Sunny Wants to Play

Maurey, Katty. Sunny Wants to Play
March 11, 2025 by Tundra Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

There are plenty of people in Sunny's life. That's not the problem. However, her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who live with her would rather watch television or read than play with her. As she goes shopping with her mother, she is envious of other children who have brothers and sisters to play with, and even the dogs in the park have playmates! When the adults in her home are sleeping in the afternoon heat, a knock comes at the door. It's a neighbor boy, asking for Sunny. She goes out to play and meets other children in the area, and gets to run, jump, and participate in games with them. When the frenetic activity ends with Sunny getting hit in the face with a ball, she is more than happy to return to her quiet home for some quality snuggles with her mother. 

The thing that I found most interesting about this book was the setting. Sunny and her family appear to be of Asian descent, and there are some indications in the pictures that this book is not set in North America. There are signs in a different language, people sleeping in the afternoon, and even a large mesh cover on the table that looks to be for keeping bugs out of food. I would have loved to know more about where Sunny lives. 

Being an only child is an singular experience, and most picture books do tend to focus on families with several children, and play up the problems siblings have getting along. It's interesting to see the challenges that Sunny faces. As much as I fought with my brother, it was always good to have someone to go on bike rides with, play board games, or run around the yard.    

Pair this book with Phelan's Druthers or Chen's Play With Me when a little one is bored and doesn't know what to do. This could be a good springboard for discussion to plan activities that don't involve other people. 
 

Happy birthday, Taylor Swift!

I don't understand the extreme love of Taylor Swift, nor the backlash against her. She seems like a decent person who is kind to her fans, does solid work, and deserves to have a happy life. My students, however, adore her, and since Ms. Swift has been performing for twenty years, there are also adult teachers, librarians, and authors!) who do as well. I'm glad to see an influential woman singer making this much of an impact, and know that the few biographies and the Eras encyclopedia that I bought have circulated VERY well. Are these books worth investing in? Definitely. They'll be worn out by the time Swift goes out of fashion.

Mooney, Carla. Taylor Swift: Queen of Reinvention 

August 1, 2025 by Twenty-First Century Books ™

Copy provided by the publisher

My collection development policy has long been to hold off buying biographies until the subject has passed away; my school library had a 1980s era biography of Michael Jackson that showed me how much biographies can change! There are some exceptions; Dan Wetzel's EPIC ATHLETES are very popular with my sports buffs. Another recent exception, due to the intense demand, has been Taylor Swift. So far, I've purchased Burk and Dorado's The Story of Taylor Swift, Feder and Tatreau's Taylor Swift By the Book, Stevens and Steinfeld's Kid Musicians: True Tales of Childhood from Entertainer, Songwriters, and Stars and Bolte's Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour encyclopedia. None of these are ever on the shelf.

This ICONS series from Lerner is formatted like the standard biographies I have on more standard historical figures like George Washington or Marie Curie. Coming in at just 80 pages, it covers the singer's life so far in eight chapters. There are many pictures, which will delight fans, as well as a glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, list of websites, and an index. I was especially glad to see the inclusion of a "Legacy and Impact" page, because this is almost always a requirement for any biography project, and I personally am little help with this information when students ask!

I'm not a fan of Swift's but realize that she has an impressive range of accomplishments. The book did include some information that was knew to me, such as her writing collaborators. There was plenty of discussion about the inspiration for some of her songs, and her difficult dealings with other individuals, but this was all done in a fair and balanced, non sensational way. There is even a page about Swift's interest in the NFL, which is especially pertinent since her engagement to Travis Kelce.

Would I have loved a biography of Karen Carpenter or Olivia Newton John when I was in middle school? Absolutely. While I would rather students be interested in books like Orgill's 2001 Shout, Sister, Shout! : Ten Girl Singers Who Shaped a Century, there is no denying that younger readers would vastly prefer this short but well done book on a modern singer's life. A student saw this sitting on my desk while I was processing it, and wanted it right away

Calonita, Jen. The Taylors

October 7, 2025 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this prequel to Eulberg's The Taylors: Love Stories, we find out how the group got together as they started middle school in fifth grade. Teffy is new to Harrison Middle School, and meets Taylor, Tay Tay, and TS in her homeroom. All four girls were named after the singer, and adopt nicknames to limit confusion. Taylor is the youngest of five, and so tired of hand-me-downs that she asks to be allowed to keep her full name! The group bonds over wanting to go to the Eras concert, although tickets are expensive. Mean girl Hannah boasts that her parents are taking her, and says that she is allowed to invite one friend, which gives her a lot of social power. The Taylors (as they call themselves) know they can't count on Hannah's invitation, and vow to stick together and work to raise funds so that they can all go. They also try out for cheerleading, and help each other with the routines, eventually making the 5th and 6th grade squad of 24 girls. This makes their schedules a little tight; they all have various other things going on in their lives, and commit to make 200 beaded friendship bracelets so they can earn $400, which leads to more requests for the hand made jewelry. It's not enough, however, and even after trying to gain some attention on social media in hopes of winning tickets, they content themselves with "Tay-gating" at the venue with one of the mothers. There, they are interviewed by local news media about the fact that they are all named after the singer, and also the fact that they took all the money they earned for tickets and donated it to the local library that had recently suffered a fire. The singer hears this interview and not only invites them to hear the concert in the VIP section, but hugs the girls and gives Teffy a hat that they are all supposed to share. They, in turn, give the singer a bracelet, which she puts on right there! (Insert appropriate squeals.)

Strengths: Middle school students have the time and the emotional capacity to embrace fandoms in a way that becomes difficult as one gets older. This is important, because these often stay with people their whole lives. Those 7th graders obsessed with Tolkien? They grow up to be my son-in-law and lead to a Tolkien themed bathroom! I personally still own a prairie dress in case I have to go in costume as Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I have friends who still have as core parts of their personalities interests in the Beatles and the original Star Trek. Calonita (who is also very interested in Disney) understands this, and paints the Taylors' interests in Swift with an understanding brush. I'm sure the drama over the expensive tickets was repeated again and again in middle schools everywhere, and villains like Hannah, who rubbed her tickets in everyone's faces, emerged. The girls all have different interests, but decide to try out for cheerleading so they can be together. My favorite part was that they actively tried to earn money, and put it toward a good cause when they realized they couldn't buy tickets. 
Weaknesses: While I was glad to see a middle school that included fifth grade (mine did), having 24 girls on the cheerleading squad seemed like a very large number. Also, if the Taylors are going to the Eras tour in 5th grade, having them be in high school in the next book didn't quite line up, not that Young readers will care. 
What I really think: Calonita is clearly a fan of Ms. Swift (check out her fantastic 12 to 22), so brings a lot of love and energy to this story. This is middle school wish fulfillment at its finest, so I will definitely purchase a copy. If you are having a Scholastic book fair, make sure to ask for an extra box of these books if you have a solid Swift fan base. 

Eulberg, Elizabeth. Love Stories (The Taylors #1)

October 7, 2025 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Younger readers will want to learn the backstory of the Taylors  by reading about when they met in fifth grade in The Taylors, but older readers can go ahead and start with this tale of their entry into high school. We see more of their individual personalities, and see what romances come their way. Blonde Teffy is shy and quiet, and would rather stay at home with her books and music, pining over family friend Liam, than perform songs she has written with Tay. Red haired TS is determined to make the high school varsity soccer team, and when she does, is thrown for a loop by a British important to the team, Gemma, on whom she has an overwhelming crush. Tay (who drops the second Tay because it seems babyish) is the only one who is still a cheerleader, because she has a background in gymnastics. Taylor Perez is bound and determined to run for student body president, but that's before she becomes enamored of Hunter, who is gorgeous and a senior. The girls are invited to a high school party, but make the wise choice not to drink alcohol, and run into their old nemesis Hannah and her henchwoman Greta. Teffy keeps hanging out with Liam, whose parents funded her own parents business, Harrison by Design, which is struggling to get enough orders to stay afloat. She doesn't understand why he is dating Cat, even though she waffles on whether or not she is romantically interested in Liam. Taylor spends so much time with Hunter that her grades falter, and she also decides not to run for elected office. Teffy is so distracted by Gemma that her game suffers, and she tries to distance herself from her crush, which doesn't help the team. Tay meet emo rocker Reece when they have to work on a science project together, and their romance runs a somewhat rocky course as Tay has to realize how wealthy Reece's family is, and he feels inferior when he realizes how good her singing is. It's great that all four have romances and are still able to stay together as a friend group and help each other through the difficult moments. 

Strengths: This is EXACTLY the type of older middle grade books that I've been looking for. Certainly,  in middle school in the 1970s, I was reading a  lot of titles about girls in high school, like Conford's 1976 The Alfred G. Graebner Memorial High School Handbook of Rules and Regulations: A Novel, and sometimes even college (and even now desperately want to buy Colver's 1942 Joan Foster series for myself from Image Cascade!). Eulberg does a great job of fleshing out each character so they each have distinctiev interests and personalities. The wide range of love interests was impressive; Taylor's older, probably deeply creepy guy who is probably pressuring her for more physical interaction behind the scenes, Tay's "opposites attract" bad boy who's really quite sweet, Teffy's friendship with Liam that she would like to be something more, and TS's all consuming crush on Gemma. The relationships all work out in various ways that will make the readers happy. I enjoyed the fact that most of the parents were around and supportive; only Tay's mother is absent, although her father is very involved. The fact that all of the girls like Taylor Swift's music comes up quite a bit, and I think the chapter headings are all names of her songs. This will be HUGELY popular even without the inclusion of Swift fandom, especially since Eulberg has other good Young Adult titles that work for middle school readers, like Take a Chance on Me and Past Perfect Life as well as her middle grade The Best Worst Summer. 

Weaknesses: The Timeline with the origin story of the Taylors doesn't quite work, but Young readers won't notice. I thought I was going to have a hard time telling the characters apart, but I didn't, although looking at the cover of the second book, I had to really think through who was who! (I was thrown off by Taylor's shorts.)
What I really think: This is a fantastic choice for middle school readers who want to learn more about their future in high school, or for high school readers who (like me) can't stomach the horrific drama and trauma, as well as salty language, that seems to make up most of the Young Adult titles these days. I'm not sure what we're allowed to call books like this these days ("clean reads" is definitely out), but this is a gentler read along the lines of Kristy Boyce's Hot British Boyfriend, Jouhanneau's Kisses and Croissants, or the work of Kasie West. Definitely purchasing, and looking forward to Cruel Summer (1/6/26).

The Quilt of Our Memories

Acevedo, Desireé and Jaubert, Victor. The Quilt of Our Memories. 
October 14, 2025 by Cuento de Luz

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
 

The narrator's great-great-grandmother has an idea; she will make a quilt with blocks from the women in the family. These blocks will represent each woman's interest; from shelling peas to flowers to favorite dogs, generations of women lovingly work their favorite things into blocks for the quilt. This work spans generations, and includes blocks from the narrator's mother and aunt, as well as twin cousins. When the quilt ends up with the narrator, he states that even though it was meant for the women in the family, he also wanted to contribute to this multigenerational testament to the bonds of kinship. He learns to sew, and adds a block of his baby daughter to the quilt, which he will pass down to her. The end of the book has a family tree. 

Like another title from this publisher, Fran and Zuzanna's The Vase with the Golden Cracks, this book is printed on Stone Paper, which is so smooth and heavy that it almost feels like good quality fabric! It also makes the brilliantly saturated illustrations seem even more vibrant. There's a good feel for the different decades that the women lived in, and the clothes and quilt blocks are very fun. 

Modern readers will enjoy the twist with the son wanting to work on the quilt; there are many men involved in the quilting world now, which wasn't necessarily the case fifty years ago. 

This would make a great gift for a newborn, along with a memory quilt, and adds to the variety of picture books that feature the power of this art form in connecting generations and memories like Malik's Saif's Special Patches, Rockwell's The All-Together Quilt, Polacco's The Keeping Quilt, Johnston's The Quilt Story, or Bourgeois's Oma's Quilt. 

As a quilter, I'm not sure that the author really understands quilts. The dedication thanks her grandmother for knitting, but I can't say I have ever seen a memory quilt with blank spaces left. How do the new blocks get added? Also, on the cover, the quilt is being machine quilted AFTER the binding has been put on. I also had an issue with the narrator getting the quilt. Why didn't his twin cousins? Did they fight too much about it? If it's about connecting the women in the family, it would have made more sense to have them get the quilt. It's a fine story, but like I said... questions. 
 

Little Bird Laila and Wiggling Words

Yang, Kelly and Yan, Xindi (illus.). Little Bird Laila
April 15, 2025 by Dial Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central 

Laila helps her parents when they struggle with everyday tasks involving the English language, and even translates for her teacher at conferences, not always telling the truth! She feels important, and Mama and Baba are proud of her. She feels bad when other students make fun of the fact that her parents' English skills aren't great, because she knows how many interesting things they DO know. Since language classes are expensive, Laila decides that she will become her parents' teacher. While Laila still struggles herself with some idiomatic language, she works hard with her parents to increase their knowledge. Soon, the family is sharing jokes in both English and Chinese, and Laila's mother is able to understand Laila's teacher at conferences and tell her that she is proud of Laila.

Yang, whose middle grade Front Desk has been hugely popular, and who has written several Young Adult novels as well, brings her own childhood experiences to add a personal touch to this familiar tale of children helping out parents who struggle with language. My community has more Somali, Nepali, and Yemeni immigrants, but Laila's tale is not dependent upon a particular language. I did enjoy the fact that there were some Chinese store signs and words included. "Add oil" is a refrain in the book; it means to keep going, because everything moves faster with oil. It reminded me a bit of the old phrase "Now you're cooking with gas"!

The artwork is delightful, and Laila and her parents are shown in a variety of settings. They go to shops, the bank, school, and spend time in their apartment. There's plenty of white space on the page so the words are very clear, and there aren't too many sentences on each page. This makes it perfect for classroom story times, and I can see this being used to help build empathy.

It's great to see young children wanting to help out in books like Compestine's The Chinese New Year Helper, and Laila and her parents efforts to learn a new language will ring true with readers who were invested in titles like Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome, by Zhang and Chua, Drawn Together, by Lê and Santat, Vo's Gibberish, and Wang and Yum's Luli and the Language of Tea.

Rolfe, Kate. Wiggling Words
September 30, 2025 by Candlewick
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A child struggles with reading books as the words tumble about the pages. This is frustrating and leads to a bit of a temper tantrum, as well as the thought that reading is something that will never be figured out. Mountains of red letters appear on the pages, but eventually the child starts to make some sense of them. This ends on a positive note as the letters come to shape a flower, a house, and trees, and the child feels that anything is possible. An author's note at the end details her own struggles with dyslexia and some of her strategies to make reading easier.

I love that the book is printed in a dyslexia friendly font, and the two color illustrations are spare and cut down on distractions. The mountains of letters look daunting, and the child's frustrations are palpable. It's good that eventually things start to be easier to navigate.

It would have been good to see some strategies depicted in the text of the book, although that might have slowed down the narrative pace. Children who are struggling with their own reading will feel emboldened when they see representation of another reader struggling. Combine this with Rudolph's Brilliant Bea, Beaty's Aaron Slater, Illustrator, Fortune's Did You Say Pasghetti? and Harris and Wick's Magnificent Meg to help children understand some of the reading struggles of dyslexia.

The Vase With the Golden Cracks

Nuño, Fran andCelej, Zuzanna (illustrator).

The Vase With the Golden Cracks
May 6, 2025 by Cuento de Luz
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

The author reminisces about his father's love of words when he was growing up. The father would write his favorites on slips of paper and put them in a beautiful vase. All of the words had subtle meanings that weren't captured in any languages other than their native Japanese. One particularly inspiring word was "ikigai", which refers to one's mission in life. When the vase was accidentally broken, the father wasn't angry, but cleaned up the vase and repaired it, decorating the cracks with gold. This tradition of kintsugi embraces the scars in the pottery and shows that things are often stronger after being broken and repaired. This love of words, and the reverence shown for them, inspired the author to become an author and share his stories.

The watercolor and collage illustrations are beautiful, and is influenced by traditional Nihonga, with many trees and natural elements. The faces remind me of some of the soft focus watercolor illustrations in early 1970s picture books as well. The use of collage is particularly striking, and many of the illustrations are framed with cut work embellishments. There is a list of Japanese words and their meanings at the end of the book, accompanied by the Japanese characters. (I'm not sure which system is used.)

This book has the most noteworthy paper of any title I have seen. It is heavy and silky, and absolutely luxurious. The publication data page describes this as Stone Paper whish is ecologically certified, and is really exceptional.

This reminds me of Reibstein and Young's 2008 Wabi Sabi, and is a great way to share aspects of Japanese culture along with Gallup's Anna's Kokeshi Dolls, Uegaki and Simms' Ojiichan's Gift, or Hadley and Fujisawa's The Star Festival.

I love words, and my favorite was Majime, a person who you trust to do any kind of job in a serious, responsible way, although many book people will love the word tsundoku. This is the act of buying more books and leaving them on the pile of OTHER books that are waiting to be read!

Paloma Flies Away

Guarda, María J. Paloma Flies Away
January 14, 2025 by Candlewick Press
E ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

Paloma's family has left their home country after a dictator came to power, and have moved suddenly to a new country. They have gotten a warm welcome, and there are many new and interesting things to do and see, but Paloma misses her old home. She often wonders why her parents are different from other parents, and has some trouble fully understanding the two parts of her identity. When the situation in her home country eases, she and her parents return, but it is almost as difficult to move back as it was to move away. Still, her parents have many connections, and are glad to be back home. It takes Paloma a while to settle in, but she is glad that she and her family won't have to leave again.

The color palette is really interesting; teal, orange, and purple. This unexpected combination gives the book an interesting feeling of "otherness" which worked well, especially since no country names are mentioned. The watercolor pictures are accented with a lot of dark ink lines, and have lots of small details that young readers will enjoy exploring.

The vague descriptions of Paloma's home country, and the country to which her family travels for their new life, make this a book that can mirror the experiences of many different cultures. While not all families leave because of dictators, many do. Also, while going back to a country one had to leave might not be overly common, it is probably a hope that some children hold.

Readers can either see themselves and their families' experiences in a book about immigration, or gain empathy about what some of their classmates might have gone through. Add this to Choi's The Name Jar, Betancourt-Perez and Williams A Thousand White Butterflies, and especially Park and Choi's Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong for a look at how children navigate immigration issues.

MMGM- Fun in the Sun

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Heart, Lee. Fun in the Sun

Cover by Katie Forrester

December 9, 2025 by Simon Spotlight

Copy provided by the publisher

Originally published as Angela Darling's Isabella's Spring Break Crush in 2014. Ana Miller lives in Chicago, where it is still wintery cold for spring break. Her best friends are all traveling, but Ana's parents are too busy. Her mother is a pediatrician and her father is an accountant, who suggests that Ana work in his office over the break to earn some money. This is NOT Ana's plan. Her twin brother, Adam, doesn't mind as much, but when Ana sets out to convince their parents to plan a vacation, he goes along. Ana has quite the impressive presentation, and her parents eventually give in... to a point. Ana and Adam will fly to spend the week in Florida with their Grandma Gina. While she loves her grandmother, this doesn't sound like the best plan, especially when her grandmother mentions that a neighbor will have her grandson there as well. The neighbor, Lillian, is very quiet and reclusive, which doesn't bode well for Mason. Once in Florida, however, Ana is sucked into the fun of visiting an orange Grove, watching The Sound of Music as Grandma Gina sings enthusiastically along, and eating ice cream. When Mason turns out to be a really cute baseball player, things are looking up. The kids hang out at the pool and go to a museum, which is a lot of fun until neighbor Sonia's twin grandkids, Daniel and Daniella, get brought into the mix. Daniella seems to like Mason, and tries to get Ana interested in her brother, calling a forced movie night "a double date". When Lillian and Gina plan a nice dinner out, Ana goes shopping with her grandmother, and the two have a great time bonding over cute outfits, and Ana is glad that she is getting to spend time with her. Things are going well, but a trip to Adventure Land with Daniel and Daniella leads to some tension. A week isn't a very long time to spend with anyone, but at the end of the week Mason asks for Ana's phone number, and the two plan to text until they both spend some time in Florida over summer vacation. 

Strengths: The Spotlight Sprinkles books have been wildly popular with my students; they are only 160 pages long, and have plenty of friend and boyfriend drama. This is one of my favorites, mainly because Grandma Gina is such fun. She gets up early, swims, and is always on the go. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I can remember how long a week can seem when one is twelve, and how interesting it was to meet other children on vacation. Grandma Gina's reminiscing about the long distance relationship she had with Ana's grandfather was rather sweet; mentioning it made it clear that she took Ana's emotions seriously, even if she knew that kids in Chicago and New York didn't have much of a chance for a serious relationship. The drama with Daniel and Daniella spiced things up, and the array of activities made sense. This was a fantastic vicarious spring break trip! 
Weaknesses: Since I've taken exactly two spring vacations in the last forty years, I didn't have a lot of sympathy with Ana's plight. At least she didn't complain too much out loud, and she did eventually enjoy being with her grandmother. Young readers will commiserate more with her. Did appreciate the effort she put into developing a vacation pitch to her parents! 
What I really think: While I would love to know who is really writing these, I am just glad to see short, middle grade romances. The original Crush series ended rather abruptly; I hope that Spotlight Sprinkles  has a few titles that are original and not reworked from previous editions. Making Waves comes out 5/5/26. 

Cornille, Didier The Cities of the Future

June 10, 2025 by Post Wave
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Starting with a brief overview of the growth of urban and suburban communities in the 1970s, this intriguing book discusses the ways in which people are trying to make cities more pleasant, sustainable places to live. After an introduction about the difficulties a variety of problems pose to urban populations, each chapter highlights different cities across the globe who are trying to mitigate the problems. This includes Berlin, whose efforts at city planning have made it one of the greenest cities in the world, and the vertical forests of Milan. Other topics include growing food in cities, using renewable energy, improving transportation, and using smart technology. There are also chapters on different historical attempts to improve city design, like the Social Palace is Guise, how different countries are working on creating the types of cities they want, and showcases of different cities that were successful in the past, like Bilbao, Spain, and Bordeaux, France.

Even as someone who enjoys living in a walkable suburb, I can see the appeal of city living. This book, which is translated from the French, has a European feel to it. It's hard to describe, but ever since I was given a translation of a Danish book as a child, I've been attracted to the modern print and small, precise pictures floating in a lot of white space that seems to define many European books, especially nonfiction titles. This is more of a middle grade book, due to its length, but could be used with younger children who have a lot of patience. I think New York City and Detroit are the only US cities that are included in this title.

The birdseye views of the components of the cities described have so much detail, and have a largely brown, green and gray color palette, which make the red and blue details really pop. Even the textures on the buildings, and the tiny trees and plants, are beautifully done. One especially fun element are the stripes along the sides of the pages which continue onto the outside, as can be seen on the cover.

While this is lacking an index or bibliography, the table of contents is very complete, and the research into both modern and historical cities seems very well done.

While there are lots of picture books about farm and country life, perhaps I have just never noticed the growing number of books about the urban landscape. Young readers who are interested in ecology and in architecture will enjoy The Cities of the Future, which is a great companion to Bartunek and Velcovsky's From Pyramids to Palaces, Sedlackova's Bustling Cities of the World, Theule's Concrete: From the Ground Up, Tardif's Metropolis, and Roeder's The Power of Architecture: 25 Modern Buildings Around the World.

And yes, I will apparently read any and all books with HENRY in the title! 

Worsley, Justin. Henry is an Artist

September 16, 2025 by Flamingo Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A small dog named Henry loves to go on walks with his human, but is greatly disheartened when his lovely artwork (best described as poop sculptures) is thrown in the trash! Doesn't anyone appreciate all of his hard work and brilliance? When his owner is preoccupied on his phone, Henry manages to leave one of his projects in situ, where it is found by a group of appreciative bugs. In the dark of night, they move the sculpture into the bug hotel. Henry get an invitation to the opening, and is glad that someone finally appreciates his artistic endeavors.

The artwork has a fuzzy, almost finger painted feel to it, which makes the sculptures appear a little less realistic, which might be a good thing for squeamish readers. While my own dog does not seem to have the... talent that Henry has at making his sculpture stand upright, I guess that goes to show how much of an artist Henry really is!

Poop is certainly funny to a certain audience, and I can see this being the absolute favorite of a three year old. The text is very short, with just a sentence or two on each page, making this a short read, just in case you have to read it aloud four or five times in a row. I liked the ground level perspective; most pages show just the humans legs, since we are seeing the world from Henry's viewpoint.

This will appeal to fans of the many recent books about dogs that have been published, like Cáceres' Hello, Tobi, Sharff's Joan in the Cone, or Otis' Hazel is All That. It also joins the pantheon of books about excrement that range from Gomi's classic 1981 Everyone Poops Finally, this is a perfect gift for the legions of young Henrys that are coming up in the world; it seems to be the new hot name. There are human Henry's represented in Simon's Horrid Henry and Bailey and Song's A Friend for Henry series, as well as Henry Quackenbush's Henry the Duck and a disproportionate number of books about hippos named Henry!

First There Was Me, Then There Was You and Whoa Panda!

Sewankambo, Yvonne and McLeod, Aurore (Illustrator).
First There Was Me, Then There Was You
February 11, 2025 by Candlewick Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A young boy waits eagerly for the birth of his sister, and is glad that she has arrived even though she is rather boring at first. He tells her all of the things that they will do when she is older, but also takes the time to help her learn to walk and talk. As she gets older, he can help her dance, run around, and amuse their parents. Things will not always go smoothly, and there may be fights and misunderstandings, but the boy is glad to have his sister in his life and offers her his unwavering support.

I enjoyed the overall tone of this, which nicely balanced the good and bad things about having a sibling. The boy is somewhat older, perhaps five, when his sister is born, so he has some patience that younger children may not have with infants. Even though his sister is boring, he is able to recognize the fact that there are small milestones that will lead up to a day when she is more interesting and can play with him. The recognition that there may be some sibling spats, but they will be temporary, was great. The boy in this book is certainly an exemplary older brother!

McLeod's artwork is engaging, and I loved how many of the backgrounds were set outdoors. My favorite part, which is easy to miss, was the depiction of the brother and sister's companion stuffed animals having their own adventures on some of the pages. The brother has a rabbit, and the sister a much smaller bear, and they are shown dancing, hanging from a tree branch, and having their own squabble. The rabbit even carries the bear through a field of flowers! I am not sure why this was so touching, but I enjoyed it.

There are plenty of books welcoming new babies, but I liked that this was forward looking and gave some insight into what the future would hold for the brother and sister's relationship. First There Was You, Then There Was Me is a stand out in the new sibling category, which includes Bradbury's Nearly Exactly Almost Like Me, Laguna's When You're Older, Childs' The New Small Person, Pinckney's Brandon and the Baby, and the classic Keats' Peter's Chair.

Jennings, C.S. Whoa Panda! 

August 12, 2025 by Nancy Paulsen Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Panda is very exuberant, but he needs to work on his personal boundaries. He stands too close, and puts his nose right in others' faces! When this happens, his friend politely asks him to step back, and Panda does. When he meets a dog whom he thinks might be a new friend, however, he scares the dog off by being too enthusiastic and squeezes too hard. He has to be reminded that a better way to greet someone new is to give the puppy a smile from a distance. When Panda licks his new friend and is admonished, Panda gets angry and stomps off, but comes back and works on his interpersonal skills so that everyone is happy.

Jennings has illustrated a wide variety of books, including the From An Idea To series, and her pictures have a great Cartoon Network goofy quality to them that is perfect for Panda's antics. Young readers will giggle when they turn the page and get a close up of Panda's eye... you are WAY too close, Panda! The dog is delightfully silly as well, and the blue and lime color scheme works with Panda's black and white.

It's hard to teach kids about personal space, even in middle school! (Do NOT hug your librarian. Please!) Humor is a great way to approach this topic, and the short and simple text is to the point. I can see this being used as a classroom read aloud in early elementary when students need lessens in keeping their hands to themselves, and the narrator has a calm, balanced approach that models how readers can tell others when behavior bothers them.

I'm a big fan of books about manners, and my personal favorite, that I read every time I visit my grandson, is Scarry's Little Golden Book of Manners. Include this in rotation with Keller's Do Unto Others, Willem's Time to Say "Please", Shannon's It's Not Funny, David, Bell's Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot to ensure that your young reader will have the skills needed to be successful in society! 

Don't You Know It's Bedtime?

Peacock, Lou and Arrhenius, Ingela P. (illustrator) 

Don't You Know It's Bedtime?

September 2, 2025 by Nosy Crow

Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus

Bear has a very set bedtime routine that involves having a snack, brushing his teeth, and putting on his pajamas. He's all ready to snuggle down for the night when there is a knock at the door. We can lift the flap to reveal mouse standing on the other side of the door. She's hungry, but Bear has an extra banana. There's another knock on the door, though, and Crocodile needs a new toothbrush! Bear helps him out, too, and the three are ready for bed when Lion knocks on the door because he has outgrown his pajamas! Luckily, he and bear are the same size. Surely everyone is ready to be tucked in now, but Owl shows up at the door on his way to band practice. Will the friends ever get to sleep? Luckily, Owl plays a soft, sleepy tune as the friends return to their houses and snuggle down in their own beds until the next morning. 

There are a lot of books about reluctant sleepers, like Alves' Time for Bed, Little Owls, Birkett's Bedtime is Boring, Strasser's So Tired, So Wide Awake, and Cummins' Sleepy Sheepy and the Sheepover, so I was glad to see that Bear has a well established routine and doesn't mind turning in; there are just things getting in his way! McKinlay's How to Make a Bedtime also has a good strategy for preparing a nighttime ritual. 

The artwork is very bright, and the animals are composed of simple shapes, somewhat reminiscent of Frank Asch's artwork. The text is predictable, and it's fun for young readers to lift the flap and see who is on the other side of the door. I liked the parallels of the animals asking for help with the same sort of tasks that Bear has just completed, and the Owl showing up to serenade everyone is a nice surprise. 

I can see this becoming a favorite bedtime story for little ones, and the doors are sturdy enough to hold up to repeated readings. 

Of course, I always have questions about picture books. Do bears and lions really wear the same size pajamas? Don't crodiles have birds that clean their teeth? Doesn't Mouse have any snacks in her house? And she's going to knock on Bear's door? This sort of thinking can lead to some interesting story times, even BEFORE my grandson can talk!  

Where Are You, Brontë? and Please Look After This Dog

dePaola, Tomie and McClintock, Barbara (illus.) 

Where Are You, Brontë?

May 6, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Picture book author Tomie dePaola wrote and illustrated a large number of books, starting in the 1960s, and had an impressive output right up to his death in 2020 at the age of 85. He also illustrated books written by other people, and the last creation he left behind was the text for this book. McClintock (who also illustrated Aylesworth's The Mitten) has taken this story and illustrated it in a style reminiscent of dePaola's work while still bearing her hallmarks. 

Starting when Brontë was a puppy and arrived at dePaola's home, we see how the two of them bonded. Whimpering puppies are of course allowed into one's bed, even if they spend the next twelve and a half years sleeping there. Brontë loved his toys, and would often bring them to dePaola's writing studio. The two played games, went on walks, and clearly spent a lot of time together, enjoying each other's company, even when the dog lost his sight. After Brontë's death, the refrain "Where are you, Brontë?" becomes poignant and nostalgic. Even though he misses his faithful companion very much, dePaola is comforted by the idea that Brontë will always stay with him in his memory. 

We miss dogs because they become a part of us. When they die, it feels like something is missing. This approaches the idea of death very gently, saying only "The day you left me, I knew that I would miss you", and showing dePaola looking wistfully at Brontë's food dishes and collar. After a few other lonely panels, we see an image of Brontë in the clouds, and dePaola feels that the memory of his dog is a good one that will bring him comfort. 

McClintock's artwork even includes a picnic table with many of dePaola's characters sharing a meal with him, which was a interesting touch! She clearly could have drawn his style perfectly, but the mix is perfect. The colors seem reminiscent of dePaola's work, and she does give the illustrator some wonderful scarves! 

There are a variety of picture books about death, including the one I think about most, Viorst and Blevgard's 1971 The Tenth Good Thing About Barney. Wild and Blackwood's Harry & Hopper, Macero's Rosie and Crayon, and Becker's A Stone for Sascha are also good choices for helping to deal with grief, but I think this will be read most by fans of dePaola's work like Strega Nona, Jingle the Christmas Clown, and The Cat on the Dovrefell. 

Antczak,Kasia and Kasia Fryza (illustrator)
Please Look After this Dog: A Guide to Taking Care of Me
October 7, 2025 by Post Wave
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Spot the dog wants young readers to not just know how to take care of dogs, but to understand the needs of their furry friends. In two page spreads, we first learn what your dog might be thinking or feeling, and then how humans can help. This is explained in the front of the book, which is a really wonderful inclusion. Topics covered include what to feed a dog, how to make sure your dog is comfortable and can get enough rest, what to do in case your pooch is ailing, and how to make sure a dog's potty needs are met. There are also pages about a dog's mental well being, with advice on how to comfort them during storms, when to give them space, and how to deal with barking and squirrel chasing. The last page even addresses the needs of older pets, and how to make them happy when they can no longer be as active as they were. 

The illustrations are very colorful, with combinations like pink and yellow or red and turquoise, with lots of black line accents. The main text is in a larger font, and there is just enough to make this book suitable for a read aloud, while the details of how to take care of a pet are in slightly smaller print, in case a child is reading this book independently and wants to know more about exactly how to meet a pet's needs. 

Even though the drawings are simple, Spot's expressions are rather humorous, which adds a touch of levity to a serious topic. This would be a great book to read to children who really want a pet, so that they can understand how much work is involved. 

Pets are great for children, but there is a learning curve for understanding and dealing with them. Help young Readers find out how to best deal with dogs by reading them this great guide, along with Sekaninova and Wolf's Dogs Are Great BUT (It's Great to Have a Pet) or Miles' slightly longer but very thorough The Puppy Place: A Guide to Puppies. 

What Coco Can Do and The Stolen Songbird

Boelts, Maribetn and Laberis, Stephanie (illus.) What Coco Can Do
April 1, 2025 by Candlewick Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Coco is a goofy, happy dog who can cuddle. There are other dogs who have different jobs, befriending zoo animals, herding, sniffing out endangered animals, competing in agility tests, rescuing people, or chasing animals off airplane runways, but Coco's ability to cuddle is also important. Not only does Coco cuddle with his family, which consists of parents, a grandfather, and two children, but he also is a service dog who goes to nursing homes, hospitals, and scenes of crises to comfort people when they need support and encouragement. Even though it might not seem as glamorous as being a television personality or as important as moving cattle, Coco's job is an important one, which he does with his whole heart.

