Melissa McAvoy

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Your Turn Marisol Rainey. Erin Entrada Kelly, Illus. Maybe Marisol. Greenwillow, 08/2025.146pp. Reader. Trade $18.99. 978-0-0633-3721-3. GRADES 1–4. OUTSTANDING.      Over spring break Marisol and her best friend Jada decide on a personality reset – time to leave anxious, B-minus Marisol behind and embrace new, [continue reading]

Lambelet, Anne. I’m a Dumbo Octopus: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods. Anne Lambelet, Illus. Graphic Universe, 03/2025. 72pp. Graphic. Trade $29.32. 979-8765603055. Paper $12.99. 979-8765661376. GRADES 2–5. OUTSTANDING. A personality-packed dumbo octopus named Grimpy introduces itself, and its whole class of cephalopods, in an engaging nonfiction graphic [continue reading]

Floca, Brian. Island Storm. Sydney Smith, Illus. Candlewick/Neal Porter, 07/2025. [48]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-8234-5647-5. GRADES Preschool–3. OUTSTANDING. Powerful, painterly watercolor and gouache illustrations capture the energy, atmosphere, and shifting light of a monumental island storm. Rhythmic poetic text speaks in an older sibling’s voice, “Now [continue reading]

Baron, Chris. Spark. Feiwel & Friends, 07/2025. 320pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-86474-1.  GRADES 5–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL.             At the start of eighth grade Finn knows where he’s from and what’s important. Redwood Hollows, at the entrance to a national forest, is a tight-knit community and with [continue reading]

Yong, Ed. An Immense World: How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets, Young Readers Edition. Rebecca Mills, Illus. Addl. Creator AnnMarie Anderson. Bright Matter, 05/2025. 272pp. Nonfiction. Trade $24.99. 978-0-593-81088-0. PLB $27.99. 978-0-593-81089-7. GRADES 5–8. HIGH ADDITIONAL. We know the world through our senses, but that is a mere slice of [continue reading]

Wolk, Lauren. Candle Island. Dutton, 04/2025. 352pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-59369-854-9. GRADES 5–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL. Twelve-year-old Lucretia and her mother are looking for a fresh start. Candle Island, Maine is far enough from their Vermont home to offer refuge from reminders of the father and [continue reading]

Smith, Charles R., Jr. Black Diamond Kings: Heroes of Negro League Baseball. Adrian Brandon, Illus. Candlewick,05/2025. [32]pp. Poetry. Trade $18.99. 978-1-53622-535-8. GRADES 2–5. HIGH ADDITIONAL. Dynamic, colorful illustrations and lively poems introduce a new generation to a lineup of Negro League legends. Each spread includes a [continue reading]

Percival, Kari. Safe Crossing. Kari Percival, Illus. Chronicle, 01/25. [48]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-1-7972-1456-6. GRADES Kindergarten–3. OUTSTANDING. On a wet night in spring, a biracial family becomes a crossing crew—safely ushering migrating amphibians across a road. Richly layered digital prints in purples and yellows capture the [continue reading]