A U.S. veteran narrates a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the military memorials of Washington, D.C., in a deeply felt picture book from the previous collaborators that highlights the work of Honor Flight—a volunteer-run program that takes veterans to the U.S. capitol. Often speaking in a collective we, a nameless narrator tells readers, “Call me Kilroy. Squid. G.I. Joe. Airman, Jarhead, WAC or WAVE. I’m an aging veteran of the United States Armed Forces” before acknowledging actions taken “as warriors” and “as peacemakers.” Some veterans, matter-of-fact text contextualizes, “came home to joy, others to curses. Some never came home.” And as time moves forward, “death does not frighten us.... What scares us is being forgotten.” When a phone call proffers an Honor Flight invitation, the narrator regards it as a “final mission.” And as the protagonist and assigned companion tour locales including the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they connect with other veterans, forging new memories and a feeling of shared purpose. In a hyperrealistic style that mimics photography’s sharp detail and bold lighting, pencil-drawn and digitally colored illustrations pay powerful homage. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Includes extensive back matter. Ages 7–10. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

In rhymes and images that encompass both quotidian and life-or-death situations, this reassuring picture book pays simple but effective tribute to loved ones keeping things running during a family member’s military deployment. Wheeler’s concise, specific language compares two types of service—in various military branches, and through domestic activities back home—while Soman’s watercolor and gouache illustrations depict various families adapting as a loved one serves far away, and keeping in touch through physical letters, care packages, phone calls, and the internet. From a farm-based family taking on chores while Mom pilots an Air Force plane to a Navy sailor’s family washing his truck and caring for his animals in his absence, their love and labor demonstrate that while a loved one is “in the service,/ these folks are true cadets.” Light-infused spreads pause on rural landscapes as well as a Coast Guard rescue, evoking heartfelt emotion with every scene. It’s a collaboration that will help any reader understand the sacrifices of both those who serve and those whose support makes service possible. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Unflappable perseverance drives Robert Benjamin Irwin (1883–1951), the determined inventor at the heart of Lacika and Fortson’s optimistic account about the creation of the first audiobooks. The story opens during Irwin’s youth, establishing the figure as always “looking for something new.” After he becomes blind due to a childhood illness, and finger-reading proves “difficult and slow,” Irwin begins dreaming of “talking books” that would be longer than the songs and poems recorded at the time. Defying his family’s doubts, Irwin achieves significant professional success, and begins a multipronged effort to bring books to blind people, first via a national braille library and eventually a machine that plays books on records. Throughout this winning portrait, upbeat narration emphasizes Irwin’s resolve, while embroidery lends an appropriate sensory dimension to busy pages featuring scratchy digital drawings of the protagonist doggedly working to effect change. An author’s note concludes. Background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

A special gift opens the door to new bonds in Lu’s uplifting tale about the reality-changing power of imagination. Young Ren loves stories, and every night she snuggles in with Popo to take in fanciful tales—“Stories from the East that Ren and Popo imagined themselves in.” After Ren’s parents tell her the family is moving “to the West,” a farewell sees Popo giving Ren a pencil and whispering, “You will make your own magic there, my dear.” But upon arrival, Ren, given a new name and a too-short haircut, can’t see herself in tales told in “upside-down letters.” When a yellow-orange cat like Popo’s runs by, the girl follows it through a doorway into a fantasy world where saving an imperiled princess offers a chance to make a new friend. Jewel-toned pencil, watercolor, and digital images pop from saturated indigo and forest-green backgrounds that brighten as the child finds her way in this reassuring story about drawing one’s own happy outcomes. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

A child’s creative interpretation of a teacher’s prompt to “draw something that is inspired by nature” compels a class to embrace imagination in a picture book that pops with bold graphics. Brown-skinned Maya loves nothing more than drawing, and when Ms. Juniper assigns the art homework, the protagonist “draws, paints, and glues” all evening long. In class, other students proudly present naturalistic renderings, but when Maya unveils her work, she receives a critical peer response: “This looks wrong!... It doesn’t look like a rainbow.” Ms. Juniper transforms the moment into a teachable one, and Maya’s description of her vision (“My rainbow takes you to a world where raindrops taste like cotton candy”) transports and inspires the other kids. The resultant exercise in perspective-taking yields a vibrant classroom mural of bold, Matisse-like botanicals. Pippins’s thickly colored illustrations playfully convey the heroine’s nonconformist approach with patterned adornments, such as dots and dashes, amid home and school scenes. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Rosenstock and Delmar tie the magical prowess of Harry Houdini (1874–1926) to his fondness for books in this mesmerizing account of the escape artist’s accomplishments. Awe-filled storytelling emphasizes Houdini’s early appreciation for his father’s sizable library, sold when the family experiences poverty after moving from Hungary to America. After finding a used book about magic, Houdini’s life changes course, and he and wife Bess are soon renowned for their act and especially the former’s feats of dramatic escape. As the magician’s renown grows, so too does his collection of historical volumes and paraphernalia about magic and theater. Intricate, period-appropriate cut paper and acrylic gouache dioramas cleverly play with light and shadowfor maximal drama. The creative team’s illumination of Houdini continually amazes in this elegant work about books as his “greatest escape.” Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Creators’ notes conclude. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Nickel subtly draws on the plot of “The Ugly Duckling” to compose this compassionate biographical portrait of author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). Sensitive narration embraces fairy tale rhythms, beginning “There was once a poor shoemaker’s son.” Described as a “strange child” even by his mother, the youth spends his days cutting out costumes and inventing and sharing stories, despite bullying. While a relocation to Copenhagen offers the hope of performing professionally, the protagonist faces repeated rejection until, at age 17, he starts school, nearly twice as old as the other students. Eventually, a chance encounter sees Andersen reconnect with his storytelling impulses, his fame grows, and soon, “he felt like the most beautiful swan of all.” Nicholls’s absorbing three-dimensional artwork perfectly pairs, consisting of low-relief paper sculptures enhanced with embossing and cutting techniques. Background characters are largely depicted with pale skin. A closing author’s note discusses the figure in terms of neurodivergence. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Bay Pimentel and Pray highlight the importance of teamwork, pulling back the curtain on the creators who produced the Winnie-the-Pooh books. Omniscient narration unfolds in dialogue with Pooh himself (“Oh, bother”). The story begins with author A.A. Milne writing “some words about a bear” (“A bear?! Where?/ Oh. Me!”). Frank text describes how an editor played matchmaker between Milne and illustrator Ernest Shepard, and how the trio then innovated with page layout: “They bounced words up and down, right off the line.” A combination of pencil and watercolor, and screen and reverse transfer printing, wispily rendered artwork is successfully redolent of Pooh and friends, with snippets of typeset text from the original books generating a suitably literary collage effect across this winsome peek behind the scenes of a beloved bear’s birth. Human characters are portrayed with pale skin. Includes extensive back matter. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Historical evidence as well as contemporary scientific and cultural expertise propel Doughty’s thoroughly researched nonfiction graphic novel about what the debut creator calls the end of the world. To open, a chapter titled “The Beginning”—the first of eight distinct segments conveyed via approachable text—recounts a brief history of Earth and human society, and defines extinction as “not just the end of a species... but also the end of a planet... or a way of life.” Subsequent sections cover topics relating to climate change, space exploration, technological advancement, and more as they ruminate on global factors that could contribute to possible apocalypse. For example, an entry titled “Plagues and Pandemics” details the origins of bacteria strain yersinia pestis, three plagues that evolved from it, the resulting advent of antibiotics, and the threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Across saturated, full-color illustrations that evoke vintage travel posters, an unnamed human with black hair and brown skin appears in depictions of the past, present, and potential futures, acting as a stand-in for the audience. Visual humor provides levity throughout fact-heavy infographic-style spreads and somber recreations of tragic events, while a recurring river motif suggests hope and optimism for the future. Ages 14–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Purwin (Idle Women on the Water) chronicles the adventures of a young human girl as she traverses a magical world of strange creatures and uncharted dangers to find her parents in this intrepid graphic novel. Little Moon wakes from a nightmare about the Shenk—a ghostly, ever-watchful, multi-appendaged entity—to find that the monster exists both in her dreams and IRL. When the Shenk abducts her parents, Little Moon resolves to rescue them, using the wisdom of a beloved bedtime volume to guide her: “Not all stories are spells, but all spells are stories.” While searching town for clues, Little Moon is abruptly transported by an enigmatic witch to a magical dimension. There, Little Moon procures otherworldly allies, including an orange, bunny-like creature named Goblin and an enchanted talking hat. As the trio wander the abundant Glassmoor forest, the secret Mushroom Library, and a mysterious ethereal mist, Little Moon uncovers secrets about her previously unknown witch heritage. Atmospheric and beguiling, this lush fantasy adventure—rendered in chimerical watercolor and colored pencil— considers themes of grief and identity as its fearless protagonist combats monsters both outward and within. Characters are depicted with various skin tones. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink