Age: K-2nd grade
All About Me: Manners

An inconsiderate action is paired with a "What if?" scenario that imagines one small, selfish action multiplied by the unmindful actions of many. Although funny in their exaggeration, most of the potential scenarios could be a reality if we didn't think of the collective good or didn't think of the results of our actions. The main character is not malicious or depicted as an innately "bad" child, making him more relatable to listeners. Great for classroom discussions about rules, collectively bettering the classroom or the world, and a great structure for inviting examples from the listeners.

Age: K+
Food: Utensils

Spork feels alone in a world full of spoons and forks. He's too pointy for the spoons and too round for the forks. One day a messy

Spoiler

baby

comes along with needs that forks and spoons cannot accommodate alone. Guess who has best of both worlds?

An interesting metaphor to a child of mixed race--especially being asked for the "billionth time...What are you, anyway?" Great for discussions about feeling alienated for how you look but there would need to be a delicate way to discuss the ending where his looks serve a practical purpose.

Age: Baby-Toddler (board book)
Body: Toes

Such an excellent book full of diverse skin color, hair color, and a delightful array of names. This is perfectly suited for the younger crowd (4 words per page, crisp photography, and smiling babies) and I can't wait to get my hands and toes on more from Tsiang.

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten

A bouncy rhyme for any aspiring, slinky ninjas. A suspenseful plot progression for a young crowd but the ending feels somewhat abrupt. Still an excellent read-aloud.

Location: Milwaukee, WI
Music: Vocals, pianist
Identity: Pakistani-American, muslim
Friendship: Growing distant from a best friend

Due to their "uncommon" identities at school, best friends Amina (Pakistani-American) and Soojin (Korean-American) have commiserated and persevered through occasional bullying from fellow classmates, which, in turn, has created a stronger bond of friendship. So when Soojin wants to change her name to something more "American," Amina feels confused and unable to support her friend's choice. Then Amina feels even further removed from her best friend when a cool kid that used to bully them decides to befriend Soojin. Along with these common middle school problems, Amina is grappling with the ideals of her visiting conservative uncle and, at the end of the book, a hateful attack on her community mosque.

Khan masterfully presents the topic of being "othered" for a younger audience--both for those that identify to the main character and those that have never experienced prejudice based on their skin color or religion. The modern setting and the highly relatable topic of friendship make this an easy sell to a wide demographic, while also giving the reader more substance that can help build empathy and compassion.

With these positives in mind, I felt like the book lost focus on allowing Amina to excel as an individual. She had a lot of questions and a lot of self-doubt but she focused so strongly on mending her friendship that her personal progression was lost.

Age: 3rd-6th grade
Things that go: Cars

Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria travel through space to assemble a car that will win them the cash they need to open their own mechanics shop. Fly along with the crew as they borrow a variety space objects to deck out their car including moondust for hopping, meteors for headlights, and decorative pinstripes from Saturn's rings.

A delightful celebration of lowrider culture for the younger car enthusiasts. Lowriders in Space also provides artistic diversity to the graphic novel landscape. That being said, this may need to be pushed harder to kids since it doesn't have the bright, popping, crisp colors that are most common in current graphic novels.

Age: 5th-8th grade
Identity: Indian-American
Author: Indian-American
Travel: USA --> India

I was absolutely delighted to read a graphic novel by an Indian-American about an Indian-American with gorgeous and appealing artwork. Unfortunately, there was a LOT going on here and, like most of the other reviews, the story ultimately suffered.

Age: Infant-Toddler

Young children will love the unique full-page lift-the flap reveal for each animal noise. Great for reading aloud in circle time and storytime--but you may need a lap to hold up the book while you flip both pages.

Age: Toddler-Preschool
Emotion: Shy

A sweet but shy Apatosaurus needs to be coaxed out of his hiding place but not too loud! You'll scare him away. And so goes a gentle give-and-take as the listeners befriend Crunch at his own pace. The mood of this book is rather calming since the narrator informs the audience that they need to be quiet in order to keep Crunch on the page. This serves as a nice balance between the more frantic, high energy interactive read-alouds.

Tune: Do Your Ears Hang Low OR Over in the Meadow

A toad jumps, tumbles, and is blown into a variety of different desert settings and encounters. Lots of fun sound effects and bouncing text make this great to read aloud but there's nothing too likeable about the toad and the encounters are pretty mundane. Readers can use the the tunes listed above but the bouncing text works great without it being sung.