Shady Baby by Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade Jr.

Illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker 3 stars Join Shady Baby on her busy day, teaching others about sharing and taking turns, while leading by example with just the right amount of sass. Rhythm and rhyme combine to create engaging, rolling text. Adorable illustrations. They’re bright, colorful, and perfectly capture the shade. Nice themes of leadership,…

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Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annabel

5 stars Delightfully eerie and splendidly spine-tingling. Welcome to the School of Screams where each student in Ms. Nomed’s class has to share an eerie tale. Enjoy five stories of thrills and chills, and a jaw-droppingly good ending. As soon as I got to the last page, I wanted to go back and read it…

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ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse by Stephanie Cooke

Illustrated by Mari Costa 3 stars This book really delivers on the magic, the chaos, and the bunnies. Join a young witch, Abby, as she prepares to spend fall break with her friends Silas, a pumpkinhead; Hannah, a ghost-like entity from another dimension; and Gita, a wolf-girl. She’s looking forward to having fun and practicing…

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Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now!

by Claudette Colvin and Phillip Hoose Illustrated by Bea Jackson 5 stars A fantastic book that tells the story of how Claudette Colvin took a stand against discriminatory rules. Told in first person, the book follows Colvin’s frustration at not having the same rights as others because of the color of her skin. One day,…

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Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

5 stars I read the graphic novel adaptation of this book a few years ago and loved it. Finally got around to reading the original and was not disappointed. Molly moves with her family to a renovated church in the middle of nowhere, complete with a quiet little graveyard. The place creeps Molly out, but…

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The Wild Ones by Megan Lacera & Jorge Lacera

Illustrated by Jorge Lacera 4 stars A short and sweet comics-style picture book. Absolutely adorable. Four friends are convinced there is a monster living in the forest near their shared apartment building, Wild Oaks. They just can’t decide which monster (and their favored snack). When their beloved apartment building is scheduled for demolition, they turn…

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Wild for Winnie by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Illustrated by Jenny Løvlie 3 stars On the fence about this one. I loved the ways that Winnie’s teacher recognizes Winnie’s needs and finds ways to involve the whole class in meeting those needs together. They all participate in fun activities and in the process connect with Winnie. However, the basis of the book relies…

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My Hair is My Friend by Myrce’tez Gowan-Perkins

Illustrated by Danielle Arrington 3.5 stars A sweet story about treating your hair with love and kindness. With the help of her older sister, a young girl learns how to care for her hair and treat it like a friend. The story goes through various steps of hair care, pointing out when the be gentle…

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