Book Reviews

3 New Picture Book Biographies about Outstanding Women

| Tasha
Book cover of Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Sofia Moore, with an image of a woman in a blue dress holding paper and pencils with girls doing imaginative play in the background

Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Sofia Moore

  • Publisher: Calkins Creek
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781629794563

Louisa May Alcott was born into a family very similar to that of Little Women. She had three sisters and they played with the books in her father’s study. The family was poor and moved often. Louisa loved to write in her Imagination Book but her older sisters were already working as domestic servants. When Louisa was twelve, her mother received an inheritance which allowed the family to purchase a new home in Concord, Massachusetts where she met neighbors like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. As they continued to move, one of Louisa’s sisters died and Louisa’s dream of writing seemed far away as she was rejected again and again. It was after her time as a nurse during the Civil War that Louisa found her straight-forward writing style that everyone continues to love in her Little Women. 

This approachable picture book biography of the famous author focuses on the parallels between her own life and that of the Marches in Little Women, a perspective that pays off at the end when Little Women is finally published. Alcott’s journey is fraught from the beginning due to poverty and yet she continues to dream of writing, showing a real perseverance as she struggles to find her unique voice. The illustrations are done in a mix of paint, pencil and digital, focusing closely when Alcott’s world begins to draw inward and having wide landscapes at the times of expansive thought and opportunity. 

A great picture book biography of a big woman in children’s literature. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Book cover of Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa featuring a little Black girl running with a water can in front of a smiling sun with water drops falling

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

  • Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593404898

A tall tale based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston takes readers into the life of this renowned author as a small child. Zora was a little girl who didn’t play gently with dolls or tea sets. She was always dirty after a day playing outside, climbing trees. But most of all, Zora was a story teller filling the air around her with tales that she made up on the spot. She dreamed of her stories changing the world and then set out to use her tales to end the local drought. Armed with just a watering can and her imagination, she went around town telling stories. But by the end of the day, there was no water in her can. About to give up, she realized that she had watered a garden with her stories and the drought came to an end as everyone started to use their imaginations together. 

This second book in the Small-Girl series is a winner. Young Zora is presented with a huge imagination and a mouth willing to share the stories she creates. She shines brightly on the page, her ideas glowing against the grumpy adults she encounters. The illustrations move from huge suns and moons to fancy parlors to the stories that Zora weaves. The result is a book filled with deep color and sprightly tales. 

A clever use of tall tales to speak to the power of stories and one amazing author.

Book cover of Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton, featuring a portrait of Septima Clark

Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton

  • Publisher: Quill Tree Books
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780063251601

Septima Clark was born in 1898 to a father who had been enslaved and a mother who was raised free in Haiti. Her parents firmly believed in education, getting Septima a real education by trading for lessons. Even as a child, Septima loved to teach others. At age 18, she moved to South Carolina and an all-Black school where she was allowed to teach. She taught children during the day and adults at night. In the 1950s, Septima started teaching at an integrated school for adults, helping people learn to read, write and vote. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a team of teachers who helped Black people learn enough to pass the existing voting tests. Septima never stopped teaching and never stopped being the change. 

There is something so beautiful about a child raised from poverty and following her own dream of teaching all the way through to its most exultant form, community activism and enabling others to follow their dreams too. Throughout this picture book biography, there is a sense of quiet strength in Clark, leading through teaching, creating change through her work. Dynamically written in poetic prose, the book reads aloud beautifully. The illustrations are oil paintings, capturing Clark from childhood through adulthood with grace and poise. 

A force for change and good. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Sundown Girls by L. S. Stratton – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Sundown Girls by L. S. Stratton

  • Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9798217004942

Naomi has been returned to her biological family after living until recently with the woman she thought was her mother but who actually abducted her. Her family calls her by a different name and adjustment has been rocky. That’s why they decide to take a long summer vacation together in the Shenandoah Valley. However, the town they are near used to be a Sundown town and still holds some of the same beliefs about Black people living there. Naomi starts seeing a young Black girl outside her window who suddenly bursts into flames. As Naomi learns more about the history of the region, she realizes that it may not just be girls from the past who are in danger there.

Incredibly gripping and tense, this is a layered thriller for teens that speaks directly to the Black experience in sundown towns across the country. It also looks at how girls are exploited and ignored on multiple levels, becoming missing girls. Naomi is a great protagonist, strong and resilient while still struggling with her past and her current situation. Her messy relationship with her family is shown with empathy and honesty, adding to the questions of what is due to previous trauma and what is real.

