Hurrah! A middle grade book that is funny. And heartwarming and painfully honest. Bonus: It is served with a side of tasty Korean barbecue.

Meet Yumi Chung, eleven-year-old daughter of immigrant parents. Pressure. She constantly feels parental pressure to excel academically. It's particularly difficult because her older sister Yuri is the embodiment of the ideal Korean daughter: accelerated educational advancement and currently a medical school student.

Not Yumi. Earning high marks and academic accolades are not that important. What she really loves is stand-up comedy. This seems bizarre, as she is painfully self-conscious.

Mom has decided that Yumi will spend her summer with tutoring sessions in preparation for the SSAT, Secondary School Admission Test. ​​​Yumi grudgingly heads off for morning test prep sessions combined with three hours of afternoon study at the library. 

Yumi picked up a tip from her comedy idol Jasmine Jasper. She maintains a journal, recording her observations and reactions to events in her life. These entries could be the basis for possible jokes and comedy routines.
Readers will find several pages from Yumi’s notebook scattered throughout the first person narrative. Yumi accompanies her entries with personal emojis that express her current mood .

Overture
A forest.
A tree. Felled
then shipped to a paper mill.
Tree fibers pressed together
then rolled into a sheet of paper.
Paper. Cut and folded.
Paper bag created.

Entr'acte
A boy enters a shop and purchases a flashlight. The shopkeeper places his purchase in a paper bag.
​The saga begins.

​The Author's Note is well-worth reading. It chronicles the true story of Henry's paper bag.  Readers will learn of Cole's lifelong interest in forests and protecting the earth.
Discover details about the author/artist of the eloquent wordless book in this Horn Book interview.

​I filled the bags with homemade chocolate chip cookies, a handful of individually wrapped Life Savers, and a friendly positive message.

A letter accompanied each bag  described Cole's glorious picture book and suggested ways to keep the bag circulating throughout my community. Instructions were: Refill the bag with perhaps a small treat, an encouraging message, a handmade card or any item that the intended recipient might enjoy.  Place the bag on the doorstep. Afterward send the recipients a text message, inviting them open the door and discover a surprise waiting at the front door. 

Woolvin has done it again. Incorporating traditional fairy tale elements, she has created a marvelous little story with the unique plot twist that readers have come to expect from this talented picture book author.

Bo lives in the Alpine Kingdom filled with slimy sea monsters, scary cave beasts, and horrid forest monsters.  When her older brothers set off to catch a monster, Bo begs to come too.
The boys tell her no. "You're far too little."
Armed with her bow and arrow, she sneaks out of the castle, in search of a monster to slay. Readers can follow  Bo's travels with the map featured on the end papers
She encounters some strange and possibly fearsome creatures: a Griffin, a Kraken, and a dragon. However, each responds to Bo with kindness and concern.

Gomez takes the well-known tale of "Little Red Riding Hood," dresses the main character in a scarlet hoodie, adds a distinctive Latin flavor, and sets it to a rhythmic beat. It's Federico and the Wolf, a contemporary retelling.

In this version, young Federico bikes to his grandfather's shop. First he stops to purchase ingredients for pico de gallo.  He and grandfather plan to enjoy lunch together and then whip up a batch of hot salsa. 

Federico is on his way with a basket of groceries when a hungry wolf appears and declares his intent to devour this niño. It takes some quick thinking and a large habanero to outwit un lobo.

At the tale's conclusion, Gomez shares a recipe for pico de gallo. She adds a glossary of Spanish words and phrases with pronunciation guide along with definitions. 

Chavarri's charming illustrations have a contemporary folk-art quality. End papers feature colorful traditional patterns with the faces of Federico and Grandfather nestled within the designs. Her portfolio includes this dazzling bookmobile art.

Brick mason meets young reader. Sheffield has ingeniously woven together the building of an architectural structure and the creation a reader. Both are busy: constructing brick by brick, book by book.

​Pages views alternate between parallel activities. Papa scales the scaffolding while Luis scrambles up playground equipment. Papa mixes mortar and trowels a layer of cement as Luis molds clay. Papa stacks bricks row by row and Luis arranges a tower of his favorite stories, book upon book.

The heart of the story is the relationship between a father and son. Luis rides on his father's shoulders while wearing papa's hard hat. The two share a warm abrazo.
Together they work and plan for the fulfillment of a dream: a house that they can call home.

Illustrations are stellar. Sheffield's collages of textures, colors, shapes and snippets of photographs are ingenious. Artistic assemblages are enhanced with painted details.

Observant readers will find papa's boots are photographs of actual work boots. The United States flag is a collection of irregular red and white stripes, hand drawn stars on a blue background and a snippet of blue jeans. Pieces of actual brick form the buildings. Multicolor angular shapes become falling autumn leaves.

Allie Abraham works on blending in. A Circassian with reddish-blond hair and hazel eyes, it is easy for this sixteen-year-old cheerleader, academic standout, and school choir member to ignore her Muslim heritage. Allie's non-practicing Muslim father believes that this will protect her from discrimination.
However, Allie is drawn to the culture and religion of her grandmother. She wants to learn Arabic, study the Qur'an, begin a habit of regular prayer, and dress modestly. She meets with a group of forward-thinking Muslim young women who practice their faith in modern America. She's an All-American Muslim Girl.
Publicly acknowledging her heritage is a challenge. She hides her newfound interest in Islam from her father, walks a fine line with her boyfriend whose father is a well-known and bigoted news personality. She deals with classmates who mock her faith and other Muslims who condemn her for not being Muslim enough. What to do?

​This collection of short stories paints miniature portraits of an assemblage of Eid-al-Fitr celebrations. While the practice of faith varies within the Muslim community, each unique Eid observance is memorable.
The anthology contains lighthearted as well as poignant glimpses into the culminating observance of Ramadan with descriptions of private prayer, public celebrations, distinctive clothing, special food, and gifts. Readers meet a recent convert to Islam who fasts and samples spicy fare for the first time. For others Eid is bittersweet, reviewing celebrations from years past and remembering absent family members. ​ Some stories follow the journey to be with family: taking the subway to the Bronx or sitting in the car’s back seat with siblings while traveling to Sydney, Australia. I loved the descriptions of clothing: choosing to wear a hajib for the first time or fashioning a unique gown from a thrift store purchase.

A possible solution presents itself. Jude loves theater and movies. She learns that the school is staging a production of Beauty and the Beast. Summoning her courage, she auditions for a part in this fairy-tale musical. Can a girl from Syria can make it onto the stage in Ohio?

When times are tough, when days are dark, when "normal" is a fleeting memory, some may wonder if there is anything that will bring a bit of cheer to world weary souls. The answer is yes. Baloney and Friends is here to dispel some of life’s hopelessness.

This collection of graphic novel shorts begins with the introduction of four slightly zany cartoon characters. Readers meet Baloney, the pig and star of the book. He is joined by friends Peanut D. Horse, Biz E. Bee, and Krabbit a rabbit. Krabbit lives up to his name often responding with a sarcastic “whatever."

Readers are treated to a selection of stories interspersed with mini comics. Follow Baloney as he entertains his friends with tricks which may or may not be magical. The gentle humor continues as he struggles with fear of the unknown and feelings of sadness. Pizzoli has created a winsome collection of tales with precisely the right amount of snark.

​The dynamic duo Metaphrog have created a creeptastic reimagining of Bluebeard. Award-winning co-creators John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs have cast this traditional French folktale as a fantasy feminist story. Readers meet a girl who doesn’t wait to be rescued. She rescues herself.
Here’s how it happens:

Eve and her family live near an enchanted forest. Beyond the forest atop a high mountain is the castle of Count Bluebeard.

Eve's idyllic life with her family and her best friend Tom is disrupted when strange things begin to happen near the forest. Animals disappear. ​People can be trapped in the masses of dense vegetation. No one dares to enter this sinister wood.

After Eve reaches her eighteenth year, Bluebeard decides to select a bride from among the townsfolk. With a roll of the dice, Eve is selected to become his wife and live with him on the mountaintop. Following the marriage ceremony he takes her to his imposing, opulently furnished castle. Eve notices a long corridor leading to countless rooms. At the end of an extended hallway is a door opened only with a special golden key.

When Bluebeard leaves on urgent business he presents Eve with a ring of keys giving her access to all rooms in the castle. ​She is explicitly warned to never enter the door unlocked with the golden key. Alone and anxious, Eve roams throughout the castle, going from room to room.

Bluebeard returns to his home and finds that Eve has discovered the bodies of his murdered wives. In an intense climactic scene, Eve struggles to save her sister. Not waiting for Tom and her brothers, she courageously takes matters into her own hands, finishing off the count and setting both girls free.

Tension escalates with a series of panels that depict Eve gazing up a dizzying spiral staircase while Bluebeard stealthily inches nearer. Close-ups of razor-sharp teeth and talon-like extended fingers bring the terror into sharp focus.

Art is breathtaking. Intricately detailed dark silhouettes contrast against the soft jewel tone tints. The gorgeous backgrounds are enchanting.
Color plays an important part in the story. Some of the opening settings and coloring are reminiscent of the classic Disney fairy tales, such as Cinderella. Eve's world is a sparkling pink, while the appearance of Bluebeard is signaled with predominantly blue hues.

Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed's When Stars Are Scattered introduces readers to the reality of survival for displaced individuals, an existence filled with deprivation, uncertainty, and boredom.

Jamieson is a masterful storyteller. She brilliantly describes her childhood interests in Roller Girl, a Newbery Honor Award book and All’s Faire in Middle School. Now she steps away from personal experience to chronicle the childhood of Somali refugees Omar Mohamed and his younger brother Hassan.

​The narrative is based on Omar’s memories. He and Hassan escaped Somalia's civil war, lost contact with their parents, and were given shelter at a camp located in Kenya. Looked after by a kind woman, they subsist on meager rations and sleep in a tiny tent. Omar assumes responsibility for disabled brother's daily care. Life changes when a UN worker suggests that Omar attend a school organized for the camp's children. Education becomes his lifeline and an escape from the grim reality of camp life. Fifteen long years later, the two resettle in Arizona.

​
​Long Story Short has gone one better. Actually, it's one hundred better with pithy summaries of classic  literature ranging from Dante's The Inferno and Beowulf to contemporary classics such as Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Hinton's The Outsiders, a groundbreaking YA novel for young adults. Lisa Brown also skewers beloved children's books: Harriet the Spy, Charlotte's Web, and *gasp* Harry Potter. 
Here's what stands out: Brown condenses the larger works into a comic format, with about three jaw-dropping panels for each title.  Think newspaper comic strip/Cliffs Notes mash-ups. It's amazing.

The abridged comics are organized into thematic sections: "Big Thoughts," "Epic," "Female Trouble," "War is Hell," "(Un)Happy Families," "The Horror," "Jeepers! Creepers!" "Friends and Frenemies," "Love,"  "Sex," and "Death." 
​Back matter includes a one-page guide on How to Write Your Own Three-Panel Book, Index by Title and Index by Subject.

Mia and Ben are best of friends. Inseparable, the duo can frequently be found designing and flying their own paper planes.
When Ben's family moves far away, the two are worried about the fate of their friendship. The distance between the two seems insurmountable. Then a small but remarkable thing happens. One smashed air ship and and a plane lacking wings bring the two together, joining forces to solve a problem. The challenge to construct a flight-worthy aircraft unites Mia and Ben. They also work out the challenge of their geographical separation with paper. Intricately folded paper.

With slightly greyish hues Jones' color palette has a muted quality that captures a sense of loneliness. The wide expanse of sky emphasizes the distance separating Mia and Ben. Images of flight emerge throughout the pages: geese soaring through the air, an airplane making dizzying dives in the skies, and boats gliding across the water.