CLAP WHEN YOU LAND by Elizabeth Acevedo.  New York:  HarperTeen, 2020. 417p.  ISBN 978-006288276-9 hc. $18.99      Grades 7-12      YA FIC

Chapter by chapter, Camino and Yahaira will tell their stories.  Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her aunt, joined by her father in the summer months.  Yahaira lives in New York City with her mother and her father, who travels each summer.  Is it a coincidence or is their father the same man?  Both worlds collide when Papi is killed in a plane crash on his way to the Dominican Republic, releasing the secrets of his double life.  Camino and Yahaira will soon meet and work through new emotions in order to accept one another.  Their father isn’t the only one keeping secrets.  Family structure, economic advantage, sexual identity, and sexual harassment are also factors in the story.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

THE BLACK FLAMINGO by Dean Atta.  New York: Balzer + Bray, 2020. 403p.  ISBN 978-006299029-7 hc. $18.99    Gr. 9-12   YA FIC

Told in verse with Michael’s own words, this story gives readers an idea of how hard it is for teens to fit into their own skin.  Now add the circumstances of being gay, having an absent father, and representing the ethnicities of a Jamaican father and Greek (Cyprus) mother.  His mother and younger sister love him, but don’t understand the journey he must take to find himself.  Readers tag along as Michael learns how to be open about his sexual orientation, allow others to do the same, and accept himself rather than being a person that someone else wants him to be.  Michael is on a roller coaster of emotion in this memorable first-person narrative. 
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

OUR FRIEND HEDGEHOG: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. 110p.  ISBN 978-1524766071-9 hc. $16.99      Gr. 2-3     JFIC

When Hedgehog loses Mutty in a windstorm, he sets out to find the treasured stuffed animal.  The journey takes him through the underground home of Mole, to the treetop home of Owl, across the river to Beaver’s dam, into the meadow where Chicken was collecting found items, and straight to the house of Annika Mae.  The trail of clues led to Mutty, Hedgehog’s best friend.  His world had expanded, and he realized how lucky the adventure has been.  My favorite line comes from Beaver when Owl tells him he has to give the group a scarf  he found (Mutty's scarf) or help them with their quest.  He says, “I don’t have to do either of those things.”  The perfect answer for an unreasonable request that can be applied to many personal interactions.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

GO WITH THE FLOW by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann.  New York:  Roaring Brook Press, 2020. 332p.  ISBN 978-125030572-5 hc. $21.99   Gr. 5-10    YA FIC

This book has been wanting to be written since the 1960's, when menstruation was taught quickly in the fifth grade, but some mothers were embarrassed to talk with their daughters about this natural event that has been happening since the beginning of time.  Besides being a "friendship story" about four schoolmates, the book is a graphic novel in order to make it readable and inviting for anyone.  It's also drawn / written in shades of red to honor the monthly flow of blood that women experience during the fertile years of their lives.  It's genius!  As a reader, my heart melted to see the three older girls shelter and protect the younger one who was getting her first period.  They turned a traumatic event into a new friendship.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

MONSTER AND BOY by Hannah Barnaby. Illus. by Anoosha Syed.  New York: First Second Books, 2020. 132p.  ISBN 978-125021783-7 hc. $13.99   Gr. 1-3   JFIC

What happens when a monster is marginalized because parents tell their children that monsters are not real?  From the monster's point of view, he surprised himself by swallowing the boy who was going to scream for his parents.  He finally burped up the boy, who was a fraction of his original size and needed looking after.  Thus began the adventure of a monster and a boy, trying all kinds of ideas to make the boy large again.  They have escapades throughout the house and run-in with the little sister, before falling asleep and affirming that monsters are real after all.  Syed sprinkles imaginative, half-page illustrations throughout this short chapter book.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

I AM EVERY GOOD THING by Derrick Barnes, Illus. by Gordon C. James. New York:
Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020. 32p. ISBN 978-0525518778 hc. $17.99     Gr. K-2     E PIC

Barnes is a master of creative adjectives, similes, and metaphors that can be used to describe 
a person.  How many ways can you describe yourself?  Readers can answer this question by 
thinking about all the interests they have and their aspirations for the future.  Barnes lyrically 
describes his character in sports terms, musical terms, and genealogical terms for starters.  
The verse is accompanied by striking oil paintings of people in action, doing all the things
mentioned in the book.  Both the author and illustrator have won several awards for their 
outstanding work in children's literature.  It's outstanding!
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

JONAS HANWAY'S SCURRILOUS, SCANDALOUS, SHOCKINGLY SENSATIONAL UMBRELLA by Josh Crute.  Illus by Eileen Ryan Ewen.  Salem, MA:  Page Street Publishing, 2020. 42p. ISBN 978-1624148859 hc. $18.99     Gr. 1-3     J 609.2

Learn the history of the umbrella through the personal story of its English promoter, Jonas Hanway.  In 1750, covered coaches were used by the English gentry to keep dry when it rained, while poor people used umbrellas, because they could afford little more.  Jonas was tired of getting wet in the rainy climate and embarked on extensive travel, discovering that people all over the world used umbrellas to shield themselves from rain and bright sun.  He boldly began a trend of taking the umbrella with him around London, and actually using it, even though the act was below his social status. A Brief History of Umbrellas follows a paragraph about Jonas Hanway.  The alliterative text rolls off the reader’s tongue, and the rhyming vocabulary is charming.  The text is witty and sparse to make room for the glorious ink and watercolor illustrations that transport readers back in time to merry old England.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI