Reviews written by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer

Opening this book awakens a sacred scarab and unleashes him on a museum of ancient Egypt. Never fear, for a mummified cat has also come to life, and promises to help the reader catch the scarab, encountering a lot of information about this fascinating ancient culture in the meantime. This...

Fifteen years old Reed is in high school, and is a good student, but is involved in no sports or clubs because he spends all of his spare time hanging out with his sister Beatrice. She's been in and out of hospitals for all of her ten years because of...

This large format picture book has two page spreads with nice, large pictures of the players and their names in large letters across the top, with difference styles of poems for each player. There are thirteen different players mentioned, including Kiz Cambage, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and...

Broken down into in different types of in person communication and also long distance communication, this book explore different facets of how, why, and in what manner humans communicate. There are lots of good details about a variety of topics; how humans learn to speak, how speech actually works, how...

Mandy Sullivan enjoys her life in Rocky Point, Maine, where she lives with her mother, who works in the library in the town, and her older brother Justin. Her father passed away when she was young. She has a best friend, Cynthia, who is going to spend the summer at...

This classic Brothers Grimm tale gets an abbreviated retelling in this shaped board book. The brother and sister get lost in the woods while their father is chopping wood, and are lured with candy by the witch who wants to eat them. Once Hansel figures this out, he manages to...

Luke, who lives in a town in Ireland, is dealing with the disintegrating finances of his family, which leads to problems for him, like having no internet for schoolwork, forcing him to hunker down in the family bathroom and use his neighbor's connection. When his friend Finn shows up at...

There are all sorts of situations where people wear protective gear, and this book lays out a variety of them with panache. Helmets protect people's heads, headphones protect ears, and goggles protect the eyes. There are also gloves and masks to protect people, as well as brightly colored vests to...

Black Bear would like to have a friend, so he goes out into the forest to try to find one. He meets Brown Bear, who is, coincidentally, trying to find a friend as well! The two decide to work together to find a friend, and search all over, to no...

Charlie's Papa Joe has an hourglass, and he tells her he likes to remember that days are made up of small precious moments, just like the grains of sand. When Charlie is hungry, she asks if they can go to a restaurant, but instead, Papa Joe takes his time making...

Jenny Chow has always struggled with using chopsticks, even though her family has a tradition of having a contest to see who can use them best in challenges picking up different foods and items. With her cousin Victor's birthday approaching, and another contest on the horizon, she throws herself into...

A young girl looks at the city gardens around her and uses the plants to remind herself of important things in her life. The sunny day Lillie's remind her to feel joy, and the willow tree branches are like her hair, so remind her to love herself. Yellow lion's-ears encourage...

It's summer, so Frank and Joe are hanging out in Bayport, with their friend Chet. They Chet's sister Iola walking dogs, Lucy selling tapioca lemonade, and local bullies Adam, Seth, and Tony terrorizing the area with their skateboarding. The Hardys are excited about the new splash pad, and arrive early...

Ava is a very 2020's kind of gal; she's impetuous, fearless, and often acts without thinking. Her family reacts productively to her most of the time, and keeps her worst impulses in check. It's interesting to compare characters from the history of early chapter books; Haywood's 1930s era Betsy would...

Mindy'a father gets a call from Korea that his own father has passed away. After a hasty consultation with his wife, Julie, they tell Mindy that the family will be traveling back to attend the grandfather's funeral and celebrate Chuseok with the extended family. Mindy has good memories of her...