Combining superhero antics with adolescent triumphs and tribulations, Cody (the Cat Ninja series) and Giallongo (Seeker Society) deliver a spirited graphic novel series launch about a tween uncovering his family’s fantastical legacy. Despite his last name, Zander Fast isn’t a particularly speedy runner; that, combined with his family’s reputation for publicly insisting that they’re descended from superpowered ancestors, is a source of shame for Zander as he endures schoolyard ridicule about his lack of athleticism and his relatives. But when he’s struck by lightning while holding a mysterious crystal, Zander gains superspeed, just like his missing grandfather, the legendary Felix Fast, whom Zander’s uncle Merv claims once protected Cape City from villainy. As Zander uses his powers to excel on the school track team and in classroom reading challenges, he also embarks on a fledgling vigilante career that unearths secrets from his grandfather’s past. Flashback sequences inspired by traditional superhero comics alternate with animated present-day events rendered in bold, saturated color. Readers will revel in the narrative’s breezy, comedic tone, which relays high-octane adventure with aplomb and emphasizes reading as a tool for knowledge and power. Characters are depicted with various skin tones. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Kate Testerman, KT Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Debut author Sloan deftly weaves themes of self-discovery, oppression, loyalty, and consent into a luminous fantasy duology opener. All her life, 18-year-old Lyria has lived in hiding, raised by her healer mother in a remote enchanted woodland cottage to conceal Lyria’s Elven heritage and rare magical talent. Lyria finds her quietly isolated existence imperiled after she rescues an injured stranger who turns out to be Prince Finneas, heir to a kingdom intent on annihilating Elves. Lyria is soon summoned to the palace to become the royal apothecary tasked with curing the same plague her mother has been researching. As she navigates court intrigue while keeping her Elven heritage secret, she must reckon with her desire to remain loyal to her ancestors even as her attraction to Finn grows. Simultaneously, a plot to take over the kingdom brews in the shadows. Confident prose skillfully captures Lyria’s internal conflict, and her naivete and emotional growth feel organically anchored in her sheltered upbringing. Queer representation adds dimension to nuanced emotional stakes across an assured tale that promises romance and adventure at every turn. Characters cue as white. Ages 13–up. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Moore (the Huxley Higgins series) spins together laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt friendship, and classic fantasy adventure energy in a sparkling series launch. Hidden in a cave in the Witchingford Wood, Emba Oak—who has yellow-hazel eyes and glittering scales along her arms and legs—lives a quiet life with her adoptive mother, Fred, the keeper of the prophecy-filled volume Tome of Terrible Tomorrows, and Odolf Bravebuckle, a former blacksmith’s assistant turned hero-in-training. Emba’s world is upended when a dragon only she can see appears. Revealing that the dragon sighting portends the arrival of villainous, dragon-obsessed necromancer Necromalcolm, Fred informs her charge that the sorcerer has been hunting Emba, believing that she’s a prophesied dragon girl. When Fred is kidnapped by Necromalcolm, the youths embark on a rescue mission armed with courage, friendship, and ]magical objects they obtain along their journey. Radiant prose crackles with expert comedic timing and clever wordplay while retaining the gravity of the narrative’s tender emotional undercurrents. Emba’s wrestling with identity and destiny, Odolf’s charmingly clumsy yet sincere heroics, and Fred’s steady guidance ground the frenetic energy of an all-out fun story about the power of chosen family. The protagonists are described as having pale skin. Ages 8–13. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

A pale-skinned, dark-haired young narrator presents a literary volume of “lasts” in Hurme’s affecting picture book. Via a scrapbook-like presentation, evocative moments are organized into categories such as “lasts that are firsts,” “long awaited lasts,” “nail-biting lasts,” and “last chances.” Examples include the mundane (“the last pair of matching socks”), the transformative (“the last time sleeping between Mom and Dad”), and the profound (“The last moment in Mommy’s tummy”). Accompanying each idea is a dainty sketch rendered with faint detailing—some in grayscale, others washed with color. The final collection, “very last lasts,” offers a piercing portrait of the many ineffable moments that make up a life. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (May)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Yamada and Santoso firmly challenge assumptions about “others” in this picture book composed as a dialogue between two children. While one child struggles to relate to “the other people” who appear across a tall hedge, saying “They look different. They talk different. Everything about them is different,” a companion models an alternate approach, asking “They’re different? What do you mean? Do they have heads and bodies?” Abundant fine lines precisely shade scenes that envisage possible creaturely or mechanical “others,” then fellow humans. After the first figure refers to them as “the others. The ones from over there. They’re not from here,” the second child crosses the hedge to join a domestic scene, complicating the first child’s definition of here and there. When the pair predictably, but no less movingly, meet in the middle, the moment allows for a poignant realization about perspective-taking that’s bound to reverberate for readers. Protagonists are portrayed with pale skin; background figures are shown with various abilities and often fanciful skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Two siblings draw strength from nature after a house move leaves them feeling unsettled in a tale that models skill-building. Awakening for the first time at their new home, Kit and Amal express uncertainty about how different everything feels. When Mom spins, “Change is a part of life,” it prompts an intense reaction from Kit: “I hate this change.” After the pair venture outside, exploring yields examples of traits they could usefully emulate—a tree, “determined to keep growing tall”; a spider demonstrating resilience through web-weaving; and morning glories “holding on to hope” as they vine toward the sun. On their return walk, the duo commit to approaching their new abode with the titular lessons in mind. Uncluttered and sunny, Gardiyawasam’s realistic renderings tightly focus on their subjects, spotlighting the emotions that play across the siblings’ faces. Even if the dialogue sometimes feels pedantic, Marsh handles the characters’ evolving emotions with sensitivity. The family is portrayed with brown skin. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Assonance propels rhythmic narration in Otoshi’s concept-driven story about a white raven. Interrogative lines frame each spread, with a pointed initial question providing a jumping-off point for deeper rumination: “If a raven is born different,/ what could happen?” Alongside fluid azure paintings, the queries trace the sorrowful possibility of rejection by other ravens (“Will its mother PROTECT it.../ or REJECT it?”). But the tone shifts to one of gentle hopefulness upon the arrival of a pale-skinned, dark-haired child who brings a palette of pinks and yellows to the page, as well as openhearted concern for the abandoned bird (“Will she HELP it.../ or TEASE it?”). And as the driving questions become loftier (“Can fears be overcome.../ through understanding and LOVE?”), the bird’s upward flight seems to provide an uplifting answer for readers to hold onto. An author’s note anchors the story in scientific fact. Ages 4–8. (May)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

A child’s discovery upends a town committed to digging for rocklike objects called Answers in this fable from Millington and Lambelet. Though the townsfolk’s constant labor “stirred up dust and smoke and made it difficult to see,” the group’s commitment to finding Answers is complete; even when someone uncovers a luminous spherical Question, “most people buried them again.” Upon unearthing a Question, a brown-skinned boy, intrigued, tucks it into his pocket, and subsequent fascination with the object propels him to share it with neighbors: “Maybe it was meant to be seen—even if it felt scary to share it.” Illustrations differentiated by earthy-hued, wood-grain-like textures show the Question’s big reveal as the town’s inhabitants, portrayed with various skin tones, look on with awe and the Question lifts into the air, illuminating “new paths they’d never explored.” The aftermath has a predictably transformative effect that highlights the power of inquisitiveness. Ages 4–7. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Attentiveness underpins Hrab and Martz’s celebration of life’s countless liminal stages: “Sometimes/ we notice these spaces,/ and sometimes/ we don’t./ But they’re worth/ a closer look.” Opening text uses page turns to give readers a firsthand lesson on the beats between events, while subsequent sensorial examples describe in-betweens as feeling “as sweet and swift/ as the moment before/ your dad’s kiss/ meets/ your forehead” or “as/ long/ as the time it will take/ to slice” a cake. Adding a layer of storytelling to the musings, neat thin-lined cartoons match text’s perspicacity by centering on everyday family dynamics as experienced across a birthday celebration, sibling disagreement, and ice cream outing. As the vignettes build, art and narration alike gesture toward the emotional ups and downs associated with transitions, making for a perceptive read. Characters are depicted with brown skin. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

In this visually crisp nonfiction picture book, Hale (Copycat) examines bridges not only as feats of engineering but as instruments of human connection. “Bridges bring two sides together,” early text declares, taking a reflective tone that unfolds into an expansive meditation on how physical spans enable accessibility, community, opportunity, and travel. More than 100 examples spotlight bridges across varying landscapes globally, acknowledging nature’s earliest models—fallen trees and lines of stones—while examining how the structures embody collaboration, ingenuity, and a sense of place. And while all the included bridges evoke the grace of problem-solving, certain structures can be appreciated for the way they elevate utility into art: a Chinese bridge with soaring wings, a Vietnamese pedestrian span with giant hand-shaped supports, a German arch designed to form a perfect circle when reflected in water. As the text weaves together universal themes (“Bridges save time and make life easier”) and concrete facts, collage artwork gives palpable dimensionality to vignettes and full-bleed spreads, and striking geometries create a mood evocative of classic WPA posters, prompting readers to see bridges as agents of possibility. Extensive back matter provides more background on bridge-building. Ages 5–10. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (May)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink