Review of Sometimes We Pray, by Mary Wagley Copp, illustrated by Felishia Henditirto

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Sometimes We Pray

by Mary Wagley Copp
illustrated by Felishia Henditirto

Charlesbridge, 2026. 36 pages.
Review written April 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here is a simple and inclusive book about how all kinds of people from all over the world in all kinds of situations and all kinds of ways all pray.

The book is simple – it doesn’t talk about who or what different groups pray to. Instead, it talks about what we have in common – we pray. And it does show the variety of ways that happens.

I love the story at the back of why the author wrote the book:

One day, in the middle of an ELL (English language learners) class, two of my Syrian students stood up with their prayer rugs, went to a corner of the room, and knelt in prayer. Another student, a former pastor from Burundi, suggested that we sit silently as they prayed. The class obliged. A student from Haiti made a sign of the cross and others bowed their heads, as we sat in silence. When the class resumed, a lengthy conversation ensued – as best we could with the variety of languages we spoke – of what prayer meant to each of us. The curiosity of the students, coming from vastly different cultures, was heartening. In making space for, listening to, and hearing different perspectives, we found connection and discovered many shared values. Sometimes We Pray is inspired by that class. It is an offering to initiate similar explorations. During my research, many people shared their perspectives and practices, and I am grateful for their generous and open spirit.

The main text of the book stays simple, suitable to read to a child:

Sometimes we kneel.
Sometimes we bend and bow.
Or lie flat.

We might pray with each step. [Here there’s a picture of Buddhist monks walking in a labyrinth.]
strumming each string,
inspecting each incredible leg, [Here there’s a picture of a child looking at a praying mantis.]
or maybe…
marveling at a star.

The book goes on to talk about positions of prayer, what we do with our hands, times we pray, ways we pray, places we pray.

I like the part at the end that does include praying in difficult times:

Sometimes we wonder if prayer works.
Someone we love gets sick…
and doesn’t get better.

Someone is hungry or
doesn’t have a home.
The rain doesn’t stop or
never
comes.

But we keep praying, wherever we are.

We might be praying the same prayer,
sowing the same seeds, or…
marveling at the same star.

The beautifully painted pictures accompany a few lines on each spread. They portray people of many different cultures and religions, from many different parts of the world – and viscerally show us how much we are all alike in this way.

This isn’t a book I’d use to introduce a child to prayer. As a Christian, I’d use the tried-and-true “Prayer is talking to God.” But once a child has seen how their own family prays, this book is a glorious way to point out that others may do it differently, but so many others of us here on earth do pray.

marywagleycopp.com
felishiahenditirto.com

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Review of Dream On, by Shannon Hale and Marcela Cespedes

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Graphic Novel 0

Dream On

written by Shannon Hale
illustrated by Marcela Cespedes
colors by Lark Pien

Roaring Brook Press, 2025. 236 pages.
Review written May 26, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I always love it when a children’s book features a big family. We kids from big families are underrepresented, because all those characters are hard to keep track of. This is a graphic novel about a middle school kid named Cassie who’s dealing with friendships and family relationships – so pretty much your classic middle school graphi novel. It reminds me very much of Shannon Hale’s autobiographical Real Friends series, because Cassie, too, is imaginative and not willing to give up pretend play as quickly as her friends are.

One of the features of this book is that early on, Cassie opens a letter that tells her she’s “already won” three fabulous prizes. So she keeps the mailer and thinks about what she’ll do with the prizes when she gets them. And she doesn’t order magazines – it says “No Purchase Necessary” – and doesn’t enclose any money, but she does put stickers for the magazines she likes in the spots on the order form.

The magazines start coming. What will her mother say when she finds out Cassie sent that in? That’s scarier than thinking about what she’ll say when they all get into their new car so they don’t have to go places in two shifts.

So at home, Cassie dreams about that – and finally getting attention from her mother. (The reader doesn’t have to try to keep track of the siblings in her family. There are a lot.) At school, there’ a new girl who’s coming between Cassie and her long-time best friend. And the new girl thinks Cassie’s favorite teacher is weird. Is she maybe right about that? It’s so hard to tell.

I like Cassie’s character because I was an imaginative kid, too – though I’d pretty much stopped admitting to it by middle school. But I also remember the fascination of those “YOU may HAVE ALREADY WON!!!” letters in the mail. My older siblings were quick to disillusion me, but I may have, well, ordered some magazines when I was a young adult. And daydreamed at least a little about what I’d do if I won. So Cassie’s predicament was easy to imagine.

This book came out in 2025, but our order was a casualty of Baker and Taylor going out of business, and it accidentally didn’t get reordered and the holds have piled up. But I’m happy it’s arrived just in time for summer reading, and the second book in the series, coming out in August.

shannonhale.com
mackids.com

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Review of Tall Water, by SJ Sindu and Dion MBD

Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Tall Water

by SJ Sindu and Dion MBD

HarperAlley, 2025. 248 pages.
Review written February 17, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review
2026 Asian/Pacific American Literature Award, Young Adult Honor

Nimmi hasn’t seen her mother since she was a baby. Now she’s applying to universities to be a journalist, like her father. Her parents met when he was covering the war in Sri Lanka, and when his press pass expired, he took their baby to the United States, but her mother wasn’t able to get a visa to come join them.

Now after many years, her father’s press pass has been renewed, so he’s going to Sri Lanka. He says it’s too dangerous for Nimmi to come, but she takes matters into her own hands and joins him, because she wants to meet her mother.

Once there, Nimmi indeed sees some tough things. Her mother’s working at a UNICEF orphanage, being a mother to kids who need her.

And then the “Tall Water” of the title hits.

This graphic novel tells a powerful story with moving illustrations, gorgeously drawn. I read it in about a half-hour, and then I had to sit with it for a bit, because it that quickly got into my heart.

sjsindu.com
dionmbd.com

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Review of Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts, by Adam Sass

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts

by Adam Sass
read by Torian Brackett

Listening Library, 2024. 9 hours, 25 minutes.
Review written March 24, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.

Here’s a gay teen romance that’s formulaic and predictable – but completely sweet.

I’m still blaming Annabel Monaghan’s book Nora Goes Off Script, about a writer for the Romance channel finding her own romance, for me noticing when a Romance Novel follows a pattern. But even though I knew where this book was going, I kept listening and enjoyed the ride.

The protagonist is Grant Rossi, a designer who’s been in a funk for a year since his boyfriend left him. He’s convinced that he’s cursed to always be left ever since he made a wish on his family’s legendary Wishing Rose at 13 years old – he’s convinced it doesn’t work for gay boys, especially since after making his wish, his childhood crush Ben got together with his summer boyfriend and dropped Grant. That all happened at Grant’s grandma’s funeral, and Grant hasn’t been back to the family vineyard and B&B since.

But now, to get out of his funk, Grant shows up at the vineyard and spends his summer helping his aunt and uncle bring it back into shape so they won’t have to sell it. There’s a lot of work to do, and Grant’s social media following will help – but then he discovers that Ben is there, working as a gardener, also helping get it all back into shape.

Oh, there’s also a nice thread about mental illness – Grant’s been diagnosed with anxiety – and nice modeling of making contact again with his therapist and restarting his meds to help him function better.

And, yeah, you can tell where this is going. There’s a big Rose Festival at the end to work toward. There are big misunderstandings and years of resentment to clear up. And Grant and Ben just happen to get thrown together and must work together to save the family business.

It all adds up to a fluffy story and a sweet romance. But sometimes fluffy and sweet hits just right.

adamsassbooks.com

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Review of Buffalo Dreamer, by Violet Duncan

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Historical, Starred Review 0

Buffalo Dreamer

by Violet Duncan
read by Ashley Callingbull

Listening Library, 2024. 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Review written February 16, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2024 National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Literature
2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book, Middle Grades

Buffalo Dreamer is short and sweet and packs a lot of power.

12-year-old Summer and her family are traveling to Canada to the reservation where her mother grew up for their annual vacation. Summer’s looking forward to wonderful times, riding horses with her cousin and enjoying her grandparents and her extended family.

But when she crosses the border into Canada and nears the reservation, she starts having vivid dreams about a girl running away from a residential school. Meanwhile, modern equipment has been brought to the residential school where Summer’s grandfather went to school – and they have found bodies of kids buried there.

Could Summer’s dreams be showing her what really happened?

This book navigates the line between talking about horrific abuse in the past and expressing confident joy in the present – and the power of connection between the generations.

violetduncan.com

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Review of While We’re Here, written by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Micha Archer

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

While We’re Here

written by Anne Wynter
illustrated by Micha Archer

Clarion Books, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written April 28, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I was completely captivated by this picture book from my first reading – and find myself happily reading it over and over.

First, the artwork is colorful and beautiful. It’s done with collage papers, so everything from the tree trunks to the grass in the park has subtle patterns. Especially highlighted are the red tops and colorful skirts of our featured characters – a Black mother and her young daughter, all dressed up for a party.

In almost the first half of the book, all the spreads begin with the words “Hurry, Hurry.” And several of them end with “We have somewhere to be!” We see the mother is the one doing the hurrying – getting jackets zipped, out the door, on the train, through the park. The little girl, as little girls do, pays attention to the things she sees along the way

But when they get where they’re going – a picnic bench on a hill beside two trees, there are no words except for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner. There are some cups left on the picnic table and colored wrapping paper in the trash. There’s a balloon in the tree.

On the next page, the mother is checking her calendar:

Hurry, hurry,
check the date.

Yesterday.
Yesterday?

Yes, the little girl is clearly upset. But that’s where all the tension leaves the book. When we turn the page, we read:

We’ll head back home,
but while we’re here,
let’s take turns
rolling down the hill.

From there on out, party balloon in hand, the pair make the most of time together in a wonderful sprawling park, because “we have nowhere to be.” They go under a bridge, watch ducklings in the pond, enjoy sitting under a tree, and more.

And it’s all colorful and beautiful and full of love. Their outdoor time together exudes peace and we know it all adds up to a wonderful day.

This is going on my I’d-love-to-see-get-Caldecott-recognition list for this year.

This book just makes me happy.

annewynter.com
michaarcher.com

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Review of Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, by Bob the Drag Queen

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review, Historical, Science Fiction 0

Harriet Tubman

Live in Concert

by Bob the Drag Queen
read by the Author

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025. 4 hours, 18 minutes.
Review written February 16, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2026 Alex Award Winner

I would have never listened to this audiobook if it hadn’t won an Alex Award. The Alex Awards are given each year to ten novels published for adults that will be of interest to teens. I hadn’t listened to any of the winners this year, so I was trying to make up for that – and I was completely enchanted with this book.

The story is told by Darnell, a hip-hop producer who’s been out of work for fifteen years when he meets his hero, Harriet Tubman, in real life.

We learn that people have been bringing back certain historical figures. I love that the book never explains why or how it’s supposed to work. Because that would rapidly get into ridiculous territory and as readers, we’d realize it doesn’t work. Instead, we’re caught up in the wonder of Darnell meeting his hero.

And what Harriet Tubman wants to do – along with “the Freedmen” she’s brought with her – is create a hip-hop album and go on tour to tell her story to the modern generation.

The process of Darnell learning more about Harriet’s life – from her own voice – and processing the lessons of it makes a simply lovely story. And along the way, Darnell needs to process his own coming-out journey, because Harriet senses that here, too, is someone she needs to lead to freedom.

I recommend listening to the audiobook performance of this book – especially because it ends with two of the songs written for Harriet to perform, consolidating lessons from her life.

bobthedragqueen.com

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Review of Two Artists, Grandad and Me, by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Two Artists, Grandad and Me

by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2026. 28 pages.
Review written February 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This is a sweet picture book about a little girl and her artist grandfather, and the joy she found making art with him in his studio, and how he’d gently guide her.

What makes it extra special is that this girl’s grandfather was the wonderful Jerry Pinkney – an amazing creator of children’s books, Caldecott Medalist, and a kind human being. (Yes, I’ve met him and heard him speak a few times. The man radiated goodness.)

This book pictures her as a little girl coming into Grandad’s studio, being greeted with love, given access to his paints and supplies, and shown how to use them.

He gives her her own sketchbook and gets her started filling it, drawing side by side.

“I don’t think I did it right.”
“There is no right way,” he assures me.
“Every artist sees the world differently.”

Hmmm . . . artist?

I’ve never been called an artist before.
I like the sound of it.
I have so many stories to tell.

May kids continue to be inspired to make art, continuing to build Jerry Pinkney’s generous legacy.

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Review of Halfway to Somewhere, by Jose Pimienta

Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Graphic Novel 0

Halfway to Somewhere

by Jose Pimienta

RH Graphic, 2025. 250 pages.
Review written February 17, 2026, from a library book.
2026 Stonewall Award Winner, Children’s Literature

Halfway to Somewhere is about a nonbinary kid named Ave who moves with their mother and little brother from Mexicali to Lawrence, Kansas, where their mother is teaching at the university. Every night, they talk with their big sister, hoping she and their dad will come join them soon.

Ave isn’t happy to be in Kansas. They don’t like speaking English and sounding like a toddler. Their little brother makes a friend from the house across the street the very first day.

Ave liked hiking in Mexicali, so they start walking around Lawrence, learning the place with their feet. And once they start school, there are folks who try to be friendly.

It’s one of those adjusting to a new place and figuring out how you fit in books. The fact that Ave is nonbinary is refreshingly in the background and not a big problem in the book, though how their dad relates to them does contribute to some of their identity questions. I’ve always said that graphic novels are a good fit for the emotional highs and lows of middle school, and this book effectively uses pictures to tell most of the story.

josepimienta.com

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Review of A Constellation of Minor Bears, by Jen Ferguson

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

A Constellation of Minor Bears

by Jen Ferguson
read by Julie Lumsden, Jesse Nobess, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Heartdrum, 2024. 8 hours, 51 minutes.
Review written March 2, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

So far, I love every book by Jen Ferguson I’ve read (or story – She had one in the award-winning Legendary Frybread Drive-in). I’m not quite sure what took me so long to get to this one, but it did help when we got the eaudiobook edition. As with all of her books, this is mostly about relationships between quirky characters who quickly find their way into your heart.

A Constellation of Minor Bears is about a group of teens hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after graduation. Well, that was the plan anyway. Molly and Tray did graduate, Molly at 17 years old, but Molly’s brother Hank had a terrible accident that caused a traumatic brain injury earlier in the year, so he didn’t graduate, and needs to do summer school instead. Tray is the best friend of both Molly and Hank, but Molly’s been angry with him ever since Hank’s accident. Because Tray was there and failed to stop Hank’s fall.

But Molly has been icily polite. They need to talk things out and figure things out – and the Pacific Crest Trail is a good place to do so. Though Molly’s doing a lot of hiding – including hiding from her parents that she’s planning to keep hiking and not actually go to college in the Fall. But would that break the bargain she made with various gods to become a doctor if her brother woke up?

So, yes, Molly and Tray and Hank (our three viewpoint characters) have plenty to work through. And then along the way they encounter a fat girl who quickly befriends them – but needs their help. This book includes profound thoughts on fat phobia and ableist thinking, all in a realistic story setting. As well as issues from Molly and Tray being Métis, and Molly not feeling like she knows enough about what that means.

But above all, this was a book about characters I quickly came to care about in a setting that challenged them emotionally and physically.

jenfergusonwrites.com

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