(3) 4-6 All sci-fi fans know messing with time is perilous. Of course, Oscar doesn't mean to break the universe with his mysterious time-stopping watch--he just wants to stage a home run when he finally gets to bat. This funny, utterly unscientific adventure features lovable gangster kidnappers; a frail, elderly neighbor who was once a baseball superstar; the beginnings of a beautiful friendship; and the occasional dinosaur.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) 4-6 Henry Cicada fails spectacularly at the one thing he most wants: to be ordinary. However, he excels at rescuing three-legged dogs, defending friends against bullies...and traveling via Elktonium (a new metal whose properties are not yet entirely known) into another person's imagination. Whimsical character names, wacky science, a big-hearted protagonist, and a keen sense of (mis)adventure give this story wide appeal.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Antoinette Portis. In this tender, fable-like story, Billy Hightower's isolated life atop "the world's tallest building" changes when he catches a glimpse of "the girl in the red hat." Billy's attempts at communication are repeatedly foiled by the wind: it snatches his words, derails his paper airplane, and pulls Billy himself off the building. Teague's rhythmical, unadorned text is fleshed out by Portis's graphically arresting compositions.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2016

(3) 4-6 In alternating narration, we meet thirteen-year-olds Audrey, who can tell when someone's lying, and Aaron, who remembers everything he's ever seen or heard in perfect detail. Because these "superpowers" impede their social lives, they're sent to wilderness camp to gain balance. With a quick pace and acerbic protagonists to draw readers in, what follows is a story of survival and unlikely friendship.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) 4-6 When her whistle-blowing father is framed for murder by his corrupt employer, Margaret explores her family's forbidden secret power of time travel to set things right. A parallel story set in 1938 exposes Victory Fuel's history. The time-travel element and character development feel incidental to the environmental (hydro-fracking) and social-justice (exploited workers) messages, but the compelling-enough narrative and suspense may engage high-volume readers.

Reviewer: Nina Lindsay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. At night in Franklin's room, a strange crew builds (and unbuilds) huge construction projects, such as train tracks and an airplane runway. After realizing the crew is engineering dreams, Franklin requests his own voyage: to the moon. The narrative's matter-of-factness balances the mysteriousness of the dreams, while dynamic illustrations make the most of nighttime contrasts between light and dark.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert