(2) 4-6 When Bones Malone and his family move to the town of Langille, the transition is anything but smooth. He's the new kid on the baseball team with a strong arm but no control. He's one of the only Black kids in town, and he knows that his race affects how others treat him. Bones's teammate Kyle Specks (who is white) has lived in Langille his entire life, but he still feels like an outcast. Kyle always says the wrong thing and can't figure out social situations. The two outsiders join forces when they notice Langille's adults acting weirdly and suspect their strange behavior has something to do with the new tech company in town. Together, Bones and Kyle must stop the shady corporation before their own worst nightmares come true. Blending mystery, horror, and science ­fiction to explore concepts of fear, belonging, and forgiveness, this is highly accomplished middle-grade speculative fiction, perfect for readers who enjoy darker, layered books such as Ness's A Monster Calls (rev. 9/11).

Reviewer: S. R. Toliver | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Scientists in the Field series. Photographs by Nate Dappen & Neil Losin. In this entry in the acclaimed series, Patent (Saving the Tasmanian Devil, rev. 11/19) introduces readers to anoles, a genus of lizards distinguished by having both dewlaps (neck folds) and toepads, and to the scientists investigating them. The anoles inhabiting four Caribbean islands are ecomorphs, species that evolved separately but developed the same physical features and are a classic example of convergent evolution. The animals also have a short life cycle, which allows scientists to document population level changes in real time. Patent interviews the scientists in a variety of research settings and explains, in easily understandable and scientifically robust detail, their research questions and methods and the contributions they make to our understandings of evolution and natural selection. She visits laboratories where lizards run on a track to test their agility on various surfaces. In field sites, recent hurricanes have provided opportunities for natural and controlled experiments, including a citizen science project in Florida where children send in photos of the lizards in their schoolyards. High-quality photographs of anoles and their habitats, taken by lizard scientists turned documentary filmmakers, are well aligned with the text and provide details that readers can scrutinize. Sidebars give further biographical details about some of the scientists. A glossary and lists of additional resources are appended, including the citations for key scientific papers produced by the people featured in the book.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Marta Altés. George, the new kid in Daniel's class, is "weird." Lacking in affect, stiff, and overly literal, he arrives with an aide who takes notes on his every action. When George's ear falls off, revealing a USB port, Daniel and his friends realize, as the reader has probably already guessed (with help from the jaunty cartoonlike illustrations), that he is a robot. By this time, however, the other kids have become fond of him, and when members of the evil corporation that "owns" George come to retrieve him (after what has been a kind of beta test), his classmates rally to save him. At this point the story morphs from a lighthearted romp to something dreamier, in which George spends a single idyllic day in Almond's (Skellig, rev. 5/99; The Color of the Sun, rev. 11/19) favorite territory, a wild place at the edge of a town. He gets grubby, roughhouses with the other kids, learns to tell a joke, and becomes alert to the natural world. The other children face big questions. For example, Daniel contemplates the mind-body problem: "Do you have to be a thing that can pee if you're going to be a thing that can think?" Inevitably, the denouement is bittersweet, leaving us with a simple and sturdy answer to one of the most relevant questions of our time. What defines us as humans? This story's answer is friendship.

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

(1) YA With a nod to Frankenstein, this debut graphic novel delivers an intriguing take on the classic coming-of-age story. After Maura dies in a tragic scientific accident, her sister, Frances, and Frances's (nonbinary) partner, Gin, sew her back together and revive her with the electricity from a lightning strike. Maura has absolutely no recollection of her former life, but Frances is confident that her memories will come back. And if not? Well, they can always take her apart and put her back together again until it works. Shortly after Maura overhears this, she looks in the mirror and sees not her own reflection--not her bald head or numerous sutures--but rather the spirit of Maura, the real Maura. This Maura agrees to coach M (as the protagonist now thinks of herself) through this charade. However, the more she learns about Maura, the more M realizes that she is a completely different person and that she must ultimately confront Frances with the truth in order to discover her own identity, make her own choices, and live her own life. While the gripping storytelling largely revolves around M's internal conflict and growth, the tri-color (black, white, and shades of green) art breathes life into the vivid setting and the intriguing supporting characters.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) YA If someone offered you the opportunity to forget your most painful memories, would you take it? In the year 2032, it's not a rhetorical question. Seventeen-year-old Blue notices some disturbing gaps in her memory; then she meets Adam, a boy her age who seems familiar. Adam helps Blue discover that she elected to undergo a medical procedure, called Release, to erase all memories of him. But why? Desperate for answers, Blue convinces the assistant at the memory clinic (which is called, appropriately, Tabula Rasa), to reverse the procedure. In extended flashbacks that make up most of the book's second half, Blue remembers falling in love with Adam--and faces the tragedy that precipitated her decision. Blue finds strength in experiencing and acknowledging her feelings: "I let [pain] break me apart, and I'm amazed every single time at how I come back together and am whole." She has the support of family and friends, too, including Adam; her grandmother; her best friend, Turtle; and Turtle's nonbinary partner, Jack. While the science-fiction element allows for an intriguing storytelling device, this is really a story about grief--and the love and courage it takes to live with it--told in lyrical, emotional prose.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 In a post-apocalyptic alternate London, twelve-year-old Luke Smith-Sharma is one of the kidnapped children enslaved as a coal shoveler under the Battersea Power Station. When Luke and new-girl Jess accidentally drop coal dust on their cruel supervisor, Tabatha, they are locked up in an experimental incinerator room. There Luke makes an odd discovery: a girl he rescues from the incinerator turns out to be a "ghostcloud" who can take him riding through the sky on water vapor and who shows him some exterior vents on the power station they can use to escape. Luke and Jess begin secretly exploring the vents and uncover Tabatha's unsavory experiments in her hidden lab--experiments that tie together ghosts, electricity, and the smog that shows up when children are kidnapped. The Dickensian hardships endured by the protagonists of this mystery-adventure will appeal to young readers who enjoy a little ostentatious exaggerated suffering in their fiction; so, too, will the characters' resourcefulness as they follow the clues and form alliances to combat the evil they uncover. The mild supernatural elements integrate smoothly into the alternate setting, while the idea of "halves" (Luke is "Half-Indian. Half-detective. Half-ghost") adds a somewhat wistful theme of identity to the rollicking action.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Belote. ...three recipes for slime are appended. Still reading? Those who love the gluey, gooey stuff--such as young lab coat–clad protagonist Victoria Franken--will thrill to this story of scientific curiosity, creativity, and a sentient, slime-ient experiment. Locally famous for her viscous creations--varieties of which include rainbow cloud, intergalactic space, and ketchup--Victoria, assisted by bespectacled canine Igor, unintentionally brings one to life. "IT'S ALIVE!" shouts the text, as Victoria and Igor flee in terror. Turns out, however, the creature is a friiiiend--and also a fellow scientist. With its lively, science-y text and pore-over-able cartoony illustrations (including LOL-worthy endpapers), this picture book, with its welcome brown-skinned-science-grrl protagonist, will stick with readers.

