(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday. From Chinese ruler Ai of Han to gun-safety activist X González, this browsable volume is intended to encourage curiosity about and further research on fourteen LBGTQ+ activists, poets, politicians, artists, and thinkers from around the world and throughout history. By eschewing specific gender and sexuality labels in her text, Prager focuses on each subject as a human rather than as representative of any particular group. The page design is lively and inviting; each colorful double-page entry features a stylized portrait on the left-hand page and very brief biographical information on the right. Included are birth and death (if applicable) location(s) and date(s), a descriptive and inspirational statement ("You can be RESILIENT like Josephine [Baker]"), a one- or two-sentence paragraph with general information, and a quotation. Website resources are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Robin Boyden. This picture book introduces artist and television personality Bob Ross: his early years loving nature and animals; his military career in Alaska; and the home he found on public television, where he filmed hundreds of episodes of The Joy of Painting from 1983 to 1994. Quotes by the artist are interspersed throughout in red type, demonstrating his gentle, encouraging style. The soft but appropriately colorful illustrations, including a few stunning double-page spreads, show vignettes from Ross's life (and showcase his growing hairstyle). More information about Ross and his TV show, a glossary of applicable art terms, and a bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Creighton-Pester. Rish pits ten animals and their hard-working behinds against one another in a battle to be "crown[ed] the ultimate King of Keisters." Readers are encouraged to rate the butts on a scale of "Terrific Tushie" to "Boring Backside" and decide which rear rules. A chart introduces each animal, listing genus, length, weight, where the species lives, and "posterior power." Silly cartoon illustrations and a punny text convey a butt load of information about unusual behaviors (herring "communicate through farts") and anatomies (a Sonoran coralsnake's butt looks like its head, which tricks predators). A "Butt Bonus" feature with each entry adds related material. A glossary is appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Claire Powell. This playful and informational survey is simultaneously enlightening and enthralling. A simple rhyme pattern persists throughout the book, starting off with some basic fish facts: "Fish have fins and gills and tails. / All fish swim and most have scales." From this point on, however, the odd-factor is dialed way up to highlight unusual fish behavior from around the globe, including (but not limited to) snot-producing parrotfish, dancing sticklebacks, and shrinking anglerfish. While brief, Shumaker's rhyming stanzas read fluidly and at times even address the reader: "One fish squeezes out some slime. / Did you know that some fish climb?" The humorous illustrations approach caricature but never cross that line thanks to Powell's attention to accurate form, color, and behavior. Pleasing layouts reflect a scrapbook aesthetic, featuring an array of paper types (notebook pages, gridlines) and typefaces. A variety of informational captions accompanies each featured fish and adds to the informal tone of the book; for example, a (somewhat subjective) freaky/funky rating is listed for each fish. Back matter includes extensive information about all of the unusual behaviors, further reading, recommended links, and selected sources.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Green. This collective biography introduces a diverse group of both well-known (Simone Biles, Abby Wambach, Wilma Rudolph) and less-well-known women athletes from a notably wide range of sports and other physical disciplines, including softball, swimming, cycling, wheelchair racing, football, and ballet. The three-page profiles follow the same format: full-page action illustration, a page of some "Amazing Facts and Unbelievable Stats," and a one-page overview of career highlights, personal and professional challenges, and causes championed off the field/mat/ice/etc. Readers will be inspired to learn more; two pages of selected sources are appended as is an index.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Nhung Lê. This lively "who's who" presents a diverse group of individuals who have made great strides in fighting climate change. Grouped by professional field, Zissu's compact profiles examine the triumphs and setbacks of each person's work. Subjects range from the famous to the obscure, including activist Greta Thunberg, former vice president Al Gore, scientist Vandana Shiva, urban farmer Will Allen, sustainable business leader Eileen Fisher, and documentary filmmaker David Attenborough. Profiles are accompanied by Lê's vibrant portraits, rendered in a high-contrast palette, and conclude with advice for how readers can follow each person's example. A glossary is appended.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Khoa Le. Loneliness engulfs a young girl in her new life in America, where a roomful of toys and a loving aunt and uncle do little to dispel her homesickness. One day, her aunt tells her a folktale about Persians forced from their homeland seeking ­refuge in India. The Indian king, hesitant to host foreigners, pours a glass of milk and fills it to the brim to indicate that his kingdom is full. Disappointment ripples through the weary travelers. But their clever leader adds a spoonful of sugar to the glass and mixes it without spilling a drop, silently conveying the message that "just like sugar in milk, we will sweeten your lives with our presence." Having won over the king, the travelers, known as Parsis, are welcomed to their new home. The tale her aunt tells shifts the young girl's perspective, and she begins to open herself to her "new and magical homeland." This story of new beginnings, lushly illustrated, celebrates the threads of kindness and ­humanity that bind us together. ­Umrigar's text gracefully alternates between the ­contemporary U.S. of the girl's story and the ancient world of the folktale, incorporating both pathos and humor; Le's art, with its intricate mosaics and brilliant jewel tones, evokes setting and emotion. A border with dynamic swirls of vines as well as a contrasting typeface sets off the story-within-a-story with clarity. Images of the prophet ­Zoroastra and the deity Ahuramazda suggest that the girl's family, like the author, are Parsis.

Reviewer: Sadaf Siddique | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) YA Nira, daughter of stubborn Guyanese-Indian immigrants and the "only brown girl" in her Canadian high school, auditions for the school jazz band. As Nira validates her own talent, she sees that her friend Emily and her cousin Farah are also struggling to come to terms with their identities and family situations. This bittersweet, humorous coming-of-age story offers no easy solutions or redemption narratives, but Nira is a hopeful, relatable character.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 Mip challenges Pip to a race to build the tallest treehouse. Impulsive Mip gets to work right away, while planner Pip drafts detailed blueprints. When things don't go as hoped, the two young fairies work together and discover the joys of teamwork. The mixed-media art has an immersive 3D quality that makes the fairies and their creations pop off the page.

Reviewer: Meredith Madyda

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mark Chambers. If Yoga Frog is "not feeling his happy, froggy self," he does some yoga to feel better. Each brightly colored spread features the pose name in English and Sanskrit, a simple description of what to do, and amusing art of the goggle-eyed, spindly-legged amphibian in the pose. A note to parents and foldout of the frog in the poses ends this child-friendly introduction.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) PS Illustrated by Dave Mottram. "A siren turns off. The sun fades away. / Fire truck is drained. He's had a big day." Three books into her dreaming-vehicles suite (Bulldozer Dreams; Race Car Dreams), Chriscoe delivers fresh rhymes to describe a bedtime routine, complete with (car wash) bath, a (gas station) snack, and sweet (rescue) dreams. Mottram's chunky, gauzy art fittingly seems cloaked in moonlight.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 When TV-obsessed Annie's best friend Savannah--who's not only popular, pretty, and smart, but talented, too--wins a starring role in a local web show, their friendship is suddenly at risk. Annie is jealous, and not even her habit of making up commercials for imaginary made-for-TV products brings her joy. An amiable if typical growing-up narrative is interspersed with Annie's humorous television ads.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow. Kindly monster-child Maximillian Villainous isn't living up to the Villainous family creed. His mom says that if he wants to keep his new pet (and would-be sidekick) bunny, the duo must succeed at one of three villainous tasks. The resolution to this square-peg-in-round-hole identity farce is devilishly clever, and the art showing the creepy-cuddlesome Villainous clan in slightly off-kilter color combinations is ghoulishly good.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 This year, twelve-year-old Shayne's annual idyllic Maine vacation devolves into disaster: she realizes that her grandmother's quirky "collecting" may have become hoarding; her summer-BFF Poppy is spending all her time working and otherwise preoccupied with boys; and Linc, the new neighbor, is oddly obsessed with the Civil War. Told with sensitivity and insight, this summertime coming-of-age story touches on loss and true friendship.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 After a family tragedy, Lizzy looks for signs everywhere. While following a stray cat, Lizzy and best friend Joss meet runaway Charlotte, who sports a four-leaf clover tattoo; Lizzy sees this as a sign and decides to help. Lizzy's vulnerability and love for her family shine in this tender tale of friendship, hope, and faith. A subplot involving fundraising for a local animal shelter lends additional warmth.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) PS Illustrated by Eda Kaban. "BLUE is for girls. And boys. / And uniforms on a team." Pearlman gives each of the introductory-crayon-box colors a gender-neutralizing treatment; in the corresponding illustrations, Kaban shows a girl and a boy happily interacting (e.g., playing baseball). The book is persuasive: by the time young readers hear "All the colors are for EVERYONE" at the end, that point should seem obvious.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is furious when she and her sister are dragged from Mississippi to California by their mother. Elektra misses her father, a scholar of ancient Greek tragedy, but as she makes friends with a wonderfully eclectic set of strays and drifters, she uncovers tragic family secrets and also discovers a reluctant resilience within herself. A delightful realistic novel about epic odysseys and new beginnings.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Five middle schoolers are assigned to work in an assisted-living home as punishment for misdeeds. Over the course of one day, they learn to look deeper than the limiting social identities they've each established, bond with the elderly residents, and solve a mystery or two. An ambitious plot is neatly wrapped up in the end.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) YA Beautiful, popular Anna has always idolized her offbeat older sister, Storm. After Storm dies in a single-car accident on her graduation night, Anna, bereft, follows an impulse to tackle the summer bucket list Storm left behind. This realistic novel has an earnest tone and a sweet romance, but nothing sets it apart from the growing pack of cathartic teen road-trip stories.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) PS This pair of picture books features animal parents and their young engaging in humanlike parent-and-child activities. General statements--"there are some dads who worry"; "some moms are tough"--are expanded by scenes illustrating each type of parent. The pictures seem conjured to fit the rhyme rather than a connecting theme, but an up-tempo rhythm makes for a quick and pleasant-enough read-aloud. Review covers these titles: Some Dads and Some Moms.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald