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Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

A Cat Like That

With sparse, rhyming text, Lester L. Laminack perfectly captures a day in the life of a typical neighborhood cat in A Cat Like That, a fun read-aloud with engaging illustrations by Nicole Wong.
With sparse, rhyming text, Lester L. Laminack perfectly captures a day in the life of a typical neighborhood cat in A Cat Like That, a fun read-aloud with engaging illustrations by Nicole Wong.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Kaya of the Ocean

In Gloria L. Huang’s fantastical, heartfelt coming-of-age tale Kaya of the Ocean, the protagonist’s gradual willingness to trust herself will resonate with readers on their own journey to self-confidence, magic-infused or otherwise.
In Gloria L. Huang’s fantastical, heartfelt coming-of-age tale Kaya of the Ocean, the protagonist’s gradual willingness to trust herself will resonate with readers on their own journey to self-confidence, magic-infused or otherwise.
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Children's & YAMiddle GradeChildren's

Jawbreaker

Review by Linda M. Castellitto

As Christina Wyman’s heartfelt and often heartbreakingly realistic Jawbreaker opens, Maximillia (Max) Plink receives distressing news from her orthodontist.

Dr. Watson says Max’s braces aren’t enough to prevent possible future double jaw surgery—it’s time to start wearing headgear known as “the jawbreaker” for 16 hours a day. It’s yet another thing that makes Max, a witty and kind seventh grader, feel like an outsider in her own life. She observes, “I basically have a shiny metal orb around my head. You could probably stand me on the roof of your house to get a better Wi-Fi signal.”

Despite this unwelcome fashion statement, Max perseveres. She’s used to trying to stay positive, because she’s already relentlessly bullied at school. The most enthusiastic participant in this cruelty is her own younger sister, Alex. Their parents routinely downplay Max’s concerns. Worried about finances, they’re having loud arguments more frequently than usual.

Thankfully, Max finds respite with her best friend Shrynn and as a writer for her school newspaper. When she learns of a journalism competition sponsored by their local Brooklyn news station, it sounds like the path to a happier future. But there’s a catch: A video essay is required for entry. “The thought of my face, my mouth, my teeth living online until the end of time makes me want to cry,” Max thinks.

Tantalizing suspense builds as the contest deadline approaches. As Max contends with all the stressors swirling around her, she wrestles with difficult questions: Should she insist her parents do something about Alex? Would it be a mistake to enter the contest and show her face to the world? Why is Shrynn acting so standoffish lately?

Wyman demonstrates an impressive ability to conjure up both the pain and delight of middle school with immediacy and empathy. An impassioned author’s note reveals that Wyman’s own background inspired this sometimes harrowing, but ultimately hopeful, story. “Sometimes finding joy takes a lot of work,” she notes. Reading Jawbreaker is an excellent and highly gratifying start.

Christina Wyman demonstrates an impressive ability to conjure up both the pain and the delight of middle school with immediacy and empathy.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The Ferris Wheel

Review by Mariel Fechik

A boy and a girl live in cities in two different parts of the world. Though it’s not explicit in the text where each resides, it is easy to tell the boy and his mother live comfortably, while the girl and her father live in the midst of war, and their safety is never a given. 

As both pairs go through their daily lives, their respective experiences mirror each other, and their destinations converge upon a single point: a brightly lit Ferris wheel, turning slowly on its axis as it offers a new perspective from every point in the sky. 

Author Tulin Kozikoglu and illustrator Huseyin Sönmezay’s picture book The Ferris Wheel is a beautifully profound yet subtle story about refugees and global connection. This book captures the essence of what a picture book should be: The text and illustrations are in complete conversation, providing context and bolstering each other. 

Across seemingly simple spreads, the parents’ dialogue often matches verbatim: “On the street, Mama says, ‘Be careful.’ / On the street, Papa says, ‘Be careful.’” But small differences carry larger implications: For example, as each pair passes a candy store, the boy’s mother says, “Not before lunch,” while the girl’s father says, “Not anymore.” 

Sönmezay’s stunning digital illustrations are as textured and tangible as if one were standing in front of a physical canvas. Bordered by white frames containing the text, the images possess a strong dimensionality that foregrounds each parent-child pair while offering many background details to explore. Sönmezay makes the meaningful choice to keep the color palettes similar throughout both settings, showing that there can still be vibrance in dire circumstances. The varying contexts depicted in each street scene are likely to prompt questions and fruitful conversations. 

Though drawn from Kozikoglu’s experiences growing up and living in Turkey—which her author’s note describes as “a land of ‘comers’ and ‘goers’’’ due to centuries-old, ongoing political turmoil—The Ferris Wheel itself is not specific about time or place, which adds to the universality of its deceptively simple narrative. While the overarching metaphor of the ferris wheel itself may not be immediately clear to young readers, the book will begin a conversation that can be returned to again and again.

A beautifully profound yet subtle story about refugees and global connection, The Ferris Wheel engages its text and illustrations in conversation, capturing the essence of what a picture book should be.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Star Stuff

Review by Callie Ann Starkey

Giovanni and his trusty donkey, Lorenzo, have a very important job as Specialists of Sky Repair. Each night, they load “star stuff” in packs on Lorenzo’s back and set off into the night sky, “over the Moon and out past Mars,” looking for holes that need to be filled. When they find a dark spot, Lorenzo brays while Giovanni spreads the star stuff into the dark. The star stuff sticks, then grows and glows until it becomes a star!

But as this lovable duo goes on their way, Lorenzo’s leg is caught in a nebula. Giovanni pulls and tugs, but Lorenzo doesn’t budge. Some unexpected allies answer Giovanni’s calls for help: Orion the Hunter, Cancer the Crab and Taurus the Bull. With the assistance of these constellations, Giovanni and Lorenzo might just make it home in time to watch the “best star ever made”—the sun—rise.

Writer and folk singer Rand Burkert (Mouse and Lion) and two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka (The Hello, Goodbye Window; A Ball for Daisy) give life to this whimsical fable. The lyrical text evokes movement through Burkert’s meter and imagery, and the forms of rhyme vary throughout, making them unpredictable and exciting.

Raschka’s playful illustrations pair perfectly with the text and bring a dreamlike quality to the story. His vibrant watercolors capture Lorenzo the donkey’s sweet personality and the cast’s fierce determination to set him free from the nebula. Raschka brings the constellations to life with shades of blue and adds pops of yellow to show they are, in fact, made of the same star stuff the Specialists of Sky Repair are carrying.

A fun read-aloud for any setting, Star Stuff is sure to delight readers of all ages. While an interest in astronomy is not necessary to enjoy this picture book, Star Stuff can provide young readers with a lovely introduction to space, or it can simply serve as a lively tale of teamwork and determination.

A lively tale of teamwork and determination, Star Stuff will provide young readers with a lovely introduction to space.
Children's & YAMiddle GradeChildren's

The Magicians

Review by Yi Jiang

In a magnificent flourish, an elephant bursts forth from an old teapot; a small blackbird breaks out from behind the glass of a framed engraving; a bewildered girl emerges from behind a folding blue screen. This is how The Magicians awaken and leave the abandoned house in which they’ve slumbered for years. They are soon chased by the Huntress and the Clinker, a fiery mechanical cross between a lion and a dragon. This pursuit reaches a grand scale as it traverses a true carnival of settings—including a pastoral village, a blank realm “outside” the physical world, and a golden plain that serves as a battlefield.

Both children and adults will be dazzled by the intricate details and textures of the bold silk-screen-style illustrations. Blexbolex’s careful compositions evoke sweeping action and emotion, and one will want to constantly leave The Magicians open for display. With its jaunty blue text and cream-colored, double-layered pages, the physical printing of this volume is impeccable—among the best of the year—and accentuates the reading experience.

Translator Karin Snelson smoothly derives a folkloric cadence from the original French prose: As the blackbird “marauds through fields and orchards . . . the day passes deliciously” and later becomes “charged with a heavy nostalgia.” Elevated word choice and spirited phrasing give a timeless quality to this fantastic graphic novel, which muses upon mercy, change and possibility. Just as any gift should, The Magicians certainly lends itself to endless revisiting with its thematic and emotional depth.

Elevated word choice and spirited phrasing give a timeless quality to Blexbolex’s fantastic graphic novel, which muses upon mercy, change and possibility.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The New Brownies’ Book

Review by Alice Cary

In homage to a children’s periodical started by scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois in 1920, Karida L. Brown, a professor of sociology at Emory University Sociology, and artist Charly Palmer—a husband-and-wife team—have curated an astounding collection celebrating Black joy and creativity. The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families (Chronicle, $40, 9781797216829) is a large-format treasury of art, short stories, poetry, essays, plays and more, which the authors hope will become “a fixture in the homes of every Black family” and serve “as a strong expression of inspiration, recognition, love, laughter, reflection, and celebration of what we mean to one another.”

The illustrations throughout are eye-catching in color, theme and style, starting with Tokie Rome-Taylor’s mesmerizing cover photograph, Child of God, featuring a young girl dressed in lace and feathers. Chapters are devoted to subjects like family, school, “She’roes” (notable women), living and dying; there is also a section focused on Langston Hughes, who published his first work in the original Brownies’ Book at age 20.

“I feel like his spirit as our ancestor is all over this thing.” Charly Palmer and Karida L. Brown brought together Black creators young and old to create The New Brownies’ Book. 

While many anthologies of this sort tend to focus on young audiences, The New Brownies’ Book is designed to appeal to all ages, from elementary students to adults. The collection does an exceptional job of celebrating both new and old artistic visions by putting them in conversation. For example, one of Langston’s short poems, “Fairies,” is paired with a vibrant illustration from Palmer showing a young Black boy in a shimmering forest, tilting his face upward in a look of profound wonder. The New Brownies’ Book contains numerous homages to the original magazine—including reproductions of early pages and a July 1920 cover—but it also overflows with inspiration from modern sources, such as a bold, energetic portrait of a young man painted by Tyrone Geter.

This treasury inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois acknowledges the past while celebrating modern times with illustrations throughout that are eye-catching in color, theme and style.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea

Review by Linda M. Castellitto

Kids (and whimsical adults) often wonder what it would be like if inanimate objects came to life. Thanks to Leigh Hodgkinson’s The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea (Candlewick, $17.99, 9781536231328), they can marvel at a tiny vegetable who becomes voraciously self-aware.

One moment, the titular pea is just one among many heaped in a beautiful decorative bowl. The next, he’s standing with arms aloft declaring, “I am SO hungry!” But he doesn’t just have a little snack; no, he gulps down a Brussels sprout and makes his way down an elaborate banquet table, hoovering up all the food he encounters with hilariously messy results. 

Hodgkinson, who is known for her work on the British children’s TV shows “Charlie and Lola” and “Olobob Top,” as well as numerous books such as Troll Swap, has created a visual feast of a picture book replete with vibrant colors, intricate patterns and expressive characters, such as the observant cat, who gapes at the pea’s antics—which include comical repurposing of the lacy tablecloth. 

Inspired by “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” The Princess and the (Greedy Pea) is also a cumulative rhyme. The text grows (along with the pea) as the pages turn, adding lines such as “It made him sneeze / when he guzzled the CHEESE” onto the refrain “Without a doubt / he swallowed a sprout. / What’s that about?” 

The fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” is folded in as well: It turns out a purple-clad princess was anticipating the feast. Alas, the louche legume has consumed nearly every crumb and left behind a graveyard of broken crockery, so the frustrated princess must go to bed hungry. But her bed is so uncomfortable! Kids will crack up when they realize why. The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea is a slyly funny, wonderfully rendered reimagining of children’s classics that will have kids clamoring for a reread—and a giant bowl of green peas, too.

The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea is a slyly funny, wonderfully rendered reimagining of children’s classics that will have kids clamoring for a reread—and a giant bowl of green peas, too.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The Red Fruit

Review by Nicole Brinkley

tree. In order to get more fruit, Baby Bear needs to climb. As he begins to make the long trek up the tree, he runs into other red creatures: a tiny caterpillar, a frisky squirrel and a rambunctious hive of bees. Still, there is no fruit to be found!

But what’s that coming up over the horizon? It’s big and red and beautiful, and Baby Bear leaps to grab it—but tumbles back down to the world below, passing his newfound friends and falling back into the safety of Mama Bear’s arms.

Curiosity is the driving force behind Lee Gee Eun’s picture book The Red Fruit, which captures the natural wonder that all kids experience through Baby Bear’s desire to see what fruits he can find at the top of the tree. The book’s message doesn’t need to be subtle to be sweet: If kids try something and fall, their own Mama Bear (or the equivalent parental figure in their life) will be there to catch them.

Lee’s international honors include the Bologna Ragazzi Award. Her black-and-white artwork shines in The Red Fruit, where her minimalist illustrations create a landscape that feels wide despite the book’s trim size. Baby Bear’s quirky facial expressions are adorable and perfectly portray a child’s unbridled inquisitiveness. Lee’s splashes of red and yellow against the monochrome world will offer a great introduction to color for parents and teachers looking to educate.

Pair this sweet and beautifully illustrated story with Cat Min’s Shy Willow, Corey R. Tabor’s Mel Fell, and Grace Lin’s A Big Mooncake For Little Star for story times that explore the risks and rewards of curiosity.

The Red Fruit captures the natural wonder that all kids experience through Baby Bear’s desire to see what fruits he can find at the top of the tree.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Charly Palmer and Karida L. Brown celebrate the children of the sun

Interview by Alice Cary

Very early in their relationship, in March 2017, artist Charly Palmer emailed Karida L. Brown a question: If you were to write a children’s book, what would it be? Brown, who has a doctorate in sociology and is a professor at Emory University, had always adored the Berenstain Bears books. “I thought I was a bear,” she recalls, speaking from their home in Atlanta, Georgia. However, she had another, very different answer for Palmer, explaining that she would love to create a book inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’s writing for children.

Since graduate school, Brown has called Du Bois her “North Star and guiding light.” In 1920, the NAACP founder began publishing The Brownies’ Book: A Monthly Magazine for Children of the Sun, which circulated for nearly two years. Aimed at Black and brown children ages 6-16, the magazine’s inside cover announced, “DESIGNED FOR ALL CHILDREN BUT ESPECIALLY FOR OURS.”  Brown recalls, “When I first learned about The Brownies’ Book, it shocked me. It really brought me to tears to think that one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century, who was so very busy, would take the time out to make this happen.”

Read our starred review of The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families. 

Now, the couple has turned their email musings into a stunning compendium of art and prose also aimed at young readers. The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families is a thought-provoking collection filled with 60 stories, poems, essays, songs, photos, comics, plays, illustrations and photographs. They come from a wide variety of Black creators ranging from award-winning illustrators like James Ransome and poet Ntozake Shange to a number of young people—even Zoe Jones, a 5-year-old. In the book’s introduction, Palmer describes them as “an A-team of creative people that shared the same passion and commitment to Black Love.”

After sending out a request for contributions at the beginning of the pandemic, Brown notes, “We got loads of surprises with the submissions—and the range of literary and artistic expression.” For instance, she expected some sort of historical essay from Marcus Anthony Hunter, Ph.D., a UCLA professor. Instead, he sent an astonishing poem, “The Children of the Sun,” which helps introduce the collection. “We really thought that people would stay in their lane and stick to their genres,” Brown says, approving of the fact they did not.

Zoe Jones, the 5-year-old daughter of a friend, wrote a poem called “Kisses Make Things Better (But Sometimes They Don’t).” Two years later, when she saw the poem in the book, she said, “This person has the same name as me”—and she was ecstatic when her mother reminded her that it was indeed, her poem. Wesley Gordon, the 14-year-old son of one of Brown’s colleagues, wrote a powerful essay about the death of his grandfather, “Death Leaves a Scar; Love Leaves Memories.” Brown was impressed and sent him revision suggestions. “We were really intentional that this book should give new writers and artists the opportunity to have their first published work debut alongside some of these creative giants,” Brown explains. “It’s an elevator, in a way. It brings us all up.” In fact, the same was true for the original Brownies’ Book, which featured the first published poems of Langston Hughes (some of which also appear in this new volume).

The wide range of offerings is designed to appeal to many different ages. For instance, “I Don’t Wanna Be Black,” a short story by Shannon Byrd with graphic art from KEEF CROSS, features a young girl encountering difficult racial stories on TV that she doesn’t “quite understand,” but which make her feel “powerless and scared” as well as fearful about her skin color. Her parents’ reassurances—portrayed in dynamic, colorful art—on how proud she should feel about her identity offer an affirming way to address the issue for young readers. Elsewhere, an essay from a Fisk University student discusses the value of her college experiences, while a successful CPA notes the importance of not sacrificing happiness for financial stability.

Some of these stories, you just gotta let it soak. The point is not that the child will comprehend every single nugget. But if the book is on your coffee table, it gets up in your bones, it gets in your spirit. And as you mature, it allows you to explore and tap into the range of human emotions and the human condition through stories and art.

Palmer and Brown emphasize that they wanted this book to be “intergenerational” and encourage conversations among children, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. In The New Brownies’ Book, Palmer includes a portrait of Brown’s Aunt Mary, who often said, when cooking, “You gotta let it soak. When you soak your meat, it’s gonna taste better. Same thing with your mind.” Brown notes, “Some of these stories, you just gotta let it soak. The point is not that the child will comprehend every single nugget. But if the book is on your coffee table, it gets up in your bones, it gets in your spirit. And as you mature, it allows you to explore and tap into the range of human emotions and the human condition through stories and art.”

During his childhood as one of five siblings raised by a single mother, Palmer often found inspiration in biographies of accomplished Black people. “We have a little bit of that woven throughout the book,” he says. One section, “She’roes,” contains the portraits and short biographies of 21 Black women, from Biddy Mason to Aretha Franklin. Palmer adds that he wants readers to know “you all have the potential to be great.” He says, “As much as my subject matter today is of the Black experience, I came to art through the Beatles. I was intrigued by their style of dress and the fact that they looked like they had so much fun. They have really great songs that I still listen to . . . I wanted to try to put on paper what the Beatles made me feel like.” Later on, the writings of James Baldwin made him feel the same way.

If you really look at this book, it isn’t about being Black. It’s about being human, about family love, laws and humor—the threads that connect us all.

This husband-and-wife team would love for their book to be on the coffee table of every Black family in America and around the world, and they have partnered with the nonprofit Page Turners to help distribute The New Brownies’ Book to underserved schools. Palmer notes, “If you really look at this book, it isn’t about being Black. It’s about being human, about family love, laws and humor—the threads that connect us all.”

When asked if they wish Du Bois could see their new book, Brown says, “I feel like his spirit as our ancestor is all over this thing.” She mentions a letter she once read that discussed his desire to restart the Brownies periodical: “It stayed on his mind. So, I know that Du Bois would be so very proud to know that The Brownies’ Book lives on.”

 

 

The spirit of W.E.B. Du Bois lives on in a new anthology by Charly Palmer and Karida L. Brown.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

The Space Between Here & Now

Review by Tami Orendain

Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS) has plagued Aimee Roh since she was a young girl. This enigmatic condition makes her physically travel back in time to moments from her past that are connected to certain smells. Her episodes are typically short and sporadic, until one lasts nine hours and raises new questions concerning her estranged mom, who left when Aimee was six. When her dad won’t give her answers, Aimee makes her way from Vancouver to Korea—where her parents emigrated from—to investigate.

Aimee’s first-person narration is augmented with journal entries, forum threads and text messages scattered throughout The Space Between Here & Now. These honest, firsthand glimpses of Aimee’s life allow the novel’s portrayal of interpersonal disconnection and heartbreak to shine. Instead of centering the magic of the syndrome, author Sarah Suk (Made in Korea) anchors the uncanny concept of STWS in the harsh reality of living with an incurable chronic condition.

