(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amber Ren. Boba tea Mindy, who’s pink, white, and green, stands out against the other brown teas in Milk Tea Town. The grownups fear that Mindy and her colorful friends represent the end of classic milk tea, but the kids teach the adults that their town has always been a place of changing flavors and ingredients. The message about celebrating diversity is cleverly packaged, complete with tea puns; the charming mixed-media art shows off the beverages’ rainbow colors. A history of pearl milk tea is appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Moran. A friendly, toothy T. Rex, who pops out at birthdays, holidays, and school plays, can’t figure out why humans aren’t happier to see the “Surprise Dinosaur.” After one too many unexpected appearances, the dinosaur reluctantly agrees to be a statue at the natural history museum. But there are more surprises in store. The eager dinosaur’s efforts to deliver “fun surprises” are comically reflected in the expressive, digital cartoon illustrations.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(4) PS Illustrated by Laurie Stansfield. A series of short, themed poems (“Bedtime Stories”; “Car Wash”), in singsong-y rhyme, celebrate dads on Father’s Day. The text describes the things children appreciate about their dads (most of these stereotypically paternal, such as camping, telling dad jokes, and fixing things). The digital-looking illustrations show a diverse group of fathers (with a couple of moms but no same-sex pairings) supporting and enjoying quality time with their children.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) PS Illustrated by Cailin Doherty. “I need pants!” exclaims an enthusiastic orange fish. And also bunny slippers, and a tutu, and a diamond ring, and a raincoat (“It is very wet around here!!!”). The fish’s companion, a purple octopus, grows increasingly exasperated while explaining that the fish does not actually need clothes or accessories. But then the octopus has a change of heart. The lively illustrations, featuring the fish improbably but successfully wearing different items of clothing, add to the humor.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Jerry Craft. Two fifth graders vie to win their middle school’s annual creative storytelling contest. Both are already experienced storytellers: J illustrates books without words, and K writes stories without illustrations. In real life, Craft and Alexander have a lively friendly rivalry on display in social media posts and joint school visits, and this highly illustrated novel (cartoonlike black-and-white drawings appear throughout; final art unseen) is the perfect playground for their fictional ­counterparts—and for themselves, as both authors interject regularly with notes. Ever competitive, J and K try undermining each other’s chances for winning the contest by giving bad advice: draw with your nondominant hand, write what you don’t know, write in “sixth person.” Readers will soon suspect that J and K will join forces to write a book together, combining their talents, and indeed they enter the contest with their frog story collaboration, “Croak and Swagger: The Most Ribbiting Story Ever Told.” The culminating award ceremony, related with suspense and humor, isn’t the final word. Not only are readers told “To Be Continued…” but Craft and Alexander also offer “more fun…with this QR code” and write each other’s author bios with more of their trash talk.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Ledda. There is indeed something odd about Freddie’s new babysitter, who scares the dog, doesn’t talk much, and eats garbage for dinner. Eventually Freddie realizes what is already clear from the digital art—the babysitter is three adorable raccoons inside a trench coat, the top one wearing a hat and moustache. Readers will delight in being in on the joke from the start, and the deadpan narration (“Was this babysitter raised in the wild?” Freddie wonders) amplifies the humor.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) PS Illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. In this comical picture book, an offscreen unseen narrator becomes more and more frustrated with little dog Freddie, who is having a wonderful time with various articles of clothing. He wears three pairs of pants, then a shirt as pants, then no pants at all—and so on. A monkey friend adds to the silliness. The combination of Cummins’s expressive art and Daywalt’s tongue-in-cheek, exasperated text makes for an exuberant read-aloud.