CCBC Weekly Book Reviews
An Arrow to the Moon
A star-crossed story of family, identity, and fate set in 1991 beautifully blends a realistic romance with mesmerizing magical realism.
January 30, 2023Honey and Me
A coming-of-age novel follows Modern Orthodox Milla and her best friend Honey (both white) as they prepare for their bat mitzvahs and navigate the ups and downs of a school year.
January 23, 2023Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life
A biography written in free verse and concrete poems details the life and work of Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage, best known for creating The Harp for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
January 16, 2023A Rover’s Story
Mars rover Resilience (“Res”) is being built and tested primarily by NASA scientists Xander and Rania. Res’s understanding of the world is limited to the details in his coding and his observations of the humans around him.
January 9, 2023The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey
In a companion to Your Place in the Universe, which explores objects vast in size, Chin here sheds a light on the opposite end of the spectrum: the microscopic building blocks of human bodies.
January 2, 2023Snow Horses: A First Night Story
Tim and Tom, “midnight black” Percheron horses, love the snow. Jenny, their driver, hitches them to a sleigh decked with lights, their bridles bedecked with bells and jingling.
December 26, 2022Squire
When Bayt-Sajji leaders announce that young people ages 12-17 from any background are now eligible to become a squire, Aiza seizes the opportunity.
December 19, 2022Rust in the Root
Laura Black, 17, left her small Pennsylvania hometown in 1937 for New York City with the goal of obtaining her mage license and becoming a baker to the stars.
December 12, 2022Ballet Kids
Thomas loves ballet. On this cold winter day, Thomas, who is Black, and five other preschoolers arrive for Mr. Elliot’s class. “We hang up our coats, hats and woolly scarves. Then we wiggle and slide into our ballet shoes.”
December 5, 2022The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology
When his usual tactics to alleviate boredom don’t work, Raccoon decides to bake an apple cake. Out of eggs, he heads to Fox’s to borrow some.
November 28, 2022A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends
When his usual tactics to alleviate boredom don’t work, Raccoon decides to bake an apple cake. Out of eggs, he heads to Fox’s to borrow some.
November 21, 2022The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin
This beautifully realized novel in verse succeeds on every level–as a work of historical fiction vividly bringing the past to life, as a love story, as a story about overcoming one’s personal fears, and as a work illuminating chilling parallels between Germany in the early 1930s and western society today.
November 14, 2022Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
An informational picture book about Mamie Till Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, beautifully tells a wrenching story.
November 7, 2022Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son
“Today is a BIG day. Today is the first time I get to help my papi at his work. He is a landscape contractor.”
October 31, 2022We Are Wolves
Wolfskinder, German children left to survive in East Prussia after World War II, are the lesser-known subject of this moving historical novel.
October 24, 2022- More Books of the Week