Twelve-year-old Manula Semilla is worried; not only has her first period still not arrived, but she’s been constantly clashing with her mother. Their fights become more frequent when Mami plans a trip for Mani and her parents to visit family in Guatemala, even though Mani would prefer to spend time with her friend group, Las Nerdas. When an anatomy lesson at school goes awry, prompting unwanted attention from male classmates, Mani and Las Nerdas realize that certain boys’ harassment of their female classmates extends beyond their classroom. But what can Las Nerdas do about it? After Mani finds letters in the attic from her missing aunt addressed to her mother, she unravels the history of gender inequality in Guatemala and learns that her aunt was a journalist attempting to report on rampant femicide. Inspired by her aunt’s letters, Mani slowly drums up the courage to stand up against the school’s administration and their unwillingness to confront bullying. Using perceptive prose, debut author Lapera approaches Guatemala’s fraught history with care and respect, and lovingly spotlights the tension felt in the relationship between a protective mother and the daughter who seeks independence from her. Ages 10–14. Agent: Ellen Goff, HG Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

Headen uses baseball to explore themes of racism in this powerful debut set in North Carolina during the Jim Crow era. In 1935, 12-year-old Cato Jones, who is Black, aspires to pitch for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League like his late father and older brother. Cato and his team, the Pender County Rangers, often skip school to practice on the new field built by white businessman Luke Blackburn for his own son’s team. Cato dreams of playing an actual game on that field, with its real bases, bleachers, and pitching mound: “I would love to see the Rangers whip the tar out of that white boy and his team right on their own fancy ball field. Just one fair game, and we could do it.” Scheduling a game against Blackburn’s son proves easy; keeping it fair, however, is not. And after the ball game triggers a resurgence of racial violence, Cato’s tight-knit Black community must rally around one another to keep each other safe. The protagonist’s first-person POV adds immediacy to this emotionally charged sports novel, making for a winning combination of action-driven plotting and underlying historical tension that will inspire discussion surrounding Jim Crow era and contemporary prejudice. Ample back matter concludes. Ages 8–12. Agent: Victoria Selvaggio, Storm Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

Middle schooler Lily shares everything with her best friends Sasha and Maddie, including her secret crushes and a love of soccer. But when Sasha and Maddie are asked to play at an elite athletic level, Lily believes she’s been left behind, especially since it means that they’ll miss the big school dance for a game. Meanwhile, classmate Will feels like an outsider with everyone except for his best friend Gavin, and spends his afternoons rock climbing and avoiding being a topic of conversation—or worse, a guest—on his father’s successful Dr. Dad podcast. When Will and Lily become popular mean-girl Sienna’s new targets, they work together to confront her. During their partnership, they each learn to manage their own troubles and grow closer as a result. Through Lily and Will’s alternating POVs, Blecher (Camp Famous) spotlights each tween’s unique challenges. While the familiar trope of parents being out of touch feels overworked and dialogue rings artificial at times, a plethora of school drama and secondary plots, such as Maddie’s crush on another girl, add complexity to the characters’ potent journey in developing self-confidence, and Will and Lily’s gentle romance buoys the somewhat abrupt ending. Most major characters are coded as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alex Slater, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

Korean American seventh grader Jiyoung “Gigi” Shin, who lives in Bluebonnet, Tex., has big dreams of following in her aunt’s footsteps to become a renowned artist—even if her working-class parents would prefer that she take her math and science assignments more seriously (“Art is just an elective, so make sure to focus on your other, more important classes first”). When she learns about the Starscape Young Artists’ Program—a prestigious but expensive art camp on the East Coast where her idol, Korean American graphic novelist Christiana Moon, will be an instructor—Gigi schemes to raise money for the application fee and tuition. With her best friends Carolina Garcia, a Latinx video game enthusiast; hijabi Zeina Hassan, an aspiring picture book author; and book-smart Taiwanese American Emma Chen, Gigi forms tutoring club Ace Squad. But even though the girls initially work well together, Gigi struggles to balance running a new club, keeping her grades up, and emergent friendship troubles with Carolina. Via emphatically depicted character interactions, Lee (the Mindy Kim series) skillfully handles topics surrounding cooperation, financial anxiety, first crushes, and pursuing one’s goals in this sweet and wholesome new series. Ages 8–12. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

Best friends Bunny and Clyde—a beret-wearing yellow rabbit and a chipmunk sporting a green blazer—are tired of being good. Determined to be “bad to the bone,” but at a loss for how to achieve this, they head to the library seeking inspiration. “Bad books” such as Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty prompt their first unruly endeavor: messing up Bunny’s room. Though Bunny’s mother insists they clean up their act, the flame of rebellion has been lit, and the duo embark on further ne’er-do-well antics. Still, they can’t help but spread positivity, even in their struggles to spark chaos: an attempt to ruin a neighbor’s cheerful flower bed by pulling up dandelions and their TPing of another neighbor’s rose bushes conjures unexpectedly helpful results and thanks from the unsuspecting victims. A lack of remorse and missing consequences for the pair’s unkind intentions sometimes dampens the effect of this entertaining series kickoff. Nevertheless, Bunny and Clyde’s schemes—facilitated by bouncy, fast-paced plotting from McDonald (the Judy Moody series) and boldly expressive art from Nash (I’m Afraid Your Teddy Is in the Principal’s Office)—prove amusing, and the characters’ independence, alongside their sassy banter, will appeal to young readers. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

At the opening of this thoughtful work from the collaborators behind The Shadow Elephant, a starling, a toad, and a snail gather around a robin’s egg that has fallen down the face of a large, jagged rock. Cool, crisp digital illustrations by Vidali give the figures a sculptural look. A field mouse soon volunteers to push the egg back up to its nest on top of the rock. “You?” the starling says in disbelief. But the mouse is already slowly heaving the egg up the face, focusing on “one step, then the next, then the next.” It’s night by the time the mouse positions the egg back into its nest, alongside a glimmering view of “the wide open sky.” The wind blows the unsteady egg again to the rock’s bottom, where the three creatures again jeer. But the mouse is undeterred, and though the story ends here, it’s clear that the egg will end safely in its nest. An epigraph quoting Camus (“One must imagine Sisyphus happy”) helps position the story, which champions persistence, even in the face of scorn, and highlights the quiet pride that can be part of doing something difficult. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

This quirky be-yourself tale by the team behind Library Lion starts out as broad comedy, as a “big, hairy spider” takes up residence in an old house, where a pale-skinned, silver-haired lady greets him with delight (“It feels like a kitten! I have always wanted a kitten”), names him Luigi, and gives him a cat toy as well as a tiny box to sleep in (“He had never known that kittens led such magical lives”). If his host loves him as a kitten, Luigi resolves to comport himself thusly, and softly shadowed acrylic and pencil art by Hawkes deftly renders furry Luigi as remarkably kitten-like. Then the woman’s friends come for a game night; after she introduces Luigi, and he knocks himself out acting like a feline, his real identity is soon revealed by the group. Luigi’s anguish lasts until a heart-to-heart clarifies the situation. Though her masquerade’s motive doesn’t quite persuade (“I already knew you were a spider. I just never said anything because you were having so much fun pretending to be a kitten”), the woman’s pledge of unconditional love assuages Luigi’s doubts in this emotional roller coaster of a story. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

On a winter night, Bunny’s awake in bed, his surroundings soft and cozy: “Bunny’s toes are warm. His blanket is soft, and the moon hovers over the pond.” He’s waiting for his father, who “will come in the night to check on his little Bunny.” The youth waits until he can’t any longer (“He just needs his dad!”), and Liwska (Winter: A Solstice Story) shows in tranquil digitally created spreads Bunny placing a thermos of water, a blanket and cookie, and the duo’s favorite book in a wagon and setting off for Dad’s room. There, he enjoys the blanket, cookie, and water himself before tapping Dad on the nose. “You forgot to check on me,” Bunny says. “So, here I am.” “Indeed,” Dad replies, before holding out his arms. “Sometimes a dad just needs his little bunny,” whispers Dad. “Indeed,” Bunny replies. Back in Bunny’s room, the two cuddle as they share the book. In yearning text, Hest (Sometimes It’s Nice to Be Alone) captures the way time can move slowly when someone’s on their own, the way an attentive presence can meet needs, and the sense that Bunny is learning to love well by mirroring Dad’s words and actions: “Dad checks on Bunny. Bunny checks on Dad.” Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

“Everybody’s a critic” the saying goes, and young Riley, this book’s pale-skinned child protagonist, discovers that it’s all too true. Decked out in a jaunty aviator’s hat and scarf, and having assiduously followed instructions for creating a paper airplane, Riley is just about to send it soaring (“3... 2... 1...”) when a bald eagle zooms in. “STOP!” it shouts, “I rule the sky because I’m large and in change. Trust me, it needs to be bigger!” Riley dutifully follows the advice, only to have other imposing avian species, all rendered in digital chalk on mostly white backgrounds, insist that the plane be “fancier,” “faster,” and so forth. Riley is left thoroughly discombobulated and ready to head in a new direction when yet another bird appears. But this one offers encouragement instead of critique: “I think there’s nothing cooler than celebrating when someone else takes off!” This time, the countdown results in not only a successful flight but a lovely new friendship. Employing narrative and visual rhythms similar to The Rabbit Listened, Doerrfeld once again considers the process of finding one’s way, only this time, explores heeding voices—inner and otherwise—that say, “WOO! You got this.” Ages 3–5. Agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

In simple words and phrases that stand in for the Roman alphabet’s 26 letters, Cole (Carina Felina) runs readers through a crocodilian duo’s ups and downs. It all kicks off on the verso with A, older kid “Albert,” playing with building blocks. On the recto, B, apparent younger sibling “Baxter,” turns red-faced “Crying” in a crib. Albert’s big googly eyes, alert snout, and tense green physique express a rich and wholly relatable psychology: Could the cause be “Diaper?” Yes, and it’s an “Easy Fix” for caregiver “Grandma,” who arrives with supplies in tow. Albert becomes increasingly “Irritated” during “Lunch,” sinking into the respite of Baxter’s “Nap”—“Oh... Peace. Quiet,” When the baby later “Stumbles” into Albert’s block tower, though, the older croc rises to the occasion, expressing genuine concern, and joining Grandma in proffering a smoochy, all-better “X.” Emotional equilibrium restored, the sibs share a little floor time before Baxter returns to the crib to “Zzzzz,” and Albert regards the snoozer with a mixture of affection and relief. A slight concept quickly proves page-turning in the experienced hands of Cole, whose fluid, digitally rendered vignettes are little gems of comedy and character. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink