Pet shop inhabitants endeavor to follow their Speed Racer dreams in this high-octane, slapstick graphic novel by Jennings (Whoa Panda!). Ham the hamster’s everyday life is one of routine. Once the pet shop’s lights are out and all the people have gone home, however, Ham and fellow residents—including several reptiles and a tiny bird—compete in a nightly race called Hamster-Ball Hullabaloo. But there’s a new kid on the block, one who threatens Ham’s status as the race’s reigning champion: Shelby, an amiable ferret whose overtures of friendship Ham rebukes. Shelby’s unorthodox racing method—balancing on a hamster ball’s exterior—sparks renewed interest in the entertainment, now called the Four-Wheeled Furrenzy, which utilizes pilfered model cars from the pet shop’s neighboring toy store, Ha-Bee’s Hobby Hive. As the stakes heat up with new cars, courses, and fancy modifications, Ham must decide whether it’s more important to be the fastest or to make new friends. Though snarky narration frequently intercuts the action, expressive linework and blocky coloring impart motion, setting the stage for a propulsive animalian comedy series launch. Ages 5–8. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

This laugh-out-loud collection of b&w 1960s comic strips—the first of a five-volume series by Argentinian cartoonist Quino—stars stout, curly-haired six-year-old Mafalda as she relays precocious sociopolitical observations about mid-century Latin American society à la Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. When her father points out their location in the Southern Hemisphere on the family globe, Mafalda ascertains that hanging upside down at the bottom of the Earth explains Argentina’s perceived status as an international underdog: “Gravity makes your ideas fall out of your head.” Eager to prove that she and others in her community have what it takes to join the rapidly developing vanguard of global scientific enterprise, Mafalda uses the family seltzer pump to power a homemade space suit. Poignant moments also unravel alongside Mafalda’s well-intentioned if questionably executed exploits, as when she dreams that her mother has earned a college degree, then wakes to discover her mother as she’s always been, a diploma-shaped curler in her hair a sole sign of academic achievement. The assured comedic visual energy of the paneled strips fosters giggles and food for thought via coming-of-age themes that transcend time and place. Ages 7–11. (June)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

A teen investigating her friend’s suspicious death finds herself in over her head in this tense locked-room mystery by Harris (This Town Is on Fire). High school senior Liv is left reeling after her best friend Hope purportedly dies by suicide. But Liv, haunted by photos of Hope’s bruised face—which Hope posted online before her death—is certain that Hope’s boyfriend Brendan is somehow involved. Enlisting her former friends Kizzy and Sherie, Liv lures Brendan to a vacant high-tech mansion to coax a confession out of him. Her plan goes awry following the arrival of a pair of Brendan’s friends, and then a storm knocks the power out, trapping the teens in the malfunctioning smart house. As tension runs high, accusations fly about what happened to Hope. And things go from bad to worse when one of the group is mysteriously killed. Flashback chapters detail events prior to Hope’s death, further highlighting the narrative’s centering of mental health issues and the stigma they can carry, particularly within the protagonist’s Black Virginia community. It’s an edge-of-the-seat thriller narrated in a magnetic first-person POV by Liv, whose at times contradictory observations continually raise the stakes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Looking Glass Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

An unlikely trio becomes entangled in the machinations of capricious gods in this ambitious duology opener by Williams (Titanchild). As a child, orphaned human Elver is sacrificed by a mage to deity the Bloody Claw. Saved by the Queen of Serpents, Elver is then transformed by her rescuer into a monster with poisonous skin and charged with protecting the mythical Jih Forest. Now 17, Elver is content with her role separated from others, until a stranger—Artair—trespasses on her domain. Artair is one of the Sleepless, a monk whose body becomes possessed by an enigmatic spirit while he sleeps. When a mage serving the Bloody Claw invades Artair’s monastery home and kidnaps his peers, Artair is forced to steal a foxlike cub from the Jih Forest as ransom. Commanded by the Queen of Serpents to retrieve the cub, Elver makes a deal with Artair to travel with him and save his friends before returning the cub home. But the being inhabiting Artair—an amnesiac spirit named Lucian—has his own mission, for which he intends to recruit Elver. Refined omniscient third-person narration deftly conveys a complexly wrought world shaped by divine manipulation and populated by eerie, inventive creatures, while slow-burning romantic elements simmer in the background. The trio read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Mushens Entertainment. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

Tracy (Murray Out of Water) strikes a playful balance between star-crossed romance and self-discovery in this joyful middle grade riff on Romeo & Juliet. Anxious, autistic 13-year-old Jules is determined to face her fear of crowds by attending the San Gennaro festival in New York City’s Little Italy, where her parents own an Italian restaurant. At the celebration’s opening night party, she meets 14-year-old Romea, who manages her ADHD via structured Eagle Scout activities, and whose family owns a rival eatery. The girls instantly connect, choosing to pursue their new friendship and growing mutual attraction despite their families’ enmity. Bonding over their shared neurodivergence, queerness, and love of food, they date in secret as the festival progresses. And as they face uncertainty stemming from recently starting high school, both Ro and Jules see their developing relationship as an opportunity to challenge their limitations, assert themselves with their parents, and pursue their passions. While mouthwatering descriptions of food handily conjure the atmosphere of the festival season, the earnest leads’ sweetly satisfying romance eschews tragic Shakespearean conventions. Ages 8–12. Agent: Maria Vicente, P.S. Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

A family’s forced migration prompts a new way of seeing home in this sensitively rendered tale of change from Perrella and Salerno. High on a hill at night, young narrator Clara sits with Papá, Mamá, brother Pedro, and dog Coco, watching for shooting stars. When the children’s parents explain that the family is leaving the next day, Clara isn’t surprised—relatives and acquaintances have already gone, and “I knew that one day we would, too.” At dawn, the family joins a long queue of people walking with bedrolls and backpacks (“I carry Coco... and I tell her that I will always look after her”). During a journey that involves “a hiding game” and transport by boat, Papá asks, “Do you know that our home is always with us?... it is made from the people we love and the things we love doing.” As Clara becomes aware of the home that is “here right now” (“family, Coco, drawing, and thinking about my best memories”), the child asks others about what they love. Via a restrained palette of blues, golds, and greens, arresting graphite and digital illustrations communicate the passage of time (initially clean-shaven Papá’s face fills in with a beard), while visually emphasizing, through thin, etching-like lines that overlay the book’s scenes, “the invisible things” the travelers “carry in their hearts.” A note concludes. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 09/26/2025 | Details & Permalink

A drum pattern becomes the hope-inspiring rallying cry of fearless children in Shia’s adventuring comic. Opening panels set the scene in a metropolitan environment run by youths while their grown-ups are chasing away “the Growlies.” One day, some kids show up with drums, pounding “RATAMACUE!”: “It meant ‘No more waiting.’ ” The effect is instantaneous, and the group march forth, declaring “Bring back our moms!” and “Rescue our dads!” As the children encounter various obstacles—overgrown roads, a rainstorm—their percussive rhythm sustains. Confronting a bridge that’s collapsed, the rowdy cohort boat forth atop large drums to meet their foes in a battle of volume. The arc of the youthful underdogs is predictable but no less satisfying as the children eventually transition to using their bodies as drums for a rapturous success. Amid scratchy, angularly illustrated panels that unfold in blue and gray shades, the power of the kids’ beat emerges in bold, rainbow-colored cut-paper confetti bursts that convey music’s explosive magic. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. A brief instructional note concludes. Ages 6–9. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/19/2025 | Details & Permalink

Making her picture book debut in this series kickoff, Ramirez uses exclamatory prose to highlight the life and legacy of Jim West (b. 1931), who patented the foil-electret microphone. From a curious boy who dismantled electronics to a summer assistant at Bell Labs, West pursued his passion for science in the face of racial discrimination. A key discovery made while developing headphones led to the invention of the foil-electret microphone with collaborator Gerhard Sessler. This small, energy-efficient device revolutionized modern communication and is now used in products “from toys to computers to cell phones.” Fiadzigbey’s vibrant illustrations capture both the thrill of discovery and the historical weight of West’s contributions in this illuminating biography focused on a trailblazer who helped shape the sound of the modern world. Includes an author’s note, more biographical information, and a timeline. Ages 5–9. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 09/19/2025 | Details & Permalink

Centering the now well-known song “Hallelujah,” Rabins and Pendon movingly recount the life of Canadian Jewish musician Leonard Cohen (1934–2016). Early pages frame Cohen as a deep-feeling youth from a musical family, and text carefully draws on the subject’s lyrics to characterize his musical awakening (“From that day on, Leonard wrote songs about the world around him—about waking up with messy hair, about seeing a bird perched on a wire”). Plotting moves quickly to Cohen’s professional success, and pages proceed to zero in on the protagonist’s forbearance in connection with the completion of “Hallelujah”—a tune about “how life is as mysterious as a secret chord.” Though the song is initially rejected by Cohen’s record company, it slowly finds its way “inside hearts all over the world.” Acoustic guitars abound in loose cartoon portraits, which capture the joyfully quotidian spirit of the musician’s work. An author’s note and further biographical information conclude. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/19/2025 | Details & Permalink

Narrated by the legendary country music venue itself, this peppy picture book look at the Grand Ole Opry casts the reader as a would-be performer. “Howdy!” the theater greets. “I’m the one place in the world where the past, present, and future of country music come together on the same stage every week.” Frans gives the building a welcoming tone as it guides readers around backstage, interspersing facts and lore. When it’s finally showtime, the Opry reassures, “You’ve got this!” Chapman’s exuberant artwork collages archival photos of famed performers and related artifacts with watercolor, gouache, cut paper, and digital artwork that incorporates starbursts, multicolored spotlights, and a ribbon of blue that hints at the pull of the tunes. The invigorating effect energetically captures the magic of the Opry, while inviting readers to dream big. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Includes a note from Lainey Wilson and a brief history. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/19/2025 | Details & Permalink