(1) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. Cold sleet is falling, and the protagonist of this home-and-back-again adventure tale, Alice, is stuck inside, bored. Then she spots a book on the floor and starts to read: "Once upon a time, there was a girl... She went to a place alive with colors, where even the morning dew was warm." "That sounds like our home," says one of the book's characters (a flamingo), who invites the child into the book. She climbs in and spends time with the animal characters. When it starts to rain, she wishes to be elsewhere, and the camels in the desert on the next spread of the book (one she's both inhabiting and holding in her hands) invite her to join them: "Turn the page and come in." And so it goes, the girl on a thrilling journey of the imagination, swimming through a coral reef, floating in space, and much more. At home, Alice has a plush rabbit and rabbit-shaped slippers, but a real (and vigilant) rabbit accompanies her on her journey; readers can seek-and-find it on every spread. The text builds patterns and a pleasing rhythm with repeating sentence structures; children will delight in anticipating what comes next. Lin's lush full-bleed spreads invite readers to take the journey with Alice, whose dress changes color in each environment, making her blend into every one of the worlds. That Alice is an Asian girl says much about the authors' wishes for all children to see themselves in the books they read--in this case, quite literally.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Grace Lin. Roosevelt's clear, inviting introduction to basic civics, from the operations of local governments to federal checks and balances, is presented with Markel's updates to reflect events since the 1932 original as well as changing sensibilities. Lin's illustrations include black-and-white spot art and color-saturated full-page pictures, often with labels, making this volume an accessible guide for young future voters. Reading list, timeline, websites.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. The authors introduce young readers to the four seasons, combining haiku ("A lacy curtain / Has been drawn on the window / By the frost artist") with scientific questions ("Why is there frost on the window?") and answers, some of which may require more explanation. The clean design and gouache illustrations nicely reflect the changing palette of each season. Glos.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) PS Illustrated by Grace Lin. This rhyming book counts to ten, highlighting items or activities related to Chinese culture. "One is a drummer / One is a race / One is a dragon boat / that wins first place!" An endnote explains such terms as mahjong and dim sum. Lin makes good use of colorful patterns in her gouache illustrations, which feature a multiethnic cast of characters.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) PS Illustrated by Grace Lin. It's hard for kids to share, especially when odd numbers of things are being divided, as two animal friends trying to divvy up cookies and toy cars find out. Following some realistic squabbling relayed in the sparest of rhyming texts, Mom is called in and the friends realize that sharing is better than having nothing. The scenario is depicted in brightly patterned illustrations that add to the book's overall appeal.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. The story about brothers with unusual abilities is recast with seven sisters who have less quirky but equally useful talents--e.g., speaking to dogs and riding scooters as "fast as the wind." When a hungry dragon kidnaps Seventh Sister, the girls race to her rescue. The tale's humor is played up in both text (apparently dog language can pass for dragon) and illustrations (the dragon looks woefully skinny).

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. To Yenyee, the Pacific Ocean capriciously changes people's lives. In China, her fisherman father is lost in a storm, despite her tossing in her beloved jade necklace as an offering. After immigrating to Canada alone, she saves a drowning friend, and the sea returns the pendant and indirectly reunites her with her mother and brother. The story is told with lyrical symbolism and complemented by folkloric illustrations.

Reviewer:

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. Once you get past the silly premise of a New York bagel popping into the mind of a Korean boy in an ageless rural village, this slight story proceeds with the rhythm of a traditional tale in which a farmer, a fisherman, a beekeeper, and a baker all help Yum Yung to make a perfect bagel. The flat gouache paintings are in keeping with the folk style.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. In a gentle concept book, a Chinese-American girl identifies various colorful objects in her world. Many of the objects, including lychees, a bottle gourd, and chopsticks, are distinctly Chinese, while others are not. The lush gouache paintings are rendered in deep, bold hues, and unfamiliar terms in the rhyming text are defined in a short glossary.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. "Square is the box / that pizza comes in / And dim sum / made by Mrs. Chin." In a somewhat awkward rhyming text, a young girl names objects that are different shapes; the items are an authentic mix of ones related to her Chinese-American heritage and others that are not. Highly patterned, richly colored paintings vividly convey the narrator's family and neighborhood.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander