(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Princess Marigold has grown up in the shadow of her perfect older sister, Rosalind, who was abducted by a wizard long before Marigold was born. When Rosalind miraculously finds her way home, Marigold is ambivalent and rashly decides that she's wicked and doesn't belong in the kingdom. She runs away to a place where she can embrace her so-called wickedness: the fortress of the wizard who held Rosalind captive for fifteen years. She can stay with Wizard Torville and his imp, Pettifog, if she passes a test to prove that she's evil: "I'll give you seven days to do something so vile that even an imp can't deny your wicked nature." Hijinks ensue (including Marigold mistakenly turning Torville into a sentient blob). When a pair of wizards plots to destroy a peace treaty among the kingdoms, Marigold must reckon with what it really means to be wicked. What began as sisterly revenge becomes part of a complicated web of spells that could undo the Cacophonous Kingdoms altogether. Carlson's deftly told story tackles questions of good versus evil and sibling bonds with a cast of oddball creatures and lots of humor. Clever, quirky, and cozy.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Shane Cluskey. After their parents' tragic (and explosive) demise, Basil and Dahlia Bloom sit on a train barreling toward Philadelphia with their social worker, Mrs. Hassenblasset, who warns of their imminent separation. Distraught, the two leap from the moving train and begin a grueling quest to land themselves anywhere but apart from each other. Their wanderings ultimately take them to New York City, bruised, beaten, and hungry. Lured by the smells of a bakery, the children are caught dumpster-diving by celebrity chef Laurel Fox. She whisks them away to her luxurious apartment, seemingly transforming their lives in the blink of an eye. But despite their new wardrobes, the endless library, and the home-cooked meals, Dahlia and Basil sense something sinister behind Fox's keen interest in their tears. Black-and-white illustrations pepper the narrative with sharp corners and ominous shadows as the children attempt to escape one trap after another. The tone is largely due to its self-proclaimed-Dickensian narrator, who breaks the fourth wall often with wry asides, humorous advice, and anachronistic references, even making assertions about what's appropriate in a book for children. With a decidedly Lemony Snicket flavor and hints of Lowry's The Willoughbys (rev. 3/08), McCullough's variation on "Hansel and Gretel" satisfies the need for a fright but also deftly touches on the reality of grief, guilt, and the powerful bond between siblings.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Clara Abigail Poole causes quite a scene when she hurtles across the skies of western Michigan in a plastic lawn chair attached to hundreds of balloons. After she crash-lands and is grounded by her father, Clara's stunt captures the attention of one Harold Habberdish, who arrives from Paris with a proposal: join "the most ambitious and breathtaking adventure race ever conceived," a hot-air balloon race around the world. Against her father's wishes, Clara runs away from home--and from the guilt she feels for the accident that killed her mother--and flies to Paris to join the race. Because she is so young and inexperienced, she is partnered with seasoned aeronaut Greta Gildersleeve and her monkey copilots. What ensues is a madcap tale with oddball characters, intrigue, and new friendships made. Tyng's prose is appropriately light and action-verb-driven, complete with sound effects ("Thwack! Pop! Poppity-pop!"). Beyond all the excitement, though, this is, at its heart, a father-daughter story and one about the long road--or flight--toward acceptance and forgiveness. Told with a light touch--lighter than air, you might say.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) 1-3 Frank and the Puppy series. Illustrated by Jon Lau. "This was not fair. But it was the way of the world. Just when you think you've got it good, someone brings home a puppy." Narrator Frank, the highly contented and stuck-in-his-ways cat who narrates this brief early chapter book, lives the "good life" with his two loving male humans. Then their family of three expands: a cute, Corgi-like puppy appears and, to Frank's great annoyance, makes herself right at home--even going so far as to ruin naptime. After landing in "jail" (his crate) due to an angry claw-swipe, the indignant feline attempts to use his words. He types out and mails a note to the humans, but before they even read it, they release him with the admonition: "You must be nice to the puppy." In response, Frank composes another note--of farewell--and sneaks out the door in search of a place where he'll be appreciated. The book features seven short chapters with easy-to-read sentences that convey highly relatable, often over-the-top feelings. The accessible text is well supported by Lau's personality-filled illustrations, a mix of full pages and spot art. With the narrative being completely from Frank's wounded perspective, the illustrations display the actions and reactions of every character: the protagonist's emotional highs and lows, the puppy's extreme enthusiasm, the humans' unconditional love (not to mention their chic home décor).

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Adapted by Ibram X. Kendi. Illustrated by Loveis Wise. Kendi's (Stamped, rev. 5/20) adaptation of a short story by Hurston softens (or leaves out) the original's violence, adds elements that are explained in a historical endnote, and retains the narrative frame of a "Mighty River" telling a brook a story about people in love. The tale begins with Bentley, who escapes enslavement and marries Swift Deer, a Cherokee woman. They have a daughter they name ­Magnolia Flower, who grows up during the Civil War and falls in love with a brown-skinned man named John. Bentley doesn't approve of John and locks him up to keep the lovers apart. Magnolia Flower frees him and they run away. The story ends with their return to the banks of the river forty years later. Both the lyrical text and the flowing digital illustrations let the theme of love running through Hurston's stories shine. Wise's (The People Remember, rev. 11/21; Ablaze with Color, rev. 3/22) brightly colored images capture the beauty of the forest and the love between ­Magnolia Flower and John. In his appended author's note, Kendi explains his intention behind adapting a short story for adults as a picture-book text: "The earlier we expose our children to our literary treasures--to our literary legends like Hurston--the ­better."

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) 1-3 Translated by Cathy Hirano. Disappointed that her new baby brother "looks just like a potato" and is always crying, a young girl heads to town to offer herself for free to a new family. She imagines she'll have servants, a big backyard, and, most importantly, no baby brother. The spunky narrator spends the day in a cardboard box with "FREE KID" written on the front. People walk by, but no one stops. As she waits, a lost dog, stray cat, and turtle join her. One by one, each animal is claimed by a passerby, and the girl finds herself alone in the box once again. Finally, at day's end, a loving family stops by "looking for a sister for our little potato." Ito's choice of a first-person voice--"maybe I don't look special enough just sitting here"--lets readers experience the fluctuations in the main character's emotions as she first rejects and then feels rejected by possible families. In the satisfying conclusion, she chooses her own family, giving her a much-needed sense of control. Uncluttered pages with just a few sentences on each feature spare cartoon-style black-line drawings with red accents. The self-declared "cute-kid" sports a black-and-white pleated skirt, short black hair topped with a red bow, and lollipop red cheeks. The chapter-book trim size should appeal to young readers looking to tackle a longer book; they will be rewarded by getting to know this can-do narrator.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) YA This intriguing novel about pirate queen Clementine and her daughter Thea begins by toggling between "then" and "now"--in Clementine's girlhood, when she isn't allowed to explore her scientific potential because of her gender; with Thea jumping from a whaling ship to swim three miles to shore; with an argument about whether the volcano on Valonia will erupt, killing everyone on the island. As the narrative progresses, the reader is able to assemble the timeline--how the sexism that stifled Clementine's research and the pre-eruption tremor that killed her husband finally push Clementine to piracy just ahead of the cataclysm; how Thea is her reluctant accomplice until she runs away on a whaler with her crush Bauer; how Bauer rapes Thea, leading to her escape and the three-mile swim. Thea ends up in a ­settlement of Valonian survivors, including her childhood companion Wes, who's trying to turn himself into the settlement's doctor. A good portion of the narrative is Thea's survival story; another portion concerns her unfinished business with ­Clementine, where Thea will have to decide once and for all whether she belongs on the side of the law or of her mother. The quasi–New England setting, with its own geography, mythology, and economy, adds another puzzle for readers to determine how it departs from our own world. An adventure story with an exceptional amount of emotional growth, this original creation will keep readers surprised and engrossed.

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

(2) PS "Night lights, streetlights, flashlights, and table lamps" often shine against a childhood fear: the Dark. Here gently curved indigo outlines form the Dark's broad hands and soft face as it hides from glaring lights and frightened people trying to ward it away. Tired of being shunned, the Dark disappears, leaving people with only the light. Slowly, though, a young boy--who had been afraid of the Dark--begins to realize that without it, many beautiful things have also disappeared: the song of crickets, the twinkling of the stars, the hooting of owls. Imbued with the sense of something missing, the young boy sets out to "find the Dark and persuade the Dark to return." Along the way, he meets a burglar who misses the Dark for the shadows it provides; a poet, too, joins them because "there is no mystery without the Dark"; a gardener longing for the scent of night-blooming jasmine falls in line. Their company continues to expand as others learn of their purpose. When at last the Dark hears the crowd's shouting and returns, everyone's previous fear transforms gradually into acceptance and welcome. Stringer's watercolor illustrations beautifully capture a world bathed in both stark light and soft darkness, and her lyrical text, with a storyteller's cadence, calls out for repeated readings.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(1) YA Translated by Kristen Gehrman. In this smoothly translated historical-fiction romp set in 1808, lively, propulsive storytelling whirls us through the countryside of what is now Belgium, France, and ­Germany with Constance, one of Napoleon's more unusual soldiers. "Stance" has always been acerbic, rebellious, and capable. When her father marries her off to a middle-aged businessman, she sees only one way out: she puts on men's clothes and joins the army. Stance's defection from the marriage contract wreaks havoc on the family, especially on her hapless brother Pier, who, in the company of a corrupt customs officer, is sent to retrieve her. Van Rijckeghem evokes Napoleonic wartime chaos and the story's fractious characters with colorful lucidity, comedy, and drama. Stance and Pier alternate as narrators; the tale swings between the former's rash irreverence and boldness and the latter's timidity and physical ineptitude. Throughout the story--with its hilarity and drastic eventfulness, its duels and battles, unexpected lovers, and lesson in how a girl can use a bellows to facilitate peeing while standing--Stance and Pier mature and become more resolutely themselves. Though the book ends as Stance sets off in quest of the woman she loves, the real heart here is the affection that grows between two very different siblings.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) YA Eighteen-year-old Bea runs away from a home situation that includes an abusive stepfather; a mother who takes his side; and her confused and angry fifteen-year-old brother, Ezra. The novel is composed of messages she sends from a secret email account, and Ezra's responses, with brief why-haven't-you-answered-me missives lending real-time immediacy amid the longer emails delivering the narrative (with perhaps an unrealistic amount of detail, but then, it's their only means of communication). While the conflict at home heightens and Ezra goes to stay with Bea's boyfriend's family, Bea meets up with a "Mystery Guy"--and it isn't revealing too much to say that she believes he's one long-lost family member...and he's actually another. That encounter leads to the uncovering of more and more secrets about Bea and Ezra's past, which keep the pages turning, but the crux of the novel is the siblings' emotional realizations as they begin to process their experiences, allowing themselves and each other space to be flawed. Appended with resources for those experiencing abuse.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) 4-6 Orphanhood and running away to the circus--both narratives have their conventions, and in this novel set in 1939 starring eleven-year-old Lucy, Choldenko makes the most of them. The Iowa orphanage where Lucy, who is selectively mute, is kept is gothically bleak, gray, and cold, presided over by a cruel matron. The circus Lucy escapes to along with three other orphans is vibrant and full of rough kindness and iconic circus characters: the knife thrower, the strong woman, the roustabout, and elephants. The escape drama involves cunning, courage, negotiation, and close brushes with danger of all sorts. The interpersonal story involves the occasional benevolent adult, some two-timing rogues, the loyal among the circus family, and disputes among the four escapees. Tension and hope are maintained with the parallel story, told in letters, of Lucy's older sister's attempts to locate her. A historically based element of the plot introduces a mystery that ties in to Lucy's inability to speak, involving an actual experiment performed on orphans in the 1930s in which verbally fluent children were treated to derision and criticism to see if stuttering could be induced. Underlying it all is a straightforward but compelling story arc: Lucy needs to find a voice and a family, and readers will root for her to regain both. An author's note provides detail on the use of historical source material; a glossary of circus terms is also appended.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) PS "Sometimes I want to run away," says a girl staring out a window. She'd like some company and is frustrated not to have it. Her mother is busy teaching music lessons, and her sister would rather be alone. The girl slides a note under her mother's door and, with her cat Mango by her side, runs away--to the top of a nearby hill, that is. Under a lilac tree, she constructs for herself a small fort out of cardboard and sticks, one that resembles the house she's just left, and wonders if anyone will notice that she's gone. Though disappointed by her family, she misses them and ensures that there's room for them all inside her fort. The family members eventually head outside to join her under the lilacs--although possibly only in her imagination. A lush, lemony yellow and soft, warmly colored shades of green dominate Goodale's deliciously textured monoprint illustrations in the form of the brilliant light outdoors and the grasses where the girl builds her home-away-from-home. Vividly popping off the pages is the lavender of the flowering lilacs on the tree guarding the girl's construction. Goodale examines with sensitivity the need for children to occasionally break away and find their own space for solitude while simultaneously exploring the sense of security they get from a loving, if sometimes distracted, family.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(2) K-3 Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Nolen presents an original story about flight and freedom--the former an enduring motif, the latter a recurrent theme, in African American folklore. Millicent and John worked alongside their parents and other enslaved people on Simon Plenty's plantation. Before their parents had been sold away, "back in the long-ago days," they told the children about how "our people could fly away to freedom as free and easy as any bird," a dream John and Millicent carry with them during the long hours of labor in the fields. One day, a majestic bird circling above catches the attention of the overseer, who rips it from flight with a swift snap of his whip. That night, worrying about the bird and forbidden to care for it, the children nevertheless race through the darkness to save it and begin nursing it back to health. The next day brings the news that John has been hired away, leaving Millicent alone, for months, to care for the bird. While John is absent, the bird and Millicent develop a special bond that strengthens her resolve for flight: "It felt to Millicent that she had grown her own wings and she could indeed fly." When John returns and the children learn that he is soon to be sold to another plantation, they decide to escape, following the bird westward toward freedom. Nolen's lively prose style recalls the richness of the oral tradition in this tale of triumphant courage and abiding hope. Ransome's acrylic paintings masterfully capture the mood of the story through dramatic images: the children running, the bird in flight.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(3) 4-6 In 1725, twelve-year-old Oliver is sentenced to seven years of indentured servitude in the American colonies. His cruel master instills fear in Oliver and his new friend Bara, an enslaved African boy, causing them to flee into the swamp. This sequel to The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts is again replete with Dickensian incident, and narrator Oliver presents a vivid picture of colonial life.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt

(1) 4-6 After the "dog of [her] heart," dies, fourteen-year-old Beverly catches a ride with her loser cousin to Tamaray Beach, where she finds a job busing tables and a place to stay in return for driving elderly Iola Jenkins to bingo. Drawn with unusual depth, the members of Beverly's small community emerge as complex individuals but also, collectively, as a force for change and goodwill in this companion to Raymie Nightingale and Louisiana's Way Home.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) YA In 1965, sixteen-year-old Victoria runs away with the VanDrexel traveling circus. Fifty years later finds Victoria training her talented teenage granddaughter, Callie VanDrexel, on the tightrope. Then Victoria dies unexpectedly; Callie's mother moves to Florida, dragging a sullen, grieving Callie with her. Alternating chapters follow plucky Victoria's introduction to life in the circus and Callie's introduction to life without it. This multigenerational story speaks compellingly of the power of family.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) YA After his girlfriend dumps him, cynical and emotionally careless Stiggy takes his dead father's car and drives south. Tales from the road are interspersed with flashback chapters that reveal Stiggy's troubled romance--and his father's suicide. With depth of character and a strong narrative voice, Stiggy's solo adventure is a cut above the average road-trip story.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA Overachieving June hears voices; hospitalization begins a journey toward treatment. Her boyfriend, Nick--a good guy stuck in a bad job--is jailed for stealing cars. When Nick heads to the Ozarks to disappear, June follows. This star-crossed love story feels a touch overdramatic but is lifted by empathetic portrayals of mental illness, rural poverty, and the titular pair's deep mutual affection.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) 4-6 Translated by Julia Marshall. Illustrated by Kitty Crowther. This Swedish import is an unvarnished portrait of old age. In the hospital with a broken leg and a failing heart, Grandpa is furious and foul-mouthed. His only ally is his affectionate and admiring grandson, who helps carry out an elaborate secret breakout. Every emotional effect is fully earned, and the final beat is deeply affecting. Full-page colored-pencil illustrations match the text in being simultaneously homely and honest.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) 4-6 To escape their abusive father, eleven-year-old narrator Viji and her intellectually disabled sister Rukku run away to Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, India, where they befriend two homeless boys. Written in short chapters directly addressed to Rukku in which traumatic events are balanced with personal reflection, this bittersweet story is about breaking the cycle of abuse, reaching for your dreams, and finding home in the most unlikely places.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019