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Picture Books
Morera, Jackie In Case of las Moscas; illus. by Mariana Ruiz Johnson.
R* 6-9 yrs
[40p] • Make Me a World, 2026 • ISBN 9780593902752
Diego is thrilled for his grandparents’ visit, knowing that gifts and sweets are forthcoming, but as good as he thinks his Spanish is, he is utterly thrown by some of the things his grandparents say once they arrive. His abuela wakes him, telling him to shake a skeleton; before the walk to school his abuelo mutters about monkeys whistling; and when Abuela helps Diego put on a sweater, she explains it’s “por si las moscas.” That ominous phrase sends Diego’s mind spinning, “In case the flies what?” Diego’s fears spiral at school, so he enlists his friends, explaining his “family is preparing for an attack.” Many picture books featuring Latine kids of immigrant families touch on similar themes about understanding and appreciating family and culture, and just as those books are good and necessary, it is also true that there is a dearth of Latine immigrant family stories that are simply allowed to be funny. For this, Morera’s book is a welcome breath of fresh air. Ruiz Johnson provides the visual gags to support the text, digital illustrations depicting earnest characters with big heads and round eyes capturing the full range of emotion, from Diego’s uneasy imagination of hair coming out of his tongue to the grim determination as he decides to prepare for battle. Pages with little negative space burst with energy and activity, with kids donning hats and wielding swatters, ready for combat; the comedy isn’t reserved only for the kids, as his grandparents’ imaginations prove to be just as busy when they explain the meanings of the phrases. A true treat, this would be an excellent readaloud option for a bilingual storytime or to spark a discussion on the way all languages have their little quirks and delights. Endmatter explains the Spanish idioms in English and likewise explains the English idiom in Spanish. ART
Fiction
Sangoyomi, O. O. Dreamweaving.
R* Gr. 8-10
[400p] • Page Street, 2026 • ISBN 9798890034465
When Deja gets a scholarship to attend Tanglewood Preparatory School in Connecticut, she reluctantly accepts; her mother Renée loved Tanglewood but got involved with drugs and died shortly after Deja was born. Tóbi, heir to her parents’ Nigerian American fast-food empire, is also living in the shadow of a family member who attended Tanglewood before her—her older brother, who died two years before Tóbi was born and whose legacy Tóbi never seems quite able to live up to despite her dizzying array of awards, extracurriculars, and impeccable academic performance. Their paths cross on the night of the fall Bonfire, when Deja and Tóbi, along with fellow eleventh-graders Monte, Eden, and Fabien, are drawn to the site of a meteorite crash on campus and share a vision of the magical energy that Deja knows as The Web. This is dark academia with a generous helping of coziness as mutual wariness among the five teens warms to friendship. Third-person narration balances the ensemble cast well, focusing on Deja and Tóbi while developing Eden, Monte, and Fabien into well-rounded characters with authentic, believable struggles. The group’s friendship and individual relationships between the girls are also refreshingly absent of drama, granting access to more complex and deeper conversations and growth. Sangoyomi deftly portrays the unique challenges quiet Black girls face, as Deja, Tóbi, and Eden, in particular, begin to reject the ways they have contorted themselves to fit others’ expectations. A mystery behind a missing Tanglewood student wraps up perhaps a little too neatly, but there are hints in the final chapters that not all is as it seems, guaranteeing readers will want to return to Tanglewood for the next installment. SS
Nonfiction
Harris, Suzanne Poulter The Boy Behind the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Grew Up to Create Narnia; illus. by Mira Miroslavova.
R Gr. 2-4
[56p] • Eerdmans, 2026 • ISBN 9780802855169
In this captivating and well-told picture book biography, the growth of Lewis from a boy “born to make stories” to a brilliant author unfolds in both pithy text and elegant, detailed art. Lewis wrote from an early age, creating entire fantastic worlds from multiple sources of inspiration: the literal landscapes that were around him (the busy lake by his Belfast home, or the ruins of Dunluce castle where he summered); his own emotional responses; and complementary details that he would dream up both alone and with his brother Warnie. While most of the focus is on Lewis as an early creator, Harris selects key events that marked loss or change (including the death of his mother and his subsequent time in boarding school), honoring those as significant points in a human life while also underscoring them as catalysts that shaped the writer’s work. Also highlighted are the settings and characters from his early writing that could ultimately be identified within his published works; readers will certainly recognize the importance of the stories Lewis told his cousins while hiding in their grandfather’s handcrafted wardrobe. The art, created with graphite pencils and Procreate, is intricate, with Miroslavova weaving in visual nods to Lewis’ books that show a familiarity with and fondness for his work. The colors, mostly creamy shades of brown, orange, and blue, are consistent whether the text is describing his real life or his fantasy creations, emphasizing how porous that border was for Lewis. Extensive endmatter includes a timeline, source notes, and a recommended reading list, but the standout elements are thoughtful author and illustrator notes that explore the indelible impact of Lewis’ books on their personal and professional lives. AS
