African Icons is an inspiring narrative detailing the lives of 10 African historical leaders, most of whom have been lost to history: King Menes, Queen Merneith, high priest Imhotep, fable writer Aesop, military strategist Hannibal Barca, playwright Terence, Queen Amanirenas, matrilineal queen Tin Hinan, wealthy Mansa Musa, and Queen Idia. This new edition of the 2021 title features Tracey Baptiste's extensive research and focuses on Africa's history before colonial enslavement, shining light on a great number of subjects such as the way in which ancient Africans respected the land and learned from it and the importance of materials, like copper which was "hammered flat, stretched into thread, and twisted into jewelry."

Baptiste (The Jumbies series) displays how ancient Africans' way of life was contrary to the singular narrative that arises out of slavery and claims that Africans were barbaric. The continent boasted storytellers like Aesop, fierce warriors like Queen Amanirenas, and economic geniuses like Tin Hinan, who founded a city in the Sahara. Artist Hillary D. Wilson's expansive, earth-toned illustrations are realistic and an excellent complement to Baptiste's research and storytelling. Together, Baptiste and Wilson create a perspective on complex history that is accessible and engaging for young readers. --Kharissa Kenner, library media specialist, Churchill School and Center

Art therapist Caren Sacks offers kids an exciting way to keep a diary in Draw and Discover: An Art-Making Journal for Kids. Using 60 prompts, children are invited to draw, scribble, and create as a way to express themselves. Each prompt is accompanied by a blank two-page spread, leaving plenty of room for imagination and exploration of feelings, experiences, and dreams.

Sacks begins with a brief introduction for parents about the usefulness of art journaling and suggestions on talking to kids about their art. A subsequent introduction for kids explains how to use the book and assures them, "There is no right or wrong way to make art," even if what they're inspired to create is different from the page's prompt. Draw and Discover holds up well to a variety of materials including brush pen, crayons, ink pens, and colored pencils, allowing young creators plenty of options to explore their art. With prompts that range in complexity and topic, Draw and Discover is a wonderful creative outlet for children of all ages. --Kyla Paterno, freelance reviewer

The funny, cozy adventures of everyone's favorite feline news crew continue in Good as Goldie, the eighth volume in the Breaking Cat Newsgraphic novel series by Georgia Dunn.

An enormous storm front has rolled in, and feline co-newscasters Elvis, Lupin, and Puck stand ready to provide coverage, with support from their friends all over town. Lupin spots an unknown orange cat who then makes off with his treasured tape recorder. This intrepid stray goes by the name of Goldie and is a detective determined to solve the case of her missing humans--but her only lead is literally garbage. Luckily the Woman is waiting in the wings with a plan for this new friend.

This collection of comic strips includes a show-stealing parody of Hamilton performed by a mostly feline cast, an episode of in-world soap opera "Our IX Lives," and the cat's human baby sister's first steps. Dunn's adorable watercolor characters have a simple, winsome appeal. The Breaking Cat News team's warmth and gentle humor make their charm effective in the cat-lovers' sphere and beyond. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Allen County Public Library

Any tween, teen, or adult who is interested in writing or illustrating their own manga could not possibly be disappointed by the breadth of knowledge and number of subjects they will find covered in the extravagantly thorough How to Be a Manga Artist.

Italian publisher and author Balthazar Pagani and Japanese graphic novelist Fumio Obata team up with Japanese translator and manga expert Asuka Ozumi to provide a manga primer that is itself a graphic novel. The nonfiction work is broken into six chapters that discuss the history of manga, life as a mangaka, what to do before you begin writing, how to get started in the field, manga icons, and must-read series. Italian comic artist Silvia Vanni exuberantly illustrates the title and expertly depicts the artistic styles of manga, visual effects, and fundamentals of storytelling discussed in the text. Backmatter includes recommended reading, a glossary, and an index to help creatives get a better grasp on the topics included. How to Be a Manga Artist is a perfect read for the manga-obsessed. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness

Dog enthusiasts will find a ton of fascinating scientific and evolutionary information about their furry (occasionally stinky) friends in the entertaining and aptly named Making Sense of Dog Senses. The book, written by Stephanie Gibeault (Toby Tootles), a Canadian professional dog trainer, is composed of five chapters for five senses--vision, smell, taste, touch, and hearing--plus one on the possibility of a sixth sense. Gibeault, who holds degrees in animal behavior and ecology and evolution, provides answers to many burning questions. How does Airedale terrier Lily seem to know her human is coming home minutes before the car pulls into the driveway? What body parts help Rufus, a blind pup, get around? And why on earth would Pepper eat a dirty diaper? Pages are saturated with color and text, including sidebars with experiments (test your sense of smell against a dog's!), playful illustrations by Raz Latif (Odd Couples), and lively, pun-filled ("pee-mail") yet scientific explanations of dog behavior. Who knew a book about rods and cones, cochlea, and secret nose compartments could be so accessible and fun? Dog lovers of all ages, prepare to nerd out! --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor

Actress and Saturday Night Live alumnus Kate McKinnon encourages "the next generation of weirdos" to shine in her joyfully bizarre middle-grade novel, The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science ("by G. Edwina Candlestank as told to Kate McKinnon").

Orphaned sisters Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch are misfits in the "pristine town of Antiquarium," more interested in "various scientific pursuits" than manners. The girls have been expelled from every local etiquette school, and their adoptive family is threatening to send them to boarding school. Then the Porch sisters receive an invitation to a mysterious new institution: the Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. Millicent, an "infamous mad scientist," introduces the girls to a world of unnatural creatures and strange inventions--and reveals she has brought them together to defeat a "sinister cohort of evil mad scientists" threatening Antiquarium.

McKinnon's debut combines madcap adventures with imaginative worldbuilding and charming characters, all enhanced by illustrator and comic book artist Alfredo Caceres's endearingly creepy illustrations. Fans of Lemony Snicket and Pseudonymous Bosch should enjoy McKinnon's wordplay and humorous footnotes, and a cliffhanger ending will likely leave readers eager for more hijinks. --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer

Cherokee Nation member Traci Sorell and Chickasaw Nation member Madelyn Goodnight's On Powwow Day is an intriguing board book that invites exploration and is adapted from Sorell and Goodnight's picture book, Powwow Day.

Everyone is welcome at powwows and this small book, filled with people wearing traditional dance regalia, has much to offer children from any background. Energetic digital images from the original are woven into this new creation: a counting book with numbers one to 10 that features colors and sounds and encourages young children to fully participate in the excitement of the festive occasion. Each double-page spread highlights a number, a color, and a sound, related to the visual imagery, allowing young viewers to fully engage with the text. For example, a deep purple page reads: "5/ Five dancers/ listen to the drum./ BAH-dum!/ BAH-dum!/ Where are all the gray feathers?" In the picture opposite, five dancing figures each hold traditional objects with gray feathers. Viewers and budding readers will find a rousing and exhilarating experience on every page. --Melinda Greenblatt, freelance book reviewer

Mission control located a stellar board book for earthlings curious about the cosmos. Our Galaxy is a nonfiction introduction to space exploration that offers young readers dual points of access: gently rhyming text on the left-hand page is accompanied by a paragraph with more complex details to the right. The paragraphs often include prompting questions for further discussion. For example, alongside the left-hand "A final countdown/ To the flight.../ The rocket blasts off,/ Out of sight!" readers learn about the International Space Station and are asked, "Would you like to watch a rocket launch? Or would you rather be on board?" Cozy references to the galaxy as "our neighborhood" keep the scope of the material from overwhelming while Lisk Feng's dappled, detailed artwork capitalizes on the book's die-cut design. This is the fourth entry in Sue Lowell Gallion and Feng's Our World series, and an ingenious construction adds a novelty element to their work: sturdy pages open flat for reading but hidden magnets attach its covers to create a freestanding globe. It's an informative piece of art that'll make an out-of-this-world holiday gift. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf

Author Erin Danielle Russell and artist Tamisha Anthony create delicious Seoul Food by celebrating the diverse backgrounds and cultures within a single family. Young Hana--her mother is Black, her father Korean--is "close to both [her] families." Her Grandma and Grandpa Williams hail from South Carolina, while her Halmoni and Harabeoji live in South Korea. Hana precociously realizes that "distance and differences get in the way," but at least tonight they're all gathering for a visit. While Daddy has plenty of suggestions for a big family dinner, Hana yearns to "make something they'll all like." When Mommy suggests she "cook what makes [her] heart happy," Hana comes up with the perfect dish to satisfy all palates. Russell writes from her own heart--and perhaps appetite, as she herself is Black, her husband Korean. Endpapers include a glossary and Hana's toothsome, fusion recipe. Anthony's wonderfully whimsical style brims with enhancing details, particularly throughout Hana's home, filled with endless reminders of extended, bonded family. "Love," as Hana insists, "is the ingredient that brings us all together." --Terry Hong

Ask young readers if they want to learn mindfulness techniques, and they may shrug. Show them The Bedtime Boat by Sital Gorasia Chapman (The Math Adventurers series), with art by Anastasia Suvorova (Shadow), and they will likely sit rapt as the picture book's mindfulness message plays out in soothing rhyme and calming color.

It's bedtime for young Chandan following a stimulating day, but after his mother turns out his light, "Dragons and dinosaurs whizzed around his head,/ Rabbits and robots raced over the bed." Chandan calls to his mom, who places a miniature boat on his stomach and says, "Watch the boat, Chandan,/ it floats on the ocean./ It rises and falls with your/ breath's gentle motion." It takes a few tries, and a few rounds of that slumberous rhyming refrain, but finally, "The waves' gentle whoosh/ in the silvery light/ rocked Chandan to sleep./ 'Sweet dreams./ Good night.' " Suvorova's swirly ocean blues and loose seafoam greens are studded with objects in grounding solid colors--golden stars, a ruby-red sail--leaving the bewitching impression of jewels laid out on velvet. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author

This outstanding 78-card tarot deck from Jason Gruhl (Just a Thought) and Kristina Kister (The Prince of Yorsha Doon) encourages kids to find answers within themselves. Gentled renditions of classic tarot center the everyday experience, like roasting a marshmallow (the Ace of Wands) and dreaming (Death), as well as magical moments of unbridled power and limitless adventurousness. Nature features prominently in sun-dappled, starlit, or fiery scenes of trepidation, uncertainty, anticipation, despondency, hope, change, or ebullience, with fantastical and real-world beings (a brown-skinned mermaid, a unicorn, bees, a hummingbird, an adorable dog).

The gorgeous full-color guidebook demystifies the tarot process with a handy suits chart; fun spread guides; suggested questions to ask; and, for each card, a full-page of heartening interpretations preceded by a pithy summary ("thoughts can be deceiving," "we are all inspiring," "it's ok to say no"). Journeys, friendships, love, and family topics receive guidance, as do complicated times, via nontraditional major arcana ("The Upside Down" instead of "The Hanged Man"; "Forgiveness" instead of "Judgment"). Here, the focus is to "explore anything" in a refreshingly accessible and wholly original deck that will spark healthy contemplation, lively conversation, and beautifully atmospheric readings. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer

The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power is a compelling, welcome addition to the horror genre that centers teen protagonists of color. "Every story in this collection," editor Terry J. Benton-Walker states, "has a greater purpose beyond frightening you."

Benton-Walker and 12 other talented BIPOC authors collaborated on 13 artful short stories that create a common thread. Each is inspired by a fictional filmmaker's disappearance, the 13 unseen horror films he left behind, and the 13 white male movie stars who vanished "in a poof of privilege."

In Kalynn Bayron's grim "Hedge," a group of boys ventures into a dangerous garden maze while a vicious killer is on the hunt; Chloe Gong paints a stark tale of a girl who reluctantly joins her peers to decorate the gym for the school dance in "Docile Girls"; and a trans, nonbinary student studies an ancient Iranian skeleton in Naseem Jamnia's haunting "Break Through Our Skin." The characters harness their agency in often unpredictable ways that will likely leave readers shocked, despite the cheeky spoiler in the book's title.

This YA collection transcends typical horror expectations and is unapologetically terrifying in both direct and insidious ways. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher, co-creator of Gender Inclusive Classrooms

In the high-stakes, absorbing middle-grade series opener Westfallen, siblings Ann Brashares (The Here and Now; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Ben Brashares (The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection) pose the question, What if the Axis powers had won World War II? Their disturbing answer: Nazi America, where genetic testing determines people's residence, education, and work. But how did this happen? Timelines and points of view in this transfixing novel shift between two 12-year-olds, Henry (in 2023) and Alice (in 1944), who with their friends discover a "radio with a strange and incredible power": they can use it to talk to each other through time. At first, the 1944 kids ask about flying cars and jetpacks, but when they find out their beloved candy store will burn down, everyone agrees there's no harm in preventing the fire... right? One change leads to another, however, and in their attempts to manage fate, they cause a massive shift in history. The new friends then must use "old-fashioned gumshoeing" and ideas straight from the movies to try to realign the universe in a race against time.

This alternate history thriller is nerve-racking and thought-provoking. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader

Kathleen Madden marvelously introduces budding readers to the phenomenon of biomimicry, "the design and creation of materials, buildings, and processes that are modeled on nature." She offers 18 intriguing examples of innovation inspired by the natural world, like coral reefs helping engineers make a new kind of cement, termites influencing architects in building design, or polar bear fur triggering researchers to produce a new material for space travel. Each example includes facts about the natural element and a quick connection to the scientific result or study. Curious readers may be left with additional questions and, hopefully, a motivation to pursue more in-depth information. Stunning photographs sourced from a number of different photographers accompany each example. Striking colors and meticulous detail radiate from every image: the intricacies of moth wings; the soft textures in a lotus flower; and the multitude of extremities on a lobster. Readers are likely to take their time with each page, as there is so much to admire in every image. The Wonders of Biomimicry illustrates an underappreciated value of nature and teaches young audiences to acknowledge the importance of the world around them. --Jen Forbus, freelancer

Kobi Yamada (Finding Muchness) and Gabriella Barouch join forces again (Maybe) for a gorgeous picture book that offers several imaginative, inspirational ways for readers to live their own unique, "rare and wonderful" lives. A child with light brown skin wearing a hooded, animal-eared vest scrutinizes a puddle of water, their white fox-like pup by their side. The child is shown investigating their "vast treasure of talents" and making "the most of every moment," including riding in a magical balloon guided by flying stingrays, petting an enormous turtle with a crown, and examining ice crystals while cuddling with a menagerie of wild animals. Even though "the way might be difficult," courage, small steps, and the faith to keep going turn "shrinking possibilities" into "second chances."

Yamada's uplifting text nudges readers to find the extraordinary every day and embrace it--"especially the messy parts." Barouch's splendid illustrations feature the realistically rendered child wearing an orange and yellow vest that stands out against the generous white space and pastel colors that permeate the fanciful backgrounds. Why Not? is a perfect gift to entice young readers to explore themselves and ask "Why not see how good your best can be?" --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author