Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen, Tween Reads

Tales from the TBR: Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Dear Mothman, by Robin Gow, (March 2023, Amulet Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9781419764400

Ages 10-14

Noah is a sixth grader whose best friend, Lewis, has recently died in a car accident. Lewis was also the only other trans boy in their school, leaving Noah bereft. Remembering Lewis’s favorite cryptid, Mothman, Noah begins writing to Mothman as he works through his feelings and hopes Mothman will eventually connect with him. As Noah works through his grief, he starts making new friends at school, but is reticent to share Mothman – or, inititally himself – with them. When he decides to make his science fair project about Mothman, his classmates laugh at him and his teachers attempt to steer him in another direction, but Noah is focused: he believes Mothman is in communication with him, and he’s determined to find him. He heads off into the woods to find the cryptid for himself. Written in verse in the form of journal entries and characters’ thoughts, Dear Mothman is an aching exploration of grief and identity. There are beautiful moments, like the formation of Noah’s new friends and relationships and deeply moving moments as Noah delves into his loss, being open about his identity, and his fledgling relationship with Hanna, a fellow classmate. I loved every single moment I spent with this novel. A paperback version released in October 2024. Cryptids are a surprising and fun trend for tweens these days, so take the opportunity to engage your readers and put this one on your shelf.

Dear Mothman has starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. It was a Bookpage selection, an Indie Next pick, and a 2024 Lambda Literary Award Winner (LGBTQ+ Middle Grade).

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Celebrate Passover in Argentina: The Passover Pet Surprise by Ana María Shua & Ángeles Ruiz

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Passover Pet Surprise, by Ana María Shua/Illustrated by Ángeles Ruiz, (March 2026, NorthSouth Books), $19.95, ISBN: 9780735846081

Ages 4-8

Jordanita and her family live in Miami, but head to Argentina to spend the Passover holiday with their family. Jordanita loves spending time with her Argentina family, Uncle Ariel, Aunt Verónica, and cousin Ilán; they have a big garden with plenty of places to play hide-and-seek, and they have so many pets! There are two dogs, a cat, two turtles, and two parrots named Tic and Toc. Who could ask for more? As the family spends time together, Jordanita notices Tic and Toc are in a cage while the other animals roam freely. After listening to the Passover story and her family talk about freedom, she decides that all living things should be free. A story of love, family, and faith, Shua’s writing is filled with warmth; Jordanita’s innocent mistake is based in a desire to do good. Ruiz’s illustrations bring an explosion of joyful color on each spread. The English language version of the book includes some Spanish vocabulary. A delightful story that also carries lessons on caring for pets. A recommended purchase for holiday collections.

The Passover Pet Surprise has a starred review from School Library Journal.

Posted in picture books, Toddler Reads, Uncategorized

Read Black KidLit: Beautiful Black Boy by Sophia Robinson & Ken Daley

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Beautiful Black Boy, by Sophia Robinson/Illustrated by Ken Daley, (Apr. 2026, Orchard Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781338864649

Ages 3-7

Beautiful Black Boy is a celebration of Blackness, inspiring young Black boys to feel confidence and pride. Each spread is an explosion of joy, with affirmational wording to fill readers with positivity: “Beautiful Black Boy, / You are strong. / You can do anything you set your mind to”; “Beautiful Black Boy, / You are full of hope. / Always live your life with an open heart and mind”. Powerful words, like strong, hope, resilient, and leader are bolded for emphasis; each spread incorporates the page’s verse into the illustration, building the words into the background. Bold and bright colors show a full range of active Black children smiling, their gazes turned upward; expressions of wonder and elation on their faces. Robinson’s words pair with Daley’s beautiful illustrations to show children they are seen, appreciated, and loved. A recommended first purchase for picture book collections.

 

SOPHIA ROBINSON was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. She has been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years, where she shares her love of picture books with her students.

