Growing up in Budapest, Erno˝ Rubik (b. 1944) was a studious kid with a passion for puzzles, patterns, and playing with geometric shapes. “Tangrams, pentominoes, and pentacubes helped him imagine all the possibilities,” writes debut author Aradhya in a brisk, reportorial style. As an adult teacher who’d studied art and architecture, he developed three-dimensional models to use as classroom aids and wondered about building “a big cube out of smaller cubes that moved around each other and stayed connected.” Following the puzzle-like creation of what would become the Rubik’s Cube, Kramer uses sketch-like mixed-media images to break down the process, vividly capturing the serendipity, setbacks, and grit that eventually get Rubik to “twenty-six little cubes and one round mechanical core.” Even readers who find the invention more maddening than “magic” should be captivated by this tale of imagination, tenacity, and a global phenomenon that’s still going strong. More information and an author’s note conclude. Ages 4–8. (June)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

When two apprentice boat makers in a coastal town dream of “sailing across the sea together,” their partnership amplifies their individual strengths. “Van moved from project to project, always trying something new. Minh wanted things to be perfect.” After graduation, the two open individual boat-making businesses. Vo’s digitally finished pencil and ink illustrations contrast each character’s less-than-stellar experiences: Van’s boats are innovative but impractical (a pirate rowboat promptly sinks with its client on board), while Minh is stalled by perfectionism (intensive labors result in a single tiny block). The story resolves in classic buddy-film style, with the epiphany that collaboration doesn’t mean losing individuality and the realization of their long-ago dream. Powerful partnership prevails—even when humans do their best to ignore it—in this can-do picture book. Characters read as Southeast Asian. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

This contextualizing origin story of one of the most successful toys of all time doubles as the biography of Filipino entrepreneur Pedro Flores (1896–1964). Born during Spain’s rule of the Philippines, Flores immigrated to the United States at 15 after the country was sold to the U.S. Arriving in Honolulu, he labored in pineapple fields, then took work on steamships, before heading to high school years later. Working as a bellhop in Santa Barbara, he “felt no better off than when he left the Philippines,” Peñas writes. To entertain the child of a family he stayed with, he carved a wooden yo-yo, a version of a childhood toy he’d played with back home, and taught the boy tricks. Word spread, and Flores soon opened one factory, then more, to manufacture yo-yos. Angel’s uneven digital illustrations capture experiences of colonialism and labor alongside the joy of a new toy in this well-researched picture book affirming ingenuity and perseverance. An author’s note and more concludes. Ages 4–7. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Polished illustrations by Italian artist Bruno draw immediate attention in this bicycle history. Digitally colored pencil drawings of 19th-century city scenes supply historical context, while images of the early machines make it easier to understand how novel the contraptions were amid horse-and-carriage transport. Nelson’s sometimes shaky verse introduces the iterations, including an early pedal-less velocipede from Germany, upon which riders sat, steered, and hoped for the best (“Laws were written and hastily passed/ No velocipedes on the walking paths!”), and a brake-less version that arrived from France. Not until the appearance of brakes, rubber tires, spokes, and other features in the 1890s did bicycles become affordable and popular, including with women riders, who “were off with a zoom/ in split skirts and high boots and bold pantaloons.” The book, like the bicycle, moves briskly along, tracing a path from luxury item to mode of transportation for the masses. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. More information about bicycles concludes. Ages 6–9. (June)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

In 1816, the “year without a summer,” ash from a distant volcanic explosion renders the sky dark and cold, “from Beijing to Brussels, Naples to New York.” Digitally finished multimedia spreads in singed blacks and flame reds signal the effect. Snow appears in July, food is scarce, and horses—the only form of nonhuman transportation—languish. Negley recreates the birth of the running machine, the ancestor of the modern bicycle, as a young German forester named Karl Drais (1785–1851) ponders human-powered travel. An accident that sends two cart wheels spinning in line inspires the inventor, who adds axles and a wooden beam. Explanatory prose describes Drais assembling the parts (“He added handlebars for steering, like reins”). Taken for a public test run, the running machine works. And its success means not just an invention in this tale of ingenuity and persistence, but “wonder in the world again.” Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note cites invented story elements. Ages 4–8. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Lisa Varchol Perron (My Love for You) and debut author Taylor Perron, a married team, survey common rock types, while art by Scheirer (Seashells of New England) features children of various abilities and skin tones finding rocks along a coastal path as well as in a city park, a backyard, a desertscape, and elsewhere. Each rock type gets its own spread and its own quatrain as those including shale, pumice, and limestone with embedded fossils are introduced in tight, primer-like verse: “Rocks are everywhere we look—strewn along the shore,/ nestled in the sidewalk cracks,/ and on the forest floor.” In one spread, about chert, text appears on the verso: “Rocks are good for gathering./ I hunt until I find/ a pocketful of river stones—/ rounded, smooth, and lined.” The rock’s name appears below with a close-up view of its stones and pebbles. On the recto, two children with brown skin and straight black hair wade as a cutaway view shows the rocky river bottom in which chert can be found. Featuring naturalistic portrayals of rocks alongside stylized, spare images of humans interacting with the natural world, it’s a true beginner’s guide for young rock hounds. Back matter offers more about each rock type introduced. Ages 3–6. Authors’ agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Three teens embrace their differences and unite to fight evil in this high-octane foray into the demon-slayer-comics meta by Morris (Out on a Limb) and McCurdy (Specter Inspectors). It’s the 1990s in Orange County, Calif., and Kay Radford reluctantly joins the youth group of her newly divorced mother’s evangelical church. Soon after, Kay unexpectedly stumbles upon youth group leaders Meg and Cortland exorcizing a demon from Cortland’s roommate. They enlist Kay in their exorcist cohort, to which she contributes her abilities as a Blight—a human who can’t be possessed by demons. As paranormal activity increases, Kay’s crew seeks strength in numbers, recruiting Jewish, Wiccan, and Catholic demon-fighting teams to work together against the creatures: “Anyone of any faith is invited as long as they love kicking demon butts.” McCurdy’s artwork nods to the fashion, music, and pop culture of the decade; saturated colors enrich the mood, especially during demon-fighting sequences, while layered panels enhance the feeling of movement. When these teens aren’t fighting monsters, they’re combatting adult-imposed barriers, flourishing when the unity of their righteous purpose trumps tired societal norms in this fast-paced adventure. Main characters read as white. Ages 14–up. Author’s agent: Dara Hyde, Hill Nadell Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Tamara Kawar, DeFiore & Co. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

The ghost population of the Victorian town of Rookwood is in crisis: Death’s Door is locked, and even ghosts who have found peace can’t cross over to their final resting place. Mild-mannered Dorian— a “ghost specialist” whose exorcisms resemble meditation sessions between the specter and its host—discovers that the key is attached to ghost child Lucy. Dorian sets out to reopen Death’s Door and save the suffering spirits, but the work takes a toll on him and on his fledgling romance with his flatmate Brody. While the ghosts demand a cure for their rot, an infection that’s begun sprouting from their transparent blue bodies, human Rookwood citizens tire of the unruly specters and turn to plague mask-wearing exorcists, who use a chemical to reduce ghosts to a sticky bog. Gentle, contemporary depictions of managing one’s own mental health and setting boundaries are woven throughout a warmly erudite graphic novel debut that’s rich with engaging lore. Taylor’s lush illustrations portray a visually diverse community that populates an imaginative world teeming with cozy bookshops, ghost cats, and glowing banshees, among other paranormal delights. Ages 12–up. Agent: Laurel Symonds, KT Literary. (July)

Correction: A previous version of this review misstated the work's setting.

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

When Nell was young, she was visited nightly by a shadow figure that disappeared as she got older. But the figure reappears following a traumatic event that Nell doesn’t remember—and she doesn’t want to. Her friend Harper, whom she’s growing apart from, and Harper’s older brother Harry invite Nell to join them and mutual friend Dia on a private Florida island vacation—a getaway seemingly much improved by the budding affection between Nell and the cute island caretaker, Tris. But when Harper’s antagonistic boyfriend Gavin and his friend Christopher arrive suddenly, things devolve, and any chance of a good time is thoroughly dashed when a mysterious and toxic haze encompasses the island and blocks off all the exits. As the haze advances and Nell’s friends can suddenly see the shadow figure too, the group must navigate rapidly changing interpersonal dynamics as they determine the magic that’s keeping them trapped on the island. An overly familiar resolution somewhat dampens the wildly original plot. Baguchinsky (Mammoth) nevertheless attentively explores issues surrounding sexism and sexual violence, delivering plentiful emotional highs set amid haunting atmosphere. Protagonists are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Eric Smith, PS Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

All media is subject to despotic censorship, and any “anti-American thought” is banned in this 1991-set supernatural alternate history by Lariviere (Time Travel for Love and Profit). “Being dead is exactly like living in the Midwest,” remarks snarky, recently murdered 18-year-old Max Bowl. But his soul still lingers, his consciousness linked to that of his best friend Giselle “Gigi” Durant. Past events portraying Max’s life leading up to his death are depicted alongside Gigi’s experiences in the present, in which she has reunited her former cohort of Champaign, Ill., thespians to mourn both Max and the recent death by suicide of their beloved teacher, Ms. Lee. Dodging political party informers, checkpoints, and raids, the students risk their lives by channeling Ms. Lee’s rebellious attitude (“I’m doing it because they told me I can’t”) to stage an illegal “punk rock Shakespeare” version of Henry VI. While Max’s presence in Gigi’s life sometimes feels voyeuristic, as when he witnesses her first sexual encounter, tension zings throughout the twined plots, making for an unabashed profession of the importance of art in a tale both gritty and timely. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink