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Picture Books
Migration: Incredible
Animal Journeys
Mike Unwin, illus. by
Jenni Desmond
Middle Grades
The Next Great
Paulie Fink
Ali Benjamin
A wildly imaginative but never
Unwin presents the epic
journeys of 21 species,
from dragonflies to whales,
adroitly relating marvels of each creature’s migration.
Desmond’s masterful illustrations capture the fragility
and abundance of the natural world, and a map traces
the migration paths globally.
mean-spirited prankster, Paulie
Fink was the life of Mitchell
School. When he doesn’t appear
on the first day of seventh grade, his classmates stage
a reality TV–style competition, recruiting new girl
Caitlyn to replace him with someone who can make
things memorable. Genuinely original, the novel offers
thoughtful perspectives on friendship, change, and the
Who Wet My Pants?
many guises of storytelling.
Bob Shea, illus. by
Zachariah Ohora
Look Both Ways: A Tale
The animal scout troop is Told in Ten Blocks
gathered around the campfire Jason Reynolds, illus.
when everyone notices a by Alexander Nabaum
crescent-shaped wet patch at
the crotch of Reuben’s pants. The bear immediately
deflects the blame: “Who wet my pants?” he shouts,
improbably. Shea and Ohora make a terrific team,
creating a comedy that is both laugh-out-loud off-kilter
and deeply humane.
Reynolds packs the 10 blocks
surrounding multiple schools
with 10 relatable slice-of-life
stories that start after school ends. An overlapping cast
of characters experiences the tribulations of familial
love, fears, first crushes, and more. In Reynolds’s
signature style, each story rings with emotional
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