Seashell Key by Lourdes Heuer, illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao

Seashell Key by Lourdes Heuer, illustrated by Lynnor Bontiago. Amulet Books, 2024. 9781419767418 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover early chapter book Genre: Realistic fiction What did you like about the book? Four short “acts” give readers a taste of the fun to be had during summer on beautiful Seashell Key. It’s fun following Mateo as he makes animal…

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Something on the Hill by Jane Kohuth, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

Something on the Hill by Jane Kohuth, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. Anne Schwartz Books, 2024. 9780593301074 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? When Field Mouse wakes up one morning, she knows that something has changed. Something is calling to her, so she gathers her friends Gray Squirrel, Doe, Turtle and the…

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Not Perfect by Maya Myers, illustrated by Hyewon Yum

Not Perfect by Maya Myers, illustrated by Hyewon Yum. Neal Porter Books, 2024. 9780823451708 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? A little girl, Dot, (from the author and illustrator’s previous book together Not Little) e’;/[/xplains that she’s good at some things but really wants to be perfect at something. When…

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Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them by Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict, illustrated by Khoa Le

Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them by Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict, illustrated by Khoa Le. MIT Kids Press, 2024. 9781536224511 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3.5 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? This attractive book introduces the science of wind. Lilting, varied poems in many forms by the two authors present…

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Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole

Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole. Labyrinth Road, 2024. 9780593644669 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover fiction Genre: Novel in verse What did you like about the book? Seventeen year old Ariel is in turmoil. Not only has her sister moved away, but her best friend has left for the summer as well. Ariel’s intrusive thoughts have taken over: she is…

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Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen Mok

Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen Mok. Candlewick Press, 2024. 9781536222791 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover Genre: Animal fiction What did you like about the book? Orris is a rat who lives alone in an abandoned barn with his treasures. One night a young owl gets caught in mousetrap in the barn. Timble, the owl,…

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Bao's doll by Bo Lu

Bao’s Doll by Bo Lu. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024. 9781419769214 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? Bao desperately wants the doll that her friend has – an expensive doll with blond hair that resembles one that may be familiar to readers. However, her Mama does not understand what Bao wants. In fact,…

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This Table by Alex Killian, illustrated by Brooke Smart

This Table by Alex Killian, illustrated by Brooke Smart. Greystone Kids, 2024. 9781771645829 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? This beautiful picture book takes the reader from a tree’s seed to a finished wooden table, lovingly constructed to become the center of a family’s life. Watercolor artwork shows the…

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Unhappy Camper by Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu and Sunmi

Unhappy Camper by Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu and Sunmi. Harper Ally, 2024. 9780062973900 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: ARC (4/24 publication date) Genre: Realistic fiction What did you like about the book? I was first drawn in by the comical image of a supremely miserable camper on the cover of this middle grade graphic novel. Michelle and Claire are…

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Dog vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet, illustrated by Andrea Zuill

Dog vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet, illustrated by Andrea Zuill. Random House Studio, 2024. 9780593643129 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? Dog is curled up on the floor when her (brown-skinned) human offers her a strawberry. Gazing at it on the floor, Dog imagines “…the greatest race of all time!” between her…

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The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham

The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham. Hyperion Avenue, 2024. 9781368093002 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3 Format: Hardcover fiction Genre: Historical fiction/romance/crime/mystery What did you like about the book? Chicago in the 1920’s was full of crime, gangs, and racism. Nelly Sawyer is shielded from most of the bad by her family’s extreme wealth, but, as…

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Tasha's Voice by Carmen Bogan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and Daria Peoples

Tasha’s Voice by Carmen Bogan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and Daria Peoples. Yosemite Conservancy, 2024. 9781951179045 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover picture book What did you like about the book? Tasha, a Black girl, is the new kid in her class. Shy and quiet, she is too nervous to speak to her teacher or get to know her classmates. But when the class…

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The Great Puptective by Alina Tysoe

The Great Puptective by Alina Tysoe. Simon & Schuster, 2024. 9781665938242 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: ARC (publication date March 2024) Genre: Humor What did you like about the book? Truffles the cat gets a new housemate when his owner brings home a young puppy. Poppy, who sports a tiny deerstalker à la Sherlock Holmes, is a self-described ‘puptective,’ and…

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Secrets of the Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Secrets of the Octopus by Sy Montgomery. National Geographic, 2024. 9781426223723 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover What did you like about the book? Have you noticed that octopuses are experiencing a surge in popularity right now? Perhaps it’s due to the new research that brings more and more fascinating facts to light about this often-misunderstood…

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Cuando el sol se marcha / When the Sun Goes Down by Alicia Acosta, illustrated by Mar Ferrero

Cuando el sol se marcha (9788419607775) / When the Sun Goes Down (9788419607805) by Alicia Acosta, illustrated by Mar Ferrero. Translated from the Spanish by Cecilia Ross. NubeOcho, 2024, c2023. Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Board books What did you like about the book? Diverse animal parents and their children rush home as the sun goes down in this sweet board…

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Sky & Ty: Howdy, Partner! by Steve Breen

Sky & Ty: Howdy, Partner! by Steve Breen. Pixel + Ink, 2024. 9781645952145 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre: Western What did you like about the book? Sky, a small eight year old Black girl with a big blue cowboy hat, really wants a dinosaur. And then she meets one. Ty is nothing like the ferocious beast she had envisioned, but when…

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Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi

Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi. Kids Can Press, 2024, c2022. 9781525313035 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover Genre: Animal fiction What did you like about the book? Three short chapters show Little Shrew’s quiet life, from rising, breakfast, taking a train to his job at the Exchange, lunch with his coworker, Tom, and then home to a quiet evening.…

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