Island Storm – a Moment in Time

Lynn: In Brian Floca and Sydney Smith’s new book, Island Storm (Neal Porter/Holiday House, 2025), a boy and his small sister set out to “see the sea” as a large thunderstorm brews offshore of their island home. As the clouds gather and the wind increases, the pair, holding hands, push further and further along the coast, past boarded-up vacation homes and into the strangely empty town. At each pause, they push and pull each other and decide to go on. When a thunderous boom shakes the ground, the children turn and race for home as the wind picks up and the rain begins. Cold and wet, they see their mother, searching for them, and fling themselves into her arms. Safe, to be comforted and warmed as the storm rages. The concluding pages depict a calm, beautiful day that follows as the pair explores their beach together.

This gorgeous lyrical book is definitely one of the year’s best for me. Floca’s dynamic evocative text thunders with the sounds of the approaching storm, yet softens with the undercurrent of love and reassurance the children feel for each other and their home. That exciting, slightly scary feel of pushing boundaries is beautifully depicted, as is the undercurrent of a solid understanding of love and protection that surrounds them.

Sydney Smith, whom I deeply admire too, shines here with stunning watercolor and gouache illustrations, all with a deeply affective use of colors, perspectives, panels, and full-page designs. The two children are small against the towering storm, never quite sharply drawn, but clearly the focus of each page as they test their courage, always supporting each other.

Brilliant in every aspect, these two artists create a powerful snapshot of a brief experience, but one that reveals volumes about relationships, experiences, emotions, and childhood.

One kid – Two Jobs! The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi

Lynn: Some background here. I spent my career in a district with a very large ELL population. We’re not big – 7000 kids but 1200 of them are English Language Learners. Over 33 different languages other than English are spoken in our kids’ homes.

SO, I am familiar with searching for resources for our kids, their teachers, AND their families, and there hasn’t been a lot out there. I am heartened by what is being written lately! But, having said that, this extraordinary book touches a chord that will be so deeply heard by kids like ours across the nation. Children are often more capable of learning a new language than their parents, and they are frequently called upon to interpret for them. It is a fact of life in schools and towns in our country, and it puts an immense burden on these students.

Olivia Abtahi nails the issue with her new picture book, The Interpreter (Kokila/Pengin Random, 2025), and while she does it with humor, the truth of it is anything but funny. As she says from the first page, ” Some kids had one job: to be a kid. Cecelia had two.” The young girl in our story loves helping her parents and doing this important job. But it is hard to be this grown-up “professional” interpreter AND be a kid! It is exhausting – and maybe she should have said something earlier. The resolution is hopeful and offers other helpers out there, with parents realizing that their child needs to be a child too.

This is getting long, but I don’t want to leave without highlighting the brilliant illustrations by Monica Arnaldo. Created with watercolors and crayons, Arnoldo uses color masterfully. Pay attention to the color of the speech bubbles, the color green that dominates in the over-reliance on Cecelia in an adult role and in the exaggerated perspectives on the end papers. This is a very kid-appropriate book, but the depth offered in both text and illustrations takes it to another level. I hope the committees are watching this one because it is stellar. Please note too that Cecelia’s oversized green suit waxes and wanes as her responsibilities alter.

This is a book that will speak to so many kids and that librarians and teachers have been wishing for. A must purchase, whether your population is non-English speaking or not.

Want to Escape? Try The Zebra’s Great Escape!

Lynn: Many of us may be looking for books about escapes, good over evil, and with touches of humor, now more than ever.

Katherine Rundell’s latest, The Zebra’s Great Escape, (S&S, 2024), is a perfect example, her first for a younger audience, and it is a delight. Longer than the usual picture book, this is divided into 3 parts, which makes handy stopping points for a younger child’s bedtime reading. But who will want to stop???

Meet Mink, a child who doesn’t believe in bedtimes. Out late playing, she meets a baby zebra and discovers he and all animals can talk through colors and feelings in her mind. When the baby begs for help, Mink takes him home where he tells her his story of his parents being stolen by an evil man and taken away in a cage. Gabriel, for that is the zebra’s name, has been searching ever since.

Mink, with the help of the grumpy dog next door and other nearby animals, discovers the zebras are being held in a faraway country house by an evil man, Mr. Spit. They are off to the rescue.

Rundell uses words with magical skill. She respects her young readers and her vocabulary choices are challenging but the meaning is made clear through context. The story is paced to increase the readers’ engagement and suspense and she provides a terrifically evil villain they will love to hate. The conclusion is delightfully satisfying.

Enhancing the story are Sara Ogilvie’s illustrations, which have a slightly Edward Gorey feel to them. She uses digital and hand-drawn illustrations, rich colors, and details with a perfect humorous touch.

The entire package is a delight and one that is bound to be read over and over. I missed this one when it came out but please grab this for a your own great escape.

Rebecca Stead Takes on Change

Lynn: Change is hard for most of us. For young children it is especially difficult as they often aren’t old enough to really understand why change is happening. And importantly, kids seldom feel any power to affect those changes that seem so overwhelming. I think many adults are feeling that same helplessness in these chaotic times.

Award-winning author Rebecca Stead makes her picture book authorial debut with a book about change and how one small family addresses it. Anything (Chronicle, 2025), is guaranteed to go straight to a reader’s heart, young or old, and to offer one way to take on something out of our control.

A young girl narrates her story of a day in a new apartment where her Dad has a chocolate cake waiting. He says it is a birthday cake for the new apartment and tells her she can have three anything wishes. “A rainbow for my room,” is the first wish, she tells him, and colors appear on the white pages for the first time as he paints a huge rainbow on the wall. The girl saves her wishes for a bit, but she makes silent wishes all related to going back to their old apartment, none of which come true.

Stead’s beautifully understated and authentic prose makes it clear that both the father and the child are regretting the change and both are working hard at protecting the other. The father’s actions are so understanding of the child’s feelings and his imaginative responses so wise, especially to the big Third Wish. The resolution will be satisfying to young readers and bring tears to adults.

The powerful partner to Stead’s evocative writing is Gracey Zhang’s artwork. Plain white backgrounds are the ideal backdrop for the small vignettes and full-page drawings. Zhang uses ballpoint pen and gouache to great effect. The scratchy sketches have the feel of a child’s crayon drawings and are deeply expressive despite the simple lines.

This is a powerful book that will speak to so many and that stays in the reader’s hearts and minds. Anything makes a terrific read-aloud and discussion starter, both in a classroom or in a family struggling with changes of their own. This is a must purchase!

Moving Day – for the House!

Lynn: I loved this interesting and inviting picture book about a very unusual subject – physically moving a house! Teri Roche Drobnick’s debut picture book, Moving Day (Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House, 2025), is based on a true event—moving the Englander House in San Francisco to a new location 6 blocks away. The practice was common in the early 1900’s and later. My best friend in childhood had a father whose business moved all sorts of buildings and I remember watching some of those. Few children today, however, ever witness such an effort and this book adds to the fun by making the house itself the narrator. Readers hold their breath as the house tells of teetering and tottering and even walloping a light post before settling into its new home.

Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s watercolor and ink illustrations are comedic and charming, adding whimsical details like feet to the house and its own colorful carpet bag luggage. The perspectives are wonderfully designed to add interest including a two-page spread featuring a long long hill with the top of the house just peeking over the summit.

Backmatter includes an Author’s Note with additional information and a photograph of the Englander House being moved. Don’t miss the end pages either as they are peppered with colorful sketches of crazy house all with feet.

This will make a great read-aloud as well as a discussion starter for conversation about moving and all the emotions surrounding that experience.

Don’t Go in the Basement – Unless You Are Ben Hatke Readers

Lynn: Everyone who watches horror movies KNOWS you should never go down in the basement! But Ben Hatke may change our minds with his wonderful new graphic novel, Things in the Basement (First Second, 2023.) For one thing, reading will solve the mystery that plagues us all – where do the missing socks go??

Ben Hatke may be my favorite graphic novelist and this new book checked every box for me. The storytelling, art work, pacing, world building, and characters were all richly created. I read this in one sitting and then went back and re-read it more slowly and I can see that each additional reading will yield more.

Young Milo, his mom, and infant twin siblings have just moved into a new rather spooky-looking house. One of the babies has lost a sock, specially knitted for her, and Milo’s mom asks him to go find it – IN THE BASEMENT! If the house was spooky, the basement is terrifying but Milo wants to help his mom. Following a mysterious creature who has stolen the sock, Milo finds a previously unnoticed door. Behind that door is a whole other huge world and it is full of incredible creatures. Some of those creatures are friendly and some, like the Gobbler, are hideous and dangerous. As Milo explores the basement world, he makes some friends and learns just what it takes to really be a true friend.

Hatke’s illustrative work is masterful, brilliantly using light and shadow to intensify the suspense, mystery, and danger. Light touches add moments of relief only to plunge back into the foreboding murky dark. The world’s inhabitants are wonderfully imaginative including the Gobbler and the skull who speaks in pictures. What a great touch.

The story comes to a satisfying conclusion but clearly, the creaky door is wide open for another adventure. A must-purchase for all libraries where kids love graphic novels…. all libraries!

The Labors of Hercules Beal and Grief

Lynn: What, you might ask, do the Labors of Hercules, grief, and middle-grade books have to do with each other? Everything, if it’s in the hands of masterful author Gary Schmidt. In his new book, The Labors of Hercules Beal (Clarion, 2023),12-year-old Hercules Beal is laboring under a heavy burden of grief and loss after the hit-and-run accident that killed his parents. His older brother has returned from his dream job to take over the Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery and care for Hercules. Neither brother can talk about their pain and daily life is a question of survival. To add to Hercules’ burdens, his brother switches him to a new school he can walk to AND his new teacher, ex-marine, Lt. Col. Hupfer’s assignment of the Classical Mythology year-long project is to consider the Twelve Labors of Hercules and how they would be performed today.

As Hercules labors over the project, life adds much more to his burdens but he also discovers the powers of friendship, love, trust, and being able to heal—and the ability to write in ways that satisfy his demanding teacher.

Hercules and all the characters around him on Cape Cod won my heart and half the fun was seeing how he tackled the 12 Labors and how that affected him. Hercules is a kid that young readers can relate to and his voice is wonderfully authentic. Schmidt understandably writes often of grief and. sadly, its heavy weight is carried by many of today’s kids. Hercules’ struggles to manage that burden are deeply moving and accessibly depicted. His ultimate management of that pain is one every reader can cheer for.

Another reviewer I read has dismissed Schmidt and his books because the readers in her library won’t pick them up to read. That is a criticism of books that I have heard often over the years and while that may be true, it is also true that there are many readers for whom this book will be a truly memorable and enjoyable experience. We live in a world where young people often have little experience with books that take some time or are of places and people far different from their own. Part of our role as teachers and librarians is to open those doors for kids and help them to experience different worlds. Schmidt’s books beg to be read aloud in a classroom, to be discussed and to enable readers to walk in other people’s shoes. I feel it has always been crucial and, especially so today where focus and empathy are lacking, all the more important.

Libraries should have a wide range of popular books and formats and they should also have masterfully written stories that are deeply rewarding and that take time to unfurl. Gary Schmidt’s newest is one of those. Will a lot of kids know anything about the Labors of Hercules? Not at the beginning, but do they know about grief and sadness and the daily struggle to get through a day? Absolutely! And here, a wonderful writer reflects on those issues in ways that will make young readers laugh and cry and perhaps help them in their own struggles. I think this is a must-purchase and a wonderful book to share.

Are You Ready for Snow? Just One Flake Maybe…

Cindy: I’m not happy that it’s SNOWING here in Travis Jonker’s part of the world, where Lynn and I live too, and on HALLOWEEN, no less, but I’m chilled with delight over his latest book, Just One Flake (Abrams, 2023). This one had me at the cover as a young child sticks out his tongue to catch a snowflake. This story features Jonker’s debut as an illustrator of his work, and what a fabulous start. Knowing that Travis often highlights the covers under the picture book jackets in his popular children’s literature blog, 100 Scope Notes, the first thing I did was peek under the jacket to check—and I wasn’t disappointed. A collage of paper snowflakes is made even better when you learn that they were each created by some of the luminaries of the children’s lit world along with family members, each credited at book’s end.

Liam is eager to catch just one snowflake and gives it multiple tries but is foiled each time. A final attempt, just as he is called inside, is alllllmoooost successful, but successful enough to spark wonder and a new idea for him to explore inside with a cup of hot chocolate. The story and illustrations appear simple but the themes (perseverance, success can come in many levels, wonder at nature, and creativity is power) are subtle and important. This is a gem not to be missed.

Lynn: In Michigan, like many Midwestern states, we have a saying that if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. Our 6-9 inches of Halloween snow has quickly melted and yesterday it was 54 degrees! But snow is always a factor in our winters and Travis’ wonderful picture book is going to delight kids everywhere—even those who seldom see a snowflake.

This is a perfect book to use with very young children. The use of simple sentences and language make it wonderfully toddler appropriate and the sound effects make for a fun read-aloud. Travis’ illustrations have black line outlines and bright primary colors that do a great job of enhancing the text for small readers.

I second Cindy’s thoughts on this charming story. Quick! Add this to your collections before the next snowflake falls!

Squash the Cat Makes a Big Mistake

Lynn: It’s fall so squash is a common topic! But this time I don’t mean the vegetable – I mean the cat! Sasha Meyer’s new and very funny picture book, Squash, the Cat (Random Studio, 2023) introduces a cat named Squash and his best friend Maggie. Squash is the perfect name for this orange and definitely squash-shaped cat.

Squash is “an early breakfast followed by a mid-morning nap kind of cat.” Maggie, however is a later riser but a “wild playdate” kind of girl. But Maggie and Squash are perfect for each other just the same. Together they take on all challenges and always have each other’s back. Until, that is, Squash, thinking he is saving Maggie, makes a BIG mistake!

This sweet and appealing story shows what happens when a best friend makes another sad. Small children will understand both Squash and Maggie’s feelings and cheer when Maggie decides that even if best friends forever aren’t perfect, that is OK. Meyer’s large bright illustrations wonderfully convey both friend’s experiences and gently underscore the idea that friends forgive each other. This is a wonderful book to use to start discussions about friends and what happens when someone makes a mistake.

I adored the illustration in this tale! Just looking at Squash makes me laugh. But I may have a slight bias here Will on couch since I share a house with a remarkably similar and squash-shaped cat.

Lake Erie Mysteries – Swallowtail Island Returns

Lynn: I Betrayal by the book only discovered Michael Beil’s first book in the Swallowtail Legacy a few months ago. I loved it and I am so happy to report that we now have a second mystery set on beautiful Swallowtail Island to enjoy. Swallowtail Legacy: Betrayed by the Book (Pixiel Ink, 2023) is just as much fun as the first! The series features soccer player/detective/reader Lark and her extended family. Lark, still wearing the cast from the accident at the end of the first book, is thrilled to be picked as a page to her favorite author, Ann Keyhart, for the famous Swallowtail Writer’s Conference. But it is immediately clear that Keyhart is a horrible person who bullies her assistant, and undermines other authors, editors, and agents constantly. AND she hasn’t written a word in several years! Lark bonds with Didi, Keyhart’s assistant who confides that she (Didi) has just completed a book and is to meet an agent at the conference. Then, tragically, Didi is found dead of an allergic reaction and there is NO trace of her laptop or manuscript.

Lark and her band of island friends and family don’t believe Didi’s death was an accident and set out to solve the mystery.

This is another delightful mystery ideal for middle-grade readers. Set in a unique place and with an endearing cast of characters, the identity of the murderer becomes clear early but the real story lies in the proof, the gathering of evidence, and several related threads connecting the books and several of the characters. Twelve-year-old Lark is a feisty, often impulsive protagonist and easy to root for. Her extended family and the large cast of islanders and new friends add interest and warmth and help make this second installment even more fun than the first. Another wild chase scene occurs at the resolution and events set the stage for a third—and VERY welcome—book.