MMGM-Balancing Act and Kid Olympians (Winter)

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Unleashing Readers

Chase, Paula. Balancing Act
October 21, 2025 by Wednesday Books
Copy provided by the author

Chyna is an exceptional gymnast who has been recruited by a new privately funded charter school, The Heights. In her town of Diamond Falls, fights often emerge over sports between the public school and the private school. In one of these, her boyfriend, Jacquees, is killed trying to protect his brother Jamaal. This isn't a rare occurrence, and Chyna is leery of the many "help the underprivileged" programs tried in her community, since the fights continue. The Heights has gotten heat for recruiting good athletes from the public school, including Chyna, who is just trying to survive after Jaquees' death, and take advantage of all of the opportunities she can to better her situation. Jacquees brother, Jamaal, is on the school's basketball team, but struggling with randomly passing out. There is a lot of social media buzz in "Da Icy City", with an influencer, Hot Lipz, who seems to have a lot of inside information on Chatter, and the Black Swan, a radio d.j. who grew up with Chyna's ailing mother and Aunt Tam. Swan's daughter, Alicia, is also attending The Heights. She and Chyna are picked as co-captains of the gymnastics team, but Alicia doesn't like this, since Chyna is an unproven quantity. Chyna is struggling to deal with her mother's health, and hopes that she can soon get a kidney transplant. She has also not told Jamaal about her relationship with his brother. When Jamaal is picked to play in the prestigious Peace in the Streets game, Swan takes an interest in him, as does Alicia. The radio personality suggests that Jamaal get a second opinion about his condition; Swan's wife, also a media personality, is more blunt, and tells him to find a doctor who will give him the diagnosis he wants so that he can play. The pressure on both teens mounts as Hughes University announces it will be the first HBCU to have a gymnastics team, and the community is thrilled that a reality television show called "Da Icy City" set in Diamond Falls featuring The Heights and its students will be produced. At the end of the book, Jamaal must deal with the consequences of his actions, and Chyna finally finds out the identity of her father after a family tragedy. There is a sequel planned to follow up on all of the drama in Diamond Falls.
Strengths: In addition to being a founding member of the wonderful literary resource The Brown Bookshelf, Chase has a great list of books that my students have enjoyed, like So Done, Dough Boys, Turning Point, and Keeping It Real. While I'm too old to have enjoyed Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley High books to which this has been compared, I can definitely see the appeal of a drama laden, soap opera style story centering on a community like Diamond Falls where success can sometimes be hard to find. Alternating between Chyna and Jamaal's perspectives draws the reader into all of the fraught emotions and interpersonal drama. The Swan's family's opulent lifestyle contrasts nicely with Chyna's constrained one, especially given the surprise twist at the end. The sports drama, with fights over captains and competitions, is just as important to teens as the weightier issues of health problems and dealing with the death of family members. The fictional community of Diamond Falls is well portrayed, and acts almost as another character. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
Weaknesses: At over 400 pages, with several f-words, this is definitely a young adult book, although there is no mention of any sexual activity other than kissing, or any substance abuse, which I appreciated. There's a lot of slang and dialectical speech, and I never know how well that will fare over a long period of time.
What I really think: This is an excellent choice for readers who love Ms. Chase's work and want an updated version of her Del Rio Bay Clique series, or who want grittier stories that center around sports, like Waltman's Next or Buford's Kneel. There are very few books that center gymnastics, so that was great to see. High schools will definitely want to purchase this, as will middle schools where more mature language isn't an issue.

Stevenson, Robin and Steinfeld, Allison (illus.). 

Kid Olympians: Winter: True Tales of Childhood from Champrions and Game Changers
November 11, 2025 by Quirk Books
Copy provided by the publisher

Just in time for the Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Winter games, this collective biography shines the spotlight on 16 athletes who represent different sports and different cultural backgrounds. Divided into four categories (Olympic Pride, Powerful Women, Olympic Firsts, and Taking the Ice), we get a rare look into the childhood of these sports enthusiasts. We learn about their living situations with parents, their experiences in school, and their introduction to their sport of choice. While it's possible to look up news articles about the Olympic exploits of all of the subjects, it's nice to have an overview of what the historical times were like when they were active, and the challenges that they faced in competition. For some of the older athletes, we also get a look at what they have done since they have retired from the sport. 

It's interesting that there are two sets of siblings included; ice skaters Alex and Maia Shibutani (who have also written the Kudo Kids  middle grade series!) and skiers Charles and William Flaherty. Supportive family is so important to the training process that it's good to see so many parents discussed as well. While younger readers will appreciate that most of the athletes are from the 2000s, with Michelle Kwan being about the oldest inclusion, I would have liked to see some older Olympians like track and field star Bob Mathias or swimmer Arati Saha. 

Steinfeld's colorful illustrations give a good feel for not only Olympic moments but childhood ones as well. Their cartoon style will appeal to readers of graphic novels. As a huge fan of Simon Kids classic Childhood of Famous Americans series (which I mention every time I read one of these!) I love seeing the new categories that Stevenson and Steinfeld find to highlight in this Kid Legends series. There are eleven titles in all, starting with  Kid Presidents (2014) and continuing through Kid Innovators (2021) and Kid Musicians: True Tales of Childhood from Entertainer, Songwriters, and Stars (2024). I don't know how I managed to miss Kid Authors!

Marya Khan and the Disastrous Class Project and How to Save an Otter

Faruqi, Saadia and Bushry, Ani (illus.).

Marya Khan and the Disastrous Class Project (#5)

April 22, 2025 by Harry N. Abrams

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Marya is a very exuberant third grader who loves new words, and informs her best friend Hanna one morning that she will have an "exceptional" day! Things don't quite work out that way; there is a new student, Waleed, who has moved to the US from Pakistan, where Marya's family has roots, but he looks scared and shy. Marya wants to make friends with him, but just about anything she says seem to make him downcast. Marya also struggles a bit with fellow student Alexa, who is friendly but brags a lot about the trips that her parents take her on, and rather exasperates Marya, although Hanna doesn't seem to mind her. When her teacher, Mrs. Piccolo, assigns group projects on countries, she pairs Marya with Waleed and has them researching Pakistan. As the two research the country, Marya tries again and again to make overtures and "make" Waleed like her, but fails again and again. She even asks her brothers, parents, and grandmother what she can do to make a friend. Her grandmother suggests that it might be a hard transition for Waleed, and that Marya should be patient, but it isn't until she sees Waleed at a local Pakistani market that she begins to understand how much he has left behind in his old home. Eventually, the two present their project, and Waleed helps Marya out when she gets nervous, cementing their friendship. 

School days play a large part in the lives of elementary students, but it's not the same drama as middle school. With older kids, it's all about relationships, romance, and keeping up with trends, be they technological or fashion. With younger ones, it's about interpersonal relationships and navigating the work that needs to be done. Family life also figures largely, since third graders don't spend nearly the amount of time sulking in their rooms that seventh graders do. It's interesting to watch how Marya deals with her siblings, classmates, and the adults in her life, and how she weighs their advice and tries to put it into practice. 

