(1) PS Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. This spirited look at a range of mass transportation vehicles showcases some of the vital but less visible jobs involved in making them move. "Who makes buses rev and go / through detours, gridlock, storms, and snow? / Block by block, who smooths the journey -- / potholed, hilly, twisty, turn-y? / IT'S NOT JUST THE DRIVER!" The book goes on to celebrate the role of the mechanic who proactively inspects the bus for safety and keeps it running. Continuing in this pattern, the text and art feature the subway's signal maintainer as well as the operator, the train's ticket agent along with the engineer, the plane's air traffic controller in addition to the pilot, and more. Full of small, amusing details to notice, the bright digital illustrations clarify how a team of people works together to get a complex job done. The engaging pages are packed with vehicles, transportation workers, and passengers. The whirlwind of activity flows visually to demonstrate the efficacy of the busy system running smoothly. This distinctive transportation book with its chirpy, rhyming text appeals to a young vehicle-loving audience while capturing the complicated and often overlooked aspects involved in keeping systems moving. An author's note provides more for readers to consider, including several questions: e.g., "Would you like to work on a team that makes transportation go? Which important job would you choose?"

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(1) K-3 This lyrical picture book is a paean to the vastness of space and the human drive to explore. The Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977 and still traveling through the stars, narrates its own journey: "I rise up. I am above the clouds. I cross through the daylight." The book starts on Earth--"Since the dawn of time, we have raised our heads and wondered"--and then focuses on the journey as Voyager 2 passes one planet after another. Most pages contain just a few words or phrases, with the emphasis on Decalf's stunning digital illustrations. Broad expanses of black punctuated by countless stars give a sense of the enormousness of space. Color is used sparingly, with most of the images in shades of black, gray, silver, and white. The final spread asks readers to look into the vast night sky and think of Voyager 2, still "out there." The endnote describes NASA's plans for Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Living through a global pandemic has brought epidemiological thinking to the forefront of pop-science. Those who would like to learn about diseases (mostly) defeated by scientific discovery will be fascinated by this volume, which investigates the history of six deadly diseases that caused human suffering for centuries. Despite the serious subject matter, the book's tone, enhanced by the spot illustrations, is light, allowing readers to delve into the most harrowing descriptions of pain and suffering with enough distance to be more fascinated than horrified. Each chapter focuses on one disease and is preceded by a world map showing the plague's long reach. Sidebars throughout the main text provide anecdotes about the illness and the individuals who in one way or another contributed to our understanding of it. Each chapter ends with a section spotlighting some of the more famous victims of the disease. Endnotes include an extensive list of sources organized by chapter as well as a detailed index and "further reading for future medical historians," making this book well-suited for student research. Fans of Albee's Poison will feel right at home with this darkly comedic piece of nonfiction.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. Although the book offers a factual recounting of the Apollo 14 moon landing, its true focus is astronaut Alan Shepard Jr.'s personal experiment to find out how far a golf ball can travel on the low-gravity, atmosphere-less surface of the moon. The book starts with a wink as Shepard surreptitiously sneaks a sockful of golf balls into the pocket of his space suit, then goes on to describe the spaceship's aim and the experiments that were planned for the third crewed moon-mission. And then comes the moment when, on live television, Shepard unexpectedly twists a metal golf club head onto the end of his rock scoop, pulls out several golf balls, and takes a few swings. Kelly's well-researched retelling of this unusual story also does a little fact-checking on Shepard, who didn't hit the ball quite as far as he believed but nevertheless became the "first human to play a sport on the Moon." Fotheringham's (illustrator of Most Wanted, rev. 5/20) digital art uses a limited color palette that gives the story a vintage feel. Extensive back matter includes an overview of all the Apollo missions, additional information on Shepard and his golf experiment, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kathleen Marcotte. “A vaccine is like a memory of a disease you never had, so you and others won’t get sick!” LaRocca describes the ways in which germs, including COVID-19, cause infections, the varieties of illnesses humans have had historically and today, and the role of vaccines in preventing some infections from ever occurring. The language is, for the most part, child-friendly, and the explanations connect well to experiences and terms that will be familiar from the COVID era (e.g., herd immunity, epidemic, inoculation). The illustrations of doctors, scientists, and families working together to keep their communities healthy are also reassuring. Some of the choices in presenting concepts, however, such as in a sequence describing how vaccines work in the body, and in the section explaining COVID’s impact on society, simplify concepts, such as the immune system and the conditions needed to reopen schools, that are more complicated than as presented. Helpful endnotes aimed at adults provide additional information about the types of vaccines in use today and the microbes that they target.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(1) 4-6 Food, folklore, and history combine for a mouthwatering and enlightening read in Lin's collection of stories about more than twenty dishes, drinks, and staples of Chinese and Chinese American cuisine. The table of contents is organized like an American-style Chinese restaurant menu, with appetizers, soups, "chef's specials," and desserts; chapters on tea and chopsticks (along with origin stories) are also included. Lin opens each section with a brief introduction, sharing her own food memories and culinary or symbolistic details. While most of the tales involve mythical creatures or magical events, a few historical figures make appearances, including Ming Dynasty explorer Zheng He, Italian explorer Marco Polo, and Emperor Kublai Khan. Lin's vivid illustrations round out the experience with digitally colored drawings in the style of traditional ink paintings for the folktales, and realistic renderings in gouache of the actual dishes. An illustrated timeline and map of China are included in the introduction. An author's note, extensive end notes, a bibliography, and a scallion pancake recipe are appended.

Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) PS From the moment readers open this book, they are treated to an album of beautiful, joyous children, all with one salient feature: "Everybody has a body." But not every body is the same. There's a youngster using a rollator who says, "I like to take a walk." There are two bespectacled kids, one of whom shares the information that "glasses make me see better." Other differences, such as one child who has "to get checkups for my heart," are not apparent from the photos but are nonetheless noted in accompanying text. This photo-essay shows children participating in a range of activities, including rock wall climbing, swimming, and reading. The message--"Even though we're the same in many ways, we're different in our own ways too. Let's be kind to everybody and every kind of body!"--has been expressed before, but rarely through such memorable images. Brief sketches of three of the children with disabilities as well as one adult advocate and a glossary of physical and learning differences complete the book.

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

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jam Dong. Readers follow every step of the (fictional) container ship Carolina, which is carrying freight from a port in Asia to delivery in the Netherlands. Carolina acts as narrator, initially providing details about the process of docking and loading, while informative cutaway illustrations display the diverse cargo. Dong's clear, flat, geometrical digital illustrations also illuminate size. The massive ship dwarfs a pair of large baleen whales swimming by; readers turn the page and see the ship alone on the ocean--"a drop of color / on a canvas of blue." As the ship rounds the coast of India, personification becomes more pronounced as once "lonely" vessels assemble in the Suez Canal. But the canal is blocked, and Carolina must divert its path, weathering a fierce storm off the Cape of Good Hope before continuing north through the Atlantic. Arriving in Amsterdam, the unloading begins: "Trade is flowing, the world keeps going. But oceans away, new ports await." An outline map clearly shows Carolina's route, and readers can return to it noting specific points of the journey, such as where the ship meets rough weather. A wealth of back matter, most aimed at an older audience, includes notes about trade and containerization; a glossary; potential related jobs; various additional facts; and internet resources, including an activity guide on buoyancy. An audience-appropriate seek-and-find activity completes the book.

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

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Michael J. Rosen. Sullivan, the first American woman to complete a spacewalk, and Rosen immerse readers in the experience of being a space shuttle astronaut, with particular focus on the intense preparation for those who exit the shuttle for an Extravehicular Activity (EVA). In an upbeat tone, Sullivan accompanies "you" through an entire multi-day shuttle flight, from liftoff through daily activities, including the EVA, and then the return to Earth. Sullivan relates her emotions as well as her training, sharing her excitement and awe at being in space while simultaneously capably executing her tasks. "Nothing could prepare you for that thrill of weightlessness--AM I RIGHT? It has to be the most GIDDY, UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE EVER." Helpful diagrams and asides throughout detail equipment, including the complex spacesuits, used on shuttle flights, and the numerous photographs of NASA ground crew and astronauts, including Sullivan, show the people and technology that make EVA possible.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Tapping into a source of fascination for many kids, Taylor explores the complicated, potentially messy, and sometimes gross process of eating and drinking as an astronaut on a space station--from what food choices are available and how they're prepared, to meal etiquette, to the practicalities of keeping one's food in the right place in a zero-gravity environment. Taylor's conversational tone means that asides about oddities like what happens to the trash or why it's bad to burp in space (more than just air comes back up your esophagus, oh no!) feel naturally incorporated. Lewis's digital art features crisp, energetic scenes of smiling astronauts and their meals floating through a carefully rendered space station, often focusing in on food-related details of the spacecraft such as the panel where astronauts attach food pouches for hydration. Extensive back matter includes sources, additional information on why space meals look the way they do today, further reading, and photos of real astronauts enjoying food on the International Space Station.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marc Brown. Brown compiles capital-L Life Lessons from everyone's favorite aardvark. On double-page spreads, Brown's words pair with a picture-book page or TV still (original sources labeled) meant to exemplify the lesson. Loosely organized into thematic sections, the book's coverage is broad and ranges in depth. Many of the pairings offer genuine wisdom or insight on topics from racism to disinformation to appreciating childhood; other spreads feel didactic; some are theme synopses. The volume should be useful as bibliotherapy and also as an annotated visit with the beloved characters. Back matter includes biographical notes, including "How Arthur Came to Be."

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(1) K-3 Chin follows his acclaimed Your Place in the Universe (rev. 11/20) with an equally stellar exploration of the tiniest components of matter conceptualized by science. The book opens with a brown-skinned child who uses a wheelchair visiting a Southwestern desert. The United States' smallest bird, butterfly, and bee, in turn, alight on her finger, in close-ups that ultimately zoom in to a hair on that finger and put in motion a journey inward to the "building blocks" of biology and physical science. The expedition moves from skin cells to molecules, then to atoms, protons, and elementary particles. Each page-turn, ending in suspenseful sentence breaks ("But the cell nucleus is gigantic compared to... / ...everything else inside the cell"), takes readers to the next step inward. Chin's stunning watercolor and gouache illustrations, colorfully detailed and scientifically accurate, employ perspective to draw readers into observations of life and matter within the smallest possible spaces. The back matter adds details to the text's brief definitions and delineates where the art departs from settled science (in color and spatial relationships). The main text ends philosophically: we are all made of "the same stuff as everything else in the universe," and yet each of us is a "singular person, who can think and feel and discover... / ...the universe within."

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nicole Wong. In a follow-up to the pair's Flying Deep (rev. 7/18), Cusolito and Wong enumerate the various ways people explore the ocean. Readers learn about the methods (e.g., snorkel, free dive, scuba) and machines (deep-sea submersibles, underwater research lab materials) humans utilize to conquer the challenges of underwater observation (these being extreme pressure and the need for breathable air). The clear expository prose of the main text is accompanied by detailed sidebars that provide extensive descriptions and facts. Double-page spreads allow Wong's digital art to set the explorers, equipment, and sea life in various ocean habitats. Cusolito centers humanity's sense of wonder and desire to learn more, focusing on the "diving we do to expand scientific knowledge, research, and communication." Extensive back matter includes a helpful (though not-to-scale) spread incorporating all the diving methods and machines found throughout the book, shown in various ocean depths. A glossary, author's note, and list of resources are also included. Curious readers will dive right in.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Isabel Greenberg. Colorful, squiggly germs with alarmed cartoon faces swirl all around the three curious children at the center of this useful and entertaining book by the team behind A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars (rev. 1/18) and Power Up (rev. 3/19). In Fishman's funny, conversational text, a scientist explains to the children that many of the rules they hear from grownups ("Cover your mouth when you cough"; "Don't eat off the floor") help keep them safe. The scientist goes on to define germs as microbes and identify the different kinds (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, helminths); show where they can be found inside and outside the human body; and explain what we can do to protect ourselves from illness. Both the bright, cheerful drawings and the author's note encourage children to see germs as a natural part of our world. The chatty, sometimes silly text plays off Greenberg's lively illustrations, which are full of movement and details to pore over. The text mentions the role of vaccines as a line of defense, and COVID-19 is explicitly discussed in the author's note. A nonthreatening and informative introduction to a topic about which children may have many questions and concerns today.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. To today's young readers, a video game played on a television screen probably seems like something that's existed forever, but this picture-book biography introduces readers to the individual to whom all gamers owe a debt of gratitude. After fleeing Nazi Germany as a teenager, Rudolf Baer changed his first name to Ralph and used his talent for electronics to work as a radio operator during World War II. After the war, Baer studied early television technology and became a military engineer. He first conceived of his TV video game idea in 1966 and spent the next five years experimenting, testing, and prototyping his invention. Hannigan's (A Lady Has the Floor) text conveys Baer's determination and relentlessness as he works through multiple iterations of his video game box. OHora's recognizable acrylic paint illustrations (Goodnight Veggies, rev. 3/20; Dogs at Work, rev. 9/21), using a limited palette of yellow and blue contrasting with subdued greens, reds, and pinks, help set the story in its historical context. Back matter includes photos, four pages of questions and answers about Baer and his work, a timeline, and a list of resources.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) K-3 Science Buddies: 30-Minute Makers series. Illustrated by Mike Ciccotello. A friendly rhinovirus virion (a single "virus particle") narrates this accessible and timely introduction to viruses, our immune system, and the benefits of vaccines. From an infected person's sneeze to a new host's nose to what happens on a cellular level, our blue-and-green guide delves into virology while keeping a young audience in mind. Both the lively text and the cartoon illustrations temper the science with a spoonful of entertainment ("Lots of us fly in droplets of snot"). After invading a nasal cell, the virion explains, "I shrug off my spiky jacket so RNA can do its job. Off it goes to deliver its chemical code message to Cell: Make more of me. Lots more!" Next, white blood cells programmed to fight back against the quickly replicating virus arrive via the bloodstream. And how about the human host? "You now have a headache and a runny nose." Discussion about the role of antibodies leads to information about vaccines and how that development has helped eradicate the threat of heavy-hitters such as mumps, measles, and polio. A cameo by a COVID-19 virion brings the lesson home. Back matter includes information on how the first vaccine (for smallpox) was created, a guide to the different types of white blood cells, a helpful glossary, a three-book reading list, and a select bibliography. Gesundheit...now wash your hands!

