(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

(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

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Dustin Mackay. In a world of superheroes, Marshall and his friends don't meet that description since their powers are all defective. But when a villain hatches a plot to destroy the famous Superteam, Marshall and his buddies must overcome their difficulties to save the day. This prose/graphic novel hybrid's sepia-toned illustrations with splashes of color reinforce the fallible nature of the relatable misfits.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) PS Illustrated by John Joven. "The clearing is done. The sun disappears. / A bulldozer stops. He shifts down his gears." But even after the 'dozer bathes (at the car wash), noshes (gasoline), and settles into bed, it can't help but dream about work--this time, building a playground. As in Race Car Dreams, Chriscoe delivers chrome-plated rhymes, and Joven's sleek art is buffed to perfection.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 This just-updated encyclopedic book of U.S. presidents includes Donald Trump. Following an overview of American government, each succinct (mostly one-page) bio covers the ups and downs of the president's career and includes perfunctory sidebars on notable people, events, etc., plus a running timeline. The two-page entry on Trump's young presidency, which touches on the controversies surrounding his election, feels rushed and out of place. Glos.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) PS Illustrated by Ben Whitehouse. Dragon Roar is not looking forward to summer ending; he's nervous about starting school ("what if my teacher is a knight in shining armor...?"). With reassurance from big sister Sparkles, Roar has a great first day and even makes his sister a special picture. Illustrated with goofy cartoons, the story cleverly riffs on typical school goings-on: the dragons play "hide-and-seek-the-princess" in gym, etc.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) YA Eighteen-year-olds Hildy and Paul are paired in an experiment (inspired by a real-life psychological study) that tests whether intimacy between strangers can be achieved through a series of questions. A predictable romance plot is made livelier through engaging formatting, including IMs, texts, and transcript-style dialogue. The pair's entertaining banter, while in ways revealing, only scratches the surface of the characters' painful home lives.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Bear finds Chicken frozen in the snow and brings her home to "defrost." Once thawed, Chicken spies a simmering soup pot and seasonings and fears she's destined to be Bear's lunch. Graphic illustrations capture the humorous misunderstanding between the unlikely friends. Back matter includes a child-friendly "Bear's Vegetable Soup" recipe and a paragraph about black bears.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty