hugs." The boy and girl appear throughout in separate scenes until the final one, which shows them walking--unmasked! less than six feet apart!--into school. "On the other side of today // there is tomorrow." Trinder's compassionate words and Snider's vibrant art are just right for this moment.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Grant Snider. With Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz. A distillation of the concepts in Cain's adult book Quiet, here focused on situations likely to affect kids and teens. With anecdotes from young introverts, Quiet Power discusses the challenges of introversion as well as the titular strengths, providing the same validation as the original without being patronizing. Occasional cartoons lighten the overall tone.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax