(2) K-3 Translated by Emilie Robert Wong. Illustrated by Violeta Lopíz. Fontenaille and Lópiz bring readers a deeply affectionate intergenerational story of a six-year-old child and Grandpa Luis. The child admires Luis, a talented gardener who fled war in Spain as a youth and never attended school or learned to read or write. "Dad told me Luis didn't have a chance to be a kid." The grandchild's first-person narration lovingly describes Luis's tattoo-covered arms, his artwork that covers the walls ("Dad says Luis is as good as Henri Rousseau"), his cooking, his guitar-playing, and the idiosyncratic way he speaks: "He says I am 'the apple of his pie,' which means he really likes me." Lópiz's beautifully composed, exquisitely controlled illustrations burst with color, capturing impressions and moments with graceful lines and evocative, layered patterns and textures. There is a particularity to the story and characters that makes this book most memorable and spellbinding.

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

(2) PS "When Max was a kitten, he was the only one." Young Max was born to Gooseberry, both of whom readers of the Provensens' Maple Hill Farm books will recognize. Readers are privy to Max's life during the daylight hours, in which he explores the barnyard, teases other animals, drools over the baby chicks (though he knows better than to bother Goat Dear or Rebel the horse); and leaves squirrel tails for his humans (as the "mighty hunter" he is) in his "room and bed" on the family farm. But as the sun starts to set, "You would not know him. He looks like a tiger. Now...his real life begins." Off slinks Max to mysterious nocturnal escapades. Provensen fans will be thrilled that this "never-before-published picture book," complete with hand-lettering, has seen the light of day. It closes with a note from the couple's daughter, Karen Provensen Mitchell, who recalls growing up with the real-life Max on Maple Hill Farm. Via translucent watercolors, distinctive lines, and their singular style, the Provensens capture the riddles that are cats--and the thrill of being one who roams a family farm.

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

(2) K-3 Shahrzad, a little girl with black corkscrew hair, beetling brows, and a trusty scooter, likes stories. She seeks them out and tucks them away. One day she hears about a king in a distant land whose personal sorrows have turned him into a tyrant. This is her moment. Piloting her own plane, she travels to a land of minarets and onion domes and finds this sad and angry king isolated in his palace, grieving and oppressing his people. Day after day she tells him stories until she senses that he is ready to hear his own tale reflected back to him with understanding, sympathy, and a nudge toward a change of heart. This wise and witty riff on the Scheherazade framing tale of The Arabian Nights merges everyday and fairy-tale worlds, with respect for the traditional job of folklore to encourage us to shape up and fly right. The pictures are energetic, with a wide-ranging cast of characters, cheeky humor (Shahrzad gets in some thinking time while sitting on the toilet), and Chagall-like warmth and exuberance. A dark undertone and contemporary political resonance are there for those who are ready for it, but for everyone it's an original contribution to picture books about smart girls who save the world.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Gabriel Maralngurra. This informative and visually sumptuous picture book highlights twelve creatures native to West Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory, from "One crocodile with many sharp teeth" to "Twelve barramundi swimming upstream." Each spread includes a descriptive header in English and Kunwinjku, an Indigenous language of the Bininj, with the numeral and the number color-coded ("2 Two snake-necked turtles swimming in a billabong / Ngalmangiyi bokenh kabene-djuhme kore kulabbarl") along with the name of the creature ("Northern snake-necked turtle / Ngalmangiyi"). Brief, clear paragraphs in English, with interspersed Kunwinjku vocabulary, follow, with details about each animal's behavior, diet, appearance, relationships to humans, protected status, and other information (such as how good they are to eat--or not). ­Facing pages feature gorgeous illustrations "inspired by rock art that is thousands of years old," with the creatures depicted in precise lines and crosshatching, deeply inked color blocks, strong black or white outlines, and a limited palette including ­striking matte umber backgrounds for every image. Maralngurra is cofounder of a thriving Aboriginal arts organization and (per an appended note and interview) acts as an "ambassador for Bininj culture": "I want people all over the world to learn something...and maybe come over and visit." Back matter includes more about cave paintings and about ancient Bininj art and techniques still used today; the six seasons of West Arnhem Land and their effect on flora and fauna; and a pronunciation guide.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) 4-6 Translated by Sara Lissa Paulson. Illustrated by Paloma Valdivia. This lavish volume includes excerpts from Neruda's Libro de las preguntas in the original Spanish alongside new English translations by Paulson. Valdivia's expansive illustrations in a limited, muted palette give readers plenty of space to dwell on each question. The questions themselves, mostly arranged as couplets, have no answers and often imaginative premises: "Who shouted for joy / when the color blue was born?" "Where can you find a bell / that rings inside your dreams?" Frequent gatefolds function as transitions between related illustrations (a peaceful mountain scene becomes a volcanic eruption, with similar changes in the flora and fauna) or as pauses between related questions ("Why do trees hide / the splendor of their roots?" [gatefold] "So, how do roots know / they must rise up to the light?"). Back matter includes notes about the source material and its meaning from the illustrator, editor, and translator. Endlessly perusable--as long as you have the elbow room--the book is perfectly pitched to encourage students to write their own question poems; pair with Kooser and Wanek's equally philosophical Marshmallow Clouds (rev. 3/22).

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Translated by Antony Shugaar. Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who was called Little Yellow Riding Hood." "No, red!" "...Her mother said: Now go to Aunt Hildegard's house and take her this potato peel." "No, it's: Go to your grandmother's house and bring her this warm loaf of bread." Here is a humorous story of a grandfather retelling "Little Red Riding Hood" to his granddaughter, and telling it hilariously wrong. The child keeps correcting him, but it doesn't seem to get him back on track. And why bother? Anyone who reads this book will see that the heart of storytelling with children is not the accurate retelling of plot but rather the connection and creative interaction between adult and child. Alemagna's (Never, Not Ever!, rev. 9/21) well-composed and multilayered mixed-media illustrations cleverly support the transition between the two speakers, as the narrative is related solely through dialogue; thought bubbles amusingly show the very different stories unfolding in each of the character's heads. Young readers already familiar with "Little Red Riding Hood" may enjoy this story most, but it will be great fun for all, nonetheless.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) PS Translated by Kari Dickson. Illustrated by Mari Kanstad Johnsen. "Bedtime!" is a call that can elicit groans of dread from young children and caregivers alike. While Bo performs "tumblesaults on the sofa and sings as loud as he can," his mother yawns in the background. When she beckons him for bed, he responds, "I'm already asleep!" A parrot, he argues, sleeps as he does--standing on one foot. On the next spread vivid pinks, blues, and yellows cascade away from a parrot standing just like Bo on the previous page. Playing along, his mother offers her little parrot something to eat. With encyclopedic knowledge of many animals' sleeping habits, Bo's mother slowly but surely edges her clever offspring closer to his bed: getting a snack of blueberries and porridge before hibernating like a bear; washing up, stretching his neck like a giraffe in front of the bathroom mirror. Finally, Bo snuggles beneath a mound of brightly colored stuffed animals like a "mob of meerkats," and his mom lies, worn out, on the couch downstairs. Thin and energetic outlines delineate Bo and his mother from the many colorful creatures that surround them, creating a sense of before-bed chaos and blurring the lines between their home and the habitats they envision together. An imaginative, informative, and reassuring bedtime story; pair with Grimes and Zunon's Bedtime for Sweet Creatures (rev. 1/20).

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) K-3 Translated by Michael Blaskowsky. Sato is a little boy in a rabbit costume, a kind of Japanese second cousin to Max in his wolf suit. In a set of seven small vignettes that span the seasons, Sato's daily activities--watering the garden, doing the laundry, splashing in puddles--turn into magic. Cracking open a walnut reveals an inviting miniature world. Eating a watermelon turns into a seafaring adventure. ("Nothing compares to eating watermelon on the sea.") Observing a meteor shower leads to a star-collection mission. Paintings in a naive style burst with saturated color--watermelon red, night-sky blue, spring chartreuse. All the events coalesce in the final section, in which Sato goes on a winter forest walk, collecting ice in many colors. "The events of spring, summer, and fall are frozen into the waters that flowed through the forest." As he puts the various pieces of ice into drinks, he relives his travels, and the reader revisits the colors that enlivened each event. For fans of Doi's Chirri & Chirra books (Underground, rev. 9/19; In the Tall Grass, rev. 11/17; and others), this import provides another cozy glimpse into mystery, independence, and imaginative play.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(1) K-3 Translated by Michael Blaskowsky. Sato, the boy in the rabbit costume from Sato the Rabbit (rev. 1/21), returns for seven cozy, dreamy, nature-based adventures. In "The Green Screw," Sato comes across a tiny, green, screwlike sprout. He turns it, and with every rotation more and more trees pop into leaf. Then he finds a daisy-looking flower, and when he rotates it like a steering wheel, green leaves shower down upon him. There are other creatures in Sato's world, mostly small children in costumes with animal ears, like his, and he even has a party where he plays the tuba to accompany the rain's "music." But for the most part, these small stories are solitary adventures in a benign, quirky setting full of soft pillows, delicious snacks (what would a bit of moon taste like?), and surprising transformations. Like many narratives that celebrate joy and harmony, it ends with a wedding. Sato, in text and (gorgeous) pictures, is industrious, curious, experimental, and focused, using the found materials around him to fashion inventions (a curtain made of rain, a rolled-up red carpet made of fallen leaves) that enhance his surroundings and provide an arena for his imagination. In other words, Sato is every child at play.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Translated by Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov. Illustrated by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard. Stump and her grandfather are close, sharing hours of jigsaw puzzles and tending his hundred-plus flowers. Grandpa has a sharp memory, remembering the Latin names for all his beloved plants, until one day he doesn't. Soon, he puts out crystal glasses instead of coffee cups and can't make sense of a favorite puzzle. The young narrator is patient and loving. As Grandpa loses words, Stump collects them in a box. When Grandpa wanders out in the snow wearing bedroom slippers, Stump and her grandmother bring him home and warm him up with coffee. Stump, so nicknamed for her grandfather's childhood pet rabbit, recognizes that what he needs is something tangible, so she presents him with a new rabbit. The first-person account is clear and unadorned. This down-to-earth narration, combined with the dreamy quality of Kjærgaard's paintings, successfully conveys the poignancy of Grandpa's progressing dementia and Stump's deep love for him. The artist uses soft edges, layers of watercolor, and a gentle pastel palette, which flattens to shades of gray and blue as winter arrives and Grandpa's memory fails. The final spread, in which he happily holds his rabbit, revives some of the bright colors and flowers from the opening pages, as Stump's gift restores, for at least a moment, some of Grandpa's former self. A detailed, thoughtful afterword about dementia and memory loss adds a useful layer to this emotional story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Translated by Dianne Chung. Illustrated by Kim Seung-youn. Also translated by Lee Juck. A young child wonders where his beloved grandpa has gone. "His shoes sit in the closet, waiting to be worn...He isn't here to wake me up, or rub his stubbly chin against my cheek." Readers may understand that the grandfather has died ("Grandma keeps rubbing my back...I eat everything without complaining. If I didn't, I think she would cry"), but the child eventually decides that Grandpa likely has returned to the place he came from: "a place across the universe, full of dazzling stars." He was a tailor, and in the concluding scene, with a well-positioned gatefold, Seung-youn's subdued earth-tone illustrations weave together motifs from Grandpa's life with those of space. The flat black of the night sky is scattered with button stars, for example; and is Grandpa standing on a ball of thread or a planet of his own? With its refrain "Grandpa is gone," the beautifully paced text gradually adds layers to the protagonist's understanding of this enormous loss. An affecting portrait of the deep feelings and confusion of a child mourning the absence of a loved one.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) K-3 Translated by Asuka Minamoto. Illustrated by Mi-Sook Yoon. At the time in Earth's history when volcanoes erupted and the oceans first formed, three water drop "brothers"--depicted as teardrops with smiling faces--live in the sea together. Curious about the world above and below, each embarks on a different voyage that illustrates the many recurring transformations of water on Earth as well as the vast scale of time over which these processes occur. Lee creatively frames the changes in and movement of water as tales of adventure, in relatable language that expertly maintains scientific integrity. "The oldest brother, who was very brave, wanted to go close to the sun...Then, one day, he felt his body being lifted out of the water. He had turned into vapor, and was rising upwards into the sky." While the oldest brother continues on the familiar water-cycle path, his brothers choose their own. The middle brother "wriggle[s] his way" into bedrock, eventually emerging into a spring, while the youngest brother's fate is to be absorbed by a grass shoot, transported through a food web--from plant to cow to human--and flushed down a toilet. The drops travel through Yoon's striking black block-cut and bold color earth-scapes, sometimes alone, sometimes gathered with other drops or surrounded by animals from various geologic time periods. Though all three meet up again in the ocean, "they will go on exploring the world in different forms and ways--because that's just what water drops like to do."

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Deborah Marcero. Set against a dramatic background of black, white, and ice-blue watercolors, this picture-book biography of Edwin Hubble (1889–1953) emphasizes the vastness and wonder of the night sky that drove his passion for astronomy. As a child, Edwin would gaze up at the heavens, asking: "How many stars are in the sky? How did the universe begin? Where did it come from?" His father had little patience for such diversions and discouraged Edwin's interest in science. After his father's death, however, Edwin enrolled in the University of Chicago to major in astronomy. Taking his first job at the Mount Wilson Observatory (where striking illustrations show him, night after night, at its giant telescope), Hubble discovered that the Milky Way is but one galaxy, merely a small part of a vast universe. The book's explanation of how Hubble proved that the universe is expanding may be beyond the complete understanding of the audience, but referencing the previous work of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt helps show children that scientists do not act alone, but rather metaphorically stand on the shoulders of others. Repeated throughout the text, the three questions that initiated Hubble's interest emphasize his lifelong drive and persistence. Also repeated are visual motifs, first a grouping of stars, reminiscent of thought balloons, surrounding Hubble's head when he studies or contemplates astronomy; more striking is the vast majesty of the night sky that dominates both Hubble's interest and the reader's attention. Appended with author and illustrator notes, additional information about Edwin Hubble and the Hubble-Lemaître Law, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) K-3 Translated by David Boyd. Illustrated by Ryôji Arai. An adult and child set off in a rowboat for an overnight camping trip in this author-illustrator team's (Every Color of Light, rev. 9/20) latest collaboration. Osada's poetic text is a series of phrases and riddles exploring everything water can be, from the profound ("It has no color, but can be any color. It has no shape, but can take any shape") to the playful ("It is the pee of life"). Arai's impressionistic illustrations, in bright shades of sky blue and spring green, move the story forward while giving form to Osada's observations. Some paintings focus on the concrete, such as a waterfall demonstrating how water "cascades and courses." Others match the text's fancifulness, as when the characters row on a sea of stars. The words and pictures together become the story of an older person imparting wisdom to a younger one as they explore the world together.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ping Zhu. A snail possessing a rare left-spiraling shell is found by scientists and named Jeremy, even though it is not male but a hermaphrodite, like all snails. Jeremy not only has a "reversed" shell but its entire anatomy is flipped. This means Jeremy cannot mate with the overwhelming majority of snails because its reproductive parts won't line up with theirs. Popova skillfully employs metaphor to connect Jeremy's story to the underlying science of evolution, as in presenting the explanation of why snails, who can reproduce on their own, prefer to seek a mate: "because diversity is always lovelier than sameness, and because it makes communities stronger and better able to adapt to change." When scientists put out a call to the public to assist Jeremy in finding a partner with the "right" heart--a clever dual meaning--the search for sinistral snails turns up two, eventually allowing Jeremy to mate. Zhu's illustrations, filled with swirling expanses of color, brilliantly portray the concept of a recessive gene as a tiny but persistent snail silhouette inches across the pages and through geologic time.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(2) K-3 This Swedish import, extensive in scope, explores the meaning of rivers by taking a multifaceted and impressionistic look at their function and symbolism across the world and throughout history. The narrative is framed by a fictional child and grandmother at a river (the two function as the book's visual through line) and provides lyrical commentary and factual information on each spread. The inquisitive, contemplative child asks Grandma what a river is, and the response is layered. She explains the nature of rivers in ways geographical and topographical, ecological, linguistic, sociological, historical, industrial, personal, and more. Sprawling spreads feature delicate, intricate drawings; detailed, earth-toned paintings in relaxed lines; and a font that mimics handwriting. The grandmother's responses cover a wide ground, identifying the creatures whose lives are sustained by rivers and, toward the close, briefly acknowledging the ways in which humans are polluting them. Many of her responses are evocative ("A river is a smell"), and some honor their lore: one spread pays tribute to mermaids and other "secrets" of rivers, and the following spread acknowledges "a magical underground river called Lethe." This thought-provoking book is a compelling conversation starter for young readers.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Josh Cochran. Two colorful picture-book biographies celebrate the life and art of Keith Haring. In Drawing on Walls, much of the focus is on Haring's art-making as a child and the connection he felt with children throughout his career. Art Is Life is more concerned with his inspiration and process, focusing on a few of the artists who influenced him and the effect he had on New York City's creative scene. Burgess includes more biographical information in his longer text, while Brown favors a shorter and more lyrical style that conveys the feeling of Haring's work rather than details of his life. Negley's mixed-media approach is more graphic, while Cochran uses a childlike cartoonish scrawl, but both illustrators emulate the energy of ­Haring's style in dynamic spreads with bold colors and lines. Both include additional biographical information, with Brown's author's note filling in much of the detail of Haring's life. The illustrators' notes discuss Haring's outsized influence, with both illustrators describing very personal connections to his work. These two books complement each other, with Burgess's the more traditional picture-book biography and Brown's perhaps better suited as a first introduction to Haring or an energetic read-aloud. Review covers these titles: Art Is Life and Drawing on Walls.

Reviewer: Lauren Kim | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) PS Translated by David Boyd. Illustrated by Ryōji Arai. Poetic phrases and vibrant mixed-media illustrations capture the intensity of a thunderstorm across a natural landscape. The book begins with a small image of the landscape in one corner. "Look, it's raining," reads the text, encouraging a child viewer to begin focusing in on the image closely to spot the streaks of rain. Attention is rewarded when the next picture expands to fill both pages as the rain begins to fall--"Wetter / And wetter / The blues darken / And so do the greens"--again drawing the viewer to notice the changes, with lines across the intense blues and greens showing the driving rain. The wind's power is shown on the next pages with a much less orderly picture as the lines begin going sideways as well as vertically, and the style becomes more impressionistic and wild. A spare text economically conveys what's happening: "Cracking / Crashing / Boom / Bah-bah-BOOM!" Light then fills the pages once the storm has passed, and one spread focuses on the dripping raindrops with sparkles and iridescent colors inside. As the day fades, the pages become golden, and the focus begins to shift to the expansive night sky, concluding with another tiny picture in the corner, with the word asleep fading away. It's rare for a picture book to so vividly command attention without any characters, but the pictures are so stunning that a child who has dwelt in them will likely notice much more the next time they are observing nature, especially during a terrifying, thrilling thunderstorm.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(2) K-3 Translated by Sarah Klinger. Illustrated by Valerio Vidali. The eponymous character in this French-Canadian import seems to be suffering from a bout of depression. Animal friends try to cheer him up, to no avail. First a monkey attempts a joke, then ostriches do a silly dance, and finally a crocodile serves up a bowl of delicious acacia leaves. Colorful textured art keeps the focus on the characters, with minimal backgrounds and a flat aesthetic that lets the animals' forms fill the pages. Then, a tiny white mouse appears midway through the story, and instead of trying to distract the elephant from his feelings, she asks, "Could I rest here next to you?" Leery, the elephant asks, "You're not here to tell me a story?" No, she's not, but after a while, the mouse begins to reveal her own tale of woe, and it turns out that this is just what the elephant needed to give himself permission to cry and vent his own feelings. It doesn't come across as a case of misery loves company so much as it does a moment of empathy for someone else's problems that allows for sympathy for one's own. As the pair walks off together "feeling much lighter," the scenes remain awash in a calm blueness, which suggests less of a happily-ever-after resolution than it does peace in their togetherness.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) K-3 Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. What would happen if one's thoughts were always exposed? Set in a mythical village "near the cities of Florence and Bilbao," this picture book explores that question through its main character, Gisele, a child made of glass. Beautiful, fragile, and completely transparent (and in the illustrations, naked), Gisele has a problem: every thought she has is on display for anyone to observe and judge. "People grew cross with her. 'Can't you keep your thoughts to yourself?' they would say. Or, 'Aren't you ashamed to show such awful things, Gisele?'" Gisele's glass exterior begins to crack from this burden, and she decides to leave home. Ethereal art brings out the fairy-tale quality of the story, and strategically placed paper vellum overlays add complexity to the idea of transparency and human thought. Though she travels extensively, Gisele finds she cannot escape; wherever she goes, she faces disapproval and rejection, and from this constant struggle she learns to accept herself for who she is. She returns home to live as she pleases, "sparkling and luminous, sensitive and transparent, but resolute." Metaphoric in its consideration of how one learns to own the whole of oneself in a judgmental, conformist world, the story also touches on the value of the life of the mind.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020