LOOK AND LISTEN Written by Dianne White Illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford (Holiday House; $18.99; Ages 4-8)         ★Starred Review - School Library Journaltar   From the Publisher: “In this exciting guessing game for budding nature lovers, a child takes a walk to explore the sights and sounds in a garden, across a meadow, and along a brook ... Dianne White’s playful text is paired with the vibrant collage artwork of Amy Schimler-Safford.”     Dianne White’s simple, rhyming text introduces young readers to the colors and sounds of creatures that live in each ecosystem using…

    Franklin Endicott and the Third Key Written by Kate DiCamillo Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick; $6.99, Ages 6 – 9)           Now available in paperback, Franklin Endicott and the Third Key is the latest installment in Kate DiCamillo’s popular Tales from Deckawoo Drive series. In this early chapter book, which is divided into eight chapters and a coda, the story focuses on Frank.       Frank worries about everything, a trait that many kids (and adults, including this reviewer) will be able to relate to. It is one of these worries, which…

THE VERY BEST DOG: MY LIFE STORY AS TOLD BY MY HUMAN Design by Becky Terhune Illustrated by Youlie Dessine (Workman Publishing; $17.95; Ages 5 and up)             Are you a doggy parent or sibling who wakes up to your bestie sleeping beside you on the mattress? Do you hand out lots of treats during the day, and talk to your pets like any other “human?” If you answered yes, then you'll be excited to welcome the keepsake journal The Very Best Dog-My Life Story As Told By  My Human from Workman Publishing into your…

  LAWLESS SPACES by Corey Ann Haydu (Simon & Schuster; $18.99, Ages 14 and up)           *A Junior Library Guild Selection ★ Starred Reviews - Kirkus Reviews, Publisher’s Weekly     In Corey Ann Haydu’s YA novel in verse, Lawless Spaces, Mimi receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday—a century-old family tradition for the women in her family. Mimi asks what she’s supposed to write: “There are things you don’t want to say,” Mom says, opening the car door, getting in. “So you write them down and put them in an attic and then they can…

    WHIRL by Deborah Kerbel Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon  (Owlkids Books; $18.95; Ages 4-8)       From the Publisher: “A stray maple seed, is picked up by the wind and begins a long, wordless journey through a local neighborhood…Eventually, it finds a place to rest …Years later, a family that encountered the whirligig on its journey takes a walk in the forest and meets the seed again—this time as a fully grown maple tree.”     In this appealing wordless picture book with inviting art and a diverse cast of characters, Deborah Kerbel and Josée Bisaillon describe the unpredictable…

    WILLIS WILBUR WOWS THE WORLD Written by Lindsey Leavitt Illustrated by Daniel Duncan (Penguin Workshop, $13.99,  Ages 8 -12)         If the alliteration in the title was what caught my eye then it was the premise of Willis Wilbur Wows the World, the first book in a new series by Lindsey Leavitt, that made me want to read it. Mature beyond his nine-year-old years, Willis is all pumped to go to band camp for the summer with his best friend Shelley. That is until the plans change and Shelley is off to Hawaii with her…

      BATTLE OF THE BUTTS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND ANIMAL BEHINDS Illustrated by David Creighton-Pester (Running Press Kids; $17.99, Ages 5-8)           Get ready to laugh as you learn while enjoying this funny, nonfiction picture book, Battle of the Butts by Jocelyn Rish. I thought I knew a lot of animal facts but was amazed by what this author uncovered in her research. The book is set up as a competition between ten creatures, inviting the reader to vote on each animal (rank them from Terrific Tush to Boring Backside), then choose a winner at…

  BIG DREAMS, SMALL FISH Written and illustrated by Paula Cohen (Levine Querido; $17.99, Ages 4-8)         I love it when picture book art begins on the copyright page and continues onto the title page giving readers an early taste of what's to come. That's what first struck me about author-illustrator Paula Cohen's debut, Big Fish, Small Dreams. In fact, Cohen’s charming digitally colored pencil drawings include Shirley’s right foot being lifted out of her shoe when the small girl nails the word fish on the title page just mentioned, an actual black-and-white family photo hanging on…