(2) YA Lo Simpson, twelve, is no Margaret Simon: she'd just as soon never get her period, and to her a bra is just "a medieval torture device." But her best friend, Jazz, suddenly wants to go bra shopping and sneers at Lo's Doctor Who cosplay. In fairly short order, Jazz is sitting at the "It Girls' table," leaving Lo bereft, pouring out her sadness and confusion in letters to the Doctor that she never sends. As sensitively as Florence depicts the dissolution of Lo and Jazz's friendship, this is more than a middle-school friend-breakup story. Lo quickly (some would say conveniently) discovers a table of fellow nerds who get her Doctor Who references and give her a new community and new confidence. When, after an excruciating sex-ed session capped by a mass condom handout, some boys target the It Girls with condom-balloons, innuendo, and bra-snapping, Lo draws on lessons about consent from her lawyer mother and fights back -- just the first skirmish in her "revolution." The many references to Doctor Who risk confounding readers unfamiliar with the BBC classic, but Lo comes across as a genuine fan, and the Doctor is an important factor in her growth. Lo's metamorphosis from "friendless loser" to a "new, badass version of herself" is swift but rewarding; readers get enough of Lo's interiority to believe her journey. Breezy and bracing.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(3) PS In this gender-expansive ­celebration of newborns, we see older siblings snuggle and cuddle with their younger kin. The photos gathered from a variety of photographers are adorable, diverse, and appealing to preschoolers and babies alike. The buoyant verse, with one couplet per double-page spread, is a helpful tool to open up conversations about gender with older siblings, friends, and extended family members: "Our new baby gets lots of questions, / like 'Are you girl or a boy?' / We aren't sure of their gender yet-- / and they bring us so much joy." Also available in a bilingual English/French paperback edition (It's a They! / Bienvenue à notre adelphe). For more baby photos, try The I Can Say Dada Book and The I Can Say Mama Book (Sourcebooks) by early speech expert Stephanie Cohen, written with the goal of encouraging children's expressive language.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ellen Rooney. On an ordinary-seeming day, the wind sends seeds into the air. Three friends dance with the seeds, which prompts others in the park to join in and play imaginatively in this uplifting story. Ribbons of color in the mixed-media art give a sense of the spread of inspiration. Casual representation, particularly of a child who uses a wheelchair participating in the original “seed dance,” is a welcome aspect.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Heather Wilson. Kaner and Wilson use humor to teach children how twelve animals eat. As a biracial family sits down for lunch, the narrator urges the kids not to behave like animals. For example, “never taste your salad with your feet like a butterfly.” Wilson’s digitally created illustrations with “hand-painted texture details” add to the entertainment. The text can be wordy at times but should hold the interest of animal enthusiasts. A list of additional animal facts is appended.

Reviewer:

(3) PS Illustrated by Udayana Lugo. An encounter with a dragon serves as a thoughtful metaphor for the need to ask for help when something is wrong. Told in second person, the text encourages building a strong support network: “You have a lot of friends now, and you understand how to work together. Even if the dragon does return, you’ll never have to face it alone.” Not-too-scary illustrations use varied perspectives.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Noor spends summers with Granddad, making delicious pies. He has a tremor now and is sometimes sedentary. When apart, he and Noor do weekly “pie reports” via video chat until one day his illness—which causes “blue days”—prevents his participation. Noor comes up with a creative way to keep their reports going until they are reunited. Lowe's straightforward but gentle text makes a serious illness less scary for readers, and her warm pencil, graphite, and digital illustrations effectively depict the special bond between these characters.

Reviewer:

(3) 4-6 Four informative chapters--“What Is Nature, Really?” “Nature Is Wonderful...for Everyone,” “Let’s Learn from Nature,” and “Let’s Live with Nature,” each with several clear subtopics--introduce readers to a variety of information about the outdoors and human interactions with it. The book is chock-full of detail, with accessible narration and frequent stock photos and sidebars that help break up the pages. Reading list, websites, glossary, and index are appended.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Alina Pete. Colored by Jillian Dolan. In 1944, thirteen-year-old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while on a dogsled trip in northern Canada with her fur-trapping family. For nine days, Ilse endures freezing temperatures alone, without food or supplies, assisted by her traditional Indigenous knowledge of the land and its creatures. While this graphic novel’s text is stilted and the illustrations are static, they effectively convey Ilse’s survival skills and determination. An author’s note gives more details about the real Ilse, the author’s grandmother.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) PS Translated by Dorothy Thunder. Illustrated by Delreé Dumont. Calm and gentle bilingual text, in Plains Cree and English, serves as a soothing lullaby for the baby in this narrator’s arms and as a tribute to the land and natural world around them: “This land is a lullaby your heart already knows. / You carry the song from a lifetime ago.” Gorgeous-hued, landscape-sweeping, textured illustrations depict the flora and fauna, spirits and ancestors using swaths of color and pointillist techniques.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sophie Casson. In this fictionalized account of a true story, skateboarding comes to a village in India and helps bring about social change. Janwaar’s “single unfinished road” divides the privileged landowning Yadavs and the Indigenous Adivasis, who work as laborers. The construction of a skateboarding park in the community brings children from both sides together for the first time as they learn to skate. In plain language, Singh conveys the toll of marginalization on children, while Casson’s brightly colored, mixed-media illustrations capture the joy of skating. An author’s note is appended.

Reviewer:

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sabrina Gendron. Lamondin (Métis) shares a nostalgic snapshot of her childhood on the Magnetawan River, focusing on the winter day when her town finally received electricity. As young Patsy and her household move through their daily routine, she reflects on the comforting, down-home rituals of their half-Métis, half-French extended kin and wonders if electricity will change anything. Luminous digital illustrations exude warmth and capture the homespun details of life in 1950s rural Canada. A closing author's note provides context for this portrait of times of change.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nathalie Dion. This wordless story follows a small bird as she perches on a snow-covered branch. When she sees a little red bud on one of the branches, she takes flight. Panel art from an aerial viewpoint shows her flying over the melting, greening landscape below. After a quick bath in a public fountain, she settles on a tree outside a drab apartment building. Through spot art combined with full spreads, the watercolor and gouache illustrations (finished in Photoshop) softly depict the emergence of life outside the apartment building as well as inside. As the tree buds and the bird begins to build a nest, the building itself appears to be waking up. The view into various windows reveals those inside taking notice of the bird and sharing their discoveries with others. An elderly lady dozing in a chair perks up; a girl takes the bird's picture with her phone; a child holds up their puppy for a better view. A bird feeder appears in the tree, along with blue eggs in the nest. By the time those baby birds fledge, the illustrations are bursting with spring--there are flowers, growing plants, green trees, and people bustling in and out of the building and interacting with one another. This thoughtful interpretation of the change of season and of human connection presents a variety of characters to follow and details to consider, while the wordless aspect provides the necessary space to enjoy the book slowly and thoroughly. Simultaneously published in French as Il était une fois un oiseau.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan. Pink-cheeked, wide-eyed ghost Wee Boo is too small and cute to be scary. At Ghost School, her teachers make allowances, but finally she's down to her last chance to earn her haunting license. In her assigned human household, no one pays Boo any attention except the baby, who thinks she's hilarious and laughs ­uproariously. The parents find that "kind of creepy" (they can't see Boo), which earns Boo her license at last. However, Boo realizes that what she really wants to be is the baby's imaginary friend. The book is snappily paced; Boo is an endearing protagonist; and the humor in both text and mixed-media art will keep readers engaged.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) 4-6 Mia, a Tsimshian tween, is growing up in the 1980s in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. She describes not only making giggly prank calls and getting ill-advised perms but also microaggressions and racism. When her best friend Lara's bike goes missing, Lara's father says, "It must have been the Indians." Prejudice cuts both ways; one Native girl criticizes Mia for having white friends. Spencer goes a step further and addresses internalized racism as well: Mia's mom, who is Tsimshian, does not let Mia take thick-cut bologna sandwiches to school--"Only Indians and poor people eat this kind of bologna"--and Mia's aunt tells her cousin "not to marry an Indian." Mia is surrounded by rules that feel "like an order rather than a suggestion" and that come from all sides: her family's traditions; mainstream society's restrictions. But Mia does not allow herself to be limited by other people's "weird rules." She also feels pride in her family and her people, enjoying salmonberry-picking season and attending the All Native Basketball Tournament, for example. The book's chapters are connected bite-sized vignettes, easy to read but poetic and focused. Spencer (Ts'msyen First Nation) specializes in creative nonfiction, and this story, while fiction, rings true.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(3) 4-6 Orca Footprints series. "Nature runs on sunlight and water. Humans...use fossil fuels and toxic chemicals." Nature's adaptations have a lot to teach us about sustainable design and environmental stewardship. The authors discuss technological advances that have benefited humans (e.g., synthetic fibers, refrigerators, cell phones) and how these innovations are threatening the health of the planet. The approachable text, supported by lots of captioned photos, spotlights some of nature's more remarkable innovations and some engineering feats inspired by nature. A final chapter focuses on "Reducing Our Footprint." A reading list, websites, and links to relevant TED Talks are appended, as are a glossary and index.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Think series. Illustrated by Drew Shannon. This well-organized offering opens by looking back at human migration throughout history, including "the dark side of colonialism." Next, Lee takes a contemporary lens to the topic, considering the many reasons why people might uproot themselves. The readable narrative covers "legal versus illegal" immigration, refugee rights, anti-immigrant feelings, and the challenges and benefits for both immigrants and their new communities. Each section concludes with two or three profiles of individuals or families to highlight the diversity of immigrant and refugee experiences. Photographs and illustrations help break up the text; sidebars provide related information. A glossary and extensive annotated list of print, video, and online resources are appended. Index unseen.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) PS Just Enough series. Illustrated by Cindy Revell. Explaining the ways in which people can be different and fostering respect for these differences, this book--now in a paperback edition--describes how diversity can include outside variances (such as eye color, shape, and physical ability), personality characteristics (such as being gregarious versus introverted), and cultural differences. Child-friendly art, appropriately reflecting the "rainbow" of human differences, accompanies the purposeful, well-intentioned text. A final page addresses sexual orientation, racism, and prejudice in a bit more detail.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Rao interviews twenty BIPOC environmental "defenders" from ten countries and one unceded First Nations territory. Each profile follows an individual's path to activism, emphasizing racial and cultural identities and tracing a through-line from childhood interests and experiences to current initiatives. The activists' work includes advocating for sustainable agriculture and building practices, protecting old growth forests, fighting for clean water, and promoting veganism. Color photographs, "Did You Know?" and "What Can You Do?" features, and boxed quotations enhance the inspiring accounts. A glossary, index, and list of related organizations and websites are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Orca Footprints series. An unusual book about urban innovations, full of engaging color photos from different countries, including many from the author's Canadian hometown of Victoria, British Columbia. Young people will get ideas for projects they could recreate in their own neighborhood--murals, street libraries, community gardens, knitted decorative tree coverings, and more--and may even be inspired to get involved in local politics. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer. During a visit to her grandmother, young Arianne adventures through time and space in the garden--flying with dragonflies, swimming with fish, and catching a star with her butterfly net. Ferrer's soft, otherworldly illustrations, which play with size, shape, and perspective, pull the reader through Arianne's apparent dream. The book would work better if wordless; the few words are unnecessary and feel like an afterthought.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth