(3) YA Anxiety-sufferer Stefanie Brons hates the diagnosis "selective mutism": it makes others think she has control over her inability to speak. (Her narrative voice, however, is wonderfully sardonic and plainspoken.) When Steffi befriends cute new boy Rhys, who's deaf, and communicates with him through sign language, she sees herself anew. Thunder is the rare, authentic novel that dives into the day-to-day of debilitating anxiety.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Curato. A little black girl with flowing violet hair guides readers through her creative process, guided by a limitless imagination: "what if that pencil one day disappeared? / I'd fold up the paper till stories appeared." The popping pink-and-purple mixed-media illustrations--incorporating sculpture, origami, collage, photography, and more--gorgeously underscore the message that an artist is more than her tools.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) PS Illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo. In this ode to female self-confidence and -love, little girls from across the racial spectrum play, fight, hug, read, perform, and much more beneath a series of florid platitudes in rhyme. Designed to imbue power and praise vulnerability, a well-meaning but thin text is buoyed by Bobo's warm, emotive, and inclusive acrylic paintings.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Shane Devries. Immersive watercolors enliven an original fairy tale about a little deaf boy who uses his unique communication skills to save his village from an angry dragon and a belligerent king. The illustrations, in a warm coral-and-lavender palette, incorporate common signs ("'Thank you,' they said with dancing hands"). Despite its disability-as-heroism device, the engaging story is worthwhile for its different protagonist and message of tolerance.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) YA Isolated seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot lives in a small, seaside Oregon town haunted by the executions of three sisters accused of witchcraft centuries ago: every year since they drowned, the sisters' spirits exact revenge by luring teen boys to their watery graves. Can Penny save enigmatic newcomer Bo? Ignore the soggy premise and embrace Ernshaw's plush, eerie prose and taut Gothic mystery.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(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

(3) YA Everything changed for Quinn McAvoy when she began losing her hair due to alopecia. But starting high school across the country offers her a second chance, and a brand-new wig helps her fit in. Friend's natural dialogue and candid depictions of disability--from Quinn's little brother's autism to love interest Nick's above-knee amputation--delicately elevate this story from issues-novel territory.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Justin Skeesuck & Matt Waresak. In this autobiographical, faith-based story, Marcus helps eliminate physical barriers for his best friend John, who uses a wheelchair; John, in turn, strengthens his friend's emotional resolve. Wholesome watercolor and ink drawings further the adult sentiments in a story that's enhanced by the knowledge that, as adults, author Gray pushed illustrator Skeesuck's wheelchair along Spain's famed Camino de Santiago.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) 4-6 After Charlie's parents dump him with his grandparents for the summer, the ten-year-old teams up with peppery deaf girl "Frog" (Francine) to learn American Sign Language and possibly solve a mystery. The story's capital-Q Quirkiness devolves from cute to irritating, but Kane's textual depiction of ASL is novel (if laborious for readers), and her portrayal of Deaf culture is highly detailed.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) K-3 When a tiny hippopotamus was born three months premature at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in 2017, none of the large mammal experts knew how to properly care for such a vulnerable creature--nor could they anticipate how social media would make little Fiona a star. Told in clear prose and with photographs at once moving, hilarious, and fascinating, this is an edifying story of survival.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) 4-6 Lonely deaf boy Max spends most of his time making miniature models with boarding school custodian Mr. Darrow. When Darrow disappears, Max discovers an entire minuscule civilization in the man's quarters--and Max's hearing aids allow him to hear that world's warring populace. Despite Montgomery's snappy humor and clever world-building, this high-concept tale stumbles into middle-grade-fantasy clichés: orphaned hero, evil headmaster, magic serum, etc.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) 1-3 Hyperactive Benjamin "Bug" Blonksy has a creative imagination...and a penchant for chaos. He comically narrates his frenzied school day, with each brief vignette named for the "don'ts" he's forced to list while "in the quiet chair" (e.g., "DON'T ask Ms. Munster 'Is Uranus the Biggest?'"). Bug has a strong, zippy voice, but Redmond's irreverent pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are the book's true goofy highlight.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) YA Neuro-atypical Alvie Fitz loves routine, hates being touched, and prefers the company of animals. At seventeen she has her own apartment and a full-time job and looks forward to being legally emancipated. Then a romance with Stanley, who has a genetic bone disorder, upends Alvie's world. Steiger's prose is arresting, and the frank depiction of teen sexuality--particularly within a disability framework--is refreshing.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) YA This compilation of real women's gender discrimination narratives from the 1920s to the present day is halfway between browsable coffee table book and a collective memoir. Heavy on eye-popping graphic design but light on historical context, the book is commercially inspirational yet it lacks grounding in why gender has been an obstacle for women throughout the last decade.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) K-3 A little girl cheerily recounts life with her wheelchair-using father, who feels guilty for not being able to do certain activities with his daughter. She reminds Dad that while they can't play soccer or swim in the ocean together, they can make music and build sand castles. Hong richly distills complicated emotions through her compassionate child narrator and expressive, childlike colored-pencil illustrations.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jill Howarth. Prospect, an orphaned baby goat with special needs, became Instagram-famous when his caretakers at the Goats of Anarchy animal sanctuary dressed (and photographed) him in different outfits to keep him warm while he built strength. Richly textured, heartwarming illustrations of the prancing, fashionable kid elevate a slight narrative. An appended note includes photos of the real Prospect.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr