"Niños: Poems for the Lost Children of Chile" is a reverent elegy to the thirty-four children under the age of fourteen who were executed, arrested, or disappeared during Augusto Pinochet's seventeen-year rule in Chile. After a brief introduction that explains the purpose and structure of the collection and provides useful historicizing content, the poems quickly take center stage to speak for themselves. Each titled and dedicated to a specific child, all of whom are named together in a small appendix. Although this project could easily have occupied the space of mournful tragedy, the poems themselves are surprisingly light. María José Ferrada's short pieces reflect on nature, light, and isolation in a way that simultaneously highlights the unique perspectives of each child and subtly emphasizes the connecting similarities between them. Stunning pastel illustrations from María Elena Valdez contribute as much to the tone and pacing as the texts themselves, helping to strengthen the visual relationships from poem to poem and, thus, from child to child. A quick read with a powerful message, this collection is one I will read again and again.

Meet Isa, an adventurous and creative girl whose experience provides the context for this engaging book for beginning readers. The eighteen double-page spreads can be considered as nine couplets. On the first page, readers see that "Isa likes" the item mentioned; turning the page, they see that the item also likes Isa. It is a reassuring pattern and one that readily supports skills-development for even the youngest readers. Gruenberg is both author and illustrator of this text, and her illustrations provide context clues and a happy, upbeat tone. Not only is Isa shown to be happy and engaged in each scenario, so too are the pigs, pirates, dragons, mice, and so on with whom she interacts. When we see them together, each seems to be smiling or otherwise showing their love. For example, in Isa's company, the cars have hearts on their windshields and decorations of her name and a horse tire cover. Isa's face is shown in only a few of the illustrations, an artistic choice that invites readers to imagine themselves in each scene, as well as to focus on the relationship Isa has with each of her story-partners. The art and story celebrate the creative space of children, with animal elements (pigs, horses, mice), realistic subjects (cars, books), and magical characters (dragons, pirates, angels). The inclusion of reindeer may be an unexpected surprise to American readers but hints at Gruenberg's personal life in both Michigan and Sweden. The tightly controlled vocabulary ensures that children will quickly master this book, while the lovely and evocative illustrations invite them to return to it again and again. Other books in the series include Isa's Very Second Book, Isa's Snowboard Book, and Isa's Soccer Book. Together with those books, or alone, this can serve as a delightful prompt for an early education literacy unit. After sharing the book as a class, children could be encouraged to consider, discuss, and illustrate some of their own experiences, real or imagined. Recommended for home or pre-k/early education classrooms.

Haylah Swinton is more than the self-labeled "Pig" at school balancing two best friends, classes, and helping to care for her wild four-year-old brother while her single mom holds their home together. Haylah dreams of performing stand-up comedy. While she's waiting for her chance, she stumbles onto an opportunity to help the charming and gorgeous Leo write his upcoming set. But when helping Leo begins to drive a wedge between Haylah and her friends and threaten her own dreams of performing, she'll have to make some big decisions about what she really wants and how far she's willing to go to get it. Frank and hilarious, Haylah is impossible not to love. The relationships portrayed in the story are complex and layered, and Haylah's wrestling with her choices feels authentic and real. This is, at its core, a tale of finding confidence, learning to love oneself, and learning to differentiate between true and toxic relationships. It's a perfect book for any reader looking for a story of laughter and triumph.

After watching the police chase migrant children for trying to cool off in Maui's irrigation canals, a local science teacher named Soichi Sakamoto convinced the sugar plantation owners he would take responsibility if they would let the children continue to swim. Although not an accomplished swimmer himself, he researched techniques and had them develop strength and endurance by swimming against the current. When the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company built a community swimming pool, Sakamoto continued his coaching and challenged the swimmers to set a goal to compete in the 1940 Olympics, creating the Three-Year Swim Club. Although World War II canceled the 1940 Olympics, several of Sakamoto's swimmers went on to compete in subsequent games, including Bill Smith, who won gold in the 400-meter freestyle. Abery's crisp rhyming text gives the essence of the Sakamoto's dream, and a detailed author's note at the end offers a more detailed version for parents or curious older readers. Sasaki's bold strokes and impressionistic style showcase the vibrant colors of Hawaii's landscape and emphasize Sakamoto's dedication and commitment to a dream of success for hundreds of Hawaiian children. Pair this with other stories of Olympic perseverance, like Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull or Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds by Paula Yoo.

The title alone is intriguing from the get-go but becomes more so as the book goes on. At first glance, the reader could assume that the title means that the local community is bulging with beautiful things to view or that the phrase is said with a shrug as if to so say, "There must be some beauty here, but what?" The reader will have to decide which is the truth. Perhaps both. The book is well written and compelling and heart-wrenching and bitter-sweet in the end. Seventeen-year-old Jack comes from a sad home; the only ray of hope being his younger brother. Their father is in jail for theft, and their mother is a dying meth addict. Jack comes home one day to find his mother has hanged herself, and it's his job to bury her in the back yard by hand digging a grave in the frozen earth behind his garage in the middle of an Idaho winter. If the Child Services people find out that he and his brother are alone, the younger boy will be put into a foster home. Jack decides that he needs to recover the money his father stole, so his family isn't completely torn asunder. The problem is finding it. In the meantime, the father of a new classmate of Jack's is a cold-blooded murderer also looking for the money. The two teens end up working together to try to find the money. The story is told from Jack and the new classmate's points of view. Teachers will have a good time talking to students about life in general and also how to write a good book.

One day, a town loses its library. A tornado simply carries it away, leaving an empty lot. The townspeople, who had become disinterested in the building anyway, are not sure what to do with the space. But one person is, and that's Nia. She is determined that the library should be rebuilt. It is hard to build a library, though, without everyone's buy-in. Fortunately, Nia has an idea. She has a plan that just might remind people of why the library should be a priority. With each page turn, she seems to win a new ally, from the grocer to the mother, the child to the detective, the sea captain, and many more. With a bit of ingenuity and some hard work, Nia soon has everyone involved in making a new library. Lendler's story is as much a celebration of community and can-do attitude as it is a tribute to libraries. As Nia knows, libraries are not just about the books or even the building, but about the people and the togetherness. Pett's illustrations are a wonderful complement to Lendler's tale, showing a diverse and lively community. Readers would be remiss to skip the Author's Note, which is a lovely and personal tale about the author's familial inspiration for this story. Highly recommended for public libraries (of course!), but also school collections. This title could also be used in a classroom discussion of activism and community change; Nia is a small character but an inspirational one that will have readers cheering!

Seldom tackled head-on in children's books, sadness is the difficult topic here. One morning, while she is eating breakfast, a young girl discovers a kitten. She cares for the kitty lovingly and bonds with it while playing, walking, and sleeping together. Eventually, though, the kitty runs away, perhaps to return to its original home. The departure leaves the girl with a profound sense of loss and sadness. Her father acknowledges and validates the loss, and the girl responds in a positive manner that she can remember the kitty and the fun times they shared. The simple illustrations tell the story with gentle lines and colors. At the back of the book are tips and suggestions from a clinical psychologist/psychotherapist on how to handle the emotion of sadness with children. Encouraging parents and caregivers to validate and acknowledge a child's emotion of sadness is the key to helping children with emotional issues. This title could be an asset for elementary guidance counselor collections, as well as public libraries.