(2) K-3 Illustrated by Lars Kenseth. The words "go boldly" are boldly recontextualized in this newest addition to the ever-growing collection of poop-focused nonfiction titles for kids. This truncated history of American space exploration specifically focuses on the challenges (both new and old) of defecating in zero gravity, along with the argument that the easier it is for astronauts to poop, the healthier and more comfortable (and effective) they will be. Real-life complications such as limited privacy, adhesive poop bags, and frozen storage tanks (which caused frozen feces to "come back up the tubes") are delivered through a combination of conversational text and irreverent cartoon imagery. Innovations, largely fueled by the Apollo program's need for astronauts to spend extended periods of time in space, eventually led to the invention of the game-changing space toilet (depicted in diagram form). Looking toward the future, NASA's 2016 Space Poop Challenge sought out inventors with designs for "a better way to poop in space." A doctor from Texas won first prize, although the book refrains from describing how the wearable device (composed of tubes, bags, and screw-on caps) functions. Recurring caption boxes provide supplementary facts, including launch dates, mission objectives, and the number of bathrooms per spacecraft. The colorful illustrations effectively shift between playful and expository, mimicking the tone-shifts in the text while handling the potentially unsavory subject matter with relative discretion. Back matter includes sources along with "More Poop Fun Facts (and Beyond!)."

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Claudia McGehee. Various animals adapt to live through winter in this atmospheric counting book that honors the snow and cold. Metaphorically, a red fox stalks winter, three snowshoe hares track it, and eight sled dogs race it. The smooth, steady rhythm of Carlstrom's poetic writing makes this inviting book well suited for a read-aloud, while McGehee's dynamic scratchboard and watercolor illustrations, primarily in shades of blue, white, and black, add texture. Profiles of all the animals featured and notes from the author and illustrator are appended.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(1) YA Miles Abernathy lives in a struggling West Virginia town in 2017. Power is monopolized by the Davieses, the family of the sheriff and the Abernathys' mortal enemies in a blood feud that began with the murder of Miles's great-great-grandfather, who dared to challenge the corrupt ruling class. Tired of the Davieses' ruthless pursuit of dominance and control, Miles tries to undermine the sheriff but is wholly unprepared for the chain of events one small act of defiance sets off. White (The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, rev. 11/23) crafts a high-stakes thriller that is atmospheric and suspenseful -- with a touch of the supernatural -- while also nuanced and incisive in its exploration of violence (at times extreme and graphically depicted) and its impact on individual and collective psyches. The story raises and addresses questions of power, agency, and complicity through an intimate first-person narrative of a teen who feels the injustice of the world on a deep and personal level and must decide how far he is willing to go to change his situation. Miles also experiences the trials and tribulations of coming out as trans in a small town, realizing that he is autistic, and questioning his romantic orientation. These elements are well integrated into the story and coincide with developments in the thriller plotline, making for a multilayered, engrossing read.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) YA Alienated from his alternate Victorian London's society by behaviors and sensitivities common to people with autism, Silas is nonetheless valued for his eyes. Their violet color allows the possessor to reach through the Veil and converse with the dead--but only if you're male; violet-eyed females are valued only as breeding stock, and Silas was assigned female at birth. Self-taught in surgical techniques, Silas morbidly dreams of using his knowledge to excise his own womb, but when an attempt to gain the independence to live as his true self goes wrong, he's sent to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanitorium. It's a place where "girls like you" are cured of "the Veil sickness"--and true peril awaits. Can Silas discover why the students are disappearing? The protagonist's travails are coming from so many different directions that readers' sympathies are fully engaged. Secondary characters are rounded as well, creating intriguing dynamics. A well-sustained body horror suffuses the book with tension, and (as an opening note warns) the "transphobia, ableism, graphic violence, sexual assault, discussions of forced pregnancy and miscarriage, mentions of suicidal ideation, and extensive medical gore" can be a lot to take. But readers who are up for it will follow Silas's exploits in horrified fascination and (potentially) delightfully sick dread. A closing note places this fantasy's use of medical experimentation in real historical context.

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

(1) PS Illustrated by Felicita Sala. "Gentle the evening. Sweeping the skies. / Dark the shadows as twilight arrives. / Rose the horizon, gleaming and bright. / Twilight and evening and dark on light." The author-illustrator team behind Green on Green (rev. 5/20) returns with another paean to benevolent nature. As the sun sets on a house surrounded by idyllic countryside, three children head outside into the deepening night--passing deer, smelling lavender, catching sight of an owl in flight--all the while (as observant viewers will have noted) searching for their errant dog. Happily reunited, all return home to be greeted by two loving adults who wrap them in warmth, read them stories, and tuck them in for the night. The text consists of a series of lyrical quatrains, almost mesmerizing in their effect, the last line of each always incorporating two words from the previous lines plus "and dark on light." Sala has outdone herself here, with her glorious watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil art lending both structure (the quest story) and atmosphere. Double-page spreads begin with apricots and roses and then deepen into dark blues and purples, with the white of the moonlight, the children's flashlight, and the silvered trees and the warm tones of the children's clothing providing contrast. An exemplary, revelatory bedtime book.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(1) PS Illustrated by Felicita Sala. Do we need another picture book about the seasons? When it's this good, the answer is an emphatic yes. White's text is written in eminently readable verse that employs repetition, spot-on cadence, slant rhymes grounded in assonance, and inventive word choices. Early lines about summertime are representative: "Lemonade petals. / Sunflakes between. / Lemonade, sunflakes, and yellow on green." Meanwhile, Sala's art provides all narrative content, interpreting the poetic text with lush illustrations that follow a family--a child and two parents (all dark-skinned and blue-eyed)--through the seasons in their rural coastal community. One marker of the passage of time is the mother's growing belly. Another is Sala's shifting palette to visually depict the changing seasons: green dominates early scenes set in spring; then summertime blue skies and ocean waters take hold; followed by warm autumnal golds and browns; then snowy winter whites. (Endpapers feature portraits of the same tree in four different seasons.) Green returns again in closing pages, which also introduce a new baby into the family. Cozy and calming, familiar and fresh, Green on Green is great.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(3) 4-6 Fighting for Justice series. Illustrated by Laura Freeman. Enslaved midwife and herbalist Biddy Mason was brought to California in 1851 by her masters; she later sued for her freedom, bought land, and became a community leader. Illustrated free-verse poems (with some fictionalized elements) alternate with factual chapters documenting Mason's life, historical context, and the early Los Angeles African American community. Stylized illustrations accompany the verse; archival images appear throughout. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Illustrated by Robin Page. Large cheerful images rendered in Photoshop accompany a text centered on the question: which animal eats which color? Bunnies eat orange, and so do pigs, but not gorillas--"They eat... / green." Once they get the hang of things, young readers should be eager to turn the pages to see who's munching what next. A final spread about humans eating "a rainbow" brings it all to a colorful conclusion. More about animal diets is appended.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) PS Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman. In snappy rhyme and minimum words, White describes various youngsters experiencing transitions (including going from trike to two-wheeler and learning to swim) as they grow: "Loop the laces. / Knot the bows. / So long, / Velcro-covered toes." In the satisfying ending, all the children come together on the first day of school. The digital illustrations are appropriately childlike and reassuringly bold and cheerful.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 4-6 Alex, a boy imprisoned by a witch named Natacha, must tell her a spine-tingling tale every night. Alex's journals--his "nightbooks"--are full of spooky stories he's written, but when his material runs thin, he becomes more desperate to escape and starts planning to with fellow prisoner Yasmin. Themes of writing and storytelling, friendship, and self-acceptance are woven throughout this satisfying modern twist on Arabian Nights.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(1) YA In this electrifying re-visioning of Shelley's classic horror tale, Victor Frankenstein considers helpmate Elizabeth his property, and obsesses over the re-animation of body parts to achieve his ultimate goal of keeping Elizabeth and himself alive forever. The crisp, clean prose has a definite Gothic flavor; captivated readers will avidly plumb this novel's "dark and hellish" depths in the company of the complicated and compelling narrator/protagonist Elizabeth Frankenstein.

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

(3) YA Lada (And I Darken; Now I Rise) has finally claimed the Wallachian throne. Now she must defend her crown and her country's borders from threats of all kinds, including the good intentions of her brother, Radu. With the series' hallmarks--a fifteenth-century setting evoked with copious historical and sensory detail and two diametrically opposed yet equally compelling protagonists--in full force, this volume brings the saga to a satisfying close.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) YA High-school baseball phenom Jill Cafferty makes history as the first female Major League player when she signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But it's not going to be easy, as she faces a lot of abuse: fans tossing tampons onto the field, a teammate urinating in her locker, etc. Baseball fans will enjoy following Jill toward a surer sense of herself and her skills.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(4) 4-6 Thickety series. Illustrated by Andrea Offermann. Kara struggles with whether or not to trust an old foe and Taff makes a terrible sacrifice as the two siblings race Rygoth to find Princess Evangeline's lost grimoire. The magical rules of White's world adapt conveniently to the needs of the heroes, but this fourth and final installment will please fans with its fast-paced action, new obstacles, and glimpses of characters from past volumes.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) PS Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. To test into the Tickle Squad, a mouse must tickle a series of large, often dangerous animals as two other mice in lab coats observe and comment on his performance; bland cartoony illustrations depict the giddy results of each tickle session. The endpapers, displaying handwritten formulas on graph paper, help set up the faux-scientific premise for this one-joke story in rhyme.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Karl Kwasny. One stepmother works hard to keep all her stepchildren safe as danger spreads across the kingdom in this mock-horror-themed collection of fractured fairy tales. White's satirical omniscient narrator keeps the tone light as familiar characters' stories are upended (e.g., Snow White is a vampire, Cinderella is an arsonist). Nursery-rhyme parodies introduce each chapter, while black-and-white spot illustrations reinforce the narrative.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) YA Warrior Lada Dracul (And I Darken) sets out to take the Wallachian throne; her brother Radu stays behind and serves young sultan Mehmed as a spy in Constantinople. Both examine their shifting loyalties and secret motivations as they commit terrible acts in the name of a greater good. Love in many forms brings the siblings pain as well as grace in this evocative historical epic. Glos.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum. Anne and her fellow adventurers-in-training at Saint Lupin's Quest Academy, Penelope and Hiro, are just back from their first quest (The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes) when they must set out again, this time to slay the dragon queen. Although there's plenty of humor, plot twists, and nonstop action, at times it all feels rushed. The ending promises another installment.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Shivers! series. Illustrated by Anthony Holden. In book two, scaredy-cat boy pirate Shivers's ship is seized by Mayor President until Shivers can bring her the elusive Treasure Torch. With bestie Margo and fish Albee, Shivers embarks on an epic adventure that includes a hotdog-eating contest, a Frank convention, and, of course, traversing the seas. Readers will love Shivers's sweet disposition, fierce loyalty, and unlikely heroism. Slapstick illustrations add humor.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) 4-6 Thickety series. Illustrated by Andrea Offermann. In book three, Kara and Taff journey toward the Well of Witches to find Grace and rescue their father. As the siblings encounter new dangers, Kara prepares for threats ahead and tries to protect another young witch, Safi, from corruption. Newcomers will be lost, but series fans will enjoy this installment in Kara's quest (and hints at what's to come).

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac