(3) K-3 In eighteenth-century France, "dreamer" Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and his more practical brother, Jacques-Etienne, used their complementary skills to invent and launch the first hot-air balloon. Playful digital paintings depict the invention's intricate details and capture the remarkable flight over verdant countryside and Louis XVI's Versailles. An attractive and informative introduction to these pioneers of flight. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) YA In this fourth story about the Honeycutts (Blue; Comfort; Aim), fourteen-year-old twins Ellie and Ida grow apart as the family struggles to cope with Daddy's post-war trauma. Alternating narratives (with the occasional free-verse entry) relate each sister's unique interests and progression on her own life path. The 1952 setting, with social tensions including the Korean War and the polio epidemic, makes a compelling backdrop to this coming-of-age story. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Survivor Diaries series. When twelve-year-old twins Ashley and Ryan are caught in an avalanche on a skiing trip in Wyoming's Grand Teton Mountains, Ashley's quick-thinking and instinctual decision-making help them survive. On a sixth-grade geocaching field trip in New Mexico, former best friends Jen and Martin must rely on each other when they're separated from their class during a dust storm. These well-paced and easy-to-read wilderness stories integrate real survival techniques; region-specific tips are also appended. Review covers these Survivor Diaries titles: Avalanche! and Dust Storm!.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Survivor Diaries series. When twelve-year-old twins Ashley and Ryan are caught in an avalanche on a skiing trip in Wyoming's Grand Teton Mountains, Ashley's quick-thinking and instinctual decision-making help them survive. On a sixth-grade geocaching field trip in New Mexico, former best friends Jen and Martin must rely on each other when they're separated from their class during a dust storm. These well-paced and easy-to-read wilderness stories integrate real survival techniques; region-specific tips are also appended. Review covers these Survivor Diaries titles: Avalanche! and Dust Storm!.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) 4-6 Guardians series. In this conclusion to the epic saga, Jack Frost--once an immortal Guardian named Nightlight, now a half-human residing on Earth in 1933--leads the Guardians in a final battle against the evil Pitch. However, readers must wade through various characters' lengthy backstories before they can engage with Jack's own origin story or the current conflict. As in previous books, copious black-and-white drawings enhance the creative world-building.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. This easy-reader biography covers Eliza's wealthy childhood and upbringing; her marriage to Alexander Hamilton and their lives during the American Revolution; the tragic deaths by duel of her son and husband; and her later life devoted to charity and education. Solid, succinct explanations and cartoonlike illustrations provide a basic understanding of the woman's standing in American history.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 With Hannah Long. A Russian orphan and double amputee adopted by an American family, Jessica Long became the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympics swim team. Jessica's first-person narrative recounts her incredible ascent to competitive-swimming success via chapters (each titled "The Moment I...") highlighting important anecdotes of both failure and triumph. An inspiring and intimate memoir filled with photographs of the athlete's early and present life.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 This well-researched biography features twenty-one trailblazing twentieth-century American women. They include pioneers of social justice (Ella Baker), science (Vera Rubin), business (Madam C. J. Walker), art (Isadora Duncan), and sports (Billie Jean King). Organized chronologically by birth year, the smartly designed layout includes sidebars, key quotations, and illustrations in McCully's signature style for each woman. A well-written explanation of Second Wave Feminism is appended. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Esmé Shapiro. In an imagined letter to her unborn great-granddaughter, Eliza recounts her life in parallel to her husband's role in the development of the U.S., while highlighting her own accomplishments as one of America's first female activists and philanthropists. Folk art–style mixed-media paintings capture the eighteenth-century era. Extensive endnotes fill in historical details and biographical facts excluded from the first-person, epistolary narrative. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Ana Albero. Fifty personalities across history and many disciplines are profiled in one-page summaries, organized by categories in a faux awards show recognizing creativity, bravery, etc. The selection includes well-known figures such as Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, and Malala Yousafzai, as well as lesser-known pioneers, including British slave and memoirist Olaudah Equiano, first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova, and Gurindji activist Vincent Lingiari. Cartoonlike portraits and vignettes accompany the sparse information.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rob Polivka. Russian-Jewish composer Irving Berlin immigrated to New York as a child and had a successful songwriting career, including penning the patriotic "God Bless America." This free-verse biography outlines Berlin's life but unfortunately reserves most details for a lengthy author's note. Nuchi cleverly incorporates sounds to express emotions and actions ("a boom-rah-rah song"), while Polivka's detailed illustrations capture early-to-mid-twentieth-century American scenes. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 The trajectory of the French fashion designer's life and successful career is outlined in a well-researched, highly readable biography. Rubin addresses the darker parts of Chanel's history--her childhood in an orphanage, her relationship with a Nazi intelligence officer--as well as her iconic industry "firsts," including women's suits and the little black dress. The elegantly designed volume includes plenty of photographs. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan