Reviews
The Wren and the Sparrow
“Lewis (Harlem Hellfighters), the former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, writes in elevated, allusive, but always approachable language: ‘A six-year-old’s only possession, ten finger cymbals, tinkled like the sound of spring escaping winter.’… View →
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
“Notes of hope, determination, and empowerment suffuse Paul’s story…. Incorporating real plastic bags into her mixed-media collages, Zunon, who grew up in West Africa, juxtaposes the brown, dusty landscape against splashes of color and vibrant printed dresses and head… View →
Rockin' the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries — From Joan of Arc to Malcolm X
“[I]rreverent, edifying reading.” –Publishers Weekly View →
“Lush illustrations will draw readers into this gently funny adaptation of Perrault’s story.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel
“Working in a milky, muted palette, Goudreau’s crisply defined illustrations successfully capture Israel’s urban bustle, geographic diversity, and leisure attractions, including the friends’ dip in the Dead Sea afterward.” — Publisher’s… View →
Hissy Fitz
“Hissy’s drily delivered complaints and observations…entertain, while Hissy’s frustration at his dependence on large humans who annoy him will likely resonate with many a reader. " —Publishers Weekly View →
Ruby Valentine and the Sweet Surprise
“[T]he expressions of contempt that Avril conjures on Sweetie Pie and Lovebird’s faces offer a memorable reminder of the deep emotions associated with Valentine’s Day.” —Publishers Weekly View →
BirdCatDog
“[E]very event can be seen from several perspectives—a point it makes most effectively.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Who Was Here?: Discovering Wild Animal Tracks
“Posada’s lush watercolor-and-collage illustrations gracefully enhance this guess-the-animal book.” —Publishers Weekly View →
“[G]ives readers space to question their own acquiescence to gender stereotypes.”—Publishers Weekly View →
All You Are
“The story’s friendships, family dynamics, and high school setting ring true as Da’Quan learns that trying to be his best self is the better play.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole
“The poems capture the sounds and sights of the season, indoors and out, while conveying the personality of the gentle, perceptive poet and his loving bond with Mrs. Claus….This is Christmas from the heart—with scarcely a toy in sight.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →
Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole
“An assured and often amusing grouping of verse that informs as it entertains.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Fat & Bones: And Other Stories
“Moments of selfishness, sacrifice, bravery, and revenge jumble together in haunting and unexpected ways, and Doyle’s lush b&w illustrations help establish an unsettling atmosphere that feels like Charlotte’s Web by way of Neil Gaiman.” —starred,… View →
I Remember Beirut
“Abirached’s prose and artwork convey, with grace and humor, the way her family’s life during the war shifted from mundane to ominous and back again…. Abirached shares (and readers feel) a loss that cannot be named.” —Publisher Weekly View →
Sometimes You Barf
“[Carlson] writes with empathy, reassurance, and a ’them’s the breaks, kid’ brand of humor as she follows a girl’s bout with the flu…. and her matter-of-fact writing and visual demonstrations that everything from aardvarks to leprechauns throw up, too, View →
Bug on a Bike
“Monroe’s (Cookie, the Walker) cumulative verse reveals a penchant for nonsense and non sequitur, while her wispy cartoons have a manic energy that matches the text’s quirkiness and showcases amusing transportation-related details…. This boisterous outing View →
Perfectly Good White Boy
“Mesrobian… excels at conveying the awkwardness and wonder of sex…. [She] deftly conveys just how much drama there is in the everyday, especially for a 17-year-old trying to figure out not just what’s next, but what’s happening right now.” —starred,… View →
Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis
“[M]akes the most of its source material on two levels, both as true crime and as social commentary.”—Publishers Weekly View →
Bubbe's Belated Bat Mitzvah
“Pinson makes an assured authorial debut with a much-needed story about an increasingly common Jewish life cycle ritual.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →
Make Something of It
“Seventeen-year-old aspiring fashion designer Shelby turns the glare of attention into a positive when she takes a stand against domestic violence.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Out of the Tunnel
“With the kickoff of the Red Zone series… Jones shows that the cult of blind jock worship is still alive and well, but it’s also being challenged by independent-minded student athletes.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Beetle Boy
“Willey (Four Secrets) returns with a riveting story about being robbed of one’s childhood…. A potent story about the power that the past exerts on the present.” —starred, Publishers Weekly View →