(3) K-3 Illustrated by Krystal Quiles. This picture book follows a day in the life of a churro vendor in New York City, as narrated by her young daughter. Pastel-hued gouache and acrylic illustrations sprinkled with small starbursts highlight the sweet and beautiful aspects of this career, but the text does not over-glamorize, mentioning Mamá’s soreness and the anxieties the family feels about selling enough churros. The book ends in happy, delicious collaboration with a fellow vendor. Concurrently published in Spanish as El carrito de churros.

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(2) K-3 Illustrated by Aly McKnight. A young girl and her family eagerly prepare for and take part in the Jingle Dress dance, an Anishinaabe tradition established during the 1918 1919 influenza pandemic. Havrelock's (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) straightforward text incorporates vivid sensory imagery ("buckles shine, beads glimmer"; "Mom's warm fingers slide through my hair") and realistic details ("Everyone gets a big shot of hair spray!"), and evokes both the contemporary and the traditional while capturing the narrator's excitement. McKnight's (Shoshone-Bannock) colorful watercolor and graphite illustrations focus on the family and the regalia, and include such details as the different colors of black in a girl's braids; the variety of Indigenous people's hair colors and textures; the jingles on dresses that sway so convincingly you can almost hear them; and a red handprint covering the mouth of a woman watching the dance, signifying her solidarity with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. Back matter gives more information about this century-old ritual of healing and thanks, including its significance in the wake of COVID-19 with its devastating effect on Native communities. A moving portrayal of how Jingle Dress dancers "dance for those who can't."

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(3) PS In this slice-of-life picture book, a child narrates a typical day, including playful moments (dropping stones through a grate) and times calling for patience (needing to finish an apple before eating sweets). The stream-of-consciousness text, interspersed with sound effects and words from a caregiver, is reminiscent of Ruth Krauss’s work and should make an appealing read-aloud. Ink-and-watercolor illustrations in a bright, bold palette are eye-catching.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) K-3 Illustrated by AG Ford. A singsong first-person rhyming text accompanies warm watercolor-and-ink illustrations of pairs of fathers and sons as they enjoy knitting, cooking, and gardening together and navigate minor conflicts (a broken lamp, a skinned knee). A welcome positive portrayal of men relating sensitively and modeling activities beyond the traditionally masculine.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani. Since starting at her new school, Ameena has felt invisible and alone. “Was it the twists in her hair? Her brown skin? No one else in class had twists and brownness.” Now there’s another new girl, Sundus, who seems similarly lonely. She’s Muslim (and wears a hijab), like Ameena (who wears a hijab to masjid), but that doesn’t make them automatic friends. Realistic-sounding text and textured illustrations, which look rendered in colored pencils and pastels, depict authentic childlike encounters and emotions, leading to a rewardingly earned friendship.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) PS An inviting introduction to English and Spanish color names and Mexican/Mexican American celebrations. Each bilingual spread in this board book highlights an item of a different color (“enchiladas rojas,” “blue shawl,” “sombreros negros”) typically found at a fiesta, followed by a cheerful scene of the item in use. The text culminates with “¡Una fiesta de colores! // A festival of colors!” featuring everyone and everything from the preceding pages.

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(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amy June Bates. This slowly unfolding picture-book biography begins by setting the scene: the environment of hate during the Holocaust and why it was necessary for many Jews to hide their true identities. The book introduces a toy duck that was used to conceal false papers; then its bearer, teenaged French Resistance member Jacqueline Gauthier; and finally Gauthier's real name, Judith Geller, and the fact that she was Jewish herself. Boxer's short lines of text summarize Geller's work, dramatizing one close encounter with a Nazi soldier and her persistence after that narrow escape. Bates's atmospheric watercolor and gouache paintings emphasizing black and muted red tones propel the scenes with varied, inventive compositions. Though the book conveys a sense of the danger for Jews and thus the urgency of Geller's work, the story was pieced together from relatively little information, as notes from the author and illustrator explain, and might work best as part of a larger lesson on the Holocaust. Back matter also includes a bibliography.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA Colors by Sarah Davidson. After an embarrassing mishap on social media, almost-fourteen-year-old Aria unplugs for the summer. She visits Nainai, her Taiwanese grandmother, in San Francisco, to help run her boba shop. When Bao, the cafe cat, gives birth to eight kittens, Aria attracts more customers by rebranding the shop as a boba cat cafe. But there are mysteries that she can't make sense of: prairie dogs hang out in the shop's back lot, Nainai gets strangely upset when the cafe fails to close on time, and the shop's kitchen is strictly off limits. Aria eventually learns that for nearly forty years her grandmother has been staving off an underground monster that rocks the city, triggering huge earthquakes unless it is fed -- and she decides to help free Nainai from this burden. Chanani's (Pashmina, rev. 1/18; Jukebox) inventive graphic novel, featuring an endearing granddaughter-grandmother relationship, explores themes of healing, making new friends, taking personal responsibility, and communicating across generations. The illustrations feature plenty of warmth and cartoonish cuteness. Scene-setting depictions of San Francisco highlight iconic sites, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts; images of bakeries, eateries, and small shops in residential neighborhoods create a vibrant sense of community.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) 4-6 This verse novel follows sixth grader Noah as he processes his grief over the death of his best friend, Lewis, in a car accident. The two were connected by things the world didn't necessarily understand: a shared interest in the elusive cryptid Mothman and their own gender identities. Known to their families and friends by their assigned genders and birth names, the friends had shared their true identities as boys only with each other, making the loss even more heartbreaking for Noah. To honor Lewis's memory, Noah (whose autism spectrum disorder is naturally incorporated) decides to dedicate his science fair project to proving Mothman's existence. Through letters to Mothman, written in a journal that he leaves at the edge of the woods, Noah finds the companionship he is desperate for, which eventually leads to his bravely seeking out new friendships. Gow draws poignant comparisons between the misunderstood Mothman and Noah's burgeoning understanding of his queerness. "I think monsters are here / to make people like me feel less alone." Noah's journey through grief and coming out to the world is authentically messy and joyful.

Reviewer: Hill Saxton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA In a magical land where anger grows like an egg inside certain people until it bursts into a destructive curse, quick-tempered Kellen has a special talent: through persistent sleuthing and his own lively intuition, he can "unravel" the anger and undo the curse. Nettle, who was a heron before Kellen unraveled her stepmother's curse and restored her humanity, is Kellen's opposite, reserved to a fault and inclined to think twice before acting. The teens are bailed out of jail by dangerous-seeming marsh horseman Gall, which sets off a cascade of adventures. Gall's employer wants them to investigate the Red Hospital where cursers are held captive; when they find that one of the cursers has been replaced by an innocent person, it's off to the spirit-infested Wilds to follow one clue after another. As revelation builds upon revelation, Kellen and Nettle are drawn in both by their own curiosity and by what appears to be a conspiracy: someone is gathering cursers and turning their spite against political targets, and Gall's shadowy employer seems to be in their crosshairs. Hardinge (A Skinful of Shadows, rev. 1/18; Deeplight, rev. 3/20) creates a top-notch fantasy with a fresh setting populated by original monsters (Bookbearers, Gladelords, Dancing Stars) and the feel of old folktales. But it's Kellen's wild charisma and Nettle's extreme interiority that will beguile readers, even as the tale's air of mystery continuously deepens.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Juliana Perdomo. Ramón and his not-so-mythical friend El Cucuy are back for “Nochebuena, the final day of Las Posadas.” With an eye-catching backdrop of cut paper–inspired digital illustrations, Ramón explains the Navidad tradition to El Cucuy and how they will invite the revelers into their family’s house as the last stop. After Ramón reassures him that “por supuesto” he is a part of their family, El Cucuy, in turn, teaches the traditions to Ramón’s snowman, whom he had previously dismissed as “not real.” Continuing the themes of welcoming and belonging from ­El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! (rev. 7/21), this is an enjoyable addition to the quirky series. Author and illustrator notes give more information on Las Posadas and related celebrations.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Sakika Kikuchi. Every morning, Milo and his mom go for the same walk, "but what they see is never the same." It's not just seeing, either -- they use all their senses. When they come across a rain puddle, Milo squats down, sees himself, then touches his hand's wet reflection. Next, they hear some busy bees and smell some yellow flowers. They see a plane's contrail in the sky and hear a woodpecker in a tree. When they reach a bench, both mother and son make some art, mom using watercolor and Milo using crayons to depict a tree in the park. Milo thinks the tree looks sad and gives it a goodbye hug, whispering, "I will see you tomorrow and you will be happy." On the walk home, a friendly neighborhood dog ("full of slobber and good intentions") licks Milo's cheek, making him laugh. At home, Milo's mother writes down the story he tells her about their walk -- a nice way to recap the book' s events. While never using the term the five senses, Howe's text naturally introduces them in affable, authentic-sounding dialogue and narration. Softly outlined in pencil, Kikuchi's cheerful watercolors feature soothing pastel-toned yellows, blues, greens, and pinks. This outing contains just the right amount of detail to prompt audiences to make their own outdoor observations.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Cleanly designed double-page spreads feature large-size type on the left and simply composed cut-paper and digital illustrations (resembling a child’s craft project) on the right. À la Tullet’s innovative, interactive picture book Press Here (rev. 7/11), listeners are instructed to tap a fir tree composed of overlapping green triangles “to add some lights.” A page-turn shows those lights on the tree. Clap to turn the lights on, knock twice to add ornaments, and so on. Garland, candy canes, and a star tree-topper complete the effect. “Turn the page to turn out the light.” This offering captures the fun of tree decorating.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 Preceding the title page, four double-page spreads take readers back to the Stone Age when Paleolithic hominins first began domesticating dogs. From there, Judge (The Wisdom of Trees, rev. 7/21) traces the symbiotic relationship between humans and canines, showing how dogs have been helpers, healers, partners, and even fashion accessories through the centuries. In turn, humans have provided dogs with shelter, food, and companionship. Judge includes interesting tangential information to expand her narrative, such as noting that dogs are the only animals innately able to look where a human points. Best of all, though, she frequently shares her information sources, citing archaeological evidence within the text. For example, she notes artifacts and carvings from ancient canine burial sites that indicate the early importance of family dogs. These lovable "face-licking, sandwich-snatching family members" appear to share with humans the "love hormone" oxytocin, joyously displayed here in many of the expressive gouache and watercolor illustrations. Judge does not ignore other canine contributions, featuring, for instance, a moving portrait of a battlefield rescue dog and an expanded discussion of service dogs. Back matter includes an informative author's note, illustrations of various breeds and noteworthy dogs throughout history, a timeline, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA When Sora, a Japanese-Caucasian (hafu) teenager, was eleven, a Fukushima-esque earthquake -- known in Japanese folklore as a catfish rolling beneath the islands -- fractured the land into zones where time slips faster or slower than it normally would. That day, Sora lost her mother and ojiichan (grandfather). Now, she sees her father lose his memory as he enters these time-twisted areas to conduct research. Sora feels aimless and alone. She recently graduated from high school and her close male friend and love interest is away at university. While conducting illegal tours of the zones, she meets researchers like her father (one of whom, Maya, might also become a love interest), who help Sora discover her ability to accurately assess the passage of time just by observing her world. If only understanding the people around her were as easy. With her past a traumatic blur, her present a constant source of stress with her father now missing, and her future disappointingly uncertain, Sora must conduct her own research and discover how she wants her time to unfurl. Told in clear yet pensive prose, Sora's story unfolds in pieces that flit forward and back in a disorienting and ambitious yet compelling narrative. Occasional visual motifs, appearing as chapter openers, feature seasonal elements -- waves, cherry blossoms, stones, leaves -- to complement the story's unstoppable passage of time.

Reviewer: J. Elizabeth Mills | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Abhi Alwar. "Summer is for cousins. Mom and Dad, two uncles, two aunties, Thatha and Pati, seven cousins. All of us are together." This energetic family's summer vacation, with a full schedule of daily activities, encapsulates the inevitable combination of ritual and change that permeates life. In a first-person narrative, Ravi explains how his whole extended family descends on a house near an ocean and a lake. From there, the story launches into a flurry of sandcastle building, swimming, hiking, and more. Ravi is eager for a replay of all the summers before, but his beloved oldest cousin now seems more grown-up, and Ravi worries that their relationship may have changed too. This concern is punctuated by the frustration that he can no longer find their mutual favorite ice-cream flavor. The summer starts and ends with ice cream, the circular story arc highlighting that despite growth and change, the best parts of old rituals can become new ones with a little effort. Active compositions in the warm, textured art glow with golds and purples, making the joys of summer palpable. The figures of the family, sometimes together and sometimes dispersed around the pages, are full of movement. This story, with its irresistible atmosphere, shows how to realize and share the delights of the season.

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

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell & Kristen Howdeshell. A red-haired child introduces the picture book's topic forcefully with a large word balloon before the title page: "What? YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANIMALS IN PANTS?!?" Twenty-three very short and funny poems cover a wide variety of animals and the many types of pants they might wear. For example, the "downward dog" wears yoga pants while the polar bears wear snow pants, of course. The poems are both silly and clever, as in "Deep Thoughts," where the speaker wonders, "If a snake yanked a sock to his face... / would we say 'pant' in that case?" The vibrant Photoshop illustrations are filled with textures and patterns, resembling a combination of collage and stamped art. The palette features orange, teal, yellow, and green, with lively postures and expressions on each of the dozens of animals' faces. A final poem goes on for four pages with animals waiting and waiting for the tailor who is working on their pants, concluding, "The good news? / He's fast for a sloth." At the end, the red-haired child is back hinting at a sequel: "What? YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANIMALS IN HATS?!?"

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Steph Littlebird. "Our ancestors say / Our hair is our memories. / Our source of strength." Lindstrom's (author of Caldecott winner We Are Water Protectors, rev. 7/20, and an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) authentic storytelling text explains the importance of hair--"Native/Indigenous peoples believe that hair holds strength and power"--and its connection to Mother Earth. An Indigenous girl is eager for her hair to grow. She tells us that her mom kept her own hair short because she was told as a child it was "too wild." Nokomis (her grandmother) had long hair, but it was cut off at the Indian boarding school she was forced to attend as a child. The text follows the girl as her hair grows longer and longer: "When Nimishoomis taught me / how to fish for the first time, / my hair was at my ears"; "When my baby brother was born, / my hair touched my shoulders." The intergenerational interaction of family highlights the idea many Indigenous families have that future generations can reclaim what was lost. The narrative's powerful ending brings this story to a satisfying, hopeful conclusion. Debut illustrator Littlebird (a member of Oregon's Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) captures the closeness of the family and the strength and determination of the protagonist in bright colors set against woodgrain-like backgrounds. Subtle visual cues in the characters' facial expressions enable viewers to distinguish emotions as well as depicting the beauty and honor long hair holds for Indigenous people. Appended with an author's note and a short glossary of Ojibwe words.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Nelson (Sitting Bull, rev. 11/15; Red Cloud, rev. 7/17) shares Indigenous traditions and practices involving tipis that continue in modern times. Young Clara comes to stay with her unci (­grandmother) and cousin Juniper, who live on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Over the course of an idyllic summer, the two girls learn about their history, particularly about the family tipi, a precious object that has been passed down through the generations and has profound significance for their family. The girls have lunch in the tipi; their unci braids their hair in the tipi; they even sleep in it overnight. Their unci adds the girls to the family's generational story by asking each granddaughter about her aspirations (Juniper wants to be a basketball player; Clara, a pilot) and then making their spirit paintings on the outside of the tipi. Nelson's vibrant illustrations are stylized to reflect Lakota ledger drawings. He effortlessly blends this art style into his realistic, authentic depictions of modern Lakota life. An extensive author's note provides more information about tipis from prehistory to the present and information about Nelson's own family. Also appended are a photo of a Lakota beaded dress (circa 1900) and tipis in use during the Standing Rock protest.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. Chef Edna Lewis (1916–2006) brought Southern cooking to the forefront of American cuisine. Growing up in Freetown, Virginia, a place founded by her grandfather and other formerly enslaved people, Edna helped Mama Daisy make meals. With fresh fish in spring, summer garden vegetables, sweet potatoes in fall, and biscuits year-round, Edna and her mother fed their family and community. When she was fifteen, Edna moved to New York, working odd jobs such as typing and answering phones to help support her family. Her work as a seamstress was what got her noticed, however, and she was soon designing and sewing clothes for celebrities. As her star rose in the social circles of New York, she began to host and cater parties using Mama Daisy's recipes, and her food became as famous as her dress designs. She eventually opened her own Manhattan restaurant, where socialites wondered which culinary school in Paris she'd attended. "Her Paris was Freetown, the flavors of home passed down from one generation to the next." Noel make s frequent use of fragmented sentences to punctuate the methodical effort of Edna's work ("Ironing. Cleaning. Cooking. Sending the money she earned back home"). Cabrera's vivid paintings are equally at home depicting the glamour of New York society and the closeness of Freetown's community. Appended with an author's note, additional resources, and a recipe for biscuits.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023