(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sam Kalda. Each spread of this book jovially shares a spooky legend from one of the fifty United States and Washington, D.C. The demeanors of the spirits covered — human, animal, and cryptid — range from friendly to antagonistic, and many of the haunters are helpful. Sympathetic to the ghosts, the narrator leans into the varying historical origins and mystery of each tale. The accompanying, mostly monochromatic pencil illustrations in muted tones are more alluring than frightening, making for an attractive, occasionally chilling package. “A Ghost Hunter’s Guide” and a “Spooky Glossary” are appended.

Reviewer: Monica de los Reyes

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael Young. This witty history of math starts with ancient number systems and wends its way through notable developments and entertaining asides ("The Italian city of Florence...banned zero...in 1299. Other places feared algebra and thought of zero as black magic") to the present. Lighthearted "Schoolhouse Rock"–style cartoons show historical smart alecks cracking wise in dialogue bubbles, and the inclusive text celebrates Muslim, Chinese, Mayan, and Indian contributions. While some topics will probably be beyond the capabilities of the target audience, math geeks will go reciprocal over this appealing window into mathematical thought. Back matter includes a timeline, famous math mistakes, math puzzles (with answers), a glossary, and an index.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones. "We've worked really hard to turn things people hate about us into things we love about ourselves--even the word queer!" Sicardi proudly writes in an inspiring introduction. The LGBTQ heroes presented range from teen gun activist Emma González to trans moviemakers Lana and Lilly Wachowski to Oscar Wilde. Sans organization but with lively portraits and design embellishments, the scrapbook-like volume is best for browsing. Glos.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Dieter Braun. This alphabetical listing of every known dinosaur genera lists pronunciations, length, diet, time period, and discovery locale for each. Some also include a graphic size comparison to humans, a stylish digital illustration using muted tones and snazzy patterns (which vary in scientific accuracy), or a paragraph with additional details about the dinosaur's behaviors or physical characteristics.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 This richly illustrated visual miscellany of plant types and functions celebrates botanical biodiversity. Presented alphabetically (if botanically disordered), the browsable volume covers plant groups from aquatics, deciduous, and perennials to "the big eaters," "the stinkers," and "the magical." With pictorial jokes on nearly every spread, exuberance and humor trump scientific information. Includes a useful appendix of illustrated leaf shapes. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Hvass&Hannibal. This plea to protect the wild includes poems about life in thirteen habitats, including the rainforest, Arctic, desert, and deep sea. The lyrical free-verse poems often address habitats as characters ("Savanna speaks in whispering grasses"); most animal names mentioned in the verses are italicized. The digital illustrations lack depth but capture the settings in a stylized, colorful manner. More about each habitat and a note on conservation are appended.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Le Duo. This colorful volume presents two-page profiles of both well-known and lesser-known activists (twenty-nine men, twelve women). The text (successfully translated from the French) is organized into fact boxes, and the digital illustrations are labeled with even more facts about each individual. The heroes featured are from all over the world, some still living today. Timeline.

Reviewer: Katie Darrin

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole. A plethora of information is included in this large-format picture book, good for repeated browsing. Each page depicts a geological or geographical theme, such as weather, biomes, and tectonic plates, culminating with a look at pollution and conservation. The digital illustrations include inset graphs, charts, and maps, making the pages busy but not cluttered. Foldout poster included.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(4) K-3 Search for traveling musicians with their instruments in eleven busy double-page spreads, each depicting a different country, from Iceland to Egypt to Brazil. A final spread shows the reunited musicians in concert. A small yellow bird in each picture puzzle suggests additional objects to find. A key is appended, but the order of the countries is different than preceding pages, which could cause confusion.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Andrea Pippins. In this "love letter...to the next generation of black changemakers" (per the book's welcome note), stylish digitally colored ink portraits illustrate fifty-two brief bios of black subjects; the person's iconic (unsourced) quotations appear in bold. The selections vary widely in era, nationality, background, and occupation, but the connecting factors are talent and willingness to work hard as a child. A "Hall of Fame" with photos is appended. Glos.

Reviewer:

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lucy Letherland. This enormous-trim tour of dinosaur species is organized by today's continents (ancient land masses are described in an introduction and at the beginning of each section). Sometimes hard-to-parse illustrations on busy double-page spreads contain many dinosaur and non-dinosaur species, with tiny-type captions emphasizing facts about each animal in their original environment. Helpful sidebars show the geographic locales of the featured fossil finds. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Harry Bloom. The history of pirates meets Where's Waldo? in this oversize seek-and-find book with included magnifying glass. Humorous, minutely detailed illustrations fill each spread, along with "10 Things to Spot" and historical facts about pirate life. Profiles of famous pirates are included throughout, plus an appended "Rogues Gallery." Back matter also features additional items to find, an answer key, and a guide to pirate slang. Glos.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello