Books

Quagmire Tiarello Couldn’t Be Better

Starred reviews in Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, The Bulletin Of The Center For Children’s Books, and The Horn Book. Chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

A fiercely independent nonconformist, Quagmire must recalibrate his formidable survival skills when his mother’s unstable mental health forces him to build a new life and forge ties with found family.

  • "An original narrative voice filled with humor and poignant truth telling."

    Kirkus, starred review

  • ". . . gorgeously written story that centers a teen yearning for stability and support.

    Publishers Weekly, starred review

  • “Readers will find themselves emotionally invested in this journey."

    Kirkus, starred review

  • "This amazing story is told with deep understanding and touched with a humor forged through pain, delivering an exceptional experience that avoids maudlin stereotypes and instead captures emotions and situations with succinct sincerity; not a word is wasted."

    Booklist, starred review

  • "Perfect for middle-grade readers, especially those who gravitate towards books by Gary D. Schmidt, Daniel Nayeri, and Erin Bow. Buy it, read it, talk about it, and share the love by passing it on."

    Booklist, starred review

  • "Readers will appreciate . . . the thoughtful and heartbreakingly realistic ways parent-child dynamics are presented without blame or judgment but rather honest considerations of needs."

    The Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books, starred review

  • Thought-provoking. Moving and quick-paced. . .

    The Horn Book, starred review

  • ". . .this novel gives readers valuable insight into a character who normally avoids attention and thus sympathy too.”

    The Horn Book, starred review

Playing Through the Turnaround

Iowa Children’s Choice Award nominee

South Carolina Children’s Book Award nominee

Starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly

Fifth period is hands down the best time of day in Connor U. Eubanks Middle School, because that’s when Mr. Lewis teaches Jazz Lab. So his students are devastated when their beloved teacher quits abruptly. Once they make a connection between budget cuts and Mr. Lewis’s disappearance, they hatch a plan: stop the cuts, save their class.

Soon, they become an unlikely band of crusaders, and their quest quickly snowballs into something much bigger—a movement involving the whole middle school. But the adults in charge seem determined to ignore their every protest. How can the kids make themselves heard?

  • “In an effort to get grown-ups to listen to them, middle schoolers do something extraordinary. So does Larsen, in her debut—by introducing characters so distinct and alive that each sparkles and yet becomes much more as they together tackle the challenging task of asserting their right to a say in their own educations."

    Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  • “A brave and dazzling debut, this timely novel is a blueprint for hope.”

    Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medalist and best-selling author of The One and Only Ivan

  • "The perfect amount of tension draw[s] readers in to a funny, sad, and heartwarming story that celebrates the importance of independence, belonging, and the arts."

    Horn Book Magazine

  • “[A] powerful portrayal of a ragtag group of students coming together to accomplish a common goal.”

    Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  • "With fast-paced, voice-driven chapters and a musical flair, this is perfect for readers of Carrie Firestone's Dress Coded (2020) and Maleeha Siddiqui's Barakah Beats (2021)."

    Booklist

All of Those Babies

All of Those Babies

Come meet babies across the animal kingdom and learn their names in this bouncy, rhyming picture book celebration of how—no matter what species—everyone grows!

Puffins have pufflings, porcupines have porcupettes, and echidnas have…puggles?! All these babies start out little, and then, just like humans, they grow and grow and grow. Featuring dozens of different animals, all adorably illustrated by Stephanie Laberis, this book is a vibrant celebration of little ones, growing, and love.

  • "Joyful, rollicking rhymes without a single instance of awkward phrasing make this a glorious read-aloud. . ."

    School Library Journal (starred review)

  • "Bound to be a repeat-reading request."

    Kirkus Reviews

If I Were a Kangaroo

“If I were a giant whale,

I’d sing you songs—slow epic tales.

Fin to fin, down in the deep,

We’d drift together into sleep,”

Bound to appeal to young animal lovers, this brief survey of animal habits shows that chicks, squirrels, giraffes, bats, otters, spiders, and gorillas all have their own special sleep styles and habits, which are presented poetically in the text as well as in brief scientific detail at the book’s end.

  • "Expressive and charming...perfect for bedtime and one-on-one sharing."

    School Library Journal

  • "A warm, comforting tale with interesting facts appended."

    Kirkus Reviews

How to Put Your Parents to Bed

No one likes going to bed. Especially when you're not even tired. You want to stay up and have all sorts of fun adventures! But take a look at your parents. They're really tired. They're exhausted. But they just won't go to bed! Help them put down the cell phones, turn off the TV, stop cleaning the dishes, and go to bed! You might be small, but you can handle this task. Follow the instructions in this book and you'll have them snoring in no time.

Mylisa Larsen teams up with Babette Cole, author-illustrator of Princess Smartypants and Dr. Dog, to present a bedtime story like you've never seen before! Larsen's tongue-in-cheek bedtime story about a role reversal between parents and a child pairs perfectly with Cole's hilarious and bright watercolor illustrations.

  • "Larsen playfully changes up the bedtime routine in her debut picture book, with parents and child swapping roles. Readers should find lots to laugh over in the household chaos of this topsy-turvy story."

    Publishers Weekly

  • "Cole's exuberant pen-and-watercolor illustrations encapsulate the chaos of the household at bedtime. An enjoyable—and hopefully convincing—bedtime read-aloud, packed with enough energy that it's sure to tucker out even the rowdiest of kids. (And parents.)"

    ALA Booklist

Ho Ho Homework

It's almost Christmas, and Jack's classroom has a new substitute teacher. There's something funny about Mr. Clausen--he seems awfully familiar....Is it his long, white beard? Is it the way his laugh sounds a lot like "Ho, ho, ho"? Or maybe it's his snack of milk and cookies--reindeer-shaped cookies!

Jack's classmates are convinced they know who Mr. Clausen really is, but Jack's not so sure...

Filled with beautiful pictures, humor, and lots of holiday cheer, this story captures all of the magic and mystery that children experience during the Christmas season. In the story, Mr. Clausen teaches Jack and his classmates how to make paper snowflake wishes--and the end of the book shows you how to make your very own!

  • "Larsen nimbly balances Jack’s stubborn skepticism...with his friends’ well-founded suspicions about the identity of their teacher who—in a fetching finale that involves a homework assignment and a sudden snowfall—makes a believer out of Jack."

    Publishers Weekly

  • "A cheerful diversion perfect for most picture book holiday collections."

    School Library Journal Reviews