Nicholas Solis

An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects. Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet.

. Aug. 2026. 64p. pap. $12.99. ISBN 9781534113527. Gr 2-5 COPY ISBN Gr 2-5–This book of poetry, full of bathroom humor, will provide laughs for all readers. Thirty-four poems about gross things, ranging from poo and pee to boogers and scabs, will easily hold readers’ attention without being entirely inappropriate. Not sticking to any one form, Solis employs various poetry styles. End pages include a short lesson about poetry, what it is, and what makes a poem a haiku, free verse, or concrete.

Gr 1-3–A celebration of Mexican Independence Day provides the backdrop for a young girl’s cultural coming-of-age. Gloria, a gangly young girl of Mexican heritage, welcomes the morning with excitement. Today is September 16—diez y seis de septiembre, Mexican Independence Day. Her father usually launches the festival with the traditional grito, a loud and celebratory shout. But today he wakes up ill and has lost his voice.