(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Checkerboard Library. Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids’ toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and “Fun Fact” boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Checkerboard Library. Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids’ toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and “Fun Fact” boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Checkerboard Library. Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids’ toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and “Fun Fact” boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Illustrated by George McClements & Stéphane Kardos. Bonnie brings Forky to school, which inspires a "Craft Your Own Buddy Day" in her classroom. Forky teaches the newly created toys how to accept who they are. Inspired by Toy Story 4, the franchise matters more than the story, which is fine since the target audience will love it. The illustrations, fonts, and speech bubbles are an amalgam of styles, leading to a chaotic layout.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids' toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don't ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and "Fun Fact" boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers titles: Hot Wheels Developer, Lincoln Logs Creator, My Little Pony Pioneer, Nerf Genius, Nintendo Innovator, and The Slime Queen.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Checkerboard Library. Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids’ toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and “Fun Fact” boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Toy Trailblazers series. Checkerboard Library. Toy Trailblazers series. Each of these engaging biographies introduces readers to the creator of a popular classic kids’ toy or game. The texts are generally positive (and overuse exclamation points) but don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, both personal and business-related. Captioned photos, archival reproductions, and “Fun Fact” boxes liven up the pages. The topics have ready-made kid-appeal; readers will glean insight into product development and the challenges of running a business. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 1-3 Makers Make It Work series. Illustrated by Barbara Bongini. In each of these early-reader stories, the main character employs a makerspace skill--chemistry, rocketry, beekeeping, and sewing--to solve a problem. If the child's first effort fails, he or she persists to achieve success. The various illustrations (by different artists) are serviceable and the stories are fairly engaging, but kids will likely be more interested in the instructions for hands-on activities. Useful for early-elementary classrooms and makerspaces. Review covers these Makers Make It Work titles: Slime King, Rocket Rivals, The Broken Bees' Nest, and The Lost and Found Weekend.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) 4-6 Forty-four contemporary children's book people each contribute a writing prompt. Then each one responds to someone else's prompt. The result is a combination anthology and inspiring craft manual. Both prompts and responses include prose, poetry, photographs, drawings, and comics. The emphasis is on pleasure, but readers will notice an aspect to creativity that isn't made explicit in the introduction: almost none of the contributors obeys the rules. Ind.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace Gadgets & Gizmos series. Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace Gadgets and Gizmos series. This short volume introduces makerspaces and architecture, providing instructions for six projects that use Legos, K'NEX, and cardboard. Photographs accompany clear instructions, and brightly colored backgrounds and lively fonts create an engaging aesthetic. The finished projects should foster interest in tinkering. Includes tips for "Makerspace Maintenance." Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Jessica Meserve. Lucy really wants to join Songwriting Club but instead goes to self-centered neighbor Scarlett's Craft Club. Scarlett tricks Lucy into doing all the work and blames Lucy when things go wrong. Eventually, Lucy learns her lesson--and also how to play the ukulele. This charming story of a kid who still loves being a silly, messy kid has spot illustrations that support readers transitioning to longer chapter books.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) PS Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. A girl and her pet cat decide that glitter fixes every problem. Boring rooms, pictures, or walls? "Just add glitter!" But is there such a thing as too much glitter? The simple rhyming verse moves the story along at a quick, lively pace. The textured (and ultra-sparkly) mixed-media illustrations set in three-dimensional paper scenes dazzle on every page.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(4) K-3 Filled with colorful photographs of people, plants, animals, and landscapes in a lively format, this book combines very simple and somewhat sophisticated information about the arrival of spring. The brief text mainly focuses on the science of spring but occasionally strays to present more superficial information on seasonal cultural traditions. Craft and activity ideas are appended.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 In chapters that focus on materials, machines, and optical illusions, Grandin encourages readers to use creative thinking to explore, invent, and see the world differently. Step-by-step instructions for projects such as stereoscopes, kites, and homemade stilts are woven around Grandin's reminiscences of her own tinkering and historical profiles of inventors and their inventions. Numerous patent application illustrations and historical photographs are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Birdie wants to be a butterfly in the class play...as do many others, particularly her nemesis Anya. But never fear: where there are costumes, there's a chance for Birdie's alter ego, Crafty Cat, to shine. Series fans will find familiar absurdist humor amid the clean-lined panel illustrations, but they may be disappointed that Crafty Cat has fewer scenes than in previous installments. Craft instructions are appended.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) 4-6 Makerspace Models series. Each book presents eight engineering projects with a materials guide, step-by-step directions (most six to eight steps plus one longer project), helpful photos, and sidebars touching on how the project works and real-world connections. Safety tips appear before the table of contents. The engaging, relatively simple projects would work well in makerspaces. A larger trim size might have made the pages less cramped. Glos., ind. Review covers these Makerspace Models titles: Build Your Own Boats and Build Your Own Robots.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) 4-6 Makerspace Models series. Each book presents eight engineering projects with a materials guide, step-by-step directions (most six to eight steps plus one longer project), helpful photos, and sidebars touching on how the project works and real-world connections. Safety tips appear before the table of contents. The engaging, relatively simple projects would work well in makerspaces. A larger trim size might have made the pages less cramped. Glos., ind. Review covers these Makerspace Models titles: Build Your Own Boats and Build Your Own Robots.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kristina Swarner. This useful volume features brief, short-lined, free-verse poems and "reflections" for each night of the holiday, connecting the ritual of candle-lighting to broader themes. It also provides Hebrew blessings with English transliterations and translations, historical background, dreidel-playing instructions, recipes, crafts, and sheet music. Mottled illustrations in warm pinks and blues evoke the hushed atmosphere around a lit menorah, while the text provides room for contemplation along with practical information.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Renata Liwska. Llama is inspired to create "Something special. Something lovely." Her friends (Rabbit, Raccoon, Deer, etc.) join her, quilting, beading, painting, and weaving as she knits. Then Beaver arrives, and his need to create something "useful" prompts Llama to consider how her knitting might be put to practical use. Gauzy, pastel-colored pencil illustrations reflect the animals' gentle activities and calm friendships as they share their "special, crafty, useful" talents.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Made by Hand series. To show the history of the steel drum (also called a pan), Lakin navigates histories of colonialism and slavery in Trinidad, not avoiding darker realities despite the book's focus on the instrument. Readers then "meet" a contemporary drum craftsman and entrepreneur and are walked through his process. The subject is made accessible through clear text, large photographs, and stylish design elements. Includes instrument-making projects. Reading list, timeline. Glos.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin