(2) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Henson Blayze is about to start eighth grade and, as his friend Menkah tells him, "The whole town, the whole state of Mississippi has been waiting on you." He'll be playing football with the high school team; his mostly white town of Great Mountain has never before had a Black athlete to pin their hopes on, but now they have "a 'Negro' of their own." And it is a charmed first day -- adoring students, special food, an exclusive area in the lunchroom, even an ode written to him by last year's class president. But the head of the cafeteria, Mrs. Pendegrass, a Black woman, warns him: "Watch yourself, Henson. Ya hear? When they start acting like this -- and I done seen it before -- it never ends well. Just protect yourself, baby." Barnes creates something bigger than a traditional sports novel with an effective combination of well-realized characters, a contemporary setting rooted in history, and mythic elements that lend a transcendent feel. Especially well drawn is Henson's internal conflict: he loves football but doesn't want to feel "owned" by white fans; he loves his father and the heritage of the Blayze land, but being the one to carry on the family legacy feels claustrophobic when you want to find own your place in the world. By book's end, readers will feel that Henson will figure it out. A memorable story (with a powerful opening author's note) that takes a strong stand for true history.

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

(2) 4-6 At school Marty keeps a low profile to conceal the difficulties of his home life: a single mother who hoards and who lives with agoraphobia. Gracie comes from the prosperous side of the tracks but has challenges of her own: a busy, neglectful single dad and hearing loss. On the plus side, Marty has a warm, eccentric grandfather who gardens and encourages Marty's dream to one day visit the Eiffel Tower, and Gracie has a full complement of confidence. They also, increasingly in this story of a growing friendship, have each other. Just when readers think they know what familiar middle-grade-fictional territory they are in, Welsh writer Lewis throws a curveball toward magical realism and tall tale. The seed that kindly Grandad gave Marty for his birthday grows into a gigantic pumpkin, and Grandad decides to turn it into a boat and sail with Marty and Gracie to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. The narrative tension switches from that of unreliable parents and school bullies to ­pumpkin-craft-threatening waves in the English Channel. With lots of help from a supportive community, the three succeed in their odyssey and the theme of following your dream (no matter how loopy) is made concrete. The two modes of storytelling don't entirely mesh, but the total effect is immensely likable.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) K-3 Summer on the blacktop courts of ­Milwaukee gets infinitely more exciting when a new kid joins the Eagles. From the first time they see him handle a basketball, the team members know that with Gravity on their squad they have a chance to be the best in the city. Palmer's (Mama Africa!, rev. 11/17; A Plan for the People, rev. 7/21) entertaining modern-day tall tale, told in direct-address by teammate Butta, is heavy on both hyperbole and basketball action: "Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down." On-point gameplay descriptions bring readers into the action as the awe-inspiring heroics of a mythically great ballplayer take center court. The story's climax is at the city finals where the Eagles realize they can't rely only on Gravity's immense skills and abilities to overcome their opponents. Vivid colors and heavy brushstrokes bring the city, its courts, and the characters to life, with the fluid basketball movements and positioning of the players being exceptionally well rendered. Palmer's author note dedicates the story to "unsung basketball greats who never made it to the NBA but left a lasting impression on those who witnessed their incredible feats and heard their amazing stories." Hand off to fans of Peoples-Riley's I Got Next (rev. 11/19) and Myers's H.O.R.S.E. (rev. 1/13).

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) K-3 Translated by David Colmer. Mr. Coats feels the cold. He stays indoors, huddled next to the fire in all seasons. He's lonely. He thinks of a solution, then ventures out to buy three thick coats and puts them all on at once. He's still cold. He buys twelve more coats. Still cold. He puts on coats and more coats until he is so bulky he cannot get through his doorway and ends up living outside in his yurt-shaped coat-house, sleeves functioning as stovepipes. Not until a kind neighbor match-makes him with another coat-house dweller in a nearby town does Mr. Coats realize two life lessons: there's somebody for everybody, and love keeps you warm from the inside out. Good conversation helps, too. "Mrs. Coats and Mr. Coats had a lot to talk about: electric blankets, hot water bottles, earmuffs, cups of hot chocolate, sun lamps, fur-lined boots..." This wry, absurdist tall tale provides a wonderful canvas for wild fabric patterns as Posthuma layers checks upon stripes upon tartans in a wild collage of color. Originally published in the Netherlands in 2006, the story travels well across the ocean to a new generation of readers.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) YA In this graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Mei Hao shares her homemade pies and homespun tales about the eponymous Auntie Po (a Chinese Paul Bunyan–type figure of Mei's own creation) with her white best friend Beatrice Andersen and many other eager listeners at Mr. Andersen's 1885 Sierra Nevada logging camp. Mei works hard to help her father cook for the camp's lumberjacks, plus separate meals for the Chinese workers, who aren't given board or allowed to eat with the others. But she dreams of a day when she and Bee can open a hybrid bookstore–pie shop together, even as she realizes that dream--and her unrequited love for Bee--may well be impossible. While Khor's pencils are digital, the rawness and unpredictability of their hand-painted watercolors complement Mei's fluctuating emotions and the harsh life at the camp, where incidents of racism and logging accidents can occur, both devastating. Khor frequently uses the whole page for their illustrations and works outside of panels, techniques that aptly enhance the historical and mythic scope of the ­narrative and that ultimately affirm Mei as the author of her own ­destiny. A multifaceted addition to the historical graphic novel genre, this unique bildungsroman successfully presents many formidable topics with intentional and comprehensive grace.

Reviewer: Niki Marion | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Spires. Henry refuses to stop reading a fantastic book when the school bell rings. Despite a daily buildup of increasingly blaring bells, Henry sticks to his choice. A silly tall tale of improbably escalating destruction ensues as Henry's decision causes imbalances in the school. Spires's cartoons enhance the merriment.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(1) 4-6 Way back when, horse thief Walcott Montgomery and murderer Almira LaFayette set a plot in motion in the Okefenokee Swamp. Their descendants are doomed to play out their tale of curses, trickery, and family feuds; middle graders Blue and Tumble join forces to neutralize the curse. In a mix of tall tale, magic realism, comic mayhem, and sweetness, Beasley creates a distinctive, energetic world.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jim Starr. Jewish giant Samson bakes an enormous challah for Rosh Hashanah and in the process creates some U.S. landmarks (e.g., his mixing bowl is the freshly dug Grand Canyon). "Big Sam" also repairs some natural environments he damaged while baking (after all, the Jewish New Year is about "mending the world") before celebrating with figures from American folklore. Lush paintings illustrate this entertaining if overtly instructive holiday tall tale.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(2) PS Illustrated by Neal Layton. Danny decides to drink the sea--and that's only the beginning. The little redhead's exploits escalate from goofy to tall tale–like to absurdist at just the right pace. The rhymes roll along in nonstop dactyls, and Danny just keeps getting more and more gleeful. Preschoolers will relate to the glorious pleasure of being bad and the outlandish humor of the mixed-media illustrations.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(2) K-3 Translated by Richard Kutner. TOON Books continues to reinvent the easy reader with this biography of eccentric strongman Antonio Barichievich, a Croatian-born showman who became a Montreal legend. Simple text mingles fact, speculation, and tall tale. Energetic illustrations in muted colors feature a large, pink, hairy, joyful Antonio; wild typefaces seem to want to burst from the page. Back matter includes a few more details about Antonio.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Antonio Castro L.. Only beans grow on the poor Hayes family's farm, so they eat nothing but. When the father buys a large hambone, it's used repeatedly by the family and their neighbors to flavor their beans, and it comes in handy when Grandpa loses his teeth in the well. Caricature illustrations (somewhat garishly) play up the humor in this homey, Southwest-flavored tall tale.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rachael Balsaitis. In this tall tale from Minnesota, Mama alleviates her excessive worrying by keeping busy on her farm, sewing, knitting, and cooking enough for all the family and livestock while inquisitive Baby Eli gets into all kinds of benign, folksy trouble. Watercolor illustrations capture each larger-than-life situation, and the big gathering of extended family at the conclusion radiates joy and welcome.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Boldt. Loud Lula is a problem in the library and is counseled at the schoolhouse to use her inside voice. When a wildfire threatens Pryor County, her thunderous warning not only alerts firefighters but also redirects the raging flames. In oversize font, Lula's booming voice graphically shakes every page; exaggerated scenes of tumbling objects and shocked faces match the predictable story's tall-tale tone.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Harrington. After young Willie's application for membership is rejected by the Texas Rangers ("You are too smiley and your belly is too big"), he proves his mettle at Amarillo's Fourth of July parade by thwarting two ice cream–stealing varmints. The narrative's Texas flavor compensates for the story's formulaic aspect, and the illustrations get across the humor with tastefulness and twang. Bib.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leo Espinosa. The people of Windy Flats count on Jackrabbit McCabe and his extra-long legs to deliver messages fast. Will the advent of the electric telegraph make Jackrabbit's gift obsolete? Only a man-versus-machine race will yield the answer. Espinosa's illustrations find the humor in this old-timey yarn, which is both informative and sensitive to the idea that progress can have human costs.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(1) PS An offstage narrator spins this entertaining tale about a missing sandwich's fate: it involves a hungry bear, a berry-eating binge, a nap in the back of a pickup truck, and an unexpected road trip to the city. The diverting story and vibrant, impressionistic paintings help keep the narrator's identity--and unreliability--a surprise until the truth is unleashed ("Ruff! Ruff!").

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Judy Love. Prickly hates that her sister towers over her (literally: Sitka is ten feet tall). Prickly wreaks havoc trying to keep up with Sitka's adventures across Alaska, although that havoc produces several of the state's now-iconic sights. Somewhat rocky rhymes tell the story, which doubles as a tour of Alaska's major attractions. The antic illustrations have an old-timey Norman Rockwell look.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Antonio Castro L.. After Joe rescues a trapped rattler, the snake follows him home. Joe's dad tries to get rid of the dangerous animal, but it keeps coming back. The ending twist may leave kids feeling let down, but the narration's tall-tale feel (though awkward at times) makes the story a suitable read-aloud. The earth-toned, realistic illustrations emphasize the beauty of the Southwestern desert.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. The Widow Jones inherits thirty-five million dollars and a ranch in By Golly Gully, Texas. Little does she know that everything grows bigger in Texas, including tortoises, potatoes that "took only seven of them to make a dozen," and a "watermelon [that] fed everyone on the ranch for a month." Colored-pencil and acrylic illustrations in sunbaked tones complement this engaging tall tale's hyperbole.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2014

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Charles Vess. In Nowhere, Texas, the five Upagainstit siblings find a baby in a tumbleweed. Despite the "littlest-of-all" girl's wishes, they bring Tumbleweed Baby home--where she wreaks havoc. The nonsensical story will prompt a chorus of "Why?" and "How?" from listeners, but the ending helps bring it all together. The inconsistent figures in the ink and colored-pencil illustrations befit the odd tale.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot