Fantasy Round Up

All school librarians have to weed. If there is a school library somewhere that is also an archive with unlimited storage space, let me know, because I'll be glad to pack my bags and move there with my collection of 1950s teen lit RIGHT NOW. 

Until then, if I add 300-400 new books a year (my budget is $8 per student per year, and we have about 650 students. I also donate about $3,000 a year in books that I get to review to my school district. ) I need to get rid of that many. And that, my friends, is REALLY HARD, especially since I have read all of the books. Making it even harder is that the books that are in the worst shape are always the BEST books, and the books in the best shape might be that way because no one ever picks them up. Duplicate copies of once popular titles are easy pickings, and so are fantasy series. As much as I miss Byng's 2002 Molly Moon or Gliori's Pure Dead Magic series, it was six books long. No one was reading them. This year, things like Aguirre's Enclave, Healey's The Hero's Guide series, and Morris' Squire's Tales all were sent away. 

This makes it even harder to buy fantasy books. MY students aren't reading them. If your students ARE, definitely take a look at these titles. Keep in mind also that my students seem especially allergic to books about pirates, carnivals, and dinosaurs in fictional books, with the rare exception of Martin's The Ark Plan.

I just report what I see. 

Calonita, Jen. The Curse Breaker (Isle of Ever #2)

March 10, 2026 by Sourcebooks Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The first book was fun, but there is at least one more title on the way. My students do love 12 to 22, and this author's The Retake. 

From the Publisher:
"Book Two of the Isle of Ever series raises the stakes in the game to find a treasure! Now that Benny’s found her ancestor’s friends on the secret island, she must break the curse that keeps them from being mortal kids, while also trying to outwit those who want the treasure for their own purposes.

Having finally reached the Isle of Ever and the immortal kids who live there, Benny thinks she’s won the game of clues her ancestor Evelyn set out for her in her will—only she can’t prove it yet! Because it turns out Evelyn has more secrets in her diary and a new game for Benny: to find the lost piece of pirate treasure needed to break the curse once and for all. It won't be easy: one of her best friends has betrayed her; her new friends from the island are just discovering twenty-first century life, and a mysterious stranger mentioned in Evelyn’s diary has somehow turned up in present-day Greenport! And Benny has to figure it all out in just a few days, before Isle of Ever disappears again for another two hundred years.

Kavvadias, Philip. Mission Microraptor
March 17, 2026 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was particularly British and reminded me vaguely of Flinn's 2008 A Kiss in Time, which I just weeded. Bringing home a fairy tale princess from Europe, bringing home a microraptor from a field trip in the Alps... I can see this being popular with dinosaur fans, but not at my school. 

From the Publisher:
"A boy tries to protect his new dinosaur companion by hiding out in the wilderness in this hilarious and action-packed first book in the R.A.P.T.O.R. middle grade series perfect for fans of Alex Rider and Jurassic Park.

Finn is more of a video games and pizza guy than a hiking guy. So when his class takes a field trip to the Alps, he and his assigned partner Milo take a shortcut back to the hotel. On the way, they stumble upon an egg buried in ice and decide to take it with them.

Later that night, the egg hatches and a baby Microraptor is brought back from extinction. Finn quickly bonds with the hatchling—who he names Arty—but he’s not the only one interested in the paleontological anomaly. From agents of the British Museum of Natural History to corporate goons for hire, everyone wants to get their hands on the discovery of the century.

Before they know it, Finn and Milo are on the run to protect both their lives and Arty’s, seeking refuge in the woods. It seems like hiking is in their future after all…

MMGM- Books Good Enough for You and Twice Enslaved

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Hudgins,Nancy. Books Good Enough for You: The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom, Editor of Extraordinary Children's Books

March 24, 2026 by Abrams Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was very well done, and quite readable, sort of like Tolin's More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear. It offers a brief glimpse at what it was like to be born in 1910, although I wouldn't have minded more details about the time period. I was amazed at how very fortunate Nordstrom was in her career! Not having much in the way of formal education and working in a system that was male dominated, Nordstrom was able to do so much for the realm of children's literature. The illustrations were a nice touch, and the research was superb. The information about her dealings with a variety of prominent authors was interesting.

I almost wish this had been a bit longer and more involved, and written as a book for adults, since I really believe that's the demographic for this subject. Most of the titles on which Nordstrom worked were published well before most current teachers and librarians were born. Yes, some are definitely classics (Charlotte's Web was only given ONE editorial revision-- to retitle the last chapter? Wow.), but others are not much read. I was familiar with the vast majority of the books, but today's tweens are not going to be. Do they really care about Harriet the Spy, which was published the year before I was born? (The copy which I still have in my library is from 1992.)

The reason for this book becomes clear in the later chapters, when there is discussion of books being challenged and banned. This is certainly timely but again, more pertinent to teachers and librarians. My students have very little exposure to information about book bans. The sexual orientation of Nordstrom, as well as several prominent authors, is factually represented, and information about the challenges of this at the time is given.

Will this sell well to schools and public libraries? Definitely. Was it a well done biography that offered a picture of the wider world of children's literature in the 1900s? Absolutely. Will it circulate well in elementary and middle schools? I am not entirely sure.

Castrovilla, Selene and Robinson, Erin K. 

Twice Enslaved: Liberty and Justice for Henrietta Wood

February 3, 2026 by Calkins Creek

Copy provided by the publisher

History is filled with injustices perpetrated against Black citizens of the US, and Henrietta Wood is just one example of the horrific treatment that enslaved people experienced. Born about 1820 (records were not always kept) in Kentucky, and was sold to a Louisville businessman, and then sold again to the Cirode family. When they moved to Cincinnati, they registered Wood as a free woman, and she did domestic work in the city. Wood was kidnapped in 1853 by the Cirode's daughter, and taken to Kentucky. After a failed lawsuit to try to obtain her freedom, she was sold again and taken to Mississippi. After the Civil War, she returned to Ohio with her son, and in 1870, sued the sheriff who kidnapped her. She was eventually awarded $2,500, the largest amount of reparations ever awarded for slavery reparations. She used this money to send her son to law school, and her descendents went out to a wide array of professional careers. 

While it is important to tell stories of enslaved people, I was glad to see that this concentrated on Wood's  struggles to gain justice and her eventual success. It's important for young readers to know the horrible situations of the past, but to also realize that Black people strove for agency and worked against the system that oppressed them. 

This biography in verse brings to life the fear and anger that motivated Wood to search for justice. The illustration between chapters are rendered digitally, but have an ethereal, collage feel to them. This short book could be shelved in the poetry section of the library, but has enough information to also belong in a nonfiction collection. 

The research for this could not have been easy, but was helped by interviews in the newspaper, but some of the holes in Wood's story were filled in from other news accounts. There is a nice bibliography, as well as a page about Juneteenth. 

 Hubbard and Holyfield's Hammering for Freedom, Lester and Brown's From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, Cline-Ransome and Ransome's Before She Was Harriet, and Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad. 

Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom

Mills, Claudia. Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom 

March 10, 2026 by Holiday House
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Callie is a 6th grader who has trouble regulating her emotions, and with some good reason. Her parents were both killed in a car accident when she was very young, and she's being raised by her Granny and Grampy. Before school started, she was allowed to adopt a dog, Archie, from the shelter, even though her grandparents are not particularly fond of him. Callie used to be the smartest kid in her class, but has taken a back seat to Philip Kumar, who wears a bowtie to school and is Mr. Perfect. Callie is by no means perfect; she often argues with her teachers and has meltdowns when things don't go her way. When her best friend Peggy is late and runs into Miss Kippenberger's class, destroying her 43-year-old cardboard model of the Parthenon, Callie loses her temper with her teacher after Miss Kippenberger is somewhat rude and upset with Peggy. The principal is very understanding, and thinks there was just a lot of misunderstanding in the heat of the moment. Since Callie knows her grandparents aren't happy with her meltdowns, she is relieved... until she gets home. Her grandmother's arm is in a cast because she tripped over Archie while trying to get to the phone to answer a call from Miss Kippenberger! This leads Callie to vow to be a better person, which includes studying ancient Greek philosophy with Mr. Davenport, the school librarian. Things don't always run smoothly; Callie (who adopts her long name hoping that it will improve her) washed the kitchen floor with too much water, has a disastrous time hanging out laundry, lies about Archie leaving a deposit in a judgemental neighbor's yard, and thinks the police are after her when she lets Archie off the leash in the local dog park. For Miss Kippenberger's project (which used to be a ten page research paper but now includes a variety of choices), she decides to write a Greek tragedy where Philip is the villain and she is the heroine. She's a little jealous of all of the attention Peggy gets for her clever comic book, but when Miss Kippenberger finds the portrayal of herself on the cover (as Athena) offensive, Callie has another meltdown defending her friend. When her grandfather has a serious health issue, she is even more worried that Archie will have to be returned to the pound. Will Callie be able to keep her life on an even keel?

Strengths: There are many children being raised by grandparents these days, so seeing Callie's struggles with Granny and Grampy will speak to many readers. Her anger management skills are on par with many students as well. The school interactions at the lunch table are completely realistic, and Peggy is an understanding friend. The friction with Philip is also something that happens in middle school. There was a nice balance between school and home life, some helpful dog training, and a neighbor to rival Anne of Green Gables' Mrs. Lynde. Readers who want to know more about ancient Greek philosophy will finally have a fiction book to turn to. 
Weaknesses: Since Miss Kippenberger is only about five years older than I am, I thought she could have been portrayed more sympathetically. Certainly, she wouldn't be wearing a gray bun! Sure, she's angry about the destruction of her 43 year old Parthenon, but Callie is quite a difficult student. Also, if she's been teaching for that long, I'm pretty sure that she would LOVE a good PowerPoint, and she certainly would have turned her computer on to check e mail. I definitely agree with her love of chalkboards. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like flawed but exuberant characters like Sonnet in Mills' own The Last Apple Tree, Zella in Caprara's The Ripple Effect or nearly every child in Glaser's The Vanderbeekers series. 

The Greenies

Mills, Emma and Kennedy, Sarah Nicole (illus.) The Greenies
March 3, 2026 by Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks
E ARC provided by Netgalley

In this graphic novel, Violet moves to a new town for her mother's work, two hours away from her father. She is near her aunt and somewhat odd cousin, Kris, and has to start a new school in the middle of the year. She's a bit concerned about making friends, so when she is invited to a party under the bleachers by the exuberant Walt and Owen, she goes. While the "party" is fun, it is broken up by a school administrator, and the students remaining there are given detention. It's a bit different, though; instead of serving the days consecutively, Walt, Owen, Violet, Evelyn, and Hana are required to help out Isabel twice a week with her new environmental club. Kris feels left out, and manages to get a detention as well, although she considers former friend Hana "chaotic evil". The group has to pick up paper recycling bins, but Hana talks Violet into dumping the paper on the abandoned fourth floor instead of taking it outside to the recycling. A couple of other groups do this as well, since the code to the closed off floor is fairly common knowledge. They also make posters for a neighborhood clean up and work on community garden plans. Even though her father is two hours away, and Violet is sad that her old friends aren't contacting her, she manages to fit in well in her new school. When they group accidentally punctures the vice principal's tire, the paper on the fourth floor is discovered, and Violet is concerned that she will get into big trouble. She finally confides in her mother about all of the problems she has had settling into their new home, and feels better about her situation. The students decide to continue with the environmental club, and there is a second book in the works. A recipe for zucchini muffins is included at the end of the book. 

Strengths: So many graphic novels are whiny memoirs that it is a nice change of pace to see one that is about middle school students getting into normal scrapes and adventures. Violet has been taught to "fake it 'til you make it" which is something ALL middle school students need to learn. While she might be suppressing some of her feelings, she is also getting involved in groups, making friends, and not constantly on her phone wallowing in self pity, which is great. The recycling club has some good projects. My favorite part was probably the difficult relationship Violet has with her cousin, who goes out of her way to cause herself problems with her behavior, and from whom Violet wisely wants some distance! 
Weaknesses: This started with Violet entering her new school to a "masked protest" that was very odd, and it is unlikely that a school would have space that's not being used that wouldn't be strictly locked down. Also, it seems odd that the detention students were forced to be part of a club. I can only imagine that parent protests if this happened in real life. 
What I really think: I'll purchase this for my school library for fans of Lloyd and Nutter's Allergic and the Holms' Sunny books. Now if we could get some more graphic novels centered around sports like Shah's Wish I Was a Baller, that would be great! 

Poetry Friday- Glory Be

Sumner, Jamie. Glory Be

March 10, 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

**Spoilers relevant to determining audience.**

Nine-year-old Glory Be lives in New Orleans with her mother, who would like to earn a living making jewelry but has just taken a more remunerative job at a bank, her father, who has trouble holding a job, and her rescue dog Roux. Unfortunately, Roux has run away from home, and Glory is determined to find him. When she leaves school early in order to visit a homeless encampment to ask if anyone, especially Seven, has seen him, her mother is not happy because the school has called her and she has had to take time away from work. Even though Glory's family isn't particularly well off, she and her mother have visited the encampment before to hand out food and water, but her mother is not a fan of Glory going there on her own, or of her hanging out at the tattoo parlor downstairs from their apartment. Glory continues to look for the dog around town, but as she continues this process, details come out about her father's actions. He is frequently drunk, has anger management issues, and is not very reliable. When he returns with Roux, having found the dog with a neighbor, tensions in the family escalate and the mother ends up calling the police. It might be hard being away from her father, but in his current state, he was not a good person to have around. 

Strengths: Sumner does a great job at portraying children in tenuous family circumstances in books like her Maid for It. Glory's New Orleans neighborhood is almost another character, and she feels comfortable roaming around alone, even if her mother isn't wild about the idea. I liked the fact that even though her mother would rather make jewelry, she recognizes that this isn't the most stable source of income, and does get a different job. It's also good to see her finally deal with the problematic father. I'm sure there are many nine year olds who would go to great lengths to find their own missing dogs. This is a novel in verse, and there are some illustrations, which is always good to see. 
Weaknesses: While Glory is nine, her living situation, and the fact that her father kicks Roux, which is why he leaves, might make this book best suited to a slightly older audience, depending on your library population.  Are there real people named Glory Be? There are at least two literary ones: Glory Bea in Bustard's Blue Skies, and Scattergood's titular Glory Be. I suspect that it is a Southern thing that I don't understand. At least it's not Lois Lowry's Sweet Ho(sanna) from her 1987 Rabble Starkey. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like novels in verse about children living in less than optimal situations, like Fipps' And Then Boom or LeZotte's Deer Run Home. 

Wilma Rudolph and Conquering Polio

Bycel, Renzi, Korson, and Williams. Wilma Rudolph (Sports Superheroes #2)
October 21, 2025 by Penguin Workshop
Copy provided by the publisher

Maya and Jesse are back after their introduction to the Superheroes Council in Bycel, Korson, and Scott's Sports Superheroes: Stephen Curry. This time, they magically travel to Rome and meet the newest member of the council, Wilma Rudolph. They are given a week to research Rudolph's life and report back to the group. Using unspecified resources, they compile a complete biography and present it. Born in 1940 in Tennessee to a family with 21 other children, Rudolph's early life was plagued by ill health, which was made worse by the lack of medical resources available to Black people at the time. After suffering through not only polio but scarlet fever, measles, and whooping cough, Rudolph and her mother had to travel fifty miles by bus for her to receive therapy to help her walk. Of course, they had to sit at the back of the bus because of segregation laws at the time. She was determined to walk unaided again, and eventually was able to. She started to play basketball, but her real talent lay in running. She was recruited to train with Coach Ed at the Tuskegee Institute, an HBCU, and ran 18 miles a day. Only 16 when she tried out for the Olympic team, she qualified and participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, competing in the 4 x 100 relay. Afterwards, she had to complete high school, which was complicated by the birth of her daughter in 1958. Undaunted, and supported by her family, she completed in the 1960 summer Olympics in Rome, winning three gold medals. Back in Clarksville, the community wanted to have a parade in her honor, but she would only participate if the celebration was integrated. She retired from running, becoming a teacher and setting up a foundation to help inner-city children before succumbing to brain cancer in 1954. At the end of the book, Maya and Jesse's grandfathers show up to help set the stage for the next book in the series, focusing on Jackie Robinson.
Strengths: Sports AND Superheroes is a hard combination to beat, so I think this graphic novel will be popular. Rudolph's story is an inspiring one, and her hard work and perseverance are qualities young readers could certainly use. Maya and Jesse do a good job of giving an overview of Rudolph's life and career, livened with a little bit of humor. In each volume, we get a little more information about the council. There are five members on the council, and I loved that the inequity of the fact that Rudolph was the first woman member was addressed. Each book gives a tiny bit more information on the council and its purpose. The illustrations are attractive and will appeal to elementary and middle school students.
Weaknesses: There is a bit of extraneous chatting that I think young readers may ignore; the kids even use the phrase "no cap", which will probably make no sense in five years. I'm sure these biographies include the superhero council in an attempt to attract more readers, but given the paucity of graphic novels involving sports, it's not really necessary. Also, it would be great to see some sports figures that were not written about as much; there are plenty of books on Jackie Robinson.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like engaging graphic novel style sports biographies like Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile's Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, Maraniss's Beyond the Game books, or Soria and Williams's Who is the Man in the Air?: Michael Jordan.  

Goldstein, Margaret. Conquering Polio: America's Fight to End Polio Epidemics

January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™

Copy provided by the publisher

My mother, who was born in 1934, contracted polio as a very small child. She remembers being unable to walk, but was fortunate that she was only left with a heart murmur instead of paralysis. When I was young, my entire elementary school was given the polio vaccine on sugar cubes, and I don't remember a single person complaining. This might be because we all knew someone who, like my mother, carried the scars of the disease. Today, young readers need to know more information about why it would be so horrible for this disease to have a comeback. 

I did not know that there was ancient Egyptian artwork showing children with damaged legs, or that it had been studied since the late 1700s. A 1916 polio epidemic started efforts to try to keep the infection from spreading, and led to more research into the disease. About 5,000 people died as polio spread to other cities. This pales in comparison to the flu epidemic that occurred a few years later, which is perhaps why I had never heard of it. President Roosevelt's experience with polio is the first historical incident most people might think about. 

By the time another epidemic swept the nation in the 1950s, there was more scientific research to help find a cure. The March of Dimes also started as a way to help children affected by the disease. I appreciated that while there is a good description of the work that Salk and Sabin did on vaccines, there is an insect that talks about the fact that other people "Out of the Spotlight", like Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, also contributed to the development of vaccines. 

It's fascinating that the World Health Organization has been able to reduce the number of polio cases by 99% since 1988, but there is still work to be done. There is a discussion about why the disease isn't completely irradiated. While some areas of the world find it hard to obtain vaccines, there are also places where vaccine hesitancy could cause a resurgence of the virus. I loved the picture of Carol Ciminelli, who was one of the first children to get the Salk vaccine, who is shown with her COVID-19 card. A timeline at the end of the book reinforces the progress that has been made. 

There are not as many middle grade books about polio epidemics as I would like to see, since I think that reading historical fiction has a lot of educational value. There's Lasky's Chasing Orion, and Walsh's Red Scare: A Graphic Novel has a character who had the disease. This book would be helpful background for readers who pick up Heumann and Joiner's nonfiction Rolling Warrior: My Story of Fighting to Belong or Tripp's  American Girl novel, The One and Only (Maryellen #1) that has a character with a leg weakened by this devastating illness. 

Red River Rose

Lindstrom, Carole. Red River Rose

March 17, 2026 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

ARC provided by the publisher

In 1885, Rose lives in Batoche, a Métis community in the Northwest Territories along the Saskatchewan River with her parents and little sister Delia. She enjoys roaming the countryside, collecting medicinal plants and hunting for food with her friend Ambroise, but isn't happy that she isn't allowed to join hunts and isn't given the same freedom that boys are. She does have some problems at school, with Melanie being mean to her and Sister Mary not wanting to talk about the Red River Resistance. The Canadian government is becoming more and more problematic in its treatment of Native citizens, and after overhearing some men talking, she finds that her town is in danger. There has been systematic oppression, trying to starve the population and erase their culture so that the government can take their land, in part to build a railroad. While the Métis want to stand up to the government, they are facing many obstacles, including a larger military presence that has access to Gatling guns. When Rose finds out more plans, she disguises herself as a boy to go alert her father, who is working with other men to fight the government forces. When Batoche becomes a target, the women and children are evacuated to caves. Rose even tries to warn Melanie's family, and while Melanie brushes her off, her mother understands the seriousness of the situation. The fighting intensifies, and many houses in Batoche are damaged. Melanie's younger brother George goes back home to try to retrieve his slingshot, and Delia is shot when she follows him. She's okay, but there are many tense moments. Rose and Ambroise decide that they might be able to damage the smokestacks of the Northcote by stringing a rope across the river. It's hard and dangerous work, but they are successful in their sabotage. Sadly, it is not enough to save their community, and they are forced away from their home.
Strengths: Readers in the US have probably not read much about the horrible treatment of indigenous populations in Canada; I haven't seen middle grade novels that address this forced relocation in the Northwest Territories. The author based this book on her picture book, The Gift of the Great Buffalo, and says in an afterword that she made Rose a little older so that she could write a Little House on the Prairie style book based on the treatment of the Métis people. I also enjoyed the fact that her family has a connection to Batoche. Rose is a fantastic character who is deeply invested in her community and their way of life, and is brave enough to take an active role in the resistance movement.
Weaknesses: While Rose's courage in the face of obstacles and her bravery in fighting the government made for a harrowing but exciting read, I would have liked a little more information about daily life in Batoche before the battles. So many historical fiction books focus on negative experiences, which is understandable, but it would be nice to also celebrate good periods of history.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like historical fiction with cultural connections like Park's Prairie Lotus, McManis and Sorrell's Indian No More, or Antaki's Red Dove: Listen to the Wind.   

