(2) K-3 Illustrated by Melissa Iwai. Take a compelling story of an indomitable chef, add heaps of immersive sensory details, stir in a warm palette, then devour this tasty introduction to Cecilia Chiang (1920-2020). Born in an old Beijing palace, young Cecilia loved the kitchen best, with its enticing aromas and iconic clamor of cleavers and sizzling wok oil. Her family enjoyed these delicious meals and savored each unique bite. When the arrival of Japanese troops in China in 1937 caused the family to scatter for safety, Cecilia and her sister fled to the countryside, where Cecilia discovered new cuisines. This education would inform her future, as she moved to Tokyo in 1949 to escape the Chinese civil war and later opened a Chinese restaurant to share flavors of home. After moving to San Francisco, she became determined to change Americans' perception of Chinese food as "cheap and greasy." Her second restaurant, the Mandarin, featured a fine-dining, two-hundred-item menu that would "showcase the best flavors from China's many regions." Excellent reviews and celebrity clientele brought fame, but what mattered most were sharing the tastes of her childhood and bringing customers joy. Leung's straightforward and thoughtful prose never glosses over Chiang's difficult life but lingers instead on the poetry of cooking, which is expertly paired with Iwai's watercolors that offer heartwarming and mouthwatering details on every spread. An author's note provides photos of Chiang and additional information in this story steeped in foodways and family.

Reviewer: J. Elizabeth Mills | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) PS Toad drives the tow truck for Pop's Garage, his dad's car repair shop. Toad is so busy that he bolts out the front door before the title page, skipping the insect his father has fried for him for breakfast. Vehicular calamities abound. "Catie cat has a flat. Davey dog hit a log. Mayor Hop forgot to stop. Stanley Snout's engine fell out." The punchy text uses short sentences and consistent rhythm with periodic bursts of rhyme, giving this a read-aloud cadence and momentum. The digital illustrations are a blend of spare, subtle, and energetic. Characters and vehicles appear as spot images in textured, relatively subdued hues on white backdrops, creating a warm, calm contrast to the nonstop accidents and Toad's frenzied activity level. When the tow truck breaks down, Toad insists he can handle it himself, but when his efforts end in his kicking the car in frustration ("Wait, Toad -- that's not going to help!"), Toad realizes it's time to call Pop. "Everyone needs help sometimes." With its clear plot, welcome predictability, and straightforward language, this book will be a smash with the preschool crowd while also satisfying the needs of beginning readers.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) YA The Ybarras and the Moraleses, who own Cuban bakeries across the street from each other in fictional Port Murphy, Washington, have a bitter, decades-old rivalry. Ana Maria Ybarra (who also goes by Amy because no one in her mostly white town can pronounce her name correctly) usually honors the family feud. Until Miguel, a boy with whom she shared a steamy kiss in L.A. months ago, moves to town and reveals that he's a Morales nephew. Try as she might, she can't stay away ("He's technically a Fuentes," she justifies), especially when she learns he's a photography whiz. She's desperate for someone to fix her recipe videos so she can win a scholarship to culinary school. The two create a plan to film cooking videos in secret -- which, of course, devolves into clandestine making out. Ana Maria's family can't find out about either. Castellanos's (Isla to Island4, rev. 3/22) first novel-with-words is a sweet and satisfying rom-com with a relatively low-stakes star-crossed storyline. Ana Maria learns to stand up for her dreams for her future, her love life, and even the name she wants to be called, and Miguel is supportive as she figures it all out. Delicious descriptions of traditional Cuban foods and Ana Maria's updated creations abound. A recipe for guava cream cheese thumbprint cookies is appended.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) 4-6 Cruzita Tayahua ends sixth grade with a D in Spanish, which is embarrassing considering her family's Mexican roots. But being fluent in Spanish isn't a priority for Cruz, who dreams of being an American pop music superstar. Her summer plan: visit the music theme park Encore Island and enter the Rising Star Contest. A trip to Hollywood isn't part of Cruz's parents' plans, however. They need her help in the family's struggling panadería in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, which has been losing customers since her tio Chuy's death a month earlier. When her grandmother gives Cruz a violin "that once belonged to my great-grandpa" and signs her up for mariachi lessons, Cruz is reluctant: "So I'm supposed to learn to speak Spanish and play the violin at the same time?" She's surprised to find that she can sing in Spanish and to discover that she likes being connected to her culture. An unexpected opportunity means she has to choose between her dreams and obligations to family and new friends. Cruz's inner conflict and search for identity are sensitively drawn, and Granillo weaves a believable sense of community pride into the heartfelt and enjoyable story.

Reviewer: Yesica Hurd | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Alice enjoys helping her father prepare bodies for viewings at the Tranquility Funeral Home, and she intends to take over the business when she's grown, even if the kids at school call her "Alice in Zombieland." Alice makes a new friend, Violet, whose allergy to sunlight prompts the kids to call her "Violet the Vampire"; when Violet's uncle George dies of the same allergy, Alice's ability to read "resonances" from the belongings of the dead tells her that George's death wasn't an accident. Alice begins to investigate, and her polite but dogged sleuthing begins to uncover answers. Does the death have to do with the older teens partying under the dock where George died -- among them Cal, whose willingness to stand up for Alice and Violet against the bullies makes him a kind of ally? Alice's neuroatypical presentation (her blunted affect, sensitivity to overstimulation, and precise thought processes will find a sympathetic audience from readers on the autism spectrum) at one point causes a rift in her nascent friendship with Violet, leading to a reassessment and reconciliation that will ring true with many readers. The characters and community of Damocles Cove are brightly painted in this solid middle-grade mystery with lightly handled supernatural aspects, a potential headliner to a welcome new series.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(1) 4-6 Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Delilah "Dally" Peteharrington's mother wants to prepare her to take over the family business. Every afternoon, she meets with tutors to learn "important business-ish things," but what she really wants is to go on adventures like the ones her grandfather took her on before he died. When her mother refuses to let her sign up for Adventure Club at school, Dally decides to take matters into her own hands. She sneaks into her grandfather's study to find the envelope he left for her -- which she is not supposed to open until she turns twenty-one. Inside is a map that leads Dally to a secret library; from there, she can go back in time. With each visit to the past, Dally learns more about the Peteharringtons and how they got their wealth. Magoon adeptly and naturally weaves issues of race, class, and gender into a creative fantasy adventure. Readers will enjoy time-traveling with Dally and learning her family secrets, and many will especially enjoy Dally's time as a pirate. A family tree shown near the end of the book helps make connections among the many characters.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 What began as a quest to reunite lost socks with their owners soon leads to new friendships, important discoveries about neighbors, and a deeper sense of community for two Asian American girls in New York City. Ten-year-old Magnolia Wu lives with her parents and their dog, Mister Pants, in a tiny apartment above their laundromat. Magnolia helps her parents run the business, including keeping track of lost socks on a bulletin board, and her world feels complete. One day, Magnolia meets Iris Lam, newly arrived from California. Despite initial awkwardness, the two find a common interest in reuniting socks and owners, using Magnolia's knowledge of the customers and Iris's guidance to "look for the little things." Each new mission teaches them a little more about their neighbors, their families, and each other, amidst a shared trauma of anti-Asian microaggressions and harassment. Fittingly, their strong personalities lead to a heated argument and estrangement that shows Magnolia she needs her friend to make a complete pair, just like the lost socks. Miller's fresh and honest storytelling approach and her endearing characters are spot-on for early-middle-grade readers confronting the highs and lows of friendship, racial tension, and the trials of growing up. Whimsical black-and-white illustrations add levity and charm.

Reviewer: J. Elizabeth Mills | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carl Angel. Born in 1896 under Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, Pedro Flores immigrated to the United States as a teenager. It wasn't until years later -- after he had worked in Hawaiian pineapple fields, on steamships in the Pacific, and at a hotel in California -- that he produced the first Flores yo-yo. Though Flores did not invent the toy (Peñas traces its origins back thousands of years to China), his ingenious reengineering of it led to its rise in popularity (the word yo-yo means "come back" in Tagalog). Peñ as's straightforward text is well supported by deeply saturated images that illustrate Flores's experience as an immigrant: long hours of physically demanding labor and the dogged pursuit of education. It was with the help of a neighbor that Flores was able to start his business, and he committed to bringing his fellow kabayan into his success, as employees. Readers will delight in learning (or remembering) how to "Rock the Baby," "Loop the Loop," and "Walk the Dog." An author's note provides history about the Philippines, the yo-yo, and Flores's life.

Reviewer: Gabi K. Huesca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Alligator Bob (Chez Bob, rev. 9/21), proprietor of his bird friends' favorite restaurant, is blindsided when an energetic young alligator rolls into town with an exciting new business: Chez Ryan "delivers pizza while doing cool bike tricks!" Bob doesn't handle the competition well and falls into a funk fueled by sad music, snack food, and self-pity. With Chez Bob's shuttered, the birds flock to enjoy the convivial atmosphere at Ryan's, while Bob follows his jealous thoughts to a dark place: the "internest." Posting under various pseudonyms ("smartbirdwhoisnotbob," "trustworthybird226"), he relieves his anxiety by slandering Ryan and pizza -- and expressing those "very bad things made Bob feel very good." Lest readers think this is an endorsement of internet troll-dom, Shea's comical illustrations turn dark and shadowy as Bob wages his online smear campaign by the light of his laptop. Skilled use of color and perspective throughout effectively conveys mood and plays up the overall silliness. Ryan is understandably furious when Bob confesses, but Bob's heartfelt apology helps Ryan forgive him. In the "sappy ending" that the two chefs agree is "gross," they team up to run a new fusion restaurant serving birdseed pizza. This satisfying second course will be a crowd pleaser.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 Arthur Popper is a diffident, slightly anxious eleven-year-old who lives with his parents and younger sister above the family business, a thriving, capacious secondhand store in Boulder, Colorado. He works shifts in the store and is valued for being "good at customer service" but longs for another area where he can truly shine. When some family members' and friends' jewelry starts disappearing, he takes on the mystery-solving challenge. He receives advice from a ghost mouse who lives in a teacup on his bookshelf, the single touch of fantasy in an otherwise naturalistic novel. The detective narrative, which is tidily composed and plausible, provides the scaffolding for a story of family and community relationships that is a tour de force of small, beautifully calibrated effects. Arthur's best friend is Veda, who is Latinx, but things go sideways for them when Arthur's grandfather expresses a prejudice against "certain kinds of people." Freeman doesn't provide easy answers to the problem of a bigoted family member, nor does she give Grandpa an easy epiphany. Instead she portrays a realistic, flawed family with all its tensions. She allows Arthur to encounter and grapple with the concept of white privilege on his own, in age-appropriate terms, keeping the focus firmly on the child characters and their strengths.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. Chef Edna Lewis (1916–2006) brought Southern cooking to the forefront of American cuisine. Growing up in Freetown, Virginia, a place founded by her grandfather and other formerly enslaved people, Edna helped Mama Daisy make meals. With fresh fish in spring, summer garden vegetables, sweet potatoes in fall, and biscuits year-round, Edna and her mother fed their family and community. When she was fifteen, Edna moved to New York, working odd jobs such as typing and answering phones to help support her family. Her work as a seamstress was what got her noticed, however, and she was soon designing and sewing clothes for celebrities. As her star rose in the social circles of New York, she began to host and cater parties using Mama Daisy's recipes, and her food became as famous as her dress designs. She eventually opened her own Manhattan restaurant, where socialites wondered which culinary school in Paris she'd attended. "Her Paris was Freetown, the flavors of home passed down from one generation to the next." Noel make s frequent use of fragmented sentences to punctuate the methodical effort of Edna's work ("Ironing. Cleaning. Cooking. Sending the money she earned back home"). Cabrera's vivid paintings are equally at home depicting the glamour of New York society and the closeness of Freetown's community. Appended with an author's note, additional resources, and a recipe for biscuits.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eliza Kinkz. Young Jesús eagerly awaits Saturdays, when he helps his father with their family's­ lawn service business. Papá gives him the responsibility of taking care of the water jug, claiming that it is a magical clock and when the water runs out, it's time to go home. Hilarity ensues when Jesús doles out cups of water to three "super-old" thirsty cats, a dog in a sweater, and some peacocks, and uses lots of water to splash his face. The jug may now be empty, but Jesús and Papá can't yet go home: it's only ten thirty in the morning, and they still have eleven more houses to visit. Papá confesses that the water jug is not a magical clock after all; he had tried to make the day go more quickly by making the jug into a game. But as Jesús tells Papá, they can have fun in other ways. The protagonist's exuberance shines through in his observations of the world. Kinkz's art--in "pencil, ink, watercolor, gouache, crayons, and a few drops of queso"--brings this story to life. The colors are bright; the line drawings are childlike and full of zany energy. The garden-themed luchador endpapers will garner lots of laughs. This book mixes humor with the touching bond between a son and his papá, and a gentle message­ about the preciousness of water as a resource.

Reviewer: Yesica Hurd | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Coni Yovaniniz. In this upbeat graphic novel, Maru is trying to adjust to her family's recent move from California to Ohio. Her papá, a barbershop owner, and the rest of her Peruvian American family are caring and supportive, but she struggles to communicate openly with others (thought bubbles often reveal her true thoughts and feelings), and she's mourning her mother's death. After meeting outgoing middle school classmates Everly and Zoe, Maru seizes the opportunity to make new friends. Spurred by Zoe's invention of a natural hair dye and bolstered by Everly's creative hairstyling skills, the entrepreneurial trio transforms an old RV (with the help of Maru's abuela and tío) into a salon. Just as each of their strengths contributes to their success, their respective faults lead to conflict, threatening their friendship and business, but an empathic resolution deepens the characterization of these relatable tweens. Bilingual Maru communicates in Spanish and English with friends and family throughout. Bold, rounded outlines are enlivened by recurring tints of pink, purple, and teal, to represent the individuality of each girl. Sure to win over fans of the PAWS (Gabby Gets It Together, rev. 3/22) and Peapod Farm (7Stepping Stones, rev. 5/20) graphic-novel series.

Reviewer: Jessica Agudelo | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 In this heartfelt tale, young Angie becomes a vital bridge between her Cantonese-speaking dad and their new home in Canada. She frequently aids her father in navigating various situations, such as ordering meals and crafting signs for his janitorial job. Soon, Angie identifies a business opportunity--creating English signs for the Chinese-speaking business owners in their neighborhood. Her initial projects include a sandwich board for Ms. Fong's canteen and a stern warning sign for the recalcitrant customers of Ms. Lim's shoe-repair shop. However, a hurdle arises when the laundromat owner, Mr. Chu, voices dissatisfaction with Angie's work. This hiccup morphs into a golden moment, as her father speaks with Mr. Chu in his language (Hakka), unveiling linguistic knowledge that surprises Angie and strengthens their bond. This narrative gracefully illustrates the ties that bind a community and positions language as a potent tool that can both separate and unify people, transforming potential misunderstandings into opportunities for growth, collaboration, and even humor. The story is brought to life with cartoon-style art and bilingual dialogues, represented through simplified Chinese characters and italicized English, offering readers a rich, multicultural experience. This tale presents a hopeful perspective on immigrant life, vividly portraying resilience, a spirit of community, and the enduring bond of family, making it a poignant and uplifting read. An author's note explains the story's linguistic context, highlighting the presence of different Chinese languages with some linguistic similarities.

Reviewer: Weileen Wang | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 It's 1931 (per a wall calendar in an illustration), and Shirley's family is struggling to get customers to try their store's speciality: "The neighbors don't know from good gefilte fish," declares Mama. Shirley has "LOTS of big ideas" but is deemed too young to help...until she's left temporarily in charge and gambles successfully on the power of free samples. Initiative-taker Shirley is easy to root for, and the engaging narrative voice ("Shirley wasted no time. She straightened. She decorated. She modernized. She advertised") keeps the tale moving. Loose-lined illustrations (pencil sketches over-drawn and then colored digitally) incorporate collage details that include what are presumably family photos; the author's bio explains that Cohen's grandparents owned a grocery store in a diverse immigrant neighborhood like Shirley's. Back matter includes a glossary for the occasional Yiddish terms, and background on and a recipe for gefilte fish. Try it; you'll like it!

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 PAWS series. Illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn. This lively graphic novel set in Vancouver, Canada, tracks friendship ups and downs along with a shared animal obsession. Gabby is the youngest member of her friend triad, which also includes all-star athlete Priya and stylish cool-girl Mindy. The girls all have big personalities and are desperate to interact with any kind of animal--but Gabby's dad is a neat freak, Priya's mom is allergic to pets, and Mindy's landlord doesn't allow canine or feline tenants. When a serendipitous dog-walking opportunity falls into their lap, they turn their good luck into a business: PAWS (Pretty Awesome WalkerS). While it's easy to love animals in cute online videos, the three friends learn the hard way that running a business while dealing with actual animals isn't everything they thought it would be. Fairbairn and Assarasakorn have both worked for DC and Marvel, so traditional serialized superhero comics inform their combined writing and art style: thick black lines border the panels, the fonts are referential and nostalgic, and the exposition fits neatly inside boxes at the top of panels. The bouncy, rounded art offsets the text's slight overemphasis on telling, and inclusion of visual background info about the three friends' families makes the characters feel bouncy and rounded, too. Animal lovers, burgeoning entrepreneurs, and fans of friendship sagas should look forward to planned future installments.

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

(2) 4-6 Mysteries of Trash & Treasure series. Colin, an only child, and Nevaeh, the youngest of five, are both reluctantly working at their families' businesses for the summer. At Possession Curation, Colin is tempted to rescue items his ultra-minimalist mother culls from her clients' homes but mostly settles for taking pictures of them, finding beauty in unwanted objects. Nevaeh's father loves being the Junk King, but Neveah would prefer a little less mess in her life. Colin finds a box of letters from the 1970s in an attic and becomes caught up in the story of former friends Rosemary and Toby. A hunch about where he might find the other half of the correspondence brings him into Nevaeh's path, and the two become friends while searching for Rosemary and Toby and trying to figure out what drove them apart. When a brewing conflict between their parents intensifies, Colin and Nevaeh end up solving the mystery of the broken friendship as well as that of an empty storage unit, allowing the adults to resolve longtime misunderstandings. Haddix packs a lot into a fast-paced novel, and she does so while keeping the focus on the plot. Issues of class, equality, and self-determination are touched on in a slightly convoluted but ultimately unexpected and satisfyingly resolved mystery.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Erin K. Robinson. Descended from generations of dressmakers in the Deep South, Ann Lowe attended a segregated design school in 1917 NYC--and was "best in her class"; her genius remained underrecognized until she designed gowns for "the wedding of the year" (Jaqueline Bouvier to JFK). The narrative varies its tone to echo both talent and tenacity: flowery descriptions of Lowe's couture (silk roses "soft as dew") trade with tighter passages on process ("Measure, snip, pin up the hems"). The digital illustrations can look slick but do justice to the rich colors and textures.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Andrea Pippins. From childhood in segregated Georgia to millinery school in Chicago during the Great Migration to small-business success in mid-century Philadelphia: hatmaker Mae Reeves's biography also conveys much about Black American history writ large. Rhuday-Perkovich's sonorous language ("Hats were a way for these queens to be SEEN") is further strengthened by repetition of the titular theme: "Mae, like so many, made a way out of no way." Pippins's digital art has an abstract design aesthetic befitting the fabulous hats and accessories. Material from the related Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit is appended, along with a bibliography.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts. J.D. is excited about starting third grade at Douglass Elementary School. At least he was excited before his mom gave him a disastrous haircut that makes him the laughingstock of the whole school. Unable to withstand any more teasing, he decides to literally take matters into his own hands and fix his hair. After using his little brother, Justin, for practice, J.D. realizes he is good at cutting hair and starts a barbershop out of his bedroom. Artistic by nature, and with skill and creativity, he attracts lots of customers, not to mention the owner of the only barbershop in town, Henry Hart Jr. When Hart follows through with a threat to shut J.D.'s business down, our protagonist has to use his wits to save everything he has worked so hard for. This early-to-middle-grade chapter book delivers lively black-and-white illustrations and laugh-out-loud moments. At its heart is J.D.'s loving, hard-working, multigenerational family and his close-knit, small-town ­Mississippi community. While there are subtle references to separation (J.D.'s parents) and money struggles (he sports hand-me-downs and gets his video-game and junk-food fixes at his best friend's house), these are not personal deficits. Rather, they fuel J.D.'s entrepreneurial spirit and his mathematical prowess. The African American cultural references and community values will resonate with readers of all ages, while the joyful, wholesome story will give them something to look forward to in subsequent entries.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021