Reviews
Leaping at Shadows
“Atwood uses a light touch to create pleasant characters and a suspenseful premise, never letting the sinister notes weigh too heavily on the proceedings.” —Publishers Weekly View →
A Summer of Sundays
“®eaders’ affection for Sunday won’t waver as this independent protagonist finds a way to balance her desire to be noticed with a growing maturity.” —Publishers Weekly View →
“[P]acked with incident and complex connections between a range of characters. Hays is especially strong at depicting the network of people, old and young, who help Grover and his family move through their grief and, along the way, save his beloved forest.” —starred,… View →
“Readers who enjoy battles of wits will savor Vanden Heede’s dark comedy.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Don't Spill the Milk!
“The rhythmic text and gouache folk art capture the vibrancy of life on the banks of the Niger River.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football's Make-or-Break Moment
“The book builds a damning case against playing high-risk-of-concussion sports, though the narrative doesn’t preach….[T]horoughly researched and of-the-moment.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →
“Timmers never skimps, painting with devoted attention every automotive detail and gleam in every chicken’s eye, and providing a plausible cause for every new accident.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →
Overexposed
“The perils of irresponsible Internet sharing and controlling boyfriends are some of the challenges that surface in this addition to the Surviving Southside series, written at a fourth-grade reading level…Readers looking for a brisk read about teens with real-life problems… View →
Cookie, the Walker
“Monroe (the Monkey with a Tool Belt books) explores the pitfalls of fame through deadpan narration and celebrity stereotypes, all captured in tidy comics-style panels.” —PW Online View →
The Noisy Book
Combining the tidy trim size and young audience of a board book with the range of an encyclopedia, this celebration of sound is epic in its scope and delightful in its execution. Printed on thin but sturdy glossy paper, each spread pairs a simple declaratory sentence (“The monkey goes oo View →
Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg
“Based mostly on Tillie’s own recollection of the conflict, which she wrote and published in 1889, this book combines that writing with Anderson’s smooth retelling to describe the weeks leading up to and following the battle from the perspective of an extremely… View →
Grover and Big Bird's Passover Celebration
“Passover comes to vivid life in this fun and engaging tale from the Shalom Sesame series. As Grover and Big Bird make their way to Brosh and Avigail’s home for the Passover seder, a stalled bus gives them an opportunity to do mitzvot (good deeds), like helping a tired… View →
Stones for Grandpa
“Londner (Ruby’s Whistle) and Avilés (The Shabbat Princess) present a small boy as he observes two of the distinctly Jewish rituals of mourning: the unveiling of his beloved grandfather’s tombstone (which traditionally occurs one year after a death) and the… View →
No Baths at Camp
“Max, the hero of what is really a clever exercise in reverse psychology, could just be the secret weapon that parents (and Jewish educators) are looking for in convincing recalcitrant kids to give Jewish camp a try. Resisting his mother’s attempts to get him into the tub,… View →
The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street
“[This story of] neighbors becoming friends takes place in contemporary Tel Aviv. There are shades of Cynthia Rylant’s Mr. Putter & Tabby books as fishmonger Mr. Modiano brings fish to Mrs. Spiegel every day, with instructions that it is for her, not for her… View →
William and the Lost Spirit
“There’s more to the book than meets the eye, and multiple readings reveal even more subtext. What does meet the eye, though, is quite nice, thanks to Bonhomme’s impeccable linework and breakdowns, as well as clean, if traditional, layouts.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio
“Cooper’s grainy illustrations look as though they are filtered through sunlight, striking a nostalgic chord, while Skead’s play-by-play… provides a riveting, baseball story about two players seeking recognition of their worth.” —Publishers Weekly View →
My Crocodile Does Not Bite
“Absurdity abounds in Kulka’s tale of a clever boy who knows that telling the truth—just not the whole truth—can be pretty entertaining….[T]he wicked twist of an ending should catch most readers by surprise.” —Publishers Weekly View →
My Happy Life
“To understand the true meaning and value of resilience, look no further than the 20 brief chapters of this early reader…beautifully translated into spare, lyrical prose….As Eriksson’s emotionally astute and often endearingly funny pencil drawings show, Dani does… View →
The Sin-Eater's Confession
“Bick (Drowning Instinct) crafts a powerful tale of bigotry and murder in small-town Wisconsin….a potent examination of teenage emotions and reactions to peer and parental pressures, and to the evil that people are capable of.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →
“Distinctive and full of sly humor…. This is the kind of picture book that families fall in love with.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Change of Heart
“McClintock keeps tensions high, and Robyn is a winning heroine….Like Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars before her, Robyn’s investigations are addictive.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F.
“Although Christiane’s message to readers is, without a doubt, ‘Do not follow me,’ she synthesizes moments of beauty and joy alongside those of horror, resulting in a deeply observant look at the search for love and meaning amid chaos.”—Publishers Weekly View →