Review of I’m So Happy You’re Here, written by Mychal Threets, illustrated by Lorraine Nam

I’m So Happy You’re Here

A Celebration of Library Joy

written by Mychal Threets
illustrated by Lorraine Nam

Random House, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written February 25, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Hooray! Mychal Threets’ first picture book is here, and I’m so happy!

Mychal Threets was a viral social media sensation and offered the best stuff on Twitter back in the day. Now he’s the host of the new updated Reading Rainbow and a literacy ambassador for PBS. [And apparently very active on Instagram. I’m going to have to get back on Instagram.] The content Mychal offered when he was doing his own posts was all about library joy and wonderful upbeat stories about the wonderful library kids he encountered while working in a public library. His own joyful attitude – while at the same time acknowledging he suffers from depression – absolutely won my heart. And of course I completely agree with his message – that libraries are a place where everyone belongs. In fact, back about fifteen years ago when my own library was facing budget cuts (and I lost my job for six months), I started a blog series I called Librarians Help – trying to tell some heart-warming stories about people getting help in the library. Mychal did the same idea, but executed so much better! I was just happy to see it done. [Hmm. Hold on. I guess it was never a blog series, because there are only two such entries. Maybe I tried to make it a hashtag? Ha! That’s it. Search #LibrariansHelp – and I found tweets from as far back as 2012.]

But this book! It’s about how everyone is welcome at the library.

Hi, library kid!
I’m so happy you’re here!
Welcome to your library.

The library is here for you,
a place where you’ll always belong.

You belong here
with your mom.
You belong here
with your dads.
You belong here
with your abuela.

And of course all the pictures here show a wonderful, welcoming library, with Mychal himself welcoming people.

There’s more about how you belong just as you are. Then it goes on to talk about how the library has books and so much more, talking about library programs. And it continues by telling the reader how easy it is to get a library card.

You having your best day at the library – that’s what I call library joy.

We now have a perfect picture book for every time a librarian gives a preschool or elementary school library tour. Spread the joy!

Mychal’s Instagram
lorrainenam.com

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Review of One of the Boys, by Victoria Zeller

One of the Boys

by Victoria Zeller

Levine Querido, 2025. 331 pages.
Review written February 11, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review
2026 Stonewall Young Adult Award Winner

Grace Woodhouse is a senior in high school who thought she had to give up football last summer after she came out as trans. When everyone thought she was a boy, she was a kicker for their team and ranked the eighteenth best high school kicker in the nation as a junior. Even though she still thinks about the kick she flubbed that stopped them from going to State championships, it’s still hard to watch her team go on without her.

So when the teammate replacing her asks for help, she gives in and gives him some pointers. But they all know that she could do a better job – so the football captains ask Grace to come back to the team.

So, yes, this is the story of a trans athlete, but in this case it’s about a trans girl playing with the boys. The team captains are supportive, but not everyone on the team is, and yes, she faces transphobic slurs at games. And her new girlfriends aren’t always understanding of the time that playing football takes away from hanging out with the girls.

I loved this book. I’m not a football fan and didn’t know much about the position of kicker, but this book got me into the head and heart of the person doing the kicking. She was up against plenty, on the field and off, and this book showed us a nuanced character, trying to figure things out, trying to be accepted for who she is, and trying to help her team.

I appreciated that Grace wasn’t able to articulate very well for anyone why she was trans – it makes her feel all the more real, not just a spokesperson. But she never questioned that she was trans. The questions were more how could she live her life and help out her team and can she keep this up in college? Does she want to?

The book is full of football players trying to avoid “feelingsball,” but with feelings happening all over the place. I loved the characters in this book, the realistic conflicts, and the many kindnesses as well.

victoria.monster

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Review of Is It Spring? by Kevin Henkes

Is It Spring?

by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins), 2026. 32 pages.
Review written March 11, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Back when I was a librarian in the branches doing storytimes, it was a challenge finding picture books short enough and simple enough for Toddler Storytime. This book is absolutely perfect. And there’s plenty for older kids to enjoy, too. It’s also absolutely perfect for the day I’m writing this. It’s mid-March and today the temperature high is 80 degrees. Tomorrow the forecast says Snow. With thunderstorms tonight. [Added the day I posted this: We got a full inch! It hadn’t completely melted off my car when I left work. Crazy times. But perfect for this book.]

The format starts with a question: “Is it spring?”

At first, various things and creatures say, “Yes” – the flowers in the garden down the street, the buds on the branches in the park, and the birds in the blue, blue sky.

But the question is asked again, and now the answer is “Not yet.” That comes from the wind, turning icy and sharp, the clouds, turning thick and gray, and the animals (squirrels), still sleepy in their dark homes. Of course each answer gets its own page and illustration. And kids will begin to guess what answer is coming and shout along with you.

The next time the question is asked, the answer is:

No, said the late snow.

A kid is looking out the window at the falling snow.

We turn the page and see “No, no, no!” across from the same kid now out in the snow building a small snowman on a bird bath while the flowers are drooping under snow clumps.

But now the question changes:

Will it ever be spring?

And the answer this time is more encouraging:

Yes, yes, yes, said the sun —

And then the sun warms the wind and melts the snow and calls the animals out of their dark homes.

And the book ends with Spring finally here.

Okay, I’ve told you the entire “plot” of this lovely book – but of course what makes it wonderful is the beautiful pictures and the page turns and the reactions of the children you’re reading it with. I bet you can get a big, “Yes, yes, yes!” at the end!

This is simply everything a children’s picture book should be, and it will get little ones noticing and talking about the world around them.

And let me tell you, it is perfect for today. I’m glad to remember that it won’t be long before the apparent No will turn into Yes, Yes, Yes!

kevinhenkes.com

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Review of Muck and Magic, by Michael Morpurgo

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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Review of Because of a Shoe, by Julie Fogliano & Marla Frazee

Because of a Shoe

by Julie Fogliano & Marla Frazee

Alfred A. Knopf, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written February 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Ahhhh! This book reminds me tremendously of one of my favorite picture books from when my own kids were young – and I think the book where I discovered that I love Marla Frazee’s illustrations – Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild, by Mem Fox, illustrated by Marla Frazee.

Both books feature a similar situation – a mother and a sweet, funny toddler – and the mother eventually losing it. But both books, of course, end with that deep love and connection – despite those moments anyone who’s ever lived with a toddler will relate to.

Julie Fogliano is a poet. So Because of a Shoe is a long poem about a toddler faced with the horror of putting on their shoes when it’s past time to get out the door. And of course the illustrations show the full drama of the situation.

even when. . .
because of a shoe
(a too-tight shoe
a too-loose shoe)
you are screaming
and you don’t want to be screaming
but you just can’t stop screaming

and even when
you are on the floor
and you are flopping
and you don’t want to be flopping
but you just can’t stop being on the floor
and flopping

The pictures change to black and white when things get to imaginary scenarios.

and even when
you are never getting up from the floor

and you will live on the floor

and you will
eat your dinner
on the floor

and you will
go to school
on the floor

and you will grow up
and go to work at an office
on the floor

[There’s more, but you get the idea]

I love all the emotions expressed about the shoe – and then the mother starts reacting.

and even when
i am loud and i am yelling
and i don’t want to be loud and yelling
but i just can’t stop being loud and yelling
because we are leaving
and we are late
and everyone is waiting
and you love those shoes
they are your best shoes
they are your red shoes
they are your favorite red shoes

I think that’s the part that really got me. Yes, we’ve all known a toddler to turn on their favorite things and it doesn’t make any sense and what’s a mother to do?

But yes, it comes to a beautiful resolution. (This is just the beginning of it.)

even then

you are still you
(funny sweet you)
and i am still me
(funny sweet me)
and we are not a shoe
(not the tightest shoe
or the loosest shoe)

And gosh, the loving harmony at the end simply fills me with all the feels.

So, yes, this is for every funny sweet parent who’s ever had a funny sweet toddler in their home – even though they might lose it at times.

Is it actually for the child? I think such a clear depiction of a fraught situation can only shine light on what’s important – how much we love each other no matter what.

juliefogliano.com
marlafrazee.com

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Review of The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal, by Ambika Vohra

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal

by Ambika Vohra

Quill Tree Books, 2024. 353 pages.
Review written December 29, 2025, from a library book.
2026 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 9-12

Here’s a light-hearted novel about a senior in high school who’s trying to get out of her comfort zone for the sake of her Stanford application.

And of course there’s guy drama. Brian was her best friend in middle school before he moved away. When Aisha got a scholarship to the same private high school Brian attends, he turned out to have become hot. But he also barely acknowledges Aisha’s existence, despite her growing crush. So when the picture in his locker of his girlfriend comes down – and he asks Aisha to the winter formal, she thinks her dreams have come true.

But when she arrives at winter formal, she doesn’t see him anywhere. And then his mother – of all people – calls Aisha to say that Brian is sick with the flu. Aisha flees the festivities, but doesn’t know who to call to get a ride home. Her mother didn’t even know she’d planned to be there with a boy. She’s standing next to a clarinet player from a jazz band who happens to be her best friend’s boyfriend’s grandmother. The grandma is waiting for a promised ride from her friend’s grandson, who hasn’t shown up. So she has some wise words for Aisha about being stood up.

But the grandma doesn’t keep waiting around and calls a cab. Shortly after she leaves, a kid pulls up in a Volkswagen Jetta, apologizes for being late, and tells her to hop in. Clearly he’s mistaken Aisha for the clarinet player, but in the spirit of the advice she’s been given, Aisha hops in.

But before long the story comes out. This guy, Quentin, is a good listener. Since Aisha’s all dressed up, they go for ice cream, and eventually reach a deal: Aisha will tutor Quentin in precalculus, so he won’t fail, and Quentin will help coach Aisha into doing activities outside her comfort zone for the Stanford application and to actually live life. And yes, her goals get transferred to sticky notes.

So that’s the set-up. And yes, it plays out with the reader understanding that Aisha’s got a crush on the wrong guy long before she does. Quentin ends up having a lot more back story than came out at first, and we’ve got friend drama, high school drama, family drama – all in a sweet feel-good story that makes you care about this girl who cares a little bit too much about getting into Stanford. Reading about the things that wake her up is a heart-warming ride with a set of delightful people.

ambikavohra.com

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

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 Secret Astronomers, by Jessica Walker

The Secret Astronomers

A Novel in Notes

by Jessica Walker

Viking, 2025. 304 pages.
Review written December 12, 2025, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review
2026 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 9-12

The Secret Astronomers is, as the subtitle tells us, a novel in notes. The book is a facsimile of an 1888 textbook on astronomy – which someone has started writing in, doing art over the pages, and putting post-it notes in.

At the front of the book we see a note taped in (the tape and note paper are in the image) with this written on it:

Find the oldest book in the Green Bank High School Library. Hidden inside are the secrets that are being left behind forever. If you’re smart enough to figure out the message, then you have a right to know why a small town in the-middle-of-nowhere West Virginia is the center of intelligent life in the known universe.

We come to realize that the art and notes in the following pages are from a girl who’s been forced to move to Green Bank to stay with her grandparents after her mother’s death. The textbook everything’s written over is the oldest book in Green Bank High School Library.

The writer complains about living in Green Bank, where the Internet is forbidden because of the radio telescopes, and talks about what it’s like (with pictures) – when someone else joins the conversation, using Post-it notes instead of writing directly in the book. This new person begins with:

Hey would you PLEASE stop destroying this book? I know these pages are as old as Methuselah, but it’s one of the only astronomy textbooks in our library and I need to reference it for my college application essay.

After that, the two get a conversation going. After some discussion and sharing about their lives, they decide to remain anonymous to each other. They call each other Copernicus and Kepler, and agree that they won’t try to meet in person.

And then we learn about their lives and their Senior years in Green Bank. About their crushes and family drama. But they also slowly solve the puzzles and codes that Copernicus’s mother left behind when she was a high school student in Green Bank, and that involves some clever twists.

Both want to get out of Green Bank – Copernicus to go back to San Francisco to be with her Dad, and Kepler to go to college (still worried about that application essay).

The art on the pages plus the hand-written notes do make this book an amazing reading experience. I’m glad our library doesn’t have the eaudiobook, because this is one I’m glad I experienced visually.

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Review of Imposter, by Cait Levin

Imposter

by Cait Levin

Charlesbridge Teen, 2025. 232 pages.
Review written December 2, 2025, from my own copy, sent by the publisher.
Starred Review
2026 Mathical Book Prize Winner, Grades 6-8

Imposter is an issue book, but the character-building makes it much more than an issue book.

Cam is a high school sophomore who loves making. So she decides to take the intro to computer science class as her elective – and it turns out she’s the only girl. The boys there – and even the teacher – treat her as if she doesn’t belong.

But she has a supportive best friend, Viv, who joins her signing up for the Robotics team – to build a submarine robot to compete in San Diego the upcoming summer. Again, they are the only girls and face some pushback.

However, the only other Sophomore in Computer Science, Jackson, a guy who’s always playing video games, agrees to be her partner for the big CS project. They decide to take on the problem of how women are treated in STEM fields – both in schools and in industry. Cam does research to back up their points, and Jackson uses her ideas to make a game where women overcome obstacles to defeat the big boss.

Along the way in both class and the RoboSub team, Cam keeps facing obstacles. She sees her own mother deal with a coworker being harassed at work, and gets motivated to stand up for herself.

As I started the book, I was skeptical of tackling this issue simply with a game shedding light on it. But as the book went on, I got more and more hooked by the characters. And the situations they faced as the story went on seemed all too realistic.

Without giving anything away, there are two little romantic subplots for each of the two girls, and I loved the way they turned out. It put the emphasis on their friendships and made this book more than just a typical YA romance.

By the end of the book, I was enthusiastically cheering for Cam and Viv. I know awareness alone won’t solve all their problems, but Cam feels all the more equipped to tackle future obstacles and to help other girls follow her example.

I am sorry that the situation hasn’t changed since the 1980s when I was a math student. This indeed sounds worse, since I was never harassed or made to feel like I didn’t belong. But I was always definitely a minority in math and science classes. So I’m glad for another person shining light on the problem, complete with a lists of research and resources at the back. (Though let me also refer people interested in this topic to Eugenia Cheng’s X + Y: A Mathematician’s Manifesto for Rethinking Gender.

caitlevin.com
charlesbridge.com

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Review of The Trouble with Heroes, by Kate Messner

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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