The Horn Book Magazine

Find more great Horn Book content at these links: Interviews with authors and illustrators Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists App and e-book reviews Movie reviews Event news and recaps Events calendar This week on hbook.com... This week on hbook.com...

Although I haven’t yet seen the Christopher Nolan movie version starring “Just a Kid from Cambridge” Matt Damon, I did think of The Odyssey quite a few times while working on this issue. Maybe because the film’s publicity is everywhere, it’s hard not to notice the trusty home-away-home structure and what makes a hero — but with some welcome twists along the way.

What can win? What will win? What should win the 2027 Caldecott Award? It's beginning to look a lot like...Calling Caldecott season!* Adrienne and I are back officially on Tuesday, September 8, to kick off our blog coverage of 2026 titles eligible for the 2027 Caldecott Award. As always, our slate of expert contributors will evaluate books using ALSC's Caldecott Award criteria (we'll have an upcoming post about that).

Beacons of Light: A Journey Through the World of Lighthouses by Gemma Koomen; illus. by the author Primary, Intermediate    Post Wave    48 pp. 5/26    9798895090527    $19.99 In this illustrated history of lighthouses, Koomen highlights the technological advancements that have guided sea travelers for thousands of years. Fifty-two lighthouses from around the world and across time are visited, from the ancient stone Pharos of Alexandria to South Korea’s horse-shaped Red Horse lighthouse.

The Massachusetts Book Awards “recognize significant works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, graphic novel/memoir, and children’s/young adult literature written, illustrated, or translated by current Commonwealth residents.” We chatted with Picture Book/Early Reader Award winner Astrid Sheckels, author-illustrator of Flora and the Jazzers (Waxwing, 4–7 years), starring a scullery-maid ferret with a Jazz Age dream; and Cait Levin, Middle Grade/Young Adult Award winner for...

Cover © 2026 by Zuzana Čupová. Features Little Tipi on the Prairie by Carole Lindstrom Expanding the narrative around Native Peoples. Ashley Bryan’s Beautiful Blackbird by Dean Schneider An immersive experience at The Rabbit hOle museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Daddy King: How Martin Luther King Jr. Found His Thunder by Alice Faye Duncan A golden acrostic poem. Columns Editorial An Odyssey by Elissa Gershowitz Heroes’ journeys with welcome twists.

Watermelon Pool by Bonsoir Lune; illus. by the author; trans. from Korean by Frances Cha Preschool, Primary    Dial    56 pp. 6/26    9798217111787    $19.99 This fanciful Korean import presents a watermelon big enough to swim in. When the melon ripens and splits apart, “it’s opening day at the watermelon pool.” First to arrive is an older man who leans a ladder against the giant melon and climbs up.

This interview originally appeared in the July/August 2026 Horn Book Magazine as part of the Publishers’ Previews: New & Noteworthy, an advertising supplement that allows participating publishers a chance to each highlight a book from its current list. They choose the books; we ask the questions. Sponsored by In the graphic novel Game On, Sasan juggles family obligations, peer pressure, and his beloved video games to make it through seventh grade. 1.

Find more great Horn Book content at these links: Interviews with authors and illustrators Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists App and e-book reviews Movie reviews Event news and recaps Events calendar This week on hbook.com... This week on hbook.com...

This interview originally appeared in the July/August 2026 Horn Book Magazine as part of the Publishers’ Previews: New & Noteworthy, an advertising supplement that allows participating publishers a chance to each highlight a book from its current list. They choose the books; we ask the questions. Sponsored by The Duck Can’t Sleep and neither, apparently, could E. B.