(3) 4-6 Secrets of Topsea series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. Ocean-loving, boat-building Talise stars in this second installment, with her schoolmates (including Davy from A Friendly Town That's Almost Always by the Ocean!) featured in their own chapters. Seemingly random nonsense--friendly spirits, uncertain ocean tides, a lost narwhal--once again develops into a thoughtful, entertaining story of friendship as the children grapple with fitting in but also being themselves in their wacky town.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) 4-6 Secrets of Topsea series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. When Davy moves to Topsea with his mother, he's not prepared for a locker at the bottom of a swimming pool, seaweed for lunch, and an abundance of cats (yet dogs are "just a myth"). What first seems like pure nonsense evolves into a story of friendship, adjustment, and loss, told in multiple voices and sprinkled with memorable encounters with, for example, a haunted pinball machine and a chewing gum wall.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler