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The Case of the Pilfered Pearls

Margi Preus, illus. by Junyi Wu (Amulet)

In Preus’s sparkling chapter book series opener, which channels such animal investigator classics as The Great Mouse Detective, a pygmy shrew sleuth—sporting spectacles and a deerstalker hat—travels from her woodland abode to a human house when a case of vanished belongings jeopardizes the mice that live there. Wu’s occasional graphite illustrations, sprinkled with clues, impart gentle humor and invite readers to join the detective as she interviews acrobatic squirrels and evades domestic perils.

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Midsummer Sisters

Niki Smith (Graphix)

Smith’s expertly crafted and emotionally perceptive graphic novel sees two stepsisters confront hard realities about their parents’ deteriorating relationship against a backdrop of sand dunes and roaming wild horses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The arrival of a summer storm underscores the siblings’ emotional turbulence, while graceful linework captures both the grandeur of the windswept coastline and the intimacy of strained glances and interrupted conversations, resulting in an insightful exploration of change and connection.

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Rialto

Kate Milford (Clarion)

A family trip to an abandoned theme park and a fascinating list of bequests send a trio of kids on a magic-fueled investigation in Milford’s winking, whirlwind standalone mystery. Sturdy in-world lore combines with a sprawling, organically rendered cast to deliver an entrancing adventure that’s jam-packed with elegantly limned costumes, props, and settings, and serves as both welcoming entrée to and continuation of the author’s carefully engineered oeuvre.

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RV There Yet?

Suzanne Nelson (Knopf)

In Nelson’s raucous vacation comedy, two newlyweds pile their five children and very large dog into an ancient motor home bound for Yellowstone National Park on an outing that will “fuse us with some great forever glue.” Alternating third-person narration relayed via lush prose depicts the trip’s chaos alongside wonders of the natural world as the recently blended brood attempt to come together across a frenetic and laugh-out-loud summertime romp that brims with heart.

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Shim Jung Takes the Dive

Julia Riew (Quill Tree)

When a tween’s refusal to participate in an island tradition leads to her inadvertent arrival in a magical underwater kingdom, she teams up with a rebellious prince to stop the realm’s vengeful queen from destroying the mortal world. Making her middle grade debut, Riew draws inspiration from Korean figures and folklore to deliver a heartening and expansive tale that artfully intertwines unique renderings of mystical underwater adventure and grounded depictions of bravery.

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Stream

Aida Salazar (Scholastic Press)

Two 13-year-olds obsessed with online validation learn to unplug during a technology-free summer spent with family in Mexico. As one teen revels in practicing the rhythms of herbal remedies, the other finds purpose in reinforcing a riverbank to prevent flooding, journeys that Salazar relays via brisk pacing and thought-provoking verse. Shifting intergenerational dynamics and heartwarming portrayals of teens engaging in cultural self-discovery make for a timely and empathetic reflection on authenticity in the digital age.

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