47 Superb Books from Steve Light, L.L. McKinney, Susie Jaramillo & More | Starred Reviews, March 2021

This month's must-haves for children and teens include Steve Light's take on the road trip, L.L. McKinney's pitch-perfect reimagining of superhero Nubia, and a delightful bilingual board book from Susie Jaramillo.

Picture Books

Faruqi, Reem. Amira’s Picture Day. illus. by Fahmida Azim. Holiday House. 

Hadley, Moni Ritchie. The Star Festival. illus. by Mizuho Fujisawa. Albert Whitman. 

Hamilton, Kersten. First Friend: How Dogs Evolved from Wolves To Become Our Best Friends. illus. by Jaime Kim. Farrar. 

Hare, John. Field Trip to the Ocean Deep. Holiday House/Margaret Ferguson. 

Holt, Bob. Let’s Taco About How Great You Are. Doubleday. 

Jaramillo, Susie. First 100 Words. Encantos. 

Khorram, Adib. Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story. illus. by Zainab Faidhi. Dial.

Klassen, Jon. The Rock from the Sky. Candlewick.

Light, Steve. Road Trip!: A Whiskers Hollow Adventure. Candlewick. 

Meisel, Paul. My Stinky Summer by S. Bug. Holiday House.

Meisel, Paul. My Tiny Life by Ruby T. Hummingbird. Holiday House. 

Paul, Miranda & Baptiste Paul. Peace. illus. by Estelí Meza. NorthSouth. 

Perkins, Mitali. Home Is in Between. illus. by Lavanya Naidu. Farrar. 

Phi, Bao. Hello, Mandarin Duck! illus. by Dion Mbd. Capstone. 

Quang, Phung Nguyen & Huynh Kim Lien. My First Day. Make Me a World. 

Tharp, Jason. Bunny Will Not Jump! S. & S./Simon Spotlight. 

Yamada, Kobi. Trying. illus. by Elise Hurst. Compendium. 

 

Chapter Books

Bowling, Dusti. Aven Green Sleuthing Machine. illus. by Gina Perry. 

 

Middle Grade

Allen, Sarah. Breathing Underwater. Farrar. 

Khan, Hena. Amina’s Song. S. & S./Salaam Reads. 

Parks, Amy Noelle. Summer of Brave. Albert Whitman. 

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. The Elephant in the Room. Dial. 

 

YA

Bromfield, Asha. Hurricane Summer. St. Martin’s/Wednesday. 

Elle, J. Wings of Ebony. S. & S./Denene Millner.

Jean, Emiko. Tokyo Ever After. Flatiron. POP

Morris, Brittney. The Cost of Knowing. S. & S. 

Varela, Alessandra Narváez. Thirty Talks Weird Love. Cinco Puntos. 

 

Graphic Novels

Brown, Don. A Shot in the Arm! Abrams/Amulet.

McKinney, L.L. Nubia: Real One. illus. by Robyn Smith. DC Comics.

Pilkey, Dav. Cat Kid Comic Club. Scholastic/Graphix. 

 

Nonfiction

Creature Features: Ocean. illus. by Natasha Durley. Candlewick.

Freidin, Jesse & Robert Garofalo. When Dogs Heal: Powerful Stories of People Living with HIV and the Dogs That Saved Them. Lerner/Zest.

Gibson, Roberta. How To Build an Insect. illus. by Anne Lambelet. Millbrook.

Griffith, Evan. Secrets of the Sea: The ­Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine ­Scientist. illus. by Joanie Stone. Clarion.

Jaggar, Louisa & Shari Becker. Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot To Fly Across the United States. illus. by Floyd Cooper. Crown. 

López, Diana. Sing with Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla. illus. by Teresa Martínez. Dial.

Mone, Gregory. Strange Nature: The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss. illus. by Levon Biss. Abrams. 

Moss, Marissa. Boardwalk Babies. illus. by April Chu. Creston.

Parachini, Jodie. Listening to the Stars: Jocelyn Bell Burnell Discovers Pulsars. illus. by Alexandra Badiu. Albert Whitman. 

Sorell, Traci. We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know. illus. by Frané Lessac. Charlesbridge. 

Stockdale, Susan. Bird Show. Peachtree. 

 

Audio

Averbuch, Sheila. Friend Me. Scholastic Audio.

Johnson, Abigail. Girl on the Run. Listening Library. 

Johnson, Kim. This Is My America. Listening Library.

Khan-Cullors, Patrisse & asha bandele. When They Call You a Terrorist (Young Adult Edition): A Story of Black Lives Matter and the Power To Change the World. Macmillan Audio. 

LaCour, Nina. Watch Over Me. Listening Library.

Zoboi, Ibi & Yusef Salaam. Punching the Air. HarperAudio.

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