A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Beach Lane Books
(Simon & Schuster)
(pub. 2.24.2026)
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jane Kurtz
Illustrator: Giselle Potter
Character: Mary Morland
Overview:
"While other little girls were sipping tea perched on their chairs, Mary Morland was given the freedom to spend her time outside exploring. After her mother died, her father sent her to live with a professor who taught Mary how to examine plants, animals, rocks, and fossils. She soaked up all the knowledge she could and captured her discoveries in her journals. Mary continued studying and drawing fossils into adulthood, becoming a prominent fossil hunter whose finds impressed leading scientists of the day.
Eventually, Mary bonded with William Buckland, England’s best fossilist, over their love of paleontology, and the two got married. Together, they introduced the world to Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur that lived on land. At the time, William received credit for their accomplishments while Mary worked from the shadows."
Tantalizing taste:
" In those days, women couldn't vote, couldn't own property, couldn't go to college. Mary did important work for science, but she worked in the shadows.
What did Mary think of that?
She did not write down her reaction.
Neither did anybody else.
But she kept learning and passing her enthusiasms on."
And something more: The author, Jane Kurtz, shares in the Author's Note: "For the most part, this period of putting together dinosaur clues belonged to men. Women weren't allowed to be Fellows in the Geological Society of London. They had to experience the life of science by educating themselves and with the help of male friends and husbands... [Mary's] son became a scientist who wrote with lively humor about all kinds of animals around the world. Frank and his sister Elizabeth are the main reasons we know details of their mother's life and work. Women didn't get to have the spotlight in those days."
Audiobook Inventor Dr. Robert B Irwin
and a New Way to Read
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(Simon & Schuster)
(pub. 2.24.2026)
32 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jenny Lacika
Illustrator: Ashanti Fortson
Character: Robert B. Irwin
Overview:
"Robert Benjamin Irwin loves to learn and explore. But when he’s five, his eyes grow red and painful from fever, and he loses his sight. Since he can no longer see, Robert focuses instead on what he can do: discovering new ways to learn and experience the world through sound.
As he grows up, Robert learns to read books written in Braille, a system of raised dots that can be read with fingers. But as much as he loves stories, he finds finger-reading Braille slow and difficult. He wishes he could listen to a story like he listens to the birds. So, with a team of audio engineers, Robert sets out to make it happen—and revolutionizes reading for people around the world."
Tantalizing taste:
" But when Robert was five, his eyes grew red and painful and his body burned with fever.
Soon his entire world went dark.
Robert couldn't look for something new now, but that didn't stop him from finding new things to discover.
He could hear the splash of the surf on the shore,
the squirrels skittering in circles around the trees,
and the crunch of leaves beneath his feet,
and ... the birds.
Now, rather than peeking inside nests, Robert listened and learned to discern the sounds and songs of different birds."
And something more: The author, Jenny Lacika, shares in the Author's Note: "I was born with strabismus, and audiobooks were a way for me to read even when my eyes were tired and couldn't stay focused on the text....Robert's disability led him to create something that he otherwise wouldn't have because his experiences gave him new perspective and knowledge."
How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Levine Querido
(pub. 3.3.2026)
32 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Sandra Nickel
Illustrator: Calvin Nicholls
Character: Hans Christian Andersen
Overview:
" He brought to life stories and characters that millions have loved: A one-legged tin soldier who yearned for love. A poor little match girl. A mermaid who gave up her voice for a prince.
But who was Hans Christian Andersen? He was a “strange child.” An ugly duckling. Even his mother said so. He didn’t seem to think like, or look like, anyone around him.
But while his tender heart was bruised by ridicule, it responded by driving an unstoppable urge to create, to entertain. If he couldn’t act he would dance, if he couldn’t dance he would sing, and if he couldn’t sing … well, maybe he had stories to tell.
With each rejection and defeat, Hans would soothe himself by making art with scissors and whatever was handy. A bit of cloth, a piece of paper. Until one day…
Structured like a fairy tale, this is the story of how Hans Christian Andersen took all the parts of his life—whether painful or transcendent—and used them to create books that have touched children the world over.
Tantalizing taste:
"The shoemaker's son often felt like a country duck with all these noble people. But after dinner, everyone crowded around. As he took his scissors from his pocket, they hushed their voices. And as he weaved magic with his words and scissors, he felt like the most beautiful swan of all."
And something more: Sandra Nickel shared in the Author's Note: "Experts believe that Hans Christian Andersen was likely on the autism spectrum. He may have also had Marfan syndrome, which may result in unusually long noses, arms, and legs... His growing-up years seemed familiar to me - his differentness, his hyperfocus, the solace he found in stories. I have three generations of neurodivergent women in my family, and we have each grappled with our places in the world...
Believing that fairy tales reflect aspects of our inner world, I took up my pen and wrote this biography in the form of Andersen's fairy tales... Most importantly, I wanted to show that Andersen used his originality - even the reassuring, repetitive movement of cutting out shapes - to find his own place in the world."
