(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Fanny Liem. Ten-year-old Dottie's treehouse-construction plans are interrupted when Grandpa Walter shows up at the family's front door, a Chock full o'Nuts coffee can in tow. Mourning the recent loss of Dottie's grandma, Grandpa Walter now consoles himself by talking to her via the Chock full o'Nuts can. Soon both Grandpa and the can have taken up long-term residence in Dottie's room (and changed the wall color). Dottie endures this disruption bravely, trying to emulate her beloved grandmother, but the situation causes what already feels like a menagerie of animals inside her to grow (an alligator soon joined by a porcupine, an octopus, and a kangaroo). Dottie's friend Sam, with his extensive vocabulary, and their antagonist-turned-friend Miles are going through personal struggles too: Sam's mom is having a new baby, and Miles's parents are getting divorced. By joining forces, they each find their way by questioning ­everything, trying to create space for themselves (primarily through the ambitious treehouse project), and helping one another along--sometimes effectively and sometimes slightly less so. Dottie's realistic inner emotional journey contrasts well with her more whimsical day-to-day antics. Though centered in processing grief and change, the short, question-titled chapters filled with humor, quirkiness, and spot illustrations create a warm and buoyant story of family and friendship.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Francisco Fonseca. Domino, playing outdoors on a beautiful day, has a feeling of "not enough." His discontent leads him to build a tree house, where he lounges and snacks until discontent finds him again. So he builds a tree cottage, then a tree mansion on top of his tree house. Then a tree castle, then skyscraper. Nothing is quite satisfactory, so he builds structure upon structure until he reaches the moon. Fonseca's illustrations, with delicate lines and crosshatching, have a lovely handcrafted feel. The colors move from earthy greens and browns to brighter yellows and blues as Domino's structures become more whimsical and far-fetched. Double-page spreads angled from a vantage point above the action provide sweeping panoramas that show the heights Domino's unchecked ambition has reached, as well as his increasing isolation as his home, his town, and eventually Earth itself recedes and he reaches the moon, cold and dark. Realizing that "there was nothing on the moon but moon," he parachutes back to Earth, where he finds the contentment he was looking for in the cool grass and gentle breezes of his own backyard. Playful and thought-provoking in equal measure.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) K-3 Translated by Alyson Waters. Three children venture out for a day of imaginative play on the way to visit their fort. Dorléans (The Night Walk, rev. 5/21) centers nature in illustrations that overflow in springtime shades of sage green and sky blue, and her fine-lined work emphasizes each leaf and blade of grass. The children's conversation is rooted in the natural world as they experience it, too--naming sheep, brainstorming ways to improve their fort (if only their parents would let them take a saw!), and speculating on what would happen if they got lost ("'We'll have to make a campfire and sleep in the woods.' 'And eat grasshoppers, field mice, and mushrooms'"). Readers will notice the day slowly darkening and the wind picking up before the characters do, but even a passing (and perhaps exaggerated) windstorm becomes part of the escapade as the children huddle together and hold onto one another to stay upright. Dorléans demonstrates a keen eye and ear for the chatter and preoccupations of children left to their own devices, and her story shows respect for their independence, creativity, and resilience. This celebration of a day spent outdoors may inspire young readers to embark on their own explorations, and it serves to remind adults why unstructured time is so valuable.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 4-6 "Pool. Mall. Library." The summer after seventh grade was getting boring until Skylar persuades Abbi to do something different. The best friends ride bikes to the outskirts of town, where they find an old treehouse and claim it as their own private spot to observe the world. Soon they find a mystery happening right below them: every Thursday, two cars park under the tree. A woman wearing huge sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat exits her car and gets into a man's (they can hear his voice) SUV, which then drives off. One Thursday, however, the woman storms off into the woods after an argument in the SUV. The girls are intrigued but don't connect what they've witnessed to the report that their beloved art teacher is missing. The first half of the novel is deliberately paced, with hints and clues tantalizingly placed; by the time Abbi and Skylar realize what they've seen, readers will be a step ahead of them, witnessing their mistakes and bad decisions. Beyond the mystery is a compelling story of family, friends, bullies, and peer-group conformity. Hahn, who has made a long career of writing thrillers, once again demonstrates how engrossing a good story can be.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) K-3 Mip challenges Pip to a race to build the tallest treehouse. Impulsive Mip gets to work right away, while planner Pip drafts detailed blueprints. When things don't go as hoped, the two young fairies work together and discover the joys of teamwork. The mixed-media art has an immersive 3D quality that makes the fairies and their creations pop off the page.

Reviewer: Meredith Madyda

(3) 4-6 Introspective Joey discovers that a girl has built a treehouse (mistaken for a spaceship) on the hill he visits alone to play his guitar. He nicknames the girl "Marsh," short for Martian, and is baffled and fascinated by her. As the two forge a friendship based on music, Marsh's poignant backstory emerges. This well-crafted Australian novel explores the nuances of friendship and family.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jamey Christoph. Manhattan child Bob builds a treehouse in Central Park. When the city dismantles it, he builds another, and so on until as a man he's confronted by a park employee...who offers him a job caring for the trees. Inspired by true events, the story is placidly told, and the art gives the city an alluring serenity. Includes an epilogue about real arborist Bob Redman.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Douglas Holgate. In this entertaining fourth Last Kids on Earth book, Jack plans a makeshift Christmas celebration to cheer up his snowbound friends (and fellow monster-apocalypse survivors). But then a new human villainess kidnaps Jack's friend Dirk for a ritual sacrifice, and Jack and company must prevent her from summoning an evil extra-dimensional entity. Dynamic comic book–style illustrations featured throughout once again support the story's well-rounded characters, humor, and action.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Shawn Harris. "A citizen's not what you are--a citizen is what you do. / A citizen cannot forget the world is more than you." Harris's mixed-media illustrations roughly shape Eggers's rhyming text into a story about a diverse group of children working together to build an elaborate treehouse. Though the book may not solidify a reader's understanding of citizenship, it should spark discussion about it.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Terry Denton. Author-illustrator best friends Andy and Terry have an epic fight in 78-Story after Andy is fired from Treehouse: The Movie, but they reunite to stop "mooo-vie-making spy cows." In 91-Story, their publisher Mr. Big Nose asks them to babysit his three grandchildren while they're on deadline. Wacky humor and zany adventures abound in these sixth and seventh installments illustrated with engaging sketchlike cartoons. Review covers these titles: The 78-Story Treehouse and The 91-Story Treehouse.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Terry Denton. Author-illustrator best friends Andy and Terry have an epic fight in 78-Story after Andy is fired from Treehouse: The Movie, but they reunite to stop "mooo-vie-making spy cows." In 91-Story, their publisher Mr. Big Nose asks them to babysit his three grandchildren while they're on deadline. Wacky humor and zany adventures abound in these sixth and seventh installments illustrated with engaging sketchlike cartoons. Review covers these titles: The 78-Story Treehouse and The 91-Story Treehouse.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Emily Hughes. This story about building a treehouse is an adventure in imagination, with appealing, whimsical illustrations showing a multicultural cast of kid-builders. The text may puzzle some young readers and listeners with its layers of narration and overly poetical language. Still, the fantastical structures in Hughes's art, hand-drawn in graphite and with Photoshop, are awe-inspiring.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Qin Leng. Russell and his father build a simple tree fort in their new house's maple tree. While their neighbor's newly erected fort, fancy and customized, is objectively "better," the time Russell and his father spent together makes theirs more valuable. Leng captures the loving father-son relationship in a warm palette balanced with generous white space; Kerrin includes subtle moments of humor throughout the story.

Reviewer: Minh Lê | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. Ruby wants to build a fort. In true "Little Red Hen" fashion, her brothers won't help, so she learns how to do it herself. She enjoys solitary playtime in the completed fort until the boys finally get a clue. Maier's girl-power-meets-classic-folktale story line is engaging and entertaining. Sánchez's colorfully patterned and textured illustrations give dimension to a determined and endearing pigtailed heroine and her realistic multigenerational, multi-skin-toned family.

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

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Douglas Holgate. Monster-apocalypse survivor Jack worries he'll lose his friends forever if they successfully make radio contact with other humans. Determined to convince his pals to stay, Jack distracts them at an abandoned theme park, only to realize he's been mind-manipulated by the evil King Wretch. Comic book–style illustrations, action, humor, and well-developed characters combine for another entertaining Last Kids on Earth book.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. The Tooth Fairy asks for Pete's help (Lost Tooth); Pete invites his friends over to play in his new treehouse (Tip-Top). Levelheaded Pete keeps his trademark cool when a tooth can't be found and when his treehouse needs expanding for a party. The stories are slight, but series fans should enjoy the playful illustrations that complement these simple emergent-reader texts. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Pete the Cat and the Lost Tooth and Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(4) PS A puppy awakens to strange noises. Outside, a Dalmatian is at work in a digger; then comes a camel in a crane; and so on. Watching these big machines is exciting enough ("I love cranes!" exclaims the rapturous pup), but then a final spread reveals that the crew has built the puppy a treehouse. Dynamic illustrations and onomatopoeic vehicle sounds add appeal to the slight story.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Fred Koehler. A trio of kids sets off from a treehouse to explore a backyard with a flashlight. Digitally colored pencil drawings show the realistic elements of the backyard in the darker parts of the picture, while the beam of light emitted from the flashlight reveals all sorts of imaginative settings: a pirate ship; an Egyptian tomb. It's an old-fashioned, rip-roaring imaginary adventure.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2017

(2) PS Illustrated by Paola Zakimi. A little girl heads outside on a windy day with her yellow raincoat, umbrella, and lamb-like little dog. After waiting out a rain shower in a treehouse, she floats her open umbrella in a puddle, and then sets up a pretend tea party in a sandbox. This quiet picture book, with its spare, whimsical text and illustrations in muted colors, celebrates the joys of old-fashioned playtime.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(2) 4-6 Fifth grader Winnie Malladi-Maraj, exhausted by her competitive custody-sharing parents, moves into her treehouse. Nine classmates with their own family gripes join her, and the "Treehouse Ten" have an extremely good romp before communal kid-life eventually breaks down. The highly textured narrative--incorporating Post-it notes, texts, doodles, maps, and more--is a good-natured satire of helicopter parenting and a celebration of child ingenuity.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017