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) PS Illustrated by Tim Miller. An egg tumbles down a mountain and lands beside another egg. The jostling causes them both to hatch, one after the other. First out comes Duckie, wide-eyed, loquacious, and looking for a friend. Then there's Snaps, a crocodile who'd just as soon beat it: "Well...Goodbye!" Duckie lays out a convincing case for staying to play, but just as Snaps seems ready to relent, an adult-looking croc comes by: "No. You cannot be friends" because "We. EAT. Duckies!" Snaps is confused: "I had no idea! I JUST GOT HERE!" After some hysterics on everyone's part, a creative culinary solution leads to the promise of lasting friendship and appetite satisfaction (fun fact: crocodiles do eat fruit). Speech bubble-heavy text with thoughtful use of repetition enhances comprehension and enjoyment. Digitally colored pen-and-ink illustrations (a mix of scene-setting introductory spreads, varied panels, and single pages) feature crisp black lines, bold hues, and slapstick-y interactions between an unlikely duo -- who, in terms of friendship, turn out to be very lucky ducks.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) 4-6 Survival Scout series. In this third installment in the humorous and informative comic-format series (starting with Lost in the Mountains, rev. 7/23), Scout (a highly capable child) and Skunk (a snarky skunk) find themselves alone in a small boat when Scout’s hapless older brother is whisked away by an offended porpoise. After making a clearheaded assessment of the situation, Scout asserts to her friend that “today, we’re going to rescue ourselves.” The book shares a common-sense overview of real-life sailing and survival skills through a combination of captions, cartoony diagrams, and word-balloon dialogue between Scout and Skunk (who, through questions and irreverent quips, serves as a stand-in for curious readers). A squall forces Scout and Skunk to apply all their sailing knowledge when it most counts; they successfully navigate through the storm, reunite with the brother, and eventually encounter land -- and Mom. Additional details appear in the back matter, including more technical know-how, recommended reading and resources, and an author’s note extolling the joys of sailing.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) PS Illustrated by Jacob Souva. Duck finds a bike with a sign that says “free” leaning against it. After taking it for a spin, Duck realizes the bike is too big: “wibble, wobble, whoops.” Then a rhino comes along, for whom the bike is too small: “thump, bump, whump.” It’s too slow for a cheetah, too fast for a turtle. Gillis’s text is simple enough to make this picture book double as an effective beginning reader, and the story makes a jaunty and poetic impression. Souva’s digital illustrations take a restrained approach, re-lying on spot images built out of blended textures that observant readers will appreciate. Eventually, a warthog crashes the bike, and a human parent finds and fixes it up for their child: “a new bike!...just right for me!” Another book might have stopped there, but this one continues as the child grows out of the bike, moves on to bigger ones, and many years later finds the old bike in the attic as an adult. Then what does the bike’s owner do? Puts it out with a “free” sign for another child to find. In this way, the story uses a light touch to provide a layered look at sustainability, modeling the values of passing things along to those who can use them and mending what’s broken, and, most of all, the appeal of bicycling around town.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) K-3 The teeny-weeny unicorn is back, just as small, just as smudgy, and just as pink as he was in his original appearance in Thew Teeny-Weeny Unicorn (rev. 1/24). His goal in life remains unchanged -- get bigger -- but this time he has a genuine fairy-tale quest to undertake. A fairy princess charges him with a task: "Find for me something that grows teeny-weeny-er than you." On his epic travels our unicorn encounters a stork (foreshadowing!), a hairy leprechaun, a fierce dragon, and a wise old tree. As with many classic heroes, after a dark night of the soul our unicorn eventually finds his answer close to home. The cover teaser promises that we will discover where baby unicorns come from, and we do, but we also find out the answers to other vital questions such as what do leprechauns say to get attention? and do unicorns blush? An irresistible read-aloud if only for the pleasure of saying "teeny-weeny-er" five times. Fine-tuned wackiness, and an original, deadpan addition to the body of literature celebrating new siblings.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) 4-6 Adventures of Invisible Boy series. In this graphic novel sequel, Stan and Gene, now able to control their invisibility powers, try to fight crime, but struggle to find any real action in their quiet town until Stan’s dad’s hardware store is robbed and a new villain appears. The humorous, action-packed plot relies heavily on the first book for context, making it hard for new readers to follow. However, the quirky characters, funny illustrations, and zany vibe will appeal to fans of lighthearted superhero adventures.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(2) 4-6 Lai (recently Ghost Book, rev. 9/23) crafts a unique and humorous graphic novel based on her recollection of events (with some names and details altered, per an author's note) surrounding her and her siblings' bout with chickenpox. Set in 1994 Indonesia, the tale is related from a surprising first-person viewpoint: that of her oldest sister, Abby. At twelve, Abby finds little peace at home with four little brothers and sisters constantly quarreling and demanding attention. School, piano lessons, and going over to friends' houses provide brief relief from the chaos. Then all the Lai children come down with chickenpox, and Abby is forced to spend a week in "the zoo." Home confinement is stressful: the rash is itchy, her siblings are annoying, and friendship drama ensues over a misunderstanding involving a birthday party. But as the story (and the pox) progresses, the tween begins to see her family in a new light -- and to mature into her role as a more caring big sister and better friend. An entertaining and ultimately heartening slice-of-life comic, illustrated with inviting pastel hues and an approachable loose-lined style, that will appeal to fans of Telgemeier's Guts (rev. 9/19) and Lloyd's Squished (rev. 5/23).

Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nici Gregory. A bow tie–clad narrator, complete with flashlight under chin, relates a creative, funny-spooky tale about a strawberry jam sandwich being sampled by a vampire (“the vampire probably thought the jam was...something else”) and turning into a “vampire jam sandwich.” Digitally finished pencil illustrations — mostly sepia tones but with well-used pops of red — reflect the framing device of the narrator, later shown with pointy fangs and vampire cape, scamming jam from wide-eyed, unsuspecting children. It’s a silly premise with a humorous execution.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) 4-6 Color by Elaine Bay; coloring by Eleonora Bruni; lettering by Rob Leigh. In this wacky and entertaining graphic-novel series starter, readers are welcomed to Scissors City, famous for its superhero-barber team, the Snips. In their spare time, the Snips invent hair-related gadgets and formulas (a "shatterproof peluca"; "drone barber bots") and travel the world to discover "hairstorical artifacts" ("la Trenza de Medusa"; "la Barba de Rasputin"). Member Nubes Cloudhead has even broken the world record for most haircuts in one day -- catching some negative attention from rivals the Bad Buzz Boys, who will go to drastic lengths (i.e., give bad haircuts) to beat the record themselves. With his usual irreverent flair, Raúl the Third (Vamos!: Let's Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos, rev. 9/24, among others) gives readers a hilarious, thrilling showdown between the two barber groups, putting all the hairdos of Scissors City at stake. The dynamic illustrations (in explosive colors by Bay) are jam-packed with action shots, references to classic comics, and clever details that merit multiple looks. Spanish is naturally incorporated and often translated into English, and an appended "Snippets from Flealix" provides the story of the real-life world record holder for most haircuts in one day.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) PS An effusively affectionate grandma plays with her little grandchild, expressing wonder at the baby’s cuteness (“Look. At. This. Baby!”). Yiddish words are integrated throughout her exclamations (“Let me kiss this keppie...I see a tuchus!!”). The boldly colored, cartoonish illustrations can be garish at times, but the simple, silly text lends itself to playing and giggling along -- and maybe even learning some Yiddish. A glossary is appended.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Matt Schu. Salerni (The Carrefour Curse, rev. 3/23) creates a feisty puzzle mystery with a hearty dollop of humor in this intriguing novel. The Precipice Inn welcomes three elderly guests and their families, who have gathered to dissolve, by mutual agreement, the Carbon County Tontine, the contract awarding a vast fortune to the last survivor. Eleven-year-old orphan Nico Lombardi -- overworked bellhop of the Precipice Inn ever since his grandfather died there, saddling him with the tremendous debt of their stay -- needs money to escape his Dickensian servitude and has regretfully turned to a life of crime, pilfering valuables from hotel guests. Unfortunately, the lawyer holding the tontine hasn't yet arrived, and the other guests begin to reveal (to readers, if not to one another) varying degrees of deceit. Whose misdirected luggage contained a set of lock picks? Who has been sneaking around the inn at night? Why does feeble Mr. Ames seem sprightlier in private? The inept murder-minded antics of Mrs. Von Tropp's grandsons are just one example of the hilarious hijinks sprinkled throughout this farce, which registers surprise after surprise until, in a final sleight of hand, Salerni delivers a heartwarming ending that few will see coming. Humorous cartoonlike spot drawings illuminate the characters and inclinations of the inn residents. A well-constructed adventure sure to amuse and entertain readers.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) PS Mama, Papa, and Sister lovingly put Baby to bed at eight o’clock, but “sleeping is for koalas and teenagers. This baby intended to stay awake forever.” At nine o’clock it’s time to throw binkies, at ten o’clock Baby is overly curious about Papa’s face, and so on throughout the night. Climbing, falling, crying, and dancing don’t wear out this tot. “At 3 o’clock...Baby’s eyes...began...to blink,” but after a slight doze, it’s full steam ahead into a new day, if only “her lazy family” would wake up. Throughout, Salsbury channels sleepless, stressed-out parents and the mindset of a baby (“At 2 o’clock, Baby laughed at a joke only she understood. At 2:15, Baby yelled a bit. At 2:30, she laughed at her own yelling”). Humorous illustrations show her well-intentioned family becoming increasingly frazzled when nothing works to calm her seemingly relentless energy. Speech bubble dialogue, motion lines, and baby sounds add to a dynamic layout featuring a mix of spreads, singles, and spots, the last of which really pop against their white backgrounds in stark contrast to the cool hues of the nighttime illustrations. Hand this picture book to all the bleary-eyed parents and older siblings of rambunctious babies who just don’t want to sleep...ever.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Santat. At the start, this picture book feels like a straightforward primer in both text and illustrations: this animal is a mammal because of these characteristics; this animal is a reptile because of these. But soon, something...fishy?...starts to happen: opinions creep in. Fish “don’t follow any rules,” making them harder to categorize—some live in salt water and some in fresh water, some eat seaweed, some eat other fish...and “some fish eat poor, innocent crabs who are just trying to have a nice time in the sea.” The lesson gets kookier (fish are accused of spying via toilets) and turns more and more toward fearmongering (“What are they learning in these ‘schools’? We have a right to know”), while the mixed-media art expands from staid vignettes to cartoonish full-bleed illustrations with varied perspectives and palettes, seemingly bouncing around with the mood of whoever is speaking. And who is speaking? By the time the answer is revealed, readers and listeners may have guessed—but along the way, they’ll have found some giggles, maybe a little fish information, and some food for thought about considering the source.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) PS A turtle in a yellow bear suit tries to fool everyone by claiming to be a “for-real bear.” A second turtle realizes something’s amiss, but instead of calling Bearsuit Turtle’s bluff, raises the stakes by insisting on being a “for-real bear expert.” The pair grandstands, boasts, and taunts each other in a manner that grows increasingly absurd, as children’s banter can do. The ersatz bear claims to hibernate “like five times a day,” for instance, and the faux bear expert asserts that bears for-age—for ice cream. Shea (Pizza for Bird, rev. 7/24) uses digital art to create child-like cartoon images that have the texture of paint on canvas in bold shades of avocado, orange, and gold. After the duo’s swaggering segues into activities such as riding bikes and smashing pumpkins, the fake bear expert finally admits to knowing only “the regular bear things that everyone knows.” Bearsuit Turtle isn’t ready to give up being a for-real bear but concedes to maybe also being a turtle. Then the new friends go swimming. All’s well that ends well in this book that will stand up to multiple read-alouds.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025