(2) YA Tavares's first graphic novel is based on the true story of Judi Warren and the 1976 Warsaw (Indiana) High School girls' basketball team--its rise from nonexistence before Title IX, to filling the bleachers, to winning the state championship. The book finds its main character in Judi Wilson, an athletically gifted high school senior reluctantly funneled into cheerleading, whose ­greatest dream comes true when the Lady Bears basketball team is formed. The girls battle for everything: practice space, uniforms, transportation, spectators. Creativity, ­dedication, and passion for their sport drive them through the systemic barriers that surround them in order to find success. This is a timely exploration of the pre–Title IX United States; and a cinematic, well-paced, feel-good sports story, with a couple of solid subplots to give the main characters depth. Artistically, Tavares, known for such photorealistic picture books as Henry Aaron's Dream (rev. 3/10) and Growing Up Pedro (rev. 1/15), pares back his style to be very readable (if occasionally a bit static) and avoid colliding with the text. The classic championship-game climax is rousing, while the appended author's note brings more nuance to the ongoing fight against sexism and discrimination and tells more about the history-making Warsaw High School team, Judi Warren, and Title IX.

Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 First introduced in Dasher (rev. 11/19), the titular character returns in a new holiday adventure that conveys the spirit of the season. Dasher loves “seeing the Christmas lights from high above” on Christmas Eve while flying Santa’s sleigh. Too excited to wait as Christmas Eve approaches, she follows the sound of Christmas carols, but then can’t find the North Star to guide her home. Luckily, a child kindly lends her a compass to get her back to the North Pole just in time. While Tavares has switched to a digital style for this sequel, the illustrations still maintain a rich, realistic quality featuring mainly cool hues that are just right for a cozy nighttime read.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Long ago, a reindeer family in a traveling circus lived, unhappily, far from the North Star and that magical place where "the air was crisp and cold, and the ground was always covered with...snow." These soothing phrases echo throughout as youngest reindeer Dasher escapes; helps Santa and his horse; and finds a new home for her family at the North Pole. Painterly mixed-media illustrations reflect the pleasantly nostalgic tone used throughout this Santa's-reindeer origin story.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) K-3 Cardinals Red and Lulu love their evergreen-tree home in the country. When the tree is cut down (with Lulu still in it), Red follows the delivery truck to New York City. He finds his home--transformed into that year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree--and is joyously reunited with Lulu. Realistic watercolor and gouache paintings make the most of dramatic birds'-eye perspectives.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(2) K-3 In 1859, Jean François Gravelet--the Great Blondin--was the world's greatest tightrope walker; Niagara Falls called to him. Tavares's straightforward telling details all the drama of Blondin's multiple crossings, which drew huge crowds...at first, then the spectacle lost its appeal. Tavares's arresting illustrations movingly depict the Falls. An author's note rounds out this sure-footed offering. Bib.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(2) 4-6 Candlewick Biographies series. Present-tense narration lends drama and immediacy to Tavares's all-smiles-and-heroics biography of Boston Red Sox slugger Williams. Watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations depict Williams as large as a double-page spread can hold. The less smiley and heroic side to his character is reserved for an interesting author's note. Originally published as a picture book, this is a smaller-size, reformatted edition. A list of stats is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(2) 4-6 Candlewick Biographies series. With understated, unfussy cadences, Tavares describes young Hank Aaron's major-league dream in this smaller-size, reformatted edition originally published as a picture book. After a brief stint in the Negro Leagues, Aaron signed a minor-league contract with the Braves but faced brutal racism in the South. In a final illustration, Tavares's skillful combination of watercolor, ink, and pencil shows Aaron in his first major-league game. An author's note and Aaron's career stats are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2010

(2) K-3 Tavares highlights the warm relationship between two baseball greats, brothers Ramón and Pedro Martínez, covering their youth in 1980s Dominican Republic; their signings with the Dodgers; Pedro's eventual contract with the Red Sox and heroics in the 1999 playoffs; and their present-day return to the Dominican Republic, where they have built churches, schools, and baseball fields. Gouache and watercolor paintings lovingly depict both players. Bib.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(2) K-3 Tavares profiles the iconic George Herman "Babe" Ruth, shining a light on the flamboyant slugger's charitable side. The author-illustrator expertly conveys Ruth's charm through mixed-media illustrations--the boyish grin, the huge appetite (one humorous scene features Ruth in front of an outlandish spread at a restaurant), the love of the game he played so well. A standout sports picture-book biography. Stats are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(2) K-3 Present-tense narrative lends drama and immediacy to Tavares's all-smiles-and-heroics biography of Boston Red Sox slugger Williams. Watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations depict Williams as large as a double-page spread can hold. The less smiley and heroic side to Williams's character is reserved for an interesting author's note. Published in time for Fenway Park's centennial celebrations, this full-of-life biography is a hit. Bib.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(2) K-3 With understated, unfussy cadences, Tavares describes young Hank Aaron's major-league dream. After a brief stint in the Negro Leagues, Aaron signed a minor-league contract with the Braves but faced brutal racism in the South. In a final illustration, Tavares's skillful combination of watercolor, ink, and pencil shows Aaron in his first major-league game. An author's note and Aaron's career stats are included. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2010

(2) K-3 A pirate captain gingerbread man refuses to accept his crew's fate on the plate of the season's most notorious cookie eater, Santa. In the end, Santa steps in to teach the pirates about the true nature of Christmas, graciously forgoing his snack. Tavares's vivid watercolor and gouache paintings dramatize Kladstrup's lively text with vigor in this imaginative adventure story.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Howard | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(2) K-3 From the early days of professional baseball comes the legend of the shortest home run in history. In 1903, Andy Oyler hits the ball, but no one sees where it goes. Andy crosses home plate just as the second baseman trips over a "rock," and Andy's team wins. This is a winning combination of satisfying story, muscular prose, and cinematic illustrations.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2005

(3) K-3 When Oliver finds an old Chicago Cubs uniform packed away in a box, his grandfather reminisces about the day he wore it at Wrigley Field--an experience never repeated due to an injury he sustained in World War II. Finely detailed pencil illustrations, accented with sepia tones during Grandpa's recollections, combine with the nostalgic text to pay homage to baseball and sacrifices.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) K-3 When Zachary attends his first big-league baseball game, his father snags a foul ball and gives it to the boy--who instantly finds himself on the pitcher's mound wearing a Red Sox uniform and experiencing the first of a series of fantasy-adventures. Executed in charcoal, the illustrations are stronger than the nostalgic text and effectively convey the magic of the tale.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn