Contemporary Charleston, S.C., provides the backdrop for this cunning mystery by Tubb (Luna Howls at the Moon), in which a grieving tween’s often laugh-aloud misadventures in detective work bring her estranged family closer together. Chloe Alvarez is left reeling by her beloved uncle Will’s sudden death from a genetic disease. Inheriting his female African gray parrot, named Charlie, provides welcome distraction and joy, especially as Chloe has been harboring feelings of anger and betrayal toward Uncle Will, who shut her out of his life as his health was failing. But when Charlie begins spouting phrases such as “it was murder,” “homicide detective,” and “cyanide!” Chloe uses the skills she learned from her Grammy’s true crime podcasts to initiate a murder investigation. A growing suspect list soon includes her wealthy uncle Frank, Will’s knife-wielding barista ex-girlfriend, and whomever drives the mysterious yellow Prius that keeps following Chloe around town. Throughout, Chloe processes her grief by recording video journals about her memories of Uncle Will and expressing herself via painting. Typical genre tropes are subverted in delightful ways; rather than solve this harrowing mystery alone, Chloe leans on her family (and Charlie), who tirelessly support her sleuthing antics. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 8–12. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

As the son of a grifter, 12-year-old Trey has his con artist routine down to a science: enroll in a new school, make friends, introduce his father to his friends’ wealthy parents, and get out before their targets realize they’ve been scammed. Their current ploy involves selling shares in a fake electric car company, and this time, Trey’s dad is finally bringing him in as a full-time partner, an arrangement which aggravates Trey’s ambitious younger sister. Now attending Boxelder Middle School in Tennessee, Trey is excited to help his father make what could be their “Big Score.” But Trey’s new friends, including socially conscious Kaylee and gregarious Logan, have him reconsidering his previous disdain about settling down. And when Trey receives an anonymous message claiming “I know what you’re doing,” he’s stuck in a no-win situation. How is he supposed to protect his family—and his budding new life—without giving himself away? In this lively adventure by Korman (Slugfest), characters navigate complex ethical issues surrounding right and wrong, responsibility, and actions and repercussions. Trey’s riveting struggle to justify his family’s actions while seeking a more grounded life is levied by Korman’s signature humor. Major characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

A period of upheaval and heartbreak in a Black preteen’s life is exacerbated by supernatural forces in this emotional Southern horror by Royce (Conjure Island). Twelve-year-old Roderick Bolden has been in the care of Williamson Orphanage ever since his mother’s death. That is, until the intervention of Aunt Angela Hamilton, Roddie’s only living relative, whom he’s never met. Grieving the loss of her estranged sister, Aunt Angie welcomes Roddie to Dogwood House, the family’s ancestral home. The mansion, “a monster place in the middle of nowhere,” has been languishing in disrepair, and Aunt Angie intends to restore it. Grateful for his new home, Roddie is nonetheless unsettled by the dilapidated structure and the disturbing things he encounters, such as discovering clumps of hair under peeling wallpaper and a skeletal figure in an upstairs window. After Roddie finds a map of Dogwood House drawn by his mother, Aunt Angie informs him of the family’s hoodoo culture. Now, Roddie must connect with his cultural history to ward off the evil spirits that have taken notice of him. Royce employs marvelously eerie ambiance to craft a tale that is at once a moving narrative about grief and remembrance and a frightening, slow-burning haunted house adventure. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Writing in the tradition of rumbustious British children’s classics, Rundell (One Christmas Wish) introduces Mink, a headstrong city-dwelling child who “did not believe in bedtimes.” Her surprising encounter with a baby zebra named Gabriel in a park—deserted because all the other children are home in bed—leads to a search for the mustachioed villain who has captured Gabriel’s parents. Mink first learns Gabriel’s telepathic form of communication (“The colors shifted and sharpened. They were red, and orange, and urgent”), then tries it out with other animals to appeal for information about Gabriel’s family. Startlingly fresh descriptions (“A long tongue reached out and licked a little snot from the inside of Mink’s nostril”), comedic dialogue (“I swear it on the life of my goldfish”), and rousing adventure (“To ride on the back of a zebra! That was a thing not even a king could do”) keep this cracking yarn galloping toward a theatrical climax. Boldly lined and colored artwork by Ogilvie (Dogs Don’t Do Ballet) contributes additional bursts of comic energy to a rollicking hero story for a new generation of wildlife protectors. Human characters are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 5–9. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Layering bright, shape-based figures against clean white backgrounds, Higgins (Some of These Are Snails) takes a trip around the year, employing rhythmically tight verse to mark each month. “Icy air where/ snowflakes vary/ branches bare in/ January” accompanies the image of a child bundled in green pulling a smaller, yellow-clad child through the snow, while a pink-eared mouse builds a snow mouse below. Throughout, lines that hint at seasonal fare pay close attention to the sounds of words, producing effects both amusing (“sticky fizzle/ summer snooze”) and lyrical (“swirly whispers/ flurries quiver”) en route to a reflective end. A closing vertical spread shows four children in the limbs of a tall tree, each representing a season against segmented backgrounds of winter blue, summer lavender, golden spring, and autumn orange: “Some things change/ and some do not/ let’s play with all the time we’ve got.” The two mice that appear throughout the book close the show with a final cheer, “round and round for one and all.” Widely shared pleasures and timeless themes make this read appropriate for any number of settings. Children are represented with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

A playground in a busy metropolitan neighborhood has fallen into disrepair, and most residents walk briskly by its gates. But one child holds up a finger, telling their adult caretaker to wait, and in that decisive moment becomes surrounded by birds and sparkles. As the child rallies their class and local businesses, more fanciful elements appear around the movement’s new members, showing how “one person can’t do everything,/ but everyone can do one thing./ Which may lead to another.” Tentler-Krylov (I’m Gonna Paint), ever an exuberant, choreographic chronicler of city life, fills digitally enhanced watercolor spreads with bright colors and a host of energized, roll-up-their-sleeves characters, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, who not only rejuvenate their public space but make new and deeper connections with each other as they do so. Spiro (Love Grows) doesn’t directly name the Jewish concept of tikkum olam—Hebrew for “repair the world”—until the very end of the work’s blank verse text, which nevertheless vividly evokes the concept’s galvanizing power throughout: “even the tiniest spark/ will flicker and dance until/ it’s impossible to ignore.” An author’s note further explores the idea, explaining that “many faiths share these teachings and traditions.” Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this introduction to the joys of mushrooming, debut author Baker uses direct address to take readers into the forest, whose floor “springs a little under your footsteps.” Rich multimedia spreads in sylvan greens and browns by Finkelday (When the Storks Came Home) show two sets of booted feet, transporting readers to uneven ground as a child and caregiver search, smell, and learn. Mushrooms are the fruit of a fungus, the visible part of underground webs “of finest thread called mycelium” that connect “the trees, feeding the forest and binding us all together.” The adult helps the child down from a log as they explore, while illustrations picture each mushroom variety with the objects they’re named for: a tiny lion on a lion’s mane mushroom, an elf drinking from an elf’s cup. Infused with respect for mushrooms and the woods where they grow—“Take your time, and give your attention”—the account supplies as vivid a sense of the work of hunting as it does in describing the discoveries. Back matter offers additional information and useful warnings about identifying mushrooms. Human characters are represented with brown skin. Ages 3–7. Agent (for author and illustrator): Adriann Ranta Zurhellen, Folio Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

Prior collaborators Jeffers and Winston used type as a dynamic visual element in A Child of Books, and it takes center stage too in this title—a quick-moving tale about a dictionary, “never quite sure of herself” among other books’ clear arcs. When the dictionary resolves to “bring her words to life,” an alligator promptly pushes two columns of A definitions apart like curtains and bursts theatrically onto the page. Alligator takes off, crossing left to right over arrayed definitions, tripping over illustrated Cloud, and “smelling something Delicious on the D pages.” Donut, anxious not to be eaten, accidentally rolls into Ghost, then plunges onward, startling Moon, who’s “surprised to see two words from the start of the dictionary.” The work features the leaves of a real dictionary within its own narrative spreads, setting up pleasing tension between unruly cartooned dictionary denizens and lines of crisp type, which droop and slide alarmingly under the characters’ pressure. Chaos ensues between the beings, until the dictionary manages to put her pages in order again. It’s a careful-what-you-wish-for story whose meta conceit and comic pacing would tickle any lexicographer. Ages 3–7. Agent: Paul Moreton, Bell Lomax Moreton. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

A father and child frolic with various sea creatures in this easy-going book, which pictures its protagonists’ relationship as one of play and protection. The pair, introduced as merdaddy and merbaby, and portrayed with painterly salmon skin tones, circle each other amid a saturated aquamarine landscape dotted with coral and tropical fish. As the two pal around, first-person narration from the merchild’s perspective describes encounters with sharks and jellyfish, a game of hide-and-seek with otters, and a turtle-surfing excursion. Cut-paper elements add depth to Kirwan’s scenes, which frequently picture the narrator gazing adoringly at their caregiver. “I want to stay in the water forever,” exclaims Merbaby; when Merdad’s response notes “that my fingers/ look like raisins/ and my teeth are chattering/ and maybe it’s time to get out,” the pair’s underwater adventure comes differently into focus for a tender close. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/05/2024 | Details & Permalink

Newman’s jaunty rhymes challenge common gender stereotypes in this openhearted ode to dads. “My daddy knits, my daddy sews,/ He makes us both fantastic clothes,” reads opening text alongside an image of an adult figure working a sewing machine while a child knits. Domestic spreads follow, casting fathers as bakers and flower cultivators, while later outdoorsy moments describe guitar-playing and animal appreciation. After mishaps, including a broken lamp and a tumble, a speaker highlights their caregiver’s loving-kindness, culminating in the straightforward, message-driven lines, “My daddy teaches me each day/ To be strong in a gentle way.” Employing precise lines, careful coloring, and an idyllic, Norman Rockwell–esque vibe, Ford depicts in watercolor and colored pencil father-child relationships between individuals of various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/05/2024 | Details & Permalink