Geo Librarian

  POLECAT HAS A SUPERPOWER written by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Bob Shea G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-593-69999-7 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A factual (and funny) introduction to the polecat and its awesome, action-packed superpower, from the team that brought you Parrotfish Has a Superpower. The polecat has a super cool superpower you’d probably never guess. Why? Well, first, he’s usually only awake when the rest of us are sleeping! Second, he is NOT a baby skunk, despite what everyone says, so he can do more than spray his predators. And third, his superpower isn’t something he normally shows to friends. But today he’s happy to show you (and one nervous porcupine) what it is! After we get to know him of course. Will you be able to guess the superpower? Read this book to find out! REVIEW Polecat Has a Superpower  int...

ISLAND STORM written by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-8234-5647-5 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK In Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca and acclaimed illustrator Sydney Smith’s thrilling picture book, young readers will experience the sheer power of a violent thunderstorm and the calm of its aftermath. Can you tell when a storm is coming? Can you feel the wind coming and growing? Do you hear the branches bouncing together, hear the whispers of the wind through the leaves? Join in the journey as two siblings bear witness to the steady start, thrilling apex, and gentle end of this island storm. They’ll shelter soon, but first they want to feel it all. Sydney Smith is the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators o...

  MAKING LIGHT BLOOM: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps written by Sandra Nickel, illustrated by Julie Paschkis Peachtree, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-68263-609-1 Source: Blue Slip Media & publisher Ages  7-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK The untold story of Clara Driscoll, a nature lover with the mind of a creative innovator and the unsung genius who designed and engineered the iconic Tiffany lamp Drawing inspiration from her childhood gardens, Clara Driscoll created designs for Louis C. Tiffany's stained glass windows. Clara had such a flare for glass that Tiffany put her in charge of a special workroom, staffed with women—called the Tiffany Girls. But Clara wanted more. She wanted to create a three-dimensional work that would make light bloom. So she figured out how to engineer a lamp—how to shape and bend glass and light it so that her designs sprung to colorful, vivid life. T...

HURRICANE written and illustrated by Jason Chin Neal Porter Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-8234-5849-3 Source: purchased Ages 8 and up  Picture book nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Caldecott Medalist Jason Chin charts the thrilling saga of an island community’s brush with a category three hurricane, and the cutting-edge science that helps them prepare. It’s a beautiful day on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. But while all seems calm now, a hurricane is barreling across the Atlantic, and everyone is wondering when it will hit the U.S. coast. And where. Night and day, meteorologists use satellites to monitor the storm. Brave pilots fly directly into the tempest, dodging lightning bolts to gather crucial data. Back on the island, families board up windows, drag furniture upstairs, and stock survival kits to prepare for what may come. From its dramatic opening, Hurricane alternates be...

DON'T EAT THE CLEANERS! Tiny Fish with a Big Job written & illustrated by Susan Stockdale Source: Peachtree Publishing Ages 6-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Even though they live underwater, ocean animals have to get clean, just like we do. But they get it done in a weird and wonderful way. Just like you have to take a bath and brush your teeth, fish also have basic hygiene practices they have to follow every day. But their approach to cleanliness doesn't just take place underwater—it involves a network of larger ocean animals washed by small fish and shrimp called cleaners at coral reef cleaning stations around the world. Cleaners remove pesky parasites from their customers in return for a tasty meal, serving up to 2000 customers a day. Sea turtles, manta rays, and even sharks line up for a scrubbing in the busy stations, just like at a car wash. Some customers return 100...

  ABLAZE: The Story of America's First Female Smokejumper written by Jessica Lawson, illustrated by Sarah Gonzales Viking, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-593-46365-9 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Deanne loved being outdoors. With her family, she spent summers sailing the Salton Sea and backpacking the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As she grew older, her love of nature only grew. So when the heat rose each fire season and the blazes burned near and far, she noticed. Deanne knew she had to do her part in fighting the fires. She spent years on woodland crews, clearing brush and branches that could make the fire spread, and on hotshot crews where she fought faster fires and took bigger risks, spending weeks in one-hundred-degree heat working twenty-four-hour shifts. But what Deanne really wanted was to be a smokejumper, to jump from planes and parachute into dangerous...

  THREAT OF THE SPIDER The Web of the Spider #2 written by Michael P. Spradlin McElderry Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-1-6659-4724-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 Middle grade historical fiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for arranging the interview and providing the book. ABOUT THE BOOK A twelve-year-old boy searches for his father and fights for free press amid the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany in this second book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided. Ansel has never been afraid to say what’s on his mind. He’s always the first among his friends to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. When the Hitler Youth first set up shop in Heroldsberg the year before, Ansel quickly made enemies of the chapter’s arrogant leader, Hans. Of course, Ansel is also twelve years old, so he spends much of his time reading his favorite Dirk Goodly, Boy Detective novels and trying to...

FOREVER FRIENDS Drag and Rex #1 written by Susan Lubner, illustrated by Blythe Russo Pixel & Ink, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-64595-115-5 Source: purchased Ages 6-10 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW Drag (a dragon) and Rex (a T-rex) are roommates and best friends. As in many such early reader series, the book consists of three stories about the two friends and their adventures. Each story is divided into three short chapters. The two friends are, as one would expect, quite different but those differences make the stories feel fresh and the relationship more realistic. The delightful illustrations highlight the characters and the action and break up the text nicely. The first story follows Rex's efforts to make breakfast followed by making a cake for his friend Lilly Pop. Drag attempts to help but causes problems when he can't resist his appetite. The second story finds Drag and Rex playing in the snow. But mis...

ANJALI CAN! Always Anjali #3 written by Sheetal Sheth, illustrated by Lucia Soto Random House Children's Books, 2025 ISBN: 978-0-593-65122-3 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Author interview arranged by Random House. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Seven-year-old Anjali is back and ready to prove there’s nothing she can’t do, in this third book in the Always Anjali series! When a beloved community center is threatened with shutting down, Anjali must quickly find a way to save the space or risk losing it. The local community center is a second home to Anjali. It's where she met her best friends; it's her favorite spot for game and movie nights; and it's where she learned to play tabla. Anjali has so many happy memories there, but now the community center is closing! Unwilling to let the center shut down for good, Anjali is determined to keep the place open. S...