Her family is like ALL FOUR QUARTERS OF THE MOON, but where is she? by Shirley Marr (MG fiction book review)

May27
In front of a large full moon, a young Chinese girl cups her hands around those of her little sister who holds a paper rabbit. Above them is book title All Four Quarters of the Moon by Shirley Marr. In the foreground below are trees, animals, and a barn, all cut from paper.

New country,
new expectations,
old worries.

It’s good that Ba Ba doesn’t have to work every day of the week as he did in Singapore, but in their new Australian home there are no aunties down the hall for Ma Ma to visit or play mahjongg with Ah Ma.

No cousins to play with, so it’s even harder for 11-year-old Peijing to keep her impulsive little sister Biju in check, as their very traditional family expects.

Speak only English at school, only Chinese at home. Speak up when answering the teacher, never talk back to their parents. Peijing is always worried about doing something wrong.

Thankfully, the sisters can escape to the paper world that they’ve drawn and cut out, where Biju retells the rabbit in the moon story and more.

Ma Ma feels trapped at home with her limited English, Ba Ba gets to do more with the family now, and grandmother Ah Ma has begun forgetting.

How can Peijing help her new schoolfriend Joanna, always hungry?
Why does she have to take Biju wherever she goes, even to a birthday party?
When will Ma Ma ever appreciate her artistic skills?

Peijing feels like her four family members with their varied temperaments are like the four quarters of her favorite mooncakes of the Mid-Autumn Festival, as she tries to work out where she fits in at home and at school.

Another rich and tender story of a family from another country finding their new life in Australia but the author of Glasshouse of Stars , recommended here: https://booksyalove.com/?p=12451.

Where are you in your family’s order of birth?
**kmm

Book info: All Four Quarters of the Moon / Shirley Marr. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2022, paperback 2023. [author site https://www.shirleymarr.net/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-Four-Quarters-of-the-Moon/Shirley-Marr/9781534488861] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Together on THE LAST BEST QUEST EVER! by F.T. Lukens (YA book review)

May26
In a forest clearing, a teen girl lies on her back and looks up, holding a hunting knife to the neck of the royal young person looking down into her eyes while they point an arrow at her heart. Above them, the book title The Last Best Quest Ever, by F.T. Lukens

Dragon vanquished,
giant spiders dispatched –
sort of…

At 17, Ellinore the Brave is tired of finagling her way through quests to entertain the royals. No one knows that she’s won every quest with problem-solving instead of swordplay.

She’s earned enough money for her parents to retire, so it’s time to quit and go visit the dragon she relocated instead of slaying (shhh…)

Except that her impulsive twin brother Zig tried to scam the wrong mages and instead earned a death curse. Now she has to locate and bring back a truly mythical item in a short time or the mages will remove Zig’s heart!

As for Princet Aven? Fed up with finishing second to Ellinore on every quest, they swiftly find her and Zig at home, eager to assist in this near-impossible quest to find the never-seen mythic Elder Beast.

Along the way, the trio is joined by a teen fan-girl who’s had a few quarterstaff lessons and a young scholar (very intent on debunking the bards’ songs about Ellinore’s daring feats) who agrees to take them to his grandfather’s secret knowledge trove.

As the group encounters magical beings and treacherous territory, it gets harder for Ellinore to keep her secrets and ignore her long-standing attraction to Aven. They may be last in the royal line of succession, but are still far above her commoner status.

Oh no! The other questers of the realm have also heard about the Elder Beast and will do anything to get there first! Wherever there is…

Does the Elder Beast truly exist?
Can Ellinore and Aven keep their inexperienced quest-mates safe?
Can she save her brother’s life?

By the author of
In Deeper Waters https://booksyalove.com/?p=12378
So This Is Ever After https://booksyalove.com/?p=12989
Spell Bound https://booksyalove.com/?p=13689
Otherworldly https://booksyalove.com/?p=14421
Love at Second Sight https://booksyalove.com/?p=15085

Happy book birthday to The Last Best Quest Ever – if Lukens writes it, I want to read it!

Which of your pals would you choose for your quest team?
**kmm

Book info: The Last Best Quest Ever / F.T. Lukens. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2026. [author site https://www.ft-lukens.com/thelastbestquestever] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Last-Best-Quest-Ever/F-T-Lukens/9781665950978] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

WRITING IN COLOR: 14 Writers on the Lessons We’ve Learned, edited by Nafiza Azad & Melody Simpson (YA nonfiction book review)

May21
Three hands in shades of brown use pen, pencil, and marker to inscribe book title Writing in Color: Fourteen Writers on the Lessons We've Learned. Surrounding the words are bright butterflies and glowing flowers. Below are listed the writers: Julie C. Dao, Chloe Gong, Joan He, Kosoko Jackson, Adiba Jaigirdar, Darcie Little Badger, Yamile Saied Méndez, Axie Oh, Laura Pohl, Cindy Pon, Karuna Riazi, Gail D. Villanueva, Julian Winters, and Kat Zhang.

Characters, plot,
themes, action –
now what?

BIPOC authors of YA fiction share their experiences of getting started as a writer and advice on staying true to your own story while navigating the still-so-white publishing world as a person of color.

The first essays cover Craft: Starting from a Blank Page, as Kosovo Jackson gives 6 questions to ask yourself like “What do I want to be known for?” and Axie Oh notes that yours is a unique point of view – “you not only notice the books that are being published, but also the ones that are not.” (pg. 21)

All can be writers, but becoming an author requires commitment to the Journey: Querying, Publishing and Beyond. Adiba Jaigirdar takes us on the Publishing Roller Coaster with book deals and rejections, Julian Winters grapples with imposter syndrome, and Darcy Little Badger counsels perseverance.

“BIPOC authors know, all too well, what it is to be bled of joy,” says Julie C. Dao. “And yet joy is integral to this career. Joy is what got us here in the first place.” (pgs.226-227)

Contributors include: Julie C. Dao, Chloe Gong, Joan He, Kosoko Jackson, Adiba Jaigirdar,
Darcie Little Badger, (Elatsoe, https://booksyalove.com/?p=11663)
Yamile Saied Méndez, (stories in anthologies Calling the Moon https://booksyalove.com/?p=14303 , Rural Voices https://booksyalove.com/?p=11936 & Come On In https://booksyalove.com/?p=11814 )
Axie Oh, Laura Pohl,
Cindy Pon, (Want https://booksyalove.com/?p=8943)
Karuna Riazi, (The Gauntlet https://booksyalove.com/?p=8849 & Hungry Hearts anthology https://booksyalove.com/?p=10918 )
Gail D. Villanueva, Julian Winters,
and Kat Zhang (The Memory of Forgotten Things https://booksyalove.com/?p=10407) .

It is my privilege to recommend many under-represented voices on BooksYALove.

Look for this great collection of writing advice in hardcover or paperback at your local library https://search.worldcat.org/libraries or independent bookstore https://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder. Did you know that if you order any book through https://bookshop.org/ you can designate which indie bookstore gets credit for your purchase? (NO affiliate links here, ever.)

Are you ready to write?
**kmm

Book info: Writing In Color: Fourteen Writers on the Lessons We’ve Learned / Nafiza Azad & Melody Simpson, editors. Margaret K. McElderry Books, hardcover 2023, paperback 2024. [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Writing-in-Color/Julie-C-Dao/9781665925655] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Who is MAKING WAVES now?! tween cruise ship drama, by Lee Heart (MG book review)

May20
Silhouetted against the ocean and setting sun, a tween girl with ponytail and tween boy are talking on cruise ship deck, below book title Making Waves by Lee Heart.

First the beautiful wedding,
now the cruise all together –
it’ll be perfect, right?

Since their widowed mom and her divorced dad started dating, Hannah and Lucy have constantly teased Emma.

Now they’re all on a cruise in the Caribbean to bond as a family after the wedding. The twins mock Emma’s enthusiasm for all the ship’s activities and that she’s taller at 12 than they are at 13, but she tries to take it in stride.

Oh, the cutest boy dances with Emma at the bon voyage party! Hopefully they can spend some time together, but it’s a such a huge ship…

Their parents tell the girls to stick together in the evenings and absolutely no Teen Club, but Hannah and Lucy go there anyway!

Emma makes friends at Kidz Korner and sees Justin a few times – only a few days to figure out if he likes her or is just being polite.

Why is Lucy being so mean to her?
Do the twins always disobey their mom?
Will she ever get to spend some time with Justin?

The ship is sailing smoothly, but Emma’s life isn’t!

Has your family been on a cruise together?
**kmm

Book info: Making Waves (a Spotlight Sprinkles book) / Lee Heart. Simon Spotlight, 2026. [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Making-Waves/Lee-Heart/Spotlight-Sprinkles/9798347103584] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

D IS FOR DOG! and everything dogs do! By Em Lynas and Sara Ogilvie (kids picturebook review)

May19
The sketched heads of 3 different happy dogs are seen through a large cut-out capital letter D on a short, wide book cover of D is for Dog! by Em Lynas and Sara Ogilvie

If you like who dogs are
and what dogs do,
here, my friend, is the book for you!

This whimsically illustrated poem begins “A is for action… and B is for bark” with a running dog chasing pigeons, then a hound on its hind legs barking at the cat atop its letter B.

Unlike most tall, square picture books, this one is short and wide, so “F is for flopping” displays a very furry dog spread out across both pages, as does “N is for napping…and napping…and napping again” where the very large dog slowly slips off its chair as it naps – common dog habits that we all recognize.

The cover’s capital D is cut out, giving a peek at the cute canines within, and at the end of this alphabetic poem, you’ll find all the dog breeds pictured, letter by letter, some with very unusual names!

Be sure to scan the included QR code so you can hear an audio reading of this rollicking, rhyming book.

What is your favorite dog behavior?
**kmm

Book info: D is for Dog! / Em Lynas; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie. Nosy Crow Inc. 2024. [author site https://www.instagram.com/emlynas/] [illustrator info https://nosycrow.us/contributor/sara-ogilvie/] [publisher site https://nosycrow.us/product/d-is-for-dog/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

Quit school? Oh, no, no! UNEXPECTED LIVES OF ORDINARY GIRLS, by J. Anderson Coats (MG book review)

May13
A tween girl in braids wearing long dress and carrying a satchel looks up through elegant gates at a busy city street with horse-drawn carriages and book title The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls, by J. Anderson Coats, with embroidered flowers in lower corner.

School is a haven,
reading takes her everywhere…
someday she’ll really go!

In their Colorado mining town, girls from Slovene families grow up and have families – no other options even in 1910. Stanislava escapes by reading from the tiny “penny library” near their Bohunk Town neighborhood. Oh, this story of an immigrant girl who changes her name and is sponsored at a lovely college is the best book ever!

Older sister Stina had to quit school early to take care of newborn Stanislava and the babies who came after. When she leaves to marry (not another Catholic – scandalous), Stanislava is expected to do the same!

Papa come all this way to America for freedom 20 years ago, and now he won’t allow her the opportunity to keep going to school – no!

The tween sneaks aboard a boxcar and heads to Denver to find Stina and her new husband. But they’ve already left town, and a priest wants to send her home – can she find a school to help her?

Instead she encounters a magnificent library that welcomes all and decides to stay there in its warmth and security. In the newspaper room looking at help wanted ads, she sees that the library has a training course test very soon.

Visiting different parts of the library every day, introducing herself as Sylvia when a young Slovene mother needs help, hiding at closing time, waiting for the test day…

Can she stay hidden and safe?
What if she doesn’t pass the test?
Where else can she go?

Another strong young heroine from the author of
The Loss of the Burning Ground (recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=14937)
A Season Most Unfair – https://booksyalove.com/?p=14170
The Night Ride – https://booksyalove.com/?p=13684
R for Rebel – https://booksyalove.com/?p=9958
The Wicked and the Just – https://booksyalove.com/?p=91

Which library is your favorite?
**kmm

Book info: The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls / J. Anderson Coats. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site https://www.jandersoncoats.com/the-unexpected-lives-of-ordinary-girls] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Unexpected-Lives-of-Ordinary-Girls/J-Anderson-Coats/9781665968614] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the author and publisher.

THE BIG BOOK OF PI: The Famous Number You Can Never Know, by Lehmann, Aubin & Sildre (kids nonfiction book review)

May12
A large symbol of Pi surrounded by a circle of numerals and silhouettes of people measuring and observing, overlaid with book title The Big Book of Pi: the Famous Number You Can Never Know

Pi r-squared – everyone’s heard that formula, but where did the name for that constant come from?
How was it discovered?
What makes it unique in mathematics?

This highly illustrated book begins examining those questions in the introduction, chapter 3.14, noting 2 unusual facts about Pi: it’s infinite and irrational. Did you know that you can find any number sequence of any length in pi? (pg. 19)

Characters Pi-Rat the questioner and Little Horsey PiPi who loves math help readers learn about scholars in many eras and many lands worked diligently to discover Pi’s hidden digits.

In 1761, Johann Heinrich Lambert proved that Pi wasn’t a rational number, and the race was on for mathematicians to calculate as many of Pi’s decimal places as possible!

Srinivasa Ramanujan’s 1913 formula came to him in a dream, was ignored by university mathematicians, then proven correct over 70 years later, leading to even more efficient formulas. From pen and ink to calculating machines and computers, trillions of digits have been discovered!

But why do we need to know so many decimals of Pi? Testing new supercomputers and standing in for random number selections are just two reasons.

Pi-Rat and Little Horsey PiPi want us to have fun with Pi, with tricks for memorizing its digits, silly jokes, brain-twisting paradoxes, and how to cut a pizza exactly in half without cutting the crust.

The proofs behind historic examples cited and a glossary round out this very entertaining look at Pi and its never-ending digits. Check out the educator’s guide here: http://hello.helvetiq.com/en-us/bigbookofpi.

How many decimals of Pi can you recite?
**kmm

Book info: The Big Book of Pi: The Famous Number You Can Never Know / Anita Lehmann & Jean-Baptiste Aubin; illustrated by Joonas Sildre. Helvetiq, 2026. [author site https://www.anita-lehmann.com/] [publisher site https://helvetiq.com/us/the-big-book-of-pi] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

OF THE SUN: a Poem for the Land’s First Peoples, by Xelena Gonzales & Emily Kewageshig (Picturebook)

May5
In front of a bright sun, an indigenous person looks to the right where an eagle soars. Both are surrounded by branches of flowers and berries, with book title Of the Sun: a Poem for the Land's First Peoples, by Xelena Gonzales

“Child of the sun, you’ve been blessed since birth…”

So begins a poem celebrating the First Peoples of the Western hemisphere, from the Yamana at the far tip of South America to the Ben Za in Central America to the Inuit in North America’s Arctic regions.

The artist uses saturated colors and bold outlines with motifs from many Indigenous cultures of the Americas and Caribbean – eagle and bison, butterfly and dreamcatcher, Plains beaded embroidery, dancers and native produce.

“Child of the sun, on this land you are home.”

As you read along, listen to the poet recite this heartfelt work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzDjOnJGQJE

Includes notes on the Native peoples named in the poem, plus wonderful letters to the reader from the poet and the artist.

I live on lands of the Caddo and Kickapoo people, shows https://native-land.ca/
On whose land do you now live?
**kmm

Book info: Of the Sun: a Poem for the Land’s First Peoples / Xelena Gonzales; illustrated by Emily Kewageshig. Barefoot Books, 2025. [author site https://www.xelena.space/about] [artist site https://www.emily-kewageshig.com/] [publisher site https://www.barefootbooks.com/of-the-sun] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

May the Fourth be with you! Back to William Shakespeare Star Wars, by Ian Doescher (fiction book review)

May4
Large sketched image of Darth Vader in embellished armor is surrounded by smaller images of Star Wars tie fighter, X-wing craft, Luke with sword, and Princess Leia, above book title: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope, by Ian Doescher

Favorite holiday for that “galaxy far, far away” is today, so I celebrate the reissued books of Ian Doescher’s mashup series, retelling Star Wars tales in William Shakespeare’s style.

I recommended the original editions over a decade ago, beginning with William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope, the story that started it all, completely and lovingly rendered in epic Shakespearean verse: https://booksyalove.com/?p=3298

Next was The Empire Striketh Back (Star Wars: Part the Fifth) which I introduced with several original verses in iambic pentameter; here we meet Yoda who speaks in haiku: https://booksyalove.com/?p=3307

Rounding out the series based on the original movie trilogy is The Jedi Doth Return (Star Wars Part the Sixth), which I recommended here with a bit more verse: https://booksyalove.com/?p=4219; it even has a book trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVp5XZEang4

Doescher thought that the original trilogy was the end of his collaboration with masters Shakespeare and Lucas, but nay, good friends, the saga continueth!

I recommended William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace (Star Wars, Part the First) here https://booksyalove.com/?p=5811 again penning my own iambic pentameter plot summary, but missed out on The Clone Army Attacketh (Star Wars, Part the Second) and Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge (Star Wars, Part the Third).

Past the original trilogy are William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh, Jedi the Last: Star Wars Part the Eighth, and The Merry Rise of Skywalker: Star Wars Part the Ninth (newer titles, different subtitle format…)

Sadly all were out of print until Insight Editions began reissuing the series last year; find the whole list at https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Ian-Doescher/232868011 including new works featuring the Mandalorian and Ashoka (publishing Sept. 2026).

Darth Vader, a woman in pink blouse, Storm Trooper stand in front of Death Star backdrop, with caption "May the force of reading be with you - Abdo - TLA 2012 - Star Wars"

Look for them all at your local library https://search.worldcat.org/libraries or independent bookstore https://bookshop.org/!

Which is your favorite Star Wars episode?
**kmm

(thanks again to Abdo Publishing for this photo op and their long-time support of Texas readers, librarians, and the Texas Library Association)

Done and dusted – another A2Z Challenge mastered! (reflective) #A2Z

May1
Logo for 2026 A to Z, Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2010-2026, with flower and butterfly on marbled background. a-to-zchallenge.com

For the 15th year in a row, I’ve successfully completed the April A to Z Blogging Challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/) by writing 26 posts alphabetically AND posting them all AND posting each on its specific day, on time.

Fifteen years of the 16 that BooksYALove has existed!

And here is usually where I state what my posting schedule will probably look like, going forward.

But I think I’ll just leave that open. (this last year and a half folks…oof)

I will keep writing recommendations of middle grade, young adult, and picturebooks for all ages – no spoilers, no ads, no affiliate links, and no “A.I.” ever.

I will keep centering debut authors, under-represented creators and communities, and smaller publishers.

I will keep hoping that the right reader finds their just-right book with help from BooksYALove and that someday, someone will tell me that they did.

Have you picked up any books that I’ve recommended?
**kmm