Source: MSL Book Review

Earl & Worm : The Bad Idea and Other Stories

Earl & Worm : The Bad Idea and Other StoriesEarl & Worm #1: The Bad Idea and Other Stories (Earl and Worm) by Greg Pizzoli
Published by Alfred A. Knopf ISBN: 0593649664
Genres: Animals, Children's Beginning Readers
Format: Early Reader
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

The first book in a new series about a bird and a worm. You might think that the action will center around the fact that birds eat worms, but Greg Pizzoli disregards this and instead the two become friends … of sorts. Worm is grouchy, set in her ways, and unwelcoming of her new neighbor. Early bird Earl is noisy  and a tad clueless. However, his good nature over three stories wins over the curmudgeonly worm.

Typical Pizzoli-style mischievous cartoon illustrations of these anamorphic characters will appeal to early readers and  strengthen the notion how these different neighbors become best friends. Book two, The Big Mess and Other Stories, and Book three, Snow Problem and Other Stories, are already available which leads me to believe that these friends will take their place among Early Readers Elephant & Piggie and Frog & Toad.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Bored Panda

Bored PandaBored Panda by Chuck Dillon, Mike Bender
Published by Random House on April 29, 2025
ISBN: 0593433602
Genres: Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Panda is bored because the Wi-fi is out. Mother suggests he go for a walk in the woods. Panda thinks this will be boring and he encounters some lame characters who have boring ideas, but he discovers that they have created some pretty cool things. Maybe being bored isn’t so awful after all.

This is a worthy message albeit a somewhat predictable storyline.  The illustrations are bright and energetic, and the humor will appeal to young children. Panda’s right eye is surrounded by dark fur, similar to the logo for the content-aggregating website Bored Panda. It suggests to 4-8 year olds to put down their devices for a time.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

four-stars

The Tour at School!

The Tour at School!The Tour at School by Katie Clapham, Nadia Shireen
ISBN: 1536242985
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

SPOILER ALERT!!!! A truly funny picture book that does not skimp on all caps or exclamation points. This is a “how-to-give-an elementary-school-tour” from the perspective of a super-enthusiastic Tour Guide, as she leads an overwhelmed New Person around, from the bathrooms (with its amazing echos) to the playground (where students play “Tag-You’re It” and “Worldwide” Hairdressers”) and many other important locations in the school.

The guide is a young girl with dark brown skin and hair in two neat braids; her bright red glasses emphasize her expressions, and she has a lot of them. The tour recipient has a hoodie up, signifying his own feelings of anxiety. The mixed media collages are exuberant; vibrating with energy, humor, and cheekiness (readers will point out the poop emoji drawing in the bathroom).  The school looks like there is space for everyone in this diverse, friendly environment but the new person is clearly apprehensive.

As the tour is coming to a close, and the guide comes down from her excitement to realize the new person has gone missing, she puts herself in his shoes and realizes he is having an EMERGENCY, and she recounts her own story of being the new student, just a year ago. The new person removes his hood, two students connect, and thus begins a beautiful friendship. We never learn the names of the guide and the new person but we learn a lot about how to be a good friend to someone who needs one.

This would make an amazing beginning of year read aloud that will have students laughing and learning at the same time, and leading to good discussions about empathy and inclusion. Highly recommended for public and school library collections.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools

five-stars

The Brilliant Brain: How It Works and How to Look After It

The Brilliant Brain: How It Works and How to Look After ItThe Brilliant Brain: How It Works and How to Look After It (Dr. Roopa's Body Books) by Dr. Roopa Farooki, Viola Wang
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 1536237809
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

This appealing picture book will engage young readers between 5-7, who are curious about how the brain works. The Brilliant Brain is one in a series (Dr. Roopa’s Body Books) by Farooki and Wang .Farooki, a medical doctor, explains a complex topic in  descriptive, kid-friendly language. She uses the analogy of the body as a machine and the brain as the control room with the nerve network carrying messages back and forth between the two.

Wang’s illustrations of a diverse group of kids with their thoughts, experiences and ideas hovering around their heads, emphasize the premise that your brain is what “makes you you”.  How the brain works is explained in the body of the text, along with colorful and attractive diagrams, labelling the different parts and their functions. The care of the brain is a list of suggestions in the author’s note in the back matter. It could be more useful as a nonfiction picture book if it also contained a glossary.

Pair it with Lizzy Rockwell’s, The Busy Body Book, for a fun, narrative nonfiction read-aloud or read it on its own during Helmet Awareness Month (April) or Brain Health Month (June).  Recommended where other picture books about how the human body works are popular.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools

four-stars

Family: A Peek-Through Picture Book

Family: A Peek-Through Picture BookGenres: Animals, Family
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
three-stars

This “peek-through” picture book is one in a series by Britta Teckentrup; the cover of the book has an image of a sun setting on a herd of elephants on the savanna. The setting sun is  a series of cut-outs that continue throughout most of the book, following animal families from dusk to dawn.

Each family grouping is depicted in a different landscape or waterscape and rhyming couplets describe how the adult animals care for the smaller ones. The rhymes are soothing and gentle, if unremarkable (” .. . . near the ocean bed, (p)eaceful creatures are nurtured and fed”).

The oil pastel and collage mixed media illustrations of the animals in their habitats are the strength of this story. The animals blend into their surroundings, as they would in real life. The textures and palettes change from page to page as the sun sets, the moon rises, and we end the story where it began, with the elephants on the savanna, now with the sun rising behind them.

It would be a good bedtime story with its calming illustrations and text. Recommended as an additional purchase.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools

 

three-stars

Make Me a Monster

Make Me a MonsterMake Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron
on September 30, 2025
ISBN: 1547615869
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron 

Though a unique take on the classic Frankenstein, the unsteady pacing of this book may distract readers from the important reflections on grief and love that it provides. 

Meka is your average teen: close friend group, supportive parents, adoring boyfriend. So what if she spends most of the time with the deceased as a mortician’s assistant at her family’s funeral home? When a sudden tragedy strikes someone closest to her, she struggles to adjust to her new normal. Everything feels so strange afterwards, made worse by the fact that those around her aren’t staying dead… 

This story is great for readers who like retellings of classic tales and are looking for relatable and personable characters. Its strength lies in these relationships the characters have: great examples of healthy, supportive parents and a sweet first romance that could appeal to younger teens. Though the pacing is steady for most of the book, readers may get frustrated at how drastically the plot escalates into “what is even happening” territory. Overall, I’d recommend this book less to horror fans as the plot gets a bit murky and more to those just looking for a tender read. 

Reviewed by Hannah Doktor, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

three-stars

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Making Enemies

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Making EnemiesLoki: A Bad God's Guide to Making Enemies by Louie Stowell
Series: Loki: A Bad God's Guide #4
Published by Walker Books US on 6/24/25
ISBN: 1536241741
Genres: Fantasy, Humor
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Loki’s punishment on earth continues as he tries to earn his way back to Asgard.  In this novel, he has to deal with two enemies. One, Georgina,  is a friend from school who he got in big trouble with, and the other is Vinir, who has challenged Loki to a duel in order to avenge his father’s honor.  On top of being forced to take the form of a mortal human who must go to school, Loki and the gods he lives with, also disguised as humans, must contend with Frost Giants who are planning an attack during the school’s Winter Fair in order to bring about a terrible winter on earth.

This book for upper elementary students has humor on every page.  It is narrated primarily by Loki in his magical diary, but the diary does often interject, calling Loki out on his lies or commenting on Loki’s occasional good behavior.  The diary also keeps track of Loki’s virtue points and describes why he gained or lost points, usually in a sarcastic manner.  The plot of this book is primarily text, though every page has drawings with captions which always add humor to the story.  Libraries that have the other books in this series will want to add this one to their collection.  It is fast-paced and laugh out loud funny and would be easy to hand to most readers.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

four-stars

A Girl Walks Into the Forest

A Girl Walks Into the ForestA Girl Walks Into the Forest by Madeleine Roux
on June 10, 2025
ISBN: 0063284847
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

A Girl Walks into the Forest by Madeleine Roux 

 This empowering folktale-inspired horror showcases a strong main character who uses her feminine rage to redefine her role in the world. 

Valla, a girl known for her “extraordinary beauty”, is excited to finally leave her small village, meet her betrothed and live happily ever after. However, when her face is torn to shreds in the sinister Gottyar Woods on her journey, her preconceived chance at a new beginning and a happy arranged marriage quickly comes crashing down.  

Though the story lulled a bit in the middle, it overall was a quick read with fully fledged characters that students will enjoy both rooting for and against. Due to its depictions of violence and gore for some of the fight scenes, this book is best suited for high schoolers. Great for fans of The Hunger Games and The Grace Year, this is a must for collections looking for a fresh take on dystopian novels and dark fantasy.  

Reviewed by Hannah Doktor, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

 

four-stars

Trash Truck: Trash Day

Trash Truck: Trash DayFormat: Early Reader
Source: MSL Book Review
three-stars

Families with Trash Truck (book and Netflix) series fans will enjoy this leveled reader by Max Keane. The book is designated “My First I Can Read” book, meant for emergent readers to read with fluent readers (“shared reading”). The publisher promises “basic language” and “word repetition” and the book delivers on these fronts.

The story takes place on Trash Day and alternates between the experiences of Trash Truck and his friend Hank , a little blond boy with fair skin. Trash Truck (an anthropomorphized, friendly looking garbage truck) is very busy, going along his route, and caring for small creatures (turtles, rubber duckies, children retrieving balls from the road) along the way. Hank is trying to be patient as he waits for Trash Truck to arrive at his house, but the digitally created illustrations depict Hank getting more and more despondent

Meanwhile, seeing the children playing  makes Trash Truck realize he has forgotten to stop by Hank’s house. Trash Truck then goes to Hank’s house but Hank is not there. Trash Truck is disappointed, and then sad, but doesn’t allow his feelings to get in the way of his garbage collecting duties. He arrives back at the truck depot, to find Hank there. The friends decide to spend the afternoon building a robot (that picks up trash, naturally).

While adults might wonder why Hank walked to the truck depot alone, Trash Truck fans may imagine themselves enjoying an afternoon with their favorite municipal service vehicle. The digitally created illustrations are occasionally grainy, blurry, or peculiarly shadowed, but that will not discourage readers who can’t get enough of the adventures of Trash Truck and Hank. Recommended for library collections where television-based early reader titles are popular.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools

three-stars

Molly, Olive, and Dexter: Who’s Afraid of the Dark?

Molly, Olive, and Dexter: Who’s Afraid of the Dark?Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
five-stars

This is the fourth title in Catherine Rayner’s picture book  series around Molly (a rabbit), Olive (an owl), and Dexter (a fox). Young children (and adult readers) will appreciate the change in atmosphere that Rayner creates with words and expressive mixed media (watercolor and marker) illustrations as the friends navigate their way from the warm light of the setting sun through the feelings of worry and anxiety that the dark can bring.

There is a quiet, gentle tone to the text and pictures as the sun sets, and the everyday noises and sights of the daylit world. The tone and images shift into something less familiar and more sinister as the shadows lengthen and it gets darker and darker.

The three friends take turns getting worried, and then relieved at the realization that the mysterious sounds, shadows, and sensations are simply the ordinary things they see during the day. This would be a sweet story to read at bedtime, if it ended there. It becomes a better story as the friends are caught in a rainstorm. At first, the three are scared as they try to run from the feeling of something falling on  on their heads, and then the relief and delight that it’s actually just rain – nothing to be fear and an experience to enjoy.

They start seeing the night differently then, and Rayner transforms the shadowy, frightening landscape into something magical. The luminous illustrations and language bring the story depth, humor and real emotion, taking it beyond “don’t be afraid of the ordinary things in the dark” to “the quiet dark can feel magical”.  Highly recommended for picture book collections.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools

five-stars