(3) 1-3 Big Words Small Stories series. Illustrated by T. L. McBeth. Six everyday-type vignettes feature a kid and pet who learn "big words" (including flabbergasted and irked) with help from the Sprinkle Fairy. It's pretty obvious that the spot-illustrated stories are written around the vocabulary words, but prompts from the texts will have kids trying out the new words, which are, yes, big as well as funny-sounding enough to keep their attention. Review covers these Big Words Small Stories titles: Smell the Daisies and Traveling Dustball.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 1-3 Big Words Small Stories series. Illustrated by T. L. McBeth. Six everyday-type vignettes feature a kid and pet who learn "big words" (including flabbergasted and irked) with help from the Sprinkle Fairy. It's pretty obvious that the spot-illustrated stories are written around the vocabulary words, but prompts from the texts will have kids trying out the new words, which are, yes, big as well as funny-sounding enough to keep their attention. Review covers these Big Words Small Stories titles: Smell the Daisies and Traveling Dustball.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(4) 4-6 Edmund is a changeling living with above-ground humans, swapped at birth with a human (known only as the Childe), who lives in the World Below as a fay prince. When the fay kingdom is invaded, Edmund and the Childe team up to save it. This standalone graphic novel's characters and lore could be more deeply developed, but interesting design elements bring both worlds to life.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tedd Arnold. Noodlehead brothers Mac and Mac are forced by their mother to go outside and learn something. They try their hands at fishing when they discover a rod but are bamboozled repeatedly (including by themselves). Over three humorous, comics-style chapters, the goofy yet lovable Noodleheads' ideas are as surprising as they are misguided. Authors' notes link each exploit to an original story source.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) YA Translated by Montana Kane. French artist Bagieu's brief vignettes of sequential comics art expose readers to brazen women of all fields, times, and places, both famous and little-known. Each entry gives just enough information about each heroine to know who she was and why she was important; many readers will dig deeper from here. Occasional humor makes even the most tragic stories approachable.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Besties Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega live on boring, isolated Wilnick SS. When Sanity's lab-grown three-headed kitten gets loose and functions on the space station stop working, the friends must find the kitten, the culprit, and a way to save their home. This graphic novel has sharp, limited-palette art, and its simple plot is elevated by charismatic protagonists and a creative sci-fi world.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Annemarie (from Brunetti's Wordplay) and her classmates are assigned to draw twelve things in sets; she and the others brainstorm with their parents how best to complete the assignment. A simple easy-reader text (leveled for "brand-new readers") and brightly colored comic-panel illustrations will help young children grasp this introduction to patterns and basic multiplication. Appended with tips for reading comics with kids.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Edison Beaker has his trusty flashlight to protect him from monsters, and he's going to need it when he and little sister Tesla stumble into the Underwhere, another world filled with monsters. This colorful graphic novel borrows heavily from Ghostbusters but features enough kid pleasing humor ("'He said underwear' giggle chortle") and a protagonist so charismatic that the familiar premise can be forgiven.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ben Costa. Following events in The Road to Epoli, undead-skeleton/bard Rickety Stitch and his sidekick, the Gelatinous Goo, continue their quest to discover Rickety Stitch's identity, this time venturing down the deadly Middle-Route Run. Vibrant colors, movement-filled panels, fantastical creatures, deadpan humor, and exuberant protagonists combine to create an entertaining adventure story in graphic-novel format.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) YA A young Canadian woman with a large nose enters a long-distance relationship with a plastic surgeon, who loves her for who she is. Adapted from Dorfman's time-lapse film of the same name, this graphic memoir for older readers has mature themes yet a refreshing picture-book simplicity to the text. A creatively minimalist art style adds depth to this story of self-acceptance.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Orbie. Pig Rosie loves only playing, sleeping, and eating until she sees a "small animal" (a child) on a bicycle and decides she wants to learn how to ride. Rosie does learn, eventually, and pedals off the farm (possibly to the moon). This cutely illustrated and simply paced picture book combines a folkloric feel with a story of determination, making it entertaining as well as useful for aspiring bicyclists.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. Dewey loves popping bubbles. One day, a bubble escapes him un-popped and the boy goes to humorously extraordinary lengths (and heights) in pursuit of it. This simple tall-tale theme, the repetition of the text, and the series of airborne vehicles Dewey boards on his popping quest should all appeal to young picture-book crowds. Rockefeller’s digital illustrations are cinematic and beautifully detailed.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) PS Illustrated by Chris Mould. When Prince Freddie learns about a dragon attack, he rushes to save the day...until he realizes he needs to pee. Each time he stops to relieve himself, he's interrupted by ogres, a princess in need, and other princely conundrums. The ridiculous plot, bathroom humor, and slapstick acrylic illustrations will have children in stitches, and repetition in the text works well for storytime.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 1-3 Color by Cat Caro. When Marmalade, an ambitious kitten architect, is rejected from designing the new mayor's manor because she's "too adorable," she and other fed-up, capable kitties form their own feline-run construction company in order to be taken seriously in a human-run world. Green's latest graphic novel for young readers contains simple, full-color panels; is tightly plotted; and offers an essential message, especially for little girls.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 1-3 Big Words Small Stories series. Illustrated by T. L. McBeth. In six everyday-type vignettes, strait-laced boy Cris and his goofy cat, Crat, learn "big words" (including discombobulated and bamboozled) with help from the Sprinkle Fairy. It's pretty obvious that the spot-illustrated stories are written around the vocabulary words, but prompts from the book itself will have kids trying out these new words, which are, yes, big as well as funny-sounding enough to keep their attention.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. In his latest easy reader, Rocket the dog befriends a butterfly, who soon flies into the forest. Rocket is afraid of the forest, but if the butterfly is brave enough to go inside, why can't Rocket be? Adorably rendered in Hills's soft colored-pencil and acrylic-paint illustrations, Rocket is a lovable example for this light-handed lesson on the importance of facing one's fears.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Miller. Reminiscent of Elephant & Piggie books in both comedic style and cartoon illustrations, an all-dialogue story centers on two very different animals, who learn (eventually) that not everyone is like them. The hilarious mix-up between a horse (a "very big dog," to Dog) and a dog (a "tiny baby horse," to Horse) stays fresh throughout the entire book.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(4) K-3 Translated by Anja Mannion. Illustrated by Timo Mänttäri. Young Olivia complains that her father spends too much time away as a professional spy. So he quits his job and takes Olivia on a vacation...all the while trailed by shady villains in the sharp, retro-style illustrations. Vibrant wordless sequences help to give the pages an action-packed, comic-book feel. The text, translated from the Finnish, contains some strange word choices.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) 4-6 Translated by Mara Faye Lethem. The Argentinian cartoonist's comic strips are turned into a book full of witty one-liners, reflective moments, and imaginary friends, set in a world that's fantastical but not entirely happy. There is no plot, only recurring characters--most notably Martin and his giant blue imaginary friend Olga, who helps Martin as he studies, eats vegetables, and plays (alone). Liniers's simple aesthetic is vitalized by beautiful but muted coloring.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) K-3 A little boy doesn't want to go to bed because he imagines all the amazing things that happen when he's asleep. The truth is even wackier than he imagined: the boy spies his parents partying and cracking jokes with his toy duck and other animals in boisterously illustrated scenes with speech bubbles. Mack leaves readers wondering what's real in this silly, energetic (and not for bedtime) book.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello