Melissa McAvoy

Albee, Sarah. Bounce: A Scientific History of Rubber. Eileen Ryan Ewen, Illus. Charlesbridge, 10/2024. 48pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-6235-4379-2. GRADES Kindergarten–3. OUTSTANDING.          Five hundred years ago, Europeans didn’t even have a word for bounce, much less words for a material that can be molded and shaped, stretched, [continue reading]

Smith, Heather. Tig. Tundra, 09/2024. 160pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-0735267497. GRADES 5–6. HIGH ADDITIONAL.      Being left behind changes you. In their four months on their own, eleven-year-old Tig, and her slightly older brother Peter, learned that when you have nothing, you know who you are. [continue reading]

Rosenstock, Barb. Sea Without a Shore: Life in the Sargasso. Katherine Roy, Illus. Norton, 08/2024. 32pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-3240-1607-6. GRADES 1–3. HIGH ADDITIONAL.          The Sargasso Sea is the stuff of legends: a shoreless ecosystem, built from currents, teeming with unique life. Lyrical, active, scientifically accurate language [continue reading]

Larsen, Andrew. Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away. Oriol Vidal, Illus. Sourcebooks, 09/2024. 40pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-1-7282-8351-7. GRADES Kindergarten–3. HIGH ADDITIONAL.         As a child, Puerto Rican Nelson Molina collected, repaired, and gifted thrown away treasures. In [continue reading]

Hendrix, John. Mythmakers, The: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. John Hendrix, Illus. Abrams, 09/2024. 224pp. Graphic. Trade $24.99. 978-1-4197-4634-5. GRADES 6–10. OUTSTANDING.            Hendrix’s graphic biography focuses on exactly how Tolkien and Lewis’s deep friendship inspired their radical creative leaps. Combining playful illustration, strong [continue reading]

Crow-Miller, Britt. World of Rot: Learn All About the Wriggly, Slimy, Super-Cool Decomposers We Couldn’t Live Without. Bruno Valasse, Illus. Storey, 09/2024. 80pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-6358-6669-8. GRADES 2–6. OUTSTANDING.           The wonderful and essential world of rot is all around you, on you, and in you. Slow [continue reading]

Alkaf, Hanna. Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s, The. Simon & Schuster / Salaam, 09/2024. 352pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-5344-9458-9. GRADES 7–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.     For more than one hundred years, prestigious St. Bernadette’s has taught and shaped the girls of Kuala Lumpur, equipping them with education [continue reading]

Manley, Curtis. Climbing the Volcano: A Journey in Haiku. Jennifer K. Mann, Illus. Neal Porter, 01/2024. [48]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-82345-166-1. GRADES Kindergarten–3. OUTSTANDING.         A school-age child asks “How do you climb a mountain?” as a dark-haired, tan-skinned family sets out from a campsite to reach [continue reading]