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shawna J. C. Tenney. The "I Don't Vant to Suck Your Blood" smoothie shop is a vegan establishment, but a thirsty vampire fails to notice (although viewers will, courtesy of the comical illustrations), and orders "a pint of your best blood..." The young (vampire) proprietor launches into an enthusiastic explanation of why blood is "too important to humans for us just to drink it," describing how it travels through the cardiovascular system and why. Meanwhile, the elder vampire grows increasingly desperate: "Vhen does it flow into my mouth?" As in McAnulty's Brains!: Not Just a Zombie Snack, accessible text and art balance lightly macabre humor with clear information, making the biology lesson easy to swallow. A "Dear Blood-Filled Reader" note, additional facts, and a source list are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Steve Light. Roads, bridges, basketball courts, skyscrapers--so much of our world is made out of concrete, the combination of stone, sand, water, and cement that is our most ubiquitous modern building material. Without getting too bogged down in technical nitty-gritty, Theule presents readers with the fascinating story of concrete, from its ancient nonstructural uses to today's massive feats of engineering. The brief, clear expository text delivers the information well (as readers learn, for instance, the difference between tensile strength and compressive strength), with additional details provided by conversational, often humorous word balloons from various figures found in the illustrations. Light's pen, ink, and watercolor art is bright and engaging, with plenty of white space. Occasional double-page spreads convey the magnitude of the giant structures depicted, such as the Roman Colosseum, Three Gorges Dam, and Salginatobel Bridge, all made possible by the invention of reinforced concrete. Bright blues and greens are used throughout, highlighting the environment and providing contrast to the gray and earth-tone structures. Hand this to fans of Macaulay's building books (such as Castle and Underground). A bibliography is appended.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rachel Stubbs. In this beginner's cookbook, Atherton (2019 winner of The Great British Baking Show) uses an encouraging tone to present doable recipes with kid-pleasing gimmicks (e.g., "Octo-Pizzas" with breadstick tentacles). True to the book's subtitle, the recipes are generally healthy and nutritious, and many manage to include oft-dreaded veggies in creative and not-unappealing ways: in bear-shaped banana pancakes, half a cup of spinach "gives them their fun greenish color." The book is organized by meal type and includes an illustrated equipment list, glossary, and helpful tips. Stubbs's sweet spot art adds to the cozy, welcoming vibe.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 4-6 Big Ideas That Changed the World series. In this third installment of his Big Ideas That Changed the World comic-format series, Brown lays out the crucial steps in human history that led to the discovery and implementation of vaccinations as a solution to the spread of disease. Narrated by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a key figure in the popularization of smallpox inoculations in the eighteenth century, the book provides readers with a history of the smallpox disease that decimated multiple continents over the course of human history and the various early inoculation methods attempted across the globe prior to Edward Jenner's discovery of a cowpox-derived vaccine. Brown then quickly moves on to Louis Pasteur and the new vaccinations resulting from his work, followed by Jonas Salk and his polio vaccine. Brown employs anthropomorphized cells and microorganisms for a section explaining the ways vaccines work to build our immune systems. A short section on COVID-19 concludes with a hope, "as of ­November 2020," for an effective vaccine. Brown's (The Unwanted, rev. 9/18; Fever Year, rev. 11/19) typical loose pen and watercolor illustrations, including single pages, double-page spreads, and varied panel layouts, make this well-researched ­volume--part history, part science--engagingly easy to read. A timeline, notes, a bibliography, and an index are appended.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021