(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. In this rollicking riff on the famous folktale, a human family named Goldilocks (Mr. Goldilocks, Mrs. Goldilocks, and young Goldie) goes on a camping trip in the woods. When the three decide to take a hike before eating their freshly made s'mores, Bear arrives. With apt pacing, Horne adds a comical spin to the classic story's structure: Bear does not like the first s'more ("too gooey") or the second ("too chocolaty") but still devours them after savoring the "just right" third one. Is he satisfied? No way. He gulps down their beans, bread, and hot sauce, packaging and all. Bear then tests out the family's musical instruments, accidentally destroying them, and after further destruction falls asleep in Goldie's tent. Yaccarino employs his signature crisp, bold artistic style to humorous effect when showing the expressive bear wreaking havoc. When the Goldilocks family returns and discovers the damage, Bear's parents also turn up and apologize for their cub's behavior, wishing to make amends and asking the humans to their house to eat their porridge, sit in their chairs, and sleep in their beds (but the people, who "did not speak Bear," hear only growls). A clever fractured fairy tale packed with visual jokes and surprising narrative twists. A link to the National Park Service's advice about bear safety is included.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jenn Ely. This picture-book biography introduces young readers to the conservation efforts of Hoyt, focusing mainly on her life after the death of her husband in 1918. Newly married in 1897, they had moved to Pasadena, California, where it was only a matter of time before she fell in love with the Mojave Desert. She was particularly interested in Joshua trees, which are not trees at all but rather the largest member of the yucca plant family. By 1933, the Joshua trees and their habitat were threatened by carelessness (people cut them down for wood), and Hoyt hatched a plan to designate the area as a national park, preserving this unique ecosystem. It was a hard sell, but she -- and the activists she inspired -- were ultimately successful. "No one who heard her talk could ever again regard the subject of conservation of desert flora with indifference," said a fellow environmentalist. Ely's cozy gouache illustrations (double-page spreads, single-page drawings, and spot art) depict both Hoyt's plucky spirit and the majesty of the high desert landscape. More information about Hoyt and Joshua Tree National Park, along with tips for environmental activists, photographs, an author's note, and a select bibliography, are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Daniel (Daniel Finds a Poem; Daniel's Good Day, rev. 7/19) is back in another open-hearted, child-friendly picture book. It's spring, and Daniel is meeting his grandfather in the park. When Grandpa asks him what's new, Daniel heads off to find out. He learns that his favorite rock is soaking up the sun, the redwing blackbirds are back, ducklings have hatched, a snake has shed its skin, tadpoles are growing legs. Daniel reports his findings and then updates Grandpa with his own news: he can whistle like blackbirds; he "can run fast 'cause [his] legs are growing, just like the pollywogs'"; and he has a new tooth, just as the snake has a new skin. The book ends with our thoughtful hero turning the tables: "Now it's your turn, Grandpa...what's new with you?" Archer's expertly composed double-page-spread illustrations, in "acrylic inks and collage, using patterned collage papers created by the author," portray a world bursting with life and vivid color: the deep blues and greens of the ducklings' pond; the light green of new leaves; the bright spots of red on the blackbirds. (Red is also the color of Daniel's hoodie, surely a call-out to The Snowy Day.) From the spectacular illustrations to the warm relationship between Daniel and Grandpa to Daniel's curiosity about the natural world, there's much to savor here; and the question of "what's new?" may elicit a wealth of reader response and interaction.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sophie Diao. This lively picture book takes readers on an exploration of the Park to Playa Trail through Los Angeles. Each vignette opens with “My park to playa is...” and describes a different spot on the path where community members enjoy nature and the city together, observing wildlife, celebrating a birthday, and stargazing. Layered digital illustrations feature diverse groups of people and beautiful landscapes throughout the day. An author’s note and “Critters and curiosities” list encourage exploration of nature in readers’ own cities.

Reviewer: Monica de los Reyes

(2) PS Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh. A jaunty, rhythmic text sets the mood for considering similarities and differences among people: "Somewhere in the big big city across a beep-beep street...up two tall buildings...two happy babies look out their morning windows at the very same time. / This baby. / And that baby." Rich, textured mixed-media art showcases an urban environment full of color, music, and life. The two babies set about their similarly structured but individual days. They both like games and songs, but not the same ones. They both require frequent diaper changes, get hungry, and need naps. The illustrations create humorous distinctions in the parallel routines, and the well-paced story offers plenty of room to pause and notice these details. When one baby's nap ends in tears and the other's failed nap ends in grumpiness, both are whisked out for walks headed in opposite directions. In an appropriate conclusion to this cheerful compare-and-contrast story, the babies end up at the same park bench, each one delighted to see the other.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 In this comforting story, a young girl and her mother move to a cozy apartment in a new city where she happily plays by herself whenever her mom has to work in the next room. When Mom suggests going to the park to meet other kids, she isn't interested; her response to the suggestion of a playdate with neighbors is a resounding "NO." An invitation to join a bookstore storytime induces panic, and the girl cries "till [her] face was bright red." One day they visit an animal shelter, where they adopt a sweet and affectionate dog. Millie quickly befriends everyone they meet on their walks, and the girl slowly grows more comfortable with new people and pups. Castillo's ink, watercolor, and soft pastel illustrations show the girl's budding courage: at first she's always glued to Mom, but with every encounter her face and posture relax more until she finds herself smiling and even waving hello. At a dog park, Millie races off to make friends; taking a cue from her affable dog, the girl spots another timid girl and goes over to say hello, just like Millie. In a final, heartwarming illustration, both girls stride along confidently, holding their dogs' leashes, a few small but meaningful steps ahead of their moms. The way in which Castillo's characters stand out against the paler backgrounds, with bolder black outlines filled with robust colors, cleverly helps young audiences focus in on minute but crucial changes in facial expression and body language.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by James Burks. Bugs and bad weather and bears...oh, my! At first, camping seems like a "fun and easy" vacation. For a family of inexperienced campers, however, disaster lurks around every pine tree. Luckily, the frustrated family (portrayed in the illustrations with a variety of skin tones) stumbles upon Campingland, a bright, plastic-y, climate-controlled paradise, complete with an abundance of modern conveniences and politely accommodating animatronic forest friends. "Not like our first camping trip," whose details are revealed in a series of zany flashbacks that parallel the Campingland activities. Dyckman's straightforward and energetic prose makes for an engaging story. The use of speech bubbles with a large, playful font for the dialogue encourages interactive participation for emerging as well as more proficient readers. Burks's digital illustrations are full of humorous details. The candy-colored vistas of Campingland are in sharp contrast to the gray-weather outdoor scenes of the real campsite. But that first trip, it turns out, was the one full of "real family memories," and now the family is "a lot more prepared" to give outdoor camping another try and to "just roll with it...no matter what." (Uh-oh.)

