(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elise Peterson. A gorgeous docu-collage of colorized black-and-white photographs shapes a radical vision of racially and economically diverse motherhood. The text riffs on how "mamas use their bodies to care for their babies in so many ways" as images show working women throughout the twentieth century: stay-at-home moms, feminist activists, business executives, house cleaners, and even erotic dancers. The message is powerful but may be more for mamas than babies.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) K-3 Ordinary Terrible Things series. A child who sees references to sex everywhere comes to Grandma for the skinny. Grandma has all the right answers ("Curiosity about sex is your birthright"; one's sexuality "belongs to no one else but you") as well as a sense of humor. As always with this series (including Death Is Stupid), the rough-hewn collage art makes clear that the book approaches the topic unsentimentally.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Suki Boynton. The fourth volume of these reissued folktales (first published in 1981 as part of Maid of the North) features active, wise, and independent women. The eleven tales from diverse world traditions include the titular gender-norms-defiant tale and the infamous "Scheherazade." Phelps reimagines the tales in an enchanting and evocative voice, aided by Boynton's occasional illustrations; includes an introduction by Renée Watson. Reading list.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Suki Boynton. This folktale collection centers on women as clever, witty, and strong, with ten retellings (originally published in 1981 in a larger collection) from Scandinavian, British, Irish, German, Swahili, Chinese, Punjab, and First Nations' traditions. As stated in her preface, Phelps "exercised the traditional storyteller's privilege" to reimagine the tales in one enchanting and evocative voice. The volume includes an introduction by Daniel José Older and occasional sepia illustrations. Reading list.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) K-3 "When a loved one dies / people can say some... / ...stupid things" (e.g., "Don't cry"). Omniscient narration follows a boy negotiating the period following his grandmother's death. Higginbotham's tone in rebuking the disingenuous approach to the subject of death ("Beware of the lies") may not be for everyone; blunt collage art further repudiates a warm-and-fuzzy stance. Activities for coping with loss are appended.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Girls First! series. When twelve-year-old Willa spends the summer in Seattle with her aunts, one of whom is a naturalist, she and her cousins get the "eco-sleuthing" bug and attempt to learn who is polluting a local stream. The book's mystery proves limp, but the novel is also about Willa's reckoning with her multiracial family and with her parents' divorce, topics Wilson handles well.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) YA Women Changing the World series. Compelling connections between feminism and environmentalism are woven throughout these biographies of two young activists. The writing is undocumented and frequently sycophantic ("All her life, Marina had felt the suffering of her family and their trees"), but the admiration is justified by the integrity and dedication of the subjects. Scattered throughout are black-and-white photos of uneven quality. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these titles: Marina Silva and Winona LaDuke.]

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(4) YA Women Changing the World series. Compelling connections between feminism and environmentalism are woven throughout these biographies of two young activists. The writing is undocumented and frequently sycophantic ("All her life, Marina had felt the suffering of her family and their trees"), but the admiration is justified by the integrity and dedication of the subjects. Scattered throughout are black-and-white photos of uneven quality. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these titles: Marina Silva and Winona LaDuke.]

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(4) YA Women Changing the World series. Ramphele is a South African doctor who organized against apartheid; Bhatt is an Indian lawyer who created a union and bank for poor women. Adulatory biographies profile these inspiring women's lives and summarize (and sometimes oversimplify) the conditions against which they work. Illustrated with standard black-and-white photos, each book contains a time line. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) YA Women Changing the World series. Ramphele is a South African doctor who organized against apartheid; Bhatt is an Indian lawyer who created a union and bank for poor women. Adulatory biographies profile these inspiring women's lives and summarize (and sometimes oversimplify) the conditions against which they work. Illustrated with standard black-and-white photos, each book contains a time line. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam