Pocket Bear

When haughty former street cat Zephyrina finds abandoned, down-on-their-luck toys, she takes them to the apartment where she lives with mother-daughter duo Elizaveta and Dasha, refugees from Ukraine. At night, the family’s toy collection awakens, roaming free under Zephyrina’s watchful eye and the guidance of her best friend, stuffed teddy Pocket Bear. “Thimble-born” more than a century ago, Pocket was designed to fit in the front uniform pouch of an American soldier and provide comfort in the trenches during WWI. Now the wise “sarge” of this home of misfit toys, Pocket readily accepts Zephyrina’s newest find: an ursine plush with a mysterious past, which she spotted covered in tomato sauce and pasta behind an Italian restaurant. Via attentive and nuanced renderings of the apartment’s unique residents and the humans who care for them, Newbery Medalist Applegate weaves a gently sophisticated tale that considers the trauma brought about by war on those forced to endure it. Zephyrina’s grudging first-person POV injects humor into tender and eloquent narrative sequences, which Santoso (Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet) expertly complements with detailed grayscale illustrations depicting moments such as Pocket’s loving creation and a midnight conference of toys. Across brief yet rousing chapters, this treasure of a book evokes laughter, tears, and introspection in equal measure. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Heirloom Literary. (Sept.)