Shoshana Flax

Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel; illus. by Stacy Innerst Primary    Calkins/Astra    48 pp. 4/26    9781662680953    $19.99 This engaging and energetic picture-book biography of lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021) begins with his creative process: “Writing songs for the theater was / Stephen Sondheim’s favorite / puzzle to solve.

When You’re Brave Enough by Rebecca Bendheim Intermediate, Middle School    Viking    304 pp. 4/26    9780593695135    $18.99 Eighth grader Lacey has moved from Austin, Texas, to Providence, Rhode Island, and she has complicated feelings about her relationship with the best friend she left behind. She also has complicated feelings about a tradition in her new school’s theater program: the “main couple” in the musical always kisses during the final performance.

Clock Hands by Marieke Nijkamp; illus. by Sylvia Bi Intermediate, Middle School    Greenwillow    288 pp. 4/26    9780063027145    $23.99 This standalone graphic novel, a companion to Nijkamp and Bi’s Ink Girls (rev. 11/23), is set in the same imagined city of Siannerra. Just as the first book took on the issue of freedom of the press, this one tells an engaging story of labor rights.