Starred Reviews

Willow is shy. VERY shy. Her home is in an abandoned mailbox, and she'd rather stay put. Outside kids scream and soccer balls collide, trees look like monsters, and rain is noisy in a scary kind of way. It's much...

In this #OwnVoices book inspired by the author’s hometown of Chennai, India, a girl explores the vibrant rainbow of delights in a southern Indian street market as she searches for a gift for her amma (mother). Educational endnotes explain all...

Cece Bell loves music and collecting old record albums, her introduction explains, especially albums featuring animal artists. The bouncing harmonies of the Barbershop Beagles, the elegant crooning of the elephant Ella Fontaine, the hilarious rhymes of the Hip-Hop Hedgehogs—all are...

New York Times bestselling author Joanna Ho, of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, creates a meaningful and diverse picture book about how names define us. Names reveal generational ties and histories, weaving an intricate tale of the past. Names—and...

This simple, poignant fable—featuring Caldecott medalist Jerry Pinkney’s final illustrations and completed after his death by his son, Brian Pinkney—reminds us that, like the first drop of water thrown onto a raging fire, we all have the power to change...

Nicky is a shy girl who feels most at home in the safe space of her school library, but the library closes for a week and Nicky is forced to face her social anxiety. When she meets a group of...

Forced to take shelter when their Syrian city is plagued with bombings, young Nour and her cousin begin to bravely build a secret underground library. Based on the author’s own life experience and inspired by a true story, Nour’s Secret...

A breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world. Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The...

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and the luminaries he inspired. Back in the day, there was a heckuva...

Tie on your apron! Roll up your sleeves! Pans are out, oven is hot, the kitchen’s all ready! Where do we start? In this lively, rousing picture book from Caldecott Honoree Jillian Tamaki, a crew of resourceful neighbors comes together...

Trucky Roads sees all kinds of trucks, and when he imagines the kinds of trucks that could be, there is no stopping him. From a cloud roller to a comet mixer, the sky is the limit when you dream!

A sneaky snake has no idea that the captives in his belly are planning their escape! In the spirit of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback, the reader sees a cutaway of the snake's...

When a girl is asked where she’s from—where she’s really from—none of her answers seems to be the right one. Unsure about how to reply, she turns to her loving abuelo for help. He doesn’t give her the response she...

Aboard the S.S. Cliff, First Mate Foxy reads an interesting fact: “Lemmings don’t jump off cliffs.” But Foxy can’t get the lemmings on the Cliff to read his book, too. They’re too busy jumping off. After a chilly third rescue,...

Whether you're settling in for a heaping plate of banana pudding or arepas and tostones, a good meal can always bring families together. Elizabeth Lilly's tale of a joyous road trip, drawn from her own experience, is illustrated with quirky...

Max is a cat. He attacks. From socks to strings to many a fish, attacking, for Max, is most delish. But how many of these things can he actually catch? Well, let’s just say it’s no even match. *Book cover...

Celebrate the holidays with twelve adorable cats—and one kitten—with this festive feline take on the classic carol The Twelve Days of Christmas! On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave me cats: FOUR on the gifts, THREE dressed...

From Yamile Saied Méndez, acclaimed author of Where Are You From?, comes a stunning lyrical picture book that tells the story of one girl who is always asked a simple question: What will you be when you grow up? “Méndez...

Hilarity ensues when siblings set out to build a simple dam. Siblings May, Lily, and Noah build a dam. Stone by stone, their dam grows higher and higher, until their creation attracts the attention of fishermen, pirates, and even the...

Visiting the city from her home in the suburbs, an African American girl sees how a few packets of seeds, some helping hands, and hard work transform an empty lot in a housing project into a magical place where vegetables...

From beloved African American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston comes a moving adaptation by National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Antiracist Baby, Ibram X. Kendi. Magnolia Flower follows a young Afro Indigenous girl who longs for freedom...

A tender, beautifully illustrated story about a girl in America and her grandmother in India, whose love stretches between languages and cultures—and across the world. When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences...

Orangutans are under threat from deforestation and climate change. How can people help? Through leveled text and crisp photos, this title tells readers about the threats that orangutans face and ways that humans are trying to help them survive. Special...

At the start of things, the elders say, the universe was hushed and still. The moon alone shone bright and round in the star-speckled dark of the sky. David Alvarez is one of the most extraordinary artists working today. His...

What’s on the other side of the forest? A young rabbit and his father are determined to find out in this modern picture book that feels like a classic, calling to mind the tender work of Beatrix Potter. Some say...

Based on a true story, the author humorously recounts the time his grandfather got stranded with a friend on Surtsey, a brand new volcanic island in Iceland. The adventurers face epic challenges like molten lava, melted eyeglasses and scant supplies...