Bang!: The Art, History, and Science of Fireworks and The Magic of Someday Soon

Miller, Ron. Bang!: The Art, History, and Science of Fireworks
March 3, 2026 by Twenty-First Century Books
Coopy provided by the publisher

My students frequently have projects assigned where they have to read a 100 page narrative nonfiction book and complete a scavenger hunt and report. It's hard to find books that are interesting and informative and meet the project criteria. Bang! is a book that I am definitely looking forward to recommending to my students!

Not surprisingly, the origins of fireworks are largely military, but I loved all of the science and chemistry behind the different fireworks. It's fascinating that we have descriptions as far back as the 1260s describing how to make some of the combinations. I don't think that Roger Bacon's prose (originally written in Latin!) will be useful to anyone wanting to manufacture fireworks now, but it is fun to read.

The art of fireworks will intrigue a wider array of readers, and knowing that the first public display in the Western world was for King Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York in 1486 was fascinating. I especially liked the description of "green men" who set off fireworks. They were called this because they layered themselves in leaves to protect their skin and clothes from catching fire! The chapter on how fireworks are made today includes needed information on safety precautions, as well as a variety of records set by different displays.

My favorite chapter was probably the one on professional and consumer fireworks, because it highlighted Phantom Fireworks, the largest US distributor. They are based in Youngstown, Ohio, close to my hometown. There is also a discussion of various laws and etiquette surrounding setting off displays, and well as an intriguing description of indoor fireworks and substitutes for them.

The technology behind fireworks also comes into daily life in items such as matches, signal rockets, flares, flash bangs, movie explosions, and even car air bags! Of course, they are used around the world to celebrate a variety of holidays. The final chapters of the book include a discussion of fireworks as a hobby as well as the future of fireworks. The book ends with source notes, websites, a list of pyrotechnic clubs, and an index.

This is a beautifully formatted book that includes a lot of bright red and yellow. There are lots of photographs, as well as period illustrations. There are diagrams, charts, and sidebars, as well as bold print paragraph headings. Those projects and scavenger hunts I mentioned? They all call for students to identify these facets of nonfiction texts! The print is on the smaller side, but this would be a great inclusion for all middle school and high school libraries.

Lee, Michelle. The Magic of Someday Soon

March 3, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Zoe's father passed away when she was very young, and for the past eight years she has been constantly at her artist mother's side as she travels the country as the Upcycle Magician, completing projects before packing up their aged car Geraldine and moving on. When Zoe signs a contract on her  mother's behalf to complete a project in her father's hometown of Maravel, Florida, her mother isn't pleased, but can't be too angry. When the two arrive in the small town, they find that the mechanic who is towing and fixing their car is the father of the "city council person" who asked them to come! Teddy is being raised by her uncle Jeremy, and is invested in honoring the legacy of her great grandparents, who ran Fossil Gardens in the 1970s and 80s. It was a tourist attraction with dinosaurs made out of scrap, so a perfect project for Zoe's mother, but the gardens have had multiple sink holes underneath of the property, which is now owned by the Altamontes. Their son, Nick, is Teddy's age, but her archnemesis due to an incident when the two were in kindergarten. Smoothing everyone's ruffled feathers in her father's Grandma Dee, who runs a local tea shop and has an otherworldly, magical air about her. She's thrilled to put up Zoe and her mother while their car is fixed, and the mother does agree to fix the two remaining "fossils", Bobby and Rita, who are moved from the gardens to Dee's lawn. Zoe desperately wants to stay in one place, and loves hanging out with Dee, who plies her with almost magical tea and a quantity of baked goods. Teddy is relieved that Bobby and Rita will be restored and appreciated, but a heavy storm opens up another sinkhole, this time in Dee's yard, and both statues are sucked under. There's a lot of agitation as Zoe has to deal with going back on the road and Teddy has to process her loss and also make amends with Nick. Will things work out for everyone in Maravel?
Strengths: I am absolutely all about vintage tourist attractions, motels, or relics from grandparents, so I really enjoyed this story. It was also good to see both Zoe and Teddy make a friend with someone who understood their losses. Maravel was a very fun setting, and I could just envision Bobby and Rita sitting all alone in a field, with foliage growing up through them. Grandma Dee is delightful, and perhaps even a little magic. There's a satisfying conclusion to the story, and everyone is happier at the end than at the beginning, which is always a relief. 
Weaknesses: The cover makes this look very young, and also promises a little more magic than is actually involved in the story. 
What I really think: This felt a little like a cross between Lloyd's A Snicker of Magic and Lute's Dinner at the Brake Fast or Berry's Heart Finds. The closest comparison is Freeman's Trashed, which I absolutely loved but which isn't circulating as much as I would like. 

MMGM- Follow the Water and Mary Oliver

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Cochrane, Ellen. Follow the Water: The Unbelievable True Story of a Teenager's Survival in the Amazon
March 17, 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by Books Forward

Julianne Koepcke's survival in the Amazon after a plane crash in 1971 is a riveting story that has been covered before in Olson's 2018 Lost in the Amazon: A Battle for Survival in the Heart of the Rainforest as well as her own 2012 memoir When I Fell from the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival. Follow the Water frames this true story in a way that will appeal to middle grade readers, with details about Koepcke's life before and after this tragic event and a lot of additional information about a variety of topics, such as wildlife in the Amazon, rainforest leaves, and bacteria and viruses.

Raised by biologist parents in Peru, in a remote research facility dubbed "Panguana", Juliane learned a lot about her environment and how to survive in it. When she reached high school age, she was required to attend a school in Lima. Right before Christmas in 1971, her mother visited her, and the two got on a small plane to return home.

When the plane went down, Juliana fell two miles to Earth, but sustained relatively few injuries. This was because her airplane seat was attached to another, so fell in a manner similar to a maple tree seed, which slowed her down, and she then fell through densely packed liana vines. She had a spinal cord injury and a broken collar bone, and ended up with just her dress, one shoe, and a handful of food she was able to find in the wreckage. Heeding her father's advice that she "follow the water", she traveled down the river despite her injuries. She was fairly fortunate that she was not attacked by any animals, although she did have maggots in her wounds and ended up with an infection from drinking the water. After eleven days, she came across a boat that she thought about taking, but also found a cabin and some woodcutters, who were very surprised to see her but took good care of her and helped her get to safety.

After this experience, Koepcke continued her studies. She worked as a librarian in Munich and eventually followed in her parents' footsteps to protect the Peruvian wilderness, often facing political difficulties. She specializes in bats, and continues to advocate for the rainforest.

I loved the factual details sprinkled throughout the book, but my favorite concerned the filmmaker Werner Herzog, who adapted her story into the 1998 film Wings of Hope. He had a personal connection to her story because he and his crew were waiting in line at the same airport as Koepcke but were unable to get on the flight, saving their lives!

The research that Cochrane did is extensive, and there is a great list of sources that includes books as well as multiple web sites. The story moves quickly, and has just enough detail about the events before and after the crash to add an extra level of interest. Hand this to readers who like true survival tales like Sole Survivor by Norman Ollestad or fictional ones like Into the Rapids by Anne Braden. 

