The Brilliant Ms. Bangle

When they learn that beloved school librarian Ms. Stack has moved away over the summer, the kids at Belford Elementary, portrayed with various skin tones, determine to stonewall the new staffer. “They would refuse, refuse, REFUSE to read with her,” Devins writes in emphatically funny prose. Even when Black-presenting Ms. Bangle rolls in cracking jokes and selects a “truly terrific”-looking book, the group sticks with their plan. The new librarian’s clever response proves “brilliant”: acknowledging that she can’t change their minds and readily agreeing to call it a day, she delegates her duties to the children, an act that quickly causes them to reverse course. In a sly picture book portrait of a schoolroom power struggle, Steele’s cartoony young figures have wide googly eyes, expressive mouths, and palpable-feeling energy that aligns with their determination. Ages 3–5. (June)