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

(4) YA Natalia (Nat)'s little brother Calvino is ten, the age when people lose their ability to feel emotion. But Cal isn't "fading"--and now synthetic-emotion company RealCorp wants to test him cruelly. Nat will fight for her brother as hard as if she still loved him. While the world-building is not fully fleshed out, this intriguing dystopian premise makes for a fast-paced, thought-provoking read.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Raff. Light, energy, color, shadows, and reflection are all covered in this engaging, information-packed picture book. Simple activities with household objects (spoons, drinking straws, etc.) demonstrate the properties of light, such as how it travels in a straight line or how light waves can be bent. The illustrations, featuring a smiling boy and girl and (oddly) their cow professor, support the information in the text. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Super Simple Earth Investigations series. After a brief introduction to each earth science topic, readers are provided with instructions for activities that demonstrate the concepts. The activities vary in quality: some capture the science well and prompt good questions, others are merely art projects with few connections to the underlying science. Photographs of children engaged in each step of the activities are helpful. A quiz is included. Glos. Review covers these Super Simple Earth Investigations titles: Super Simple Earthquake Projects, Super Simple Fossil Projects, Super Simple Mineral Projects, Super Simple Rock Cycle Projects, Super Simple Volcano Projects, and Super Simple Weather Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Besties Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega live on boring, isolated Wilnick SS. When Sanity's lab-grown three-headed kitten gets loose and functions on the space station stop working, the friends must find the kitten, the culprit, and a way to save their home. This graphic novel has sharp, limited-palette art, and its simple plot is elevated by charismatic protagonists and a creative sci-fi world.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Cara Bean. Each of twenty familiar elements (helium, carbon, sodium, etc.) is explored in a chapter offering detailed information on its characteristics, discovery, uses, and relationships to other elements represented in the periodic table. Sidebars introduce additional general chemistry concepts, and appropriate activities allow readers to experiment. The final chapter covers a "Dirty Dozen" elements deadly to humans. Cartoonlike illustrations and a chipper narrative voice lighten the book's tone. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Holly Hatam. Amiable kid-scientist Acadia wonders about seasonal phenomena she observes: Who is eating her blueberries in summer? Why do leaves change color in the fall? She develops hypotheses, then tests them with experiments. Kids will relate to her everyday experiences and learn from her colorful lab reports and illustrations. Acadia's unanswered questions at the end of each chapter could lead readers on their own investigations. Websites. Review covers these titles: Acadia Files: Autumn Science and Acadia Files: Summer Science.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Holly Hatam. Amiable kid-scientist Acadia wonders about seasonal phenomena she observes: Who is eating her blueberries in summer? Why do leaves change color in the fall? She develops hypotheses, then tests them with experiments. Kids will relate to her everyday experiences and learn from her colorful lab reports and illustrations. Acadia's unanswered questions at the end of each chapter could lead readers on their own investigations. Websites. Review covers these titles: Acadia Files: Autumn Science and Acadia Files: Summer Science.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Teacher Ms. Curie encourages Cece's love of science. When her class gets a research assignment, Cece and friend Isaac choose to investigate whether dogs will eat vegetables. Cece's dog Einstein refuses all veggies until Cece makes a keen observation that leads to an answer. In this kid-friendly introduction to the scientific method, data collection, and persistence, cartoony digital illustrations include the kids' science-project worksheets. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson