News & Reviews

Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) (pub. 10.14.2025) 48 pages Ages 7 -10 A uthor: Erin Frankel Illustrator: Jasu Hu C haracter: Mary Oliver O verview : " Young Mary Oliver was enthralled by nature. In the forest, she wondered about the birds and the lilies and the water in the stream—about all the things that cannot speak yet somehow spoke to Mary. She wondered, too, about poetry, about how words pieced together filled her with light and how some poems felt like

A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Margaret Quinlin Books ( Peachtree) pub. 2.10.2026 48 pages Ages 6 - 9 A uthor: Patricia Newman Illustrator: Isabelle Follath C haracter: Beatrice Harrison O verview : "' On May 19, 1924, a duet between a young cellist and a male nightingale was broadcast across the British Commonwealth as far away as Canada, India, and Australia to over one million listeners. It was an unprecedented collective experience made possible by the invention

A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Feiwel & Friends (MacKids) (pub. 10.14.2025) 40 pages Ages 2 - 5 A uthor and illustrator: Derek Desierto C haracter: Henri Matisse O verview : " Henri Matisse loved color. He dreamed of being an artist. Even after his father pushed him to study for a 'serious' job, Henri followed his heart and went to art school. Color was all around him! After a grueling illness, Henri had to reinvent the way he made art. And what he created became even m

A True Story of the Black Woman Battalion of World War II A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Harper (HarperCollins) (pub. 10.7.2025) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Tonya Abari Illustrator: Lance Evans C haracters: The Black Woman Battalion of WWII O verview : " In 1944, the United States was facing a unique wartime crisis—too much mail! Millions of letters and packages, stacked from floor to ceiling, sat unsent in cold, dark warehouses, with no one to sort through the bac

Toni Morrison's Life in Stories A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Little, Brown Books for Readers (pub. 1.7.2025) 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Andrea Davis Pinkney Illustrator: Daniel Minter C haracter: Toni Morrison O verview : " From imaginative child to visionary storyteller, Toni Morrison was a fiercely inspiring writer that helped change the world. This poetic picture book is part love letter and part biography, praising the power of this Nobel Prize winner. With i

The Musical Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Beach Lane Books (Simon & Schuster) (pub. 10.14.2025) 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Rekha S. Rajan Illustrator: Ken Daley C haracters: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong O verview : " Ella Fitzgerald loved to dance. When little Ella heard jazz music, the music notes moved her legs as she twirled around New York City. Way down south, Louis Armstrong loved to sing. When jazz

Barbara Hillary, the First Black Woman to Reach the North and South Poles A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Atheneum Books (Simon & Schuster) pub. 10.21.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Deborah Blumenthal Illustrator: Anastasia Magloire Williams C haracter: Barbara Hillary O verview : " As a young girl, Barbara Hillary imagined a life of adventure. Despite facing hardships in her childhood and illness as an adult, she never gave up on her dream: to travel the world and

André Leon Talley― A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Henry Holt (MacKids) pub. 11.11.2025 56 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthors: Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders Illustrator: Lamont O'Neal C haracter: André Leon Talley O verview : " Growing up in the Jim Crow South wasn't easy for young André. He escaped into the glimmering worlds he discovered inside magazines like Ebony and Vogue . He fell in love with all things French, and honed

Ulugh Beg's Quest to Map the Stars and Seasons A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Harper Collins pub. 9.30.2025 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: M. O. Yuksel Illustrator: Zelma Firdauzia C haracter: Ulugh Beg O verview : " Ulugh Beg’s curiosity burned as bright as the stars. He yearned to count every star in the sky, every day in a year, and to know why the seasons change. Fueled by his deep faith, Ulugh Beg’s quest for knowledge led to the creation of new schools, the world

The Promise of the Packhorse Librarians A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N T OP Union Square Kids pub. 8.12.2025 48 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Lauren H. Kerstein Illustrator: Becca Stadtlander C haracters: Kentucky Packhorse Librarians O verview : "Following the Great Depression, literacy rates in the country had dwindled, and education and opportunities were harder to come by, especially in areas like rural Appalachia. But still, there was a dream: a vision of a nation in whi