(2) YA Sixteen-year-old Eleanor is obsessed with learning all she can about her birth father, tech mogul Hugo Harrison, who ended his relationship with her mother long before Eleanor can remember. When the opportunity presents itself, she takes a summer job under an assumed name as a nanny for his two-year-old son, Arlo, and in the process gets to know Hugo's young wife, Aurora. As Eleanor takes a front-row seat to a family she thought she knew all about from social media, readers may be less surprised than she is at how much isn't what it seems; however, it's easy to empathize with her wish to know her father and to believe the best of him. And Eleanor, who makes frequent, admiring reference to an early comic-book heroine named Miss Fury, becomes more heroic herself as she grows to question Hugo's ethics in developing his AI projects, including his treatment of both Aurora and Arlo. Her questions are likely to prompt readers' own about how to know what to believe, and about what makes AI (or anything else) go "from cool and interesting to creepy and disturbing."

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. In 1903, when Vermont doctor Horatio Nelson (1872-1955) began his attempt to cross the United States in an automobile he had yet to learn to drive, cars were still seen as a novelty, and the idea of an interstate highway system couldn't even be dreamt of. Over nine weeks, with many starts and stops, Nelson and young mechanic Sewall Crocker raced from San Francisco to New York, attempting to complete the unprecedented feat in less than three months. Thanks to the press the journey garnered, it convinced many that horseless carriages could someday be dependable modes of long-distance transportation. McAnulty's witty telling of Nelson's grand adventure is a delight. Interesting and comedic details are given center stage here, informing readers and providing compelling suspense. Baddeley's digital illustrations effortlessly convey the many ups and downs (and breakdowns) of the trip while matching the jovial tone of McAnulty's text. Bright colors pop off the page with comic-style inserts acting as snapshots of the trip. Back matter includes a map of their route with an inset timeline as well as a listing of "fun facts" and source notes. A riveting episode from history presented with joy, laughter -- and a precious canine companion.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) 4-6 Color by Elaine Bay; coloring by Eleonora Bruni; lettering by Rob Leigh. In this wacky and entertaining graphic-novel series starter, readers are welcomed to Scissors City, famous for its superhero-barber team, the Snips. In their spare time, the Snips invent hair-related gadgets and formulas (a "shatterproof peluca"; "drone barber bots") and travel the world to discover "hairstorical artifacts" ("la Trenza de Medusa"; "la Barba de Rasputin"). Member Nubes Cloudhead has even broken the world record for most haircuts in one day -- catching some negative attention from rivals the Bad Buzz Boys, who will go to drastic lengths (i.e., give bad haircuts) to beat the record themselves. With his usual irreverent flair, Raúl the Third (Vamos!: Let's Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos, rev. 9/24, among others) gives readers a hilarious, thrilling showdown between the two barber groups, putting all the hairdos of Scissors City at stake. The dynamic illustrations (in explosive colors by Bay) are jam-packed with action shots, references to classic comics, and clever details that merit multiple looks. Spanish is naturally incorporated and often translated into English, and an appended "Snippets from Flealix" provides the story of the real-life world record holder for most haircuts in one day.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shanda McCloskey. At the start of this peculiar book, we are shown the six simple machines: lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw, and pulley. Then we meet an impishly grinning boy, presumably Rube Goldberg (1883-1970), on the title page; next it's on to a convoluted table of contents over two spreads (a veritable Rube Goldberg machine of its own) before the narrative opens with the birth of Goldberg. Over the course of the book, readers learn more about him, his life, and his cartooning legacy—it's those cartoons that inspired a variety of machines, the main purpose of which is to do something simple in a very complicated fashion. Along the way, an accessible (if lengthy) text covers the laws of physics, the six simple machines, and advice on how to build our own Rube Goldberg machines. McCloskey's illustrations are equally adept at conveying concepts and humor, complementing Thimmesh's text and serving as a bridge between narrative and expository information.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen. Inviting readers into this spirited book, a bouncing red-rubber ball generates a path leading from the initial endpapers to the first words of text. Here readers discover properties of rubber: that it can bounce, stretch, roll, and be molded. Animated illustrations at times combine with text treatment to graphically reinforce features of rubber (e.g., under vignettes of children riding a rubber-tired tricycle, scooter, and bike: "It can r o o o o o o ll"). By posing three questions, Albee provides an outline of what readers can expect to learn about rubber: "Who discovered it? Where does it come from? How is it made?" As promised in the subtitle, she provides scientific explanations for each of the properties discussed in the introduction. Spot art supports clear, understandable explanations of scientific steps, as well as key historical moments of discovery. Throughout, Ewen's bright watercolor illustrations both pace and inform this lively text, creating a book as bouncy as the original red ball. Extensive back matter includes a note about the nomenclature of Indigenous people of South America who first discovered rubber, a discussion of environmental problems and historical conflicts involving rubber today, a timeline, a bibliography, and documentation.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Kara Kramer. Growing up in Budapest, young Erno Rubik (b. 1944) was fascinated by shapes and puzzles and loved "imagin[ing] all the possibilities" offered by manipulating "tangrams, pentominoes, and pentacubes." In this inviting picture-book biography, debut author Aradhya introduces readers to the figure behind the eponymous cube, first developed in 1974. Rubik became a teacher and continued to be passionate about cubes, which he used to teach students about three-dimensionality. His quest to "build a big cube out of smaller cubes that moved around each other and stayed connected" is the focus of the accessible text, which emphasizes curiosity, perseverance, and learning from failure as keys to success. (And sometimes the answer comes when we "stop thinking about" a problem.) Kramer's (Tell Me a Lion Story, rev. 7/22) intriguing mixed-media and digital-collage illustrations bring playfulness and energy to the fore; for example, Rubik's head is cube-shaped when he's focused on figuring out his geometric and mechanical conundrum. The lively page design includes a variety of panel, single-page, and spot-art illustrations; lots of child-friendly details in the art and text should hold readers' interest. Appended with more about Rubik's "Magic Cube" (including the fact that he didn't set out to create a puzzle, nor is he an expert solver), "By the Numbers" (e.g., "43 quintillion ways to scramble it...but only 1 solution!"), an author's note about her own Cubing experiences, and a three-book list for more about the inadvertent puzzle master.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Adria Meserve. Seventeenth-century "natural philosophers" Galileo Galilei (who looked out into the universe using a telescope) and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (who looked closely into water droplets with a microscope) made their important scientific discoveries in astronomy and microbiology, respectively, using innovative improvements to the glass lens. As the cleverly constructed narrative moves chronologically through the lives of both scientists, it steps back and forth between them, highlighting the parallels in their experiences as well as emphasizing the practices and passions of science. Both men had creative aha moments, were meticulous inventors, and remained patient in the face of setbacks on their paths to discovery. They also depended on the scientific community and larger society for patronage and acceptance or rejection of their published scientific models, which led to challenges -- Galileo with the Catholic church and Leeuwenhoek with his unwillingness to share his lens technologies. Meserve's entertaining and informative illustrations are filled with details about the scientists, their objects of study, and the places and times in which they lived; the compositions employ inventive designs to underscore common features of the scientists' lives and work. Galileo and Leeuwenhoek are united in spirit in the final illustration of stars, planets, and the Milky Way filling the sky above a pond crowded with bacteria, microbes, and other tiny living creatures.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(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) 4-6 Ethan Fairmont series. Aliens have invaded and plan to leach all of the energy from planet Earth. Even worse, they have kidnapped Ethan Fairmont's guinea pig, Nugget. In this final installment of the trilogy, middle-school tech wiz/inventor Ethan and his squad of friends try to protect their six-eyed, tentacled alien friend, Cheese, and his family from the reptilian light-thieves who have destroyed Cheese's planet. Led by Krawq from the planet Terylya, the light-thieves will return Nugget if Ethan hands over Cheese. Ethan, knowing he cannot stand up to an alien invasion and save his planet on his own, learns to rely on his loyal friends. "None of this would have been possible without the whole team," he says. Brooks's first-person narrative emphasizes action and dialogue. Ethan and his squad are believably drawn middle schoolers, with squabbles and a bit of romance that lend humor to their serious business. With echoes of Men in Black and E.T., Ethan's exploits are all good-natured science-fiction fun. Spoiler alert: be prepared to get teary-eyed during the final scene between the boy and his alien pal.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) YA At the onset of World War II, German U-boats (submarines) mercilessly sank the military and civilian ships of the Allies, making transatlantic travel a risky endeavor. Americans living abroad had to weigh the risks of remaining in German-occupied territories against the treacherous weeks-long voyage back home. U-boat attacks were unrelenting until late in the war when advances in microwave radar detection allowed the Allies to pinpoint their locations, rendering them virtually useless. As the title suggests, this book divides its focus between the heart-wrenching story of survivors of the torpedoed SS West Lashaway awaiting rescue on a small wooden raft in shark-infested waters and a concise and highly readable history of the science of electromagnetic fields. Beginning with discoveries in the eighteenth century, Lantos provides background on each advancement in the science as well as biographical information about the scientists involved, finally introducing the American military scientists and engineers who figured out how to use microwaves to precisely locate distant objects. He ups the tension by alternating the harrowing experience of the shipwreck survivors with development of the radar equipment that was critical to both their rescue and the Allied victory in WWII. This page-turning account, with archival images and occasional chapter-opening illustrations (by Alan Marks), provides equal parts suspense and wonder for readers of history and science alike. Appended with thorough source notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) YA Illustrated by Robin Yao. In the distant dystopian-future setting of this graphic novel towers the monumental stacked city of Muqadas, where each level dictates the quality of life of its citizens. A trio of adolescent friends -- Basem, Mustafa, and Aarfah -- resides in the lower region of Saha, a tier plagued by a water-polluting virus that infects the limbs and must ultimately be treated by amputation. Using their engineering skills, Basem and Mustafa generate prosthetic legs from scrap metal for Aarfah. Their ingenious efforts attract a scout from the tiers above, granting them an opportunity for social mobility and a chance at a new life. But what must they compromise to achieve this status? A story of class divisions, exploitation, and marginalization unfolds in this segmented world that mirrors real-world health inequities and socioeconomic injustices. The forest greens and indigo blues punctuated by glowing candlelight in the lower tiers clash with the pastel-hued opulence of the upper regions, symbolizing the disconnect and social disparity between the tiers. Dynamic characterization and atmospheric world-building in a setting with echoes of contemporary Muslim society engender a fantastically allegorized tale touching on themes of social stratification, solidarity, friendship, queer relationships, survival, and hope in a world fractured by enduring class struggles.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Julia Kuo. This attractive, informative, and ambitious collective biography begins with a challenge: "Quick! Name the world's greatest scientist." Messner (The Next President, rev. 3/20) introduces well-known and lesser-known scientists throughout history and organizes the book by theme (scientists as observers, as artists, as readers, etc.). A typical spread depicts three scientists as children engaged in a similar activity, such as tinkering (James West, Grace Hopper, Ayah Bdeir) or skygazing (Johannes Kepler, Maria Mitchell, Adriana Ocampo). Short captions provide information about each as a child, and the book then reveals their corresponding grown-up versions and achievements. This clever structure allows for a smooth flow and offers connection and comparison among scientists across time, cultures, and locales. "Snapshot" interludes provide brief information about specific shared interests (sewing/knitting; the study of Pluto). Kuo's digital illustrations in clear black line and a rich color palette have a paper doll like quality while still being dynamically posed and presented on the pages. Thoughtful curation results in representation of a wide range of identities, fields of study, and challenges throughout the history of modern science. Culminating in a hopeful call for future scientists to create "a better world," the book presents supplemental mini-biographies, further reading, selected sources, and a list of some of the scientists' favorite books.