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(1) K-3 Every day, a child watches other kids skateboarding past the window and wishes to join them. After receiving Mom's old skateboard, the child can now practice at the skatepark for real. At first unsure about joining the other kids, our protagonist sits alone watching them on their boards. Two others sit down and watch, too; eventually all three decide to join in with the group. Flett's (We All Play, rev. 1/23) spare text, with its naturally incorporated Cree language refrain "haw ekwa," ably and empathetically reflects a child's nervousness and excitement about trying something new. The muted tones of the digitally composed pastel and pencil drawings complement the narrative. In her appended note, Flett explains that the story was inspired by her son and his friends learning how to skateboard and by "the skateboard community we had been a part of for many years." She also explains the meaning of the Cree idiom haw ekwa ("okay, and") and explores the definition of a "flow state," along with providing Cree words that skateboarders may find useful. The book beautifully highlights the value of perseverance along with the joy of skateboarding.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Michelle Tran. Two friends meet in the park. One holds up a grape. "Is this a grape? It is shaped like a grape." The second friend confirms the obvious, to which the first replies: "Well then, I guess you could say it is in grape shape." As they walk through the park, the punny friend sees only that fruit: "This grape is shaped like a box"; "This bunch of grapes is shaped like a beehive." The more literal friend plays it straight: "No. That is a box. It is shaped like a box"; "That is a hive full of bees." Tran's fanciful digital illustrations enhance the book's breezy tone; comic-style panels and double-page spreads advance the story and add expression to Heim's cheeky all-dialogue text. When the two characters encounter a giraffe-shaped grape, things take a wildly unexpected turn as they find themselves riding the giraffe ("How did we even get up here???"), then inexplicably hanging on to the tail of a kite-shaped grape in the sky. While the grape-focused friend is up for the flight, their clear-eyed pal is less than enthusiastic ("Please just get us down"). The sweet reason for the grape day makes sense at book's end, and the message underneath all the silliness comes through.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) PS A blond-haired child narrates their weekly Sunday trip into town with Dad. Hunt follows the child's point of view throughout the story, leading to some dynamic perspectives in the book's double-page-spread illustrations. For instance, the pair walks hand in hand until the busyness of town makes the child "feel really small," dramatically conveyed in the art by imposing, elongated adult figures towering above them. The narrator's request "to go up high" is followed by a wordless closeup of Dad -- with his scruffy beard and big, tattooed arms -- settling the child on his shoulders. This elevated viewpoint brings the exciting sensation of feeling big, tall, and able to fly. The duo strolls through a quiet park and then pauses for lunch, and the child, now down from their perch, notices animals: "little things. Tiny things. Things that make me feel like a giant." A new take on size leads to appreciation of and confidence in who they are (à la the young protagonist in Crews's I'm Not Small, rev. 3/22). Hunt's brightly colored illustrations, full of expressive lines and textures, reflect the child's positive experience. Equally affirming is the love and care on display between father and child -- even when interests temporarily diverge (e.g., Dad talks too long to someone, looks at boring hardware). A sweet hug ends this satisfying outing.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Chris Park. Vern dreams of soaring through the air on the playground swings. If only he could learn to pump his legs! While well-versed in other swinging activities, such as the wind-up and spin-out and belly-down, none gives Vern that feeling of flying. Other kids make it look so easy, while Vern thrashes this way and that trying for takeoff. Luckily, high-spirited Gretchen, a patient and encouraging young guide, comes to his rescue. Readers of all ages will relate to Vern's experience of mastering something new, all the stops and starts included. Lucianovic's vigorous text captures the joy of soaring high into the sky on a swing, with a catchy how-to refrain: "Lean / Stretch / Sweep / Pull / Tuck / Swing." Park's illustrations are magnetic, drawing viewers' eyes to each page. Nearly neon colors are softened by the mixed-media, chalk-like style. One particularly captivating spread shows Gretchen swinging high above Vern, with the words try again in large lettering across the two pages. Both friends are depicted with amber skin yet unique features. Vern's long, straight hair displays several shades of blue, green, and red, while Gretchen wears her purple curls in a bun. Fittingly, the story ends with Vern offering his new knowledge to another young park-goer.

Reviewer: Hill Saxton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 Young Clara, her blank expression joyless, has "no one to play with" at the park. She sees an umbrella on the ground, places it on a bench by a tree, and is startled to hear it thank her for the kindness. "I can do much more than that...Look inside me. Anything is possible!" She opens it (who wouldn't?), and a friendly cat comes out -- answering Clara's unspoken wish for companionship. When old Mr. Roberts reaches his arms up to the tree from his wheelchair, remembering how he used to pick apples as a boy, Clara assures him that "anything is possible." She opens the umbrella and out comes..."An elephant?" who helps retrieve apples. Told in the third person by an affable narrator, this offbeat story has humor and heart. Melville's illustrations are especially effective at telegraphing the characters' feelings -- which are just what the umbrella is attuned to. Along with a limited palette of blues, pinkish red, and creamy whites, the art's loose lines are idiosyncratic and expressive. Sneaky Mr. Fox tries demanding that the umbrella make him "rich, rich, rich!"; he gets what he deserves. But the beneficent umbrella also gives him a second chance, making the park "absolutely perfect."

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

(2) 4-6 This survival novel is set in the awe-inspiring Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Owen, Vivian, and Amy (two tweens and an eight-year-old) plan a late-summer overnight trip alone in the wilderness. Sisters Vivian and Amy are exploring their home state of California, and their cousin Owen is visiting from the East Coast. Their grownups camp nearby -- they believe the kids' experience on their own will do each of them some good. When an earthquake triggers a rockfall and their path back to the adults is blocked, the resourceful and determined children must take an uncharted path to safety. The cousins use their impressive skills and knowledge (they are excellent at food rationing, first aid, and more) as they encounter wildlife, volatile weather, and treacherous heights. Moments of excitement are interwoven with heartwarming scenes of bonding and introspection, as the trio gives one another "trail names" and has deep conversations about embracing the real world, fears around new beginnings, moving forward from trauma, and the power of love and nature to heal: "[Owen] felt this amazing mix of things, all at once: happy and sad and alive." The plot -- told in the third person and never too harrowing -- is fast-paced and rich in setting. Sights, sounds, and smells are vividly delineated, creating a picturesque backdrop to center the cousins' journey and its transformative effects.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) 4-6 On a Saturday morning two weeks before school ends for the summer, Nick Chase is on a tour of a local animal sanctuary when an earthquake hits Cape Courage, New Jersey, and the world he knew ends. "The beach, the bay, my school, my friends, my family: vanished, wiped out, changed forever." The ground heaves, the water in the bay empties, and a giant wall of water returns, destroying everything in its path. Nick and Jess Hardy, the volunteer tour guide and Nick's classmate, do what you do in the face of a tsunami: run! On their flight through a ruined land, they come across Mr. and Mrs. Bumper, the high school soccer coach and their middle-school science teacher. Mr. Bumper is injured, and Mrs. Bumper is diabetic with medications running out soon, propelling Nick and Jess into a mission to save not just themselves but the Bumpers too. They trek through a devastated pine forest with menace at every footstep: sinkholes, bobcats, rattlesnakes, rats, aftershocks, and masked looters. And all the while there is the dread about their missing families. This is signature Philbrick: nonstop action, short and propulsive sentences, sympathetic protagonists to root for -- all in under two hundred pages. There should be few so-called "reluctant readers" in a world where Philbrick's books exist. A note on "Tsunamis and What to Do About Them" is appended.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) 4-6 Kevin Lee, a 1990s Chinese Canadian boy, struggles with being invisible among his peers, but somehow lands in the spotlight at the most embarrassing moments. When he brings preserved eggs to middle school for lunch, he becomes a laughingstock and gains the nickname "Egg Boy." Then in gym class he throws a basketball and accidentally hits the substitute teacher, knocking out a tooth. His parents' divorce doesn't make his life any easier: his older sister resents taking on extra responsibilities as she prepares for college, while his mother barely makes ends meet running an alterations shop. When Popo, his maternal grandmother, arrives from China, she reminds him that "today's pain is tomorrow's strength." Xu's coming-of-age graphic novel follows Kevin's ups and downs as he strives to fit in at school, get along with his sister, and help his mom. He takes refuge in a fantasy world of comics depicted by lively, action-packed panels -- a world that later comes to life at an amusement park. Amusing facial expressions and gestures capture the distinctive persona of each character and their interactions. Themes of sacrifice, survival, and love abound in a multidimensional story of navigating the bumpy terrain of family tensions and resilience across generations.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Magdalena Mora. "¡Parque sí, policía no!" This fictionalized account -- narrated by a young person -- shares the dramatic culmination of efforts by Chicane residents of Barrio Logan to build Chicano Park in San Diego in 1970. When the city began building a police station in the space where the community had long called for a park, residents launched a protest to physically block the construction. Águila weaves together images of daily life in Barrio Logan with community members' experiences of the city's lengthy neglect and environmental racism against their community, to tell the story of the fight to build the park, which was ultimately successful. Spanish vocabulary and slogans used by Chicane and other Latine activists are interspersed throughout the text and illustrations. Mora employs a blend of vivid colors, sepia tones, and pastel hues to highlight the intensity of the struggle and the everyday beauty for which the protesters were fighting, ending with depictions of the inspiring murals that residents eventually painted in the park. Although the story seems condensed, an author's note explains the rapid succession of this phase of the protest and provides more details about the ongoing discrimination suffered by the community. Concurrently published in Spanish as El barrio se levanta.

Reviewer: Monica de los Reyes | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Shawn Harris. Canine narrator Johannes lives wild in a park and serves as the Eyes, appointed by the penned-up Bison to report what he sees. The arrival of "rectangles full of nonsense" sets off a chain of events leading to collective animal scheming and to several worldview-expanding revelations for Johannes about his own origins and what's out there beyond the park. This introspective adventure holds the appeal of a new perspective on the familiar world as readers piece together the bigger picture of what Johannes observes. His narration, though confident on some matters, allows them to pick up on hints that he might not know as much as they do (have the Bison really ruled the park for "millions of years or more?") and then to watch him grow as he learns. Interspersed full-bleed spreads insert Johannes into existing landscape paintings, underscoring the idea that art changes his view of how he fits into the world.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) K-3 A young Black girl cherishes her time with her papa. They have their routine; and "after breakfast, [they] make music." One day, they are joined by Mister Blue. Papa explains that he and Mister Blue go "all the way back," through some "just-gotta-keep-pushing days," and music has always been his friend's outlet. Inspiring people to "RISE! MARCH! AND...BOOGIE!" with his makeshift drum set, Mister Blue is what Papa refers to as a "get-up-and-go kind of brother." But the girl still has questions. She notices that Mister Blue lives outside, and as the weather turns rainy, she asks, "Is he safe? Is he cold? Is he lonely?" Her compassion for Papa's friend leads to an act of kindness--and a new friendship of her own. The text is spare; Peoples's (America My Love, America My Heart, rev. 5/21) bright and lively oil-paint and graphite illustrations adding greatly to the overall story, with small, contained frames occasionally giving way to double-page spreads. When Papa tells the girl that he and Mister Blue go way back, for example, the colors fade to a gray-toned war scene. The memories also include a few of the "weary days" Papa and Mister Blue experienced. The last image is a brilliant spread of the ultimate jam session, with all the joy that music and friendship can bring. An author's note explains Peoples's experience with her own Mister Blue and offers a reminder to adults to let children ask "hard questions."

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

(2) K-3 Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. When a rosy-cheeked "small-footed human" visits the park, he spies a gaggle of friends showing off their playground skills--they are sports stars, reading machines, and even adept backwards-counters. Small-footed human, however, is more...0human. Running to keep up with the pack, he trips over his shoelaces, forgets how to re-tie them, and totally loses his cool. His verbal frustrations summon an unlikely support team to his side: a Yeti and his close relations Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and the Abominable Snow Monster, all ready to help the protagonist back onto his feet with some friendly growth-mindset wisdom. With loosely drawn limbs and toothy grins, the fuzzy quartet bounds around the park demonstrating the punnily identified "Power of Yeti"--as in, when asked to high-five a Sasquatch, remind yourself that you're "not tall enough...YETi!" The ambling cryptids assure their small-footed friend that their own skills--in everything from basketball to ballet—developed with time, practice, and persistence. Van Slyke's bubbly narrative and Karas's ever-smiling figures paint the acquisition of social-emotional skills in a perhaps-too-rosy glow, but the straightforward presentation makes for a practicable introduction that will make even the biggest and hairiest challenges seem more approachable.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Toon Book series. This level-two TOON comic opens with a poem, reminding readers that "everybody pees!" Owen is on his way to see Grampa, with his mother at the wheel, when the need to urinate overcomes him (in one very funny spread, we see the white of his eyeball fill with yellow liquid). Arriving at Grampa's place, he runs to the bathroom and relieves himself ("Ahhh..."). At the park, Owen admires the fact that his dog, Whizzer, can "pee anywhere." This prompts Grampa to show his grandson the goofy dances that help him when he has to hold in his pee: the Tinkle Twist, the Wee-wee Walk, and the Piddle Patter. Owen makes up two of his own on the spot: the Pee-pee Hop and the Leaky Shake. Soon, there's a line of people in the park contorting their bodies behind grandfather and grandson. This entertaining tale with all its squirmy, wiggly physical humor, marked by Viva's sleek, stylized illustrations, also includes practical tips for children who have to go but aren't in a place in which to do so: on the way to Grampa's, Owen's mother suggests he "try to think of something totally different" (though all Owen can think of is a waterfall, a running faucet, and his water pistol).

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023