KEN DALEY is an award-winning artist/illustrator and veteran educator for over twenty years from Tillsonburg, Ontario. His art and illustrations are inspired by his African-Caribbean heritage, and he has exhibited his work in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Ken has illustrated numerous children’s books and has received an Américas Award Honor Book and a Kirkus Best Picture Book for Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings.

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

BookMail is the best mail!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Who doesn’t love seeing a box with your name on it just waiting for you? Lately, I’ve gotten some really good book mail. I started off the month with a box of goodies from Scholastic (including candy!) in anticipation of their Spring Releases Party, which was pretty awesome. Next up, more Scholastic mail: I requested a kit promoting the new graphic novel, Snowlands, by Morr Meroz with art by Collin Fogel.  Look at this awesome box!

 

The kit includes packs of laptop stickers, posters, a shelf-talker, and packs of trading cards. The paperback release is coming up this week, so I may surprise the kids with a book release party when my branch’s copies arrive. Scholastic has a Snowlands webpage with coloring and activity sheets (plus a trailer and excerpt); maybe I’ll come up with a fun wolf craft for extra giggles. Let’s see!

Snowlands is the story of Feba, an orphaned wolf cub whose white fur is perceived as a bad omen. She’s forced away from her pack, and meets a group of animals while on the run. Together, this found family of wolf, leopard, and wildcat face danger on the Snowlands. A Blood Moon is the first in this new series!

Next up, I received this awesome box with goodies promoting Dan Santat’s next graphic novel, Sashimi (coming out in April). Look at this box!

 

A Fishboy Named Sashimi is about a fishboy creature who pretends to be a real kid. It’s the first in a new series that’s “all about friendship, embracing your inner weirdness, and just having a lot of laughs”. This sounds like a great read, and not just because Dan Santat is on my shortlist of authors from whom I would read a grocery list and pronounce it great. Look for a post on this soon, because the box also came with an advanced reader copy, a water bottle, and Chum Chow Fish Flakes, which I’m intrigued by… it’s gotta be candy, right?

Posted in Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, picture books, Teen, Tween Reads

Scholastic brought the party!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Scholastic has been bringing the party to librarians and bookish folk! First, we had the in-person Graphix celebrations and Comic-Con parties, and now we had a virtual LLX (formerly the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference, then LibLearnX) party where we got to see authors and Scholastic editors talk about some exciting upcoming Spring books. For those folks who got their responses in early, we got a box of ARCs AND candy!

Sour Patch Watermelon! (There was a Hershey bar, too, but that didn’t make it to the photo.)

There’s a great spread of books in this box and I’m hoping to read and report back on all of them. There are picture books: Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis’s newest collaboration, a retelling of Rumpelstiltkin; Rhea’s Rodeo, Laekan Zea Kemp and Raissa Figueroa’s gorgeous look at Mexican women’s rodeo; Mama Says I’m Fine, Brittney Cooper and Tanisha Anthony’s love letter to moms (their interview had me sniffling back tears: this book is just wonderful), and Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal’s Awe, which evokes that exact feeling with each turn of the page. 

Next, we have some graphic novels: Midsummer Sisters from Niki Smith; a moving story about the impact of divorce on stepsiblings who are as close as siblings and best friends, and Opting Out from Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar, who bring us Saachi, a kid who is dealing with the usual friendship, sibling, and crush dilemmas, but also wants nothing to do with “blue-and-pink binaries”. This conversation was so good that I can’t wait to dive into these books… dare I bring them home this weekend and jump the TBR line?

Novels in verse are up next: Aida Salazar’s Stream, where two rising ninth graders meet after being sent to Mexico by their parents to unplug from the online world. If you’re thinking a sweet resort where they’re going to hang out by the pool all day, you’re wrong: they’re in locations without electricity or running water! Then we’ve got Perfect Enough by Meg Eden Kuyatt, a companion to Good Different (2023). Selah, the main character in Good Different, is back (still a dragon) and looking forward to spending her summer at writing camp… until she discovers that Ezra, her bully, is there too.

Finally, we have a YA novel that sounds outstanding: Goldenborn, by Ama Ofosua Lieb, which draws from Ghanian mythology to tell Akoma Ado’s story. She’s a teen investigating magical crime when she’s made an offer she can’t refuse by trickster god Anansi. It’s romantasy and I am here for it.

More goodies to come!

Posted in Toddler Reads

Twirl board books are ready for Spring!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

How adorable are board books? And now that I’m living Nana Life, I’m enjoying them even more. These books, by the way, are all granddaughter-approved; fun additional notes in the reviews.

Baby Animal Mazes, by Susann Hoffmann, (Feb. 2026, Twirl Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9782408061951

Ages 2-4

Baby animals need our help! Baby Duck, Baby Bear, Baby Fox, Baby Rabbit, and Babies Blue and Orange Bird have places they need to go, but their paths are missing big pieces from them: fortunately, readers have those pieces and can connect the paths by choosing one. So much fun for toddlers and preschoolers, this sturdy board book has three easy-to-remove pieces with different pieces to connect the mazes in the book. It’s an exciting introduction to problem-solving and foundational math skills. Pieces store easily in the book for the next time. Each spread provides a little story to each baby animal’s dilemma and cheers players on. Illustrations are bright and colorful, perfect for young learners. Sunshine (my nickname for Granddaughter) is only 10 months old but enjoyed playing with the maze pieces and was happy to see the animals, so if your little is younger than 2, show them the book! The board book pages will hold up. If you’re using this in a public library or school library, better to keep this one for storytime reference or playtime, when it’ll be cleaned up and put back afterwards. It’s great fun for a Family Place play area or storytime!

 

Clack-Clack, Little Crab! (Clickety Clack), by Amy Blay, (March 2026, Twirl Books), $14.99, ISBN: 9782408061807

Ages Birth-3

Little Crab wakes up and wants to play with friends! This board book proves to be great fun for littles of all ages with side pulls on each spread that make a clacking sound, just like Little Crab’s claws, and a reveal of a new underwater friend. The text plays with sounds like “swish swosh”, “scritch, scratch, scritch”, “splish, splash, splish”, “plip, plop”, “WHEEEEEE”, and, naturally, “click-clack”. Each pull of the side handles awakens sleepy snails, starfish, and fish, ready to play with Little Crab. Bold and colorful illustration pair with activity-driven text; combined with the sound and activity of the click-clack side pull, this is a feast for toddler senses. Clack-Clack, Little Crab! is a companion to Crack-Crack, Who is That? (2022). The pulls and pages are sturdy and will hold up to a lot of pulling and play, so put this in a circulating collection and watch the kids light up. Sunshine thoroughly enjoys this book and has figured out pretty quickly how to pull on the side pulls to get the “click-clack”.

 

 

Big Brain Puzzles: Plant Pandemonium!, by Camille Pichon, (March 2026, Twirl Books), $14.99, ISBN: 9782408061814

Ages 6+

A board book for bigger kids! Plant Pandemonium! contains 45 different garden challenges within its 10 pages: puzzles involve lifting flaps to grow a group of plants; sliding puzzle pieces together to help earthworms dig underground tunnels, and pulling tabs to organize a group of butterflies’ flying order. Each challenge has three levels to complete, giving readers a wealth of brain teasers to develop math and reasoning skills. The pages are sturdy but a cautionary suggestion to keep this out of your board book sections; littler hands risk tearing flaps and pulls. Little ones can use the book for play and exploration (Sunshine did – she likes the worms best so far), but for repeated use, you’re going to want to keep a separate copy in your Nonfiction sections for kindergarten and elementary students’ use. This is a fun one; I hope we get more Big Brain Puzzles in the future.

 

T. Rex (Ultimate Discovery), by Raphaële Glaux/Illustrated by Amélie Falière, (March 2026, Twirl Books), $10.99, ISBN: 9791027613885

Birth-3

Okay, this is the one I was waiting for: is it Sunshine’s favorite, or is it mine? BOTH. Ultimate Discovery is a spin-off of Twirl’s Ultimate Spotlight series, just perfect for littler learners. Here, a T. Rex teaches readers about their prehistoric life, from hatching to hunting. Each spread has sliding panels that reveal a baby T. Rex hatching from its egg; opening and closing their massive jaws, and allowing a Triceratops to charge at them. Descriptive text is brief and enticing, providing interesting details about the dinosaur; additional vocabulary runs throughout, including names of other dinosaurs, names of flora, and dino attributes. Sunshine loves playing with the slides and I’ve managed to get one “RAHR!” out of her so far. This one will hold up to multiple reads; put it in your board book collections. Kids love dinos!

 

Posted in picture books

Sunny and the Birds speaks to a parent’s longing for home

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sunny and the Birds, by Wendy Meddour/Illustrated by Nabila Adani, (Feb. 2026, Crocodile Books), $18.95, ISBN: 9781623715663

Ages 3-7

A young boy named Sunny watches birds alongside his father, his father mentioning the very same birds that lived “back home”. Each time, Sunny declares that “this is our home”, and his father’s expressions become progressively more wistful. Realizing his father misses their home country, he and his grandmother plan a surprise for his father: a bird feeder that allows them to see all sorts of birds and share a new pastime in their new home country. The story’s flow lets readers know that Sunny’s family has recently located to a new country. Where we usually see how moves affect children, Meddour gives readers a glimpse into the bittersweet moments adults experience when starting life over in a new country. Connecting through birdwatching allows Sunny and his dad to get used to life in a new place while keeping a bridge to their homeland. Adani’s illustrations are cheerful and expressive with visual affection between a child and parent. Sunny and the Birds is an excellent choice for picture book collections and storytime. Consider displays including books like Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine, by Hannah Moushabeck and Reem Madooh, The Little House of Hope, by Terry Catasús Jennings and Raúl Colón, Where Butterflies Fill the Sky: A Story of Immigration, Family, and Finding Home, by Zahra Marwan, and Rosa’s Song, by Helena Ku Rhee/Illustrated by Pascal Campion.

 

Posted in Graphic Novels, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Tales from the TBR: Graphic Novels edition

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hey all, I know pretty much everything is going to be Tales from the TBR for a bit. I know I’ve been away for a while, and trust me, it’s been on my mind.

Last year was a tough year. For all of us, I know, but I needed to give myself some grace and pull back for a bit. Work has been amazing, but in working on some exciting projects, I needed a little downtime for my mental health. I wanted to read more big-people books, so I took some time and am doing just that.

That said, I still love writing about kidlit here, so I want to keep doing that. I may not be as regular as I once was, but I will still be here. And I’d like to talk about other stuff I’m doing: games, outreach, fun programming. So please keep an eye out.

Thanks for sticking around.

Heartbreak Hotel, by Micol Arianna Beltramini/Illustrated by Agnese Innocente, (Sept. 2025, Maverick), $14.99, ISBN: 9781545820421

Ages 14+

Imagine having your heart broken and waking up in a hotel that will give you time to live inside your head; to weave your own illusions that help you cope. Heartbreak Hotel tells the stories of four teens, each experiencing heartbreak; it’s time to check out of the hotel, though, and to do that, they must find one another, witness their stories, and move on. While each one suffers from some kind of loss, you’ll see that losses don’t always equate a death. Two-color watercolor washes define each character’s present; brighter watercolors bring readers to the past, giving memories a livelier tint; usually, it’s the memories that are subdued. Characters include a girl mourning the love of her life; a girl who never wants to grow up; a boy whose Instagram filters tell the story he wants people to see, and a boy who just wants to stop. Alice in Wonderland nods run throughout the story: the four playing card suits; a caterpillar, and a rabbit all appear, as does a plastic cat named Neko, who acts as one character’s guide to the hotel. Themes touch on grief, moving on, memory, and self-esteem. A good pick for social-emotional collections.

More Weight, by Ben Wickey, (Sept. 2025, Top Shelf Productions), $39.99, ISBN: 9781603095600

Ages 16+

Wickey worked on this book for a decade, and the labor of love comes through. Centered in Salem, the heart of the story lies with Giles Corey, who famously demanded “more weight” as he was pressed to death during the Salem Witch Trials. We don’t get a rosy picture of Corey, who was neither good nor kind; he is altogether human and flawed, as are most of the people in Salem, from the men making decisions on murdering women to the young girls who feigned being under attack, sending women to their deaths. With this event serving as the story’s nucleus, Wickey builds the history of Salem and the American ability to turn the most gruesome of events into pop culture phenomena. We meet the ghosts of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who hold thoughtful conversations as they stroll Salem’s streets, and we see modern-day Salem as a hub for witchcraft aficionados and Hocus Pocus fans: but do they understand, truly understand, what happened there? Wickey’s thoughtful dialogue may make readers take another look at the merchandising of the Salem Witch Trials and come away with a more sobering outlook. Illustrations go between a woodcut look for Corey’s tale and more realistic artwork for Hawthorn, Longfellow, and modern-day Salem, infusing Colonial Salem with a historical look and feel that makes readers feel like they’re reading long-lost library tomes. Meticulously researched and flawlessly presented, this is a brilliant work of historical fact and fiction that deserves a place on shelves in teen and adult graphic novel collections.

More Weight has starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and Booklist.

Posted in picture books

Braided Roots: a foundation of family

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Braided Roots: The Interweaving of History, Family, and a Father’s Love, by Pasha Westbrook/Illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight, (Nov. 2025, Orchard Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781339015385

Ages 4-8

A girl’s father braids her hair, helping her get ready for school. His strong hands weave the strands of her hair with colorful ribbons as he tells her stories of her ancestors, the Freedmen who walked “that beaten-down dirt path from Mississippi to Oklahoma”, the Trail of Tears. Her braid is a link to generations of family and their strength. Past and present weave together in this lyrical tale inspired by the author’s childhood. Braided Roots is a story of resilience, of family, and of enduring love between a parent and child. Goodnight’s digital illustrations are filled with warmth and love; moving between images of past and present, she returns to a father’s hands and his daughter’s hair and pair beautifully with Westbrook’s emphasis on the braid’s tenacity: “Our hair is our history… It tells us who we are, where we come from”. An author’s note provides further context. An excellent choice for collections.

Posted in Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Let’s Split Up gives all the YA creeps

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Let’s Split Up, by Bill Wood, (Sept. 2025, Scholastic Press), $14.99, ISBN: 9798225006143

Ages 12+

A horror-thriller for teens that’s heavily influenced by the Scooby Doo gang, Let’s Split Up starts with a bang: a town’s power couple, football player Brad and cheerleader Shelley, are found murdered in an abandoned mansion. Rumors immediately start circulating that they were murdered by the Carrington Ghoul, a ghost of the angry old former resident. But things aren’t adding up for Jonesy, Cam, Amber, and new girl Buffy. They start poking around, conducting their own investigation as the body count goes up and more secrets come to light, but that only serves to put themselves in the killer’s sights. They’re going to have to crack this case or risk being next on the list. There are some fun nods to the original Scooby gang here and there in the story, but these characters are more relatable to a new group of teen readers: Jonesy and Cam are two teen boys working through emerging feelings for one another; Amber is bisexual and trying to get her parents to understand that she can like both guys and girls; Buffy’s reasons for moving to the town just aren’t adding up. There are some tense, creepy moments that thriller and horror readers alike will enjoy, and it’s a quickly paced novel that makes for good weekend reading.

Have a horror or thriller reader you need to buy a gift for? Pair this with a card game like Don’t Get Stabbed! or Psycho Killer.