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

(2) K-3 In 1815 a volcano erupts, blanketing the northern hemisphere with dark clouds that block the sun and create winterlike conditions for a year. Life is bleak: crops fail; animals die; and in this world dependent on horses for transportation, people's mobility is limited. A young German forester named Karl Drais wonders if he could construct a vehicle that would be powered by humans, not horses. He tries and fails. Drais alters the design and tries again. This time, success! Mixed-media illustrations beautifully enhance the text. The initial, full-bleed spreads, employing woodland shades of brown and green, complement the leisurely introduction to Drais and his rural setting. Post-eruption illustrations turn dark, containing only shades of black and brown and featuring dense clouds of ash topping each page. As Drais perfects his final design, spot art underscores the multiple steps required to construct a workable, human-propelled, two-wheeled vehicle. When he embarks on his initial ride, the palette brightens, displaying bursts of color and revealing a shining sun that creates a visual metaphor: "There was wonder in the world again, a place where anything was still possible." In an informative author's note, Negley (The Boy and the Wild Blue Girl, rev. 5/20) explains that he devised this story based on three facts he knew about the real-life Drais (1785–1851): he created the first two-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle, this machine did not have pedals, and Drais's initial ride was about four miles. A terrific fictionalized narrative, clear about the limited information on which it's based.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) YA Illustrated by Markia Jenai. In this graphic memoir, brilliant Jay Jay enjoys solving the puzzles and equations her incarcerated father, Antoine, sends her in handwritten letters -- though they take a long time to arrive. Jay Jay is elated when her father is released from prison, but the joy is short lived when she discovers the family will have to move from their beloved Buffalo, New York, to Florida. Life away from friends and extended family is rough, and Jay Jay is unsure how much she can trust her new classmates with information about her father. The adjustment to their new life brings new challenges for both Jay Jay and Antoine, but their shared love of mathematics allows them to find logical solutions to their relationship issues, and more. While in prison, Antoine earned a degree in computer programming; as he teaches her how to code, they work together to develop the Photo Patch app when Jay Jay is just twelve years old. The app will allow families to more easily communicate with their loved ones in prison. Now twenty, Patton recounts her journey with equal parts directness and humor. Panels vary in size and color to create movement, with some illustrations utilizing the entire page and breaking through margins. Interspersed boxes in a standout gold express the author's memories and thoughts. Back matter (some pages unseen) includes information regarding parents in the penal system and about Photo Patch.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carl Angel. Born in 1896 under Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, Pedro Flores immigrated to the United States as a teenager. It wasn't until years later -- after he had worked in Hawaiian pineapple fields, on steamships in the Pacific, and at a hotel in California -- that he produced the first Flores yo-yo. Though Flores did not invent the toy (Peñas traces its origins back thousands of years to China), his ingenious reengineering of it led to its rise in popularity (the word yo-yo means "come back" in Tagalog). Peñ as's straightforward text is well supported by deeply saturated images that illustrate Flores's experience as an immigrant: long hours of physically demanding labor and the dogged pursuit of education. It was with the help of a neighbor that Flores was able to start his business, and he committed to bringing his fellow kabayan into his success, as employees. Readers will delight in learning (or remembering) how to "Rock the Baby," "Loop the Loop," and "Walk the Dog." An author's note provides history about the Philippines, the yo-yo, and Flores's life.

Reviewer: Gabi K. Huesca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 The James Webb Space Telescope is the latest "great observatory" collecting data on distant galaxies and stars from a position orbiting Earth. Slade skillfully explains NASA's decades-long and at times precarious process of designing, building, launching, and operating the telescope. The focus is mainly on the technical aspects of the engineering project, but there is also helpful consideration of the political and financial costs of keeping a complex technology project aloft. Abundant photographs of the people, machines, and facilities involved illustrate the telescope, with its distinctive hexagonal mirrors, under construction; the rocket launch into orbit; and then the payoff: crisp, striking images that show never-before-seen objects and give new details about familiar stars and nebulae. Excellent, in-depth captions provide valuable information, in particular when describing which data is accessed to produce each space image. The back matter provides schematics, information about historical space telescopes, and resources for further reading.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) K-3 The environmental contributions of beaver dams are well documented. But too many beavers can cause problems, particularly for humans attempting to alter the landscape for their own purposes. Such was the situation in McCall, Idaho, in 1948 when Fish and Game warden Elmo Heter sought a nonlethal way to remove the excess beaver population. Transporting the animals across mountainous terrain to the nearby preserve of Chamberlain Basin, where they had been hunted to near extinction a hundred years previously, proves impossible. But when Heter discovers a stash of parachutes left over from World War II, he wonders if he can devise a beaver airlift. He cleverly constructs boxes that can hold the creatures, be dropped from planes, and open automatically when they land. This translocation was a near-total success; only one out of seventy-six did not make it, and the rest thrived in their new location and restored the balance of the area's ecosystem. Using an earth-toned palette, Uribe's computer-generated, retro-style illustrations superbly reflect both the physical setting and the historical times. Faux artifacts such as notebook pages, hand-tied flies, and even a cliffside depiction of Native artwork decorate some pages. An author's note goes deeper into the events (including problems with translocation) and provides information about humans and animals coexisting peacefully. A bibliography of selected sources completes the book.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger. Turner tells the amazing story of Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), a pioneering woman in STEM, from her young life as family housekeeper to the discovery of a comet that earns her a paid retainer from the king of England. Despite her mother's insistence on keeping her as a helper in the home, Herschel's curiosity and hard work mean that she is able to first support and eventually work side by side with her brother in both music and astronomy. The scientific siblings create and build new telescopes that can see further into space than anyone has before, leading to a series of remarkable discoveries. (Many readers will be fascinated to learn that pounded horse dung was the innovation that allowed the Herschels to build their telescope and change astronomy.) Turner peppers the text with direct quotes from Herschel's memoir and with memorable moments, such as the winter night when even Caroline's ink freezing in the inkwell did not stop her journey of discovery. Mildenberger's painted illustrations have a historical feeling and are often muddy or dark, but bright stars and faces shine out of the blues and browns. Her characters' animated facial expressions bring scenes to life. Back matter includes additional biographical information, a glossary, sources for quotations in the text, and further reading.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. "On a North Carolina farm, massive towers with moving parts spin and sound in the breeze. Did space aliens create these contraptions?" At the opening of this picture-book biography, a tangle of colors and shapes and a burst of visual onomatopoeia ("WHIRR, CREEEAK. Plink, plink") introduce readers to the plucky machinist and inventor Vollis Simpson (1919–2013) and his "whirligigs." The narrative shows how his childhood interest in the mechanics of objects established his career path: "Vollis aimed to make machines work better." Illustrations add to the down-home feel of the story while helping readers visualize some of Simpson's more original improvements, such as a wind-powered washing machine invented during WWII using parts from a downed B-29 bomber. An injury in his sixties forces Simpson to close his machine-repair shop and ultimately propels him, "bored as a two by four," to begin making the colorful whirligig windmills that will become his legacy. Color and sound ("Whistle, Whir, BOING, BOING") keep the story energetic and busy to match the spirit of its subject, and the illustrations become ever more fanciful as Simpson's windmill farm grows. Back matter includes an author's note, a bibliography, and the lyrics to "Vollis Simpson's Windmill Farm" (to the tune of "Old MacDonald").

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) K-3 The titular protagonist (Lonely Bird, rev. 11/23) has begun to notice something unusual about herself. To readers, she already stands out as a small, stark, and white line drawing against a three-dimensional painted world. From where she stands on the windowsill, she sees birds using their wings in a way that she can't, and she begins to wonder about "who she is and where she fits." She surrounds herself with books, feathers, drawings, and images of flight to help develop her calculations and determine the materials she needs. At last, she builds a "contraption that is very exciting to look at": a flying machine. As with many experiments, an initial faulty flight eventually leads to a successful soar out the window and into...a spiderweb. Once it's clear her contraption has crumpled, she worries she won't be able to find a way back home. Thankfully, Lonely Bird makes an eight-legged friend who inspires an invention that just might work. This story champions ingenuity and aspirations and is a lovely extension of the journey in the first book. Subdued and thoughtful, it instills in readers that a dream can both send us soaring and bring us home.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024