Melissa McAvoy

Hardinge, Frances. Island of Whispers. Emily Gravett, Illus. Amulet, 08/2024. 120pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-41977-433-1. GRADES 4–8. OUTSTANDING.          On Milo’s island the spirits of the dead must be quickly transported by his father, the Ferryman, lest they endlessly wander, leaving death and blight in their wake. When [continue reading]

Carson, Mary Kay. Urban Coyotes. Tom Uhlman, Illus. Scientists in the Field. Clarion, 08/2024. [80]pp. Nonfiction. Trade $21.99. 978-0-06327-147-0. GRADES 4–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL.          In the 1990s coyotes first started showing up in city neighborhoods, and animal control agencies were flooded with anxious complaints. Field scientists formed Chicago’s [continue reading]

Buchet, Nelly. Big Sister, Long Coat. Rachel Katstaller, Illus. NorthSouth, 03/2024. [40]pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.95. 978-0-73584-551-0. GRADES Preschool–3. OUTSTANDING. Intending the best day ever, a smiling, freckled, curly-haired teen sister and a rosy-cheeked, light-brown haired younger sister head out into an urban environment. The younger child [continue reading]

Brunelle, Lynn. Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall. Jason Chin, Illus. Neal Porter, 06/2024. [48]pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-82345-228-6. GRADES Kindergarten–4. OUTSTANDING.          Readers follow an elderly blue whale as she takes her last meal, expires, and sinks to the sea floor. What happens [continue reading]

Stone, Tanya Lee. Remembering Rosalind Franklin: Rosalind Franklin & the Discovery of the Double Helix Structure of DNA. Gretchen Ellen Powers, Illus. Christy Ottaviano, 02/2024. [40]pp. Biography. Trade $21.99. 978-0-316-35124-9. GRADES 3–6. HIGH ADDITIONAL.          A true story, without a happy ending, reveals the life and personality of an [continue reading]

Simpson, Tonya. This Land Is a Lullaby: cistomawasowin oma askiy. Delree` Dumont, Illus. Translated into Cree by Dorothy Thunder. Orca, 09/2024. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $21.95. 978-1459836099. GRADES Baby/Toddler–2. HIGH ADDITIONAL. Using a text in English and Plains Cree, this original lullaby celebrates the relationship between children, ancestors, [continue reading]

Wong, Jack. All That Grows. Jack Wong, Illus. Groundwood, 03/2024. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 978-1-77306-812-1. GRADES Preschool–2. LOW ADDITIONAL.             A pair of tan-skinned, dark-haired siblings journey through a neighborhood landscape in early summer. The older sister, a gardener, shares plant knowledge while the younger wonders. The [continue reading]

Teer, Samuel. Brownstone. Julia Mar, Illus. Versify, 06/2024. 320pp. Graphic. Trade $26.99. 978-0-3583-9475-4.Paper $18.99. 978-0-3583-9474-7. GRADES 6–10. OUTSTANDING. In the summer of 1995, fourteen-year-old Almudena is used to mothering her dancer mom; what she’s not used to is being dumped for the summer as free labor with a [continue reading]