Elem. – Two-List Thanksgiving

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Whan, Christine. Two-List Thanksgiving. Illustrated by Sienna Youngsun Kim. Beaming Books, 2025. 978-1-5064-9759-4. 40 p. $19.99. Grades K-2.

A young girl and her mother are making two lists to shop for Thanksgiving this year, one for the local Korean market and one for the regular market. Finally, it’s Thanksgiving day and all the foods are ready, both the Korean ones and the American ones. As the girl’s family gathers, every member of the family tries something off the table filled with different foods. As each member of the family goes over what they are thankful for, the main character can’t think of anything. She realizes that while they started shopping for two families for Thanksgiving, it ended up being just one family around the dinner table.

THOUGHTS: There is a glossary, a letter from the author, and 2 recipes at the back of this book which adds to the overall story. The author mentions how the book mirrors her personal experience growing up. Overall, this title will be a great addition to any Thanksgiving book display, and it would be a great read aloud for students who also share the same experience the author discusses.

Picture Book

Please Pay Attention

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Sumner, Jamie. Please Pay Attention. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. 978-1-665-95607-9. $17.99. 240 p. Grades 5-8.

Beatrix Coughlin also known as Bea is in sixth grade when her life drastically changes. Bea now lives her life in the “Before” and “After” – Before the school shooting that took the lives of her teacher and some of her classmates and After. Beatrix is working through grief, trauma, and somehow trying to come to terms with all that she lost that day while continuously moving forward. While others in the community are coming together to march and protest, Bea finds herself struggling with the fact that she felt absolutely helpless in this situation due to her being in a wheelchair. She couldn’t drop down to the floor, she couldn’t run and hide, she couldn’t truly take cover. Dealing with the feeling of being helpless in such a traumatic and life changing event is something that Bea has to work through in order to keep living. 

THOUGHTS: Honestly this book just took the crown of the best MG book I’ve read this year. It discusses such a sensitive and tough topic in a way I had never considered before. It brings to light the need for sensible gun laws in a sensitive yet frank manner. It puts readers in the shoes of a survivor, and it is POWERFUL. I HIGHLY recommend this book for middle level readers and up. 

Realistic Fiction

YA – The Flip Side

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Walz, Jason. The Flip Side. Rocky Pond Books, 2025. 978-0-593-61801-1. 291 p. Grades 8+.

When Theo loses his best friend Evan, he’s left navigating a world that doesn’t seem to recognize the grief of losing a friend. Support groups and sympathy often focus on parents or partners—but who helps when it’s your person who’s gone? In his sorrow, Theo slips into the Flip Side, a surreal, upside-down world where his deepest fears take physical form and chase him through a landscape of grief and memory. There, he meets Emma, another lost soul, and together they learn that even in the darkest moments, friendship and hope can light the way forward.

THOUGHTS: Walz’s use of color is powerful—black-and-white flashbacks show the warmth of Theo’s memories with Evan, while the muted tones of the real world and the vibrant hues of the Flip Side visually capture the shifting emotions of loss and healing. This graphic novel offers a deeply emotional exploration of grief, friendship, and resilience. Trigger Warnings: Self-harm and childhood loss.

Graphic Novel

YA – Predatory Creatures

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Goldsmith, Amy. Predatory Creatures. Delacorte Press, 2025. 978-0-593-81431-4. 432 p. Grades 9-12. 

Amy Goldsmith’s Predatory Creatures sweeps readers onto the Banebury, a luxury train journeying across Europe where Lara Williams has just landed her dream summer job as a waitress. Hoping to earn money before backpacking home, Lara is determined to make the most of her new adventure—even if it means working alongside her estranged ex-friend Rhys. But the trip takes a sinister turn when two mysterious carriages carrying a lush greenhouse of rare plants are secretly attached in the night, along with two enigmatic siblings whose presence feels far from ordinary. What begins as a glamorous escape quickly spirals into a dark, fast-paced thriller. Strange plants start appearing in passengers’ rooms, people vanish, and whispers of the Banebury’s deadly cargo grow harder to ignore. 

THOUGHTS: Goldsmith masterfully blends gothic atmosphere with dark fantasy, weaving a tale of survival, secrets, and the danger lurking beneath beauty’s surface. Perfect for fans of eerie thrillers and fantastical mysteries, Predatory Creatures is a recommended purchase for libraries where fantasy and supernatural suspense are popular.

Fantasy

Elem. – Unplugging (Series NF)

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Phillips-Bartlett, Rebecca. Unplugging. Bearport Publishing, 2025. $21.72 ea. $173.76 Set of 8. 24 p. $21.72. Grades K-2. 

Tech-Free Activities at the Park. 979-8-892-32794-7.
Tech-Free Activities on a Road Trip. 979-8-892-32795-4.
Tech-Free Activities When It Rains. 979-8-892-32796-1.
Tech-Free Activities When It Snows. 979-8-892-32747-3.

This reviewer read Tech-Free Activities When It Snows from the newest titles in the Unplugging series. When snowflakes start falling, that’s your cue to unplug and explore the white, wintery world! This title encourages the youngest readers to unplug from their screens, bundle into their warmest clothes, and head outdoors for some snowy fun. From catching snowflakes on your tongue to building a snow buddy, this book shares all sorts of simple activities families can try on snowy days. Vibrant double-page spreads highlight ideas such as seeing how many cold-weather animals you can spot, looking for animal tracks, identifying winter trees and plants, making snow angels, building bird feeders, and more. Photographs reflect diverse families and people of all ages enjoying time in the snowy outdoors. Text features include a table of contents, glossary, and index. This title is part of an 8-book Unplugging series that also includes the following 2024 titles: Tech-Free Activities at the Beach, Tech-Free Activities By the River, Tech-Free Activities In the Forest, and Tech-Free Activities in Your Yard. 

THOUGHTS: This book shares screen-free ideas all families can enjoy during the winter months. Tip boxes also feature reminders about going outdoors with grownups, not disturbing animals you see, and leaving all plants where you see them growing. While many of the ideas shared on these pages are not new, they are timeless and engaging activities that families can do together no matter where they live or how much snow has fallen. 

796.5 Outdoor Life

Elem. – Together We Remember

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Morera, Jackie. Together We Remember. Illustrated by Violeta Encarnatcion. Make Me a World, 2025. 978-0-593-80564-0. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades K-3.

In this picture book saturated boldly with purple, forest green, and burnt and light orange colors on double-page illustrations, the reader meets a whimsical daughter, Giselle, who draws her melancholy father into her imaginative world. Both are mourning the loss of the girl’s mother, and so they explore the world Mami wished to see or do before her death: a tropical beach, a city run by animals, a concert on the moon. Their fantasies confirm their desire to continue discovering new life-giving places and things together. This universal story is an homage to memory and imagination depicting Latinx characters. The endnotes inform the reader that this Together We Remember is part of a new endeavor led by Christopher Myers to preserve the imagination of childhood and cherish dear memories in adulthood: “A love letter to memory, to growing up, and to imagination.” This book is a valuable addition to collections in need of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) materials.

THOUGHTS: Though dealing with deep feelings, this picture book is simple and optimistic. Teachers can use this book as bibliotherapy for children who have lost a loved one or in a lesson prompting students to envision somewhere–real or imagined–they would like to go, then write and/or draw that destination. The last page shows the father and daughter creating shadow puppets. This activity may be useful to act out other SEL situations. (Though shadow puppets are more typical of eastern countries, the author and illustrator are both Cuban-American.)

Picture Book  
Fantasy

Elem. – The Misfit Nugget: Bite-Sized Acceptance

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Olson, Gillia. Puns of Fun! Design by Katelyn E. Reynolds.  Kaleidoscope Publishing, 2026 (Digital in 2025). $28.81 ea. $230.48 Set of 8. Unpaged. Grades PreK-3. 

Choco-Late for Dinner: Dipped Disaster. 979-8-899-13098-4. 
Crumble and Grumble: Coping Cookies. 979-8-899-13096-0. 
The Wurst: Charbroiled Manners. 979-8-899-13097-7. 
You Want a Pizza Me? A Slice of Anger Management. 979-8-899-13095-3. 
The Forgotten Scoop: A Sprinkle of Self-Confidence. 978-1-645-19941-0.
The Grate Mac and Cheese Break Up! Noodles with Gratitude.  978-1-645-19944-1.
The Misfit Nugget: Bite-Sized Acceptance. 978-1-645-19943-4.
Tater Fry and the Quest for Ketchup: Potato of Perseverance.  979-8-899-13008-3.

This reviewer read The Misfit Nugget: Bite-Sized Acceptance from the Puns of Fun! series. Little Chicky Nug is a tad different from the other nuggets coming off the conveyor belt. She has a little bit of a bulge, a dent where there should not be one, and she’s missing a little breading. As she goes on a quest to find a place to fit in, she learns about sticking with a task even if it seems challenging, that kindness goes a long way, and that whatever happens she can dill, er deal, with it. The digital art of the illustrations adds to the humor of the story. 

THOUGHTS: This book is part of the series, Puns of Fun. All the stories blend social-emotional learning with humor. This would be a great book to teach puns to older elementary students, and the funny nugget shenanigans and bright digital design of the illustrations will appeal to the younger grades. Each story in the series focuses on a social-emotional theme. 

Picture Book
808 Rhetoric

Elem. – The Humble Pie

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John, John. The Humble Pie. Pete Oswald. Harper Collins, 2025, 978-0-063-46973-0. $19.99. 40 p. Grades PreK-3.

The Humble Pie is the newest installment in Jory John’s Food Group series. The Humble Pie is always there to lift others up and help them shine, but when he feels like he is doing all of the work in a group project, he learns to stand up for himself and ask his partner to contribute.

THOUGHTS: This is another title in the Food Group series that Jory John knocks out of the park…or rather the supermarket! The Humble Pie certainly will be adored by elementary students who love the other books, and I love that it shows readers they can ask for help and stand up for themselves. 

Picture Book

Elem. – How to Say Thank You

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Reagan, Jean. How to Say Thank You. Lee Wildish. Alfred A. Knopf, 2025, 979-8-217-02884-9. $10.99. 32 p. Grades PK-3. 

How to Say Thank You takes readers through the feeling of gratitude and thankfulness. Covering the big moments and BIG “thank you’s” to the small moments like someone sharing a snack with you, this book walks readers through small and big ways to show gratitude to those around them. 

THOUGHTS: This book is part of the “How To” series, with books like How to Babysit a Grandma, and I personally think that Pre-school through first grade would really enjoy this book. It is a great introduction to gratitude.

Picture Book

Elem. – The Tunneler Tunnels in the Tunnel

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Rex, Michael. The Tunneler Tunnels in the Tunnel. Simon Spotlight, 2025. 978-1-665-96210-0. Unpaged. $18.95. Grades 2-4.

Follow the tunneler as he goes through this book that repeats simple phrases over and over.  The tunneler runs into a gardener, a farmer, a camper, and many others and he hands them a paper with a star on it. At the end of the story, readers realize the tunneler was inviting all of them to a concert!

THOUGHTS: This book is very simple and will be a great story for beginning readers to follow along. The illustrations are full of fun, hidden things which will keep the reader coming back to the book over and over again. 

Beginning Reader