Wildfire Rescue (Disaster Squad #1) by Rekha S. Rajan

Illustrated by Courtney Lovett 3 stars A fun read overall. Honestly, the setup was a little weird to me. A journalist and a doctor drive around the country in their RV with their two young children and their dog helping out with various natural disasters. It seemed odd that Jaden and Leela would go along…

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My Little Pony: Classics Reimagined―The Unicorn of Odd

by Jeremy Whitley Illustrated by Jenna Ayoub 4 stars A hilarious retelling of the Wizard of Oz featuring the Mane 6 and other Equestria favorites complete with fourth wall breaks, colorful artwork, and references to both the original movie and the novel. Follow the My Little Pony cast as they reenact the Wizard of Oz…

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Where the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek

3 stars A Gothic fantasy with cozy Polish charm. This is an interesting read in its duality with the blending of Slavic folklore and Polish culture. On one side is baking, found family, and homemaking, and the other is magic, bargains, spirits, and demons. I didn’t particularly care for either of the main characters or…

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Voyage de Gourmet by Paul Tobin

Illustrated by Jem Milton 2 stars Layne Green wants nothing more than to secure a spot on the extreme cooking competition, Voyage de Gourmet. But when he’s finally invited on the show… his former best friend will be his partner, leaving him a little confused. Can they get past their falling out to make it…

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Why Are You Like This?: An ArtbyMoga Comic Collection by Meg Adams

5 stars Follow Meg and Carson through a year of humor, hijinks, pet ownership, and the occasional seriousness. A relatable collection of comics that covers seasons, holidays, family, mental health, relationships, body positivity, and everyday silliness. Wonderful artwork that is equally adorable and hilarious. The facial expressions get me every time. Throughout the humor and…

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See You on the Other Side by Rachel Montez Minor

Illustrated by Mariyah Rahman 3 stars A sweet, lyrical book about remembering those you’ve lost and their continuing love. Nice rhymes. The text works well for talking about belief in an afterlife and different ways to connect to loved ones after they’re gone such as writing letters to them or singing their favorite songs. The…

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Hide and Don’t Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories by Anica Mrose Rissi

Illustrated by Carolina Godina 4 stars Delightfully creepy and well written. Nice variety of story structures including poetry, short stories, an epistolary, a play, chat fiction told through text messages, metafiction, and even stream of consciousness from a family dog. In terms of kid’s horror, I think this one hits the mark well for middle…

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Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu by Ying Chang Compestine

Illustrated by Crystal Kung 5 stars A unique and entertaining retelling of Rapunzel. Ra Pu Zel is a princess who loves food, but isn’t so interested in meeting princes and acting like her parents think she should. So one day, she locks herself in a tower with her dog to enjoy cooking and trying different…

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