(2) K-3 The life of an oak tree is beautifully depicted in this engaging informational picture book. It begins with a simple yet profound concept: "A blue jay drops an acorn, and a tree's life begins." The narrative follows the acorn as it grows into a sapling, matures into a towering tree, and becomes a vital part of a forest ecosystem -- providing shelter, food, and resources to birds, insects, and mammals for more than two centuries. It produces acorns, but the text details reasons they don't necessarily grow into new oak trees. It also effectively depicts the effects of changes over time in the tree's environment, and of human development, as the forest gives way to a town. Cole's detailed, fine-lined pen-and-ink illustrations bring depth and life to the natural elements on each spread. With intricate layers, and endless details to pore over (find the camouflaged creatures!), the black-and-white art complements the minimal text, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature. The text strikes a balance between storytelling and information, educating readers about the oak tree's role in its ecosystem. The back matter provides helpful resources, such as steps to create an ecosystem and a diagram of forest habitat layers.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shelley Hampe. Canadian American artist Agnes Martin (1912-2004) loved the natural world, feeling complete when a part of it: "Today I feel happiness. Today I feel gratitude. Today I love the whole world." In her early years, she experimented with found objects, including beads, wood, and other discarded materials. Her perceived failures frustrated her, and she "put many into a bonfire." Martin's travels led her to draw more and more lines, weaving them together in patterns until they tightened into grids. Pink, blue, and shimmering gold, her gridded canvases did not receive from the outside world the same love she had put into them, and she pulled back into herself, away from the criticism and into solitude. After some time, a game of hopscotch outside her window opened her perspective about line and order, sending her into a newfound love for her own voice as an artist and the world that she painted. The page layout is spacious, its spareness making this picture book less a detailed account of Martin's life and more a reflection of a restrained approach to creative work. Back matter sheds a bit more light on the artist, her influence, and her legacy.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) PS Sharing yet another example of the intricacies of animal home construction (see Nesting, rev. 3/20), Cole introduces readers to the masters of the trade: beavers. A practiced storyteller, Cole employs an engaging refrain ("Building, building. That is what beavers do best") to emphasize this theme as he constructs a year in the life of one beaver family. During the last days of winter in a bleak wood--breathtakingly illustrated with fine ink lines, crosshatching, and a faint sky-blue wash--a male and female search for a place to build their lodge. They select a stream with ample willow and maple trees, and, busy as, well, beavers, they begin cutting the trees, sizing the limbs, lugging them into the water, and creating a dam. Readers see time pass, first as wisps of green leaves announce spring; but soon, as a pond forms, this spot of color spreads to the surrounding grass and trees. The beavers construct a lodge, snug enough for three newborn kits and sturdy enough to withstand a strong storm. As the year progresses, they continue building and repairing. A few rust-colored leaves appear; the beavers prepare for winter, retreating to their sheltered snow-covered home. Neighboring wildlife departs, all color disappears, and a hush settles over the now-barren land, bringing this wondrous account full circle. Appended with a brief author's note.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) K-3 Cole's skill in creating wordless picture books (see, for example, Nesting, rev. 3/20) shines in this engaging story about a boy and a dog that additionally introduces young readers to the structural complexity of dual points of view. Smartly allowing children to understand one thread before introducing another, Cole provides seven pages of front matter, which reveal an apartment for sale and a dog standing alone on the front stoop before finding shelter in a cardboard box. Following the title page, readers meet a young boy holding a bright red leash and clearly asking his two dads for a pet. But when his dads venture into his room, they find one big mess. Throughout the book, Cole creates numerous points for inference or discussion. Why is the dog alone? Why won't the boy's parents let him get a dog? Why does the boy help with chores and go on long walks every day carrying a leash? And why is that leash bright red, the only spot of color within black-and-white illustrations? The gentle pen-and-ink drawings depict the boy's initiative and his parents' pride, thus previewing the satisfying conclusion. Coming on the heels of two fine books about animal home construction (see also Building, rev. 7/22) Cole's latest explores an important but related question: what makes a house a home?

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) K-3 In this entertaining and cheery school story, readers are introduced to Principal Tate, a large white hen. A singsong-y rhyming text describes her positive traits--"Hardy School was first-rate / because Tate was so great"--from encouraging the students' efforts to overseeing fire drills to running meetings. But today, Principal Tate's uncharacteristic tardiness leads to temporary mayhem. Her absence is felt in a series of small incidents: hallway scuffles and name-calling break out; a new kid throws up; and various parents and school officials are impatiently lined up, waiting outside Principal Tate's office. As the school teeters on the brink of chaos, the Hardy crew springs into action. From the custodian who cleans up the mess to the art teacher who distracts the parents with a pottery project, everyone contributes, and order is restored. Soon thereafter, bus driver Mr. Morales truly saves the day: he "pulled up with no fuss...and with Tate on his bus!" Turns out car trouble was the culprit. Cole's watercolor and ink illustrations abound with expressive animals, comical situations, and familiar school settings. A lively and lighthearted tale, and a paean to community.

Reviewer: Emmie Stuart | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) K-3 This wordless story follows a family and a paper bag through the generations. A tree becomes a log that gets hauled to a paper mill, turned into a brown bag, boxed, and delivered to a market, where a parent and child acquire it. Only at this point does a bold double-page spread broadcast the book's title with cinematic flair. As time progresses, the child grows and the family expands, using the bag in myriad creative ways: as a lovingly packed lunch sack, as part of a night-light, as a holder for wedding-flower petals, and in a baby's mobile. When a bulky armchair sits empty, suggesting that the parent from the beginning of the story (now a grandparent) has passed away, the bag stores trinkets offering comfort and closure; finally, a seedling is grown in the tattered bag as the family uses it one last time to plant a new tree, continuing the cycle and signaling future promise. Inky crosshatched sketches are gentle and warm, with environmental motifs (on signage at the store, labels on products, etc.) adding atmosphere. A light wash of color spotlights the bag (or its materials) on each page, but the focus remains on the characters, positioning the family's experiences and relationships as paramount. In an author's note, Cole shares the childhood story that inspired the book and urges readers to ponder the "lives" behind their products and the value of reusing and recycling.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) PS Every spring, across North America, robins mate, build nests, lay eggs, and nurture their young. Cole illustrates this sequence of events with a pair of robins, employing gentle black-and-white crosshatching and one dramatic pop of color: the signature deep robin's-egg blue of the eggs, which is echoed in a soft wash in several scenes. Uncomplicated language describes the nesting process, while illustrations both mirror and extend the text. For example, a single page shows four distinct views of the female on her nest, indicating the passage of time. "She keeps the eggs warm. She is patient. Inside each egg, a baby bird is growing." On one double-page spread, twelve panels show both parents leaving the nest to search for food and returning with their bounty, reinforcing the consistency of the routine. Far from placid, the robins' lives are full of danger. A fierce storm and a predatory snake underscore the fragility of their lives and add drama to the otherwise quiet narrative. The solidly scientific account comes full circle as the baby birds learn to fly and begin to prepare for winter.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(3) K-3 I Like to Read series. A bunny, two mice, a bird, a squirrel, and an owl emerge from a hollow tree to enjoy a snow storm. When too much snow piles up ("Snow is heavy"), a branch breaks, causing the bird to fall into a deep drift. Oh, no! The cartoonlike illustrations show the other animals gathered around a bird-sized hole: "Friends try to help." An effective page turn resolves the tension as the bird pops out of the hole: "...birds can fly." Subtle details in the illustrations (the sky changes from pale morning colors to vibrant sunset orange and pink) extend the story and enhance the wintry atmosphere.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. If you remember this poem, you probably remember it as "Under the spreading chestnut tree," and indeed a chestnut it is. But an agreeable one, as here partnered with modest pencil-and-crayon illustrations by Karas, expanding (barely) upon Longfellow's words and placing the poem (gently) in our own time. We see a young ponytailed blacksmith--hardly the brawny-armed hero of the text, but looking sturdy enough--as he and his truck pick up scrap metal at the junkyard and take it back to his shop 'neath that legendary tree. Alongside Longfellow's "children coming home from school," we watch him forge, the fierce coal fire dramatically shooting orange-yellow sparks onto a palette of mainly subdued tones of gray, brown, and green. While there's a small visual through line about the smith fixing a fence for a neighbor, Karas does not attempt to impose a new story upon the poem and respects its saddest moment, when the blacksmith remembers his late wife, showing us the man with his children in church, gazing out the window at the graveyard. It's all in the poem. At one time "The Village Blacksmith" was a standard recitation piece among schoolchildren; try it out for storytime and see if Longfellow's sonorous, rolling verse can win today’s kids over. (I bet yes.)

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(2) K-3 When cat Spot notices a girl putting up "lost" posters, the cat dashes off in pursuit of missing dog Dot, and Spot's boy owner joins the girl in her endeavors. As in Spot, the Cat, wordless black-and-white cityscapes--filled to the brim with people, pets, vehicles, activity, life--ensue. All ends happily, with new friendships launched all around. A fresh and entertaining offering from a veteran picture-book creator.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 4-6 With Tonya Bolden. Beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation, African American scholar Gates documents the people and events that led to the end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction; the readable narrative then describes the debates, violence, and racism that ensued. Quotes from influential people along with black-and-white drawings and photos help tell the story of this overlooked period in history. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery

(3) YA Five years after their small Ohio town was devastated by a steel mill explosion, a group of teens united by loss and grief find something new to bond over when they witness strange lights in the sky and decide to investigate. The mystery's paranormal elements combine with narrator Franny's introspection to create a rich and rewarding page-turner fans of Stranger Things will devour.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(2) YA Isolated high-school junior Ellis deals with her severe anxiety by preparing for potential doomsday scenarios. She meets Hannah, who says that fate has brought them together for the end of the world. Ellis, a deeply religious Mormon, must find a way to believe that the world will continue--a type of faith more complex than believing in doomsday. A too-rare, well-rounded portrayal of a contemporary religious adolescent.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) 4-6 In her second adventure, Peasprout Chen is convinced there's a spy at Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword. Then the Empress Dowager announces Peasprout must herself be tried as a traitor. Luckily, Peasprout has good friends on her side--her brainy brother Cricket and talented martial artist twins Doi and Hisashi. The strikingly vivid setting is rife with coiling water-dragon threats, manga-esque school fads, and physics-defying skate flips.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(4) PS This book features friendly animal pals demonstrating kindness and manners. The message is strong and age appropriate, but some of the specifics may require adult explanation ("be an ally") or assistance ("take a selfie with friends"). The confusing narrative structure puts the text into three formats: declarative lessons ("Praise someone's work!"), explanatory verses, and dialogue. Cartoonish pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations show the lessons in action.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) PS It's all in perspective when it comes to size, as demonstrated in this clever book. The first page opens on a hugely magnified ladybug, labeled "Big bug." Our view pulls back so we see the now-little ladybug resting on a "big leaf," all part of an ever-widening rural scene. Minimal text and richly colored illustrations add to the fun in this successful board-book edition.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(3) 4-6 In the sequel to A Nest for Celeste, the eponymous mouse falls asleep in a wagon near her New Orleans home and ends up on another adventure. Celeste rides a steamboat, climbs trees with squirrels, swims with beavers, and helps a young Abe Lincoln. The accessible animal fantasy's comforting theme--that home is wherever you find happiness--is complemented by Cole's cozy pencil illustrations.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(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

(2) YA Atheist new-student Michael assumes St. Clare's will be full of "mindless Catholic sheep" but finds himself welcomed into Heretics Anonymous, a secret group for students whose beliefs don't align with the Catholic school's doctrine. The group begins taking subversive action at Michael's encouragement; eventually, Michael goes too far. This frequently hilarious story presents a thought-provoking look at faith, questioning but ultimately respectful of Catholicism and other beliefs.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(4) K-3 I Like to Read series. As boating elephant Mike naps, his pet fish jumps out of his fishbowl and into the ocean. Fish Pat enjoys the adventure until a shark arrives; "Pat needs help," which arrives in the form of Mike (who himself later needs help to resurface). Told in a combination of expressive paintings, simple sentences, and speech-bubble interjections, this rather unexciting story is nevertheless suitable as an easy reader.

Reviewer: Kari Allen