Frankel, Erin and Hu, Jasu. Mary Oliver: Holding On To Wonder

October 14, 2025 by Astra/ Calkins Creek

Copy provided by the Publisher

Born in Cleveland in 1935, Mary Oliver loved being outside, and enjoyed how natural elements made her feel happy. How could see capture that feeling? She loved reading poetry, and even wrote to the sister of recently deceased poet Edna St. Vincent Millay to ask if she could visit her home. She graduated from high school, and after several visits to Millay's home, accepted a job helping to organize her papers. She started publishing her peomes, and lived in Cape Cod with photographer Molly Malone Cook. Despite growing fame, Oliver remained devoted to capturing the joy in quiet, beautiful moments in her poetry, and taught at many places until her death from lung caner in 2019. 

Oliver's work seems to be very popular, and is much quoted. This picture book biography captures the same dreamy feel of her nature poems in both the lyrical text and misty, ethereal illustrations. There is an author's note, timeline, and list of resources, making this well suited for research. 

Have this book on rotation for April, National Poetry Month, along with Fountain and Turnham's The Poem Forest: Poet W. S. Merwin and the Palm Tree Forest He Grew from Scratch, Bober and Gibbon's Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost, Clinton and Qualls' Phyllis' Big Test, and Rogers and Groenick's Sixteen Words: William Carlos Williams and the Red Wheelbarrow, and especially Starflower: The Making of a Poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay by Farkas, Vizzo, and Dwyer. 

Full confession: I am not a fan of Oliver's poetry. Millay, yes. Timothy Steel, absolutely. Oliver's work reminds me of poems that were printed on greeting cards in the 1970s. I'd love to see a picture book biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, however. 

Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away and When Tomorrow Burns

Burch, Ciera. Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away

March 17, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Olivia is starting 7th grade, and is fortunate enough to have a good group of friends. Her brother, Malcolm, has come out as gay, and Olivia's parents have thrown a party for him as a way to be supportive. Olivia used to spend a lot of time in the school library, talking to Mrs. Cassidy and showing her her sketchbook, but when she checks in this year, she finds to her surprise that she has retired and been replaced by a young, hip librarian, Ms. Amelia. When a 7th and 8th grade formal is announced, Olivia's friends want to share all of the gossip on a social media app called KruShh, which Nessa helpfully downloads for her. Olivia doesn't have much interest in in, but does spend a Friday evening scrolling through it when Malcolm forsakes the family movie night for a date. There's all kinds of drama on KruShh, but Olivia has little interest. She's annoyed when Robbie, a boy her friends think is cute, leaves a note asking her out. She isn't quite sure who left the note and says "no", and things get out of hand on KruShh. Olivia meets Jules in the library; Jules is nonbinary and has asked Miss Amelia for books to help. The odd thing is that both Olivia and Jules have an odd condition; they get headaches, feel tingling in their limbs, and then are invisible to everyone around them. Miss Amelia is the only other person who can see them. As the drama over the dance escalates, Jule and Olivia have a misunderstanding. Eventually, Olivia realizes that she is aromantic and doesn't share the same interest in having relationships that her friends do.

Strengths: Olivia's experience in middle school is given an allegorical twist as she feels invisible and actually physically manifests that feeling. This is a book that is definitely on trend and embraces the cultural zeitgeist when it comes to sexual identity. It also has plenty of tween drama and an especially evil form of social media in KruShh. Olivia's parents are probably the best characters as they try really hard to support Malcolm, but in the cringiest ways possible. 
Weaknesses: Being "invisible" in the real world is not particularly pleasant all the time (try being Mrs. Cassidy, Olivia! I'm sure she was probably about 55-60; people don't usually stay in teaching until they are 80.), but if people ACTUALLY turned invisible, it would be an interesting experience. I prefer Kessler's Have Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins or Thompson's The Day I was Erased for fun stories about tweens becoming invisible. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Gino's Alice Austen Lived Here or Riley's Jude Saves the World. 

I feel really seen and perhaps a bit irritated by the following description: "Mrs. Cassidy has been nice but tired and had listened to Olivia the way a grandma would, fondly and with vague interest." (page 96 of the e ARC). Ms. Amelia, with her dark purple hair, sneakers, and nose ring is brand new. She will learn soon enough that she won't have the energy to teach six classes a day while power washing 30 Chromebooks AND weeding the collection in her downtime if she spends time counseling tweens who find the cafeteria overwhelming during her "lunch". Mrs. Cassidy was probably trying to answer e mails while talking to Olivia about her drawings. I do have a bit of concern for Ms. Amelia; there are places where she would be putting her job in jeopardy for sharing her own aromantic identity with students. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that we live in perilous times. 
 

Keller, Tae. When Tomorrow Burns

March 3, 2026 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nomi, Violet, and Arthur used to be close friends, but as middle school wears on, they spend less time together. Arthur broke away first, spending more time with the boys on the cross country team, in part because he has a crush on Nomi and doesn't think she likes him that way. Nomi does, but she is obsessed with an old book the three kids found in Arthur's fathers' gallery. She thinks that the poems are prophetic, based on how things in her life were able to be interpreted. Violet is more interested in boys than Nomi, which Nomi finds irritating even though she has a crush on Arthur. There are wildfires in the area surrounding their Seattle home, so when Violet shows up wearing an uncharacteristic all pink outfit, Nomi thinks that the combination of pink and gray is signifying the end of her world. Violet is angry about her  mother's blog, and when Lucas asks her to send him a compromising selfie, she does. She thinks he won't share it with anyone. Nomi goes full speed ahead to try to solve the mystery of the book, even contacting a scientist after she says something very similar to one of the prophecies. We also hear a back story of the book from the perspective of the trees. When Lucas shows other boys the picture of Violet in her bra, Nomi goes on the war path and attacks Lucas. This puts her scholarship in jeopardy, and since her single mother is struggling financially, she would have to leave the private school. Violet wants to quit and go to public school with Nomi, and the girls cause a fire when burning some of the unflattering sketches Lucas has spread around school. Luckily, Arthur saves the day by providing proof to the principal. 

This reminded me of Rebecca Stead's 2015 Goodbye, Stranger. I appreciated the author's note that we shouldn't try to hide the horrible things going on in the world from tweens, but I'm not sure that the compromising selfie plot ARC will resonate with my students. Our school dress code is literally "all private parts must be covered", and there have been girls coming to school in low rise jeans and tube tops, which are much more revealing than bras. The cover makes this look like it might be about climate change, and there are glimmers of that, but it's more about social media use and friend difficulties. Hand this to students who will appreciate the interstitial Greek chorus sections from the point of view of the trees. 
 

Saturday Morning Cartoons- The Lionharts and Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King

Lawrence, Michael. The Lionharts #1
March 3, 2026 by Abrams Fanfare
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This graphic novel is set in a medieval world similar to Alexanders Chronicles of Prydain. The Lionharts have a Family Quest business taking care of magical problems for clients from their timbered building in a world where there are dragons and ogres. The parents tend to do most of the work that requires travel, although a standing job is clearing harpies out of Farmer Grunk's hayloft. This leaves Alder to run the counter in the shop while Grandma Dotty and Baba Gilbert (who are retired) take care of the house and Alder's younger brother, the exuberant if misguided Flynt. When a mysterious woman (who looks a bit like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland) books an appointment to find a missing treasure, the weary parents head out alone, despite Alder's pleas to be allowed to help. When they don't come back for several days, Alder worries, and he and Flynt head out to find them. They meet Ferg, a troll who says they headed off toward the bog, as well as Clump, an ogre. They begin to worry that perhaps Maude, the dragon that Grammy Dotty took care of, has returned. When mists in the forest lead them astray, they end of at the cottage of Gloria, an elf who is Baba's ex-girlfriend. Joined by their grandparents, they learn that their parents are heading up the mountain. Grammy asks Gloria to watch the boys, but her idea of keeping them safe if much different. The three take a magical boat up the mountain, and Gloria turns the boys into a turtle and frog so that they can swim underwater to get into Maude's cave. Once there, they find their parents and grandparents engaged in battle with a surprising foe, and family secrets are revealed. Eventually, things are resolved, and Alder and Flynt are allowed to go on more quests with their parents.
Strengths: Middle grade adventures are so much better when parents are involved. Throw in a heroine grandmother, and this is as good as it gets. Of course, parents occasionally get kidnapped and need to be saved, so Flynt and Alder get to have plenty of adventures on their own. There are plenty of medievalish quest fantasy novels, but very few in graphic form. This even starts with a map of the kingdom, and includes all of the standard fantasy tropes and characters. The inclusions that make this feel fresh are the parents and grandparents, especially the stong mother and grandmother, and the fact that the boys don't seem to have been trained for adventures. The artwork is a little brighter and more modern feeling than I would have expected for a medieval adventure, but this also makes the story a bit fresher. While fantasy books haven't been circulating well in my library, graphic novels have. I'll definitely purchase this, and try to use it as a gateway for the many, many fantasy novels that are in my school library, especially ones like O'Donnell's Homerooms and Hallpasses.
Weaknesses: I rather wanted Flynt to get eaten by a dragon. He was annoying. Of course, I am an older sister, so I naturally sided with the more responsible Alder. I also have some questions about the advisability of leaving the boys with Gloria. There's definitely more to her story.
What I really think: While I personally will never quite understand the appeal of traveling up mountains, through forests, and underground (either through water or earth), fantasy readers love this sort of adventure. The closet graphic novel to this title is Aldridge's Estranged, and readers who enjoyed Yogis and Truong's City of Dragons series, Messenger, Freen, and Chianello's Keeper of Lost Cities adaptation, Siegel's 5 Worlds adventures, Sedita, Seraydarian, and Hamaker's Pathfinders books or Kurtz' Table Titans Club Dungeons and Dragons camp stories will be glad to see this classic quest tale given a graphic novel treatment.  

Cape, Darin S. (author), Hainsworth, Shawn (Editor) , Decrux, Zeno Decrux and Gabotto, Hiorsh Gabotto (Illustrators). Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King

April 14,  2026 by SHP Comics (Date changed from March)
Copy provided by the publisher

Zachary is almost five years old and lives with his parents and older brother and sister. He has a very active imagination, and spends his nighttime and nap hours fighting the Rat King in a fantasy world where he is an older character called Zicky. When he goes missing one morning and the police have to be called, it's clear that his two worlds are mixing. He has rats in his bedroom, and a dog he has in the imaginary world appears and his sister adopts it. The Rat King wants his ring (actually a binky), and there's lots of fighting. The rats eventually come in to other parts of town in the real world. An exterminator is called, but he is no match for giant rats. Zachary has a potion that will make the rats larger and even turn him into Zicky in the real world. When his family experiences the giant rats and Zicky, they are suitably alarmed, but when Zachary is done having the Rat King in his real life, a Deus ex machina called The Ghost in the Machine comes in and cleans up all of the messes so that Zachary can go back to his regular life. 

This was a rather trippy, comic book style graphic novel that was a bit like Kochalka's The Glorkian Warrior books or Angleberger's The First Cat in Space; I just don't get the humor. The rats icked me out, and the Manga style Rat King world was deeply unpleasant as well. This will probably make it iristible to young readers in the way that Paul Zindel's classic Rats and Doomstone has been! Those who aren't grossed out by Savage's Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy might pick this up. Even though SHP Comics is an independent publisher, this is available through Follett Titlewave and was reviewed by Kirkus. I'll put this copy in my library (I don't put all books I receive in my library!). Take a look to see if it might be right for yours! 

Queso, Just in Time

Cisneros, Ernesto. Queso, Just in Time

March 10, 2026 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Quetzalcóatl Castillo, known as Queso, lives with his mother in Orange County, California. He's having a hard time after his father's death, especially now that his grandmother has moved back to Mexico. He really likes his school, especially his teacher Mr. Gleason and the energetic librarian, Ms. Maldonado, and has two best friends, Martín, and Marisol, who has recently changed pronouns to they/them with the support of their grandparents. Still, even though he's been in therapy, he constantly wishes he had more time with his father before he was shot by an intruder in their back yard. One night, he can't sleep and goes out to the treehouse that his father built. He finds a rabbit, and falls asleep cuddling "Horchata". When he wakes up, things are off. The house looks newer, and when he sees some delivering a newspaper he finds out that it is March 1, 1985! He literally runs into his father, Pancho, who is also 12. Queso introduces himself as Tajín (a commercial spice blend that was not readily available in the 1980s), and Pancho takes him back so that his mother, Queso's beloved grandmother, can bandage his leg. Queso also gets to meet his namesake, his grandfather who died when he was very young. There are questions about why Queso doesn't call home, and the Castillo's end up not only letting him stay with them but also enroll him in Pancho's school as his cousin from Mexico, saying that many students lack documentation. He meets Lucy, a girl who is at the library looking for books with gay representation, only to find that those books are filed under "Abnormal Psychology", and tries to broaden understanding in his school. Mainly, he enjoys spending time with his father in a completely different time period. Eventually, he realizes that he has to return to his mother, and finds the strength to do so after talking to his grandfather.

Strengths: I'm really surprised that there aren't more middle grade novels involving meeting parents as children because it's such an interesting idea! Queso is able to see how things were different in the past, especially when it came to treatment of people who identify on LGBTQIA+ spectrum and for people of color, and there's lots of good information about books, libraries, and librarians. There's an especially delightful twist at the end, and I would bet money that Ms. Maldonado is named after author Torrey Maldonado! It's a lot of fun that Pancho lived in the same house that Queso currently lives in, and there are so many feel good moments about the interactions that Queso has with his family. His visit to the past also has some positive effects on the present, since he encouraged Pancho and provided some coping skills for studying, although he is not able to prevent his father's death. Fans of this author's Falling Short and Efrén Divided will be glad to see this new title, which has a fabulous cover.

Weaknesses: I wish we had seen a little bit more about Queso's life in the present day, perhaps with more of his grandmother. In 1985, I wish there had been a few more details about daily life, although there are a decent number. Today's children really can't grasp how different the world was then. I would have enjoyed this more if the Queso had been fighting with his father, but came to a new understanding about him while in 1985 that improved their relationship, because the dead parent trope is just never my favorite. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Page's Rewind or Welford's Time Traveling with a Hamster. There's another book, Sue Corbett's 2002 Twelve Again (author right around Connor, published before 2005) where a boy's mother is twelve at the same time that he is! Just weeded that, but look how much cover art styles have changed in 20 years! 

Here Lies a Ghost

Bourne, Shakira. Here Lies a Ghost
March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jermaine is struggling after the death of his father, but is trying very hard to secure a place with the cool boys on the track team, the Turbo Jets, in his school in Barbados. He has a tenuous friendship with Brody, a taller boy who is red haired and pale skinned and takes after his mother. Jermaine invites the wealthier boy over to his house, and is embarassed when Brody leaves suddenly after realizing that the bathroom is outside. That's not the reason Brody left; he has his own secrets. When the Turbo Jets (or Turbo Trolls, as Brody calls them) dare Jermaine to spend time in the Chase Vault at the local cemetery, which is rumored to be haunted, he agrees, but is scared when he is closed in the vault. When he finally gets home, he realizes that a Ghost is following him. He assumes it is Dorcas Chase, who died in 1812 when she was 12, but since she seems to be helpful to him, he's not too worried. Eventually, it turns out that Brody can see her as well, but after an explosion in the science lab, it's clear that Dorcas means Brody harm. The boys have to work together to try to figure out why Dorcas has not passed on. They decide that they might need to return a rock they took from the vault to be rid of the ghost, but when they go to return it, Wilton and the other boys from the track team are there are cause a lot of trouble. Secrets are revealed, and through research, Brody finds out some information about the ghost as well. Will Jermaine and Brody be able to appease the ghost and send her on her way before tragedy occurs?
Strengths: Bourne has brought Barbadian folk lore to life in Nightmare Island and Josephine Against the Sea, and ups her game by including some history as well as some friend drama in her new tale. Jermaine's desire to be thought of as cool is heart breaking, and makes his decision to appropriate fashionable tennis shoes from the his mother's hotel work place's lost and found seem completely understandable. His rocky relationship with Brody also makes sense, since both boys have a connection that is revealed at the end. The ghost is quite frightening, especially since she does seem to help Jermaine out at the beginning of the story. The Turbo Jets have quite the scary adventure in the tomb, with plenty of danger and running about. This book didn't make me want to go anywhere near a cemetery for a long time, but should appeal to readers who (unlike me!) really enjoy horrorific tales. 
Weaknesses: This is a bit on the long side, and the text switches into a verse format for reasons that aren't entirely clear. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked other books centered in creepy cemeteries like Fournet's Brick Dust and Bones, Russell's Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, or Rushby's The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery. 
 

Soccer Sideline and Roohi and Nate Are Not on the Same Page

Marino, Max, Bolte, Mari and Diaz, Roman (illus.) Soccer Sideline
January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™
Copy provided by the publisher

Mak Malek has to leave his friends to attend a new middle school, but is excited to be on the soccer team there. Unfortunately, the night before school starts, he has a nightmare and whacks his wrist on the nightstand. It hurts, but he doesn't want to tell his parents about it, lest they not allow him to go to practice. At the first practice with the Titans and Coach Rhime, Mak falls on his wrist, injuring it more. Teammate Dougie notices, but doesn't say anything. Mak tapes his wrist and adds Popsicle sticks as a splint, but when all of the team members have to take a turn at being the goalie, the pain from his wrist makes Mak hesitant to stop the ball. He changes to a piece of old shin guard to protect his injury, but has trouble completing an obstacle course at practice. At the first game, he feels a little better, and wearing arm warmers helps. The coach doesn't put him in because of his lack of confidence and his hesitancy, but Mak still doesn't tell anyone about the pain he is in. When he is hit in the wrist with a ball during a game, he is in a lot of pain. Dougie finally intervenes and convinces Mak to talk to his parents as well as Dougie's father, who is a doctor. It turns out that the nightstand injury was a greenstick fracture, but letting it go caused a full break. Mak will have to stop playing for six months, and won't be able to ride his BMX bike or do parkour, either. Luckily, his friends are supportive, and Coach Rhime lets him serve as a coaching assistant. 

Sports injuries are rarely talked about in middle grade literature, but they do happen frequently and deserve some attention. Mak's reluctance to tell his parents because he would miss part of the season is completely understandable. As a coach, I always kept a close eye on my cross country runners and told them to come to me if they did not feel well, but young athletes are often stubborn. It was good to see that Dougie cared about his friend enough to call him on the injury and get him help. 

The end of the book includes a short biography of Radamal Falcao, a soccer player who also had trouble with injuries. The combination of problems and descriptions of practice and games is great, and I can see this book being popular with readers who enjoyed Fabbri's Back of the Net series.

Soccer is a sport that a lot of young readers play, so this is a great purchase for all elementary school libraries, and middle school collections where there are a number of emerging readers. I've been purchasing a lot of soccer titles lately, like Gibbons' Super Sub, Maddox's Soccer Goals, and Layton's longer The Academy books. 

Kelkar, Supriya and Lerner, Jarrett. Roohi and Nate are Not on the Same Page

March 3, 2026 by Amulet Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Roohi is an overachiever; she's is involved in cross country team, science olympiad, Robotics Team, and the school newspaper. She has a friend group from each activity, but is struggling with her relationship with herr cross country friends after she broke her toe and had to stop running. She has a lot to deal with at home, mainly watching her three younger brothers while her father works from home and her mother is a surgeon at a local hospital. The one place she finds comforting is the library, where she eats lunch every day to avoid her friends and to talk books with the cool, rock band t shirt wearing Mrs. Sharp. She and Nate aren't friends; he's a slacker skater boy whom she feels has been rude to her, so she's rude back. Nate's parents seem to favor his older brother, Noah, "the smart one" who is off at college. His best friend is Z (or Zach), but lately the two haven't been vibing. When Nathan sees a lunchtime book club starting, he wants to join, even though his father makes snide comments that it's :"more Noah's thing" and he has to lie to Z about where he is going. Roohi is NT excited about the club, because it means she has to share her space with Miles, who loves an ogre based book series, Dao, who is on the girls' basketball team, and Troy. When everyone votes to read a graphic novel that Roohi thinks is infinitely inferior to the fantasy novels SHE would like to read, she is even angrier. It doesn't help that another cross country runner, Bianca, seems to have taken her place in her cross country friend group. As discussions about the book start, the participants bring up a lot of personal struggles and ask for help to work through them, which was part of Mrs. Sharp's plan for the group. While she's not super pleased to have to deal with Nate, the two bond briefly over their shared love of drawing. When it is revealed that the school district is short on money and Mrs. Sharp may have to work at other libraries if librarian positions are reduced, the lunch bunch tries to find ways to save her full time position. They think about bake sales (figuring the $635 would save at least one librarian's job!), petitions, and a talent show at which the group would speak passionately about the importance of librarians. None of this is easy, and Roohi and Nate don't always see eye to eye about anything. The two eventually reconcile, but librarian positions are still cut. With Mrs. Sharp only coming to their school two mornings a month, Roohi, Nate, and the other lunch bunch group have to find their way forward. 

Strengths: There are any number of middle grade novels about book bans, but fewer about the very real problem of librarian positions being cut because of funding shortfalls. Since I could have lost my job had my district's ballot initiative failed, this hit very close to home. The cuts are realistically portrayed as well, and I love the impassioned lists of all of the good that full time school librarians do. The friend drama was well portrayed, and I felt particularly bad for Roohi's broken toe! Been there, worn the boot! Nate and Roohi are definitely different types of students, but they are very realistically portrayed; many cross country runners want to be involved in everything, as Roohi is, and are frequently at odds with students who, like Nate, are not as fond of academics. I loved that they connected over their shared love of drawing, and tried to work together to save the library. The addition of drawings to the story will add some appeal to this title, for fans of those graphic novels of which Roohi is not fond! 
Weaknesses: Roohi's situation is exactly why I don't allow students to spend more than a lunch or two in the library before I insist they talk to a school counselor to get proper help with their problems. Roohi clearly needed a lot more help that Mrs. Sharp could provide. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Varnes' Property of the Rebel Librarian, Magoon, Smith, and Murakami's The Vice Principal Problem, or Janet and Jake Tashjian's Einstein the Class Hamster Saves the Library.

Introduction to Anime and Manga and Laugh Riot

Bolte, Mari. Introduction to Anime and Manga: From Magical Girls to Pirate Kings
January 1, 2026 by Twenty-First Century Books ™
Copy provided by the publisher

I wasn't imagining it: between 2019 and 2022, sales of manga quadrupled in the United States. It seemed like my students had very little interest in the format before the pandemic, and came back from lockdown obsessed with drawing manga characters and reading the books. While I have had Poitras' 1999 The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation in my library for years, I was glad to see an updated book that takes a good look at the history of both manga and anime... and also includes the LAST quarter century of progress.

There were so many astonishing statistics, like the fact that 35-40% of printed work in Japan is manga! The format goes back to the 1700s, with a variety of artwork that tells stories, but took off in 1985 with magazines. This mirrors what was going on in the US at the same time (which I know from reading Hoena and Hampton's Comic Books: A Graphic History!). While the books in the early twentieth century were largely collections of comic strips, Astro Boy, in 1951, was the first book that more closely resembled the manga we know today. He was a very popular character, based on the styles of Mickey Mouse and Betty Book. The large eyes are still a hallmark of this style. Otaku culture arose, and women started to be more involved in the industry in the 1960s. I loved the fact that in 1968, reading was the top leisure activity in Japan!

Anime started in the early 1900s, but because of the fragility and expense of film, little of the productions survive. This was not helped by a devastating earthquake in Tokyo in 1923 that also destroyed many of the films. There were some propaganda films during World War II, but most of these were destroyed. It was thought that there were no surviving copies of one of the most famous films, Momotaro, but a copy was found in 1983. Astro Boy, of manga fame, was made into anime in 1963. It was interesting to hear that the Golden Age of anime was the 1980s, with films by Miyazaki being very popular, but it was a bit alarming to hear that Dragon Ball didn't come out until 1986, and Pokemon until 1994. My children were obsessed with Pokemon, but it WAS a very long time ago!

I had not known that there were different categories of manga that targeted different ages and genders of readers. It's significant that there is not a category for women over sixty; this might explain why I don't have much of a personal interest in the books. Shonen is aimed at young boys, Josei for teen romance readers, Seinen for male students or men at work, Gekiga for adult audiences, and Kodomo for children. This last category includes topics like Hello Kitty. Some of the tropes of manga are discussed.

It makes sense that anime and manga were not as popular in the United States until the 1990s, because it was hard to get books and films from other countries. It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of bootleg media that introduced the American audience to Japanese productions. The illegal file sharing of the early 2000s would surprise some young readers, who don't know a world without subscription services like Crunchyroll, or one where the public library wouldn't have digital books from all over the world.

While I've read several books on the history of comics in the US, I haven't seen as much on anime and manga. This book is part of a larger series that includes other topics like Understanding Manga: From Fox Spirits to Fashion Icons, From Pocket Monsters to Jujutsu Sorcerers, and From Zodiac Animal Shifters to Demon Slayers. The only quibble I have with this book is that Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion, the only two Japanese imports I was aware of for a long time, were not included! This series will be popular with young readers beginning to explore the world of these Japanese arts as well as avid devotees.

Krovatin, Christopher. Laugh Riot

March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jeremiah is having a difficult time in middle school. His parents are in the middle of a bitter separation, and his father frequently asks him to take care of his nine-year-old sister, Keri. At school, he has to deal with bully Ricky Almeda, who picks on him and his friend Natt. There's even Mrs. Bunley's evil dog, Chowder, who barks at Jeremiah and scares him on his way to school. The only thing that makes him feel better is drawing a comic strip with a character called Laugh Riot who is able to strike back against all of the inequities in Jeremiah's life. Of course, even this gets him in trouble with his teacher, Mr. Clayborn, who won't accept his math homework when it has a doodle on it. All of this has Jeremiah very angry, so he pushes back against Ricky's treatment, even though Ricky's friend, Will, says that Ricky is having a hard time himself. When both Chowder and Mr. Clayborn are injured in real life in ways eerily similar to Jeremiah's drawing, he is both aghast and pleased to have this power over the universe. He even draws a comic that has him coming to the rescue of Janelle, a girl on whom he has a crush, and marvels at how smoothly he handled the situation that arose. Things get dark when Jeremiah asks his mother to take him and Keri to a school lacrosse game, and he witnesses first hand how his drawing of Ricky losing his shorts on the field comes true. However, there is also an almost fatal crash involving field lights that Jeremiah doesn't remember drawing, although it is in his sketchbook. When more and more things occur, he asks both Natt and Will for help. They set up a camera to tape Jeremiah at night, and find that he is drawing in his sleep... or when he is possessed by Laugh Riot. Jeremiah's mother and father are alarmed when he scares Keri with one of his drawings, and the mother tries to send him off to a facility for observation. Jeremiah thinks that maybe this is a good idea, since he knows that Laugh Riot has gone too far. What's really going on? Can Jeremiah manage to extricate himself from this unusual situation? (Don't want to spoil the twists at the end.)

Strengths: Had I been able to draw comics that wreaked vengeance on my middle school nemeses, would I have? Absolutely!!! This is middle grade wish fulfillment at its finest. Would I have had the regret that Jeremiah experienced? Probably not as much, but that's why this book is so good. Jeremiah is dealing with a lot; his parent's separation comes after years of fighting, and is still acrimonious. He struggles with school work, has to deal with Ricky's idiocy at school, and is just FED UP. Laugh Riot is a great way for him to deal with his feelings... until it isn't. Blowing up a math teacher's hair? Depantsing Ricky? These fates make perfect sense, even though they are cruel. Natt and Will make an unlikely team to help Jeremiah, and the awkwardness of Will inserting him into Jeremiah's life is perfect. Of course Ricky has his own family problems, and its good to see that his family gets therapy, but the real draw here is the level of evil that Laugh Riot brings to the story. There's a huge twist at the end, and I loved the way that Keri was brought into that. There could possibly be a sequel, but I'm also completely okay with just ending this tale on an unfinished note. 
Weaknesses: I've decided that all of the BEST Scholastic titles are paperback only. This is infuriating as a school librarian, since paperbacks don't hold up at all. Also, I'm not sure I understood the ending, and might have to check the final print edition, which I also hope has a few more drawings. 
What I really think: Krovatin does a great job coming up with unusual plots and scary stories, and has come a long way since his 2012 Gravediggers. (Red Rover is a demon, NOT a dog.) This is a fantastic story that middle school students will love. Order an extra case of this title if you are having a Scholastic book fair. The cover confused me a little at first (it made me think of Basye's 2008 Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go), but this was a twisty, dark story with plenty of middle grade angst that should do well with my students. The only other books I can think of where drawings come to life are MacHale's 2010 The Light and Silberberg's 2013 The Awesome Almost 100% True Adventures of Matt and Craz.