November 2024

Peters, Katie. Arctic Fox on the Move. Pull Ahead Readers: Let’s Look at Polar Animals—Nonfiction. Lerner, 08/2024. 16pp. Reader. PLB $27.99. 979-8765626269. Paper $8.99. 979-8765629291. GRADES Preschool–1. ADDITIONAL.        SERIES REVIEW: The Pull Ahead Readers series consists of sets of paired titles. Half of the titles are designated as [continue reading]

Cohen, Emi Watanabe. Golem Crafters. Levine Querido, 11/2024. 264pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-64614-269-9. GRADES 5–8. ADDITIONAL.          Faye (eleven) and Shiloh (thirteen) suddenly go to New York to spend spring break with a grandfather they have never met. There, they learn what golems are, how [continue reading]

Schwartz, Ella. Violin of Hope. Juliana Oakley, Illus. Kar-Ben, 11/2024. 32pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 979-8765604199. GRADES 1–5. ADDITIONAL.      Based on true stories of violins that have been rescued and refurbished after being stolen from Jews during the Holocaust, this book opens with digital artwork showing a [continue reading]

Wang, Ann Suk. House Before Falling Into the Sea, The. Hanna Cha, Illus. Dial Books, 03/2024. 40pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-593-53015-3. GRADES 2–4. OUTSTANDING.      Kyung struggles to accept her parents’ decision to welcome desperate refugees fleeing North Korea into their coastal home, a location known as [continue reading]

Wood, Chelsea L. Power to the Parasites. Dave Mottram, Illus. Henry Holt/Godwin, 11/2024. 80pp. Nonfiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-83398-3. GRADES 4–8. HIGH ADDITIONAL.     Discover a fascinating secret world, unknown to most, but mined by Hollywood horror writers. Hidden just below the surface, in your home, your food, your [continue reading]

Swinarski, Claire. Take It from the Top. Quill Tree, 11/2024. 288pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-0633-2173-1. GRADES 6–8. HIGH ADDITIONAL.          What went wrong? It was supposed to be the perfect summer, back at her beloved theater camp with her best friend, co-starring in their dream [continue reading]

Long, Loren. Yellow Bus, The. Loren Long, Illus. Roaring Brook, 06/2024. 48pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-90313-6. GRADES Preschool–2. OUTSTANDING. A town and environs, minutely rendered in soft gray graphite and pencil, are the backdrop for the profound and charming life journey of a bright yellow school [continue reading]

Fleming, Candace. Enigma Girls, The: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II. Scholastic Focus, 03/2024. 371pp. Nonfiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-3387-4957-1. GRADES 6–12. OUTSTANDING.     Until recently, they were forgotten: young women, mostly teenagers, all of whom were plucked from ordinary [continue reading]