(1) YA After the Greek god Hephaestus catches his wife Aphrodite, goddess of love, in a passionate affair during WWII, Aphrodite defends her actions by relating--with pathos and wit--two intertwined love stories involving four mortals swept up in WWI. Masterful storyteller Berry's tight, short, descriptive chapters span years, continents, and multiple perspectives. This poignant saga will make readers by turns laugh, cry, and swoon. Extensive historical notes on WWI appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Alice's storytelling dad is in a psychiatric hospital, having lost the ability to distinguish story from reality. Wild animals start appearing in town, seeking Alice to save the threatened Story Web she discovered when she was little. Blakemore skillfully uses shifting points of view in this complex and captivating tale. A realistic, honest consideration of the impact of mental illness commingles effectively with the fantastical elements.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. As a bilingual assistant at Nueva York's public library in 1921, Pura Belpré retells the folk stories of her native Puerto Rico at storytimes and eventually writes them down for publication. Descriptive language moves between English and Spanish seamlessly. Both text and expressive, warm illustrations carry the metaphor of planting seeds, so that readers see the seeds of Belpré's stories bloom as the biographical details unfold. Also available in Spanish. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Alicia K. Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) 4-6 In Jakarta, Indonesia, Nia's food-vendor widower father is mired in poverty and alcoholism while the young teenager cares for her little brother. When Nia survives a minibus accident, superstitious locals believe that she has miraculous powers, which aspiring-writer Nia uses to raise money for her schooling. Readers will cheer Nia's real powers--her storytelling talent and her resiliency--in this vividly set story. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series. Set in a Virginia coal-mining town during October of 1942, this second novel in Smibert's planned trilogy finds seventh grader Bone hoping that her Gift--the ability to touch an object and experience its owner's memories--will unlock the secrets of a jelly jar that steals sounds. Magic realism, historical fiction, and folktales are nimbly braided together with realistic portraits of grief.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Hannah Marks. An offstage narrator insists this book's panda protagonist needs a problem to solve: "that's how stories work." Things devolve as the uncooperative panda hijacks the story. Kid-friendly design distinguishes the narrator's traditionally formatted text from the panda's speech-bubble dialogue while plentiful white space makes the appealing digital illustrations easy to follow. Underwood's meta tale creatively explains storytelling fundamentals, slyly defining plot, setting, and characters as the panda upends the norms.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) K-3 "This is a story about a kitten" begins the story-within-the-story a girl is writing and illustrating. Her orange-and-black tabby responds, "A kitten?! Don't you mean a...TIGER!" As she revises her work to suit his wishes for a tale with "PIZZAZZ!”--adding "ROCKETS! ROBOTS! LIGHTNING! SHARKS!"--the kitten becomes increasingly (and humorously) more nervous-looking. The imaginative child's artwork benefits from Woodruff's own deft use of cheery colors in her mixed-media illustrations.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 4-6 This volume collects oral histories of men and women who recount their childhood World War II experiences decades later to present-day children. Fear, loneliness, and anger are vividly remembered and shared with the young interviewers. Most of the accounts, organized into sequential segments, are those of British survivors (the book was first published in the UK). Numerous photographs enhance this historical treasure. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Curato. A little black girl with flowing violet hair guides readers through her creative process, guided by a limitless imagination: "what if that pencil one day disappeared? / I'd fold up the paper till stories appeared." The popping pink-and-purple mixed-media illustrations--incorporating sculpture, origami, collage, photography, and more--gorgeously underscore the message that an artist is more than her tools.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) 4-6 In this fast-paced new adventure series full of fantastical creatures from Hispanic mythology, Charlie has listened to his abuela's scary tales for years. But suddenly, around the time of a mysterious fire, they seem to come to life. Charlie--now growing horns and feathers--and his crush, Violet, set off on a global chase to find his missing parents. At times frightening but consistently entertaining. Glos.

Reviewer: Katie Darrin

(3) 4-6 Servant Felix tells of how, in 1816 Switzerland, his employer Lord Byron's night of revelrous storytelling with friends (including Percy and Mary Shelley) is interrupted by Lizzie, a blind and scarred girl seeking her sister. Horror unfolds as Lizzie recounts her experience with loss, lightning, and an unprincipled woman scientist. Literary-minded readers will recognize Lizzie's haunting story as the germ of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) K-3 Dad's amusing thought bubbles reveal his dread of daughter Alice's abundant ideas for their snowbound day ahead. Once Alice decides they'll make a book, the engaging story-within-a-story features King Alice and her "royal brave knights" on adventures that resemble the biracial family's activities: mealtimes, princess tea, unicorn party, and more. Cordell's loose-lined mixed-media illustrations capture the imagination, mayhem, and love in this family.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) 1-3 Translated by Julia Marshall. In this volume (translated from the Swedish), Little Bear asks his mother for three bedtime stories and she lovingly complies, reciting tales of a Night Guardian, a little girl, and a man--each traversing a dreamy, neon-pink-hued forest before sleep. The textured colored-pencil scenes and Scandinavian atmosphere evoke a timeless nighttime world, appealing in its strangeness. The small, square trim size is perfect for cozy one-on-one sharing.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh. Arlo accidentally drops a book onto the mayor's head. The mayor retorts, "Books are dangerous...they act like seeds, which grow into ideas, and ideas turn into questions." Books get destroyed and the town suffers until Arlo's stories sprout a burgeoning book tree that inspires others to become book gardeners. The allegorical tale's striking mixed-media illustrations feature lots of books in many different languages.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita. A fair-skinned boy and a brown-skinned girl play competitive make-believe ("DUN DUN DUH! / A dragon came!"; "Ta-Da! The girl turned the dragon into a kind dragon") until they satisfyingly join forces. The all-dialogue text differentiates voice using font color (red and purple). The mixed-media illustrations feature chubby, wide-eyed characters and ground the fantasy with homey details such as a blanket fort, stuffies, and a pet dog.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alex Willmore. When Dee and friends set out to find their missing librarian, they discover a bear in Ms. Merryweather's place! The pencil and digital-media illustrations burst with humorous details, such as 101 Recipes for Honey on the liBEARian's desk. The final twist--the bear has snuck out of a Goldilocks book along with another surprise character--will keep readers entertained through the last page.

Reviewer: Rachel Marsh

(3) 4-6 Girl Mayka and her animal friends are living stone figures, but with their creator long dead, they're beginning to lose the magic that keeps them alive. In search of help, Mayka ventures down from their mountaintop home to the world of men. Durst has created a compelling fantasy world; this quiet novel's emphasis on storytelling, bravery, challenging assumptions, and friendship should have middle-grade appeal.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Charles Santoso. A star-nosed mole, a giraffe-necked weevil, a babirusa, and a yeti crab find their writers' group crashed by a bunny who everyone fears will write stories about "friendship and sharing and hugging" (blech). But is it possible that the bunny is being typecast? This rib-tickling caution against stereotypes is told almost entirely in dialogue balloons bellowed by the critters, all adorable-looking despite their petulance.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova. Violet tells a "Little Red Riding Hood"–inspired story with herself and toddler brother as main characters. She dramatically narrates "a journey fraught with danger and peril" as they make their way to a sick neighbor's apartment to deliver soup and cookies. The mixed-media illustrations play along, bringing Violet's vivid storytelling to life in the ordinary apartment-building setting.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) PS In their latest adventure, Bear and Mole go camping, but Mole worries they'll get lost in the dark. Bear reassures Mole with a story about the First Bears making the moon and stars, including--in a dramatic vertical spread--the stationary First Star that guides creatures at night. Spacious art transitioning into a nighttime blue palette complements the simple text full of soothing repetition.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert