Review of Phoenix, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Phoenix

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2026. 162 pages.
Review written April 10, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Hooray! A new book from Kimberly Brubaker Bradley! And this one says it’s Book 1 of the Ride On series – so there will be more!

This book features Harper, a girl in middle school, whose life has just blown up. Harper’s dad cheated on her mother with Harper’s best friend Cat’s mother – and Harper found that out from gossip at school the morning after her parents told her they were getting divorced.

Harper and her mother decide to get out of town, so they move to a small house on the property of a barn and riding school. Cat was scared of horses, so Harper had always avoided them, too, out of solidarity. But one day a kill truck stops at the barn and abandons a dying horse in the yard. Harper becomes determined to save him. She names him Phoenix because he’s going to rise from the ashes.

But the adults aren’t so sure and keep warning Harper that it will be tough for him to make it. But Harper starts working around the barn, taking lessons, and learning about horses, determined to save her horse.

Meanwhile, she’s got new friends to make at the stables and at her new school. And sometime, she’s going to have to face her dad. And Cat.

This book is nice and short, but tells a good story in that time. Yes, we’re going to want to find out more in the next book of the series, but this was a fantastic way to meet Harper and her rescued horse. I learned plenty about riding and horses and even about how to treat an almost-starved horse. (Don’t let them eat all they want.) Horse-loving kids like I once was are going to be delighted with this series.

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Review of Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, by Erin Entrada Kelly

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

by Erin Entrada Kelly
read by Amielynn Abellera

HarperAudio, 2021. 1.75 hours on 2 compact discs.
Review written October 16, 2021, from a library audiobook
Starred Review

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey is a delightful beginning chapter book with a memorable, lovable, and distinct heroine.

Marisol likes to name things. She lives in a house with a giant tree in the backyard, a tree that everyone else says is the best climbing tree in the world. She has named the tree Peppina, and has even named the two lowest branches, Booster Branch and Knobby Branch. But Marisol has not ever climbed Peppina, and she does not plan to.

Marisol is afraid. Marisol has a big imagination, and it is all too easy for her to imagine falling.

But Marisol has a best friend, Jada, who understands and doesn’t tease Marisol for her fears — unlike her brother and the girl from her classroom, Evie Smythe.

Marisol and Jada have adventures together, biking around the neighborhood together, passing the dog they’ve named Daggers, acting out a silent movie together, and doing other things best friends do.

This is a sweet story of an imaginative girl dealing with fears and joys. I listened to the audiobook, which was a lot of fun — and then noticed when I picked up the print book that I’d missed out on some very amusing illustrations. So in either form, you’re in for a treat.

erinentradakelly.com
harperaudio.com

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Review of The Library of Unruly Treasures, by Jeanne Birdsall

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy 0

The Library of Unruly Treasures

by Jeanne Birdsall
read by Sorcha Groundsell

Listening Library, 2025. 7 hours, 51 minutes.
Review written March 16, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.

Like The Penderwicks series by the same author, The Library of Unruly Treasures is a sweet and old-fashioned story. There’s magic hidden in the everyday world that only the kids can see.

The Prologue starts with a tale of a girl going with her brother across the sea from Scotland to America, and convincing the Lahdukan of her clan to come along. The Lahdukan are small people with wings. Only children under the age of six – and the Calban of the clan – can see them. The current Calba is responsible for protecting them, and it’s passed down to girls of the clan on their 11th birthday.

Then we come to the present, and Gwen MacKinnon comes to stay with her great-uncle Matthew while her neglectful parents are off on separate adventures. There’s a library in town named after her family, and the small children there talk about small flying people. Before long, they show themselves to Gwen, too – and it looks like they expect her to be their next Calba.

But the Lahdukan are in trouble. The library is going to be renovated and upgraded very soon, and their nests are sure to be disturbed. They will find a prophecy to find out where they need to go next, and they will need Gwen’s help to get there.

Before I comment further, let me say this is a sweet and enjoyable story. Lots of fun, and Gwen and her Uncle Matthew – and the Lahdukan and other characters – are all wonderful people to spend time with.

However, many of the obstacles and trials in the book were based entirely on the prophecies the Lahdukan told Gwen about, and that felt pretty artificial after a while. I suppose it was a cute trait of the Lahdukan that they relied so much on prophecies, but the charm wore off for me. Also, I work in a library and am currently involved in reopening a renovated branch – and I simply could not believe the haphazard job portrayed in this book. The one librarian working there wasn’t even sure when the workers would come and apparently didn’t have a chance to move her own things, and there was no talk of a temporary location, and I just find the lack of bureaucracy over a major renovation extremely hard to believe. (It also gave me new appreciation for bureaucracy, as I wondered how safe it all was for children and other visitors to the library.)

However, most kids won’t care about these persnickety details and will simply enjoy the fun of Gwen helping out these winged people that only children can see.

jeannebirdsall.com

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Review of You’re a Star, Lolo, by Niki Daly

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

You’re a Star, Lolo

by Niki Daly

Catalyst Press, 2020. First published in Great Britain in 2020.
Review written October 29, 2021, from a library book. 86 pages.
Starred Review

I love Lolo! These beginning chapter books written and illustrated by Niki Daly feature a young elementary-school-age girl who lives in Capetown, South Africa, with her mother and grandmother. The grandmother is called Gogo, which I think is delightful.

There are four self-contained stories in this book:

In “Lolo’s Special Soup,” Lolo makes soup for Mama, who’s out and about on a blustery day. Gogo is taking a little too much control of the process for Lolo, so she makes her own contribution.

In “Lolo’s Scary Night,” there’s a big fearsome sound interrupting Lolo’s sleep. Mama has a nice interpretation before they find out the actual source.

In “Lolo’s Snail Garden,” Lolo carefully follows instructions for a class gardening project, getting tomato seedlings started — but she has unusual results.

And in “Lolo’s Holiday,” Lolo and Gogo have a lovely vacation together in a nearby town, but then have an adventure getting home.

As other good beginning chapter books, I love the way these books are child-centric with concerns that mirror those of the target age group. There’s some extra fun that Lolo lives in South Africa, so it’s nice to see what’s the same and what’s different in everyday life.

catalystpress.org

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Review of The Lions’ Run, by Sara Pennypacker

Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

The Lions’ Run

by Sara Pennypacker

Balzer + Bray, 2026. 275 pages.
Review written March 9, 2026, based on an Advance Reader Copy, signed by the author, and a published copy from the library.
Starred Review

Yes, it’s true – I almost finished my Advance Reader Copy of this book before it was published, but not quite. Why did I not read a book by *Sara Pennypacker* first thing when I got that copy? Well, I wanted to, but I got to thinking that it’s certain to be a Sonderbooks Stand-out, and it would be awkward to make it a Stand-out in a year when it hadn’t even been published yet, so I read some others of my loot first. Then I was reading award winners from 2025 for a program I was doing. Then I at least *started* it before publication!

And, yes, this book is as wonderful as I was sure it would be. This is a book set during World War II. I keep thinking that writers will run out of new ideas for that setting, and they continue to surprise me. Our protagonist is Lucas DuBois, an orphan who lives in an abbey in France under the Nazi regime. The Nazis treat all the French with contempt, and particularly orphans like him. But Lucas has a job delivering for the greengrocer, including to the Lebensborn – where pregnant girls are sent to give birth to good Nazi babies. The girls are pampered with fresh fruit and vegetables, and one of them tells Lucas she’s going to go find her baby after the war. Lucas doesn’t want to tell her she won’t have a chance.

Meanwhile, Lucas is ashamed of what a pushover he is. When some bullies drown a cat’s kittens, Lucas tries to stand up for them, but settles for fishing the bag of kittens out of the river and hiding the kittens in a secluded barn. But someone else is already hiding a horse there.

Alice is the daughter of a British racehorse trainer. She knows if the Nazis find her horse Bia, they’ll requisition Bia to fight in their war. So she’s hiding Bia and making plans with a trainer in Kentucky to ship Bia there. She’s got the forged paperwork, but it has to wait a few weeks.

At first, Alice tells Lucas he can’t keep the kittens there. But they come to terms with the situation, help each other keep secrets, and build a friendship.

And tired of being taunted for weakness, Lucas begins finding other ways to resist the Nazis.

This book reminded me somewhat of the Max books by Adam Gidwitz, because both feature a boy against the Nazis. This one was easier for me to believe, because unlike Max, adults resisted sending Lucas into danger, and his actions stemmed from his own kindness and his own desire to make a difference. Yes, there were some fortuitous circumstances, and if this book was real history, he might have died horribly – but it felt more within the scope of what a boy might actually do. Besides, in a children’s book, I expect the protagonist to be victorious, and it was well-fought.

sarapennypacker.com
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Review of Muck and Magic, by Michael Morpurgo

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Muck & Magic

by Michael Morpugo
illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill

Candlewick Press, 2020. First published in the United Kingdom in 2019. 60 pages.
Review written October 23, 2021, from a library book

This sweet little book amounts to an illustrated short story. It’s about a girl named Bonny who dreamed of being an Olympic cyclist. But one day she fell in front of some horses.

That chance encounter pulled at her, and she found herself coming around them again and again. Eventually, through the elderly lady who owns the horses, Bonny discovers a deep love for horses, and for sculpting.

After Bonny takes a job mucking out the stalls, here’s what the owner tells her:

“Where there’s muck there’s money, that’s what they say,” she said with a laugh. “Not true, I’m afraid, Bonny. Where there’s muck, there’s magic. Now that is true.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. “Horse muck,” she went on, by way of explanation. “Best magic in the world for vegetables. I’ve got leeks in my garden longer than, longer than . . .” She looked around her. “Twice as long as your bicycle pump over there. All the soil asks is that we feed it with that stuff, and it’ll do whatever we want it to. It’s like anything, Bonny – you have to put more in than you take out.”

michaelmorpurgo.com
candlewick.com

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A Sea of Lemon Trees, by María Dolores Águila

Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Historical 0

A Sea of Lemon Trees

The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez

by María Dolores Águila

Roaring Brook Press, 2025. 291 pages.
Review written February 17, 2026, from a library book.
2026 Newbery Honor Book
2026 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
2025 National Book Award Longlist

A Sea of Lemon Trees is a novel in verse about an event that took place in 1930 and 1931, when a school district in California decided to make the Mexican American kids go to a separate “Americanization” school from the white kids.

The Mexican community fought back, with the Mexican embassy hiring lawyers for them. They chose a 12-year-old boy who was a good student, Roberto Alvarez, who was fluent in both English and Spanish, to be the lead plaintiff. This is his story.

I’m quite sure I already read Roberto’s story in a nonfiction picture book. (Sure enough! Google pointed me to the 2021 book by Larry Dane Brimner: Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez. I even reviewed it, but it was a blog-only review.)

This book is for middle-grade readers, and goes more in-depth, and being fiction, tells us more about how Roberto might have felt. And it gives us more information – telling us about Roberto’s best friend, whose family got deported. Back matter informed me that deportations – even of American-born citizens – are not a new phenomenon.

All these factors [the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and more] led to the Mexican Repatriation, which began in 1929 and continued through 1939. During this time, both Mexican nationals and their American-born children were deported to México, most often without due process, to free up jobs for Americans. This policy was begun by the administration of President Herbert Hoover. The exact number of people forcibly deported is unknown, but estimates range from 300,000 to 2 million, most of them children and American citizens.

By telling us this story from the perspective of a child who was in the thick of it and just wanted to go to school, readers can appreciate how bewilderingly unjust the whole thing was. May it also encourage those readers to stop and think how more modern government actions might feel from the perspective of the marginalized.

mariadoloresaguila.com
mackids.com

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Review of Talia’s Codebook for Middle School, by Marissa Moss

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Talia’s Codebook for Middle School

by Marissa Moss

Candlewick Press, 2025. 216 pages.
Review written January 13, 2026, from my own copy, purchased via Amazon.com
Starred Review
2026 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 6-8

Talia’s Codebook for Middle School is a sequel to Talia’s Codebook for Mathletes, which was our Mathical Book Prize Winner for 2024. This book is eligible for this year’s Mathical Prize, but I’m writing this before our discussion.

We’ve got more journaling goodness. Lots of middle school situations to navigate, and lots of pictures to go with Talia’s musings. I like Talia’s approach to life as codes: For example, the codes of what parents’ expressions mean, the code of how you can tell when people “like” each other, the code of how to lead others without coming across as too bossy.

It is good to read the first book before reading this one, and I think like me you’ll be glad to read more. Talia’s still on a math team, but now it’s a combined team of girls and boys, and her best friend (a boy) is acting like her best friend again. The new team leader is a girl, and Talia feels like she’s Miss Perfect – until she gets to know her better.

Meanwhile, Talia’s parents are putting lots of pressure on her, and she’s worried about the next math team competition – doesn’t want to get her answer wrong again.

Let me just say that I think the math competition portrayed is terrible – most kids answer ONE question each, in a speed competition with a buzzer. When my kids did math competitions in middle school, there were different phases, including one that was a written test with multiple problems and another that gave teams a chance to collaborate and solve harder problems. So much pressure on *one* question would be terrible!

But other than that, I love this portrayal of a girl who loves math – and who learns to make friends with both girls and boys in middle school. I hope there are more to come.

marissamoss.com

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Review of The Man Who Counted, by Malba Tahan

Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Mathematical, Old Favorites, Starred Review 0

The Man Who Counted

A Collection of Mathematical Adventures

by Malba Tahan
translated by Leslie Clark and Alastair Reid
illustrated by Patricia Reid Baquero

W. W. Norton and Company, 1993. First published in Portuguese in Brazil, 1972.
Review written September 14, 2021, from my own copy.
Starred Review

It was a delight to revisit this book, a tale of mathematical feats and curiosities performed in Baghdad by a man who began life as a humble shepherd.

The narrator of the story is a man traveling home to Baghdad who meets Beremiz Samir, a man who can count the number of birds in a flock as they fly by. But his mathematical agility goes beyond counting, as he solves mathematical puzzles for people and gains a post with the vizier in Baghdad.

The stories are told with middle eastern flourishes and the reader is entertained by the situation as well as the many puzzles. Here’s an example of the first puzzle solved:

We had been traveling for a few hours without stopping when there occurred an episode worth retelling, wherein my companion Beremiz put to use his talents as an esteemed cultivator of algebra.

Close to an old, half-abandoned inn, we saw three men arguing heatedly beside a herd of camels. Amid the shouts and insults, the men gestured wildly in fierce debate, and we could hear their angry cries:

“It cannot be!”
“That is robbery!”
“But I do not agree!”

The intelligent Beremiz asked them why they were quarreling.

“We are brothers” the oldest explained, “and we received these 35 camels as our inheritance. According to the express wishes of my father, half of them belong to me, one-third to my brother Hamed, and one-ninth to Harim, the youngest. Nevertheless, we do not know how to make the division, and whatever one of us suggests, the other two dispute. Of the solutions tried so far, none have been acceptable. If half of 35 is 17 ½, if neither one-third nor one-ninth of this amount is a precise number, then how can we make the division?”

“Very simple,” said the Man Who Counted. “I promise to make the division fairly, but let me add to the inheritance of 35 camels this splendid beast that brought us here at such an opportune moment.”

Beremiz presents a solution, and continues to present solutions to problems that come his way. He also expounds on fascinating facts about certain numbers and provides interesting history of mathematics. There are a wide variety of problems. I am especially fond of the liars and truth-tellers puzzle at the end.

I will say that Beremiz presents his calculations as if by magic – he doesn’t really explain how the reader, too, could have gotten the solution. So the book gives the impression that magical mathematical geniuses exist. However, for anyone who enjoys mathematical puzzles, the fun in this book will make up for that.

It was a delight to revisit this classic. It’s similar to The Number Devil, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger — perfect for people who like to play with numbers.

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Review of The Trouble with Heroes, by Kate Messner

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

The Trouble with Heroes

by Kate Messner
read by Mack Gordon

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025. 4 hours, 16 minutes.
Review written February 2, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I’m embarrassed. I have a print copy of this book, signed by the author, which I received at ALA Annual Conference last June and was eager to read. But somehow, with award reading, one thing and another – I didn’t get it read until my audiobook hold came in. However, all is not lost – the book was good enough that I will certainly want to read it again, and I do own a copy.

This audiobook packs a lot of punch into four hours. Finn Connelly was caught kicking over a headstone because his dad’s headstone wasn’t the kind you can kick over – and he’s in deep trouble. Turns out, he defaced the headstone of a beloved woman who had climbed all of the 46 High Peaks of the Adirondacks, and who had written letters to others who wanted to become 46ers, encouraging them in their paths. So the lady’s daughter says she’ll drop charges – if Finn will hike all 46 High Peaks that summer, and take her mother’s dog with him.

At the same time, Finn has a Language Arts poetry project he needs to complete in order to pass seventh grade. It’s supposed to be on the theme of heroes. The teacher suggests he write about his dad.

Finn’s dad was a firefighter who saved people on 9/11 and was captured in an iconic photo. And he went on to work overtime during the Covid-19 pandemic to save people. But Finn doesn’t buy the hero worship. Because he knows all too well how human his dad was.

The book is a novel in verse about Finn’s summer, climbing the 46 peaks with three different trail mentors. And the dog, whom he nicknames Drool-face. It’s told in Finn’s voice as he tries to complete poems for his poetry project. And it’s a whole lot of fun to watch his attitude slowly change – from thinking it’s all stupid and he’s a terrible person and heroes are all fake – to something much more optimistic. And at the same time, we watch him wrestle with who his dad really was.

And it’s all done in four hours! Honestly, I would have liked a little more. The story wasn’t incomplete, and plenty of details were filled in about these actual hikes – but I enjoyed my time with him and would have liked a little more of it. (This isn’t a real complaint – I think it’s fantastic to have good books for kids that aren’t ponderous tomes. But, yeah, I was a little sad it was so short.)

Oh, and the book will also make you hungry for cookies – as Finn devises a cookie to go with each of the 46 High Peaks. (Hmmm. I may have to look in the print book to try a recipe or two.)

A book that’s both powerful and heart-warming. At first, it made me want to go out and do some hiking, but the talk of rock scrambles and mud squelched that impulse to settle for enjoying reading about it.

katemessner.com

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