A dark thriller full of personal trauma, history and ghosts.

Bug on the Bus by David Catrow – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Bug on the Bus by David Catrow

  • Publisher: Holiday House
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780823461080

Part of the I Like to Read collection, this is a very clever beginning reader.. Bug waits patiently for the bus to come, runs to the bus and hops on. Pig runs to the bus and hops on. So does Pup, but Bat doesn’t run or hop. Fox and Hen run to the bus, as does Cat. Slug runs too, but far more slowly than the others. Finally, Skunk runs and hops on the bus. But no one wants to ride with Skunk, not even the driver, except for Bug. But what will they do with no one to drive the bus?

Catrow gives this reader plenty of action built into his simple words and phrases. He keeps the sentences in the book simple and the real story is told in the pictures. The illustrations add a wildness to the title, with their wacky characters, oversized reactions, and the wonderful hops onto the bus by the various animals. 

Silly and delightfully odd, this beginning reader stands out from the rest like a skunk on a bus.

2 Nifty Nonfiction Picture Books about Animals

| Tasha

Frog: A Story of Life on Earth by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9781547618200

A child discovers frog eggs in a pond. Eggs will become tadpoles and eventually frogs. But where did the very first frog come from? Well, the picture book merrily takes children way back in time to the Big Bang where the first atoms were just forming. Stars formed and exploded, atoms moving across the universe. 8 billion years later, our solar system formed around the sun. Earth was perfectly positioned to create living things, but it took time. Cells formed, became creatures, lived in water and eventually on land. Amphibians rule the land for 100 million years, evolving and eventually frogs started hopping.

This is the third book by this creative pair, offering a book both about frogs and about the universe and life itself. The text is engaging and interesting as it suddenly veers from pond life to all life and then back again to frogs. It’s a journey in time and space that is definitely worth taking as the book explains the process simply for young children to understand. The illustrations also change from watery blues and greens of frogs and ponds to the dynamic colors of the universe as it is born and grows. 

A book about frogs that hops in new directions. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

How to Hatch: A Gosling’s Guide to Breaking Free by Sara Holly Ackerman, illustrated by Galia Bernstein

  • Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593811061

Beginning with a gosling snug in his egg, the book tells it that it is time to hatch! Step one is finding and pricking the air cell in the egg so that the gosling can breathe. Step two is tapping away with its egg tooth to break that shell. Perhaps a quick nap, since that was hard work. Now on to cutting the shell and using wings and legs to exit. Find a warm spot to dry off and then you are set to head out with your mother and siblings. 

Alongside the jaunty hatching story that can be shared aloud, there are in-depth facts on each page turn so that readers can learn more. It’s a great way to share information with children who are interested and still have a fast-paced read aloud for a crowd. The facts are written in an engaging style too, full of answers to natural questions. The art in this picture book is a lovely mix of cartoon and science, making for a book that will show well to a group and also read well snuggled close.

A cracking good book. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Melodies of The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Melodies of The Weary Blues: Classic Poems Illustrated for Young People by Langston Hughes, compiled by Shamar Knight-Justice

  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780063327054

Celebrate the centennial  of Langston Hughes’ first book of poetry with this new collection of selected poems paired with art from twenty gifted Black artists. This collection takes the poems in The Weary Blues and skillfully pairs them with illustrators who capture the essence of each poem in their unique ways. The result is a nonfiction poetry book with each poem separate but also part of a whole. Turning these pages is a journey through Hughes’ work and also through beautiful and distinct artistic reactions to each poem. 

With poems like “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” included in the collection, children will discover Hughes anew. The book ends with a biography of Langston Hughes as well as biographical information on each of the illustrators. The sweep from one illustrator to the next has been done with care, creating a full story as the pages turn and still allowing them to stand on their own. 

This belongs in every library. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Two Artists, Grandad and Me by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Two Artists, Grandad and Me by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

  • Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593571224

Visit Jerry Pinkney’s studio with his granddaughter in this celebration of a granddaughter’s love of art and her connection with her grandfather. There are papers around the room, stacks of stories, and bright watercolors on a tray. Grandad shows her how to make a wash, but Charnelle can’t do it quite the same way. He gives Charnelle her own sketchbook to fill. The two draw side-by-side and Grandad explains that each artist will see the world in their own way. 

Celebrate the nurturing of a young artist in this picture book about one of the best-known picture book artists of our time. Tying music into the feel of the book, the quiet time spent together each making art clearly inspired her to become the artist she is today. The illustrations in her book pay homage to her grandfather and still have a feel all her own as she uses cut paper figures and objects like paint brushes and erasers to create pages with depth and texture. 

A warm and lovely tribute to a genius of picture book creation. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Bryan Collier

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy sent by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781681198187

Told from the perspective of the Alabama River, this picture book shares the account of Black American history as seen by the river. From the creation of Selma to the Trail of Tears. From enslaved people to battles during the Civil War. From sharecropping to bridges across the river. All is witnessed by the river itself. But nothing was quite like 1965 when resistance flowed across the bridge at Selma and freedom flowed but not without bloodshed and brutality.There were more rivers to cross, more agreements to be made, but history and change were made that day.

The Young People’s Poet Laureate has created a picture book that looks deeply at the dark history of slavery, sharecropping, lynching and more before turning to the hope of change inherent in the protests at Selma. The writing is beautiful, unflinching and honest about the history of racism that our country was built upon. Collier’s illustrations are a rich mix of acrylic, watercolor and collage. They include a gatefold that works to pause the reader, linger at a pivotal moment rather than rushing on past. 

Powerful witness to our shared history. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

2 New Picture Books about Wild and Wonderful Girls

| Tasha

Magick Hoodoo Child by Amber McBride, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • Publication Date: January 20, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780063395404

At school, she is bullied, called names. Luckily, in the summer she can journey to her grandmother’s home. She brings empty mason jars collected through the year and flip-flops though she will be barefoot all summer. When they arrive, she announces to her grandmother that they have to fix her mojo bag. Her grandmother is thrilled. As they have lunch, her grandmother tells her about magick and how hoodoo came from Africa through the enslaved people. The two work together all summer, doing rootwork together, making mojo bags stuffed with herbs, working in the garden, going for long walks. At the end of the summer, the mason jars are full and her mojo bag is replenished stronger than before. 

This is award-winning McBride’s first picture book and it’s lovely. Working within the restraint required for picture books, she manages to create an entire world of hoodoo and magick that celebrates ancestral knowledge and connection with nature. Her text is inviting and powerful and at the end of the book she offers small ways that readers can connect with nature themselves. The illustrations are dynamic and beautiful, celebrating connection just as much as the text does with closeness, pages filled with plants, and familial love.

A magickal book indeed. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

The Wildest Thing by Emily Winfield Martin

  • Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9798217023981

Eleanor loves wild things, all sorts of animals and plants. One night when she goes to bed, she awakens to discover that the wildness has entered her house. Amid the animals, she continues to live her regular life. She has breakfast from her favorite bowl has squirrels and rabbits fill the kitchen. She eats at the couch, which is actually a slumbering bear. She draws on the walls and floor, filling the blankness with butterflies, flowers and more. With her new friends, they play together until Eleanor sees herself as a wild thing too. 

There is such a gentleness to this picture book with its fine-lined illustrations that show a small girl letting herself be as wild as she wants to be. The connection with nature is palpable as Eleanor spends time outside. When that is brought into the house it is merry and often silly, giving space to that sort of wildness in indoor life too. In what might be a dream of wildness, the book embraces nature and animals and how being with them can be inspiring too. 

A dreamy look at letting loose and connecting with nature. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller

  • Publisher: Philomel Books
  • Publication Date: January 13, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9780593624555

Luna’s life is pretty normal as she starts seventh grade. She is best friends with Scott, a friend she’s had since she was very small. She loves writings and discovers a love of zines. At school, her quiet kindness leads to her being seen as the book doctor, a person who can refer just the right book to a reader to help them out. She helps one classmate with self-esteem and then everyone seems to want her help. Luna begins to create zines to help people too with Scott’s art in them and her words. Soon she gets the attention of one of the more popular girls in class and starts to hang out with that popular girl group. But what will that mean for her friendship with Scott? And how much is she willing to change to fit in?

The Newbery-Honor winning author returns with a new middle school book. She captures so tangibly the push and pull of middle school, the anxiety about the changes that inevitably come, and how you can get lost in it all. The depiction of the hierarchy of popular girls doesn’t take it too far, staying entirely relatable and realistic in their cruelty. At times joyously unique and independent and other times suffocating in its conformity, this book is middle school between two covers. Just the zine about getting your period is enough to recommend this book.

A triumph of a book about writing, middle school and staying yourself. Appropriate for ages 9-12.