(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dan Santat. Santa-obsessed Freddy Melcher "desperately" wants to add a selfie with Santa to his collection of Santa paraphernalia. Santat's gleeful mixed-media illustrations are in cahoots with the rollicking text, which has Freddy devising and implementing an elaborate, almost perfect plan to detain the big guy. Saint Nick's no fool, but he is still Santa, so Freddy isn't left totally defeated. "There's always next year!"

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(1) 4-6 Twelve-year-old "amateur creative astronomer" Liberty Johansen thinks of her parents' separation as their family's "free fall from space." Then a meteorite does fall from space and begins communicating with her. The meteorite offers comfort, as Liberty worries about her younger sister, her own mental health, and the whole boy-girl thing. King (Me and Marvin Gardens; Dig.) is keenly attuned to her characters' humanity; her narrative voice and just-this-side-of-realism setting uniquely her own.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) YA Jordan, helped by classmate Max, tries his hand at the food truck business to help his unstable mother make mortgage payments. Despite their differences, the two boys develop a friendship that quickly blossoms into a romance; they work together in the boiling summer heat of Mesa, Arizona, and date each other in the evenings. Konigsberg portrays gay teen relationships in a way that is consistently authentic, compassionate, hopeful, and empowering.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) 4-6 Moriarty returns to the magical universe of The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (rev. 9/18) in this companion novel. The town of Spindrift, in the Kingdom of Storms, is under siege as nefarious actors from the neighboring Whispering Kingdom begin kidnapping children and waging war via mind control. Seven children, from Spindrift's impoverished orphanage school and snooty boarding school, join forces to foil the Whisperers, aided by mysterious visitors from the future (whom readers of the first book will recognize). Orphan Finlay and boarder Honey Bee take turns narrating; their very distinct (and often humorous) voices and sympathetic personalities are the novel's strength, and readers will be as interested in the gradual burgeoning of their friendship as in the tale's nonstop dramatic events. Moriarty introduces relevant messages such as the dangers of judging individuals by where they come from, but the messages are incorporated organically into the story; the many twists and turns of the plot will keep readers turning pages till the triumphant end.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(2) YA This gripping work of narrative nonfiction focuses on a small group of WWI prisoners of war and their astounding efforts in 1918 to tunnel out of Germany's Holzminden prison camp, a place "established to hold the most troublesome Allied officers in Germany." Plentiful black-and-white archival photos, maps, and clear diagrams of the prison camp support the meticulously researched, detailed text. Bib, ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) PS Illustrated by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson. A snowplow and its driver begin their work as snow starts falling. All through the night and through the town they continue their important work clearing the roads. Along the way, a car spins out and needs towing, a train goes by, and the driver must stay alert and awake. The mixed-media illustrations beautifully capture the snowy silence evoked in the rhyming text.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) YA High-achieving senior Viola Li finds her life completely upended when she suddenly develops a serious photosensitivity disorder that disrupts her ability to participate in many of the activities she enjoys. Soon everything from college and career ambitions to romantic hopes need to be reevaluated and redefined. Viola's story offers an insightful consideration of learning to live with a chronic condition without succumbing to despair.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) 4-6 Avid movie-maker Hester struggles to manage her executive function disorder and is perilously close to failing eighth grade. With the support of friends, family, and teachers, Hester is able to direct her own life. Short film-script scenes are interspersed in the first-person narrative. Strong character development and the realistic depiction of EFD compensate for a predictable and issue-based plot.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Caroline Hadilaksono. Nine-year-old Sumac (from The Lotterys Plus One) cherishes each of her racially diverse, blended family's holiday traditions. When a destructive ice storm hits Toronto, thwarting the return home of one dad and a favorite brother and knocking the power out, new traditions must be born. As ever, there's an abundance of quirkiness and wordplay, but the warmth, humor, and affection in both text and black-and-white illustrations are undeniable.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 As dusk descends, young Oliver and his fellow school-band members wait for their afterschool bus--hold on, why did everybody run away? The zippily cartooned pictures, in lusciously Halloweeny oranges and deep purples, explain: Oliver has become a werewolf. The boy's bewilderment turns to delight after he glimpses his lupine reflection--and the full moon--in a puddle. An additional surprise awaits at home.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(2) YA In this rich, honest companion novel to If I Ever Get Out of Here, seventeen-year-old Carson and fifteen-year-old Maggi prepare for a high-stakes Battle of the Bands. Their alternating first-person narratives, set in 1980 on the Tuscarora Indian Nation near Niagara Falls, offer an intimate look at the teens' lives within their Indigenous culture, which embraces modern popular culture but still often faces outsiders' abuse.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) K-3 Eager to expand their friendship circle, Bear, Raccoon, and Squirrel attempt to socialize with a family camping in the woods--only to frighten the "city folks" away. Textured and humorous watercolor, gouache, and digital illustrations display the critters as they prepare for their "Welcome Party" surprise. A lighthearted story that also gently conveys that good intentions can have unintended consequences.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(1) 4-6 African American city manager Abigail Caldwell was forced to resign in Lambert, South Carolina, after covertly looking for buried treasure. A decade later, her twelve-year-old granddaughter Candice, an intelligent, endearing, and believable protagonist, is following the same arcane clues, hoping to uncover the Parker inheritance. Johnson's Westing Game–inspired tale is a tangled historical mystery, a satisfying multigenerational family story, and an exploration of race and racism.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(2) K-3 Kheiriyeh bases her entertaining, heartfelt story on memories of family outings to the beach. Narrator Rashin compares the (sex-segregated) beach in her birthplace of Iran to her new beach in Brooklyn; she especially misses her best friend and saffron ice cream. A sensory text evokes the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes experienced along the journey from each home to the beach. The textured oil and acrylic illustrations are bright and colorful, with context-setting touches.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(1) 4-6 In this highly entertaining, brilliantly plotted fantasy, orphaned ten-year-old Bronte must embark alone on a multi-kingdom visit to her many aunts, a trip minutely scripted by the terms of her parents' will. With storytelling aplomb, humor, imagination, and many twists and turns, readers will want to begin rereading this spellbinder just as soon as they finish it, to find all the clues and connections and coincidences Moriarty drops throughout.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 In an 1863 NYC roaming with dinosaurs, Magdalys, a Cuban girl from the Colored Orphan Asylum, narrowly escapes kidnapping by magistrate Richard Riker (based on a real kidnapper of black New Yorkers). Magdalys and her remaining friends find safety in Brooklyn's Dactyl Hill neighborhood, where they train for a courageous dactyl-back rescue of their fellow orphans. Real history is dressed in appealing fantasy in this new adventure series. Includes ample historical notes.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(3) YA Illustrated by Tara O'Connor. Seventeen-year-old Denise and her family return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to flip an old house into a bed and breakfast. Soon Denise learns the house is haunted by two ghosts, whose deaths may be connected to a comic book Denise finds abandoned in her attic. That comic (illustrated in sharp monochromatic blue) is interspersed between chapters of this engaging, atmospheric paranormal mystery.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) K-3 While the other stinkbugs conjure "dead fish," "dog doo," and "Limburger cheese," Bud releases only pleasant aromas, much to his dismay. Thanks to a bee friend who confuses him for a flower, Bud ultimately finds "his thing" at The Hive discotheque: dancing. Readers will find both humor and heart in this offbeat tribute to embracing your gifts. Rash's exuberant illustrations feature bold colors and lines.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) 4-6 Rogan Webber, twelve, spends most of his life in Virtual City, gaming his way to the top five in Laser Viper. Invited to compete in an exclusive, high-stakes gaming competition at the creator's cushy headquarters, Rogan eagerly agrees, but the young competitors soon realize the game feels alarmingly real. Video gamers especially will love this thrilling, high-tech adventure.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(2) YA With these twenty-five works of beguiling short fiction set in other realities, Tan explores the tenuous relationship between humans and animals within urban landscapes. Most stories are three to five pages of evocative prose capped by an illustration in Tan's uniquely earthy and luminescent color palette. The connotations behind individual tales range from fairly overt to rather oblique; regardless, Tan's painterly illustrations consistently enhance each narrative.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018