(2) PS Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. What begins on the title spread as a small redheaded girl hesitantly approaching another girl on a tire swing becomes an ode to making friends. Our narrator gleefully shares this discovered joy: "i have a new friend / and her hair is black / and it shines / and it shines / and she always laughs at everything." In digital illustrations rendered entirely in complementary shades of blush and green, the two preschoolers romp between leafy trees and rows of flowers at a park. The earnest, unrestrained text plays alongside the pair, each stanza following the girls' movement as they twirl in loops or draw with chalk or quack like ducks. By the time the two part ways, the narrator already has plans in mind for the next time they're together: "i'm not sure about her name / but i will ask her tomorrow / and she will tell me then / because we are best friends." The two-toned palette and mostly white backdrop create the impression that the girls, if only for a brief time, exist in a world all their own, while the energetic, curved lines of the illustrations mirror the constant motion of young children's play. The book honors the details of such simple and unaffected love, capturing intimately shared laughter and, during a pause in the action at its center, a tight hug around the neck. With text, color, and line cooperating seamlessly, Fogliano and Tamaki forge a friendship that rings true.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. Gertie lives with her great-aunt in coastal Alabama while her father works on an oil rig. She wants to become the "greatest fifth grader in the whole...universe" in order to prove something to her absentee mother and to herself; standing in her way is the prissy new girl at school. Slice-of-life fans should enjoy the homespun humor. Personality-rich illustrations help set the scene.

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

(1) YA Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. Rose's family goes to Awago Beach every summer. This year she's feeling too old for some of the activities she used to love--and even for her more-childish friend Windy. Rose's contemplative observations and flashbacks, along with the book's realistic dialogue, offer insight into her evolving personality, while the dramatic perspective changes and purply-blue ink illustrations capture the graphic novel's raw emotional core.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2014

(2) YA Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. In this dark quest fantasy, fourteen-year-old Melanie Tamaki's mother has been kidnapped and taken to Half World, a mid-point between our mortal realm and the afterlife. As Melanie navigates this nightmarish land, her allies help her realize her destiny. The growth of the heroine and the clean narrative arc, which careens from one vivid, surreal scene to the next, should captivate readers.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2010

(1) YA Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. This stunningly emotional graphic novel charts a season of change in the life of brooding misfit Kim. The story's threads connect and diverge in equal measure, coexisting in an artfully true-to-life jumble told through dialogue, internal narration, and diary entries. Delicate-lined art achieves layers of meaning; dark space and perspective are also used to great effect, grafting emotion onto every scene.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008