Essential and exceptional titles reviewed in our June 2020 issue, including picture books, middle grade, YA, nonfiction, and graphic novels for children and teens.

Picture Books

Davies, Benji. Tad. HarperCollins. 

Rooney, Rachel. The Problem with Problems. illus. by Zehra Hicks. Rodale. 

Barrett, Hayley. Girl Versus Squirrel. illus. by Renée Andriani. Holiday House/Margaret Ferguson Bks. 

Bogart, Jo Ellen. Little Blue House Beside the Sea. illus. by Carmé Lemniscates. Tilbury. 

Brown, Dan. Wild Symphony. Rodale. 

Cotter, Sacha. Cannonball. illus. by Josh Morgan. Sourcebooks. 

Drago, Flavia Z. Gustavo, the Shy Ghost. Candlewick.

Metzger, Cecile. The Invisible Bear. Tundra. 

Moreau, Laurent. Play Outside! Norton.

Relth, Michael. Picture Book by Dog. Little, Brown. 

Small, David. Imogene Comes Back! Knopf. 

Walker, Tricia Elam. Nana Akua Goes to School. illus. by April Harrison. Random/Schwartz & Wade. 

Middle Grade

Bird, James. The Brave. Feiwel & Friends. 

Cordova, Zoraida. The Way to Rio Luna. Scholastic. 

Lee, Julie. Brother’s Keeper. Holiday House. 

Martin, Laura. Glitch. HarperCollins. 

Ramée, Lisa Moore. Something To Say. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.

Ritter, William. The Unready Queen. Algonquin.

Stoddard, Lindsey. Brave Like That. HarperCollins/Harper.

YA

Caletti, Deb. Girl, Unframed. S. & S./Simon Pulse. 

Hand, Cynthia, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows. My Calamity Jane. Harper Teen. 

Hocking, Amanda. The Lost City. St. Martin’s/Wednesday Bks. 

Mae, Natalie. The Kinder Poison. Penguin/Razorbill. 

Richards, Alex. Accidental. Bloomsbury. 

Graphic Novels

Brown, Lars. Penultimate Quest. Iron Circus Comics. 

Layne, Aliza. Beetle & the Hollowbones. S. & S./Atheneum. 

Nonfiction

Brown, Monica. Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello. illus. by Elisa Chavarri. Lee & Low. 

Burgess, Matthew. Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. illus. by Josh Cochran. Enchanted Lion.

Heinecke, Liz Lee. The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Chemistry for Kids: Homemade Science Experiments and Activities Inspired by Awesome Chemists, Past and Present. Quarto/Quarry. 

Iftin, Abdi Nor. Call Me American: The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant. Delacorte. 

Jenkins, Steve. Solar System: By the Numbers. HMH. 

McGill, Erin. If You Want a Friend in Washington: Wacky, Wild & Wonderful Presidential Pets. Random/Schwartz & Wade. 

Opie, David. All the Birds in the World. Peter Pauper. 

Swanson, Jennifer. Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature. National Geographic.