Elem. – My Sister the Apple Tree

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Scott, Jordan, and Jamal Saeed. My Sister the Apple Tree: A Refugee Story of Hope and Resilience. Illustrated by Zahra Marwan. Random House Studio, 2025. 978-0-593-80841-2. $18.99. 32 p. Grades PreK-3.

A young Syrian boy yearns for a sibling, specifically a sister, so his parents tell him that when he was born they planted an apple tree outside their home and the apple tree is his sister. He frequently visits the apple tree and brings toys, blankets, and snacks to the tree just as if it truly was his sister. However, when war forces the family to leave the place they have called home, he digs the tree up to take with him as a reminder of home. 

THOUGHTS: The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful, and they show readers that home is not always a place but more about who you are with. 

Picture Book

Elem. – The Mighty Macy

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Alexander, Kwame. The Mighty Macy. Illustrated by Kitt Thomas. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2026. 978-0-316-44216-9. $16.99. 144 p. Grades 2-5. 

From award winning author, Kwame Alexander, The Mighty Macy is a novel in verse about a third grade girl who finds her voice and helps her community. Macy tolerates her violin lessons but loves to read. In fact, she stayed up until 11:34 pm reading the first book in The Mighty Zora series! But when she goes to school the next day to check out the sequel from the library, Macy finds that it’s closed because of budget cuts. Outraged, disappointed, and annoyed Macy and her friends question their teacher about what they can do to reinstate their beloved librarian and reopen the library. The teacher suggests speaking at the upcoming school board meeting. Macy agrees to write a poem and share her thoughts. As the board meeting approaches, Macy starts to panic. Preparing for her violin recital and writing the poem for the school board leave her feeling stressed and empty. In the end, she finds inspiration and help for both of her challenges and finds her voice in order to help her school community. 

THOUGHTS: This book is a gem. It is a challenge to find engaging and enjoyable verse novels for elementary grades; this book is both. Macy’s struggles and feelings are real, yet she finds inspiration from her friends, her mom, and the hidden poems her dad leaves for her while away on a trip. Macy and her classmates realize the importance of speaking up for something one cares about. The book is lyrical, and the narrative moves quickly from beginning to end. A wonderful contemporary novel in verse.  

Realistic Fiction
Novel in Verse

YA – Difficult Girls

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Bane, Veronica. Difficult Girls. Delacorte Press. 2025. 978-0-593-90398-8. $19.99. 329 p. Grades 9-12.

Greta Riley Green has a new job at Hyper Kid Magic Land. She’s hoping that along with this job comes a fresh start after a scandalous incident makes her infamous. While avoiding social media and trying to hide as much of her past as possible, she is also trying to hide parts of her present as she tamps down her quirky personality. Greta wants to reinvent herself as PERFECTLY NORMAL. She astutely observes the hierarchy of park employees: the performers, the technicians, and the ushers – like herself. Things are off to a good start as she seems to make friends with Mercy Goodwin, possibly the best performer on staff. But then Mercy goes missing and Greta stumbles upon some clues that suggest Mercy may have suffered the same fate as another promising performer found dead in one the park’s rides decades earlier. Greta will have to lean on her co-workers and maybe even let them get to know the real her in order to solve the mystery before it’s too late.

THOUGHTS: Difficult Girls is a solid mystery whose diverse cast of characters makes it an enjoyable ride. Greta is highly anxious and she seems to have an imagination bordering on the delusional. Nonetheless, she is an endearing hero who many teens will find relatable. I had a pretty good idea of who the villain is, but there were plenty of plausible red herrings that kept me second guessing. Readers of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Truly Devious will enjoy this stand alone mystery.

Mystery

YA – The Moss

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Lueddecke, Lisa. The Moss. Simon & Schuster. 2025. 978-1-665-98449-2. $20.99. 293 p. Grades 9-12.

There’s something dangerous about a misty Maine bog that local residents call, the Moss. Emma Carver should know. Her house is on the edge of it, and she was always told not to go in. Her father even built a fence at the edge of the yard. Despite that, Emma’s mother disappeared and a few years later, her sister did too; everyone presumes they went – or were taken into – the Moss. Emma and her father both experience the grief from their disappearances, but only Emma seems to see the ghosts, hear the voices, and feel the unyielding pull of the mist. Emma decides she must find out what happened to her mother and sister, no matter what.

THOUGHTS: Fans of ghost stories will appreciate this book’s terrifying and beautiful descriptions of the supernatural visitors and the eerie atmosphere of this unique setting. Emma is a determined heroine haunted by uncertainty. The story slows in the middle as it seems she’s figuring out what to do and wallowing in her grief, but the beginning and the end are propelled by her resolve to discover the history of her old house and her dangerous trek through the bog. An author’s note mentions that this book originated during the pandemic, and the bog makes a brilliant metaphor for the feelings of disorientation and loss that many of us experienced during that time.

Mystery

Elem./MG – Tyger

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Said, S. F. Tyger. Illustrated by Dave McKean. Penguin Workshop, 2022 (First U.S. printing 2025). 978-0-593-88725-7. $9.99. 296 p. Grades 5 & up.

In an alternate 21st century London, where the British Empire never abolished slavery and never fell apart, foreigners are relegated to ghettos, harassed by military, police, and other “native” Englishmen. Solomon makes deliveries for his family’s fabric and clothing shop while trying to avoid danger as he navigates the wealthier streets of the city. Escaping a mugger, he finds his way into an abandoned warehouse where he discovers a great beast, thought to be extinct in this world, a tyger. She’s not only a magnificent looking creature, she has the ability to speak and to show Solomon how to unlock powers within himself that help him stand for right and good in a world that has gone very, very wrong. When he learns that a wealthy Lord, the owner of a menagerie, seeks to capture the tyger, he teams up with Zadie, another child born in London to parents of Middle Eastern descent, to protect the tyger and help set their world right.

THOUGHTS: This story is beautifully told and beautifully illustrated.The classism, racism, xenophobia, and violence are depicted as extreme and overt, but not entirely unlike incidents that we might see on the news today. However, it leaves readers with hope for making a better world, if only we all have the courage to unlock the gifts and powers inside of us to change our perspective to one where all of humanity must stand together against evil.

Fantasy

YA – My Beautiful Sisters: A Memoir of Courage, Hope and the Afghan Women’s Soccer Team

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Popal, Khalida. My Beautiful Sisters: A Memoir of Courage, Hope and the Afghan Women’s Soccer Team. 2025. 978-0-806-54452-6. $29.00. 210 p. Grades 9-12.

My Beautiful Sisters is Popal’s memoir of her time developing, playing for, and mostly fighting for the Afghan National Women’s Soccer Team. She details the almost insurmountable obstacles before the team as they seek recognition from a society that is more free than it was under the Taliban, but much less free under the U.S.-backed transitional government than media reports of the time conveyed. Growing up in a non-religious family where her father and grandfather respect women as equals sets Khalida apart from Afghan society, and it also sets her up to resist the indignities foisted upon her by life under the patriarchy. After suffering years of violence and abuse, Khalida is further traumatized by living in refugee camps and seeking asylum in Europe. Fortunately, she does obtain legal status just in time. As the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, Khalida must push through days of frantic phone calls and bureaucratic coordination to get as many of her players and their families out of Afghanistan as the Taliban returns to power. For simply playing soccer or allowing their daughters to play soccer, all of these people were now enemies of the state and subject to brutal public beatings or even execution.

THOUGHTS: This book will fill readers with rage and sadness, but it will also inspire them. Khalida and her sisters on the team do not overcome everything for a happily ever after ending. They have suffered and will continue to carry trauma for the rest of their lives. They have also experienced the joy of motion, play, teamwork, and even victory. Khalida is a force against the condescension and ignorance of the men in charge. Her stubbornness does not change the world, but it throws sand in the gears of a machine designed to grind women down to nothing and it is easy to cheer for her. It may also cause readers to reflect on the comparatively unlimited freedom and relative safety we have in the U.S.

796.334 Soccer

Elem. – Butt or Face : Ador-A-Butts

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Lavelle, Kari. Butt or Face: Ador-A-Butts. SourceBooks Explore, 2026. 978-1-464-23306-7. $14.99. 40 p. Grades PreK-4.

Butt or Face: Ador-A-Butts continues the guessing game with new animal pictures from around the world. Through close-up images, readers can take a guess at if they are looking at the animals’ tops or bottoms! Each animal and answer is revealed in the following page, and readers get to see the picture of the full animal!

THOUGHTS: Personally, my four-year-old LOVES the Butt or Face books and cannot wait to get his hands on this one! He loves giggling and guessing if it is the animal’s butt or face! Readers who have enjoyed the first three volumes in this series will surely enjoy this one as well! 

Picture Book
591.4 Zoology

Elem. – You Are Not Alone

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Law, Ingrid. You Are Not Alone. Illustrated by Zin Li. Rocky Pond Press, 2025. 978-0-593-69795-5. Unpaged. $18.99 Gr. K-2.

A worried girl at bedtime is soothed by comforting words reminding her of the presence of others in her home, in her neighborhood, even in the stars.  “Sometimes bedtime might feel…like it’s you and no one else until morning.” begins this picture book. As each page turns, we learn how “you are not alone.” as evidenced by the story, the nightlight, the parents, the stuffed animals, grandma, the hum of the refrigerator, the purring of the cat, the sounds of a cricket, an owl and the branches of trees, cars and a train, the porch lights of neighbors, and the stars, finally circling back to the story. “You are never alone, say the pages of this book–say these words, here–written just for you.” Through the pages we see the girl’s worried face become peaceful, relaxed and sleepy. The many shades of blue help to emphasize both nighttime and peacefulness. This book can help readers remember all of the positive elements of their world, from home to the stars, and relax in the safety of being part of a family, a home, and the world. 

THOUGHTS: Caregivers can use this book to help their children identify their own comforts of family members, the nighttime sights and sounds around them both inside and outside the home, and relax into bedtime peacefulness.

Picture Book

Elem. – Super Goat Girl

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Baptiste, Tracey. Super Goat Girl. Illustrated by Dapo Adeola. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025. 978-0-525-51776-4 Unpaged. $18.99 Grades K-2.

On Super Goat Girl’s first day at ‘super school,’ she meets some very entitled classmates who deride her costume and declare her Super SHY Girl. Each of them shows off their super abilities, and each asks pointedly, “What can YOU do?” Just then, an alien attack leaves their teacher wrapped up in “impossibilium,” the strongest fiber on the planet.  Super Goat Girl uses her teeth to snap the rope and set their teacher free. But the other supers are quick to point out the ‘unusual’ nature of this power. After a gorilla attack at lunch beats every super power–but can’t beat Super Goat Girl’s loud bleating–the other supers are still reluctant to accept Super Goat Girl’s powers as anything but inferior to their own. Next, in mixing and showing off their own powers, they create a black hole, and their teacher falls inside! Super Goat Girl immediately grabs the impossibilium rope and jumps after their teacher, wondering, “whaaat now?” Fortunately, the other supers pull back the rope–with teacher and Super Goat Girl–free of the black hole.  And finally, the supers see, “We supers have to stick together” and “every day is a day for superpowers–ALL kinds!” Super Goat Girl has found acceptance and prepares for another day. 

THOUGHTS: Teachers and parents can point out the differences in ALL of the supers’ superpowers, and emphasize that Super Goat Girl had to be herself, and more than once, to break the skepticism of her new classmates. 

Picture Book

Elem. – It’s Not Easy Being a T. Rex

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Sadler, Marilyn. It’s Not Easy Being a T. Rex. Illustrated by Steph Laberis. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2025. 978-0-593-81036-1 Unpaged. $10.99. Grades K-2. 

Rexy the T.rex is nervous about the first day of school due to her differences: her head is big, her teeth are banana-sized, and her short arms leave her unable to scratch an itch. The day starts with her seat being moved to the back of the class, since no one can see around her head. Then at recess, her arms are too short for the swings, rings, or monkey bars. She thinks kickball will work because she is a strong kicker, but her teeth deflate the ball when she tries to catch it. She runs away, embarrassed, just as a rock from a rumbling volcano traps her classmate under the soccer goal. Rexy is the only one who can lift it–and with her teeth! “You are awesome!” says a classmate, but Rexy replies, “Not really, I can’t even catch a kickball.” Classmate Edmond has the standout line: “No one is good at everything” as every dino details a limitation they have, and then boosts Rexy’s awareness of her strong kicks, powerful jaws and teeth and even, a pretty smile. Rexy is accepted as playground safety officer and designated kicker. The book ends with Rexy saying, “It’s not easy being a T.rex, but there’s no one else I’d rather be!” 

THOUGHTS: If all of our students could come to Rexy’s conclusion about themselves, we’d be living in a lower-anxiety world. Parents and teachers can use this to emphasize that we ALL have weaknesses AND strengths and that we have our entire lives to learn, practice, and grow.

Picture Book