(2) K-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Faye and her father arrive at a cabin by a lake. Her first-person narration addresses someone who's not there: "Your chair is empty...The quilt you made smells like you." Faye doesn't identify her mother, but it's clear that's who she's missing. "Dad does everything different." Longing to feel close to her mom, Faye takes out Faye & Mama's Mouseboat just as thunder rumbles in the distance. As the storm begins in earnest, Faye feels her mother all around her. "The clouds sweep in fast and bring me so much more of you." After the storm passes, Faye returns to shore, where her father is waiting for her. Halpin's digital, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations create a dreamlike atmosphere that perfectly captures the story's mood. Dark blues and grays dominate the scenes when depicting sadness; warm reds telegraph comfort and safety. A good book to help children cope with loss and to help them discover fresh starts even during the most challenging times.

Reviewer: Weileen Wang | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Picking up where Anne Arrives left off (but also understandable on its own), this chapter book relates events from Anne’s early days at Green Gables, faithfully but with brief paragraphs and copious white space that should appeal to newly independent readers. Illustrations from spot art to full-bleed spreads convey the rural setting and capture characters’ emotions as Anne forms lasting relationships.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Eight chapters relate the beginning of Anne of Green Gables's story, remaining faithful to the events--and often the language--of L. M. Montgomery's original but with short paragraphs and plenty of white space. This inviting introduction for newly independent readers includes color-saturated mixed-media illustrations that capture the spirit of the characters and the Prince Edward Island setting.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) PS Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. A young girl prepares for a baby sister. Her first-person observations ("Mama's belly is making her grumpy") and questions ("Will your lap ever come back?") aptly capture pregnancy from a child's point of view. Natural motifs feature in Halpin's illustrations--a mixture of poignant domestic vignettes and serene scenes outside the lakeside home--mirroring the growth and change of this family-in-transition.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) PS Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Each season brings wonderful activities, including "snowball-throwing" in winter, "daffodil-hunting" in spring, "sandcastle-shaping" in summer, and "leaf-chasing" in fall. And throughout the year, it's always "fort-building time." Lush, detailed watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations finished digitally capture the allure of building forts outside in nature.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. "What is wild?" In this sensory exploration, two kids enter a city park where they see, smell, hear, and feel nature while forging their way through different habitats. The poetic text makes it clear that wild, while sometimes elusive, is just waiting to be found, even in an urban environment. Greens and blues dominate the mixed-media illustrations, capturing the wild wonderfully.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) 4-6 Oh My Godmother series. Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Lacey Unger-Ware, a fairy-godmother-in-training at Godmother Academy, has six days to make her client's wish of a dream wedding to her true love come true, with life-altering consequences hinging on her success. Hasty spells and a major error in assumption create the drama in this otherwise lightweight fantasy grounded in the reality of middle school. Cutesy illustrations underscore the levity.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(4) 4-6 Oh My Godmother series. Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. In the third book, Lacey continues her fairy-godmother training by helping outcast Martin win over their class with a magic carnival. She resolves to make his life not "stink," though she doesn't understand the full extent of his stress. As usual, well-intentioned Lacey's magic makes life more complicated, not less. Cute spot art enlivens this lightweight fantasy story about friendship and determination.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(4) 4-6 Oh My Godmother series. Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. In this lightweight series starter, twelve-year-old outcast Lacey finds an injured fairy godmother stuck in her hair one day. She belongs to popular cheerleader Paige, and without her magic, Paige's dream won't come true--and neither will Lacey's. Lacey takes over the role and unsurprisingly learns there's more to Paige than she had assumed. Cutesy black-and-white drawings illustrate the magical hijinks.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Bella doesn't care to follow the family rules--she much prefers her own: candy for breakfast, no hair-washing (ever), and no bedtime. Hoping to show her the value of obedience, her parents give her an equally wild puppy that she must help train. Bella's anarchic antics portrayed in effervescent illustrations are a match for this lively tale of tables turned.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Back from India, Dini (The Grand Plan to Fix Everything) is thrilled to be with BFF Maddie. Dini's favorite Bollywood actress will be in Washington, DC, too, and Dini tries to ensure the star has everything she needs (including an elephant). Both narration and spot art are light, and readers will relate to Dini's earnest efforts, even when they end in disaster.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Nine-year-old Anna, who always has her head stuck in a book, sometimes uses reading as a shield against social exclusion (of the specialized fourth-grade-girl kind) and her own lack of confidence. Cheng's telling is as straightforward yet sympathetic as her self-contained main character; Halpin's often lighthearted pencil-and-wash sketches both decorate and enrich this perceptive novel.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Dini's family is moving from Maryland to a small town in India. She worries about missing her best friend; however, a cast of memorable characters, including Dini's favorite Bollywood star and some chocolate-cake-eating monkeys, keeps her busy. The third-person present-tense narration, which reads something like a movie script, leads readers to expect the unexpected. Cheery black-and-white illustrations set the scene.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Rich-girl Penelope, bored, makes a wish that something interesting will happen, like in her favorite classic children's books. Next thing she knows, her father quits his job; the family, resources dwindling, moves to small-town Tennessee. There Penny meets many quirky characters and broadens her life experiences. Snyder's gently satirical story is well paired with Halpin's winning black-and-white illustrations.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz