Seasonal Stories
Depictions of family festivities, new twists on classic tales, and a dash of holiday romance add up to a joyful wintry mix for kids and teens.
The 13th Day of Christmas
Adam Rex (Holiday House/Porter, ages 5–8) $18.99
Rex riffs on “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in this rollicking read. The story begins with the protagonist’s true love gifting a partridge in a pear tree. But the next day, three more birds arrive, with much more to follow. After the unwitting recipient embraces the troublesome presents’ potential to generate further generosity, a final plot twist further amps up the comedy, resulting in a fresh, truly uproarious Christmas yarn.
The Book of Candles
Laurel Snyder, illus. by Leanne Hatch (Clarion, ages 4–8) $19.99
A luminous collection of eight brief free verse poems follows a family of five through their Hanukkah celebration. Snyder and Hatch depict a lovely range of holiday moments: on one night, the family gets a flat tire and improvises a candle lighting with a banana menorah; on another, the youngest child and family cat watch in wide-eyed wonder as the candles “flit and flame,/ dance and jump,/ then fszzzzz, all in a row.”
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Mariama J. Lockington (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ages 12 and up) $19.99
While struggling to make content at a holiday event in Lansing, Mich., influencer Lyric encounters Juniper, who helps her capture the perfect festive photo. When the picture of the two high school senior girls goes viral as #couplegoals, Lyric and Juniper decide to fake-date, hoping the resultant paid sponsorships will help fund their respective dreams. But the line between online performance and real-life love starts to blur in this tender romance with classic Hallmark movie vibes.
The Night Before Christmas
Clement C. Moore, illus. by Hayden Goodman (Holt, ages 4–8) $14.99
Goodman uses folk-style character and scene designs to animate Moore’s famed poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” placing the action against the backdrop of a snow-capped city apartment building. A brown-skinned, elfin Santa embarks on a whirlwind of giving across the building, leaving gifts for children and one tiny nest of sleeping mice. Illustrations burst with charming details—from the art on the walls to the sweeping city landscape—evoking lively late-night holiday bustle.
North for the Winter
Bobby Podesta (First Second, ages 8–12) $23.99
In this cozy mid-1950s-set graphic novel, Virginia Kay and her father struggle to reconnect in the aftermath of her mother’s death. During their move from Arizona to Colorado three days before Christmas, Virginia meets a reindeer that inexplicably flies away. After she shares the encounter with her new neighbor Benny Alvarez, the tweens set out to reunite with the creature—and, perhaps, scrounge up some holiday cheer as hijinks ensue. It’s a story of family, trust, and imagination’s power to uplift during life’s bleakest turns.
Once upon a Kwanzaa
Nyasha Williams and Sidney Rose McCall, illus. by Sawyer Cloud (Running Press, ages 4–8) $18.99
This celebration of African American community, culture, and heritage offers an accessible introduction to Kwanzaa’s tenets. Traditions including lighting the kinara, making space for the mkeka, and pouring a libation for the diasporas are seamlessly woven into the narrative, grounding abstract values in everyday ritual. Cloud’s generously populated illustrations portray joyful intergenerational gatherings across this vibrant and informative resource.
Santa Claws
Bridget Heos, illus. by Galia Bernstein (Holt, ages 4–8) $18.99
Dino fans—i.e., most kids, by our reckoning—will devour this lighthearted snapshot of a T. rex known as Santa Claws. Young dinos sit on the lap of the red-hatted terrible lizard and leave him treats of scavenged meat while “Tricera-moms and ’cera-pops/ Hang stockings for tricera-tots,” making for an energetic and punny tale.
Board & Picture Books
Lively stories with engaging illustrations are destined for reading over and over (and over) again.
Aggie and the Ghost
Matthew Forsythe (S&S/Wiseman, ages 4–8) $19.99
Aggie is thrilled to move into her own forest home. But the new digs come with an unexpected resident: a one-eyed ghost who swipes her socks, nibbles her cheese, and remains supremely present. When the ghost unexpectedly vanishes instead of continuing its bad-roomie antics, Aggie realizes that she misses it—just a little. Her navigation of their relationship is one of the many astute moments of comedy in a book that captures the dance of unlikely bonds.
Five Little Friends
Sean Taylor, illus. by Fiona Woodcock (Candlewick, ages 3–7) $19.99
Sprightly rhymes encourage interactive finger play in this stylishly illustrated poetry collection. Rarely exceeding eight lines, easily remembered experiential verse riffs on varied subjects, including bubble-blowing, a snake, snow, and a waterslide. With vibrant coloring and a stamped effect, mixed-media art clearly visualizes poetry-prompted hand motions. It’s a singsong volume that gets bodies moving and pages turning.
Hansel and Gretel
Stephen King, illus. by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins, ages 6 and up) $26.99
This splendidly chilling variation of the Brothers Grimm story is built around costume and set designs that the late Caldecott Medalist Sendak produced for a Humperdinck opera. Rather than reframing or reimagining the classic tale, novelist King digs into the story for new possibilities. While the narrative’s characterizations and diction are familiar, its horrors land with fresh force in an epic retelling that suits the illustrations’ eerie magnificence.
Little Rebels
Yuyi Morales (Holiday House/Porter, ages 4–8) $18.99
Caldecott Honoree Morales describes tenets of living in the world with love, curiosity, intuition, and tenderness in this values-based picture book. Text and speech bubbles from three children introduce the concept of little rebels, who “speak words that shape the world/ we want to live in.” Multimedia illustrations depict a lush natural world throughout an engaging telling that offers a powerful message: “You stir a revolution by caring for each other.”
Mixed Feelings
Liana Finck (Rise x Penguin Workshop, ages 3–5) $18.99
Using minimal text and a series of squiggly-inked vignettes, Finck deftly expresses how emotions can be a mixed bag. One child, for instance, is “mostly happy” to be heading out for what looks like a beach day, “but a little sad” about leaving the family dog behind. The book assures that even when one may not “know the words” for a feeling, each one is valid.
Night Flight
David Barclay Moore, illus. by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu (Candlewick, ages 4–8) $18.99
Dreamy first-person narration and immersive art define this sweeping picture book, which tracks a child’s majestic after-dark flight astride a pterosaur. The child’s playful quest routes among skyscrapers and above a bridge before an eventual tumble back home—to a dinosaur-decorated bedroom and to previously absent loved ones’ hugs. The conclusion comes satisfyingly full circle in highlighting the warmth of home and family.
The Polar Bear and the Ballerina
Eric Velasquez (Holiday House, ages 4–8) $18.99
When a young Black ballerina leaves a red scarf behind after a photo shoot at the Central Park Zoo’s polar bear tank, the bear climbs out of its enclosure, ties on the garment, and heads out through the park. It soon arrives at Lincoln Center, where the dancer is performing with the Harlem Children’s Ballet. The instant bond between bear and dancer charms in this lushly rendered wordless picture book.
Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme
Betsy Bird, illus. by Andrea Tsurumi (Union Square, ages 3–5) $18.99
Bird and Tsurumi imagine the giggly-good havoc wrought by ending myriad nursery rhymes with “POP! Goes the Weasel.” A weasel in pink overalls leaps into the framing of each classic final line, generally with arms and legs akimbo, as a pearl-clutching secretary bird desperately tries to maintain decorum. The creators craft a raucous celebration of rule breaking that will have young readers eagerly anticipating each rhyme’s incoming “POP!”
Snow Kid
Jessie Sima (Simon & Schuster, ages 4–8) $19.99
A group of children build a snow kid, name the figure “Twig,” and set a jaunty top hat on the character’s head. When a wind whisks away the hat, Twig sets out to recover it, and the ensuing adventure brings changes that inspire curiosity around their sense of self. Finally, Twig reaches a clearing filled with joyful snow people, each “as beautiful
and unique as the snowflakes they were made from.” It’s a gentle, reassuring allegory that warmly celebrates iterative becoming.
Your Places Box Set
Jon Klassen (Candlewick, ages 2–5) $26.97
Caldecott Medalist Klassen’s playful trio positions familiar elements of three landscapes—a forest, a farm, and an island—against blank white backdrops illuminated by the sun. In each book, as the sun goes down, the background mellows to rust to evergreen, and the objects close their eyes, readers are invited to “sleep too and think about what you will do there tomorrow.” Lulling rhythms, interactive language, and repeating words soothe and amuse, giving readers places to return to whenever they like.
Chapter Books
Animals abound in titles that aim to entice early readers.
The Ratnip Collection
Cam Higgins, illus. by Allison Steinfeld (Little Simon, ages 5–9) $31.99
This box set brings together the first four titles in the peppy chapter book series about Ratnip, who enjoys a cozy existence living in a defunct pizza parlor located in the bright, loud City. For Ratnip, nothing tops the thrill of hitting the streets at night. In these energetic adventures, Ratnip returns a missing treasure, makes pizza, runs a marathon, and confronts a trash monster.
The Shindig Is Coming!
Charise Mericle Harper (Union Square, ages 6–10) $16.99
Excited Mouse shares big news with her fellow woodland inhabitants: there’s going to be a shindig in the forest. The ensuing chaos reveals that no one knows what a shindig is—aliens? a giant kitty? a swampy green thing? Dictionary-toting Bear enters the fray and informs the group that “SHINDIG is just a fancy word for PARTY,” but the panic isn’t over just yet. Over-the-top characterizations, mischievous typography, and graphic elements that flirt with midcentury modern design, folk art, and psychedelia make for a freewheeling jamboree.
Wildlife Rescue: How to Save an Otter
Kate Messner, illus. by Jennifer Bricking (Bloomsbury, ages 6–9) $17.99
Messner launches a series highlighting themes of ecological conservation and wildlife preservation via this accessible chapter book. In an idyllic opening sequence, a baby otter and her siblings frolic near a pond. Injured off-page by a predator, the otter is found by middle schooler Ivy, whose family volunteers as Critter Couriers transporting animals to the local wildlife hospital. The straightforward plot is interwoven with interesting animal facts and dotted with adorable illustrations.
Zoomi and Zoe and the Tricky Turnaround
Corey Ann Haydu, illus. by Anne Appert (Quirk, ages 4–8) $15.99
Young Zoe is heartbroken when her best friend moves away. Then her beloved stuffed rhino, Zoomi, vanishes. These separations herald a Tricky Turnaround, a magical event during which Zoe can cross to the realm of GlumbleGlibble and befriend the real Zoomi, but everything goes wrong upon the duo’s long-awaited meeting. In this earnest early reader, Haydu sweetly addresses the importance of communication and compromise in fostering positive relationships.
Middle Grade
Adventure awaits in these often fantastical, always action-packed novels for tweens.
The Beasts Beneath the Winds
Edited by Hanna Alkaf, illus. by Jes and Cin Wibowo (Amulet, ages 8–12) $18.99
Alkaf brings together 17 authors, including Brandon Hoàng, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Jesse Q. Sutanto, to delve into the beings that populate Southeast Asian myth and folklore. Creatures such as the “playful and mischievous” tree-dwelling kapre from the Philippines and the aquatic merlion of Singapore feature in largely joyful, sometimes cautionary stories. This assemblage of brief tales makes for a fun, informative, and thoughtful introduction to creatures—and cultures—from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and beyond.
Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet
Goldy Moldavsky (Random House, ages 8–12) $17.99
In detention yet again, New Jersey seventh grader Maya uncovers a link between her “fellow inmates”: all three girls have had something confiscated and tossed in the Contraband Closet, said to hold decades’ worth of forbidden items. When the principal witnesses their b&e of the closet, which turns out to be empty, he presents an ultimatum: find the perpetrator or Maya faces suspension. Their investigation includes a hilarious retooling of traditional detective film settings.
Candace, the Universe, and Everything
Sherri L. Smith (Putnam, ages 10 and up) $18.99
After a bird flies out of Candace’s locker, the eighth grader discovers a notebook belonging to someone named Tracey Auburn. Candace tracks down adult Tracey, who shares that the same bird flew into her locker in 1988. The pair soon encounter elderly quantum physicist Loretta Spencer, who informs them that the locker is a knot in time. Loretta enlists Candace and Tracey’s assistance in mapping all the knots in Chicago, while the older women help Candace navigate friendship woes and a first crush.
Dragonborn
Struan Murray (Dutton, ages 8–12) $19.99
Two years after her father’s death, Alex Evans uncovers a secret that her overprotective mother has been trying to hide: Alex, like her dad, is a dragon. An ancient firebreather whisks Alex away to one of the last dragon strongholds on Earth, where she will study among other dragonlings. In this introspective, harrowing story, dragon transformations and quests for mystical objects ferry themes of grief, growth, and accepting change.
The Library of Unruly Treasures
Jeanne Birdsall, illus. by Matt Phelan (Knopf, ages 8–12) $17.99
Gwen MacKinnon is relieved to have a two-week respite from her awful parents at the Dalgety, Mass., home of her great-uncle. At the nearby library founded by her ancestors, Gwen visits the children’s room, where she’s shocked to discover that she has inherited an ability to communicate with mythical beings. Gwen’s grappling with her familial destiny alongside conflicting feelings about her upbringing are compassionately wrought in this tender story.
On Thin Ice
Jessica Kim (Kokila, ages 9–12) $17.99
Twins Phoebe and Dex Bae notice their “twintuition” has begun to deteriorate in the wake of their father’s death from cancer. Ice skater Phoebe throws her all into training with her partner, Pete, and Dex finds solace as an ice hockey goalie. When Pete sustains an injury and Dex is cut from his team, the twins’ mother contrives for them to figure skate together. Varying depictions of coping with grief add nuance to the sports-lite tale.
One Wrong Step
Jennifer A. Nielsen (Scholastic Press, ages 8–12) $18.99
One the eve of WWII, Atlas Wade accompanies his father on a hazardous expedition up Mt. Everest. During the excursion, the group learns that Nazis are attempting their own climb, and Atlas’s father forbids him from summiting. While waiting at Advanced Base Camp, Atlas spies an avalanche and determines to rescue his group. This gripping adventure provides a new perspective through which to view the history of the era.
Pocket Bear
Katherine Applegate, illus. by Charles Santoso (Feiwel and Friends, ages 8–12) $17.99
When former street cat Zephyrina finds abandoned toys, she takes them to the apartment where she lives with a mother and daughter, refugees from Ukraine. At night, the toy collection roams under the guidance of Zephyrina’s best friend, Pocket Bear, who was designed to fit in the uniform of a WWI-era American soldier. Newbery Medalist Applegate weaves a gently sophisticated tale that considers the trauma brought about by war.
The Winter of the Dollhouse
Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick, ages 9–12) $18.99
Lonely Tiph, the oldest of three in a house run by quarreling parents, meets an elderly woman named Szilvia, who offers the tween a job as a dog walker and kitty-litter cleaner. Tiph eagerly accepts, hoping to earn enough to purchase a doll named Gretel. Gretel, in turn, relishes the thought of leaving the toy shop to live with Tiph. Alternating chapters follow the child and the personified doll in Newbery Medalist Schlitz’s enchanting cozy fantasy.
Xolo
Donna Barba Higuera, illus. by Mariana Ruiz Johnson (Levine Querido, ages 7–10) $19.99
Newbery Medalist Higuera recasts the Aztec myth of creation, situating the dog-headed god Xolotl as a hero. When Earth stops rotating and all life ends, the immortals sacrifice themselves into a volcano to make the planet spin again, but Xolo cannot summon the courage to leap. He is shunned for his cowardice until he hatches a plan to reanimate humankind. The story culminates in a winning reflection on what it means to be an underdog.
YA
Thrillers, historical fiction, romantasies, and more will keep teens enthralled (and maybe even off their devices).
Capitana
Cassandra James (Quill Tree, ages 14 and up) $19.99
James crafts a rich imaginary world inspired by 18th-century Latin America in this swashbuckling adventure. Ximena Reale, who has one eye, strives to overcome her family’s reputation; her parents, who were once allied to the Luzan Empire, were executed for their crimes against their country as Robin Hood–like pirates. If Ximena defeats Gasparilla, another notorious pirate, she could prove her bravery and loyalty to the empire.
Exquisite Things
Abdi Nazemian (HarperCollins, ages 14 and up) $19.99
In 1895 London, Shahriar’s father catches him having sex with another boy and disowns him; soon after, Shahriar is granted his wish for immortality and the chance to live in a time when he can be his true self. In 1920 Boston, Oliver is new to Harvard’s underground queer scene. He meets Shahriar, likewise achieves immortality, and is forced into hiding. As the two lose each other and reconnect over the next century, Nazemian artfully traces their uneven progress toward social equity alongside their stirring love story.
A Fate So Cold
Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman (Tor Teen, ages 13 and up) $22.99
Two teen magicians must each bond with a Living Wand, a powerful artifact that grants its chosen wielder access to high-level magic, if they hope to help protect their kingdom against the devastating forces of the encroaching Winter. As attraction blossoms between Dom and Ellery, and disaster looms, they realize the truth behind Winter, and their roles in defeating it, goes deeper than they anticipated. Scintillating romance, stimulating action, and invigorating mystery elements offer something for everyone.
Legendary Frybread Drive-In
Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, ages 13 and up) $19.99
The magical Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In provides the setting for 17 loosely linked stories about Indigenous teens navigating evergreen concerns about love, life, and identity. Characters meet at Sandy June’s, which appears wherever and whenever a teen requires wisdom, to spend time with deceased grandparents and estranged cousins, and confront situations of abuse and reconciliation. Genre-hopping selections from such authors as Angeline Boulley, Byron Graves, and Darcie Little Badger span varying narrative formats and international locales.
The Scammer
Tiffany D. Jackson (Quill Tree, ages 14 and up) $19.99
In this nail-biting thriller, freshman Jordyn is excited to find a sense of belonging at a historically Black college, where she makes fast friends with her suitemates Loren, Kammy, and Vanessa. But when Vanessa’s older brother, Devonte, recently released from prison, comes to visit, his manipulation of the teens begins to spiral out of control. It’s up to Jordyn, with help from her crush, to break Devonte’s hold on her and her friends.
The Secret Astronomers
Jessica Walker (Viking, ages 12 and up) $19.99
In this intriguing epistolary novel, a high school senior who goes by Copernicus reads a cryptic letter from her recently deceased mother, an astrophysicist from West Virginia. The letter leads Copernicus to an 1888 astronomy textbook in the high school library, in which she crafts handwritten letters to her mom. A student named Kepler finds the letters, and the two team up to unravel the puzzle of Copernicus’s mother.
There’s Always Next Year
Leah Johnson and George M. Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ages 14 and up) $19.99
Two cousins spend New Year’s Day on a mission to rectify past wrongs in this winning queer romance told in alternating POV chapters. Dominique—a model in New York City—returns home to Indiana, hoping a last-minute gig can help save his career. Meanwhile, Dom’s cousin Andy is recovering from a wild New Year’s Eve party when she realizes she lost a flash drive containing crucial evidence she needs to shut down a rash of damaging gentrification projects in their hometown. Simultaneously, both Dom and Andy struggle to navigate potential romance alongside their own tense dynamic.
A Time Traveler’s History of Tomorrow
Kendall Kulper (Holiday House, ages 14 and up) $19.99
Eighteen-year-old physicist Genevieve is thrilled to present her innovation on a particle accelerator called a cyclotron onstage at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair. When her device malfunctions, she’s saved by time traveler Ash, who transports them to 1893 Chicago. Soon Ash reveals himself to have been tasked with saving the world from purported annihilation brought about by the cyclotron. It makes for a satisfying combination of sparkling romance and whirlwind adventure.
Where There’s Room for Us
Hayley Kiyoko (Wednesday, ages 13 and up) $22
In a reimagined Victorian era where queer marriage is accepted but comes with forfeiture of inheritance rights, Ivy joins a local organization seeking to change the inheritance laws. She falls for socialite Freya, who feels pressure to marry a man and deliver a male heir. Kiyoko presents a hopeful love story between ideological opposites whose attraction to each other is complicated by familial obligation, social niceties, and fear of the unknown.
Nonfiction
These fact-filled volumes engage empathy, curiosity, and creativity in kids from preschool through high school.
Are You a Friend of Dorothy?
Kyle Lukoff, illus. by Levi Hastings (Simon & Schuster, ages 4–8) $19.99
Detailing how LGBTQ+ people have long found each other via verbal and visual cues, this approachable, engaging work is a primer on both queer history and how “learning about the ways we survived in the past could help people in the future.” Succinct text delves into the sociopolitical history of queer signaling, while expressive portraiture visualizes possible origins of the title phrase, including Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz character and writer Dorothy Parker.
Drawing Is...
Elizabeth Haidle (Tundra, ages 8–12) $19.99
This expansive approach to drawing covers much more than the mechanics of putting pencil to paper. Calling the act “two-dimensional traveling,” exploratory text aligns drawing with everything from “growing” to “magic.” Handwritten invitations and affirming declarations urge readers to approach the empty page with curiosity, while brief interstitials provide concrete instruction on fundamentals. The book itself is a work of art that reflects the thoughtfulness, spontaneity, and discipline championed throughout its pages.
Knucklehead
Tony Keith Jr. (Quill Tree, ages 14 and up) $19.99
This poignant, hip-hop–fueled collection of poetry is equal parts memoir, love letter, and rallying cry to Black boys. Keith, often
marginalized by society and labeled a “knucklehead” as a child, highlights the ability to use language as an essential force for rising above various challenges. It’s a dazzling, from the heart offering that’s sure to inspire the eponymous knuckleheads and beyond to find their voice and use it for liberation.
My Presentation Today Is About the Anaconda
Bibi Dumon Tak, trans. from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier, illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen (Levine Querido, ages 8–12) $19.99
The dread (or excitement) of a class presentation isn’t exclusive to young humans, as evidenced by this humorous cast of 20 animals,
each giving an oral address on a species of their choice. While Earthworm prioritizes education over pontification—their lecture on the anaconda glows with admiration—most presenters use the spotlight to vent, dish, brag (Snow Leopard presents on its own species), or provoke the scholastically disinclined and often heckling crowd.
Ours to Tell
Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger (Annick, ages 11–14) $24.99
Yellowhorn, of the Piikani Nation, and Lowinger collect 16 accounts from Indigenous individuals, both historical (Standing Bear, a Ponca chief) and contemporary (Cheyenne and Arapaho novelist Tommy Orange). Across sections that cover Native images, poems, songs, written stories, and more, selections highlight myriad communities. It’s a succinct and illuminating volume that decenters colonist tellings to instead highlight Native peoples’ experiences and perspectives.
Comics
Energetic, visually driven narratives hit the sweet spot for tweens.
Cabin Head and Tree Head
Scott Campbell (Tundra, ages 6–9) $13.99
Best friends Cabin Head and Tree Head—whose respective noggins sport a picturesque abode and a tree hung with a tire swing—star in this goofy early reader graphic novel series starter. Spirits are high between the easygoing duo, whose adventures include treasure hunting and an epic game of hide-and-seek. It’s a congenial snapshot of best buds who are eager to bask in life’s everyday joys.
The Five Wolves
Peter McCarty (First Second, ages 9–14) $29.99
Caldecott Honoree McCarty makes his graphic novel debut with an otherworldly feeling poem in comics form. Five anthropomorphic wolves dressed in finery sail aboard a longboat. When they spot a giant shark swimming toward them, they break out their easels. The wolves’ voyage brings them into confrontation with their artistic nemeses, a clowder of cats. Increasingly dreamlike sequences culminate in a compelling examination of life, art, and the fantastical oddities inherent in both.
Mafalda
Quino, trans. from the Spanish by Frank Wynne (Elsewhere, ages 7–11) $18
This laugh-out-loud collection of 1960s comic strips by Argentinian cartoonist Quino stars six-year-old Mafalda, who relays precocious sociopolitical observations about midcentury Latin American society à la Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. When her father points out their location in the Southern hemisphere on the globe, for instance, Mafalda ascertains that hanging upside down explains Argentina’s perceived status as global underdog: “Gravity makes your ideas fall out of your head.” The coming-of-age themes transcend time and place.
Night Chef
Mika Song (Random House Graphic, ages 6–9) $20.99
Amiable critters are always eager to lend a hand in this heartwarming tale about sharing the joy of food with family and friends. When Night Chef, a raccoon living in the walls of a restaurant, spots an egg in the herb planter, she’s eager to include it in her midnight ramen. But once the egg hatches, Night Chef resolves to return the baby crow to his nest.
The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day
Raúl the Third (Little, Brown Ink, ages 7–10) $14.99
Scissors City, famous for its stylishly coiffed population, is home to a team of “hairtastrophe” fighters known as the Snips. Chaos ensues when the Bad Buzz Boyz, whose grandfather invented the buzz cut, set out to break the Snips’ record for most haircuts given in a day. The Boyz unleash a giant monster as a distraction while they forcefully give citizens awful haircuts, prompting the Snips to rush into action to save the city.
