News & Reviews

How Ursula Marvin Mapped Moon Rocks and Meteorites A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP A Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster) pub. 10.14.2025 64 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Sandra Neil Wallace    Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter C haracter: Ursula Marvin O verview : " While attending college in the early 1940s, Ursula Marvin fell in love with geology, but when she asked her male professor about making the field her major, he tried to stop her, saying it would be a better use of

Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) pub. 5.10.2025 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Penny Parker Klostermann    Illustrator: Anne Lambelet C haracter: Nan Songer O verview : "' Venomous spiders, delicate silk, and science experiments filled Nan Songer’s days and nights—her home in California overflowed with many-legged critters. With inspiration from a friend, Nan began to study how spider silk c

The World's First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing) pub. 4.1.2025 40 pages Ages 6 - 10 A uthor and photographer: Kelly Crull C haracters: The Black Mambas O verview : " The Black Mambas, South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit, is unlike any other: they carry no weapons. Instead, they keep animals safe with frequent patrols and a keen eye for footprints, snares, and other clues that poachers are nea

Thrilled that the esteemed Betsy Bird chose our book!! Here's her review: "Not the first Pei picture book we’ve seen but the first that focuses squarely on the construction of his work on the Louvre. It’s funny, but 2025 was a year when I was paying a lot more attention to how architects were portrayed in media. The film The Brutalist , for example, (out in 2024) was very much of the Genius Misunderstood type of take, which is a dangerous way to grapple with architecture as a

A True Story of an Extraordinary World war II Rescue A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Chronicle Books pub. 9.2.2025 68 pages Ages 5 - 8 A uthor: Elizabeth Brown    Illustrator: M elissa Castrillón C haracter: Aristides de Sousa Mendes O verview : "'He who saves a single life, saves the world entire.' —The Talmud Here is the true and powerful story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who, against his government’s commands, helped refugees flee France to escape the Nazis by grant

How Rose Valland Saved Art from the Nazis A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Beach Lane Books (Simon Kids) pub. 9.16.2025 40 pages Ages 6 - 10 A uthor and illustrator: Erin McGuire     C haracter: Rose Valland O verview : " Rose Valland loved art. When the Nazis invaded Paris during World War II and took over her beloved museum, Rose could have fled. But who would save the artwork? So, Rose remained and saw how she was underestimated by the soldiers for being a quiet, unass

The Wondrous Tale of Joey Ramone A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Drag City (Chicago) pub. 9.26.2025 51 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Jay Ruttenberg    Illustrator: Lucinda Schreiber C haracter: Joey Ramone O verview : " Gabba Gabba We Accept You is a children's picture book that tells the story of how a kid who was bullied and felt like a misfit grew up to become a hero to so many as lead singer of The Ramones. This story speaks to one of the greatest silent majorities in t

a story about Arnold Lobel A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Viking Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House) pub. 9.23.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor and illustrator: Emmy Kastner C haracter: Arnold Lobel O verview : " Arnold Lobel was many things: a quiet observer, an avid reader, and the kind of man who kept a gorilla suit in his closet, just in case. Above all else, Arnold was an artist and a storyteller. And he infused pieces of himself in the characters he cre

The First Woman to Serve on the United States Supreme Court A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Sleeping Bear Press pub. 5.1.2025 40 pages Ages 6 - 9 A uthor: Molly Golden    Illustrator: Julia Breckenreid C haracter: Sandra Day O'Connor O verview : "On September 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to be a Supreme Court Justice in United States history. But who was Sandra Day O’Connor? In the 1930s, it was hard to imagine any woman sitting on the highest co

The Story of America's First Female Smokejumper A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Viking Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House) pub. 7.1.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 7 A uthor: Jessica Lawson    Illustrator: Sarah Gonzales C haracter: Deanne Shulman O verview : " Deanne loved being outdoors. With her family, she spent summers sailing the Salton Sea and backpacking the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As she grew older, her love of nature only grew. So when the heat rose each fir