Review by Kelly Carey

​Hungry, alone and dreaming of the peach she tasted only once, young orphan Scilla scales the wall of the Earl’s garden hoping to find the delicious fruit. Caught and mistaken for a boy by the imposing head gardener, Scilla is offered work instead of being sent back to the workhouse. Scilla attacks her garden chores with a desperate fervor, determined to keep her identity a secret and earn the warm bed and regular meals her new job offers. The longer she stays the more she falls in love with cultivating a thriving garden and the more confused she becomes by the flushed face feelings she gets around garden apprentice Phin. But Phin will put her safety in jeopardy and might just make her lose the only secure home she has ever known.
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This middle grade novel would sit comfortably on a nightstand next to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1911) and The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Dial Books, 2015). All three books take place in the English countryside in the late 1800s to early 1900s and feature a scared but spunky girl fending for herself in difficult circumstances. 

On Writing: 
Linda Joan Smith’s book can be used as a mentor text for every aspect of middle grade novel perfection but can be especially studied for: 

Building a Connection Between a Main Character and the Reader
Smith’s main character may live in the Victorian age and be suffering under circumstances foreign to today’s readers, but Smith creates a powerful bridge by exploring universal emotions. Readers will understand Scilla’s desire for safety, security, and friendship and that will bond them to her success and provide tension when she is in danger. If your manuscript features a character in circumstances or settings vastly different from your potential reader, use Smith’s novel as a guide for allowing relatable human emotions to connect readers with your character.

Creating A Strong Supporting Cast
The Peach Thief is populated by fully realized secondary characters with a full cadre of their own motivations and personality traits that serve the plot. Every side character could be pulled out and viewed as a wholly formed individual. The result is a bustling hive of people swarming around Scilla that give the story a satisfying depth. Take a lesson from Smith and make sure your secondary characters have their own unique backstory – even if that backstory never makes it into your text – and actions that serve the main plot.

Painting a Powerful Setting
Smith manufactures a verdant English working garden and allows readers to taste the fruit, feel the delicate seedlings, and smell the rich dirt. Use Smith’s book to explore the power of senses and deliciously descriptive word choice to create a setting readers will want to inhabit. As a bonus, these same writing tools make Smith’s high tension pivotal scenes punch with a power that will grab and thrill readers.

Seek out The Peach Thief as a mentor text for creating a satisfying main character, building a strong supporting cast, and using descriptive language to paint a powerful setting.

To learn more about Linda Joan Smith, visit her website here or follow her on Facebook here. 

On Writing:
With a nod to graphic novel styling, Kristi employs a host of one-word sentences to accomplish huge tasks in her storytelling. 

Emotional Roadmap
With “Fun!”, “Yippee!”, and “Hooray!”, Kristi uses a single word to capture mood. All three evoke an emotional response linking the reader to the happenings on the page. These quick interjections invite the reader to celebrate along with the characters. 

Comic Set-Up
Onomatopoeias like “Splat!”, “Plop!”, and “Uh-oh!” act like a match lighting the laughter fuse for an illustration explosion. By trusting the illustrator to carry the humor, these single word sentences create the synergy between text and picture that are the hallmark of picture book magic. 
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Tension Pivot Point
Finally, Kristi uses “Awkward”, “Beware!”, and “Quick!” to succinctly create tension. These moments mark turning points in the action and help regulate the pacing. "Awkward" produces a snarky giggle moment, while "Beware" and "Quick" spike the tension. 
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Use this picture book to study the art of single word sentences to capture mood, offer an emotional pivot point, and create humor. 

And those single word sentences are kind to your word count. Bonus! 

To find out more about Kristi, visit her at ​kristimahoneybooks.com.
To learn more about illustrators Chantelle and Burgen Thorne go chantelleandburgen.com. 

~ Review by Amanda Smith

In Cat Nap (Greenwillow Books, 2025) written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor-winning artist Brain Lies, a sleepy kitten is disturbed from his comfy nap by a mouse. The mouse leaps into a poster of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and, of course, kitten follows. Kitten pursues Mouse through several works of art, each time transforming into the style of the art piece. However, soon Kitten realizes that he is lost and must rely on the art itself to find his way home.
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Cat Nap is ALL about remarkable art. In order to create the final illustrations, Lies meticulously handmade each one in the original media of the various art pieces that Kitten visits. Lies’ creations range from relief carvings, to clay kittens, illuminated prayer books, wood carvings, stained glass, and much more! And while the characters might be crafted out of solid and stiff materials, movement, expression, and energy abound. It is simply astounding, in an age where images can be so easily produced and manipulated by technology, that the artist chooses to create these pieces by hand.

Thank you, Brian for giving us permission to post your artwork.
To learn more about Brian, visit him at www.brianlies.com/

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic writes award-winning, New York Times-bestselling books in the San Francisco Bay Area surrounded by a few kids, a few cats, and one husband. Her most recent books include Touch the Sky (Carolhoda Books, 2024), Zombie and Brain are Friends (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025), and Not Like Every Day (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2025). To learn more about author Stephanie Lucianovic visit her website. 

I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff is a fun and fabulous epistolary style picture book about the art of apologizing with sincerity and empathy. Find the full book pick here.

The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed is a silly sibling romp and a smart mentor text about using rhyme. Click here to read the full book pick with fabulous tips about writing in rhyme. 

Like by Annie Barrows is a humorous look at the ways we are similar to one another. Find the book pick here.

A Little More Beautiful by Sarah Mackenzie is a lovely intergenerational book about sharing talents. Click here for the full book pick.

The Man Who Didn't Like Animals by Deborah Underwood is the hilarious and brilliant origin story of Old MacDonald. Read the full book pick here.

Review by Kristi Mahony

If you are looking for a book to help welcome in the fall season, Gather Grateful (Candlewick Press, September 2025) by author Megan Litwin and illustrator Alexandra Finkeldey will be the one you want to read. This lyrical rhyming picture book follows animals and people as they “gather” during the wonderful season of fall. Outside, squirrels gather acorns and seeds, while inside, families gather around a bustling table, demonstrating the lovely connection between how both people and animals come together to prepare and celebrate these autumn months. Unique and striking complimentary colors –with shades of blue accenting the traditional fall oranges –add an additional layer of glowing warmth to the story. With themes of love, gratitude, family, and community, Gather Grateful will blanket you in a coziness perfect for this time of year.
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On Writing:
Here are some ways you can use Gather Grateful as a mentor text for your own writing:

Be true to yourself:
Megan finds joy in magical moments and, through her writing, others are invited into that bliss. Her love of poetry, nature, family, and the joy of fall is so genuine and inviting in this book, it will leave readers wanting to return to it over and over again. Writers are often encouraged to “write what you know”, but when you’re brainstorming manuscript topics, perhaps a good place to start is: write what you love. 

Find a unique hook:
There is a plethora of fantastic fall books out in the marketplace, but Megan chose to do something different and entirely unique that set this book apart. She focused on another aspect of fall: that it brings people and animals (respectively) together. She found the joy of gathering, put it in words, and together with Alexandra brought it to life. If your manuscript is on a topic with lots of competition, find a creative hook to make it stand out.

Leave room for art (and magic):
When I first saw this manuscript as Megan’s critique partner, it was under 120 words and did not contain a single art note. As writers, we almost always have a vision and often think we want that vision to come alive through art. But what if someone – equally as talented in their craft – takes those brilliant words and works their own magic? The gathering of Megan’s carefully chosen words and Alexandra’s confidently selective color palette led to this result – a picture book that is as breathtaking as fall itself. 

To learn more about Megan, visit her website here or connect with her on social media at https://www.instagram.com/meganlitwinbooks/ or https://bsky.app/profile/meganlitwinbooks.bsky.social

​You can learn more about Alexandra Finkeldey here.

Review by Kelly Carey

There is an art to crafting a sincere apology. In I’m Sorry You Got Mad (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024) illustrated by Julie Kwon, author Kyle Lukoff presents letters to explore the common pitfalls along the road to a true and productive apology. Jack has knocked over Zoe’s castle and he has a lot of big feelings about it. Real regret and empathy are not Jack’s initial emotions. As he struggles to grasp what goes into a genuine apology, readers will learn from his missteps and parents and teachers will appreciate the lesson nestled deep inside a solidly entertaining story. Kwon does a fabulous job showing a very frustrated Jack while Lukoff offers up a helpful and sympathetic teacher who patiently guides Jack in the art of saying sorry “for real”. The payoff of his well-articulated apology gives the story a satisfying and heartwarming ending. 

On Writing
Lukoff tells his entire story in an epistolary style and the result is that the reader stays firmly inside the protagonist’s head. This allows Lukoff to show his main character’s frustration and eventual emotional arc without letting the story become didactic. The text teaches the reader how to form a good apology, but by using the notes Jack writes to Zoe the lesson becomes a show don’t tell moment that makes the text fun, realistic, and heartwarming. Kwon plays with the facial expressions of the main character to give added magic to the emotions of the letters.
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This is an excellent mentor text for epistolary style and a reminder to authors to allow the illustrator space to be a full partner in the storytelling. 

To learn more about author Kyle Lukoff visit his website here. 

To learn more about illustrator Julie Kwon visit her website here. 

Review by Kristi Mahoney

The Book That Almost Rhymed (Dial Books, 2024), written by debut author Omar Abed and beautifully illustrated by Hatem Aly is one of my favorite reads in the past year. It features a boy retelling a perfectly fantastic story in rhyme, only to be continuously interrupted by his little sister. She inserts ridiculous words that do not rhyme with his story! Do pirates even dance? Is there even such a thing as a fire-breathing armadillo? Despite his frustration, he reluctantly includes his sister, and without completely spoiling the ending, let’s just say if he had not….

it would have been an opportunity missed,

for what turned out to be an amazing twist! 
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On Writing:
Many debut or newer authors face the dilemma –to rhyme or not to rhyme? We’re typically told to steer away from it, but we’re also told it’s important to be authentically ourselves. What happens when everything continues to pour out in rhyme? This is exactly what happened to Omar. In an interview with Kailei Pew Books he admitted, “I struggled to write poetically without rhyming. Everything that came to mind rhymed… or almost rhymed, but not quite. That’s where THE BOOK THAT ALMOST RHYMED was born. I wanted a chance to indulge the side of me that couldn’t force everything to rhyme, while also giving into my rhyming tendencies.”

In short, Omar took a writing hazard and made it an asset, then hit it out of the park!

When faced with a similar situation, here’s how to use The Book That Almost Rhymed as a mentor text:

• If you’re going to rhyme, do it well and with a purpose - Omar is being humble when he said he couldn’t force everything to rhyme. Nothing about this book feels forced. It’s masterfully written by someone who clearly knows what they’re doing.

 

• Humor and heart are great, but best together – Kids love to laugh, but adding in some heartfelt moments, like Omar does with the sibling relationship, helps to instill that warm and fuzzy feeling that makes readers want to read the story over and over again.

 

• Make the lesson subtle –there’s a great lesson tucked within this book that doesn’t feel didactic.

 

• Add a clever twist  – adding a twist took this story from one that would make kids laugh to one that has racked up awards, starred reviews, and the praise of parents, educators and fellow writers everywhere.

 

• Finish the puzzle – there were a lot of parts to this story. There was the story, the story within a story, two storytellers, and a lot of chaos. If this story was a puzzle, at one point there were pieces scattered all over the table. However, in the end, each puzzle piece was perfectly placed leaving us, as readers, with a very satisfied feeling of completion in the end.

 

• Leave readers excited for more – Although the story ended, Omar’s last page hinted at future possibilities for this very likable sibling duo. Fingers crossed we, as readers, get to join them! 

 To learn more about author Omar Abed visit him online at one of these places: https://omarabed.com/ , 
https://www.instagram.com/omarabedwrites , https://www.facebook.com/OmarAbedWrites , https://bsky.app/profile/omarabedwrites.bsky.social, or https://x.com/OmarAbedWrites. 

To learn more about illustrator Hatem Aly, visit him at one these places: https://www.metahatem.com/books.html, https://www.instagram.com/metahatem , https://www.facebook.com/metahatem, https://bsky.app/profile/metahatem.bsky.social or https://x.com/metahatem

Review by Kelly Carey

​​Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic’s picture book tells the story of Vern who longs to learn how to pump on a swing until his feet can Touch the Sky (Carolhoda Books, 2024). As with most things, when you are kid, Vern notes “It feels hard until you get it, and then its not.” But the process of figuring it out is frustrating and Vern gets “wood chippy,” confused, and fights a desire to give up until, with help from quirky Gretchen, he finds a way to soar.

​Chris Park illustrates the story with wonderful whooshy drawings and festive streaks of color that make the reader feel like they are stretching and pumping right along with Vern and Gretchen. Vern’s flying and flopping hair becomes its own character. There is a realistic sweetness and a giggly humor to this wonderful story and any kid who has been reduced to pushing along a swing on their belly will feel Vern’s desire for more. 
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On Writing: 
Embrace the mindset of a child. Clearly, Lucianovic did exactly that when writing Touch the Sky. First, she picked a kid friendly skill to offer up as her protagonist’s challenge. She didn’t create a crazy unrealistic task, but picked a universal early goal kids everywhere want to learn – how to pump on a swing. She smartly avoided the overused and obvious learn to ride a bike and as a result her topic is both unique, timeless and relatable to her child reader. Take Lucianovic’s lead and think about the milestone moments in your childhood. What did your child mind wish to do? What did you work hard to tackle when you were a kid?
  
Lucianovic not only picks a kid appropriate skill, but she keeps the voice, actions, and humor in the child’s mindset. Vern “hung over the ground and dragged his fingers through the wood chips” is such a simple action but it conjures understanding and a sense of place and time. Helpful Gretchen, whose name Vern knows because he hears her mother say, “Gretchen – do NOT pet the cat with your cheese!”, offers up moments of age-appropriate laughter. And Vern’s action cleverly repeat with strings of verbs, like “Lean, stretch, sweep. Pull, tuck, swing” that show Vern’s struggle and persistence. This break from straight narrative and dialogue, to lines of action words, break the predictable pacing and keep the text fun, inventive, and in a childhood rhythm of learning something new. 
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Use Touch the Sky as a mentor text for remembering what felt challenging as a child. 

Then use this book as a mentor text for mixing strings of action verbs into more traditional narrative and dialogue to make your manuscript soar. 

To learn more about author Stephanie Lucianovic visit her website. To learn more about illustrator Chris Park you can check out her website. 

by Kelly Carey

​With a charming child narrator whose no-nonsense and humorous approach is equal parts endearing and funny, Like (Chronicle Books, 2022) by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Leo Espinosa encourages readers to wonder how they relate to the things around them and points out that they have more in common with each other than anything else on Earth.

​Plenty of books have been written extolling how much folks have in common, but Like does it in the most wonderful kid-centric way. It kicks off comparing a person to a tin can. That will have kids giggling from the jump. Then it raises the stakes by asking kids to compare themselves to a swimming pool, a hyena, and mushrooms. But don’t be fooled, this is more than just a humorous text. This picture book offers up a serious heartwarming message of community as it celebrates our common human traits. Afterall, we are way more Like each other than we are like a can of tomato sauce. 

On Writing: 
Like is a wonderful mentor text for exploring the use of first person. Barrows smartly makes her first-person narrator a child to match her reading audience but then elevates her text with wonderfully nuanced dialogue. Her main character speaks with innocent humor, insightful naivete, and fully recognizable kid-speak. The beauty of using a child narrator is that your target reader will instantly relate, and the story can convey lofty and complex topics in a clear and entertaining way (well, if you do it right and Barrows certainly does!). If you want to make sure your child characters ring true, Barrow’s text will be a great tool. ​

This is also a great text to study if you have opted to pepper your manuscript with a few thoughts in parentheses. Barrows has used this method sparingly but with great results. 

To learn more about author Annie Barrows visit her here. 
To learn more about illustrator Leo Espinosa visit him here. 

​Review by Annie Cronin Romano

In A LITTLE MORE BEAUTIFUL (Waxwing Books, 2023), Lou Alice loves the outdoors, and she especially loves to garden. With each day that goes by, Lou Alice does something to leave the world a little more beautiful than she found it, and the gardens she plants bring smiles to those in her town. Then one day, an aging Lou Alice is no longer able to do the work she loves, and no one seems to be missing her except for one young girl. She had been observing Lou Alice, always noticing the beauty she had sown and the pleasure that came from her efforts. The girl takes over tending the gardens as Lou Alice once had, but she realizes she needs to do more, for it wasn’t just the flowers she loved; it was Lou Alice's untethered joy at sharing nature's beauty. The girl knows what makes Lou Alice smile, and she decides to see to it that Lou Alice receives some of the happiness she's given others.

A LITTLE MORE BEAUTIFUL is a picture book ideal for children ages 3-8. In a classic tone, it depicts the importance of appreciation and how sharing our talents can not only bring beauty into the world but also appreciation of others and the joy of human connection. Magically illustrated by Breezy Brookshire, the springtime palette perfectly captures the happiness created by Lou Alice’s gardens. The illustrations seamlessly complement the selective text, picking up the story where the words leave off and adding some visual treats along the way, as children will enjoy tracking the birds and curious cat across the pages. 
 
On Writing
Mackenzie’s use of text is efficient yet expressive. Her writing is a solid example of subtly conveying a message within a story. While there are clearly social themes in this picture book, the lessons are presented with a light touch, and the delivery allows for a variety of take-aways, such as appreciation of nature, awareness of others, kindness, and human connection. Using this book as an example, take a look at your own stories that may have an embedded social lesson. Examine if the moral is too overt and forced. Be sure the message is folded gently into the story narrative. 

For more information about Sarah Mackenzie’s work, visit her website at www.waxwingbooks.com/about. 
For info on Breezy Brookshire’s work, visit her website at www.breezybrookshire.com.