A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Levine Querido
(pub. 4.7.2026)
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jenn Bailey & Sherry Bushue
Illustrator: Pamela Zagarenski
Character: Marcel Marceau
Overview:
"Marcel was born in 1923 in the French city of Strasbourg. He was drawn to the flickering images of Charlie Chaplin in the movies, and he had a gift for imitating the birds around him, the people, and even the wind!
But his safe, creative childhood was shattered by the advent of World War II and the anti-Jewish laws that demonized his Jewish family. Before long, his family was forced to flee in the wake of the advancing German army. His artistic talents were applied to forging papers and passports for those trying to escape. He disguised himself as a Scout leader in order to lead younger children over the border to safety, keeping them calm with dancing, singing, and stories told in mime. Even border guards were swayed and distracted by his entertaining antics.
Surviving the war, this talented young boy became renowned around the world as Marcel Marceau, the most famous mime of the twentieth century. "
Tantalizing taste:
" And so Marcel reaches back to childhood games of pretend, now deadly serious - to charm the soldiers, to please the guards, to pass the checkpoints.
Dressed as a Boy Scout leader, Marcel keeps a group of the children entertained with songs, riddles, and stories told in mime.
He makes the perilous journey again and again until ALL THE ORPHANS ARE FREE."
And something more: The MORE ABOUT MARCEL MARCEAU section explains: "Even as the war and his Resistance work continued, Marcel began to study drama ... His teachers called Marcel 'a natural mime,' and he embraced this silent and artistically graceful form of acting. He practiced in front of the children at the orphanage, providing welcome entertainment. These children were his first audience and throughout his life Marcel felt children understood his art better than anyone."
How Stephen Sondheim Made
Musical Puzzles Come Alive
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 4.21.2026)
48 pages
Ages 7 - 10
Author: Erin Frankel
Illustrator: Stacy Innerst
Character: Stephen Sondheim
Overview:
"Before he became a noted lyricist and composer, Stephen Sondheim was a boy filled with curiosity—a boy who loved figuring out how things worked. After his parents’ divorce scattered the pieces of his life, he found comfort in music.
Guided by his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, Sondheim learned that the best way to get better was to practice: choosing notes, choosing words, and putting it all together, piece by piece. Writing musicals wasn’t easy, and not everyone loved Stephen’s new and unusual shows. But Sondheim loved figuring it out, and loved the way the people in every show became like a family."
Tantalizing taste:
" Writing songs for the theater was
Stephen Sondheim's favorite
puzzle to solve.
Choosing notes
Choosing words
Putting it all together
Piece by piece.
When the pieces fit together, the puzzle
came alive!
Music and lyrics flying off the page and
onto the stage
What could be more exciting!"
And something more: The author, Erin Frankel, shares in the Author's Note: "What kept him moving on? To my great joy, I discovered the answer to a question at the heart of his work: Why? Piece after piece, Sondheim immersed himself in his craft for the love of it - even when it was hard. In doing so, he gave the world a gift that will live forever. Stephen Sondheim made us feel something more."
How One Curious Woman Connected
Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Quill Tree Books
(Harper Collins Publishers)
(pub. 1.13.2026)
40 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jen Bryant
and illustrator: Amy June Bates
Character: Pauline Baynes
Overview:
"From a young age, Eunice Foote’s natural curiosity led her to learn more about how the world worked. What makes milk turn to butter? Why can I see my breath when it’s cold? Why are there different kinds of clouds?
By the time she grew up, scientists announced that the Earth was much hotter in the past, and that the warmer temperatures must mean the Earth’s core was the cause. But Eunice thought something else could be at work. Through experiments and tests, Eunice’s curiosity helped her make an important breakthrough: the greenhouse effect."
Tantalizing taste:
" Every summer, American scientists held a meeting where they discussed their experiments and discoveries. But only men were allowed to speak at the meetings! ...
So a friend of [her husband's] presented Eunice's results instead...
Five years later, in 1861, Professor Tyndall would claim that he was the first to show that more carbon dioxide in the air made the earth warmer."
And something more: The Timeline in the Back Matter included: "July 2019. During the 200th anniversary of the birth of Eunice Newton Foote, the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine and Time magazine pay tribute to her work."