I liked that the illustrations were a mix of detailed backgrounds, like Lucky finding small endangered rodents in a forest, and portraits surrounded by a lot of white space. This highlights individual dogs while also giving a good look at the situations in which they find themselves. The white space makes it easier to see the text; on some of the detailed back drops, the words are in almost the same color as the dirt or grass, which makes them hard to see. I wish the print had been in white; just make sure you don't miss those bits of the story!

Coco has such a friendly face, and takes such joy in cuddling, that it's hard to find any fault with his "limited" abilities. Also, everyone knows that Coco isn't just cuddling; he's clearly protecting humans from the grave danger imposed by squirrels, mailmen, and the wind!

It's good for young readers to understand that there are pets, and there are service dogs, and sometimes the two are one and the save. Add What Coco Can Do to the growing number of picture books that celebrate the different careers of our canine friends like Papp's Madeline Finn and the Library Dog, Gianferrari and Lobo's To Dogs, With Love, Ashman and Judd's Wonder Dogs, and Frey and Nacua's Alice Eloise's Silver Linings: The Story of a Silly Service Dog.

Eagle, Judith. The Stolen Songbird. 

December 2, 2025 by Walker Books US

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In 1959, Caro Monday is living over a pub near Waterloo Station in London run by one of her mothers, Ronnie Rudd, while her other mother, Jacinta Monday, is touring the world as an entertainer. She is training to be an acrobat, and is waiting for her mother to return home to help her build a gym. When she doesn't return, and Ronnie has to go to help out an ailing relative, Caro is sent to stay with her Great Aunt Mary, known as Gam, who had raised Jacinta. Caro would rather stay behind with her friend Horace, and doesn't want to leave her rabbit, His Nibs. She manages to get the bunny out to Hampstead Heath using an old baby buggy, and hides him outside. Gam  has a maid, Marks, as well as another ward, Albert, and engages a tutor, Tom, to take care of the two children. The Snake gang are carrying out burglaries around town, so when Caro finds a small painting wrapped up in her suitcase, she is worried that it was stolen and somehow ended up in her possession. Everyone, especially Tom, comes under suspicion. When Caro, Horace, and Albie hear about a series of bird paintings that were stolen, they try to sneak into the home of Lord and Lady Dockitt to return the painting... but get caught, and find that their painting did not belong to the Dockitt's. Caro tries to return to the pub, which is under the care of her friend Toby's mother, Emerald, but finds herself thrown deep into the antics of the Snake Gang. Secrets about Gam and her family are revealed, and Caro's mother is finally located, having gotten caught up in a Panamanian coup along with ballerina Margot Fonteyn. 

Eagle's works like The Accidental Stowaway, The Secret Starling, and The Pear Affair are extremely British, and set in interesting time periods. The late 1950s in London would have been quite something, and there is some back history with Caro's mother that takes place in 1940. This felt a bit like Noel Streatfield's work. If Robin Steven's Murder is Bad Manners circulates well in your library, you will want to take a look at this. 

Some 8th grade classes had a two month book assignment, and when the teacher shared the rubric with me, this was the only book I had on my TBR that was long enough (320 pages). I did the scavenger hunt and created the slide presentation. All together, it took me about three hours to read the book and do the work. It really wasn't that hard, and having a Canva educational account made the slides so much fun to do! 

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGxHYZmb7w/z5ran2R6lC6T84k4lCm8dQ/edit?utm_content=DAGxHYZmb7w&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

The Crayon Stub and Please Look After This Cat

Cutler, Marcus. The Crayon Stub

May 6, 2025 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
 

Big Cat is inspired to create a fantastic work of art, especially since he has a brand new box of crayons, but when he goes to draw, all that is left is the stub of a red crayon. This is a tragedy! How will he ever achieve greatness? Trailed by by Little Cat (who doesn't speak), he has idea after idea, but nothing will work for his grand project. Just when he has some inspirtion, Little Cat runs off with the crayon. Not only that, but he eats it! Ingesting it is not a great idea, and before long, Little Cat has a "technicolor yawn" all over a piece of paper. Now Big Cat has no chances to be creative... or does he. Using the paper, he creates a self portrait of the two, complete with hearts.

Oh, the thrill of a new box of crayons, and the disappointment when they are damaged! Young readers will empathize with Big Cat's desire to do something fantastic, and his annoyance at Little Cat getting in his way. While I can just envision the parents' reaction to being presented with a cat yak magnum opus ("You want me to hang this... on the refrigerator? Near FOOD?"), this is a giggle worthy inclusion, and much more interesting that the drawings of dinosaurs and volcanos.

The digitally created drawings are reminiscent of Carle's tissue paper collage style, but there are some crayoned creations as well. The shapes are bold and simple, and the expressions on the cats' faces are amusing. The hand lettered style font is clear and crisp, and there's just enough text on each page to make this a quick read aloud.

This would make a great gift for an older sibling along with books about drawing and the creative process like Art’s Supplies by Tougas or I Am An Artist by Altés. Of course, a fresh new box of crayons never hurts, or an activity like Smit's The Kids' Book of Craft Love, which is meant to be cut up. That would be a book that Big Cat would definitely want to keep away from Little Cat!

Antczak, Kasia and Fryza, Kasia (illustrator)

Please Look After This Cat: A Guide to Taking Care of Me

October 7, 2025 by Post Wave

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Dot the cat wants readers to know all about taking care of their feline friends, and guides readers through what cats' needs are. Starting with an introduction about how the book is set up, Dot proceeds to offer a page from the cat's perspective, with information for humans on the facing page. Topics include not only what to feed cats, but how to present the food, as well as the importance of running water. I didn't know that cats preferred water this way, since their ancestors knew that still water could have germs! Cats also need fresh air, litter boxes, and in some instances, walks, and there are great details about how to best handle all of these situations. Pages also include information about grooming cats, what to do if one isn't feeling well, how to handle more than one cat, and how to provide high perches for cats to use. The last set of pages addresses the needs of older cats, which includes more frequent visits to the vet, more rest, and of course, more quality time with their humans!

Starting with bright end papers illustrated by four-year-old Wiki, the pictures are informative and amusing. There are interesting color combinations, like yellow, green, and purple, and the small insets under "How You Can Help" offer a lot of detail. The use of shapes to highlight information is helpful, and the black lines make things nice and clear. The main text is large enough and short enough for reading aloud, and more detailed information is set in a smaller font. 

Being able to look after a pet independently is often an expectation parents want met before a pet is adopted, but there are few picture books that delineate exactly what needs to be done. As a dog person, I certainly learned a lot about the different needs that cats have, and gained some insight into their personalities as well. Pair this with Sekaninova and Wolf's Cats Are Great BUT (It's Great to Have a Pet) for all the details about how to welcome a cat to your household. 

Cousins

Lavoie, Laura and Leal, Luisa (illus.) Cousins

May 27, 2025 by Roaring Brook Press

Copy provided by the publisher

Ella is very excited to go to her Grandma June's house so that she can see her family, including her six cousins, who range in age from a toddler to a preteens. The children play dress, have a baseball game, get caught in the rain and dry off for dinner, and make a plea to their grandmother to have a cousins' sleepover. Grandma June gives in, of course, and the parents help the children settle into sleeping bags on the living room floor for the night. There are spooky stories and late night snacks before the cousins finally fall asleep after their day of togetherness. 

As someone who has 38 cousins but never had a sleepover with them, this was great fun to read. Ella is lucky that her cousins are all about her age, and that Grandma June is young enough to take care of all of them! The families are depicted as somewhat diverse; some members have slightly darker skin, although there is no cultural identification. It's good to see that the family members are all close, and also to see that the children make an effort to be "extra good" so that they will be allowed to have a sleepover, although it is implied that this was the plan all along. 

I loved that the children were all close in age and were amenable to playing the same imaginative games, even including the littlest cousins. They also help out with clean up and get along well, although there is a little tiff about the best kind of pie. (According to my Uncle Chuck, this was cherry, but I maintained my allegiance to apple!) I loved that Ella cleaned up the mess her cousins made with the Mississippi mud pie, and that the two ended up sharing. 

Whether you come from a large brood or just wish that you were part of one, it's fun to read about the antics of family get togethers. This title is closely related to Madhani's Eli and the Uncles, del Mazo and Alvarez's Cousins, LaRocca's Mauntie and Me or Summer is for Cousins, or the extended family portrayed in Lucido and Demirag's Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta. 
 

MMGM- Picture Book December!

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

For reasons I don't understand, very few middle grade books are published in December, which leaves me scrambling to keep up my one-book-every-day streak that I started in January of 2012. I've been reviewing more picture books for Young Adult Books Central, in order to build a library for my grandson, but don't post them here. I'll post middle grade books if there are any published, but it's May 5 now, and few are out there. Take a look at these titles that would make great gifts for young readers! 

Willan, Alex. Piece Out
May 20, 2025 by Astra Young Readers
Copy provided by the publisher

When the red piece from the Kaflooble game gets knocked off the table on family game night, he waits for someone to pick him up. Instead, he finds himself fleeing from a loud and hungry robot, and ends up under the sofa with other missing toys. They offer him refuge, but he is determined to make his way back to his best friend, Yellow. Slowly making his way across obstacles on the ground, he encounters Lady Flufferton, a poodle, and decides it would be safer to travel the higher ground. After a perilous trip through the fish tank, he arrives at the bottom of the game shelf and sees his box, only to be whisked away and thrown in the junk drawer. Still determined, he organizes supplies and makes his way back, where he tells his friends about his adventures. When Yellow goes missing, Red is prepared to go and save his friend. 

The digitally rendered illustrations are clear and bright, and show ordinary household objects from the view point of Red, which is charming and had a similar vibe to Mary Norton's classic The Borrowers, especially with the paperclip mountain climbing equipment. I also enjoyed the map at the front of the book that labeled things like "cascading cliffs" (stairs) and "swishy washers" (washer and dryer). 

This also had a good message about perseverance, even if I found it a little hard to believe that someone would have found a game piece right in front of the boxes and not returned it. The junk drawer was a fun place to visit, though, and the one depicted looked pretty much like mine! 

I like the idea of an adventure starring toys, but the books I'm familiar with usually involved stuffed animals, which makes sense. Red's journey will be a great read for imaginative children who wonder about the sentient quality of their toys and who enjoyed Deacon's While You are Sleeping or Jenkins' and Zelinsky's Toys Go Out.

Greenwald, Tommy, Greenwald, Charlie, and Pate, Shihoh.
Three Wishes (The Rescues #3)
September 9, 2025 by Red Comet Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

After their adventures in Finding Home and Best Day Ever, Moose and Bear, two rescue dogs, and their cat friend Tiger, return for three more stories for emergent readers. In the first, they invite their friend Wolf for a play date. The dogs very much enjoy a game called Jumping on Top of Each Other, but since Tiger isn't as strong as the dogs, he doesn't enjoy it quite as much. When a favorite toy is in danger, however, Tiger proves that you don't necessarily have to be strong in order to make a difference. In the next story, Mailman Joe is replaced by Mailman Jack. Bear is devastated, since Joe is a favorite who always stops to give Bear treats and attention. Eventually, Bear brings Jack a bone to try to win his friendship. Bear is relieved when Jack lets him keep the bone but does share some treats. In the final adventure, the rescues' owner, Cathy, is having a quiet morning of resting. The trio want to play, and Moose manages to crash the cat tower by jumping on it. He wishes he were smaller, but Bear and Tiger manage to convince him that he is perfect just the way he is. In the end, all three pets are happy with themselves, and are glad to be together with Cathy. 

While these books are a little larger than classic I Can Read books, they have a very similar feeling. For some reason, Pate's illustrations remind me especially of Crosby Bonsall's titles like Who's a Pest? Using animals to show young readers how to be happy with the way they are is a good ploy, especially when the animals are as cute as Tiger, Moose, and Bear! 

Having adopted several rescue dogs, I'm a big fan on shining a positive light on this practice. Each of the  animals has some challenges, as many rescues do, but are so happy to be with their loving owner. They are living their best lives as they play in the yard, have friends over, and spend time inside in their cozy house. The colors in this are very happy, and it was also a good idea to have each of the pets be a different hue, so that they are easy to tell apart when they are all in a cuddle puddle! 

Series are always a comforting way to practice reading skills, and The Rescues will be hugely popular with fans of Rylant's Ready To Read Henry and Mudge books, Butler's Kayla and King mysteries, and Dotich and Alley's Peanut and Pearl adventures.

The Better to Eat You With

Meija, Tehlor Kay. The Better to Eat You With
September 23, 2025 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

N.B. Although this looks like a horror book similar to this author's It Happened to Anna, it is primarily about Evan's eating disorder. 

Evan is looking forward to spending the summer at Sonrisa, as her family usually does, but this year is a bit different. Her parents, who have been bickering for the past year, have decided not to rent their cabin, but have at least agreed that Evan can stay with her friend Billie and her parents. The two girls are also friends with Jackson, and hang out with a boy, Tanner, whose family rent's the cabin that Evan's family usually did. Evan is very upset about her parents, and also about her mother's constant admonitions to eat healthily. She follows fitness influencers and wants Evan to hike, do yoga, and run while eating no fat, carbs, gluten, etc. When Evan loses weight, her mother is overjoyed. Evan is relieved that she will be able to eat at Billie's, and at first, she listens to the voice in her head that tells her what her body needs. After she eats some pancakes, however, she panicks, throws them up, and vows to remain true to the strictures her mother has imposed. She eats the almonds out of the trail mix and subsists on berries and cucumbers to the point where she almost passed out while swimming and needs to be rescued by Tanner. The lakeside community seems to have a bear problem, as the children have seen many places that have been viciously clawed by a creature. Evan wants to find out what is going on, but the adults seem unconcerned. After a goose is killed on the beach in a particularly bloody way, the adults tell them to be careful, but in the area where the goose blood was, a batch of sand flies attack Evan and her friends. No explanation can be found, and Tanner's family eventually leaves. Even though she is so weak that it's hard to get out of bed, Evan decides that it is up to the kids to find out what is going on. They go out into the woods at night to investigate, and when Evan insists that they go off the path into the woods, she blacks out. When she wakes up, Jackson has been attacked, needs stitches, and is taken back home by his family. Evan is shaken, and confides in Billie about her mother's orthorexia, and the toll it has taken on her. Billie, who is homeschooled and has had lessons on intuitive, healthy eating, does a great job of helping her friend listen to her body and eat what she needs to fuel it. Of course, they don't bring this matter to the attention of any adults. Evan does well until she realizes that she can't see her clavicle because she's gained weight, and when her mother Moira calls to say that she and the father are separating and Evan will be going back home at the end of the week, Evan returns to eating barely enough to keep her alive. When Moira arrives to pick up Evan, Sue has a frank discussion with all four of them, but Moira is insistent. Evan runs out into a storm and meets the monster that she has seen. Will she be able to come to terms with her hunger, the needs of her body, and her parents' separation while getting the help she needs to become healthy again? 

Strengths: There is a great quote (in the E ARC; I will have to check a finished copy) that says "What's the point of listening to your body when you're not in control of what happens to you?" This is the reason behind anorexia-- control. Evan's mother has her own body issues that are not explored, and certainly what she is expecting of Evan is unreasonable. It was realistic that Evan was able to hide her problems from Sue and Billie for quite some time. When Evan confides in her friend, Billie is very helpful and supportive, and when she fears for Evan's health, she does tell her mother even though she promised not to. I really enjoyed the summer at the lake setting; it got Evan's parents out of the picture without killing either of them. The separation scenario is much more common, and propels Evan's situation in a disastrous way. There is an author's note at the end about eating disorders that also discusses how literature generally portrays people who suffer from these without much diversity. 
Weaknesses: The cover definitely looks like a horror title, but aside from a few moments, this is not really a scary story. Including internet links to resources at the end of the book would not be a bad idea. 
What I really think: There is always a need for books about eating disorders and body positivity, since titles like Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World (1978), Anderson's Wintergirls (2009), Barson's 45 Pounds More or Less (2013), and Letting Ana Go (2014) are constantly going to become dated. While this did have some very good information about eating habits, the inclusion of horror elements might make take hand selling to find the right reader. 

Winging It: A Graphic Novel

Lloyd, Megan Wagner and Nutter, Michelle Mee. Winging It

October 21, 2025 by Graphix

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Luna, whose mother died when she was a baby,  lives in California with her father. She's planning a girls' trip to Los Angeles with her good friends Gabriella and Mia, but her father breaks bad news to her: because of his job, he is being transferred to the Washington, D.C. area, and the two are going to be staying with her mother's mother, whom Luna has only seen once a year and doesn't feel a connection to at all. She has to start 7th grade in a new school, but does join the school nature club, since her mother was an outdoorsy person. Luna is not, but once her grandmother gives her her mother's nature journals, Luna starts one of her own, and spends more time outside. It helps that neighbors Sophie and Oliver are out a lot, and the club introduces her to some of the parks and museums in the area. It's not easy to get along with her grandmother, who has lots of rules about not leaving back packs on the floor and taking off shoes, and has two cats and a dog who are not particularly friendly. Eventually, however, the two work on their connection. When Luna and her father plan a camping trip so that she can try to see a Luna moth in the forest, her father has a work commitment, so her grandmother steps in. Will Luna be able to see a Luna moth, and make peace with her new life in the DC area?
Strengths: Lloyd and Nutter's Allergic and Squished are super popular in my library because they deal with dogs and big families, respectively. The illustration style is similar to Raina Telgemeier's or Gale Galligan's in that it is bright, with clear, realistic cartoon style characters and well developed backgrounds. There is a realistic amount of drama; Luna misses her friends, wants to know more about the mother she never met, and wonders why she doesn't have a closer relationship with her grandmother. She doesn't have a particularly hard time at her new school, but does miss her friends. This will be a nice, light read for fans of graphic novels. 
Weaknesses: It wasn't really necessary to kill the mother off in order for Luna to bond with her grandmother. I'm all for keeping middle grade parents alive and annoying. 
What I really think: My students started asking for this the minute it showed up on the library cataglo, even though it wasn't processed yet. I liked Allergic and Squished a bit more; I wanted some more tension in the plot. 

Mlynowski, Sarah and Crandall, Bethany(Illustrator).
If the Shoe Fits: The Graphic Novel Whatever After Graphic Novels #2
November 4, 2025 by Graphix
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Abby and Jonah have just come back from the story of Snow White, and don't really believe that the fairy Maryrose will transport them through the mirror again, but want to try. Abby even stays in her pajamas, hoping that this will make sure they travel somewhere exciting! She's right, and the two end up in the kingdom of Floom at the ball thrown by Queen Clarissa for Prince Jordan. They quickly figure out that this is the story of Cinderella, and follow her out of the castle at midnight. They think that things are okay, and just want to go home, but none of the mirrors in the castle worked. They ask Cinderella is they can try the mirrors in her house, but she is afraid that her stepmother, Betty, or her evil stepsisters, Kayla and Beatrice, will be angry. There's the typical drama about the prince wanting to marry someone, and a series of mishaps results in Cinderella's foot swelling up AND the remaining glass slipper being broken, so she dispairs of getting Prince Jordan to marry her. The three call on her fairy godmother, Farrah, who isn't willing to help! Farrah doesn't think that Cinderella should put all of her hopes on marrying, but should instead learn self-reliance. She agrees to help only if Cinderella can show she can stand on her own two feet and take care of herself, so that she can be an equal partner in marriage. Abby and Jonah help her make dinner for her family and introduce her to brownies, suggesting that maybe Cinderella can sell these at the market. Sales take off, and Cinderella meets Farrah's criteria for getting help, but Betty steals Farrah's wand and turns everyone into mice just as the prince is about to come to the house. She makes it so that Beatrice foot fits the slipper, and the prince asks her to marry him. Luckily, the spell is broken, and everything is explained. Jordan asks Cinderella to marry him, but she decides she likes being on her own, so Kayla agrees to marry him instead. Happy with how things have turned out, Farrah helps send Abby and Jonah back home to await further adventures with Maryrose. 

Since I was never too happy with the Cinderella story myself (the version I told my daughters ended with Cinderella attending graduate school instead of marrying the prince), I loved this twist on the tale that includes a lesson in self-reliance. It was great that Abby and Jonah looked up apartment lists in Floom and used that as a basis for how much money Cinderella needed to make to move out on her own. I didn't feel bad at all that Kayla wanted to marry the prince, since the two did seem to share a connection, and Kayla had recently seen the error of her ways in being mean to Cinderella. 

Crandall's illustrations are quite fun, and have a tiny bit of an anime feel around the character's eyes. Some of the jokes make more sense with illustrations; we can see that Abby's pajamas match the flag of Floom, and we can see everyone turned into very Disney-esque mice! They also are reminiscent of the covers of the original novels. 

Fractured fairy tales that include a modern twist are always popular, and since the Whatever After series just recently wrapped up with volume 17, Mirror Mirror, these graphic novel adaptations are a good way to get a new generation of readers interested. Hand this to fans of E.D. Baker's The Frog Princess or Gail Carson Levine's Cinderellis and the Glass Hill.