The Great Escape by Deborah Marcero

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Evie believes in all things magic, but she has no power to tame her pesky and wild younger siblings. Everywhere Evie went, the wild bunch followed and she could not escape. After they follow her outside, Evie decides to show them a magic trick. With the help of her wand, a deep snowdrift and some magic words, Evie is plunged into a magical upside down world filled with sea creatures and the stars. Her siblings follow and they set off on an adventure. When Evie and her siblings venture into the upside down world, readers must turn the book around to continue reading.

The story is imaginative and inventive. The watercolor illustrations lend a soft, magical quality to the story.

Earth Rover by Taylor Woolley

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Rover, an adorable dog, really wants to join his astronaut owner in space. This story is written as a letter to NASA from Rover outlining why he would be a great choice as the next Lunar Rover and why he wants to go to space. He is self-driving, does not tip over and get stuck, and is naturally photogenic.

This is a very cute, whimsical story written from the dog’s perspective about space travel. This book could be useful to teach persuasive writing. The back matter includes information on moon exploration, rovers, and traveling to the moon.

Best Buds by Becky Scharnhorst

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Spencer moves to a new town and instantly makes a friend and then more friends. His friends are just not the type that the adults in his life expect. Spencer’s friends are plants. The adults around him asks if he would like friends that are more human, but Spencer is content with his friends. One day while visiting his friend Eugene (an oak tree), Spencer sees someone else at the tree. Will this be another friendship for Spencer?

A sweet book about friendship and being true to yourself. The illustrations are colorful and feature diverse characters and a wide variety of plants.

I Will Not Walk to School by Naseem Hrab

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Monster loves school, but hates the commute. When bird wakes them up and tells them it is time to walk to school, Monster stalls. Even though it is pineapple, pepperoni pancake day, Monster is slow to get to school. Monster has to go back in to get one more thing, hop, skip, stop to smell the roses. Will Monster ever arrive at school?

This story is told through dialog and speech bubbles with a lot of alliteration. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. It is a humorous story about procrastination and the struggle of getting out of the house. I wasn’t sure where the story was going at the beginning and was a bit frustrated with Monster and the delays and that the friends brought things for the breakfast, but Monster did not. This would be an additional purchase for me.

King of the Neuro Verse

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High school senior Pernell has a lot on his mind—scratch that, he has the whole world at 3x the speed on his mind, constantly, and has his whole life. And for the third summer in a row, now 1999, Pernell is back in summer school to get his English credit. But this time is going to be different. He aspires to be Cyper King, the best freestyle rapper at the school. His brain is on fire with words and rhymes, which should make any summer school teacher excited to teach him, except Ms. Harding, the teacher who failed him the first three times. Luckily, Pernell has support. His friend, Electra, and his parents are exactly the safety net he needs as he takes two steps forward and one step back multiple times in this six-week course. Told in a “neuro” mix of script-like dialogue, free verse, and rap, Idris Goodwin flexes his own literary prowess with humorous 90’s throwbacks and deft name-drops to present a young man who is smart, witty, and learning that his brain is just fine–he just needs a few supports. The only drawback is the portrayal of the English teacher. Maybe since this is set in the 1990’s, there can be grace, but teachers today would not act as she did. This author had hoped for a better restoration of the relationship and feels it paints all teachers in the same light. Couldn’t there have been at least one positive interaction with the English teacher or any other summer school or regular teacher, just one? The cover art is amazing, and it will be a quick pick for many readers at both the middle and high school levels.

12 Little Elves Save Christmas by Stephanie Campisi

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12 Little Elves Save Christmas is a fantastic rhyming holiday book about twelve elves who travel around the world saving Christmas. Each two-page spread has four rhyming lines that introduce a Christmas tradition from a different country that the elves help repair or make happen. It doesn’t teach a great deal about each tradition but instead offers a quick glimpse into one custom from each country. The back of the book includes additional information about every tradition featured, making it a great jumping-off point for learning more. The rhyme scheme is consistent and helps with the pronunciation of some unfamiliar words when reading aloud, and I can see kids picking out their favorite adorable elf and watching to see what they’re doing on each page. This is the perfect title for any classroom or home discussing “Christmas Around the World,” and I’m thrilled to be able to add this title to my library.

Bollywood Beat! by Anita Yasuda

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Bollywood Beat is a brightly illustrated story of two sisters preparing for a dance recital. It’s told through a series of onomatopoeias and two-word phrases that capture the motion and emotion of the busy celebration. Young readers will be drawn to the joyful illustrations, and this title is a great option for pre-readers, as the entirety of the story can be understood through the vibrant artwork. There are a few key words explained in the back, making this a great story for caregivers to read with younger children as well. This would be a hit with preschool and kindergarten-aged kids.

Forty the Fortune Teller by Drew Daywalt

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Fans of The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors rejoice! Drew Daywalt is back with another crowd-pleasingly strange epic journey. This one follows a discarded fortune teller and a partially eaten chip as they set off on a heroic quest. This book is an incredibly fun read-aloud (particularly if you enjoy doing voices), and I can attest to the joyful bafflement you’ll see on kids’ faces as some of the ridiculous fortunes come true. The illustrations feel reminiscent of Adam Rex’s in The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, but Kevin Cornell brings his own style that makes this feel like a related yet unique story. This book will not only have kids cracking up, but it also offers a valuable lesson about courage and resilience. As a bonus, the endpapers include instructions for making your own fortune teller, so there’s a built-in activity to go along with this incredibly entertaining book.

Cities Through Time Book Series

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The Cities Through Time series offers a glimpse at key moments in different cities’ history. The text features in these books are perfect for beginning readers or for a teacher/caregiver looking to introduce features of nonfiction texts. Each book begins with three goals for the child as they read. The table of contents then clearly outlines the topics in the book, and each two-page spread features bright illustrations and a variety of labels, bolded words that can be found in the glossary, and even “Jimmy Says” features that allow the books’ guide, Blastoff Jimmy, to share facts or offer comprehension support throughout.

A timeline, glossary, and index, along with post-reading questions and ideas for where to learn more, round out the features of this series. This is a great introduction to timelines and key moments in history, though, of course, the length and target audience of these books leave gaps in discussions about colonialism and key events that might be difficult for young children to understand without more historical and cultural context. Still, this is an excellent series for young learners to learn a bit about history, geography, and a lot about nonfiction text features.

Pool Party by Amy Hevron

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Pool Party!

The fourth book in the Tiny Habitats series is every bit as adorable and informative as the previous three. Pool Party begins with rainfall in the rainforest collecting in the leaves of a bromeliad, creating a tiny pool of water. It follows the happenings in that small pool and the many creatures that make use of the habitat. The book traces the pool through the rainy season, into the dry season, and finally to the beginning of the next rainy season. The animals are adorably illustrated, and kids will love the speech bubbles filled with clever puns. They’ll also learn a great deal about the rainforest and the diversity of life there, with additional information about bromeliad pools included in the backmatter. This is a great title for any elementary library.