(2) K-3 I Like to Read: Comics series. Cepeda, creator of many excellent first-step beginning readers (I Hop; I Help; I Dig), offers a comic for more experienced readers. "What could go wrong?" a father asks his son while packing the car for a camping trip. Well, for starters, the campground is full, but the pair makes the best of a less-comfortable campsite down the road. When it turns out -- "Uh-oh" -- that Dad forgot the tent poles, they take the opportunity to sleep under the stars. Mostly minor setbacks (skunks, rain) force them to enjoy the experience they're having instead of the one they'd expected. Digital illustrations in aquas, greens, and browns have an ink-and-watercolor feel that suits the low-stakes outdoor adventure. Readers will need some fluency to navigate multiple word bubbles per page, multiple speakers, and compound and multisyllabic words with a number of sound blends and linguistic quirks. Most of the language is likely to be familiar, though, and the illustrations provide support for less common words, such as the night sky full of stars around "Venus...and the Big Dipper...and Capella...and Polaris." When father and son get home, Mom asks how the trip went, and the child shouts, "Everything went wrong...It was great!" A solid lesson for all of us on how to navigate life's little disappointments.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Neighbors Max and Kenji love wrestling. But Max thinks lucha libre is the "greatest," while Kenji thinks sumo is the "best." When they show each other their favorite moves -- and try to prove which is truly the winning style -- the match devolves into a real tussle. Though the two try to practice on their own (with some unsuspecting pet opponents), they quickly realize, "It's not as much fun being a wrestling fan...by yourself." So they hatch a plan to reunite and stage "the very first-ever SUMO LIBRE match" for the neighborhood, complete with tempura tacos. The text is subtly funny and presents a fresh cultural mashup. Cepeda's (The Best Worst Camp Out Ever, rev. 3/24) brightly colored, hand-painted illustrations in his recognizable loose style are detailed and engaging; the annotated moves on the endpapers may inspire future sumo libre wrestlers (warn your pets!).

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(3) K-3 I Like to Read series. When a breeze blows a pinwheel into the open window of two young boys, one grabs hold and embarks on a journey through the air where he encounters a bevy of farm animals aloft on the same breeze. Cepada's friendly digital artwork and simple sentences ("Look. / I go up. / I see a hen") will encourage emerging readers through the easy-to-parse fantasy.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello