(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

(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 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

(2) PS Translated by David Boyd. Twins Chirri and Chirra explore new territory in their fourth gentle adventure available in English. Creatures have tunneled into the basement of their cozy cottage, so the girls hop on their bikes and follow the mysterious intruders (revealed to be badger youngsters) into the tunnel. Doi has created a compelling story with almost no tension, relying on intriguing world-building. Glowing, soft-edged pictures repay a leisurely search for details.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by K-Fai Steel. A noodle-loving elephant is jailed for violating a kangaroo-authorized law: "Noodles are for kangaroos." The book wouldn't have lost anything at half its length. Nevertheless, there's nothing undercooked about the story's message: "When the laws are so unjust / Misbehavior is a must!" Scenes of anthropomorphized animals about town help bring to life the politics of the human-free community.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nahid Kazemi. A white bird with humanlike legs is perched on a roof, feeling "far away inside." Then: "suddenly / you feel something / that gets you moving / and wondering / about life." The illustrations indicate an outward journey, taking the bird to a tropical clime and back, its plumage changing from white to multicolored. Poetic text and mysterious art together assume a sophisticated audience. It's about a quest--but where to? Self-discovery? Community? You decide.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Illustrated by Olivier Tallec. From his perch on "his island," a boy imagines solutions to problems he sees (such as famine: "What if we lasso the clouds and bring rain to the desert?") as painterly art interprets his musings. The premise of this French import may sound twee, but the ending delivers a wallop: all along, the boy has been trying to decide whether to be born. (He decides yes.)

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(1) 4-6 Translated by John Nieuwenhuizen. This sequel to Nine Open Arms follows the fortunes and adventures of the Boon family, in 1938 Netherlands, from the viewpoint of the young teen daughter Fing. Lindelauf does a stunning job, in this classic episodic family story, of showing the difficult relationships that war creates. Played out in a suspenseful action-filled plot, this is a welcome and distinctive addition to WWII literature for young people. Glos.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alessandro Sanna. The narrator addresses a developing human baby, describing the nine months before birth during which "you move in your space, without a sound" and soon "you can sense the light." Sanna's handsome watercolor paintings use the curved silhouette of an expectant mother to connect birth to the wider natural world; the belly becomes a seagull's wings, a shoreline, a hillside, and so on.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 My Alter Ego Is a Superhero series. Translated by Kari Dickson. Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter. Rusty's beloved grandfather has just died and his fort has been ruined by neighborhood bullies, so Rusty's alter-ego, "Brown," arrives to deal with these problems. Rusty/Brown, joined eventually by friends Jack and Lou, works his way through his grief while confronting the bullies. This plentifully illustrated import from Norway is in equal measure heartbreaking, silly, realistic, and childlike.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Edited by Maria Popova and Claudia Zoe Bedrick. This aesthetically pleasing coffee-table book features 121 letters from a wide array of artists, writers, actors, musicians, and scientists, among others, addressed to young people about the influence of reading on their lives. Each letter is paired with an original illustration from an artist or graphic designer. The diversity of contributors and artistic styles elevates this anthology above its many predecessors.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) K-3 Translated by Annie Prime. Elderly Bo lives with young Koko, who greets every direction with "I DON'T WANT TO!" Bo doesn't press, knowing that Koko will eventually see the logic behind wearing a coat (it's cold outside), getting out of bed (how else to get breakfast?), etc. Readers yearning for bratty Koko's comeuppance may be disappointed, but this sweet intergenerational-friendship tale from Sweden features beguiling skewed-line illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Translated by Annie Prime. Two siblings embark upon a night in a tent in the backyard in this charming Swedish import. Their adventure is indeed grand until darkness falls, accompanied by mosquitoes, sharp rocks between shoulder blades, and the "need to poop." So the children return inside to their father and find happiness. Soft illustrations--clear, spare pencil sketches overlaid with loose washes of watercolor--establish a gentle, slightly offbeat family scene.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(2) K-3 In this surreal, wordless summertime story, a young girl explores outdoors until her grandfather calls her inside. They walk to the train station to meet a small, sailor-hat-wearing elephant, who brings stress and disharmony. After the elephant departs, the girl returns to exploring nature--but not before a final moment of surprise. Lush colors and screenprint patterns radiate from the roughly textured pages, creating an open-ended, dreamlike reading experience.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) PS The plot of Charlip's (Fortunately!; Thirteen) very first book, here reissued, is simple: John invites his friends to a dress-up party; as the book unfolds, we see them all arrive, enjoy cake, and then depart. The variation in the costume choices is entertaining, and the page turns flow effortlessly. For Charlip collectors.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(1) K-3 A brown-skinned boy in a red crown shown reading the very book youngsters are holding lets his imagination take him into the narrative as he joins a pachyderm caravan and discovers facts about elephants in expository text. The mixed-media illustrations are both informative and beautifully executed, with varied motifs and an overall design that imparts complicated facts through clear and clean layouts.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) K-3 A thunderstorm carries a pumpkin from a farm to an island near town. Soon, vines creep across a bridge and pumpkins begin "popping up all over town." As the pumpkins grow in number and size, the townspeople find creative uses for them: pumpkin-flinging contests, pumpkin boats and houses, and the "biggest Halloween celebration ever" lit by jack-o'-lantern light. Geisert's copperplate etchings hand-colored with watercolors depict expansive, whimsical scenes with much to explore.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant