This surrealist picture book in translation describes the enigma posed by white rabbit Joãozinho, who escapes from a close-barred, heavy- lidded hutch again and again without others discovering how. Intruiging, dry text by Brazilian novelist Lispector reveals that “the special thing that happened with that rabbit was also special for every rabbit in the world”—the way they think by moving their noses rapidly around. Across spreads that feature simplistic human figures portrayed with various skin tones, João works nose-shaped triangles onto backgrounds and faces. Playful lines speculate about the rabbit’s love life as the reason for his disappearances (“If you don’t come to see me, I’ll forget all about you,” his girlfriend says) and about the way his excursions might change his outlook (he’d seek “the things that his nose had figured out, for example, that the earth was round”). It’s a surprising, sparkling meditation on an animal’s nature and inner life. Includes an author’s note. Ages 5–9. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

In a rollicking translated fable about a fig tree that endeavors to outsmart a flock of hens, Brazilian novelist Lispector casts as narrator dog Ulisses, who can “bark out a story that seems almost like make-believe and almost true.” The fig tree, which cannot bear fruit and is resentful of the egg-laying hens, makes a pact with a witch, who enables the tree to shine. This brightness confuses the chickens, resulting in their laying eggs at night, which the tree plots to sell and get rich (“She didn’t pay the hens.... It was nothing but slavery”). In a Click, Clack, Moo–like plot twist, the chickens band together to subvert the scheme. Regular interjections from Ulisses capture the cacophony of a sunny garden featuring a singing golden bird (“pirilim-pim-pim”) and bursting jabuticaba fruits (“plique-ti”). Irusta, working in scribbly, expressive lines, draws laughs via chickens looking by turns baffled and baleful in this folktale-feeling story with a good-natured ending. Ages 5–9. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

A child speaker and their mother enthusiastically acquire plants for a garden in Oehr’s vibrantly rendered picture book, second in the “Off to” series. With garden beds weeded and compost in place, the duo arrive at the nursery with a plan and promptly begin shopping, “but there’s always room for some surprises.” They pick up tomato plants for pasta and pizza sauce, seedlings for grillable veggies, then set about finding herbs, lettuce seeds, succulents, a blueberry bush, mini-citrus trees, native Australian flowers, and much more. Advice-filled text on the verso cheerfully narrates the decision-making process, while illustrations spotlight additional flora, with captions equal parts playful and informative: “Cherries grow on a tree (and you can wear them as earrings).” Pop coloring enlivens the sunny unlined renderings in a bountiful work that will help to make choosing plants feel within reach. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

Building from the title, a series of cheering quatrains trace the life cycle of a milkweed plant from seed to root, sprout, leaves, bud, flower, and pod. Beneath each spread-opening poem, a realistic green line drawing tracks the plant’s development, while facing pages feature full-bleed scenes—gently rendered in colored pencil and pastels—of pale-skinned children enjoying the outdoors across activities and weather. Declarative second-person verse and friendly renderings combine for an effect that communicates guidance about growing up as much as about cultivating plants: “Reach like a sprout,/ Straight and high./ Reach like a sprout/ ’Til you see the sky” accompanies the image of a pigtailed child swinging in front of a bright blue background. Science-focused back matter includes life cycle information, a glossary, and further facts. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

Stremer inspires with this uplifting, based-on-true-events story of a school community that enacts a “wonderfully wild,” plan to resurrect a beloved schoolyard willow—“a gathering place, a run-laps-around place, a dream-under place.” After a lightning strike fells the tree, the students are heartbroken, until one has the idea to grow new willows from scavenged clippings. Polished prose tracks the group’s efforts as the little trees sprout and are planted around town. Meanwhile, the group undertakes a larger schoolyard rewilding campaign, adding a pollinator garden and hotel, compost bin, birdhouses, bat boxes, and the like. With delicate coloring, attention to critterly detail, and plant-oriented patterns, simple digital renderings capture the gladdening magic of group efforts—and greenery. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Back matter includes more about rewilding. Ages 4–8. (May)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

Narrated by a grade school student, this story by Reul starts at the moment a teacher pours out a bag of 100 mixed seeds—“teeny-tiny dots, long thin sticks,” and many more. Before planting, the children draw their seeds and come up with a hypothesis about what each will yield. Covering many sheets of paper, the narrator hypothesizes that their seed will grow luxuriously. But while the other pupils’ seeds grow, the narrator’s bean doesn’t sprout, though they believe “I DID EVERYTHING JUST RIGHT!” Then they notice the rest of the unplanted seeds and pivot to a group project. Cut-out paper figures, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, are placed against brightly colored backgrounds that give the pages a handmade, childlike feel in a story whose narrative pivot leaves room for readers to make hypotheses of their own. Ages 4–7. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

Bridgewater spotlights the positive power of greenery in this children’s debut. As young Marcus’s grandmother offers upbeat instruction in gardening basics, the pair draw parallels between human and plant needs, including “water and air and sunshine. And space to grow.” Working with mangoes, tomatoes, pineapples, and cilantro, the duo model attentiveness to nature, with Grandma observing that “plants grow better when you show them love.” Dialogue-driven lines frequently convey an exuberant tone, as when the pair prepare to plant a mango seed (“Wait! You can eat it and grow it, too?”), while Brown’s texturized digital artwork centers Marcus’s evident glee as a budding gardener, amplifying the story’s message of nurturing curiosity and supporting growth across species. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. (May)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

An empty lot undergoes a verdant transformation with the help of myriad visitors in this collaborative tale. First, a child named Mara, portrayed with brown skin, tidies a “tired and sad” lot before planting 50 sunflower seeds, few of which remain after a storm washes many away. As Mara checks daily for sprouts, critters arrive: a dog buries bones, ants march forth carrying violet seeds, worms dig tunnels, and more. Over time, sprouts emerge until, at last verdant, “the garden rustled and buzzed.” Framed in carefully wrought thin lines, Bailey’s softly washed scenes shift from dull grays and browns to sunny blues and greens, moving comfortably between underground cutaways, overheads of Mara investigating the soil, and idyllic floral-filled moments. While the book’s empty-lot-to-garden conceit is well-trod ground, the emphasis on ecological interdependence offers readers an enduring takeaway. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 2–7. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

In riveting detail, Fleming (The Enigma Girls) recounts the murder of more than 900 Peoples Temple followers in Guyana by American cult leader Jim Jones (1931–1978). A prologue poses complicated questions (“What caused seemingly ‘normal’ people to get caught up in something so fanatical?”), provides historical and contemporary cult definitions, and includes examples of their potentially destructive values and demands. Searing accounts of Peoples Temple survivors and defectors go on to examine Jones’s personal history, which a quote from the subject’s son Stephan asserts one must know to understand the formation of the organization. Frank text notes Jones was “bossy and controlling. And always got his way” during his upbringing in Indiana. Struggling to make ends meet in adulthood, Jones earns money and gains his initial following by traveling with the revival circuit, a nomadic group of preachers who “claimed to have been called by God to spread the Gospel.” An author’s note highlights Fleming’s hope that this fascinating and disturbing work will help readers “recognize the destructive groups in their own midst.” Includes b&w photographs, biographies of key players, and source list. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink

High school senior Marin James is certain that her older cousin Sam Bullvane’s drowning death was not an accident. Using a forged application and a fake tuition check, she assumes a new identity as Jamie Vane and transfers into elite Huntsworth Preparatory Academy, where Sam worked as a security guard. She has three suspects, all students: haughty, brainy Adrian Hargraves; wealthy orphaned scoundrel Henry Wu; and insecure, eager-to-please Baz Hallward, the headmistress’s daughter. As Marin races to uncover the perpetrator before her con is discovered, she becomes embroiled in her suspects’ dangerous, thrill-seeking ways. Supernatural happenings, having to communicate with who she assumes is one of the suspects through anonymous marginalia notes, and growing attachments to both Adrian and Henry further complicate her investigation. Debut author Howell deftly conveys grief in this complex and morose offering, highlighting through the characters’ messy interactions—including Marin’s vengeance-fueled scheming and Adrian’s guilt over a past transgression—the ways in which loss can impact one’s emotions and decision-making. Fans of heady, twisty dark academia tales will revel in unpicking this knotty mystery. Most character cue as white; Henry is of East Asian descent. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/31/2025 | Details & Permalink