Pooch on the Loose and Shim Jung Takes the Dive

Hawn, Goldie, Oliver, Lin and Chambers, Breanna (illus.)
Pooch on the Loose (After-School Kindness Crew #1)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Tony, Mia, and River are all in Mr. Ortega's fourth grade class at Sycamore Elementary School in Los Angeles. When he has a "surprise us" day, River (whose real name is Walter, but who wants to be a star worthy of his new name) brings in sparkly shoes from his mother's clothing resale shop, Tony tries to bring in one of his drawings, which his younger brother ZoZo has covered in strawberry jam, and Mia brings in her snake. Things go badly wrong, the snake escapes, and the classroom is in turmoil. All three kids end up with Ms. Gold in her bungalow for a "brain break". They practice breathing, listen to soothing music, and are given Mindful Me journals. They become friends, and decide that they might want to help out at Dave's Doggy Day Care. ZoZo takes a liking to a dog named Sparky who is usually very loud, but calms down in ZoZo's presence. The kids hope that one of them can adopt the dog, even though all of their parents say no. The kids manage to collect $50, and try to pretend to be adults in order to adopt a dog. They are turned down, in part because "Barky" was already adopted. It turns out that Tony's Grandma Candy has decided that Barky would be a good addition to the family. The kids decide to become the After-School Kindness Crew after spending more time with Ms. Gold, and they even help Lyle Lemon, who has been mean to them for most of the book. 

Strengths: I was unaware of Ms. Hawn's MindUp organization, which was far ahead of its time in promoting preventative mental health. This is clearly the beginning of a series, and I expect to see a lot of different coping strategies portrayed. Oliver, who wrote the Hank Zipzer books with Henry Winkler, knows her way around a series, and Pooch on the Loose sets the scene with richly developed back stories to our three characters and their school. Elementary school students will enjoy the adventures of these enthusiastic friends. 
Weaknesses: While it's great that the After-School Kindness Crew has access to Ms. Gold and her brain break bungalow, I think there are very few schools who have enough time in their day to devote to something similar. Schools only have students for seven hours or less, and there are a lot of unfunded government mandates that need to be addressed during that time. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Sheinmel's The Kindness Club, Mills' Franklin School Kids, or Messner and Fajardo's The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class books. 

Riew, Julie. Shim Jung Takes the Dive
April 28, 2026 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In the world of New Samhan, it is the tradition for twelve year old girls to jump into the sea and retrieve an item that will shed light on their destiny. Jung is supposed to jump, but she is still traumatized from losing her mother to the sea and runs back home. She has a plan to leave Haemin Island by getting good grades, and doesn't put as much faith in the "fake history" (mythology) that others around her seem to. Her father thinks she should stop thinking about her mother and move on, but when Jung hears her mother calling her from the sea, she ventures in to the water and ends up in the kingdom of the Dragon Queen. This isn't on the mortal maps, but since the queen saved Jung, Jung must remain in the kingdom as a Palace Girl and work for her. Jung managed to talk to Prince Jae, who is not very happy because his mother is mean, and wants Jung's help to fake his own death so that he can escape. The Dragon Queen's power comes from a gem set in it, and Jung and Jae set out to find a dragon gem of their own. They set out on an epic journey that involves venturing into caves, and fighting off all manner of monsters. Will they be able to get a dragon gem and break free of the Dragon Queen's power?

I liked the snarky voice that Jung had, and the underwater setting was interesting. This follows many middle grade fantasy tropes, since Jung has to save the world when she turns twelve, and also has a fairly standard adventure journey. This will be popular with readers who enjoyed Riazi's Sabrena Swept Away, Chadda's Storm Singer, or Diño's The Serpent Rider.