H.S. Toshack’s The Smile of the Tiger is set during catastrophic flooding in Bangkok, where a house cat named Sheena becomes trapped alone in the Allen family apartment after the building is abandoned. With no access to food or water, she escapes through a garbage...

The Stars Are Always There by Jaime Maria Merrill is a compelling read, with a fast-paced plot and vivid writing that brings the events to life. The summer isn’t going well for Jess Lindsey, a month short of her twelfth birthday. Her parents have just...

The Mis-Adventure of Pepper & Salt by Liz Fahey introduces young readers to Pepper, a thoughtful little elephant who experiences emotions as colors, and his lively best friend, Salt, a gold-crested crane. Their day begins with curiosity when Pepper asks a playful question about Salt’s...

In The Boy Who Counts His Mistakes by Kim Adams, readers meet young Alex, who’s wearing two mismatched socks. He sometimes counts his mistakes. He begins his day pretending to be an astronaut for a little too long, which is his first error of the...

The Kinetix and the Glowing Orb of Gorthon by Austin Basis, Dave Maulbeck, and Josh Taub is an entertaining and original graphic novel. Four middle school students never dreamed that they would one day become superheroes who would end up saving the school. And ultimately,...

In The Crow’s Ring by Pannell & Sigfusson, Brandon Woodberry and his friends are drawn into a long-buried mystery. Brandon realizes that a ruby ring, once dropped on his rooftop by his pet crow, matches jewelry reported stolen from a wealthy Riverside homeowner during a...

The Power of Encouragement: Turning "I Can't" into "I Can" by Ruth Maille is a children's picture book featuring Orbit, a cheerful globe, who arrives via rocket at a kindergarten classroom to teach students about two interconnected superpowers: courage and encouragement. Five classmates, Natalie, Giuliana,...

What could be more fun than kittens? Kittens, home alone! The Adventures of Chibi and Yoshi by Kristi Shimada, with illustrations by Eko Setiawan, is a delightful picture book that will appeal to kids, and indeed to all cat lovers. It tells the story of...

There’s a Robot in Our Class is a delightful children’s picture book written by Moataz Abo Mokh with illustrations by Yasser Elgazzar. Siblings Amir and Naya cannot wait to get back to school after a long break. They have got their uniforms ready, backpacks packed,...

The Hermit’s Hut follows Francis, a children’s author who leaves his city apartment after his books lose readers and moves into the mountains near his friend Erasmus, an old, half-deaf shepherd. Francis builds a small cottage and spends his days walking, foraging, and passing long...