(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Carmen Mok. Orris the rat lives a quiet, reclusive life nestled in the wall of an abandoned barn. He papers his hideaway with stories from discarded books, tends to his treasures (a slipper, a marble, a sardine can emblazoned with a jaunty, crown-wearing fish), and carefully avoids danger. When a young owl finds himself snagged in a mousetrap outside of Orris's door, the rat is faced with a moral dilemma: help the predator, risking that his favor may be repaid with violence, or ignore the owl's clear suffering from the safety of his own nest. This test of character sits at the center of an intimate, fully illustrated early chapter book. As the story is a clear variation on Aesop's "The Lion and the Mouse," the moral option may seem obvious, but DiCamillo's artful use of spare and telling detail along with Mok's attention to visual perspective in her atmospheric art give weight to the rat's decision. Orris's face-off with his admired sardine can's offbeat branding insisting that consumers "make the good and noble choice!!" adds levity. While Orris works to release the trap, a nimbly narrated conversation sets a tentative friendship in motion between Timble, an awkward, good-intentioned lover of stories, and Orris, a grumpy, lonely collector of tales. This is a tender, carefully drawn opening to a promising character-driven series.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Laura Dronzek. This adventure of discovery kicks off on the title-page spread with an adult and child walking a dog. The story's second-person voice immediately engages readers: "If you found a little ball on the grass and it was there for days, you could take it home." What about a flower? An empty box? A kitten? Each one ends up at the child's home. Henkes constructs the text conditionally, which will spark many conversations with young children about what is fair for the taking: if the ball was there for multiple days; if the flower sprung forth from a crack in the sidewalk; if the box was on the curb as garbage; and if the kitten was scared and "didn't belong to anyone and it didn't have a mother and you got permission from everyone," you would be "lucky" to take them home. The story taps into the inherent caretaking tendencies of many young children: the kitten is safe in a new home, sleeping in the warm box, playing with the red ball and dog. In nearly every spread, Dronzek's brightly colored illustrations in multicolored borders appear on the recto; the text, perfect for emerging readers, is placed on the verso. Tableaux, dominated by simple square shapes, are reduced to their essentials: ball, flower, box, kitten -- all "happy" in a warm home because the child took the time to notice them.

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

(2) K-3 Harrington and Taylor (Buzzing with Questions, rev. 11/19) introduce the life of another pioneering Black scientist, Charles S. Parker (1882–1950). Clear, engaging prose outlines Parker's lifelong love of plants, his desire to know "where, when, why, and how they grew," and to help others "learn to love plants, too." Parker not only made his mark locating, collecting, and identifying plant and fungi specimens, he also served as a mentor to Black scholars, particularly women who were underrepresented in the academic world. Clearly, that desire to help others guided him: as a young man he co-founded a newspaper focusing on jobs for Black workers and, as a First Lieutenant in WWI, petitioned for equality for Black soldiers. After the war, Parker's research began in earnest as he collected plants across the U.S. and Canada, devised a process for preserving them, and pioneered work in mushrooms and other fungi. With an appropriately earth-toned palette, Taylor's digital art spotlights Parker's collection expeditions, the plants and fungi he studied, and his fieldwork with students. Appended with a scientific glossary; additional biographical information about Parker; a timeline of his life; brief biographies of six notable Black scientists (three of whom he mentored); and extensive bibliographic material.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) 4-6 Sixth grader Vanessa is mystified and saddened by the apparent end of her friendship with longtime BFF Bailey--so much so that when she comes across a dilapidated building, once a museum, in her small Ohio town, she decides to make it into her own museum: the museum of Bailey. "Maybe by telling the story of Bailey--by laying it all out clearly behind glass--she would at last be able to understand where it went wrong." When others discover Vanessa's project--Eli from Hebrew school; her older brother, Sterling; and twin classmates Rosalie and Honore--they add their own exhibits. As Vanessa gains more insight into her and Bailey's friendship, "the story of Bailey" changes, with the labels on the items in the Bailey Wing amended to reflect Vanessa's evolving understanding. Meanwhile, the mysterious provenance of a large painting left behind in the museum adds Mixed-Up Files resonance. Other elements woven into the plot include Vanessa's compulsive skin-picking (identified late in the book as excoriation disorder) and worry over the safety of her active-service father. Sales (If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, rev. 5/18) manages to combine all of this into a nuanced look at friendship, family, self-knowledge, coming of age, and community, with Vanessa a strong-minded and sometimes unlikable but always sympathetic protagonist.

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

(2) K-3 Stories of tiny beings navigating their large surroundings have long populated children's literature. Here, a simple sketch of a bird on a scrap of white paper explores an all-too-big world in the home of a young family. Her stark-white two-dimensional form stands out against the (impressively realistic) three-dimensional child's bedroom where she lives. A self-proclaimed artist, the "rather shy" creature ventures through the family's house when creativity calls for it. After conversing with a familiar wall outlet, Lonely Bird hefts the pages of a coffee table book--since "books are a great place to start" for inspiration--before collecting tiny items for her artistic projects. After stumbling upon a "visitor" (a crumpled paper remnant), she lovingly transforms it into a six-legged lizard of sorts: at last, a companion! The pair faces near peril against a vacuum cleaner, and Lonely Bird must venture into the "monster's" belly to rescue her new friend before repairing it and rehoming it upon the child's drawing desk. The shy bird seems content in proximity with those she admires; she may be alone, but she hardly seems lonely. Whiting delivers a subdued, evocative, quirky, and oddly endearing tale that invites us to look creatively at the smallest things in another light.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(1) PS Illustrated by Laura Dronzek. A pigtailed child visits her grandparents at the shore, where the waves call them to explore the sands just outside the steps of their small seaside house. Amid the colorful detritus left behind by the waves, the girl and her grandmother search for shells of every kind. "Grandma reminds me that the shells are little houses. And that gets me thinking," the child says, as she begins to wonder about the inhabitants of these tiny homes. Her mind wanders further out into the deep, where one could find "fish as big as cars...lost toys, lost coins, lots of lost things that were cried over." The girl's grandfather, too, looks in awe at the water and his grandchild, noting that she just may "know it all" someday. A collection of shells, though, is enough to satisfy the child until that someday arrives. Dronzek's recognizably bold-hued, naturalistic acrylic illustrations maintain the windswept qualities of a visit to the beach, infusing the quiet and meditative narrative with movement. Thoughtful page design alternates between spot art, images within a borderless ellipse-shaped frame, and full-bleed double-page spreads, uniting the child reader and the child narrator on their journeys to consider both the small and the vast. Henkes and Dronzek's latest pitch-perfect collaboration (Summer Song, rev. 3/21) offers an intimate multigenerational narrative that captures children's hopeful curiosity about our shared home.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Daisy, a quiet warthog, is named for her mother's favorite flower: "They seem plain, but when you look closer you see their beauty." Daisy knows a thing or two about finding beauty in what appears ordinary. Saddened by being called "Thistle," with her head hanging down, she finds a "magical world" of forgotten treasures. She collects these things--old teacups, buttons, empty jars, and the like--in her own hidden outdoor fort. When she finds objects in the woods that seem placed there just for her, she also makes a happy discovery--and a new friend. In a sunny, vivid palette dominated by green in nearly every shade, Bagley creates a detailed world of school-going forest creatures and myriad lovingly rendered discarded items. Readers will enjoy examining each object in Daisy's collection as they cheer her newly flowering friendship. With her yellow crossbody bag (for collecting) draped over her shoulder and her shy demeanor, Daisy is a memorable character. One for the misfits, this story is an ode to the art of paying attention and honoring and appreciating not just overlooked objects but also overlooked classmates for their "special beauty."

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 "As it turned out, Grandmother was a far more mysterious woman than any of us knew," begins this enigmatic and enjoyable picture book by Erdrich (The Birchbark House, rev. 5/99, and sequels), first published in 1996. With a page-turn, the grandmother is now shown in a motion-filled, sea-set spread, sailing away on the back of a porpoise. A year passes without Grandmother, and while the family members are going through her things, they find her birds' nest collection. In one lies three eggs; the birds hatch and are identified as passenger pigeons--an extinct species. This leads to many question--where did the creatures come from? where should they go?--but Grandmother's grandchildren know what to do. Realistic-looking illustrations ground the story in naturalism, while inventive--and unexplained--details allow the inquisitive young people, with their ever-changing facial expressions, to honor their grandmother's wishes.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Just across the street from the Horn Book office sits the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, whose story is at least as interesting as its idiosyncratic collection. Cannily, Fleming (Honeybee, rev. 3/20; Cubs in the Tub, rev. 9/20) and Cordell (Hello, Neighbor!, rev. 5/20; Bear Island, rev. 3/21) begin this picture-book biography with a mystery: "On a tree-lined street in Boston, in an old mansion, at the top of the stairs, in a second-floor room, empty frames hang, waiting..." Throughout, author and illustrator find just those details about Gardner ("who wore baseball gear to the symphony"), her unusual museum (where she would follow visitors around, shouting "Don't touch! Don't touch!"), and the famous theft ("Private detectives searched. They are still searching") that will engage readers who might have otherwise found the subject stuffy. The text is clipped and clear; the line and watercolor illustrations have a raffish edge that suits the boho Isabella. Preceding an appended bibliography and source notes, a comprehensive endnote mentions both Gardner's sometimes unscrupulous acquisition methods and the ten-million-dollar reward still on offer for solving the 1990 robbery.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julia Breckenreid. This picture book biography describes how Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, a librarian and a postal clerk, assembled an enormous art collection in their New York City apartment, then donated it to the National Gallery of Art. The mid-century-style illustrations convey the movement and energy of life in the 1960s; they also depict the Vogels' home, crowded with artwork, animals, and (famous) friends. Throughout, look for the many nods to notable creators and pieces of art from the time. An appended spread includes definitions of relevant artistic movements (e.g., "conceptual art"; "minimalism") and notes from the author, illustrator, and Dorothy Vogel herself.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Katie Kath. Some junior rock collectors are budding geologists, interested in the origins and classification of rocks. Some have that completist gene and are hot on the quest for the perfect geode. Others just want to arrange their rocks into families, or learn to skip them, or use them for crafts. Author and illustrator of this joyful book give equal respect to every kind of rockhound, following a jaunty blue-haired girl with a sidelong grin who collects, sorts, paints, makes mosaics, pitches, and contemplates. Some of the similes are a bit clichéd ("People are like rocks. Some sparkle right away, while others seem ordinary at first, but have treasure deep inside"), but the energetic illustrations, with their mini-subplots (see the startled fish and grumpy raccoon), keep it all grounded and child centered. Gorgeous colorful endpapers introduce us to such delicious rock words as feldspar, banded gneiss, and actinolite. Up-to-date suggestions for further reading include both fiction and nonfiction. This offering joins such titles as Reid's Picture a Tree (rev. 5/13) and Tamaki's They Say Blue (rev. 7/18) in the category of appreciative musings about the natural world.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(1) K-3 In this big, noisy world, a museum, even if it's only in one's imagination, is a place of quiet contemplation. With this absorbing and original picture book, Perkins offers a special sanctuary for curious and creative dreamers, a space to think about, explore, and possibly curate a few collections of their own. No exhibit or artifact is too small or ephemeral to be included. The unnamed child narrator considers establishing a Museum of Hiding Places; a museum made up exclusively of shadows; and, of course, a Sky Museum, which is open all the time, with exhibits that change daily. The child envisions a Museum of Bushes, complete with an interactive exhibit--a roomful of "bushskirts" for visitors to try on and twirl in. Other intriguing installations include a model of "an island in a pond on an island in a pond on an island in a pond on an island in a pond" and a Museum of Little Things (a.k.a. a windowsill), with found treasures to look at one at a time, or all together. The book features Perkins's vibrantly colored (and beautifully displayed) 3-D art, shadow boxes, dioramas, and miniature displays, complete with curtained backdrops and prosceniums. Many of the pages include photographic elements and realistic detail, with dashes of whimsy and creative flair to match the child's inventive musings. A perfect lead-in to a museum visit or a STEAM-based contemplation titled the "Museum of Things I Wonder About."

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) K-3 Sporting a full beard, shaggy hair, and a wide-brimmed hat, Charlie roams his neighborhood finding things: an old television, a pair of mismatched oven mitts (and Aunt Myrtle's cat). He looks for uses for his finds; "sometimes he finds it harder than he'd like to admit, but he tries." James (I Know Here, rev. 5/10; The Funeral) uses dry wit, tight pacing, and warmth to turn the story of a neighborhood junk collector into an extraordinary slice of what community can, and does, look like. When Charlie finds a pie, complete in its bakery box, he looks for its owner, in the process making some "nice tries" at helping others with problems. Eventually, Charlie and his neighbors enjoy the fluffy lemon meringue confection. Illustrations created with heavy strokes of acrylic and gouache, with collage elements of cardboard, tape, and photographs, add texture and detail to individualize each character. James varies the perspective: readers look through a restaurant window at Charlie walking down the street and, later, straight down at a circle of hands reaching for forks and plates. The variety in the illustrations as well as the broad brushstrokes create a feeling of the strength and distinctiveness of the people and their neighborhood. This is a notable story of the small events and special people that bind communities.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Santat. Santa-obsessed Freddy Melcher "desperately" wants to add a selfie with Santa to his collection of Santa paraphernalia. Santat's gleeful mixed-media illustrations are in cahoots with the rollicking text, which has Freddy devising and implementing an elaborate, almost perfect plan to detain the big guy. Saint Nick's no fool, but he is still Santa, so Freddy isn't left totally defeated. "There's always next year!"

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) 4-6 A button war ensues after sixth grader Grace acquires boxes of old buttons and Grace's classmates create a burgeoning button economy. In a scene that's a model of friendship dynamics and of how wars get started, things get ugly when Grace snares a particularly attractive button her bossy best friend wants. Clements knows the appeal of digging into details, and he's not afraid to engage characters in abstract thinking.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Doug Salati. For homework, fox Lawrence's teacher asks her students to bring in something that they collect; Lawrence frets that he has nothing to share. When his dad takes him into the forest, they find zilch until Lawrence, temporarily lost, encounters a smorgasbord of leaves. The art in this scenic (if meandering) tale of stick-to-itiveness has an autumnal palette and an old-fashioned look.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. Aaron Lansky's difficulty in finding Yiddish novels for his college studies led him to collect books first for his own purposes, then for the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts (which he founded), starting in 1980. Stories of how he obtained them--meetings "over tea and cake and lokshn kugl" with older Jews; a late-night dash to a dumpster--lend both human interest and a sense of urgency to the mission. Painterly illustrations give readers plenty to peruse, with sprinkled Yiddish words and visual references to Jewish history and culture. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Daniele Fabbri. Bezalel, an Israelite slave in Ancient Egypt, collects unusual things. When the Exodus begins, the boy insists on bringing his Beautiful Things Box with him. When God asks Moses to build a mishkan, a house filled with beautiful things, Bezalel is the only one ready to provide treasures. Soft paintings convey a sense of wonder in this unusual retelling of a biblical story (discussed in the author's note).

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Disbury. Each day, Sylvia Samantha Wright collects what seems like junk: empty paint cans, tangled rope, half-rotten bananas, and so on. But when a water tower leak washes away the playground, knocks out the town's power, and lets zoo animals escape, she re-purposes the items to fix the problems. Amusing cartoons illustrate this well-built tall tale of giving trash a second life.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Gérard DuBois. Joseph Cornell (1903–72) became an artist renowned for shadow boxes of carefully curated and assembled objects. Fleming's picture book biography focuses on Cornell's childhood collecting, capturing his curiosity for life's small tokens and moments. DuBois's illustrations, rendered in whisper-soft acrylics and manipulated digitally, have an old-timey aesthetic that complements the story's nostalgia. This book offers much to pore over visually and ruminate over emotionally. Bib.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018