Aimee feels isolated and abnormal because of her STWS, and her curiosity and impulsiveness drive her desire to find a cure. On the other hand, her father insists STWS is just a “phase,” clinging to the fact that a doctor once told him that many people “grow out of” it. He withdraws from Aimee’s cries for help and rarely reveals his own emotions or experiences as a single father. Despite grappling with realistic issues and personal flaws, both characters eventually grow in ways that feel true to life. Readers will cheer for them all the way.

The Space Between Here & Now is an intriguing mix of fantasy and realism that lures readers in with the promise of magic and keeps them engaged with emotionally resonant themes. If you’re looking for a fun, mature coming-of-age story rooted in nuanced emotions and relationships, this book is for you.

The Space Between Here & Now is an intriguing mix of fantasy and realism that lures readers in with the promise of magic and keeps them engaged with emotionally resonant themes.
Children's & YAMiddle GradeChildren's

A gutsy girl in Portland

Interview by Alice Cary

When Renée Watson read her first Ramona Quimby book as a child, she was startled by where Beverly Cleary’s beloved heroine lived: Klickitat Street was just around the corner from Watson’s aunt’s home in Portland, Oregon. “I was so in awe that a character in a book could live in my city and in a neighborhood that I was very familiar with,” Watson remembers. “It was empowering. I didn’t know how to articulate that as a child except to say, ‘I know where she lives.’” From that moment on, whenever Watson visited her aunt, it became a running joke to say, “Ramona is your neighbor.”

Now, as an adult writing for young people, Watson divides her time between Portland and New York. Ways to Build Dreams is the fourth and likely final installment in her middle grade series about Ryan Hart, a lively, inquisitive Black girl who lives in Portland, just like Ramona Quimby. “I see the power in representation,” Watson says, speaking from her Harlem home. “We say that a lot when it comes to race, but I also think where people live and the names of places and the histories of places matter too.”

“The Ryan Hart series is in many ways a love letter to Portland,” Watson continues. “Portland is the perfect balance of city and nature, and I really wanted to highlight that. I’ve done a lot of work critiquing Portland and talking about some of its challenging, harmful issues, but there’s also so much to love.” For instance, in Ways to Build Dreams, Ryan and her family take a day trip driving along the Columbia River, with stops at Latourell Falls and Vista House at Crown Point. Ryan also attends Vernon Elementary, the school Watson attended in real life. “I was trying to model the series after [Beverly Cleary] in that same way of actually naming real places in the city so that young people in Portland could have an anchor and really see their city represented.” (She also features her hometown in several books for older readers, such as Piecing Me Together, which received a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award).

“Portland is the perfect balance of city and nature, and I really wanted to highlight that. I’ve done a lot of work critiquing Portland and talking about some of its challenging, harmful issues, but there’s also so much to love.”

Watson remembers that she loved reading about Ramona because “she is not perfect and has flaws and can throw tantrums and feel all of her emotions. At the time, that just felt so freeing because there weren’t a lot of girl characters who could be as bold, feisty and human.” She loosely based Ryan’s personality on that of her goddaughter, who is now 15—and also named Ryan Hart. “In every book I write, the main character’s name is intentional,” Watson notes. “I was just thinking of Ryan as being a more traditional male name and was going to build off of it. But then, as I looked into what her name means, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, it is just so perfect.’” Ryan means “little king” in Gaelic, and that connotation has become an anchor for every book. “I wanted to make sure that I’m constantly bringing the reader back to this notion of living up to your name or to what your loved ones wish for you,” Watson explains.

While the character named Ryan is an active kid who rides her bike and gets in water balloon fights, Watson notes: “I was not that girl. If we were going to the park, I would be the one who would bring my book with me or my journal, and I would sit under the tree and write poems or read while my friends were playing. I was a quiet and very creative child—very introspective.” Still, Ryan’s family dynamics and adventures, while fictional, are inspired by Watson’s own childhood.

During middle school, Watson was bused to a white school on the other side of town, an experience she described in a moving 1995 essay, “Black Like Me.” One day, her seventh grade science teacher chastised the class for failing a test on which Watson got an A, saying, “And this is why I am so disappointed in all of you. You let Renée Watson come all the way over here from northeast Portland and get a better grade than you in science!” When Watson later pondered that painful moment, she wondered, “What if she had allowed space in her narrative for black children from northeast Portland to be capable of meeting high expectations, of achieving academic success? What if she really saw me?”

Watson answers that question in many ways with the Ryan Hart books, filling them with moments of Black joy and achievement. Ways to Build Dreams begins with Ryan and her classmates working on a group history project about Beatrice Morrow Cannady, a community activist and educator, and the owner of Oregon’s largest Black newspaper—a story Watson had been wanting to explore for some time.

While Watson enjoyed reading about Ramona Quimby, she saw more of a reflection of herself in the poetry of Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni and Gwendolyn Brooks: “Those poets raised me.” She adds that Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street (which is about a Latina girl growing up in Chicago) gave her “permission to write about home in the way that home was for me—a Black neighborhood, Black music, the food, all of that.” She adds, “I’m constantly trying to show young people in my books, ‘Hey, I see you and I know what you are capable of.’”

Watson’s goal is to provide “a nuanced telling of the Black community.” With Ryan Hart, she “leans into the joy more so than the pain.”

“So I do have these cultural moments, but they’re very much tied into these slices of the everydayness of being a Black girl in a city like Portland. . . . Because really, that was my childhood. Yes, there were hardships, but mostly there were family dinners and cookouts and neighbors looking out for me and teachers who loved me. We didn’t have a whole lot of money, but we had a whole lot of love.”

Some of Watson’s favorite scenes occur when Ryan’s grandmother washes and fixes her hair. “In Black culture, it really is a big deal because there’s so much conversation around our hair,” she says. “I wanted to highlight different hairstyles throughout the series, and normalize her getting her hair done and the way in which we do it. Those times I remember as a child were so sacred because you’re spending a lot of time with that person. You have conversations that you might not have [when facing each other]. [These scenes] became such an anchor in each book, where that’s really a breakthrough moment for Ryan. Usually, she’s telling Grandma about something that’s happening that’s not so great, and Grandma gives her some wisdom.”

Watson has always known that the series would end with Ryan graduating from fifth grade, which she does in Ways to Build Dreams. Still, she can’t help being a little sad to have finished the final installment.

Might we see Ryan again, perhaps in books focused on her siblings, Ray or Rose?

“Oh, I’ve never thought about that,” Watson says. “That’s a very good thing to think about.”

Read our starred review of Ways to Build Dreams.

 

Renée Watson celebrates her hometown and leans into Black joy and achievement through her feisty heroine, Ryan Hart.
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Top 10 titles of November 2023

List by the editors of BookPage
STARRED REVIEW

Our top 10 books of November 2023

This month’s top titles include career-best works from Jesmyn Ward, Alexis Hall and Naomi Alderman.
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Book jacket image for Nowhere Special by Matt Wallace

Author Matt Wallace excels at depicting realistic family scenarios, complex moral dilemmas, and good-hearted, but flawed, adults.

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The Space Between Here & Now is an intriguing mix of fantasy and realism that lures readers in with the promise of magic and keeps

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Book jacket image for Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

We sometimes forget that the descent in Dante’s Divine Comedy is a journey toward God. Jesmyn Ward’s portrayal of slavery is the profound manifestation of

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Book jacket image for The Future by Naomi Alderman

The Future is a daring, sexy, thrilling novel that may be the most wryly funny book about the end of civilization you’ll ever read.

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Book jacket image for When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey

Hannah Morrissey’s small-town murder mystery When I’m Dead is nigh-on impossible to put down.

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Book jacket image for I Must Be Dreaming by Roz Chast

Longtime New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chaste’s I Must Be Dreaming is an uproarious, touching and zany ride.

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Book jacket image for The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie

The Dictionary People—which chronicles the unsung heroes who contributed to the Oxford English Dictionary—is sheer delight.

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Book jacket image for Flight of the WASP by Michael Gross

Michael Gross’ delightful cultural history of WASPs illuminates the odd corners of the lives of our nation’s elite—and American history itself.

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Book jacket image for 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

Alexis Hall’s new rom-com might have a zany setup—a guy fakes amnesia!—but its authentic emotion will win readers’ hearts.

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Book jacket image for The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Beautiful and expertly executed, The Reformatory is a horror masterpiece that derives its power from both the magical and the mundane.

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This month’s top titles include career-best works from Jesmyn Ward, Alexis Hall and Naomi Alderman.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Godly Heathens

Review by Tami Orendain

Gem has always had strange dreams of a sexy, violent demon, but they never could’ve guessed they were seeing memories of their past life as a magical god. And they definitely never would’ve expected to learn about that past life from a beautiful girl claiming to be their soulmate. But when Willa Mae reveals that she and Gem are reincarnated deities, Gem must figure out how to deal with their newfound divinity while making a desperate escape from other gods who want revenge for past misdeeds. 

H.E. Edgmon’s action-packed and thoughtful novel plunges readers into the epic and emotionally charged world of reincarnated gods who must deal with not only eons of enmity but also life in teenage bodies. Godly Heathens opens with a bloody vision of Gem participating in the torture of another god. But while the scenes of violence are striking, so are the depictions of the intimacy and love between characters. Although the animosity between them is rooted in millenia of hatred and revenge, none of the characters are purely protagonists or antagonists. Instead, Edgmon creates a complicated, multifaceted approach as Gem and the others wade through the moral grayness of dealing with their individual pasts while considering what it would take to break a cycle of hatred. 

Edgmon develops diverse characters who bear centuries of varying identities and histories that impact—and clash with—who they currently are. Gem is nonbinary, trans and Native, and they also carry memories of their reincarnations’ identities. Other characters are sapphic, polysexual, Black and Indigenous, and they come from regions all across America and different religious backgrounds. 

With a compelling plotline and cast of characters, Godly Heathens establishes an intriguing setup for the planned second book in the Ouroburos duology. Its depth in content and theme creates a profound story that will empower and inspire. 

H.E. Edgmon’s action-packed and thoughtful novel plunges readers into the epic and emotionally charged world of reincarnated gods who must deal with not only eons of enmity but also life in teenage bodies.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Lawrence & Sophia

Review by Jill Lorenzini

Lawrence, a human with a fuzzy hat and wide eyes, prefers to remain in his own house and yard, reading or tinkering on his projects, rather than facing the unfamiliar figures of life beyond the fence. Sophia, a frazzled bird, similarly keeps to the trees, far away from the shadowy perils below. A moment of bravery leads to a chance meeting and an instant friendship between the two that slowly pushes their self-imposed boundaries. When a massive storm hits, it is everything the duo fears. But perhaps something beautiful can grow from the destruction. In a slight—but lovely—departure from author Doreen Cronin’s typical comical animal antics, Lawrence & Sophia is an endearing tale of friendship.

Though more subdued in tone, Lawrence & Sophia maintains the wry humor from Cronin’s popular Diary of a Worm and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type. Cronin’s word choice is impeccable. Frequently repeated words keep the story predictable and without frills—making it a good choice for beginning readers—while echoing Sophia and Lawrence’s black-and-white mindset. Their broad characterizations of the world as “dangerous” or “loud” may resonate with young children and bring opportunities to discuss how our perception can differ from reality.

The soft color palette of Brian Cronin’s illustrations enhances the warm atmosphere of the text. His depictions of the characters’ expressions add a layer of sophistication and humor. Both bird and boy are frightened of what lurks beyond their realm, but those shadowy figures are drawn to be easily recognizable (a garter snake, the neighbor and his dog) by readers—making Lawrence & Sophia a safe story for bedtime. That said, a double-page storm spread is striking and just the right amount of alarming.

There is always room on the shelf for new stories about friendship and facing your fears. Lawrence & Sophia is a sweet, attractive and heartfelt addition.

In a slight—but lovely—departure from author Doreen Cronin’s typical comical animal antics, Lawrence & Sophia is an endearing tale of friendship.

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