(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. This imaginative collection presents thirteen stories from an all-star team of authors, including Nikki Grimes, Pam Muñoz Ryan, and Linda Sue Park. A heartfelt introduction by the coeditors sets up the theme and through line: these are short stories of middle-school kids growing in self-knowledge and empathy as they realize that they each have some sort of gift. ("Because everyone has a power, and that power matters, no matter how small or inconvenient it may seem.") The compilation is cleverly organized into two parts: "The Power of Discovering Who We Are" and "The Power of Being Who We Are." Abilities portrayed include time-jumping, shape-shifting, telepathy, the courage to speak truth to power, the ability to sense when avocados are ripe, and more. In Kyle Lukoff's story, a child learns to take steps to trust and affirm his own wishes about his gender identity; in Mitali Perkins's, a chameleon gives a girl magical cultural code switching abilities. Whether big or small, silly or serious (or both), every power is brought to life through a nuanced, diverse cast of characters and entertaining, thought-provoking plots. While the narratives lean whimsical, this entire project offers readers a careful, serious, and profound invitation to reflect on issues of identity, responsibility, social justice, and the myriad ways that people's gifts -- in both perception and application -- can affect others' lives, relationships, and the wider world. Illustrations not seen.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) 4-6 Focused on a community center in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, this powerful collection of short stories celebrates the broad diversity of middle schoolers from the South Asian community, commonly referred to as desi. Over the course of the eleven interrelated stories, protagonists celebrate major life events, holidays, and the more mundane at the community center. The dilapidated building serves as the focal point for a heavily Asian American community but is also a target of xenophobic opportunists, who use coded (and sometimes overt) language to try to shut it down. "Together at the Center" by Khan, "Out in the Open" by Rajani LaRocca, and "The Map of Home" by Sayantani DasGupta showcase the importance of open dialogue, community, and speaking out against anti-Asian/South Asian and Islamophobic incidents. Mitali Perkins's "Smile Number Seven" and "Answered Prayers" by N. H. Senzai address in-group judgment, both real and perceived, ethnic and religious; resulting self-defense mechanisms are handled with nuance and care in relation to single-parent households, disability, and domestic violence. Back matter includes a note from Khan and contributing authors' bios.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jackie Traverse. Daniel's (Sometimes I Feel like a Fox; Sometimes I Feel like a River) latest offering invites readers to commune with trees. Short first-person verses assign attributes to twelve different trees ("Sometimes I feel like a maple, / full and most generous... / Sometimes I feel like a birch, / smooth and fresh, anew"), following the cycle of the year from early spring to late winter. Traverse's lush acrylic and gouache illustrations never depict a tree in its entirety, with the tops always breaking the edge of the page. This choice suggests that art cannot fully capture the trees' majesty and en-courages readers to imagine what lies beyond the confines of the page, reinforcing Daniel's core concept that there is more to trees than meets the eye. Back matter offers thumbnail images of each tree, restating their names and highlighting the attributes Daniel's verses assigned to them--generosity for the maple, optimism for the birch, and so on. A closing author's note begins, "Like my Algonquin ancestors, I believe that trees are ­sentient beings with spirits who can feel things," prompting readers to reflect on what they, in turn, feel as they consider this Indidenous perspective and how it inspired this book.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Kids are often hyper-aware of such natural phenomena as thunder, lightning, and snow, so a collection of twenty engaging, informative poems about weather is likely to be a hit. Here topics include the familiar (e.g., sun, hurricanes, hail, and wind) as well as less commonly featured subjects, including atmosphere, weather instruments, and the work of a meteorologist. Using a variety of poetic forms, Florian (Zoobilations!, rev. 3/22, and many others) provides nuggets of facts embedded in playful rhymes, often with surprise endings or a humorous slant. The poems are notable for their strong rhythms, pleasing repetition, and clever wordplay. From "Fog," for example: "It drifted down, / close to the ground, / then napped beside a hill. / And gave the day / ten shades of gray, / each un-fog-ettable." Rendered in "gouache paint, colored pencils, and rubber stamps on primed paper bags," every fanciful full-bleed illustration is paired with a poem on the facing page, giving each double-page spread an open and inviting feel. A helpful glossary provides more information about the topics, and a list of weather websites for kids and suggested further reading complete the excellent back matter.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann. Manley offers a child's point of view of a day-long hike up a mountain (identified in the back matter as the South Sister in Oregon's Cascade Mountain Range). Each stage of the hike is described in a rich, telegraphic three-line haiku poem, beginning with a blazing sunrise. Readers follow along as the child swats away mosquitoes, passes a rushing stream, trudges through the snow, munches trail mix, reaches the summit, and heads back down and to the campsite for bedtime: "trying to sleep -- / what mountain will I climb / next?" The economy of words in the haiku form fits the way a child might think and particularly seems to suit the exercise of describing a demanding hike while actually in the midst of one. Mann's mixed-media illustrations work perfectly in tandem with the haiku narration, alternating perspectives -- featuring the landscape and the views, or the child's close observations, or the family on the move. Her cartoonlike characters pop against the natural setting, especially the child protagonist in an orange hoodie and green pants. Back matter includes information about the history and geology of the region, hiking tips, a visual index, a list of resources, and a note about haiku form, which debunks the idea that English-language haiku must follow a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) K-3 Petite Poems series. Illustrated by Paige Pettibon. This picture book rendition of a pithy poem by nineteenth-century Muskogee Creek Renaissance man Alexander Lawrence Posey contemplates autumn using one stanza of non-rhyming lines. "In the dreamy silence / of the afternoon,” the narrator observes sights and sounds of the season. Pettibon's (Salish) quiet, lambent illustrations, rendered in digital marker and graphite, depict a Native child reveling in the splendor of the outdoors as the summer’s end gives way to fall. Like the period of the year it describes—charming and crisp.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Barron. A racoon is panic-stricken after taking a spill down a chimney. During a nighttime car ride, a family is startled when a moose sallies out onto the road. A chipmunk is brought to bay in a rainspout by its feline predator. In the fifteen short narrative poems in this picture book, racially diverse children and their caregivers unexpectedly come face to face with undomesticated critters, some imperiled, and choose to show them kindness and respect. A closing poem observes each animal’s whereabouts following their human encounters. Ruddock’s evocative rhyming verses and Barron’s textured cut-paper-collage illustrations convey both the vulnerability and power of wild creatures. Readers will warm to the wisdom of giving wildlife their space. An eloquent exemplum of animal ethics that avoids preachiness.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(2) Translated by Vineet Lal. Simler takes on the perspectives of twenty-seven creatures who share the intricacies of their homes in this eye-catching French import. Each entry features a poem about, and illustration of, the animal and its habitat. The playful poem titles include a comet moth's "Silky Apartment," a European fan worm's "Tubular Condo," and the common tailorbird's "Haute Couture Bedchamber." Creatures relate their stories with style: the satin bowerbird tells readers that its home is built from sticks and twigs, which Simler describes as "an arched avenue." It paints its walls with berry juice, adding, "I have a real flair for home decoration." Readers leave with facts about the natural world, such as that the red ovenbird takes several weeks to construct its "Mud Bungalow," that the elf owl is the smallest owl in the world, and that the silk that connects the walls of the "Leafy Fortress" of a weaver ant is spun by young larvae. Simler's highly textured, jewel-tone illustrations give readers detailed peeks into the animals' homes. The elf owl stares directly at readers from its perch on a cactus plant, and a Sumatran orangutan, about to succumb to sleep, gazes out from a "mattress of fresh leaves" in the forest. These vivid, sensory poems could serve as superb classroom writing prompts, and back matter (including a glossary and recommended resources) provides additional information.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(1) YA Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. This poetry collection masterfully encapsulates Watson's experience of Black girlhood and womanhood. Through an array of poetic styles, she weaves together her personal reflections, celebrating the multifaceted nature of her own upbringing. The poems serve as a testament to the diversity of cultural influences she encountered during her childhood. She describes her identity as coming from "east coast hip-hop and island tradition...Baptist hymns and secular jigs," embodying the intersectionality of her experiences. While she celebrates her uniqueness (e.g., Renée is the only one in her family whose name origin is not connected to another family member), she honors and respects that she is part of a broader sisterhood of Black women. From biological sisters to "aunties by blood & by choice" and other "knowing women," the author pays homage to Black women's collective strength and wisdom. The title poem, appearing after definitions for atlas, especially adds depth, with Watson drawing parallels between Black girls and the Greek mythological figure condemned to hold up the heavens. The collaboration with Holmes, whose magnificent collages accompany Watson's words, adds a visual dimension that also spans cultures and experiences. The result is a celebration of the complexities of, and the bonds formed through, Black girlhood and womanhood.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. This collection of variously contemplative and playful poems offers an intimate picture of daily life from a child's point of view. Thirty-four poems about "Home," "Street," and "Town" explore the ever-widening circle of a child's awareness of community. Various poets capture the rhythm of life inside and out, on the weekend and at bedtime, and through the seasons beginning with X. J. Kennedy's "Any old place / that's your home base / is where you want to be." The collection then heads out into the world with pets, parks, and parties and around town with school, stores, laundromats, and car washes. With its mix of classic works by such poets as Eleanor Farjeon, Myra Cohn Livingston, and Valerie Worth and more contemporary voices including Irene Latham, Janet Wong, and Naomi Shihab Nye, the collection offers a mix of poetic styles--all very accessible to the reader and listener and all unified by Yum's engaging illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor. Scenes ranging from urban apartment life to small-town backyards and front porches are full of a pleasing diversity of children and adults.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA Luna, Heavenly Water, menses, period, monthly moon--menstruation by any name is a fact of life for the BIPOC main characters in these short stories that focus on cultural celebrations, social stigma, gender identity, and the myriad physical and emotional changes taking place during puberty. Christina Soontornvat's "Rules of the Lake" is a humorous and touching tale of a Thai American girl who is surprised by her first period during a school field trip. "Turning Point" by Leah Henderson is about a Black soccer player and her ballet instructor mother who find common ground in celebrating her first period. Mason J.'s "The Gender Creamsicle," written in verse, offers a much-needed perspective on the experience of a gender-nonconforming protagonist: "I am a gender Creamsicle: orange and white. / Not a Popsicle or ice cream. I am in between." The stories have broad appeal and are unified by a common thread of growing up. Issues related to race and gender, immigration status, and language diversity are set alongside culturally rich narratives about a singular and pivotal life event, giving young people an opportunity to feel seen, and less alone.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 In this collection of linked short stories, a nasty storm strikes Chicago's (fictional) Gateway International Airport, delaying flights and suspending travel plans. Twelve-year-old Paul and his family, who are flying to Thailand to visit family, are stopped by security when his grandfather's remains, which his grandmother is trying to bring aboard the plane, trigger an alarm; then Paul's missing little sister causes subsequent delays. In the midst of the chaos, readers meet eleven other Asian American young people throughout the airport who find themselves in situations where they witness and experience (and also stand up to) racism: Mindy, an adoptee from Korea who doesn't feel ready to visit the country of her biological origin; Ari, who is tired of explaining that she is Jewish and Chinese; Jane, whose Gonggong (grandfather) was attacked for simply being Asian. Oh and the other eleven short-story authors--who include Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Linda Sue Park, and Christina Soontornvat--paint a picture of what it means to navigate being Asian American in a post-2020 world, where the burden of being blamed for COVID-19 is thrust on young shoulders. An editor's note defines the term Asian American and explains the rationale for highlighting East and Southeast Asian American experiences.

Reviewer: Gabi K. Huesca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) K-3 Alexander and Nikaido offer a single poem as this lyrical picture book's text, inviting young readers (and listeners) to "dive deep into the silent sea of your imagination" and "discover... / words / raining / everywhere. / Invite them / into your paper boat / and row row row." They cleverly integrate alliteration, similes, allusions, and wordplay to model for young writers what a poem can look and sound like. The buoyant text provides ample sensory imagery and nudges readers to look, listen, hear, feel, touch, speak, and then write, offering a guide for the process of observing, imagining, and putting it all down in words. Sweet's dynamic collage illustrations, composed of "vintage and handmade papers, paint, pencils, printed letterforms, and beach pebbles," suggests another level of engagement with the concept; her lively arrangement of words and lines across each double-page spread gives readers a visual example of how to play with language. In her appended note, she reveals that the text inspired her to think of circles ("big rounded marks, delicate lines, and cut-paper shapes in orbit filling the space"), suggesting the circular nature of the writing process; lined notebook paper is visible in many of the illustrations, hinting that the goal of the book is to inspire writing, too. A note from Alexander provides further thoughts on the question: "What is poetry?"

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by twenty-one accomplished artists from around the globe, each of the twenty "tiny tales" gives the reader just enough in word and picture to generate curiosity and discussion. Thea Lu illustrates the prompt "the x-rays reveal writing etched onto all of my bones" with an image of someone carrying an x-ray and holding a casted arm in a sling. Look closely at the x-ray to see that each bone is shown with an expiration date. Does that January 14, 2030, date signify the person's death? Shaun Tan's beautifully creepy painting centers an enormous human skull, sitting in a farmyard. A ladder leans against the skull, and a relatively diminutive human, on hands and knees, paints adornments on it: "Every year they honored their son by decorating his skull." Why is the skull so much larger than the humans? Do the window curtains suggest that the people live inside? Do the decorations mean anything? What happened? Coelho's extensive afterword suggests ways for young writers and artists to build on the stories. Like Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, this is a book for older children to pore over and let their imaginations flower. With twenty-one different illustrators representing many styles, media, and settings, each of the spreads stands apart so viewers can concentrate on a single page or read the book through for a disquieting experience.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Deborah Freedman. Twenty-nine poems in a lovely mix of forms and styles populate this book, presented as a "house" with twelve double-page-spread "rooms." Each room has a slightly different focus on the function of wonder in exploring the natural world. In "Room of Curiosity," two poems invite readers to question, think, and imagine as they observe their surroundings and investigate the world around them. "Room of Science" considers the work of different disciplines: e.g., "In a lab, a physicist creates soap bubbles, / wobbling gifts of air wrapped in slippery skin / that POP in an instant." The topics are abstract (time, imagination, quiet), but the poems guide readers through specific moments and questions, including wondering about a pebble's history and speculating about dinosaurs' last day on Earth. Freedman's intriguing mixed-media illustrations use wide washes of color in shades of blue, green, gold, or purple with subtle hints to the objects referenced in the poems. In the final "Note About Wonder," the poets encourage questioning and creativity and challenge young readers to express themselves through writing, painting, building, and more.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ellen Rooney. That paragon of poetic pith Elliott (In the Woods, rev. 3/20; and others) returns with another winning entry. Here his focus is on animals of the Polar Regions, from emperor penguins in Antarctica, through two species that inhabit the waters of both regions, to polar bears in the Arctic. Many of the fifteen brief poems use direct address, the better to connect creature with readers (orca: "You have a reputation / both / thrilling and widespread. / You inspire admiration, / awe, / and not a little dread"); some employ internal rhymes or multiple rhymes (southern elephant seal: "But how do you ex- / plain your tremendous / amplitude when you / sometimes go for months / without a single / bite of food?"); all display originality of thought. Rooney's eye-catching portraits--created using printmaking ink, gouache, crayon, and digital and traditional collage techniques--vary to match the tone of each poem, from lighthearted and humorous to majestic and haunting (see her shivery Greenland shark). Appended with useful and relevant "Notes About the Animals."

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Gaiman, who serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, used social media to ask people about their memories of being warm, to draw attention to--and raise money for--those unhoused or displaced due to violent conflict. He wove respondents' words into the free-verse poem that is this compelling picture book's text. The twelve loose stanzas are vivid and specific with relatable details. Each is interpreted by a different artist (with fascinating explanatory notes from the illustrators appended), including Yuliya Gwilym, Petr Horaek, Oliver Jeffers, and Nadine Kaadan. What makes us warm? Physical things like blankets, radiators, fireplaces, coats and gloves, and hot cocoa, as well as more abstract concepts such as a smile, memories, safety, or a kind word. The double-page spreads create entire scenes that expand both the context and the meaning of the lines--all in only three colors: shades of black, white, and orange. It's an unusual palette; the orange is especially effective in conveying heat and warmth, and the grayscale provides a unifying thread across the various artistic styles. Midway, the illustrations feature several scenes of refugees and migrants, but the hopeful conclusion depicts children at play and at home with the words, "You have the right to be here." One other intriguing element is the graphic look of the text, with spacing that varies and key words in a larger font size--creating another telegraphic poem-within-a-poem.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Michaela Goade. Generation-spanning Native creators deliver a lustrous celebration of generational memory. U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo (Mvskoke) wrote the poem that is this book's text in 1983; Caldecott ­Medalist Goade's (Tlingit) illustrations bring it to a child audience forty years later. "Remember the sky you were born under," urges Harjo, along with sun, moon, and stars. "Remember your birth, how your mother / struggled to give you form and breath. / You are evidence of her life, / and her mother's, and hers." Thus is the child reader explicitly linked to their human heritage, but Harjo's web of belonging extends beyond literal family to the earth, its flora and fauna, and its peoples. Goade (We Are Water Protectors, rev. 7/20; Berry Song, rev. 7/22) begins with creation, as white Raven delivers light in the form of swooshes of color. Her imagery is drawn from her own heritage, the unmistakable iconography of Pacific Northwest Coast art informing figures both terrestrial and celestial. (Her illustrator's note expands thoughtfully on her inclusion of these elements.) One of the many striking spreads depicts a child and an adult picking berries. The child's hand rests on the ground, and roots spread out in cross section below; across the gutter, a stylized hand provides a visual representation of growth and continuity, with motifs of fish skeletons and shells nourishing the soil and plants sprouting, etc. The teeming images thrillingly catch young viewers up as they swirl, circles emphasizing the cyclical nature of life. Remember," closes the text, and children will.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi. "Mint-chip ice cream (so fantastic!), / Key-lime taffy (so elastic!), / Bags of all-green jelly beans... / Every day I eat my greens!" Come for the funny poems; stay because there's so much to pore over that you can't put this collection down. Harris follows up I'm Just No Good at Rhyming4 (rev. 11/17, illustrated by Lane Smith) with another meta extravaganza. There are intrusions from, ostensibly, Harris's own children, including a "book-within-a-book." There's the threat of a meteor heading for the pages, which pays off just when you've forgotten about it. Poems appear in footnotes, in the glossary, and spread out among the folios (page 65: "When one becomes senior (traditionally)" / page 66: "A famous old route that's from song and TV"). The green and grayscale digital illustrations are often a critical part of the action, as in the poem where snakes are ignoring their duty to serve as the letter S, with hilarious results. (A few poems are more sincere than silly, providing a chance to catch your breath.) Don't miss the back matter, including but not limited to an index by subject (e.g., "Eek! There's a bug!" and "Paper, with some ink on it") and a "partial list" of "non-books by neither Chris Harris nor Andrea Tsurumi," which includes tricycles, Belgium, and Toy Story 2.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell & Kristen Howdeshell. A red-haired child introduces the picture book's topic forcefully with a large word balloon before the title page: "What? YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANIMALS IN PANTS?!?" Twenty-three very short and funny poems cover a wide variety of animals and the many types of pants they might wear. For example, the "downward dog" wears yoga pants while the polar bears wear snow pants, of course. The poems are both silly and clever, as in "Deep Thoughts," where the speaker wonders, "If a snake yanked a sock to his face... / would we say 'pant' in that case?" The vibrant Photoshop illustrations are filled with textures and patterns, resembling a combination of collage and stamped art. The palette features orange, teal, yellow, and green, with lively postures and expressions on each of the dozens of animals' faces. A final poem goes on for four pages with animals waiting and waiting for the tailor who is working on their pants, concluding, "The good news? / He's fast for a sloth." At the end, the red-haired child is back hinting at a sequel: "What? YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANIMALS IN HATS?!?"

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023