Elem. – Robin and the Stick

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Goodale, E.B. Robin and the Stick. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026. 978-1-419-78083-7. Unpaged. $16.99. Grades PreK-1.

Robin is little, wears a red hoodie, and just loves sticks. Robin collects sticks every day and brings them home to keep around the house, on the piano, in the hallway, and even in bed. One day, Robin finds a stick too large to pick up and bring home. Robin’s mother says, “That’s not a stick, that’s a branch!” but this doesn’t make much sense to Robin. Over time, Robin grows a little and this new category related to size becomes understandable because Robin can finally lift the branch and drag it home. Throughout the book, Robin’s mother has a daily loving message: “Today you are the biggest you’ve ever been!” which lines up nicely with Robin’s new discovery. Lovely black and white illustrations are punctuated by Robin’s red outfit and some highlighted text.

THOUGHTS: Goodale’s decision to leave Robin’s gender unassigned perfectly matches this gentle story of discovery. The youngest readers will identify with Robin as a collector and appreciate distinguishing things by size. A deceptively simple book, Robin and the Stick is rich with connection in any nature-based early learning environment.

Picture Book

Elem./MG – Life on the Moon

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Swanson, Matthew. Life on the Moon. Illustrated by Robbi Behr. Alfred A. Knopf, 2026. 978-0-593-70473-8. $20.99. Grades 4-6.

12-year-old Leo Brightstar is chosen to be part of an exciting plan to populate the first colony on the Moon. Accompanied by his dad and his dad’s new “friend,” Leo embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. However, the Moon is a strange place and the colony is governed by a cruel Constable whose rules are illogical and dangerous. When his dad mysteriously disappears, Leo doesn’t know who to trust and he decides to break the rules to search for his missing dad. Stolen rovers, artificial intelligence, Moon creatures called Valrootens, and deep introspection round out Leo’s lonely but meaningful adventure far from Planet Earth. Excellent black and white comic illustrations add to the story. Life on the Moon is a sometimes humorous, yet poignant, exploration of accepting the things you cannot change.

THOUGHTS: An intriguing science fiction plot that sensitively tackles difficult topics like divorce, friendship, grief, and loss. The frequent humor and Behr’s comic illustrations lighten the tone; however, the reader will be left with a profound sense of empathy for young Leo and what he discovers. Highly recommended.

Science Fiction

Elem. – Goldfinches

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Oliver, Mary. Goldfinches. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Viking, 2026. 978-0-593-69241-7. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades 3-6.

Mary Oliver’s joyful poem, Goldfinches, describes the important relationship in the natural world between goldfinches and thistles. Melissa Sweet uses watercolors, maps, hand lettering, and collage to bring the verse into focus for young readers. By surrounding the poem with familiar activities like nature journaling, painting outdoors, and bird watching, the illustrations offer children access to both meaningful verse and beauty in the natural world. In true Sweet style, the book pages are speckled with botanical notes, paint color samples, and thumbnails. Backmatter includes the reprinted poem, a handwritten bird list by Mary Oliver, and an extensive note from Melissa Sweet following this quote from Mary Oliver: “No poem is about one of us, or some of us, but it is about all of us.

THOUGHTS: This book is a wonderful opportunity to share the award-winning poetry of Mary Oliver with young students during National Poetry Month or to inspire a collaborative illustrated poetry project with the Art Department. Beautiful, celebratory, and meaningful, this book should be in every elementary poetry collection.

811 Poetry

Elem. Sheep & Goat Climb the World

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Paolini, A.C. Sheep & Goat Climb the World. Monica Arnaldo. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2026. 38 p. 978-0-593-81508-3. $18.99. Grades PK-3.

Sheep and Goat compete to see who can climb the highest. They start off small on the back of a turtle and an old tree stump respectively, but the competition soon snowballs into well-known tourist sites throughout the world. From Machu Picchu to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Sheep and Goat continue to one-up each other until they find themselves stuck at the top of Mount Everest. The only way down? Work together!

THOUGHTS: This was a joy to read-a-loud and had the audience giggly with each page turn. Monica Arnaldo is a favorite illustrator in our library, and we look forward to seeing more from Paolini in the future! The highlighted places around the world will surely spark students’ interests into learning more about these famous landmarks.

Picture Book

Elem. – When I Redraw the World

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Vernick, Audrey. When I Redraw the World. Illustrated by Heather Fox. Random House Studio, 2026. 978-0-593-81128-3. 35 p. $18.99. Grades PK-3.

Narrated by a little girl, When I Redraw the World imagines a world where everyone will have food and a home, people can walk on rainbows, animals have tea parties instead of fighting, tree-houses are where we go for ice cream shops, and dogs are everywhere!

THOUGHTS: My child and I especially enjoyed the silly twists and turns the narrator took with her ideas. This has been put on one of their favorite books of the summer list. It is such a fun tale about imagination and curiosity. I will be using it as a writing or drawing prompt for my students the first week we return to school.

Picture Book

Elem. – My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of all Time

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Neri, Greg. My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of all Time. Illustrated by Corban Wilken. Candlewick Press, 2026. 978-1-53623-957-7. 74 pp. $18.99. Grades 3-6.

In 1976, when Neri was eight years old, his family embarked on the roadtrip of a lifetime, driving in the family’s station wagon from California to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia to celebrate America’s Bicentennial in the Birthplace of America. Neri describes his family’s 52-day trip through national parks, roadside attractions, and historic sites with witty narration and the personal perspective of a curious child with brown skin. Maps, family photos, diagrams, and comic style drawings by Wilken combine to create pages of endlessly engaging multimedia for young readers to pour over. Informative and fascinating, this book is chock full of American history and nostalgia. Excellent backmatter included.

THOUGHTS: An intelligent and, at times, humorous engagement with our country’s past, this book does not shy away from difficult topics. Neri does a great job of exploring American history through the eyes of a child. Backmatter includes Big Questions about American History, Facts about the United States, and a new version of the Pledge of Allegiance for the Semiquincentennial. An excellent resource for American History lessons in the classroom.

917.304 Geography and Travel in North America

Elem. – Exca-Gator

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Hartman, Brooke. Exca-Gator. Illustrated by Michel Slack. Flamingo Books, 2026. 978-0-593-69333-9. $18.99. 40 p. Grades PreK-2.

Get ready to see lifting, pulling, and rumbling of construction vehicles with Exca-Gator! by Brooke Hartman! You are going to enjoy seeing many swamp animals working hard driving construction vehicles, especially the main character, an alligator. This excited gator attempts working solo at a construction site and makes mistakes. He recognizes his mistakes and that working as a team is a much better idea. This book’s witty, funny rhyme will naturally pull you right into the swamp with these animal construction heros.

THOUGHTS: As you see the swap crew fix the disaster together you see proof that teamwork is always better.

Picture Book

Elem./MG – The Second Life of SNAP

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Kelly, Erin Entrada. The Second Life of SNAP. Greenwillow Books, 2026. 978-0-063-48595-2. 164 p. $19.99. Grades 3-8. 

Zuzu and her squad of friends, the Valleycats, roam a dystopian landscape of haves and havenots, where resources are limited and inequality persists. When Zuzu’s dad is laid off from his job at the Lockwood Corporation in Bountiful, he returns to his trailer home in Barren with an obsolete guardian robot (Secure Network Android Processor) that Zuzu names Snap. Because guardian robots are built to report suspicious activities to the government, Zuzu and her friends reject Snap until an unexpected turn of events reveals a more “human” side to the robot. However, the special relationship that grows between Zuzu and Snap is threatened by the fact that the robot’s charger is broken and Snap’s power is running out.

THOUGHTS: Touching and sensitive, this short novel manages to cover a great deal of territory including climate change, artificial intelligence, classism, grief, and friendship. Kelly’s message is accessible and not heavy handed, with our humanity as the focus. Highly recommended.

Science Fiction

Zuzu is skeptical of robots. Her teacher, Mrs. Dagney, is sure they’re trouble, and Lockwood, the corporation that makes them, seems to control everything in Bright Valley–and not for the best. So when Zuzu’s dad loses his job and is given a robot as severance, Zuzu is less than thrilled to have a mechanical babysitter. With time, however, the robot (whom Zuzu names Snap) starts to grow on Zuzu and her friends, especially after Elias does some tinkering. Unfortunately, Snap didn’t come with a functional charging station, and each day his battery life grows weaker. Can Zuzu and her friends find a way to keep him going, even as they fight for their own survival?

THOUGHTS: Fans of Erin Entrada Kelly will not be disappointed by her latest offering, which is perfect for readers who enjoyed Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot or Jasmine Warga’s A Rover’s Story. Zuzu is a strong, spirited protagonist, and her evolving friendship with Snap unfolds beautifully over the course of the story. Her relationships with her other human friends, Elias, Laiken, and Ant, also ring true; their social dynamics will resonate with many upper elementary and middle school readers. Woven throughout are also nuanced explorations of themes related to corporate greed and responsibility, the role of technology in our lives, water conservation and protecting the environment, and community care. Another winning title from a favorite author!

Science Fiction

Elem. – Plenty of Pancakes

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Finison, Carrie. Plenty of Pancakes. Illustrated by Brianne Farley. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2026. 978-0-593-70017-4. $18.99. 40 p. Grades PreK-2.

Plenty of Pancakes by Carrie Finison uses a playful, repetitive rhythm in this delightful story. The story centers around Topsy the opossum, who wants to surprise her giant bear friend, LouAnn, with a massive pancake breakfast to celebrate the end of her long winter hibernation. The interactive fun really kicks in every time Topsy finishes a stack of pancakes. She turns her back for just a second, and the reader gets hooked by all the wonderful, noisy sound effects echoing across the pages—like clunk, thunk, and a very suspicious munch, munch, munch—as the flapjacks mysteriously vanish! The ending brings the ultimate “aww” moment where the pancake stealing culprits are revealed. This is a sweet, funny, and satisfying book that will definitely make you crave breakfast!

THOUGHTS: Kids will have a blast tracking down the hidden pancake stealing culprits in the illustrations before Topsy does. Also, Finison sneaks math into the book! For example, young readers get to practice skip-counting by 5s as Topsy cooks, watching her stack the flapjacks in neat groups. It’s a beautiful testament to friendship and showing just how much joy comes from cooking for and sharing with the ones you love.

Picture Book

Elem. – Wombat Waiting

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Applegate, Katherine. Wombat Waiting. Illustrated by Jen Bricking. Storytide, 2026. 978-0-063-22117-8. 328 p. $19.99. Grades 2-5.

Wombat is a “destiny dog,” a dog destined to find its person. But with wildfires raging, how will this stray find them? Listening to a voice inside, Wombat ends up at a shelter for evacuees and animals. Here Wombat takes up residence on a bench and quickly gets the reputation of not being friendly, except when a little boy shows up. Can Wombat become a comfort to others, and will she find her destiny with an evacuee family?

THOUGHTS: Perfect for lovers of Applegate, Charlotte’s Web, and other animal stories, this novel-in-verse gives all the feels. Loosely based on the Palisades and Eaton fires in Southern California, this story shows the reality of being evacuated and spotlights the helpers who play an important role.

Novel in Verse
Animal Fiction