After a day of bickering, a dragon-led dream-time outing offers nighttime tranquility to two human siblings and others. In extended second-person passages, Schotter describes “a rustle and a whirrrrr. Wings at your window? Your own special dragon could be calling.” A ghostly-blue beast named Nuri whisks the pale-skinned protagonist aloft to a “Secret Gathering.” En route, comets pen messages and stars are roasted like marshmallows in dragons’ fiery breath. The meetup initially proves quarrelsome, but when a dragon proclaims “PEACE NOW,” it inspires the participants, portrayed with various skin tones, to unfurl their own benevolent messages (“No more shoving/ Just loving”) and to send “kindness to the earth and sky.” Scattered with multicolored stars, Le’s inky, unlined renderings seem to twinkle, and the dancing beasts’ tails become luminous northern lights. An invitation (“Imagine...”) closes out the earnest expedition after the child tells family about the group’s harmonious vision. An author’s note includes further info about dragon lore. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

Kids cook up an elixir for youthfulness in this whimsically nostalgic picture book. Opening instructions emphasize the simplicity of the assignment: “To make a magic potion,/ you will need these things:/ A friend (or two or three)/ A bucket or a pot/ Or a hole/ And—ingredients.” The ensuing list of elements, secreted “all over the world,” lean on nature, from “a pinch of grass from a neighbour’s lawn” to “a rock from the water, cool to the touch.” With pale, earthy coloring, Horne’s smudgy, naif-style artwork zooms in and out of scenes featuring a pair of children relishing their outdoor explorations. The recipe’s final combination of stirs, words, and wishes produces the desired magic—a long-lasting sensorial memory that prompts gladdening reminiscences. Henseleit and Horne summon whimsical visions of imagination-fueled outdoor play. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3 and up. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

This sprightly story centering on a fantastical creature meetup spotlights self-acceptance. With a loud voice and helpful nature, Wee Unicorn struggles with a single problem: “She wasn’t what everyone expected a unicorn to be. Wee Unicorn WASN’T magic.” Friendly mountain giants reassure, “Just do your own thing,” but it takes repeat encounters —one frightening and one conciliatory—with a loch creature of lore for the horned heroine to embrace her own kindheartedness. As Wee follows a path toward self-discovery, McLaren weaves in classic fairy tale entities: fluttering fairies offer commentary, selkies provide conflict, and a comic side plot spins an origin story for the Loch Ness “monster”’s name. Cool-toned artwork has the appealing look of screen printing, amplifying the takeaway that belief in oneself is a beautiful thing. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

A pale-skinned boy and his dog battle Sunday doldrums with an imagined journey in this meditation on adventure. With domestic distractions occupying family, the protagonist and pup venture forth alone. As their expedition takes them “from the freezing cold of ice caps... to the baking heat of lava flows,” each location bears resemblance to household spaces. Tolentino pairs venturing lines with art that embraces matte coloring and a retro etched look, creating immersive spreads that amplify the wonder of the pair’s round-the-world jaunt with a hidden-pictures effect. A line of camels traverses a sand dune that, at second glance, takes on the contours of a person’s face, and a pirate ship’s flag mirrors the shape of laundry hung to dry. When the explorers return home, accounts of their daring provoke a profound realization about the child’s boundless future in “the wild unknown.” Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hope riffs on the metaphor of a city that “roared like a jungle” in this tale of a metropolitan outing that becomes a wild, mettle-testing adventure. During the train ride in with her mother, pale-skinned Leoni takes inspiration from “extraordinary” fellow commuters (clad in animal-print attire), declaring herself “a lion girl.” Lively streets, a museum outing, and a cafeteria “where other families sat in their prides” elicit emboldening emotions (“I’m lion girl, and I am SO HAPPY”). After a butterfly chase leaves Leoni lost, however, her roar wavers—until Mom’s loud call revives. Subtly leaning into the jungle theme through pattern play, Woodcock’s art, digitally created with mixed-media elements, has a blurred-edged quality that suits the energy of city life. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

What happens if a country leaves debris in Earth’s orbit? Can countries claim pieces of outer space? Levinson (Free to Learn) and Swanson (Up Periscope!) answer these questions and more in this approachable work about the ethical and political challenges surrounding cosmic exploration. Beginning with the early days of the space race, the creators discuss the United Nations’ passing of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty—formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies—which introduced myriad laws regarding the cosmos that became the foundation for contemporary accords. Some such agreements include the prohibiting of nuclear weapons in space and the Moon Treaty, which declared the moon “the common heritage” of humankind. Sparse text details how countries sought legal ways to control not just the ownership of space but the behavior conducted and conflict occurring there as well. Photographs, scientific graphics, and factual insets abound in this simplified depiction of complex topics that encourages readers to ask their own questions about international space travel and, perhaps, pursue answers while forging intergalactic careers themselves. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

Married collaborators and disability advocates Shane Burcaw (Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse) and Hannah Burcaw, a debut author, present a heartfelt collection of 22 interviews interspersed with the couples’ own personal narratives to showcase interabled romantic relationships across a spectrum of cultures, sexualities, ethnicities, and disability experiences. The creators—who post videos on their YouTube channel Squirmy and Grubs—balance seriousness and emotional vulnerability with cheeky banter, particularly when addressing their own experiences with dating and marriage: “Every story from our relationship has two perspectives. There’s Shane’s memories of events, which is inevitably tainted by fantastical exaggerations that he’s added throughout the years. Then there’s Hannah’s perspective: clear, accurate, refined.” Centering adult perspectives, each included interview tackles issues surrounding sex and intimacy, discrimination, and balancing caregiving with a romantic partnership, alongside funny and endearing recollections. The Burcaws’ approach to storytelling is transparent and genuine, often including parenthetical asides with further context or extensive quotes. It’s a sophisticated and necessary compilation that sheds light on the normalcy of interabled romance and how frequently it’s ignored, misunderstood, or dismissed. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tina Dubois, Creative Artists Agency. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

“There was never before, and has never been, another day in court like it,” asserts Levy (Change Is in the Air) in this riveting work about The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, commonly known as the Scopes Monkey Trial. Following his first year of teaching in May 1925, Dayton, Tenn., educator John Thomas Scopes (1900–1970)—who’d been filling in for the school’s biology teacher—is informed by the chairman of the Rhea County school board, two lawyers, the school superintendent, and a nearby business owner that he’s been charged with breaking the law for teaching his students about human evolution. “Since when was teaching a unit in biology class a crime?” Levy writes in conversational prose. “Since seven weeks earlier,” following the instating of House Bill 185, or the Butler Act, which forbid “the teaching of any theory that denies the story of Divine Creation.” Archival b&w photos alongside divisive and thorough text depicts the court case and its impact, resulting in a look at two combatting schools of thought—fundamentalist vs. science-backed rhetoric—and the figures who became the face of them. A timeline and sources conclude. Ages 10–14. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

Young girls are united through the decades in this touching and tender graphic novel exploration of grief, family, and the vital importance of artistic expression, told by van Lieshout (the Big Kid Power series) through intertwining stories set in Amsterdam between 2011 and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1943. When donor testing reveals Annick’s sick oma was adopted, a series of prints from Oma’s childhood signed by the mysterious Emma B. sets Annick on a path toward uncovering the truth of her oma’s family, which was torn apart by Nazi violence against Jewish Netherlanders and one person’s reluctance to stand up to it. Using a limited palette of red, black, white, orange, and pale blue, van Lieshout blends fluid figure drawings with b&w photographs that ground the narrative in its historical setting; the stark red of artist Emma’s jacket against the backdrop of real photos adds a sense of immensity to the character’s situation. The included through line that follows Emma’s own artwork—something that once felt so small to her but that she soon learns the value of—is a powerful testament to art and its ability to foster change and connection. Ages 14–up. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink

“Women have always done extraordinary things. But then those things are forgotten.” Copeland (Cub) endeavors to bring one such woman back into the spotlight in this time-jumping graphic novel that weaves together the true story of race car driver Janet Guthrie (b. 1938) with fictional 12-year-old Alexandra as she restores a ’56 Jaguar XK 140 formerly owned by Guthrie. Alternating palettes differentiate present-day chapters rendered in full color from blue and yellow shaded historical recollections of Guthrie’s life. Fine-line drawings burst with action-packed detail; a kinetic 1962-set prologue depicts a win for Guthrie that’s dismissed by her peers. Alex experiences similar biases while working on the Jaguar, which she discovers in the barn of her new home in New Hampshire. The narrative encourages readers to avoid treating female athletes as novelties, making for an entertaining and educational entry into gender-based discrimination in sports that spotlights how it impacts future professionals: “When we can’t build on the successes of those who came before us—it’s a huge obstacle! Each generation has to start all over again.” Alex has pale skin and freckles; past–set chapters depict Guthrie in swathes of blue and yellow. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/11/2024 | Details & Permalink