(2) 4-6 Scout is not a band kid...she's a fangirl. This graphic novel celebrates the lengths to which eighth grader Scout goes to meet her idol, Pristine Wong, creator of a beloved (fictional) book series about a magical girl. When Scout learns that her school band will be performing at ­Almontefest--where Wong is doing a signing--she enthusiastically seizes the opportunity to scam her way into the trombone section. The only other trombone player, Merrin, a type-A overachiever, is thrilled to have her company, until Scout's utter lack of musical knowledge becomes apparent. The two eventually find common ground and discover that each girl's strengths complement the other's vulnerabilities. New ­characters are introduced with a stat box that lists their pronouns and ranks personality traits (e.g., Merrin's "Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma") from Scout's perspective on a scale of one to four stars. Additionally, Armstrong's cartoony art style and focus on expressions and interactions help animate the characters. While this graphic novel will immediately entice nerdy fans of all stripes, Scout's development models a nuanced, supported approach to goal-setting that will resonate with many middle-school ­readers. Back matter includes details and reference drawings for Armstrong's characters, and sixteen four-panel black-and-white mini comics.

Reviewer: Niki Marion | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 Swallowtail Legacy series. Lark Heron-Finch is back at her family's house on Lake Erie's Swallowtail Island for the first time since her mother's death. With her younger sister, stepfather, and three stepbrothers also there, the limits of Lark's temper are tested on a regular basis. She finds a purpose for the summer by becoming a research assistant to family friend Nadine, who is working on a book about the island's history. Nadine introduces Lark to Dinah, a ninety-three-year-old woman who is one of the island's oldest residents, and to the story of Nadine's grandfather's death, decades earlier, in a boat wreck that might not have been an accident after all. As Lark dives into investigating the mystery, her impulsiveness continues to present problems, but it also allows her to save the day. While some of the mystery's twists may not be that surprising, the overall execution is a success. The evolution of Lark's relationship with her stepfather and siblings is well done, giving the book's fully realized secondary characters a chance to develop along with the protagonist. Even Lark's soccer-field nemesis turns out to be more complex than the classic bully he'd seemed at first. The book concludes with revelations about another island-related mystery, leaving readers eager for the next installment.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Lark is sure that once they hit fifty thousand Twitter followers, an agent will pick up their novel, and they'll finally be able to prove they're "worthy of being loved." Lark--who lives in West Philly and is Black, nonbinary, polyamorous, and neurodivergent--takes summer writing classes with other Black, queer teens, including their ex-best friend Kasim. Lark and Kasim butt heads because Lark believes in unconditional love and forgiveness, while revolutionary Kasim would rather "burn down" everything wrong with society. But when Kasim accidentally posts about his own unrequited love from Lark's Twitter account, the thread goes viral, and Lark takes credit. As Lark lies for internet fame, they can't help but wonder: who is Kasim really in love with? And does Lark even love themself? The Twitter posts re-created throughout are sometimes hilarious, sometimes unsettlingly real, exploring internet callout culture and what it truly takes to grow from one's mistakes. The novel can be didactic at times, but the characters and their relationships are complex, engaging, and delightfully flawed. References to the COVID-19 pandemic are seamlessly interwoven into everyday life; frank discussions of topics like autism and ADHD in the Black community, and how to navigate polyamorous relationships, feel fresh and necessary in the YA sphere. A brief writing guide for aspiring teen authors is appended.

Reviewer: Bodie Shanis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Megan Elizabeth Baratta. Dunlap begins her illustrated biography with a question posed by Thoreau in a school report, his earliest known writing: "Why do the seasons change?" She anchors the book solidly in primary-source material, following Thoreau's copious recorded observations of nature, including his classic work Walden, crafting an insightful and vivid portrait for readers. Baratta's delicately detailed illustrations, which appear to be rendered in watercolor and ink, feature the birds, butterflies, trees, and other parts of nature Thoreau talked about in his journals and letters; each specimen is carefully labeled with its common and/or scientific name (such as "birdsfoot violet / Viola pedata"). A timeline runs across the bottom of many pages, marking days of the year as the book moves through the seasons with specific notes Thoreau made on a particular day: "June 5, Woodpecker nest in apple tree." Dunlap discusses the importance of her subject's work in a modern-day study of climate change, encouraging readers to become citizen scientists and record what they see, too. The biography reflects not just Thoreau's interest in natural history but also his political stances (he and his family were passionate abolitionists), his interest in scientific thought (he read On the Origin of Species with keen interest), and his relationships with other notable contemporaries, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott. An excellent introduction to Thoreau and the turbulent times in which he lived.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by James E. Ransome. This picture-book biography of writer Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford), by the team behind Freedom Bird (rev. 1/20), pays homage to its renowned subject and the wondrous power of storytelling. In childhood, Morrison was a listener, relishing the stories and music shared by her parents and grandparents. She was also an avid reader and continued to read more and more, "feeding a hunger that would never end." After attending college and graduate school and a brief teaching career, she began working as an editor in New York, at which time she started to write, publishing many books and winning awards for her stories about the lives of Black people in America. Nolen emphasizes Morrison's uncanny gift for storytelling ("She could look beyond things as they were and see a greater vision") and celebrates her not only as a brilliant writer but also as an inspiration to others. The straightforward main narrative is appealingly accompanied by words floating at the tops of pages in a storyteller's voice ("I'm telling you, that girl was magic"). Ransome's expressive watercolor and collage illustrations, delivered as mostly double-page spreads, are perfectly matched to the text and especially compelling in conveying a sense of Morrison's profound legacy. Back matter includes an author's note, a bibliography, important quotes, and a list of select achievements.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) YA Before he was National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jason Reynolds was a twenty-something aspiring poet newly arrived in NYC with his friend Jason Griffin, who was trying to make it in the art world. "A poet. An artist. Black. White. We were college roommates. Now, close friends." This book, first released in 2009, is set up like a journal or scrapbook, presenting words and visuals mostly in stream-of-consciousness conversation that reveals the coauthors' artistic ambitions and day-to-day experiences. Themes such as friendship and allyship; fear and ambivalence; impatience and persistence; and, above all, yearning for creative expression emerge, along with occasional autobiographical details (first apartment, family illness, party-crashing) and dialogue that provide snapshots of a time and place in these young creators' lives. The rest is history, as their latest collaboration, Ain't Burned All the Bright (rev. 3/22), won a 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, among many career-spanning accolades for each. An eye-opening portrait-of-the-artists archive filled with memories, ephemera, and optimism (and appended with a new afterword by Reynolds and Griffin).

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Largely forgotten today, American writer Celia Laighton Thaxter enjoyed a significant literary career in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Both her life and her writing revolved around Maine's Appledore Island, and it is here that this picture-book biography takes root. Thaxter comes alive as a gardener from her earliest years (when the family lived on White Island), coaxing blooms to life amid the rocks, with vivid colors punctuating Root and Schmidt's narrative: "Pink morning glories opened to the sun, and Celia found green moss and purple starfish in rocky pools." Sweet's illustrations follow the text's lead, depicting the main character ankle-deep in a tide pool surrounded by bright, stylized flowers in purples, pinks, oranges, and reds. Both Celia and the island backdrop are dressed in muted gray-greens, causing the colors to pop all the more. Readers learn that Celia's lighthouse-keeper father moved the family to Appledore Island and built a hotel where "artists and writers [came] to stay"; after she married and moved to the mainland, that network f­acilitated her career. Hand-lettered excerpts of Thaxter's writings--both poetry and prose--frequently appear in the margins, artfully commenting on the narrative. The telling is elliptical; readers who wonder at the abrupt disappearance of Thaxter's husband must comb through the two-page timeline, printed in a tiny font, to learn of their estrangement. But Thaxter's devotion to her titular garden shines bright. Also appended are a biographical note and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tiffany Rose. Gregarious Abdul loves to tell stories to his classmates--as long as he does not have to write them down. Letters are confusing, and figuring out how to spell words is frustrating. Not to mention that the books he reads at school do not feature people who look like him or the people in his neighborhood: "Some stories are for books, Abdul decided, but not his." Then an author named Mr. Muhammad comes to visit his class. By encouraging the boy to focus on his ideas instead of on mechanics, Mr. ­Muhammad helps Abdul to unleash the writer inside of him. Abdul, who is Black and Muslim, is a relatable character not typically represented in similar narratives, and Mr. Muhammad, who is also Black, Muslim, and neurodivergent, offers encouragement as the caring adult who has learned to manage his own writing challenges. This is a story within a story, not just about the tales Abdul wants to write but also about his journey as a learner; exploring the topic of learning disabilities can be challenging, especially the social-emotional fallout for children who are struggling, but Thompkins-Bigelow accomplishes the task. Rose's lively and colorful illustrations are eye-pleasing and showcase diversity. This is an engaging story that not only offers empowerment but also models understanding and acceptance of learning differences.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(1) 4-6 A biography that's as unique in form and content as the groundbreaking sci-fi/fantasy author herself. Zoboi (The People Remember, rev. 11/21) came to this project from a lifetime love of Butler's work and from having met her on several occasions. The word constellation in the subtitle is used both literally--referring to the other-worldly stories about which Butler dreamed and then wrote--and figuratively, for she was a lonely "rogue planet," with others revolving around her but rarely ­getting to really know her. Focusing mainly on her early life, Zoboi tells the author's story in several literary modes: original poems in many forms (haiku, concrete, and acrostic, among others); excerpted quotes from interviews; and descriptive passages that offer further explanations of these biographical snapshots. This variety is narratively enthralling and reflects Butler's openness to telling stories in many different ways. The volume also offers superb historical context for Butler's life, from the Great Migration to the U.S.'s fascination with UFOs, the baby boom, ­McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, and more. Zoboi occasionally includes relevant visuals--a photograph of Octavia and her mother, Butler's handwritten childhood notes, the cover of a Dick and Jane basal reader--that will provide readers a clearer sense of the historical details. Informational and inspirational, this innovative work will draw committed Butler fans and entice those unfamiliar with her work to seek it out.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sarah Horne. Ostensibly walking readers though writing a book about his dog, Barton introduces elementary-age readers to nonfiction publishing. From research to writing to minute steps in a book's life cycle, an impressive amount of information is cleverly cloaked in entertaining meta storytelling. Horne's slapstick illustrations work in perfect tandem throughout; occasional vignettes use flow-chart arrows as the would-be "book" moves from agent to editor and on. Even "people whose names don't...appear on the cover" (typesetters! proofreaders!) get a shout-out--all without a dull moment.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) YA Charlotte--a dreamy, tenacious eighteen-year-old from Seattle--thinks she has what it takes to become an author: largely, "the will and intention of an artist." When she's awarded a scholarship to attend a workshop in Venice led by her novelist idol, literary darling Luca Bruni, Charlotte jumps at the opportunity to develop her craft, make powerful connections, and research her ancestor, sixteenth-century Venetian poet Isabella di Angelo. Sumptuous descriptions bring the cityscape to life as Charlotte basks in both Venice's haunting beauty and (at least at first) Bruni's intoxicating presence; on the side, a cute local-history scholar helps her uncover more about Isabella's fate. Close narration keeps Charlotte's shifting feelings of wonder, enlightenment, and vulnerability at the forefront; the third-person perspective allows readers to see clearly what Charlotte cannot admit about her teacher's predatorily flirtatious behavior toward students. The tension breaks when Bruni turns his attention to Charlotte, and she must finally face the truth about him. The fallout from his advances shatters her literary fantasies and she quits the program, but a discovery about Isabella's history draws Charlotte back to Venice--on her own terms--for a quietly triumphant conclusion. Caletti (A Heart in a Body in the World, rev. 11/18; Girl, Unframed, rev. 9/20) weaves the lives of these two striving artists together with an expert hand, with chapter headers profiling dozens of real-life, little-known, subjugated female writers from Isabella's era, highlighting parallels in women's--especially female creative artists'--stories throughout history.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe. In 1863 a woman named Eliza Davis began a correspondence with Charles Dickens. Her first letter compliments the author for his attention to social issues but criticizes his portrayal of Jewish characters ("a vile prejudice"). Dickens initially responds harshly but eventually comes to rail against prejudice and creates kind Jewish characters in future work. Stancliffe's inviting illustrations with a lush palette are interspersed with black-and-white drawings that evoke Dickens's era. Churnin's language also echoes the period and includes direct quotes from the pair's seven letters. An author's note provides additional historical context for antisemitism in Great Britain and comments on how Dickens "encouraged sympathy for the Jewish community."

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(1) 4-6 The prolific Paulsen dips into his seemingly inexhaustible well of memories to pen yet another memoir. Employing the same third-person narrative voice he used in a trio of short, affecting stories about his grandmother (The Cookcamp, Alida's Song, and The Quilt), Paulsen reveals more pivotal moments of resilience from his difficult childhood and teen years. At the age of five--and at his grandmother's ­insistence--"the boy" goes to live with his aunt and uncle on their farm in the northern woods of Minnesota, but that safe haven is abruptly taken away when he must cross the Pacific Ocean to reunite with his parents. The boy's time in the Philippines is brief, but his memories are indelible. Flash forward to age thirteen. The boy spends as much time in the woods as he possibly can to avoid his alcoholic parents at home. He scrapes by at school, and works setting pins at the bowling alley, but his discovery of the public library, its kind librarian, and the power of books and stories literally changes his life. The boy's military service is another formative experience, and then he finds his voice--and his calling--as a storyteller. Resonant themes and beautiful writing unify the memoir's episodic structure.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Magaly Morales. "Pura Belpré always knew that many stories worth telling aren't in books" is the lingering message of this picture-book biography. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Belpré listened as her abuela told vivid cuentos that elicited "giggles...shivers...sighs," reactions later mirrored by the enthralled library audiences with whom Pura shared those same folk stories. Belpré began library work in Harlem among a growing Spanish-speaking diaspora, at a time when the library lacked both staff to communicate in their patrons' language and books to reinforce a connection. Recognizing how the rigid traditions of storytime limited her ability to promote culturally relevant stories--stories shared had to be read from a book--Belpré proposed her own oral storytelling practice to the library "bosses" (all depicted as white). Eventually she published those stories and devoted herself to reaching the public beyond library walls, paving the way for practices of modern librarianship. Pimentel (Girl Running, rev. 3/18) captures Belpré's dazzling storytelling ("She hisses...murmurs...roars") through text that carries a soft rhythm apt for reading aloud. Morales's (A Piñata in a Pine Tree, rev. 11/09) digital images feature a bright and distinct color palette and illustrate Pura's liveliness through dynamic perspectives and expressive gestures. Deftly incorporated details throughout the art, including a coqui and characters such as Pérez and Martina, evoke Belpré's childhood influences and culture. An author's note, a source list, and a selected bibliography are appended. Pair with González and Delacre's The Storyteller's Candle and Denise and Escobar's Planting Stories (rev. 1/19).

Reviewer: Jessica Agudelo | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(1) YA In graphic memoir form, Russo depicts her childhood in Queens, New York, from 1957–1967. "When I was a little girl, I took Catholicism very seriously... Despite the fact that my relatives spoke Yiddish, ate herring, and drank seltzer, it never occurred to me that I might actually be Jewish." Her divorced mother, who "became a Catholic when she lived in Italy during the war," has her own complicated relationship with the Church--and with her Jewish mother and sisters; with Marisabina's father; and with her two sons, Marisabina's half-brothers. The author's dream was "to become a nun so that I could live a calm and orderly life far from the fermisht tummel [Yiddish for 'mixed-up commotion,' per a footnote] of my own family." She instead became a prolific picture-book creator (Waiting for Hannah, rev. 9/89; Sophie Sleeps Over, rev. 3/14; and many others) and wrote about her family's experiences during WWII in the moving nonfiction picture books Always Remember Me (rev. 3/05) and I Will Come Back for You (rev. 9/11). This snapshot of her formative years (including middle-school dances, the Beatles, and JFK's assassination) is focused squarely on her idiosyncratic family members' traits and foibles at that time, gradually revealed. For example, Marisabina's noodge-y mom had received a medal for bravery for her work with the partisans during WWII. Copious panels, with dialogue that spills out from them, depict day-to-day life in color and interspersed flashbacks in black and white, providing an unvarnished look at one complicated, opinionated, and ­personality-filled family.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) 4-6 Young Jordan hasn't always had the best luck when it comes to teachers, but he's fairly sure his fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Fisher loathes him. His mother gets the same impression during their parent-teacher conference, but things come to a head when Mrs. Fisher slaps him. He transfers to another school on Staten Island, one that is bigger and more diverse--he's not the only Jewish kid in his class--and his new teacher, Miss Tuff, unlocks Jordan's creative potential. A strong reader with a love of comics and music, Jordan discovers magic in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising and aspires to be a writer one day. That day comes sooner than he thinks when Miss Tuff invites him to write and perform skits for the class, and his comedic talent shines bright. There are genuine moments of hilarity throughout ­Sonnenblick's (Notes from the Midnight Driver, rev. 9/06; The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade, rev. 9/17; and others) memoir: pranks with friends, plenty of self-deprecation, and a running pet-snake situation. These are balanced with some pathos as well: health problems, tension between his parents, and big events in the background (the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island, the American Airlines Flight 191 crash, the Iranian Revolution). Sonnenblick's trademark blend of wit and sensitivity mines even the darker elements for humor and imbues this memoir with a sense of hope and optimism.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 "Drawing always came naturally to me," says the protagonist of this autobiographical picture book based on Talbott's early life. Words are another story. Though he loves words "one at a time," long sentences make him feel lost in the woods--a theme picked up by the book's title and by the illustrations' imagery. In the watercolor, colored-pencil, and ink pictures, books fly at him like so many bats or birds of prey; trees are menacingly twisted into and around words; and an entire spread of newsprint becomes a gray, densely packed "Wall of Shame." He feels "alone and lost in a world of words" and worries: what if his classmates find out he can't keep up with them? As he comes up with strategies to forge his own path--reading at his own pace, looking for words he knows and letting them lead him into a story--the illustrations' palette slowly lightens. Then he begins to experiment with how to write stories. He tears down his Wall of Shame and creates a Hall of Fame of slow readers--Einstein and Shakespeare among them. And now the wall carries a new sign: "Slow readers savor the story!" In an appended note, Talbott relates his childhood struggle with dyslexia and how he wrote this story to help others.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara. "In a town called Eatonville...lived a girl who was attracted to tales like mosquitos to skin." So begins the evocatively descriptive account of the life of acclaimed storyteller Zora Neale Hurston. Young Zora spent the favorite parts of her day at Joe Clarke's general store, where she would listen to her elders tell fantastical tales of "how that trickster Brer Rabbit always got the best of Brer Fox," the origin of "squinch owls," and more. She didn't mind passing them on, either; perched atop the gatepost that led to her house, Zora would relate those tales--and a few of her own--to any passerby who would listen. While some family members chastised her for "lying," Zora's mother encouraged her consistently to "jump at de sun. You might not land on de sun, but at least you'd get off de ground." These "jumps" carried Zora to Howard University, then on to Harlem (and its burgeoning Renaissance), and right back down to Eatonville, where she continued to do what she did best--trade, tell, and write down stories. Rich with down-home vernacular, the text immerses readers in the Southern tradition of oral storytelling. The illustrations prove just as dynamic, with vibrant spreads bursting with brilliant-toned hues and enjoyable details to notice (e.g., the fashionable hats famously worn by Hurston--modeled by anthropomorphic animals). Snippets of folktales are paneled loosely alongside the biographical story; Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox are no respecters of borders, with both making multiple appearances. Back matter includes an author's note, sources, and additional reading, for both "Youngins" and "Older Folk."

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Translated by David Henry Wilson. Illustrated by Maja Kastelic. On a carriage ride to Copenhagen with her mother, a young girl strikes up a conversation with a kindly older gentleman. They exchange pleasantries; he reveals that he is a writer, particularly of fairy tales. She's interested, so he volunteers to tell her a magical story. It's a tale of a poor youngster who eventually becomes a famous writer. "He sometimes felt as if he'd got himself a kingdom--the kingdom of letters." The tone is gentle, the language often poetic. "It's you, isn't it?" asks the child, and the gentleman--Hans Christian Andersen--confirms her suspicion. Throughout, the illustrations not only pace the story, with panels, half- and full-page art, and double-page spreads, but also indicate shifts in time and content. For example, the carriage ride is depicted in browns, blue, and hints of pink, while sepia-toned sequences recall the events Andersen is retelling. Detailed, multi-hued pastels accompany descriptions of several of Andersen's stories, which he explains as either coming from his own experiences (once small and helpless like "Thumbelina," for example) or the observable foibles of others ("The Emperor's New Clothes"). Many readers will notice visual references to folktales and nursery rhymes within the illustrations of his stories. This biography-based picture book concludes in fantasy as the travelers leave the ground and fly to Copenhagen, just like the boy in "The Flying Trunk." Appended with an author's note.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) YA Before he actually had children, Bronson Alcott wondered, "Can parents limit ­outside influences and raise a perfect child?" Well, the answer was no. By the time second daughter Louisa was three and her older sister Anna was four, they were out of control. Louisa was a "brute" in the nursery, Mrs. Alcott was an emotional mess, and family life was a disaster. (Good to know there's hope for us all!) "Wild and ungovernable," Louisa threw food and pulled Anna's hair. As Louisa grew up, she loved racing through the park and sliding down bannisters. But being given freedom to play and dream; growing up in a house full of books; and having such Concord neighbors as ­Thoreau, Emerson, and Hawthorne nurtured the young, passionate girl--ultimately readying her to take on the literary world with Little Women. Noyes expertly places Alcott within the context of a chaotic and poverty-stricken family life and a confining and conventional Concord. An idealistic father, an overburdened mother, and three lively sisters provided the models for her characters in Little Women, published when she was thirty-five. Photographs--of Thoreau, Walden Pond, and John Brown--and reproductions of letters, magazine covers, and even a tintype of a Civil War drummer complement the text. Back matter includes an extensive bibliography.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020