(4) K-3 Illustrated by Hazel Mitchell. Little Imani is teased by the children in their Maasai village because she's small. Mama's bedtime stories help Imani dream so big that she tries--unsuccessfully--to "touch the moon." After watching warriors perform an adumnu (jumping dance), Imani knows how to realize her dream. This gentle girl-power fable veers a bit too far into fantasy but is grounded by the fetching illustrations' cultural details.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) YA Misfit Cass and her beautiful best friend Devin have a tense relationship. After a double date turns ugly, Devin's body is found at the bottom of a cliff. Cass's struggle with grief and guilt is endearing and authentic, but a threatening ghostly presence puts her innocence into question. Although side characters are largely two-dimensional, this supernatural mystery is brisk and suspenseful.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Hazel Mitchell. Pearl's classmates can always count on her to supply the right word. But she's literally speechless when she uses up the last one in her word treasure chest. The strained story, which involves a "word tornado," is a transparent bid to sell readers on the joys of language. It's also an opportunity to festoon Pearl's environment with words in eye-pleasing ways.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Hazel Mitchell. Two-page sections each focus on a different region of New Jersey. A list of objects on every spread prompts readers to find the items hidden amidst whimsical drawings that highlight the region's history, attractions, or geographic significance. Numerous interesting facts are scattered around the pages in tiny font that is likely to be overlooked during the reader's searching.

Reviewer: Randy Ribay

(3) 4-6 Feather has always been interested in her Lakota heritage, but her curiosity turns into a way of life in this contemporary coming-of-age story. When her brother Peter falls ill, the hospital's modern medicine has no effect. Feather and Grandfather go on a New York City vision quest to save Peter and initiate Feather into her place as a Lakota healer. The novel's original premise is refreshing.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jared Chapman. Convinced that his teacher, Miss Martin, is a Martian, Melvin Eugene Baxter records her extraterrestrial-type behavior (e.g., her super memory and brainwashing abilities) in his journal. After an act of kindness, he concludes that she's not a Martian after all but a "Superhero from Saturn." The pages, set up to look like Melvin's journal entries, feature humorous, childlike caricatures of his teacher.

Reviewer: Julie Bartynski-Fenner

(4) 4-6 When Uncle Gary disappears, Billy and Sophie use a magic nightstand he left them to save their family from the creepy, inhuman representatives of the Zobadak Wood Company. While the premise of transdimensional carpentry is intriguing, the writing is stilted in places, and the unresolved ending, clearly intended to set up a sequel, creates more confusion than it resolves.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) K-3 Porkelia is in the dumps until the Wise One tells her she's "destined to be / the first piggy Rockette!" After years of struggle, Porkelia fulfills her destiny and wins fame and fortune. Though the follow-your-dreams message is child-aimed, the humor and vocabulary are more adult than kid-friendly. Unfussy illustrations of the pink piglet in various costumes may entertain readers.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman