(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova. "Click. Clack. / Swish-- / pull back. / Bobbin and heddle, / foot pedal, no slack." A rhyming, rhythmic text, meant to mimic the sounds of a modern floor loom, uses a child's first-person voice to explore the practice of weaving through history, highlighting some of the many cultures practicing this art. From page to page, with weaving as the through line, a child toys with the yarn, making connections and imagining her way around the world (beginning with China and the silkworm) while her elder works at the loom, turning the story into a metaphorical global tapestry. Gouache illustrations in contrasting reds and blues play with the ideas and concepts mentioned in the text in a fanciful way. The girl and her cat peek out from behind pottery featuring Egyptian settings, the text chanting, "It sings of flaxen fibers spun / by fingers deft and proud-- / threads destined for a dancer's robes / or for a pharaoh's shroud." While readers would need to have a firm understanding of world history to recognize all the visual and textual cues, extensive back matter expands on each cultural tradition and the time period. Author and illustrator notes include details about their intentions and research in this broad sweep of appreciation and respect for the craft of handmade textiles across cultures.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. Magnolia loves a) inventing and b) her inventive uncle. Initially unimpressed with Uncle Jamie's fiancé, Magnolia comes around when Miss Emily proves equally open to innovation. The characters are flatly written, but cartoony illustrations in pencil, ink, and digital media humorously depict Magnolia's inventive tweaks to wedding traditions from around the world until, on the big day, she unveils her "dual-directional super-jumptastic flower launcher deluxe."

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin