(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Smart. This book opens at a suspenseful point in its subject's story: "Even with war raging around them [in 1995], the people of Sarajevo were worrying about a book." The text then flashes back and gives the history of a hand-painted, hand-lettered Haggadah (guide for the Passover seder) given as a wedding gift in Spain around 1350 and passed from generation to generation and place to place. It survived the Spanish Inquisition...and scribbles and wine spills...before being sold to the National Museum in Sarajevo in 1894. Strauss spotlights the ways the rare Haggadah became "everybody's treasure"; e.g., a Muslim curator and a Catholic museum director each had a hand in protecting it from the Nazis. Her accessible text clearly explains key moments in the book's sweeping history. Smart's illustrations portray these moments with varied compositions and perspectives, keeping pages turning. In addition to depictions of the Haggadah itself, occasional borders nod at its intricate design. Source notes or other more extensive back matter (beyond the brief author's note) would have enhanced this title, but it serves as an engaging introduction to a volume with a remarkable history.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) YA After escaping war-torn Kosovo, Cris and his family must start over in Canada. He's the weird new kid until bossy Elle scoops him up; years later, when a therapist asks him to journal about his life, all Cris can write about is his and Elle's falling out. This confessional diary-style story sets the pain of coming of age against the lingering, often invisible impacts of war trauma

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kristy Caldwell. In this thought-provoking story, fictional boy Drasko experiences the restorative power of small acts of kindness and hope: real-life cellist Vedran Smailović honors the twenty-two victims of a 1992 Sarajevo mortar attack by playing at the attack site the following twenty-two days. Gray-toned art using ink, charcoal, pencil, and Photoshop finds beauty in a war-ravaged place. Notes, music, and an audio CD included.

Reviewer: Debora Pearson