(2) 4-6 Alice's storytelling dad is in a psychiatric hospital, having lost the ability to distinguish story from reality. Wild animals start appearing in town, seeking Alice to save the threatened Story Web she discovered when she was little. Blakemore skillfully uses shifting points of view in this complex and captivating tale. A realistic, honest consideration of the impact of mental illness commingles effectively with the fantastical elements.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. In this companion to A Crack in the Sea, Bouwman elegantly twists and twirls two narrations: Raftworlder Putnam and Islander Artie's quest at sea in "the present: 1949," and Princess Rayel's journey a century earlier. An intentional folkloric sensibility is palpable as they encounter fantastical beings and places in the "second world," shown in Shimizu's occasional, dramatic black-and-white illustrations. An engaging, original coming-of-age story with an unpredictable, adventurous plot.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Julia Kuo. Hanako's family, interned during WWII and pressured by the government, renounces the family's American citizenship and returns to Japan after the war. Hanako is horrified at the devastation; however, the unconditional love of her grandparents allows her to adjust to a completely different way of living. Kadohata brings readers tightly into Hanako's psyche as she struggles to comprehend near-impossible situations--and ultimately to recognize the strength of people in the most challenging of circumstances.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Hall. Artist Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) was born into a wealthy English family. She joined the surrealists in Paris, and, during WWII, fled to Mexico, where she spent the rest of her life. Markel distills Carrington's experiences into succinct prose full of vigor and imagery. Hall's dreamlike illustrations pay homage to Carrington's own art, with vivid colors, pulsating patterns, and swooping lines. Author and illustrator notes are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Oddmire series. This series-starter is a riveting adventure set in a fully realized magical world that feels both timeless and of today. Townspeople whisper that one of Annie Burton's twins is a changeling meant to have replaced the real baby. But the siblings' lives are uneventful--until a goblin lures them into the Wild Wood, where only a changeling can stop magic from ebbing away. Vivid writing makes for moments of humor, pathos, and suspense.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) K-3 Yazdani tells the story of how New York City's iconic Central Park came to be, beginning with visionaries Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, then moving from the park's multi-stage construction to its completion in 1876. Throughout, the book is full of glorious green landscapes with happy people enjoying them. The watercolor and pencil pictures are nicely balanced with Yazdani's lively text, full of fascinating informational tidbits. Bib.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 The Penderwick series finale is a summertime reverie set at the Arundel estate where it all began fifteen years before. With soon-to-be-married eldest sibling Rosalind and middle sisters Skye, Jane, and Batty (mostly) grown-up, likable youngest half-sister Lydia, a dancer, takes center stage. Although fans will be sad to say goodbye, they'll be content to see the Penderwicks go "prancing, leaping, gamboling into the future."

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(2) 4-6 Wizards of Once series. Xar and Wish (The Wizards of Once) track ample evidence of the demonic Kingwitch's return. Their parents from feuding kingdoms eventually heed their children's urgent warnings and rethink their groups' traditional animosity. This fast-paced sequel is full of the same humor, sketchlike illustrations, and unique companions as the previous entry. The ending is completely satisfying but also leaves plenty of openings for a projected third book.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) 4-6 We catch up with the biracial family from The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street in summertime. After an emergency sends elderly neighbor Mr. Jeet to the hospital, the children decide to make a community garden as a surprise for him. While mentions of cellphones and Minecraft set the book solidly in the present, the independence of the children and the goodness and support of their Harlem community provide a timeless sensibility.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(2) 4-6 Exceedingly well-mannered and excruciatingly poor ten-year-old Rupert Brown stumbles upon his rich classmate's Christmas celebration. After Rupert leaves still empty-stomached and empty-handed, guilt-ridden members of the wealthy family attempt to make amends. Their misguided efforts include a silk suit; a visit to a fancy restaurant; and excursions via a cardboard-box time machine. With hints of Dickens, Dahl, Travers, and others, Horvath's latest is brainy, hilarious, and poignant.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) 4-6 Across-the-street Vancouver neighbors Sara (half-white, half-Korean) and Nadine (half-white, half-Japanese) have always been together--but then Nadine skips a grade and heads to high school, leaving her best friend behind. First-person, present-tense narration sympathetically evokes Sara's convincingly complicated feelings of confusion, grief, and anger during this year of upheaval. Debut author Kim's introspective story of moving from childhood to adolescence has a bygone and memoiristic sensibility.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) YA Seventh grader Theo is devastated when his self-portrait photographs in the school art gallery are defaced. With trepidation he joins the five students suspected of committing the vandalism in a Justice Circle. The suspects' daily written assessments and Theo's introspective first-person viewpoint slowly reveal the culprit. Levy delves into sensitive, timely topics while also providing plenty of entertainment and humor in this winning school story.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Leo Espinosa. A sign appears on a derelict fountain: "COMING IN TWO WEEKS! CALLING ALL GOLDFISH LOOKING FOR A SUMMER HOME." Three goldfish-owning neighborhood children and their grandfather watch as a park worker cleans up the fountain, turning it back into something beautiful and functional--and ready for goldfish. Espinosa's bright illustrations bring a sense of joy to every page of this amiable story inspired by true events.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. In 1917 Cottingley, England, young cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths produced what they claimed were photographs of real fairies. Arthur Conan Doyle featured them in The Strand, giving the girls more attention than they'd probably bargained for. With a crisp and engaging style, Nobleman relates this fascinating story. Incorporating the original photographs, Wheeler's lively mixed-media illustrations have an Edwardian sensibility and a sepia-dominated palette. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(1) YA Partridge's indispensable volume about the Vietnam War employs a powerfully moving structure that sends readers back and forth between America and Vietnam over a twenty-year period. Each chapter centers on an individual affected: Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon; Martin Luther King Jr.; Maya Lin; etc., alternating with eight people (seven veterans, one Vietnamese refugee) Partridge interviewed. Ample direct quotes and carefully researched details, along with spectacular photographs, bring the war close. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(2) 4-6 Pursued by nefarious individuals, a young emperor, a milkmaid, and a determinedly chivalrous young man (along with a cow and an eight-foot-tall ostrich) reluctantly join forces and carom from one suspenseful adventure to the next. In this rollicking entertainment of magic, wit, hidden identities, and determination, Berry hits all the right notes to please fairy tale–loving readers--and, of course, there are happy endings for all.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. After Kinchen's brother is kidnapped from their fantastical island world, their adoptive grandfather tells Kinchen the story of twins horrifically tossed off a slave ship in 1781. A third narrative strand emerges with a group desperately fleeing 1978 Vietnam in a boat. Bouwman keeps her characters' journeys--physical and emotional--front and center. Vivid interspersed black-and-white illustrations add to the drama.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(2) 4-6 In this lighthearted fantasy series-opener set in a medieval-like world, the invading Warriors maintain a fierce feud with the indigenous Wizards; both are terrified of the villainous Witches. Two misfits--brash thirteen-year-old Wizard Xar and introspective, similarly aged Warrior Wish--reluctantly join forces to face those Witches, magic, and more. Snarky narration and the spirited commentary in Cowell's scratchy pen-and-ink drawings keep everything moving briskly along.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Charly Palmer. Erskine's picture book biography about South African resistance singer Miriam Makeba uses driving present tense and an expressionistic prose style, with lyrical sentences alighting on significant apartheid events. Quotes and song lyrics keep the intensity high, as does clever use of words in red, often repeated on the next page. Palmer heightens the sense of urgency with vivid paintings. An extensive author's note is included. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(2) 4-6 The biracial Vanderbeeker family loves its close-knit Harlem neighborhood, minus grouchy, misanthropic landlord Mr. Beiderman. When "the Beiderman" announces he wants the family out by New Year's, the five siblings decide to give their parents the "Best Christmas Present Ever" by making him change his mind. Glaser's third-person narration weaves a palpable sense of place through the larger family story.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017