Harvey, Jeanne Walker. Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas. Loveis Wise, Illus. Biography. HarperCollins, 02/2022. 40pp. $18.99. 978-0-06-302189-1. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES 1-3.

Alma Thomas loved being outside, soaking up the sparkling colors of nature. Born into a warm, creative, cultured, and loving African American family in 1890s Georgia, she felt the stifling inequity of segregation. Her family migrated to Washington, D.C. where she graduated with a degree in art, determined to bring art to her neighborhood’s children and community. At the age of seventy, Alma finally focused on her own art, producing vibrant, colorful works. She became the first African American woman with a solo show at the Whitney Museum and the first to have a painting hung in a place of honor as part of the permanent White House collection. Colorful and lively illustrations convey the vibrancy and joy of Alma’s life and work. Back matter includes an author and illustrator note, sources, and references.

Melissa McAvoy, Retired

Peters, Katie. Being a Good Teammate. Easy Reader. Pull Ahead Readers People Smarts: Be a Good Sport: Non-fiction Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 16pp. PLB $23.99. 978-1-7284-4093-4. PB $7.99. 978-1-7284-4805-3. ADDITIONAL. GRADES K-1.

Please see series review for Dev Tries His Best by Megan Borgert-Spaniol.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Borgert-Spaniol, Megan. Dev Tries His Best. Mette Engel, Illus. Easy Reader. Pull Ahead Readers People Smarts: Be a Good Sport: Fiction Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 16pp. PLB $23.99. 978-1-7284-4101-6. PB $7.99. 978-1-7284-4799-5. ADDITIONAL. GRADES K-1. SERIES REVIEW:

The Pull Ahead Readers series consists of sets of twelve titles with similar text and subjects, half with digital illustrations and others with photographs. Labeled as fiction or non-fiction groupings of six, each title is simple enough due to the very limited text, content, and length to all be considered early readers. This subseries group focuses on the topic of good sportsmanship in a variety of settings: in the home, on the field, in the gym, with teams, or one-on-one.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Schaefer, Lola. Dangerous Droughts. Non-fiction Lightning Bolt Books: Earth in Danger Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $27.99. 978-1-7284-4146-7. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4792-6. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 2-3.

SERIES REVIEW: These early elementary titles introduce readers to various natural disasters which regularly affect humans and the planet. While two of the topics, volcanoes and earthquakes, are not weather-based; the other disaster topics are related to weather with climate change mentioned as contributing to bigger, stronger, more disastrous weather phenomena affecting millions of people around the world each year. Numerous color photographs, diagrams, and maps demonstrate the subject, while a few sentences on each page explain the disaster type. Each includes a brief page about a person or place that has been impacted by this type of disaster, but no picture accompanies the otherwise straightforward text. Titles include a short glossary, further readings, index, and a facts page and are good choices for updating disaster or weather phenomena titles.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Schaefer, Lola. Dangerous Hurricanes. Non-fiction. Lightning Bolt Books: Earth in Danger Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $27.99. 978-1-7284-4140-5. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4795-7. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 2-3.

SERIES REVIEW: These early elementary titles introduce readers to various natural disasters which regularly affect humans and the planet. While two of the topics, volcanoes and earthquakes, are not weather-based; the other disaster topics are related to weather with climate change mentioned as contributing to bigger, stronger, more disastrous weather phenomena affecting millions of people around the world each year. Numerous color photographs, diagrams, and maps demonstrate the subject, while a few sentences on each page explain the disaster type. Each includes a brief page about a person or place that has been impacted by this type of disaster, but no picture accompanies the otherwise straightforward text. Titles include a short glossary, further readings, index, and a facts page and are good choices for updating disaster or weather phenomena titles.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Schaefer, Lola. Dangerous Volcanoes. Non-fiction. Lightning Bolt Books: Earth in Danger Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $27.99. 978-1-7284-4144-3. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4797-1. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 2-3.

SERIES REVIEW: These early elementary titles introduce readers to various natural disasters which regularly affect humans and the planet. While two of the topics, volcanoes and earthquakes, are not weather-based; the other disaster topics are related to weather with climate change mentioned as contributing to bigger, stronger, more disastrous weather phenomena affecting millions of people around the world each year. Numerous color photographs, diagrams, and maps demonstrate the subject, while a few sentences on each page explain the disaster type. Each includes a brief page about a person or place that has been impacted by this type of disaster, but no picture accompanies the otherwise straightforward text. Titles include a short glossary, further readings, index, and a facts page and are good choices for updating disaster or weather phenomena titles.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Schaefer, Lola. Dangerous Wildfires. Non-fiction. Lightning Bolt Books: Earth in Danger Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $27.99. 978-1-7284-4141-2. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4798-8. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 2-3. 

SERIES REVIEW: These early elementary titles introduce readers to various natural disasters which regularly affect humans and the planet. While two of the topics, volcanoes and earthquakes, are not weather-based; the other disaster topics are related to weather with climate change mentioned as contributing to bigger, stronger, more disastrous weather phenomena affecting millions of people around the world each year. Numerous color photographs, diagrams, and maps demonstrate the subject, while a few sentences on each page explain the disaster type. Each includes a brief page about a person or place that has been impacted by this type of disaster, but no picture accompanies the otherwise straightforward text. Titles include a short glossary, further readings, index, and a facts page and are good choices for updating disaster or weather phenomena titles.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

McKee, David. Elmer and the Bedtime Story. David McKee, Illus. Picture Book. Andersen, 03/2022. [24]pp. $17.99. 978-1-7284-4970-8. Elmer the Patchwork Elephant Series. ADDITIONAL. GRADES PRE-1.

Elmer the patchwork elephant is asked to watch two baby elephants while the mother visits her sister. He’s to read a bedtime story to help the youngsters sleep since she will be back late. Elmer takes the youngster around to various animal dads, asking what kinds of stories they tell their kids and getting them all tired out in the process. The typical McKee-style illustrations depict elephants having fun visiting the various animals and time passing before they all fall asleep. A simple, quiet bedtime story for the end of any reader’s day.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Reese, Jenn. Every Bird a Prince. James Firnhaber, Illus. Fiction. H. Holt, 05/2022. 304pp. $16.99. 978-1-250-78344-8. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.

Ever since seventh grade started, Erin, who is white, has felt like she is on a raft rushing down a river. Her friends are pressuring her to crush on boys and gear up for school dances. The only thing that feels right is riding trails in the woods on her bike, which is where she collides with a partially frozen bird. Her successful efforts to revive it result in becoming a champion in the bird kingdom’s battle against the Frostfangs, whose invidious whispers sow self-doubt. The battle becomes more personal when the Frostfangs target her mom, and Erin’s diverse friends are drawn into the fight. Like Reese’s award-winning A Game of Fox & Squirrels (2020) the fanciful allegory, filled with talking animals, has a dark core. But unlike the previous book, the menace—in this case of self-doubt and cisgender, conformist pressures—never fires the imagination and trods a predictable and didactic path. While much of the content is spot-on, the delivery falls flat. It is hard for readers to believe Frostfangs would primarily target wild animals, and bands of icy, insecure deer don’t really seem particularly menacing. The eponymous concept: that every bird is a prince—and wanting that elite title to be read as both gender neutral and an effective means of engendering self-esteem, feels unconvincing.

Melissa McAvoy, Retired

Lowe, Alexander. G.O.A.T. Baseball Pitchers. Non-fiction. Lerner Sports: Greatest of All Time Players Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 32pp. PLB $29.32 978-1-7284-4109-2. PLB $9.99. 978-1-7284-4842-8. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.

SERIES REVIEW: These series sports-based titles introduce readers to the best players of all
time, in baseball and soccer, for specific positions. Without saying who helped develop the lists, Lowe guides readers through what the position is, why it is important to the game, and explains why each of the players should be considered one of the greatest of all time. Each two-page spread includes pictures of the player (most are color, some older pictures are b&w), some relevant statistics as well as a quick rundown on the player’s time in the sport. Each title includes players from various time periods with the soccer titles also featuring women and international players.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Lowe, Alexander. G.O.A.T. Baseball Shortstops. Non-fiction. Lerner Sports: Greatest of All Time Players Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 32pp. PLB $29.32. 978-1-7284-4111-5. PB $9.99. 978-1-7284-4843-5. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.

Please see series review for G.O.A.T. Baseball Pitchers by Alexander Lowe.

Lowe, Alexander. G.O.A.T. Soccer Goalkeepers. Non-fiction. Lerner Sports: Greatest of All Time Players Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 32pp. PLB $29.32. 978-1-7284-4113-9. PB $9.99. 978-1-7284-4844-2. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.

Please see series review for G.O.A.T. Baseball Pitchers by Alexander Lowe.

Vo, Young. Gibberish. Young Vo, Illus. Picture Book. Levine Querido, 03/2022. $17.99. 978-1-64614-110-4. OUTSTANDING. GRADES K-3.

Dat “first sailed on a boat, then flew on a plane” before arriving at his new school by bus. His mah tells him, “When people speak, it will sound like gibberish, Dat. Just listen and do the best you can.” The story focuses on Dat’s perception of this strange new environment, a place where only he and his mother are shown in color. The people he encounters—classmates, a bus driver, and his teacher—appear as cartoon character, and the words coming out of their mouths are indecipherable symbols. A simple narrative grounds the story, but it is the expressive illustrations that so brilliantly capture the challenges Dat faces. In one particularly strong image, words fall into pieces on the ground as he attempts to read in front of his class. Change arrives in the form of a friendly girl who invites Dat to play. Her kindness helps him acclimate to his new environment. Gibberish soon translates into actual words, cartoon characters transform into real people, and gray gives way to color. Dat and his mother are Asian, but their country of origin and host country remain unnamed, emphasizing the universal nature of his experience. Filled with empathy and humor, this book belongs in all collections.

Jenny Andrus, Independent

Borgert-Spaniol, Megan. Jordan Says Good Job. Lisa Hunt, Illus. Easy Reader. Pull Ahead Readers People Smarts: Be a Good Sport: Fiction Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 16pp. PLB $23.99. 978-1-7284-4097-2. PB $7.99. 978-1-7284-4801-5. ADDITIONAL. GRADES K-1.

Please see series review for Dev Tries His Best by Megan Borgert-Spaniol. 

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Yee, Lisa. Maizy Chen’s Last Chance. Fiction. Random, 02/2022. 288pp. $16.99. 978-1-9848-3025-8. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.

Who knew that leaving fast-paced, diverse L.A. to spend the summer in sleepy Last Chance, Minnesota would result in the most dramatic and revealing summer of 11-year-old Maizy Chen’s life? There’s a lot going on at the Golden Palace Chinese restaurant her family has run for over 100 years, but it’s her Opa’s stories about her ancestor Lucky, why he fled San Francisco, what battles he faced, and whom he helped rescue that fire Maizy’s imagination and connect her to the racist vandalism targeting her family in today’s Last Chance. Lots of warm and complex details enliven a story about a family that had grown apart, being forced to push past all the unsaid things in order to discover a shared history that brings them together. This book has California-specific content.

Kaiser, Brianna. Mighty Brontosaurus, The. Non-Fiction. Bumba Books: The Mighty Dinosaurs Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $26.65. 978-1-7284-4107-8. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4811-4. UNSATISFACTORY. GRADES PRE-1.

Please see series review for The Mighty Stegosaurus by Jackie Golusky.

Golusky, Jackie. Mighty Stegosaurus, The. Non-Fiction. Bumba Books: Mighty Dinosaurs Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $26.65. 978-1-7284-4105-4. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4813-8. ADDITIONAL. GRADES PRE-1.

SERIES REVIEW: Modern series dinosaur books for younger readers are usually fairly straightforward for readers to learn from and enjoy. Unfortunately, this uneven series has some good titles and some poorly implemented titles. This reviewer saw three of the six series titles and one, about the Brontosaurus, contains very old-looking, unappealing illustrations. There is also a photo of a canyon that doesn’t match the adjoining text referring to fossils. These Brontosaurus illustrations remind the reviewer of soft, muted, crayon-like illustrations of decades ago, versus the finely detailed digital illustrations featured throughout the other titles.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Kaiser, Brianna. Mighty T. Rex, The. Non-Fiction. Bumba Books: The Mighty Dinosaurs Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 24pp. PLB $26.65. 978-1-7284-4102-3. PB $8.99. 978-1-7284-4814-5. ADDITIONAL. GRADES PRE-1.

Please see series review for The Mighty Stegosaurus by Jackie Golusky.

Borgert-Spaniol, Megan. Reiko’s Team. Mette Engel, Illus. Easy Reader. Pull Ahead Readers People Smarts: Be a Good Sport: Fiction Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 16pp. PLB $23.99. 978-1-7284-4099-6. PB $7.99. 978-1-7284-4803-9. ADDITIONAL. GRADES K-1.

Please see series review for Dev Tries His Best by Megan Borgert-Spaniol.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library 

Balcárcel, Rebecca. Shine On, Luz Véliz!. Fiction. Chronicle, 05/2022. 332pp. $17.99. 978-1-7972-0967-8. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-6.

Luz divides her life into before and after. She used to be a soccer star, tightly bonded to her dad who coached her team. Post injury, Luz puts her trophies in the garbage and warms the bench. Her dad seems barely able to look at her. But when a massive surprise from her dad’s home country of Guatemala arrives on their doorstep, Luz and her family must rebuild their life. A retired tech-savvy neighbor, a chance encounter with robotics, and three bilingual classmates she’s overlooked, all offer clues to a new version of Luz. Luz’s struggle feels real and messy, as she adapts to not being a star and her presumptions get in her way. Strong family support and a wise neighbor help her shift focus and build a new identity based on both challenge and acceptance. The only confusing element is a tragic story of deportation that isn’t thoroughly integrated into the story and feels like it exists only to motivate the main characters.

Melissa McAvoy, Retired

Peters, Katie. Trying My Best.  Easy Reader. Pull Ahead Readers People Smarts: Be a Good Sport: Non-fiction Series. Lerner, 01/2022. 16pp. PLB $23.99. 978-1-7284-4095-8. PB $7.99. 978-1-7284-4809-1. ADDITIONAL. GRADES K-1.

Please see series review for Dev Tries His Best by Megan Borgert-Spaniol. 

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library

Crull, Kelly. Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic Non-fiction. Millbrook, 03/2022. [36]pp. $19.99. 978-1-7284-3030-0. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 3-5.

Highlighting how many plastic items end up in the ocean, Crull shows various sculptures that artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi created with the help of the Washed Ashore organization who collected things found washed up on the shore. Full of information about the dangers of plastics, the text also explains the sculpture-making process, includes a scavenger hunt game to play along a shoreline and challenges readers to spot certain items in each pictured sculpture. Also includes a glossary and additional resources to use, in print and online, to learn more about plastics and ocean life. A different look at ocean ecology, human effects on the planet, and ways to help the planetary ecological system.

Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library 

Downs, Mike. You See a Zoo, I See… Maureen O’Brien, Illus. Picture B00k. Charlesbridge, 03/2022. [32]pp. $16.99. 978-1-6235-4099-9. ADDITIONAL. GRADES PRE-K.

This title shows that there is more than one way to see a zoo. A black-skinned girl with curly hair introduces various zoo animals by first describing how people typically view them (rowdy, scary, silly, lazy, or angry) and how differently she sees them. The twist of the story is the various paternal and maternal descriptions that she associates with each animal and their youngsters before revealing who the zookeeper is. The watercolor illustrations depict an ethnically diverse group of human zoo visitors and the many animals they see with lots of details and visible feelings. A nice way to show the natural parent/child relationships of animals.