Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (9780593616673)
At first the book is a basic primer on mammals, reptiles and birds. But when it turns to the subject of fish, it all becomes much more personal! A wide variety of fish are shown, but also called rebels and outlaws! You can’t see what they are up to underwater, plus they break all natural laws. What is happening in their “schools” anyway? So many questions and so much concerning behavior. By the end of this book, you may be questioning your pet fish too.
Completely silly, full of misinformation mixed with facts, this book is a glorious giggle to add to any story time. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
The 2025 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners have been announced. The awards celebrate excellence in children’s and YA literature. Winners and honor books are selected in each category. You can learn more about the awards here. The winners and honor books are below.
George and Lenny are best friends and spend all of their time together. Then Lenny starts to think about what it might be like to be alone. George thinks it will be lonely and sad, but Lenny starts to think that it might be fun to be alone. Lenny finds a perfect place to be alone, since it only fits one. George offers to come along, but Lenny is sure he can be alone. Lenny does have fun alone. He plays music, reads a book, builds with blocks and much more. But soon he realizes that he misses George. Don’t worry, George too has found a perfect place to be alone, right near by.
Agee is a master of picture books and finding just the right pacing and tone. He uses humor that will have children giggling without laughing at the characters and their feelings and worries. George is a great foil for Lenny as the two navigate allowing some space in their friendship to be on their own, while still managing to be there for one another.
Funny and full of heart. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Penguin Random House.
The Carnegies are the longest running children’s book awards in the UK. The medals are judged by children’s librarians. The Shadow Awards allow children and youth throughout the UK to vote on their favorite books. Here are the winners:
CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR ILLUSTRATION
Clever Crow illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill, written by Chris Butterworth (available in US)
This joyous and lyrical picture book celebrates the Juneteenth holiday by looking back at the enslavement of the Black-American people and the expression that came afterwards. What would you wear if you’d only been able to wear rags? How would you sing if you had only been able to sing in code? How would you eat if you’d only had scraps? The questions show the devastation and deprivation of those enslaved, the lasting impact of that on the generations that followed. And somehow, out of that came fashion and music and feasts and more. That transformative spirit is what is embraced here in such simple words.
So many Juneteenth books are for older children and cannot be shared aloud easily. This picture book calls to be read aloud to celebrate the holiday, inviting joy in what has been overcome and delighting in the new expression that came out of it. Wynter does an incredible job of taking complex issues and transforming them into something that children can understand and talk more about. She doesn’t oversimplify and lose the darkness either. It’s an incredibly difficult line to walk and she does it with such confidence and skill. The illustrations are done in acrylic on boards and Photoshop, hearkening to the past with black and white pieces that contrast with bright colors in other parts of the page.
A great Juneteenth read that belongs in every library. Appropriate for ages 4-7.
The winners of the 2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards have been announced by the Ontario Arts Foundation. Here is the link to the shortlists that I posted about in May.
PICTURE BOOK WINNER
The Little Regent by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade, illustrated by Ken Daley
Finn isn’t having a good end of school. He has missed lots of gym class, hasn’t turned in his poetry project about heroes, and just kicked over a gravestone. He’s in big trouble for that last one. It turns out the grave is that of a local Adirondack High Peaks heroine, so her daughter reaches out to see if they can make a deal. She will drop the charges if Finn climbs all 46 of the High Peaks by Labor Day. Plus, he has to take along the dead woman’s dog who loves to hike. As Finn begins to hike and reach summits, he learns a lot along the way, particularly about his anger towards his father who died recently and was by everyone else’s account a hero.
As I read this book, I was in awe of Messner’s skill. She combines so many disparate elements into a book that feels organic and beautiful. Her use of a verse novel format makes so much sense here, allowing us to feel what Finn does even as he is in denial about much of it. His poetry project weaves its way through the verse, capturing his voice and rage. Finn can’t see himself through most of the book, can’t see the people around him and their support, can’t see his father and the truth about him, can’t find his way through.
This is a book about what nature can do for a person who is lost and not looking to be rescued. It is a book about the various ways that heroes enter our lives, the forms they take that are unexpected and sometimes drooling dogs, the connection that can result in shared experiences. It is about so much at once and yet again, is superbly focused and deftly written. Messner shows her mastery here.
A mountain of heart, a range of emotions, and quite a summit of a book. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
The winners of the 2024 Stoker Awards have been announced by the Horror Writers Association. Here are the winners in the Middle Grade and YA categories. You can head to Locus to see the winners in all categories.
WINNER SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL (TIE)
Waking Brain Cells 