(Cascade Head, Oregon Coast, 2007; photo by Steve Rawley, use with permission only, please)

Holla. What are you up to, friends? Leave a note if you feel so inclined, or send an email. Here are a few new titles that came my way. I just started reading them, in my own inimitable style: all at once. Highly recommend them, even though I’m technically in the middle of them all. OK! 

• “Build a Girlfriend,” by Elba Luz (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025, ages teens and up, 362 pages, $19.99) is first on the stack. Luz is a gem — this is the first YA romantic comedy for the author — and she tackles all the challenges: bisexuality, cultural issues, mental health stuff. Our hero, Amelia Hernandez, is single. Again. And revenge-dating her ex. She feels that she is cursed for love (blame her family), but jumps back in the fray, anyway.
• “First Love Language,” by Stefany Valentine (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House, 2025, ages teen and up; 300 pages). This book also tackles some of the challenges that can come along with being a teenage female. Catie Carlson, who is Taiwanese-American, loves her adopted family (they’re white), but also hopes to make connections with her bio family.
• “Everwhen the Doomsday Vault” (great title!) is the first book in a new series by Thomas Wheeler (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; scheduled for release Jan. 28, 2025; grades 3-7; 293 pages; $18.99). You know how it goes when you accidentally kind of create a black hole in your room? And next thing you know you’re traveling from 1878 to 2022? It’s weird. But that’s time travel. This is a fun one, inspired (just a little) by Douglas Adams’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. We are introduced to the Everwhen School, where we will meet  Millie da Vinci, and Dean Marconi, who may have some famous family members. Wheeler is also a screenwriter (“Puss in Boots,” “The Lego Ninjago Movie”) and it looks like “Everwhen” is headed to the big screen, too.
• “City Spies: London Calling,” the latest in the series by James Ponti, is another good read (Aladdin Books/Simon & Schuster; on sale Feb. 4, 2025, grades 3-7, 394 pages, $18.99). The spies are on the go again, from Istanbul, to Rome to the U.K. I love this series because… good writing, characters and plots, but also just because it’s fun to learn about geography while you’re in the middle of a good story. (In addition to City Spies, Ponti is the writer of the Sherlock Society, Framed! and the Dead City series.

My pick of the week is “First Love Language.” It’s a sweet and salty read, a little quirky, and handles a difficult topic in a thoughtful manner. Looking forward to reading more from Valentine, and the other writers featured this week. Disclaimer: The titles included in today’s post were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. See you next time!

WM

(“Windsor Castle Moat Garden,” photo by Steve Rawley, use with permission only, please)

That’s an old pic that Steve took for me when he and our daughter were in England. It popped up and I now gift it to you. I’m mad for orange roses, by the way, ever since I was a kid. My favorite variety is Tropicana, of course, but I am also fond of Sterling Silver. Which is not orange, but is still a pretty, pretty rose. It’s gonna be a long winter, y’all. I’ll prune my wild roses and Napoleon roses next month. Oh, hi! Are you looking for book reviews? Here’s what’s on the nightstand this week… Picture books! Super nice ones. Flowers and hearts for Valentine’s Day.

• “Lily’s Dream: A Fairy Friendship (Fairies Welcome),” by Bea (Brittany) Jackson, is my pick of the week. (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2025, ages 4-8, $18.99.) The glittery cover and dreamy art will capture the attention of the kids. It’s awfully pretty, and will hopefully inspire them to create some art of their own. The author lives in Detroit, Michigan, and this is the first book in a series she has planned. “Lily was a dreamer. She dreamed of soaring with the birds and the butterflies high above the treetops. More than anything, she wanted to fly.”
• “Bitsy Bat, Team Star” is another new picture book about hope and flying. The Bitsy Bat series is written and illustrated by Kaz Windness. (A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster, on sale 2/4/2025, ages 4-8, $19.99.) Enzo Owl is a new student at school, and is non-speaking. Some of the students don’t know what to make of this. Winnie to the rescue. “‘Why doesn’t Enzo speak?’ asked Winnie. ‘Enzo uses a tablet and sign language to communicate,’ said Mr. Nibbles. ‘That’s a cool way to talk, Enzo,’ said Mo. ‘Thanks,’ signed Enzo.” Bitsy is a great character, and the kids like her. I love Windness’s art, it’s ebullient, colorful and full of life. Great introduction to talking to kids about kids who have extra needs.
• And now for three new Valentine’s Day books… Keith Baker’s “Hap-Pea Valentine’s Day,” is a lot of fun. This is the first in a series of holiday books (including Easter and Halloween) scheduled for release this year. All kinds of hearts = all kinds of love. (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, 2024, ages 4-8, $9.99.)
• Bigfoot!! You know we like that fella out in my part of the country (the wilds of Oregon). Sarah Glenn Marsh, writer, and Ishaa Lobo, illustrator, present “Bigfoot’s Big Heart.” (Viking/Penguin Random House, 2024, ages 3 and up, $18.99.) In this peek into Sasquatch’s life, he’s a homebody, mostly. Humans fear him and he stays away. But he enjoys his knitting, while he’s wearing his cozy robe and fluffy slippers. He’s misunderstood, yes, but his friends — including Nessie in Scotland, Mothman in the Appalachian Mountains, Chupacabra in Puerto Rico — know him and love him. When he loses the Valentines he’s sending them, who will help? Delightful book.
• Awwww, Nicola Killen is back with “The Little Puppy (My Little Animal Friend)” (A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster, 2024, ages 4 and up, $17.99). When Grandma and her new pup, Milo, come to visit, Ollie is ex-cit-ed!! But you know puppies. Things sometimes get a little hectic. Killen’s art is beautiful.

Disclaimer: The titles included in today’s post were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. See you next time!

WM

(“Mt. Hood/Trillium Lake,” photo by Rawley, yeah I’m ready for spring and summer; use with permission only, please)

• “Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card — and Helped Change History,” is a fantastic new picture book/biography by Pat Zietlow Miller (Viking/Penguin Random House, 2025, all ages, $18.99). Jerry Jordan provided the illustrations, which are outstanding, thank you. The late, great John Lewis was a badass, gifted, astounding politician, forward-thinker and reader. In 1956, when he was a kid, he wanted to check out library books, but the library people wouldn’t let him. “But that didn’t stop John. John sent a letter to the library asking them to lend books to everyone. He waited and waited. But the library never wrote back.” That small — yet huge, unfair and yes, illegal situation — changed the man’s life and impacted the work he did, starting then, and for the rest of his years. I have so much love in my heart for Lewis. This book moves mountains, by telling his story. Thank you to everyone who brought this fine picture book into existence.
• “Saturday Morning at the ‘Shop” is a cool new picture book written by Keenan Jones, with illustrations by Ken Daley (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, 2025, all ages, $18.99). “Every picture tells a story/don’t it?” to quote the song, and yes, this is a great story, with great pictures, about a longstanding African-American tradition for the guys, as told through the eyes of a young man who spends his day there.
• Book three of the week is: “Nearly Exactly Almost Like Me,” a sweet, funny and inspiring picture book about two brothers. And yes, thank you!! they are brothers, even though they look nothing alike and people say things. Author Jennifer Bradbury did a lovely job with this book, which is illustrated by Pearl AuYeung. (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster; on sale Feb. 11, 2025; ages 4 and up; $19.99).

These books are my three picks of the week and I hope they win many, many, many awards. They deserve it, and all the love. All would be great additions to any library collection. Shout-out of the week to Perri Klass, by the way, for this excellent review of one of my lifelong favorite books, the American classic “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” by Betty Smith. Disclaimer: The titles included in today’s post were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. See you next time! WM