The December issue of Notes usually just consists of Fanfare, an embarrassment of riches in itself. But we couldn’t be luckier — and we couldn’t be happier — to have a chance to interview longtime Friend of the Horn Book Gregory Maguire. Maguire wrote the 1995 adult book Wicked: The...
In Kusum Mepani’s picture book Meena’s Saturday (Kokila/Penguin, 4–8 years), the young title character enjoys warm, boisterous weekly gatherings with her family and community (depicted in Yasmeen Ismail’s lively illustrations), even as she questions her role within them. For more books about togetherness, see our list “Gather together” in this...
In Tracey Baptiste's page-turning sci-fi thriller Boy 2.0 (Algonquin, 10–14 years), Win “Coal” Keegan, a Black boy in the foster system and an activist who makes art about anti-Black police violence, finds that he can turn invisible, an ability that keeps him safe when he needs it most. His discovery...
This is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by Tundra Books We Are Definitely Human (Tundra, 4–8 years) say the three strangers who appear at Mr. and Mrs. Li's house one night. In her latest picture book, X. Fang...
In their dynamic picture-book biography Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos (Calkins/Astra, 7–10 years), author Nathalie Alonso and illustrator Rudy Gutierrez trace their subject’s baseball career and his advocacy. See also the Sports--Baseball and Puerto Ricans tags in the Guide/Reviews Database. 1. Nathalie, as a sports...
In the graphic novel The Worst Ronin (HarperAlley/HarperCollins, 14–17 years), author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrator Faith Schaffer present two female samurai on a quest, set in a reimagined feudal Japan featuring modern technology. See also the Fantasy and Graphic novels subject tags in the Guide/Reviews Database. 1. Maggie, you’ve also...
Each book in Sarah Sax’s Brinkley Yearbooks graphic novel series (Knopf, 9–12 years) centers on a different protagonist. In the second and latest, Tryouts, athletic Al becomes the only girl on the school’s baseball team, and that’s just the beginning of a nuanced tale of teamwork. See also the Sports...
Edel Rodriguez has worked in formats and genres including adult graphic memoir, fiction and nonfiction picture books, and iconic covers for Time magazine. His fantastical wordless picture book The Mango Tree / La mata de mango (Abrams, 4–8 years) is inspired by his own story of migration from Cuba and...
Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire (Norton, 12–18 years) by Paula Yoo provides a thoughtful, in-depth, and very compelling account of the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, the events leading up to it, and its aftermath from...
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