Tag Archive | A2Z

N is NEFARIOUS NIGHTS OF WILLOWWEEP MANOR! by Shaenon K. Garrity & Christopher Baldwin (YA Graphic Novel book review) #A2Z

Apr16
Magnifying glass in hand, a determined young Black woman in gothic dress approaches the body lying in foreground. She's followed by a startled young man juggling a stack of books, a frantically flying chicken, and a big dog with its tongue flapping. Behind them a grim mansion rises into the dark sky, emblazoned with book title - The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor, by Shaenon K. Garrity & Christopher Baldwin.

Thunder! Lightning!
Romance!
Murder?

As protector of a tiny gasket universe, Haley expects her school break away at Willowweep Manor to be broodingly romantic with Montague, as always.

But the Black teen arrives as refugees from another gasket universe in peril pop through a portal – not characters from a gothic romance at all!

New rooms suddenly appear in the Manor, the new dog is goofy, Miss Meadowsweet keeps talking about odd things that happened in her village, and the Colonel is stabbed – they’re from the murder mystery genre!!

No police in the Manor so the Willowweepers must learn the rules of murder mysteries and investigate, not quite trusting any of the newcomers.

Someone goes missing, while others barely escape “accidents” with their lives!

Who is the killer – the capable young lady? The village spinster? The eccentric young man? The butler? Surely not the dog?

Can our plucky heroine reinvent herself in time to save Willowweep Manor once again?

You can enjoy Nefarious Nights without having read The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor (I recommend! https://booksyalove.com/?p=12249), but knowing the origin story makes this madcap adventure even more fun.

Find both Willowweep Manor volumes at your local library https://search.worldcat.org/libraries or independent bookstore https://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder.

What book genre would you like to live in?
**kmm

Book info: The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor / Shaenon K. Garrity; illustrated by Christopher Baldwin. Margaret McElderry Books, 2025. [author site https://www.shaenon.com/] [artist site www.BaldwinPage.com ][publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Nefarious-Nights-of-Willowweep-Manor/Shaenon-K-Garrity/Willowweep-Manor/9781665930161] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

M is MAKER GIRL AND PROFESSOR SMARTS must save the city’s ice cream! by Jasmine Florentine (kids graphic novel) #A2Z

Apr15
A tween girl wearing goggles, superhero cape & satchel with logo raises a gadget skyward, next to a tween boy in ballcap and shades consulting a book, with science & math motifs in background, on book cover of Maker Girl and Professor Smarts, book 1, by Jasmine Florentine.

Summertime,
ice cream time!
Ewww… now it’s slime?!

Chuy and Yaya have been besties since preschool – he wants to know everything, and she can build anything.

Too bad the 12 year olds didn’t get superpowers when the recent comet struck Earth, like some people did…

When new supervillain Mr. Anti-Freeze starts turning everyone’s ice cream into slime, it’s time for them to act anyway!

Super-cape for Yaya, super-cool shades for Chuy – now Maker Girl and Professor Smarts!

Can their brainy/inventive powers outwit Mr. Anti-Freeze’s icky superpower?
Can they stop him from unleashing his slime bomb on the city?
Why does he hate ice cream so much?

This first graphic novel in new series includes instructions on making a grappling hook and yummy sorbet, a preview of book 2 (mayhem with younger siblings), and a resource list so you can make and learn stuff, too.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
**kmm

Book info: Maker Girl and Professor Smarts (Book 1) / Jasmine Florentine. MIT Kids Press, 2025. [author/illustrator site https://www.jasmineflorentine.com/books] [publisher site https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786774/maker-girl-and-professor-smarts-by-jasmine-florentine-illustrated-by-jasmine-florentine/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

K is for Korobá: THE CASE OF THE MISSING KOLO in her fishing village, by Àlàbá Ònájìn (kids graphic novel) #A2Z

Apr13
Three kids and a puppy race down the wooden dock-walkways of a Nigerian fishing village, following a trail of wet footprints, on the book cover of Korobá: the Case of the Missing Kolo, kids' graphic novel by Àlàbá Ònájìn.

A visitor,
a theft,
a mystery to solve!

Korobá enjoys exploring the waterways and walkways of her Nigerian fishing village with best friends Saldat and Joba – and her dog Popi, of course!

During school holidays, the ten-year-old helps her mother at the fish market (but can’t stand eating fish). Someday her little brother and baby sister will, too.

The harvest festival is soon, and the kids of Makoko will break open their wooden Kolo banks and use their saved coins to buy clothes for the Festival…and treats! Joba will unveil his newest invention then, so don’t even try to sneak a peek now.

Saldat has been too busy noting how much money she’s put in her Kolo to decorate it with paint and beads like her friends do. Her snobbish cousin visiting from city thinks everything here is terrible – such a bad attitude!

Oh, no! Saldat’s Kolo has been stolen! The three friends must think like detectives from their favorite books to find it – fast!

Was it the carpenter working at Saldat’s house?
Could it be snooty cousin Risi?
Can they find the Kolo before Breaking Day?

Run the wooden walkways of Makoko village with Korobá and her friends as they try to solve the mystery, first in a new graphic novel series!

What’s your favorite festival tradition?
**kmm

Book info: Korobá: the Case of the Missing Kolo / Àlàbá Ònájìn. Holiday House, 2026. [author/illustrator site https://www.alabaonajin.com/about] [publisher site https://holidayhouse.com/book/the-case-of-the-missing-kolo/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

H is THE HOUSE OF FOUND OBJECTS mystery and Matisse in Paris! by Jo Beckett King (MG fiction) #A2Z

Apr9
In front of a Parisian antique shop, a chic French teen girl with black short hair and a red-haired American girl wearing flowered pants and sneakers look at a map on the book cover of middle-grade mystery The House of Found Objects, by Jo Beckett-King.

The beauties of Paris!
A long, long family feud!
Oh, no! Thief on the loose!

Dad and his brother never stopped arguing, so this is the first time that 12-year-old Bea has ever visited her aunt and grandmother in France – a few weeks for the New Jersey tween in the City of Light away from her parents.

The family antique store has been downsized greatly now, packed with merchandise and memories; Mamie is especially proud of a sketch by famous artist Matisse – that suddenly goes missing!

When envelope addressed to “la jeune fille” arrives on her doorstep, Bea enlists the reluctant help of her chic 13-year-old cousin Celine to puzzle it out and get to the location of the next clue.

Five clues to solve in four days to get the Matisse sketch back and save Mamie’s store from being sold!

The girls race to puzzle out scrambled words, codes, and tricky riddles, Bea using her math logic skills and Celine with her cultural savvy, as they crisscross Paris to reach the next clue.

Who made all the clues for this treasure hunt?
Why would they steal from an old lady?
How can Bea ever tell her proud parents that she didn’t make the Mathlete Team at home?

Riddles and puzzles galore in this first book of the Bea Bellerose Mystery series. Look for The Lost Jewels of Room 713 in July 2026!

What’s your favorite kind of secret code?
**kmm

Book info: The House of Found Objects (Bea Bellerose Mystery #1) / Jo Beckett-King. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site https://www.jobeckettking.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-House-of-Found-Objects/Jo-Beckett-King/A-Bea-Bellerose-Mystery/9781665967174] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

G is GALAXY MAPPER: the Luminous Discoveries of Astrophysicist Helene Curtois, by Allie Summers & Sian James (Picture Book) #A2Z

Apr8
Near mountains and forest, a girl looks up into the night sky, seeing stars and galaxies and mathematical diagrams overlaid upon the aurora borealis, on book cover of Galaxy Mapper: the Luminous Discoveries of Astrophysicist Helene Curtois, by Allie Summers.

“Helene observed.
Helene questioned.
Helene had ideas.”

Growing up in the French Alps, Helene Curtois loved to look at the night sky through her binoculars – and wondered what was beyond the moon.

At university, she studied astrophysics, the science of how natural objects in space (like the moon) begin, grow, and interact. When she was ignored because she was a woman, Helene remembered the brilliant women scientists who’d made discoveries before her and decided to go even further.

She fell in love with galaxies seen through the university’s professional telescope and decided to map these swirling islands of stars and dust in the night sky, to become a cosmographer.

Traveling to the best telescopes around the world, Helene and her scientific team observed and mapped thousands of galaxies and discovered they were all moving toward one place, a supercluster of galaxies!

What is beyond the moon? Now we -and Helene- know.

Includes a timeline of Helene’s life (ongoing!), glossary of galactic terms, notes on other fiercely intelligent women in astronomy, selected bibliography, and “where is a good location to build a professional telescope.”

Want a quick intro to a subject that’s completely new to you? Grab a non-fiction picturebook!
**kmm

Book info: Galaxy Mapper: the Luminous Discoveries of Astrophysicist Helene Curtois / Allie Summers; illustrated by Sian James. MIT Kids Press, 2025. [illustrator site https://www.sianjames.com/ ] [publisher site https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/787573/galaxy-mapper-the-luminous-discoveries-of-astrophysicist-helene-courtois-by-allie-summers-illustrated-by-sian-james/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F is for FREE PIANO (NOT HAUNTED), by Whitney Gardner (YA Graphic Novel) #A2Z

Apr7
Book cover shows a teen girl carrying a ukulele case walking from a stormy dark seashore toward a glowing red synthesizer keyboard which has handwritten sign attached "Free Piano (not haunted)" = title of graphic novel by Whitney Gardner

Summertime!
Songwriting time!
Nope, just not clicking…

Throwing weird stuff off a high platform has earned her pals “SonsOfSmash” a good following online, but lonely teen Margot’s original tunes on ukulele? Hardly any.

So she claims the old electronic keyboard left on the curb with sign “Free piano (not haunted)” – to learn to play, not to smash.

But her musician dad leaves for LA instead of teaching her, the guys are busy filming more smashes, and mom is working even more hours in their small coastal town…sigh.

What weird sounds this synthesizer makes! And it totally IS haunted, by 1980s bubble-gum pop star Vision!

Vision says making music is important because of how it makes you feel; Margot claims that only the number of fans and followers counts – who’s right?

Whoa! If Vision isn’t sitting at the unplugged keyboard, who’s playing it now!?

Flashbacks to Vision’s meteoric rise to stardom help her talk to aspiring songwriter Margot about staying true to your own soul’s melodies in this graphic novel, available in hardcover or paperback from your local library https://search.worldcat.org/libraries or independent bookstore https://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder.

Would a resident ghost help or hinder your creativity?
**kmm

Book info: Free Piano (Not Haunted) / Whitney Gardner. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author/illustrator site https://www.heywhitney.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Free-Piano-(Not-Haunted)/Whitney-Gardner/9781665938129] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

C is COSTUMES FOR TIME TRAVELERS – to save them from being erased? by A. R. Capetta (YA fiction) #A2Z

Apr3
book cover of Costumes For Time Travelers, by A. R. Capetta, published by Candlewick Press, shows two people in vibrant medieval costumes nearly kissing in front of a bright window, their faces blurred by swooping veils of curtains.

Just hike from one time to another,
with your time boots…

Time travelers eagerly seek out the costume shop in Pocket to get the right clothing for their next locale and era, where Calisto will stay put, thank you very much.

When Grandmother departs for her childhood hometown, she leaves Calisto in charge of the shop, telling them not to take on any new travelers.

But surely not Fawkes, who appears from the moons festival sky, who himself has met Calisto countless times, although they’re meeting him for the first time…

Off he goes to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, clad in proper attire, thanks to Calisto, leaving an extra pair of time boots for them (as if they would ever want to hike through time…ha!).

Oh no! Time Wardens crash in, intent on stopping time travel and erasing Fawkes, who can hop from era to era without walking through the timelands!

Next, Korsika arrives in Pocket to meet up with Fawkes, learns where/when he is, then steals the time boots’ secret formula!

Reluctantly donning time boots to chase after the thief, Calisto races to find Fawkes at the Globe, and the pair barely escapes the Time Wardens.

Away to Fawkes’ old friend in ancient Crete, who tells them where Korsika may be headed, then off to intercept him at the dawn of a new millennium before he breaks the timelands!

Paperback releases in late May 2026 with a new cover, but I prefer this original cover art.

Which era of time would you hike to with your time boots?
**kmm

Book info: Costumes For Time Travelers / A.R. Capetta. Candlewick Press, 2025. [author site https://onceandfuturestories.com/#441af115-aefa-4541-8b8b-f847c3851ea7] [publisher site https://www.candlewick.com/9781536233711/costumes-for-time-travelers/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

B is A BITE OF PEPPER, young vampire finding herself, by Balazs Lorinczi (YA Graphic Novel) #A2Z

Apr2
On roof's edge near a streetlamp, a seated dark-haired girl wearing a bat-winged backpack looks back at a standing blonde girl who watches a leashed vampire puppy chase butterflies in the sky, on book cover of graphic novel A Bite of Pepper, by Balazs Lorinczi.

Skateboarding,
loving on her pup,
does she have to lock in her future already?

As a born-vampire, teen Pepper isn’t immortal – yet. Once she takes a bride (any gender) and they turn together, their age and appearance will be set… forever.

Despite her mom’s pressure to choose, she’s not ready yet, not grown into her true self. Just-younger half-brother Jeb may defy tradition and turn immortal first – the upcoming human-vampire Gala is when many announce their brides and turn each other.

Meeting college art student Ana is refreshing – she really appreciates Pepper’s skateboarding talent and adores immortal puppy Shroom. Pepper’s mom hires her to work in the family bookshop, so the pair happily get to spend more time together.

Ana’s art class illustration project of Pepper’s amazing skateboard tricks is turned into an edgy skateboard brand by Jeb, who looks to the rich vampires’ Human Relations Council for start-up funding.

Will the Council help if neither Jeb nor Pepper are full vampires yet?
Does Ana really like Pepper for herself or just as a skateboard model?
Do they all have to become real adults right now!?

In a human and vampire world where B+ juice keeps vampires healthy without human blood, Pepper has to decide how much of her self she’ll let others control.

Lorinczi portrays his characters in pink, black, and lavender rather than the usual black and red.

Other “non-traditional” vampire books you’d recommend?
**kmm

Book info: A Bite of Pepper / Balazs Lorinczi. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2025. [author/illustrator site https://balazslorinczi.carrd.co/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Bite-of-Pepper/Balazs-Lorinczi/9781665970464] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

A is for AROUND THE WORLD ON 80 HORSES, by Jill Newton (nonfiction) #A2Z

Apr1
Book cover of Around the World on 80 Horses, by Jill Newton. Shows an English jumping horse with rider, black stallion, pair of Clydesdale draft horses in harness, barrel-racing horse with rider, pack horse , and prancing palomino horse, surrounding title with globe in background.

Clydesdale and Kabardian,
Shetland and Ferghana,
Appaloosa and Lipizzaner and Paso Fino – so many amazing horses!

Gallop across the globe as horses are introduced by the geographic region where they developed the particular characteristics that make each horse breed unique.

Trot into the world of horses and humans at work and in sport together through history, meeting famous real-life horses and those of legend.

Learn more about horses from nose to tail, how they evolved different sizes, colors, and temperaments, and meet their interesting relatives.

The most ardent horse fancier will find much new information in this book, where the author/illustrator challenges readers to find all 80 living breeds of horses in its pages, including those that roam free to this day.

Download the free activity pack and printable Horse Bingo game at https://childsplaybooks.myshopify.com/products/9781786288080 .

What’s your favorite fact about horses?
**kmm

Book info: Around the World on 80 Horses / Jill Newton. Child’s Play, Inc., 2024. [publisher site https://childsplaybooks.myshopify.com/products/9781786288080] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Publisher Spotlight.

Already time for April AtoZ Challenge? Zounds! (reflective)

Mar31
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

I’ve read lots and lots in the past several months, but summoning the energy and attention to write recommendations about the best has been difficult.

But here comes April, and another A2Z Challenge beckons http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/.

I’ve successfully completed this challenge every year since 2011, so why stop now?

So every April day except Sundays, I’ll recommend a book from under-represented authors and smaller presses for teens, tweens, and kids – with no ads, no AI, and no spoilers.

In the face of terrible news and technological garbage-flood, I’ll bring you 26 books from A to Z – charming and challenging, entertaining and informational – and hopefully get back to posting more regularly.

The hardest part of April A2Z? Finding the books for Q and Z.
The next hardest part? Starting to write again, so here we go!

**kmm