Reviews
Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself
“This moving found-verse adaptation of the formerly enslaved Equiano’s 1789 memoir makes a seminal work of history accessible to young readers.”—New York Times Book Review View →
G.O.A.T. Football Linebackers
“The illustrated “Greatest of All Time” series offers readers with an interest in professional sports an opportunity to learn more about some of the finest athletes of all time. Each title in the series focuses on a particular position and then offers readers… View →
“Asterisks replace unheard words of dialogue in this moving middle grade novel, based on the author’s own life, that follows an adolescent girl’s struggle with both progressive hearing loss and her parents’ insistence that she get cochlear implants.”… View →
Tracking Tortoises: The Mission to Save a Galápagos Giant
“For readers curious about what it’s like to be a scientist, the book provides superb insights . . . And it opens doors to understanding the challenging times in which we live, the difficult choices we face and how we can go about building a more hopeful… View →
Dulcinea in the Forbidden Forest
“[‘Dulcinea’] is a well-told tale with an indefatigable heroine, and an interplay of words and pictures that feels as if it shares lineage with Quentin Blake and Roald Dahl. A fine winter evening read-aloud, to be enjoyed next to a warm fire with a plate of cookies. Or, View →
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
“These sensitively written, beautifully illustrated books restore this often-elided history while explaining the ensuing tragedy in a manner appropriate for children.”—New York Times Book Review View →
Science and Me: Inspired by the Discoveries of Nobel Prize Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine
" . . . Winter and El Fathi give a satisfying flavor of the work that guided scientific and moral compasses, while highlighting aspects of the scientists’ personal histories."—The New York Times Book Review View →
Fossils from Lost Worlds
“The careful curation of this parade of creatures takes readers on a comprehensive journey through the fossil record. I enjoyed the paleontologists, depicted in droll graphic-novel-style comics interspersed throughout, almost as much as I enjoyed the paleontology.”—The… View →
A Story About Afiya
“[A] joyous celebration of childhood, culture and place . . . "—The New York Times View →
Let 'Er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People's Champion
“With its energetic pairing of words and art, ‘Let ’Er Buck!’ comes alive to unearth an unsung American hero.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
“A blissful release into the world of wonder. I would like to give this book as a gift to every child, every person in my life.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder
“The stories move gracefully between reality and fantasy, a bit like Miyazaki movies, but sweeter.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
The Visitor
“What makes [The Visitor] striking is Damm’s nifty, expressive art, photographs of dioramas and cutout painted figures.”—New York Times Book Review View →
Duck, Death and the Tulip
“For me, the gold standard of picture books about death is ‘Duck, Death and the Tulip,’ by Wolf Erlbruch.”—Sophie Blackall for The New York Times Book Review View →
The Whispering Town
“This picture book with a graphic novel sensibility tells the story of a young girl, Anett, whose family is harboring Jewish refugees in a Danish fishing village. Anett brings food to the mother and child hidden in her cellar, and helps guide them to boats on one moonless night.… View →
Gus's Garage
“[A]n amusing book to reread, since even the smallest details are assigned a narrative purpose. Clearly, one animal’s clutter is another pig’s livelihood in this buoyant, rhyming tale.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story
“Sachiko’s account [is] magnetic and chilling in its simplicity. . . . Stelson has created a book that is both personal and universal, both thoroughly researched and real.”—The New York Times View →
Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game
“[T]he kind of story from which ‘inspirational’ movies are made. . . . This book adds new heroes to the pantheon.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
Out of Darkness
“[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama that goes down like it should, with pain and fascination, like a mix of sugary medicine and artisanal moonshine.”—The New York Times Book Review View →
Elmer and Butterfly
“[Elmer learns] a humbling lesson….The message is delivered with a fable-like economy, and as always McKee’s vibrant, softly surreal artwork…pulls readers headlong into the pages.”―The New York Times Book Review View →
I am the Wolf . . . and Here I Come!
“This wonderful, extra-chunky board book reads vertically, with each tall spread showing a jaunty, grinning wolf in the stages of getting dressed [as] he’s transformed…into a thrillingly scary villain.”―The New York Times Book Review View →
Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis
‘Alice + Freda Forever’s’ Alexis Coe on a Shocking, Forgotten Case of Teenage Lesbian Murder Books | By Karen Abbott | October 9, 2014 Karen Abbott, the author of the new Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, and Alexis Coe,… View →
Upside Down Babies
“Willis’s rhyming verse… takes a delightfully light approach to teaching animal attributes.” —New York Times Book Review View →