(2) K-3 Illustrated by Briony May Smith. From its first words and images, this book about the young Brontës invites readers into the cozy home and companionship of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. It patently conveys the pleasure both author and illustrator take in these children and their prodigious imaginations as storytellers and bookmakers. In neat, compact sentences--impressively so given the information conveyed--O'Leary tells of the Brontës' home and pastimes, and of the flowering of their little books of fantasy stories inspired by the gift of wooden toy soldiers. At the same time, Smith's art offers pictures in which to lose oneself, ranging from the edgeless, vast slopes of the moors to detailed interiors seen through windows and panels. The effect is that of looking into a dollhouse, complete with a bird's-eye view of a table set with food and crockery, an effect exceptionally expressive of the subject matter. O'Leary leaps briefly to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne as successful adult novelists, but she returns to their childhood almost at once; like them, you too could make a little book with a story, she tells us, and here is how to do it. A joyous, beguiling introduction to these Victorian writers. Appended with an author's note and a timeline, in addition to "How to Make Your Own Little Book."

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Qin Leng. This follow-up to A Family Is a Family Is a Family brings us to school. "Being the new kid is hard," states a dark-haired child approaching a school building. In response to a question we infer has been asked by a second child, the newcomer asserts, "I can think of better things to ask than if I'm a boy or a girl." One by one, others chime in with what they wish others would ask them. A petite boy wishes people would ask him about the big words he can spell instead of about his small size. A child with a prosthetic leg exclaims, "Ask me what I can do, not what I can't!"--and an illustration shows that child standing ­triumphantly atop a rocky hill, arms stretched high in victory. Each full-bleed spread splits the speaker's perspective in two: on the verso, we see the child joining a growing playground group while the recto gives a peek into their life in class or outside the school gates. With a Quentin Blake–esque liveliness to her lines, Leng's watercolor and ink illustrations capture the intimate details of young children's lives and dreams. At last, the dark-haired "new kid" shares a question that every child wants to be asked: "Hey kid, do you want to play?" With a unanimous spirit of inclusion within its pages, the story urges readers to rethink the way they first encounter others--by starting with an invitation.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kenard Park. "On special Saturdays, Maud goes to Grand-Maud's house and doesn't go home until Sunday," begins this warm story about a young girl's weekend visits to her grandmother's city apartment. In matching plaid flannel nightgowns that go "all the way to the floor," Maud and Grand-Maud eat breakfast for supper ("No matter what you like to eat for breakfast, it somehow always tastes better at suppertime") and watch a movie ("as long as it is in black and white") before nestling down in adjacent twin beds. Maud's bed is special "not just because Maud always has good dreams when she sleeps in it, though she always does" but because under the bed is an old wooden chest, full of treasures from Grand-Maud. Some are from a store (watercolor paints or a toy) and others handmade by Grand-Maud (a sweater). But best of all are the ones from when Grand-Maud was a little girl. For these are the treasures (a rock shaped like a heart, an old photograph, a book) that give Maud insight into her grandmother's life and provide room to dream about the day when she might have a granddaughter of her own. Pak's watercolor, pencil, collage, ink, and digital illustrations use touches of periwinkle and rose-red against a muted background to reflect the warmth and safety of Grand-Maud's home and the tender intergenerational bond that is the very heart of this story.

Reviewer: Emmie Stuart | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(2) PS Illustrated by Ellie Arscott. "Can't sleep?" asks the narrator's dad. "Come on, we'll go for a walk"--and the two set off into the night. This small adventure, described in the child's observant voice, is a lovely, calming exploration of the idea of home. As they walk through their neighborhood, the child notices that she and her father are not the only ones up and about. Through a window above the corner store, she sees the "sad-looking" store owner joyfully reaching for a baby. Now the narrator realizes not only that the woman "wasn't always sad" but that the store is also a home. She looks into well-lit windows, observes that each streetlamp creates its own island of light, and marvels that so many people are out this late. Throughout, her observations make it clear how fresh and new her neighborhood feels, while still remaining comfortingly familiar. "I belong here, and here belongs to me." Arscott's watercolor and ink illustrations are as fresh and comfortable as the story. Realistic details create the homey setting: Dad sports a T-shirt and jeans, the narrator wears a puffy red vest over her pajamas. The dark blues of the night are punctuated by warm spots of light from windows and streetlamps in a diverse, compact city neighborhood with businesses, apartment buildings, houses, and an expansive park. The satisfying bedtime story will get young listeners ready for sleep with the calming final sentence, "I am home." Pair with Denos and Goodale's Windows and Cole and Gómez's City Moon (both rev. 11/17).

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(3) PS Illustrated by Jacob Grant. In this playful, out-of-the-box alphabet book, O'Leary pairs large uppercase and lowercase letters with an animal or mythical creature while including a characteristic or inference (mostly made up) about said critter. "Ii: Iguanas sometimes get homesick on sleepovers." "Uu: Unicorns believe in themselves." Abundant white space highlights the emotive expressions displayed by each personality-filled creature.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Crowley. A cat and "his boy" take a walk on the night of a blue moon, when "anything can happen." They come to a lake, climb into a waiting boat, and have a magical adventure--including a trip to the moon. The text is appropriately fanciful and lyrical; the mixed-media illustrations use gouache, graphite sticks, pastels, colored pencils, and a water brush pen to attain deeply saturated blues.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) PS Illustrated by Karen Klassen. In this inevitable but welcome follow-up to You Are One and You Are Two, second-person narration salutes the achievements of three-year-olds ("You make pictures of what you see so that we can see it, too"). As always, O'Leary's text stops short of sap, and Klassen's collage-style art, with its photographic, fabric, and drawn elements, still stands out for its originality.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Karen Klassen. Second-person reflections describe a baby's accomplishments at the one-year mark (e.g., "You sometimes talk in sentences, but not always in words"); Klassen switches up the babies in the collage-style art, which features what appear to be photographic, stamped, and drawn elements. O'Leary's text manages not to be mawkish.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Qin Leng. This sweet celebration of all kinds of households opens with a teacher asking students to describe their families. From there, each spread is devoted to a different child's unique family; we see lots of siblings, single children, same-sex parents, divorced parents, interracial parents, a foster family, and more. Leng's digitally painted ink drawings are lively and appealing, casually reflecting the cast's diversity.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) PS Illustrated by Karen Klassen. In this logical follow-up to You Are One, second-person narration acknowledges two-year-olds' newfound independence and intellectual milestones (e.g., "Now that you are two, you are learning about yesterday, today, and tomorrow"). O'Leary once again steers clear of treacle with her tribute, and Klassen's collage-style art, featuring photographic and fabric motifs, reinforces her toddler subjects' constant motion.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Morstad. With a chatty, gently humorous narrative, this evocative portrait of a busy, imaginative girl follows Sadie throughout the day, showing her pastimes and her friends, both real and imaginary. Spacious, delicately colored illustrations in gouache, watercolor, and pencil crayon offer a look at Sadie's world, which is full of stories she finds in books and--perhaps most importantly--stories she invents herself.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert