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Tag: 2026 reviews

October 10, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Borders by Gudol, ill. Haerang, translated by Sophie Bowman

When you find something this intelligent, beautiful and, yes, on occasion, funny, that’s a book worth holding on to tight. I review a fabulous Korean import.

September 4, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Goodbye, Koi by Jack Wong

Anxious children, kids that feel deeply for animals, and young people who are worried about some big change in their lives will all be able to particularly relate to what Goodbye, Koi is telling them: sometimes, you have to give up what's familiar for a chance to glimpse the sky.

August 20, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish by Carole Boston Weatherford, ill. Bagram Ibatoulline

Extraordinarily beautiful and more than a little wise, now you can convert your verse loving science haters and convert your science hating poetry-lovers, all in one fell swoop.

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Review of the Day: Building 903 by Lois Lowry

August 3, 2026 by Betsy Bird

I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.

Review of the Day: The Ribbon by Tessa Blackham

July 16, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Practically wordless, this author/illustrator debut title manages to capture the beauty, pathos, and sheer wonder of ballet while, at the same time, touching on the joys and anxiety of performance AND pulling off some visual acrobatics in the art.

Review of the Day: Twelve Daring Grays by Nora Nickum, ill. Elly MacKay

June 5, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Illustrator Elly MacKay’s incredible cut paper artistry and Nora Nickum’s smart text highlight the risk, the bravery, and the ingenuity of massive creatures facing a difficult world.

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Review of the Day: The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko

May 22, 2026 by Betsy Bird

You want a hilarious middle grade full of action, social commentary, a Black girl heroine with wits, smarts, and humor, and an alternate world scarily close to our own? This way please.

Review of the Day: While We’re Here by Anne Wynter, ill. Micha Archer

May 8, 2026 by Betsy Bird

Thoughts on gatekeeping, children's books, diverse voices, and how you can create a picture book that somehow, remarkably, gets everything right, all at once.

Review of the Day: Chernobyl, Life and Other Disasters by Yevgenia Nayberg

April 24, 2026 by Betsy Bird

When your kids have devoured the samey samey GNs out there and they want a comic that’s a cut above (and doesn’t look like anybody else), that’s when you hit ‘em in the Chernobyl. Far and away a favorite of the year.

Review of the Day: You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This by Aaron Starmer, ill. Jaime Zollars

April 12, 2026 by Betsy Bird

If you want your child to read books that they’ll forget in a month’s time, hand them pablum. If you want them to think, rethink, and return to a book for the rest of their life? This is what you give.

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