This book has a somewhat larger font, is under 150 pages long, and has plentiful illustrations, making this perfect for first and second graders who are becoming interested in longer chapter books and want to read about older kids and get a feel for what their lives will be like in the future. Series books allow students to have some familiarity with the character and not have to process information about new characters while they are trying to deal with the social situations. Many students may never have met a classmate who has moved from another country, so books like this are a good way to help build empathy. 

Marya would be right at home with Haywood's Betsy, Sheth's Nina Soni, Butler's Kayla, and Barrows' Ivy and Bean. The books are a nice small size, perfect for taking out into a tree fort or reading under the covers! 

Messner, Kate and Bricking, Jennifer (illus.). How to Save An Otter
September 2, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Ivy, her mother, and her younger brother Ezra are biking on trails through a swamp near their Florida home where they find an injured otter pup. Her mother, a science teacher who rescues a lot of animals, and Ivy, who has taken a wildlife rescue class, know that they need to keep the animal warm, and in a dark and quiet place while they get it to the vet. They are well acquainted with Doc, Dr. Martha Tate, and the local wildlife rescue, who gives the otter pain meds and antibiotics to manage the injury and infection. While Ivy is very interested in the cute animal, she knows that too much human contact can be bad for wild animals, so contents herself with watching the otters progress through a one-way window at the clinic. When her school plans Earth Day celebrations, Ivy wants to help give back to the animal hospital. She and her friends work on a plan to educate others about the importance of the facility and the services it provides, and even run a towel drive after checking that the rescue center can use towels. She even works with her pastor, who puts information about the drive in the church bulletin, and has the congregation pray for the otter’s recovery. After a month and a half, the otter has been rehabilitated, and is released back in the area where she was found, along with two other otters. Ms. Messner worked with the von Arx Wildlife Hospital on this book, and two more titles, about an owl (9/25) and a tortoise (3/26),
Strengths: Had my own children read this book, they would have spent hours searching the creek and woods near our house to see if there were any abandoned animals, so it was excellent to see practical, realistic tips on what to do in the case of finding an injured animal. I feel like a lot of middle grade books romanticize this, and always end with the main character taking the animal home and hiding it from parents while trying to take care of it. Ivy is better prepared than her contemporaries to get animals the PROPER help. There are other girls around when the otter is found, and they want to offer it a granola bar, but the comparison is made with a person in an auto accident being offered a cheeseburger. That was an excellent explanation for why this is a bad idea! It’s also good to see that while Ivy is interested in the animal’s progression, and she does get a chance to help feed the otter at one point, she doesn’t interact too much with her. Bricking’s illustrations add a lot of extra appeal. There are good tips at the end of the book about what kids can do to help out local wildlife rescue efforts.
Weaknesses: I would definitely purchase this for an elementary library, but this was a little young for middle school. With budget cuts, I won’t be adding as much to some sections of my library, like books for emerging readers or nonfiction, which have increased over the last couple of years. This book is roughly the same length and has a similar level of text complexity to Messner's Ranger in Time (2015) series.
What I really think: Readers who love animals and who have enjoyed Miles’ Puppy Place books, the Animal Rescue Friends series, Johnson’s Rescue at Lake Wild, or Peter’s Jasmine Green stories will get lots of practical information from this book, and will perhaps be motivated to check with their own local wildlife sanctuary to see how they can help. 

Sunny Figures it Out

Holm, Jennifer L. and Holm, Matt. Sunny Figures it Out (Sunny #6)

July 1, 2025 by Graphix

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Sunny is living her best 8th grade life in 1978 (easily pinpointed by the mention of the Star Wars Christmas special, which aired in November of that year). She's sort of dating Tony, who plays hockey, has a big family, and worked at the snack bar at the pool where they met in Sunny Makes a Splash. She and Tony don't necessarily do all of the things that couples are "supposed" to do, but her best friend Deb reminds her that Tony should be carrying Sunny's books, Sunny should be supportiver and attend Tony's games, and the two should double date with her and Greg when they start to go steady. Sunny, who would just as soon play drinking straw hockey at the Howard Johnson's with Tony rather than canoodling, doesn't agree. She has taken to reading a lot of paperback romance books that she gets at a resale shop, so is struggling to decide if she should run her relationship the way that "everyone" says she should, or the way that she and Tony prefer. She sees her mother struggle with societal expectations as well when she gets a job at a local gift store. This means that Sunny and her grandfather have to occasionally step up to watch Sunny's younger brother, and that her mom can't always bake for school parties the way she used to. Sunny can be supportive of her mother, and remind her that she has excellent managerial skills and deserves a promotion, but struggles to ignore Deb's insistance that she and Tony need to make out at parties and go on stuffy dates. In the end, Sunny is able to be true to herself, and finds that it makes her much happier. 

Setting Sunny's life almost fifty years ago instead of in the modern day is successful for several reasons: older readers like myself will enjoy the passing of notes and "no taking calls at dinner" rule, along with the fantastic 1970s two story Colonial house where Sunny lives. Younger readers will see that while new technologies and past times may emerge, some things stay the same. It's good to see a healthy boy/girl relationship, and know that there must be tweens just like Sunny and Tony who want to hang out together without worrying about being romantic, even if they might enjoy thinking a little bit about romance from time to time. 

There are a few asides about historical topics that were quite fun, and informative for readers who were born after the smart phone became widely adopted! Avon Ladies, rotary phones, note passing, air hockey, and Fantasy Island all have short but  brilliant explanations. I have to admit that I have a LOT of questions about the Harrowgate (aka Harlequin) Romance books; why were these something that tweens had access to? I'm sure they are much milder than the modern day equivalents (if there is one). Of course, Sunny is in the generation that read all of V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic books, so there must have just been a general lack of oversight of tweens reading material. 

Matthew Holm's illustrations do a great job of setting the scene, and do an excellent job of showing excellent vintage details (wide legged pants, the grandfather's groovy shades and cardigan, school hallways and that fabulous house) while still preserving a fairly modern feel. I'm pretty sure that readers who pick up the first book do so not knowing that it is set in the past. 

This even has a little bit more of a message than the other books, which I appreciated. Even though my students claim that they don't care what other people think, it would be hard to find a middle school student who is not aware of the expectations of others. Of course Sunny listens to her friend Deb's opinions... for a while. It's good to see that she and her mother are both able to come to terms with what works best for each of them. 

Sunny is definitely one of my favorite graphic novel series, and addresses tween angst with a little more fun than other series do. Hand this to readers who need a break from the angst of Miller's Click series, Libenson's Emmie and Friends books, or Scrivan's Nat Enough titles. 

Standoff (Kidnapped from Ukraine #2)

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Standoff (Kidnapped from Ukraine #2)
October 7, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this companion novel to Kidnapped From Ukraine, we follow the journey of Rada and her father, Ivan, when they are separated from Dariia and their mother. Rada and Ivan are in the family apartment when it is bombed; they've taken shelter in the bathtub, but it falls through into the apartment of the Yanins below them. They're not injured, but I'll prepared for fleeing, since it is early morning and Rada is still in her bunny slippers. They take a few supplies from the Yanin's apartment, but when they leave the building, find Mrs. Yanin, her friend Viktor's mother, dead in the street. Rada sprinkles dirt on her and says a prayer, but there is no time to waste in getting to the Azovstal steel plant where her father works. He works with the Territorial Defense, and wants to get Rada to the plant to shelter while he goes out to fight. Luckily, they run into Ms. Olenyk, who has a flower delivery van. It's a hard trip to the plant, but they know there are supplies and underground bunkers there. Rada has to tell Viktor about his mother, since he is there with his father and younger sister Alina. Also there is Lesia, whose parents are off fighting. She's there with both of her grandmothers and her sister-in-law, who has a baby. Viktor has brought an extra pair of shoes with him (he's sneakerhead), and gives them to Rada. There is limited fuel for the generators, and very little food. Mr. Yanins makes sure everyone has a cup of warm water every day, as well as a type of grain porridge, but there is little else. The children scavenge in the offices when Mr. Yanins isn't making them do some school work. Eventually, the plant is evacuated, and there is supposedly a humanitarian corridor that will allow Rada and her companions to get to Zaporizhzhia, but it closes before they can get through. They manage to find shelter, and are joined by an older woman, Svetlana, and a young boy, Mychailo, both of whom have lost their entire families. The conditions are brutal: cold and so damp that clothing is rotting, with limited food and sanitary facilities. At one point, Viktor, Alina, and Rada go back to the plant to scavenge for food and clothing. They manage to find some, but there is a bomb that kills Lesia's grandmother (who has decided to live in the bombed out offices) and burns the children badly. They are grateful to have found a large sack of flour so they can have dumplings in soup. Rada's father returns to tell her that she needs to leave, and also that he intends to fight to the end. Luckily, the Red Cross find the group as they are leaving, get them past the Russian soldiers, tend to their wounds, and give them supplies. Lesia's sister-in-law decides to go back home to her parents (since her husband has gone over to the Russians, she intends to divorce him). Rada's mother is also in the camp, but tells Rada that her sister is in Russia. We should find out what happens after this in book three, Still Alive, which comes out April 21, 2026. 

Strengths: Once again, Ms. Skrypuch brings a current news story to life for readers who might not know how horrible the conditions in Ukraine are right now. Many middle graders like to read books about World War II, but don't understand that there are conflicts that are every bit if not more devastating going on right now. I imagine that she has talked to many people who have seen the atrocities of this war first hand, which allows the details of sheltering in the steel plant to be absolutely devastating. I hadn't thought about the damp making clothing rot while people are wearing it, and at one point Rada cuts off her heavy braid and shaved her head because her hair is so moldy and dirty. Since I have been watching my young grandson, reading about an infant being in these circumstances was devastating. In addition to being an interesting and informative story about a current event, this will serve as an important historical document when (hopefully soon) this war is over. 
Weaknesses: The early on page death of Mrs. Yanins might be too much for sensitive readers, so I would add this cautiously to an elementary library. I am also wondering if the finished copy will have a note from the author about the current conditions in Ukraine, as the first book did. The digital ARC did not have one. 
What I really think: It's a little unusual to see fictional coverage of real life events so soon after they have occurred, but it's good for middle school students to read books like this in order to understand what's going on in the world. I can't think of many authors other than Skrypuch who write about Ukraine; Lucyk-Berger's Swimming with Spies is the only other book I can think of that describes what has been going on in this area of the world. 

Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave

Russell, Ally. Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave
September 16, 2025 by Delacorte Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Mystery was abandoned as an infant and adopted by Tia Lucy, who runs the Garcia Graves and Funeral Home. She doesn't mind helping clean up the graveyard, although she and best friend Garrett sometimes get in trouble for accidental misbehavior. She struggles with nightmares, and has been able to smell ghosts for a while; whether this has anything to do with her unknown parentage is unclear. When Lady Ellis dies and her son contacts Tia Lucy for the funeral service, he requests that a necklace be buried with his mother even though one of his sisters would like it. Mystery herself puts it around the corpse's neck. When it shows up two towns away at an antique shop, Mr. Ellis blames Tia Lucy for the theft, even though other people were involved in getting the mother into the family crypt. Mystery, who has been bedeviled by sleep demons, is also haunted by the ghost of Lady Ellis, who tries to talk to her, although Mystery isn't quite sure what she wants. A granddaughter of the deceased, Eliza, is around, and Mystery would like to speak to her. WHen an even more frightening ghost/vampire, the Baron, shows up with hideous demands, Mystery has no choice but to help the ghoul find a "fresher" body, as well as his heart. Raymond, a local man who does odd jobs and occasionally helps Tia Lucy bury bodies, is also working with the Baron. Even though Raymond's involvement in these exploits could exonerate Tia Lucy and the funeral home from any wrong doing, Mystery doesn't want to bother her Aunt. Eventually, she goes to talk to Eliza at the Ellis mansion, and finds very interesting information about the Baron. The necklace was part of a binding spell to keep him contained, and when the necklace left the area, his spirit was set free. Eliza also identifies the Daddy Long Legs (whom Mystery has named Coffin) living in Mystery's hair as a "Harvestman". Sadly, once Mr. Ellis finds out that Mystery has visited, he forbids Eliza to see her again. With Garrett's help, Mystery manages to find that a large rock she's been trying to move is actually a gravestone with "May no place keep this foul soul and fiendish heart, 1863" engraved on it. This is where the Baron's body is, and Mystery manages to find cemetery records that indicate his heart is probably in the crypt with another Ellis. When the Baron taunts Mystery with information about her birth mother, will she be too weak to stop him from unleashing himself into the world? A sequel, Mystery James Returns from the Grave, is to be published in the fall of 2026. 

Strengths: Russell's It Came From the Trees was a big hit with my students, with its mix off outdoor camping adventures and scary beasts kidnapping children. A look at a small town funeral home and cemetery will appeal to readers who are drawn to creepy things and love K.R. Alexander titles. It's good to see Garrett and Mystery work together, and to learn some ins and outs of funeral home life. The idea that ghosts not only have a semi-corporeal presence AND a distinctive, unpleasant smell was a nice twist on ghost lore-- after all, since they don't exist, authors can put their own spin on what ghosts are like. The Baron is fairly frightening, and the information from the 1860s was cool to read. For those who like low levels of gore, Mystery and Garrett do exhume a body and are surprised at how much flesh can linger on bones after 160 Plus years. 
Weaknesses: I needed a LOT more information about the arachnid hiding out in Mystery's hair. It was just a bit odd, and I don't think an actual critter would be very comfortable there. The cover is somehow half a bubble off; maybe the Baron looks goofy rather than scary? There were some things that didn't make as much sense as I would have liked them to. For instance, if Tia Lucy adopted Mystery when she was an infant, why is she referred to as an aunt and not as a mother? 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want graveyard related spooky tales like Smy's The Hideaway, Aldridge's Deephaven or Fournet's Brick Dust and Bones. There aren't as many Goth/Wednesday Addams wannabes as there were twenty years ago. 

Always Be My Bibi

Taslim, Priyanka. Always Be My Bibi
June 10, 2025 by Salaam Reads

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Bibi Hossain's family is very wealthy and fairly easy going, but when she sneaks out to prom and her parents find out, they ground her. In Bibi's mind, she didn't have any other choice, since she is forbidden to date until her older sister, Halima, gets married. Since Halima is finishing up her degree at and heading to law school, that seems too long to wait. Just a week into her stint working at a restaurant in her father's Royal Fried Chicken fast food restaurant, which is beyond mortifying, Halima shows up to announce her engagement. Not only that, but her fiance, Sunny, is from a family near the Bangladeshi village where her father grew up and her grandmother (Thathu) still lives. Flying first class and staying in Sunny's family's resort on the tea plantation that they run seems a whole lot better than serving up fried chicken in Princeton, New Jersey. The plantation is vast, and Bibi's father tells her that he worked there when he was young, and Thathu ran the guesthouse. Sunny seems to dote on her sister, who throws herself into trying to learn as much about the running of the family enterprise as possible, but his brother, Sohel, doesn't get a long with Bibi. True, she thinks a little too much about fashion (she wears $100 t shirt and designer overalls to work on the plantation), and she has a bad habit of saying the right thing, but she doesn't feel she should have to still be grounded and have to work, especially alongside Sohel. Her parents backpedal on allowing her to date now that Halima is getting married, until an auntie shows them a BioData book of eligible guys Bibi's age and say that since Halima is getting married, there has been a lot of interest in Bibi. Because the family is Muslim, they insist of chaperones, and since Sunny is often traveling for business, Sohel is often cast in this role. Bibi is smitten with Akash, a cricket player from a wealthy family whose reputation as a lady's man Bibi is willing to ignore. Bibi is glad to spend time with Thathu, and loves learning about her gramdmother's college years, before her family arranged a marriage for her. As the wedding approaches, Halima starts to have her doubts about relocating to Bangladesh, and Bibi's romantic interests take a predictable turn. How will both sisters balance their own needs with the wishes of their family?

Setting this book on a Bangladeshi tea plantation that is trying to better the lives of its workers was so fascinating, and young readers will adore the Crazy Rich Asians style details like having a servant run one's bath, and carrying $2,000 Louis Vuitton bags. Of course, Bibi also understands what it is like to  have to work (even if her fried chicken stint is short), and gets along well with other workers. The visit to the grandmother's village points out some of the dichotomies in the culture.

Enemies to lovers style romances are popular, and while Bibi and Sohel spar at the beginning, there's never any high level of animosity, which made their relationship more realistic to me. Bibi comes across as a pampered, stereotypical American; she even knows this and doesn't try very hard to change in order to help Sunny's family like her. Sohel is a big proponent of education and hard work, so I liked him a lot more than Bibi for most of the book. 

Weddings have been fascinating to high school and middle school readers since Cleary's 1963 Sister of the Bride because when older sisters get married, there are a lot of moments for their younger counterparts to shine. Toss this one over your shoulder to readers who enjoyed other multicultural wedding books like Bajpai's Sister of the Bollywood Bride, Avachat's Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment, Richardson's The Meet-Cute Project and even Liang's Never Thought I'd End Up Here, which starts with a wedding and involves travel abroad, but doesn't have as many details about the wedding planning as the other books. 

Fantasy Round Up

Latimer, Ashlee. Witchkiller
October 7, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this reimagining of the classic Hansel and Gretel, teen siblings kill the witch and take her money to set up a more prosperous life, but still have their abusive father, Ansel in their lives. Gretel is the one who killed the witch, but Hansel claimed he did to shield his sister from negative opinion, and his behavior towards her is increasingly violent. When Hansel catches the attention of Prince Wilfried at a ball, the two embark on a fake betrothal to suit their own needs. Gretel also makes the acquaintance of a village of witches, and feels safe and comfortable there, while finding out that her father and Hansel have a plot to kill the witches. This was more of a young adult book in length tone, and readers who have aged out of Diane Zahler's princess tales may swoon over how supportive Wilfried and his mother was. 

Adame, Leslie. Chloe Vega and the Agents of Magic
September 16, 2025 by HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Magical academy books circulate a tiny bit in my library, and this Latine secret academy, where Chloe ends up going after her parents are detained by the magical forces and she must work to free them, is a culturally connected tale that may resonate with readers of Jreije's Bashir Boutros and the Jewel of the Nile, Mandana's Vanya and the Wild Hunt, or Pinto's Chai Jinxed. Since book one comes in at 400 pages, and I don't know how long the series is going to be, I'll have to pass for my school. 

Romero, R.M. The Tear Collector
October 14, 2025 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Dystopian tales aren't as popular as they once were, and my students tend to prefer ones that have more action and adventure than philosophy. This one put me in mind of Stevenson's Scarlet Morning, Luckoff's A World Worth Saving or Lucas' The Vanished Ones, but with climate change.

Mensinga, Sarah. Kindred Dragons

October 14, 2025 by Abrams Fanfare
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Young readers at my school don't know Anne of Green Gables (my childhood favorite) anymore, so will be unimpressed with the Prince Edward Island setting. The illustrations are beautiful definitely play this up, with the clothing and old fashioned feel. Alice, the main character, would definitely be kindred spirits with Anne.  There is some interest in reading books where characters have their own dragons (Kagawa's Lightningborn, Mandana's Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic, Durst's Spark, Cohen's The Lost Ryu), I'm not sure of the appeal of a graphic novel for these readers. There are relatively few fantasy graphic novels, so if your collection needs more of these, definitely take a look. 

MMGM- Leos in Sports!

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Unleashing Readers

Layton, T.Z. The Academy (#1)

September 2nd 2025 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

Leo Doyle and his younger sister Ginny are being raised in Ohio by their father after their mother's death. The mother had been a teacher and had benefits, but the father is a carpenter who does not always get enough work, so the family is struggling. Leo plays for a YMCA soccer team, and when his coach has the team play the Columbus Tigers, a scout approaches Mr. Doyle about Leo's prospects. He's from the London Dragons, and offers Leo a spot at their summer training camp. There will be about ten players out of 200 who will be chosen to attend the regular academy and be groomed to be Dragon players. Hearing that $50,000 is involved if he can get into the academy, Leo wants to go in order to help his family. His aunt agrees to pay for his airline ticket, but he must go alone. Leaving behind his friends and video games, Leo heads for London, meeting an older player, Tig, on the plane. Tig has some good advice on avoiding jet lag that Leo ignores. He takes a huge nap, then eats a lot of junk food and stays up until 4 a.m. playing video games before the initial skill assessments! His roommate, Robbie, is very intense, and is surprised that Leo hasn't been on a premier or travel team or had private coaching. Other players make fun of Leo's Cincinnati FC jersey, and he runs a foul of a bully, Brock. The coach, Zepeda, is not only looking for skill, but also character, dedication, and teamwork. Leo struggles with many aspects of camp; he's uncomfortable when they switch his positions, he'd rather play video games than do extra practice, and he maintains that he plays better after a coke and a candy bar! His coach at the camp, Samantha, thinks that he has some raw talent, but needs help. Since she is dating Tig, the two set up extra practices for Leo and another player, Garika, who is from Zimbabwe. Leo tries half heartedly to practice, but is frequently late, and even gets into fights with Brock, which Coach Zapeda and the camp director do NOT like. When Samantha and Tig break up, the extra sessions stop. Leo manages to make it through various cuts to play on the "World Cup" team, but even though his team wins the game and he has several spectacular plays, he is not accepted to the full time training program. When he returns home, however, there is a surprise that leads to book two. 

Strengths: Attending a soccer camp in London? Where there is all the pizza you can eat? Meeting famous coaches and players? Getting a duffle of London Dragons clothing? This is wish fulfillment at its finest for young soccer players who really think that they will beat the odds and be able to make a career out of playing soccer. Leo is a lackadaisical Every Kid who would rather play video games than see London, has no clue about nutrition, and doesn't practice all that hard, yet still gets a lot of amazing breaks. There are lots of diverse characters, descriptions of plays and games, and plenty of hanging out during the special activities the school plans, eating pizza. Since I could paste a soccer ball on an old fashioned phone book, and some of my students would probably check it out, I will buy a copy of the first book. 

Weaknesses: This was over 300 pages long, and I'm not sure how this will go over with my students who struggle to work their way through Jake Maddox or Fred Bowen books. It's great to see that this is a series, but if all the books are this long, it will be a hard sell. This needed a lot more editing. I'd be curious to see  how this edition compares with the self published one. I would have preferred to see Leo mature as a character (and perhaps learn a little about nutrition!) than seeing him fighting with Brock or texting his friends back home. 
What I really think: While I will buy the first book, I'm going to hold off on the second until I see how the first is received. I wish this were more like Fabbri's Back of the Net series, which my students devour. That series of six books has illustrations, and the books are just over 100 pages. 

Layton, T.Z. The Journey Continues: The Academy #2

September 2nd 2025 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

Leo returns to London to train with the Lewisham Knights U14 team, and one of the coaches is Samantha, with whom he worked at the Dragons' camp. Another face from the past is Brock, who doesn't treat Leo as badly as he once did. Coach Purcell is very exacting, and has a lot of rules that Leo finds hard to follow, so he ends up doing a lot of running and exercises as punishment. There's also Coach Luca, who oversees the dorms, Otto, a player from Hungary, Riley, Caden, and a number of other players. The Knights are not doing well, so Coach Purcell comes down even harder on the players. He doesn't appreciate Leo's innovative tactics, so often does not play him. At one point, Leo is so frustrated that he asks the coach what he is doing wrong so that he can improve his playing, but the coach thinks he is asking for special treatment. Even Samantha is not able to help, and the team is not able to come together to win games. Eventually, Leo approaches teammate Sami, whose father owns the Knights, and asks if he can get his father to come and watch a game. There's an incident when Taye, the goalie, is hurt, and Leo and Samantha go to a venue to play a pick up game and recruit JoJo, a girl who has even less formal soccer training than Leo. During a match with the Dragons, Sami's father does come to watch, and witnesses Coach Purcell's negative treatment of the players. He is fired, and Samantha is made the head coach instead. Sami's father announces that not only with the U14 program continue, but the Knights will be playing in the Tournament of Champions. The third book in this series will be available on January 6, 2026.

Strengths: This is the best kind of wish fulfillment for readers who think that they are good enough to be scouted by premier league teams and have careers as soccer players. While Leo has to train hard, there's still time for him to eat a lot of pizza and play video games with his friends. He even gets to go back to the States to see his family from time to time. Samantha is a good character, and it was interesting to see how the team accepted JoJo. It's hard to find soccer books; the closest comparison to this is Klass' 2015 Losers Take All, which lacks the premier training. Feinstein's 2017 Backfield Boys comes closer, but with a prestigious US football training academy. 
Weaknesses: As a former coach, I did not find Leo to be an appealing character because of his constant refrain of "He won't let me play my game" and his lack of discipline. He's forever doing amazing things in pick up games, but doesn't always bring those skills to the games he plays with the Knights. Coach Purcell's methods were not good, but I don't think he had those methods because he was OLD. Leo needs to learn a LOT more about teamwork. It will be interesting to see if he grows up  and becomes a better teammate in the next four books. 
What I really think: Soccer books are so popular that I will purchase the first book in this series, and will purchase the second if there is enough interest in the first. This book is over 300 pages, like the first one.

Bowen, Fred. Special Teams

November 18, 2025 by Peachtree

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Leo and his friends try out for the Newport Raiders high school team. Leo would like to be a wide receiver, since he's a bigger kid, but realizes that a lot of people want that position. His parents, both child psychologists, are a little concerned about him playing football, because of the risk of injury, but just admonish him to be careful. His friend Ginny plays on the high school flag football team, and is trying to get Leo and his friend Hank and Sebby to join, but they want to be on the regular team. Leo finds that he is having trouble catching passes even with special gloves, so isn't too surprised when he gets moved to special teams and is the main kick returner. He still wants to be able to score touch downs, and he finds out that there are lots of different ways that players like Deion Sanders were still able to score for their teams. Reading Bowen's own Gridiron: Stories from 100 Years of Football also provides Leo with examples that make him feel better about his position. 

Bowen's sports books are unbelievably popular with my students, especially the football and basketball titles, so I will buy two copies of this. I was a little disappointed that this was so heavy on description of plays that there wasn't as much of a plot as other Bowen titles, but we still get great representation of girls in sports with Ginny on the flag football team. Since my students like the descriptions more than I do (since I haven't seen a football game since 1974, they don't make much sense to me!), this will be a big hit. There is a great chapter at the end about historical players on special teams. 

Invisible: The (Sort of) True Story of Me and My Hidden Disease

Soren, David. Invisible: The (Sort of) True Story of Me and My Hidden Disease
October 14, 2025 by Penguin Workshop

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

J.J. Sugar loves to draw, and as an 8 year old comes up with a plan; he will be an animator and move from chilly Canada to sunny California when he is a grownup. It seems like a good plan, but he runs into difficulty when he is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. While this gives him a good deal of difficulty, it is invisible to everyone around him, and he envisions his disease as a 7 foot tall monster named Norm that only he can see. Since his mother also struggles with the disease, she also has a monster named Francie that J.J. can see. When J.J. is on medication and his symptoms are milder, Norm gets smaller, but there are times when his digestive tract is problematic, like when he has Chinese food at a sleepover and is in so much pain that his parents have to be called to get him at 2 a.m. He talks a lot to Norm about his condition, and even draws a comic book style panel about "Devil in the Sidecar" about his relationship with the monster. When he tries a new treatment, he has to deal with a lot of side effects, which manifest as a companion goblin until he is taken off of the medication. After surgery, his symptoms abate, and Norm goes away, but this only lasts a year. As J.J. starts middle school, he does make some new friends, takes up figure skating, and even helps his mother find a support group to attend. When he is accepted into a summer animation program, his teacher encourages him to make his one minute film about his struggles with Crohn's. An epilogue includes a picture of the author as an eight year old, and lets the reader know that he did grow up to be an animator. 

Strengths: It is important for young readers to gain some empathy for people who might be struggling with health issues that can't be seen, and books like Invisible can help with that. J.J.'s interest in art will speak to many readers, especially since the author has gone on to be successful in the field of animation. I was glad to see that the mother also had to cope with this health issue, and wouldn't have minded more details about her experience. There are some descriptions of foods that bother J.J., like dairy and corn, and discussions of different treatments. The illustrations add some appeal; there should be more lightly illustrated middle grade novels! 

Weaknesses: The cover of this made me think it would be a graphic novel, but while there are some pictures, this is more of an illustrated novel. 
What I really think: I would buy this if it were more like Mercado's Chunky or Rosen's TS Hullabalo (about Tourette's Syndrome), but the mix of fantasy elements and real life problems didn't work as smoothly as I had hoped. For another look at Crohn's Disease, look at  Eliopulous' Will on the Inside, Larson and Wyatt's Gut Reaction, or Arlow's The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet. 

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Words Apart

Lucido, Amiee and Corcutt, Phillipa and Rachel (illus.) Words Apart
September 23, 2025 by Versify

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Mattie and Olive are two years apart, but both in the 6th grade. Mattie struggles in school and was held back in kindergarten, while Olive is academically advanced. Both are struggling as their father is working at Duke as an adjunct linguistics professor for the summer while the girls and their mother remain at home. Mattie is frequently bullied by children at school, and tries to protect Olive from the same treatment, warning her sister that she shouldn't share too much, lest children laugh AT her rather than with her. Mattie loves to draw, and the idea of going to a summer art camp keeps her going. Olive has a crush on Max, who seems nicer than some of the other kids, but when he asks Mattie to draw for the school newspaper, The Weekly Wombat, Mattie tells Olive he is just fooling with them, trying to be mean. Mattie's teacher is concerned that she isn't doing well, and asks Mattie if she would like to be tested for learning differences, but, again, Mattie doesn't want to trust anyone. It's especially hard, since her beloved father isn't always visiting as much, and Mattie becomes convinced that something is wrong. Olive begins to feel trapped by her sister, and wants to hang out with Max and the other students from the newspaper, especially since they publish a crossword puzzle that she has created, and the other students seem to like it. Increasingly angry about her circumstances, Mattie acts out by drawing mean cartoons of her classmates and posting anonymous copies of them around the building. When she catches her father on the phone with a woman named Vivian, she becomes even more angry, and draws mean cartoons about Olive's friends. Eventually, Mattie has to come to terms with her parents' divorce, get help from her learning differences, and make amends with Olive.

Strengths: This book is told in a mixture of verse and graphic novel panels, which makes it rather  unique. The illustrations are pleasant. There are also a plethora of advanced vocabulary words as well as some wordplay and crossword puzzles, adding to the novelty. Mattie and Olive are best friends, but experience some rocky times as the world around them changes. Many children are in middle school when their parents get divorced, and there are many more novels when a parent dies than there are about parents divorcing. It was good to see that Olive was able to make friends, and that both girls had supportive adults around them. 
Weaknesses: I'm not sure I've read many middle grade novels where a parent is discovered to be cheating on a spouse by a child. Since the cover of this is rather young, I wish this had been handled differently. It seemed odd that a 6th grade teacher would assign both Little Women and Treasure Island to 6th graders. Most language arts teachers today try to find more diverse, current titles when at all possible. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a graphic novel about difficult family circumstances, like Knowles Someone's Gonna End Up Crying or Lynch's Reel Life. 
 

Holding on for Dear Life and Harper and the Horse Show

Bowling, Dusti. Holding on for Dear Life
October 7, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Canyon Cress is a bull rider. It's been a huge part of his identity ever since his father Austin first put him on a bull. His two best friends, Dakota and Tate, whose father figure, Uncle Ty, works with Canyon at the Rodeo, understand this. Dakota (on whom Canyon may have a crush!) is a barrel racer isn't thrilled that her sport isn't given the attention it deserves, and Tate is in direct competition with Canyon. The two boys hope to qualify for the Junior World Bull Riding Championship that will be held in Las Vegas. It's especially important to Canyon, because he thinks the prize money might help his family get out of the trailer in which they are living. Austin was a bull rider who did very well until he and Canyon's mother were in a car accident. They were hit by a drunk driver, and the  mother was killed. While her mother is very supportive of both Canyon and his younger sister Josie, the accident has completely knocked Austin for a loop. He is finally back at work, leaving for construction jobs at 3 a.m., but is back to drinking, not buying groceries, and relying on Canyon to get Josie off to school. Grandma helps by being at the bull Riding competitions and feeding the children, but Canyon doesn't want to let on how bad things have gotten at home. Canyon is also a talented fiddle player like his mother, who was a violinist with the Phoenix Symphony. Bull riding is a tough sport, and its toll on Canyon's body is harsh. He's had at least three concussions, and now even the slightest fall or jostle causes him to have horrible headaches. Again, he keeps this to himself. His music teacher encourages him to pay more attention to his music, and Canyon even uploads a video of his playing for the American Superstar competition, and fills out the application, although in a fit of despair, throws it away. When a bull named Wonderstruck head butts him in competition, Canyon ends up in the hospital. The doctor warns him that any other head trauma could be very serious, but Canyon feels he needs to "cowboy up" because injuries are all part of the sport. Thanksgiving doesn't go well, with Austin behaving erratically. Drunk, he fights with Canyon and forces both Canyon and Josie into the truck to go to the mother's grave. Josie manages to get out of the car to call Grandma, but at the cemetery, Austin hits Canyon, who runs away. Grandma has said that if Austin drove drunk or hit the children, she would not let him near them, and Austin ends up in jail. Canyon still hopes to compete in the bull Riding championship, but after Tate is assigned Wonderstruck and is "hung up" during his ride and has his arm shattered by the bull, it's harder than ever to continue. Tate, however, begs Canyon to go in his place. Grandma takes the children to Las Vegas for the bull riding championship, and Canyon gets a taste of the American Superstar scene as well. When it turns out that his application was sent in with a touching letter of recommendation from Ray, Canyon's long time spotter (and friend of Grandma's), Canyon has a choice: will he continue the dangerous life of a bull rider, or turn to the safer passion of music?

Strengths: Bowling can certainly tell an interesting tale, and I can't think of a single other book that involves bull riding. This is exactly the type of sad book my students gravitate toward-- the neglect and abuse that causes the character to step up and care for himself and a sibling. It was good that the children had a support network that included family friends like Dakota (who was living with Tate's family because her mother was also an alcoholic) and Tate, Uncle Ty, and Ray. The grandmother is fantastic. She's trying not to overstep and intervene with Austin (who is not her son), but has a firm line when the children are in danger, and steps in immediately to care for them. The details about bull riding are fantastic; Ms. Bowling has clearly been to a few rodeos, and probably gotten on a bull herself, since there are vivid descriptions of little things like exactly how to hold onto a rope while on the back of a bull! The dangers of concussions are made very clear, but the hard-to-kick ideas about what constitutes "manly" behavior are clearly laid out with pros and cons. 
Weaknesses: While I love seeing books about children who DO things, I can't say I've ever had a student ask for a book about bull riding, and it sounds so dangerous that it's not something I would want to encourage. A story about showing horses Western style IS something I desperately need, though! The number of dead parents in middle grade literatute, and the astonishing number of parents who can't deal with grief to the detriment of their children, continues to wear on me personally. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like the mix of problematic family life and a bit of adventure found in Hautman's Answers to Dog or Wallace's Nowhere Special, or fans of Bowling's other work. If you still have students who read Wojciechowska's 1965 Newbery winner Shadow of a Bull, there are some interesting parallels with following a father's footsteps and making ones own choices. 

Patterson, Kaitlyn Sage. Harper and the Horse Show Sabotage 

Windy Creek Stables #2 
November 11, 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Harper is excited to be attending a competition at the Kentucky Horse Park, but is apprehensive about seeing riders with whom she worked at her previous stable, since they were so mean to her. She loves working with her friend Presley, and is eager to introduce her to competition. Harper's sister Marnie is creating content for Young Rider, an equestrian magazine, and is hoping to interview an Olympic rider who is at the competition. Natalie, the daughter of Tracie, who owns Windy Creek, is along for the competition, but a bit apprehensive, since she is very allergic to horses. Harper is eager to compete with Isolde, so when her horse is colicking in the middle of the night, she is disappointed that the two can't take part, although the health of her horse is the most important thing. When another horse comes down with similar symptoms, the girls decide to investigate to see if something nefarious is going on. The girls from Foxcroft Stables are incredibly mean to both Harper and Presley, even stooping to racial comments, since Presley is black. Are the girls so competitive that they would stoop to sabotage? With the help of Marnie, Harper and her friends identify the culprits and get footage of them. How will this affect the competition? 

This is a great book for horse fans, and has tons of details about caring for horses, competition, and even equipment and clothing. There's some diversity with Harper and Minerva's two mothers, and even a tattooed Olympic athlete. The covers are great, and I'm sure that my readers who love horses will check these out frequently. I try to add a few horse related titles every year, so this is definitely a series I will purchase. 

Lost on Doll Island

Ramos-Gomez, Cassandra. Lost on Doll Island
August 26, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Diego would rather be at home in Texas, but his parents are trying to work out their marital problems, and have sent him to live with his Tia Maria and Tio Tony in Mexico City. He has made himself at home, and even walks around the city, even visiting a creepy antiques store run by a woman, Ximena, who knows his name even though he hasn't told her. His school has a class trip to Isla de las Munecas, and he becomes obsessed by the idea of the Wishing Doll. If he could sneak away and find the doll to make a wish, he could be back home with his parents. He partners with classmates Itzel and Jandro on the trip, and the three decide to sneak onto the boat of the caretaker, Don Jamie, to see if they can travel to a further island where the Wishing Doll is probably located. Don Jamie is NOT happy to find them, and takes them to his house, where they meet his sister... who is the same woman whom Diego had met at the antiques store. They explain that the kids can't go wandering around because it is too dangerous. They can't take the kids back right away, so Diego and his new friends snoop around, finding newspapers from the 1990s, and hearing a warning from a doll in a trunk that they should leave. They need to beark three Hechizos (spells) to set the doll free. Diego thinks this is a good idea,  but the three end up in all sorts of predicaments, including getting caught in the nest of a man eating spider and almost drowing in a blood red river. Jamie and Ximena tell the children that they should not fee the doll, but he doesn't trust them and feels that they want to keep the wishes for themselves. Eventually, Diego finds the doll, who demands to be freed. Of course, this doesn't go the way that Diego expects it to go, but the children manage to escape. Or do they?
Strengths: Dolls are frightening. And an entire island of dolls hung in trees, rotting in the humid climate, terrifying. Isla de las Munecas is a real place, and the books gives a short history of it, and it's a great setting for a horror book. Diego's obsessions with making a wish so that he can go back home to Texas will resonate more with younger readers, but I did enjoy the fact that his two new friends were more than happy to help him out in his somewhat misguided attempts to find the wishing doll. The plot moves quickly, and all of the descriptions of the creepy island and dolls will appeal to readers who liked Mott's Hush-a-Bye,  Alexander's The Collector, or Acevedo's The Curse of Spectacle Key. 
Weaknesses: I'm not sure the cover will attract many readers. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like creepy tales like Averling's The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay , Bourne's Nightmare Island, or Howard's Bumps in the Night. 

A 6th grader wanted a book with a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but none were available. I wrote down my own recipe on an index card, and we chatted about cookie strategies. She brought me this masterpiece. Now, I want to travel back to 1952 and teach home ec with a friend, who rightly pointed out that I would do much better at the sewing classes, due to my lack of attention to detail. 

One thing I REALLY don't want to do, however, is to have games in the library. There was quite a thread on Bluesky about it, and yesterday there were e mails from other librarians about "calming stations". In my ancient mind, both entertainment and calm are best acquired, in an academic setting, by READING BOOKS. That's why I have a library collection. If people want Legos and fidgets, that's a home thing. 

I know the push now is for social emotional learning and... all the things. I'm sticking with books. 

Wanted to post this on social media, but felt I would get rude feedback. Very few people read my blog, but please be nice if you disagree. I hate games even more than I hate reading aloud! And the minute I have a bucket of Legos in the library, someone will throw up in it! 

Going to the Dogs!

Wolfer, Dianne. Scout and the Rescue Dogs

June 3, 2025 by Walker Books Australia
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Scout attends the Arcadia Boarding School for Young Ladies in Australia since her mother has passed away from cancer and her father is a long distance trucker. She's excited to be on a break from school, since she hasn't made many friends. She and her father will be traveling around, delivering dog food to rescue shelters across the country, and she has a plan to convince her father to let her stay at home, and maybe even adopt a dog. She does have a school Friendship Project to work on that her teacher, Ms. Lawson, has assigned. This includes e mailing several classmates, including the popular Ava and Sienna, but also Anika. Many of the shelters need help, so Scout works on a website for one, and helps a woman at another rehome most of the ten dogs in her care before she has hip replacement surgery. Scout has a talent for matchmaking dogs with potential owners, and uses her father's CB Radio to connect with many of the other long distance truckers, many of whom are glad to have dogs as travel companions. There is a Christmas get together planned with her Aunt Sal, but afterwards extensive bushfires are causing all kinds of problems. Scout does meet one dog, Molly, whom she wants to adopt for several reasons. The dog shares her late mother's name, and is a former puppy mill dog who can't walk. She raises money to help with costs, and her father lets her adopt that dog. Her e mails with Anika have been fun, and she feels a little better about going back to school. Her Aunt Sal helps out with fighting the bush fire and is injured, and shelters and truckers across the country are in danger. Once Scout and her father get home, they are in danger, but the wind shifts and their house is spared. This is an interesting fictional coverage of the real life 2019-2020 Australian bush fires. 

I can't say that I have ever read anything about wildfires in Australia, although there have been plenty of middle grade novels covering such events in the US, like Davis' Partly Cloudy, Henry's Playing with Fire, Philbrick's Wildfire, Rhodes' Paradise on Fire, and Garretson's Wildfire Run. I do wish there had been a map, since I am not terribly familiar with the Australian landscape, and get the feeling that this took place over a MUCH larger territory than any book in the US would! 

Ms. Lawson's Friendship Project is successful, and this small element of friend drama will draw additional readers to this title. One notable feature of this book was the tremendous quality of the paper! I haven't seen many Australian titles, but the paper in this book was very heavy and smooth. I found myself stroking the pages more than I probably should have. 

Scout is a delightful character who wants to do so much good, but struggles with her own personal life. She is given a lot more leeway to work on websites and talk to people about adopting dogs than most children would have, but she manages to find owners for so many dogs. I enjoyed Flowers' illustrations of the dogs as well. I can see why this was an award winning title in Australia, and am glad to see it travel to the US. 

Alfano, Maria Bea and Catalan, Laura (illus.)
Fetch! (Barker's Doghouse #1)
June 24, 2025 by Pixel+Ink
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Gio Barker isn't happy that his mother moved him to Milton to live in his deceased grandfather's house, especially since he left his good friends Charlotte and Marco behind. He still connects with them on an online gaming site, but is having trouble making friends in fifth grade. His house is overrun with dogs during the day, and his mother Julie and her assistant Janice often ask him to help. When he eats a peanut butter cookie his mother has baked, he realizes that he can hear what the dogs are thinking! He can't believe it, but Millie, a schnoodle, has a LOT to say, as do Houdini, Gary, Felix, and the other dogs. Foremost in their mind is the need to get outside, smell things, and have adventures, so Gio takes a group to the park. When Millie chases a squirrel and runs off, Julie accuses him of trying to sabotage her business and threatens to go to his school to meet with his teachers about his inability to make friends. Turning to the counsel of the dogs, he decides to join the soccer team, even though he doesn't know how to play. Mason is nice, but Gabe is mean and gives Gio a hard time. Gio finally connects with Isa and Evie at school when they invite him to have lunch with them, and it turns out that Isa is Millie's owner! Will Gio get better at soccer so he can feel more like part of the team, and will he need to keep eating dog biscuits to retain his zoolinguism? Book two, Leave It, comes out November 11, 2025. 

This is a great combination of soccer and dogs. Who wouldn't want to be able to understand what their pooch is saying, and to have a group of canines help improve their soccer skills? Gio's resistance to moving and dealing with his mother's business are both understandable, and his struggles to make friends are real. This is a fast paced story that will be great for elementary readers who like magical realism as well as older readers who want a book that isn't too long. 

Catalan's occasional black and white illustrations are just right, and I loved the soccer ball bouncing along the bottom of the pages. 

Take Fetch! on a walk with other dog books like LaRocca and Fajardo's Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class #2), Palmer's Oh My Dog!, Hoyle and Keele's Best Friends Dog Tales, Sidorov, Wenitsky, and Freeman's Good Dogs on a Bad Day, or Crimi's delightful Secondhand Dogs.

Alfano, Maria Bea and Catalan, Laura (illus.)
Leave It! (Barker's Doghouse #2)
November 11, 2025 by Pixel+Ink
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

After his adventures in Barker's Doghouse, Gio is still struggling with living seven hours away from his best friends, Charlotte, Jonah, and Marcus, whom he has known his whole life. With the school year ending and his birthday approaching, he hopes that he will be able to go back "home home" to visit, and preserve all of his birthday traditions. He is somewhat disappointed when his mother brings home a black Labrador puppy, Bean, but it's not as a present for him. They are fostering the puppy and training him, in the hopes that the community will see that Barker's Doghouse is more than just a doggy day care. Gio, who can talk to the dogs after having eaten a lamb lung treat, doesn't really need more dogs in his life, but he does enjoy having Bean snuggle with him in bed, even if it is against the rules. He runs into trouble when Millie, his friend Isa's dog, is not a fan of Bean. Millie warns Gio that Bean will destroy her banana squeaky toy if he gets it, and that he will be very sneaky in his attempts. She is, of course, right. When Gio's mother plans an open house for the day care on his birthday, he is devastated. Money is tight, and she can't afford to send him to visit his friends. The dogs band together to prepare for the open house so that the facility is shown in its best light, and they even reconcile with the rambunctious puppy causing so many problems. Gio is afraid that the school bully, Gabe, might be adopting Bean, but a surprise arrival saves the day. Millie is once again Gio's best friend, and we can look forward to another adventure. 

Bean's puppy energy is perfectly captured, from the chewing on everything in sight to impulsively jumping on a kitchen table with an eye to eating a chocolate cake! Gio does a good job socializing and training him to "leave it"; there's always a better treat in store if Bean complies. Millie's reluctance to accept this usurper is also realistic, and her fighting with Gio because she is angry is only possible because of his magical ability to understand what dogs are saying. 

Usually, in dog books, the dogs might talk to each other, but they rarely talk to people. Gio's ability to understand the dogs leads to a lot of interesting problems hiding this skill from his mother and best friend Isa. Millie is a big proponent of sharing more biscuits with Isa so she can also talk, but that has yet to happen. Readers who liked the look into a dog's psyche in Bank's Boy's Best Friend or who enjoyed the doggy day care settings in Sidorov, Wenitsky, and Freeman's Good Dogs on a Bad Day or Crimi's Secondhand Dogs will cheer on Gio as he negotiates with his furry friends.