(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Cousins Siggy, Camila, and Jorge spend their Monday afternoons in the care of their distracted tía Xía, who works at the local history museum. One afternoon, Jorge sees Tía Xía holding a “dazzling sword, with a solid gold hilt and silver engravings, dotted with diamonds and rubies.” He watches her crawl into a tinajón, a large clay pot in her garden, with the sword and emerge a minute later without it. Curious, Jorge later enters the tinajón; his cousins follow, and the three are magically transported from present-day Miami to 1862 Virginia during the Civil War. On their journey they meet Alfonso, a Cuban American drummer boy in the Union Army; and Oscar, an enslaved child. Eventually, the cousins travel via hot-air balloon to Puebla, Mexico, to rescue Tía Xía, recover the sword, and deliver it to Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza. Otheguy incorporates a wealth of historical research into this action-packed adventure, keeping readers engaged with a propulsive plot. Extensive back matter gives historical context to this escapade, which is accompanied by occasional black-and-white illustrations.

Reviewer: Yesica Hurd

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Despite having been adopted by bookstore owners when she was five, eleven-year-old Property Jones is (secretly) illiterate. Fortunately, she is also extremely observant, which enables her to thwart the swindlers who are bent on cheating her family out of the commodious, almost-magical book emporium they've just won in a contest. This pleasant fantasy, enlivened by Bernatene's cartoon illustrations, will engage young book lovers ready to take on denser chapter books.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. A clever frog takes advantage of two naive princesses who believe he will turn into a prince. They know this is true because they've read it in their fairy-tale storybook. But their sister, Princess Martha, relies on nonfiction for her information and exposes the frog's trickery. The vibrant digital illustrations will please princess fans, but the book's message about critical literacy also shines.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. A girl and her fisherman grandfather, who has just moved to the city from the countryside, use their imaginations to "fish" off the fire escape. They catch "Green Danglers" (houseplants) and "Laundry Eels" (socks) before setting their sights on the elusive, underground-dwelling "biggest fish" (the subway). Bernatene's imaginative waterlogged cityscapes play along with the fantasy in this warm and humorous story of intergenerational companionship.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Even though Bird makes a great umbrella, keeps Hippo "bug-free," and tells jokes ("I'm a hippopota-mustache"), Hippo repeatedly shoos Bird away. The nod toward symbiosis gets lost in the predictable reluctant-friends plot, and Hippo and Bird's reconciliation comes too suddenly to feel authentic. However, energetic mixed-media illustrations shift color to reflect Hippo's mood and expand on the limited dialogue-based narrative.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Lettie's mother disappeared, leaving Lettie a warning not to "set a foot upon Albion, for it can kill you." So Lettie and her father have remained trapped inside their home on stilts for years...until a mysterious snow merchant arrives and sets Lettie on a quest to find her mother. Black-and-white illustrations extend the Roald Dahl–esque whimsy (with touches of absurdity).

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) 4-6 Books of Elsewhere series. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. In this series-ending fifth installment, Olive learns further secrets behind the paintings-as-portals magic of Elsewhere, its origins, and the world's creator. The magic's ability to preserve life indefinitely gets creepy, but characters with silly quirks keep the tone from becoming too dark. Illustrations are shadowy but still manage to make the heroes appear friendly.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. When pond frogs discover a croaking piglet in their midst, they assume he is teasing them by using their sound. Other animals offer opinions but it isn't until they all consult with the wise old beetle that they realize the pig just wants a friend. Bernatene's playful, saturated watercolors bring life and humor to the slightly strained text.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) 4-6 Books of Elsewhere series. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Olive's parents go missing, and it quickly becomes clear that the stakes are high in this fourth volume, as beings both human and supernatural want control of her family's powerful house. The book's heart tempers its scariness; most readers will discern that all will be well in the end. Shadowy, cartoonish illustrations bring more humor than darkness to the magical world.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Skeleton boy Angelito is dreading the Day of the Dead, which requires him to "walk among the Living"--scary stuff. This book is well worth the energy required to negotiate its jam-packed pages, which feature a friendship built on a misunderstanding, Addams Family–type humor, a lesson in prejudice, an introduction to the Mexican holiday, and scare-free illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Bradley Bartleby had "been born bad." His antics grow worse throughout the years, and Santa doesn't cater to him: every Christmas Bradley receives only socks. Bradley hatches a plan to capture Santa--using an absurdly intricate trap--and make sure "the fat fool" gets what he deserves. Bernatene's digital illustrations bring the troublemaker's beastliness to life in this cautionary tale disguised as a holiday romp.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. A piglet is mistakenly switched for a newborn princess. Believing a fairy has transformed their daughter, the king and queen raise the pig as a princess while a poor, loving farmer raises the real princess. The story, with its references to other tales ("Sleeping Beauty," "Thumbelina," "The Frog Prince") and deliciously absurd turns, reminds readers that wealth and advantage don't equal self-worth.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) 4-6 Books of Elsewhere series. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Olive's quest to free Morton from Elsewhere, located inside the paintings in Olive's house, involves a search for a spell book and family connections obscured by time. Though this installment gives Olive less Elsewhere time than The Shadows, it generates plenty of magical creepiness by exploring the idiosyncrasies of the house--and the neighbors. Shadowy (but not scary) black-and-white illustrations enhance the mystery.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 Books of Elsewhere series. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. Olive finds a pair of spectacles that let her enter the paintings in her family's decrepit Victorian mansion. There she finds cats who aren't quite feline and late homeowners who aren't quite dead. Even at their most dire--and darkly illustrated--Olive's circumstances are too fantastical to be really frightening; naive Olive figures it all out in time to regain control.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax