🤩 Among The Stars: August Update!
- Jennifer LaGarde
- 28 minutes ago
- 8 min read
It's that time again. For the moment, anyway, our curated starred review spreadsheet is up to date, y'all.
As a reminder, Martha Hickson and I curate and collate the starred reviews from six trade journals:
*This also includes SLJ Express Reviews
We realize, of course, that other sites/blogs award stars, too... but these are the journals we've chosen to focus on.
You May Have Noticed...
It’s been a minute since my last update.
Mostly, that is because I’ve been busy with lots of good things: traveling across the country to deliver PD, teaching my graduate students at Rutgers, and working on a few projects I’m not quite ready to share yet. But also, because I am an old lady, I’ve been dealing with a few health challenges that have required much of my attention. To be clear: I’m totally fine, and no one needs to worry about me. If anything, I hope you’ll just forgive me for being a little slower to update this resource, which I know many of you depend on!
Meanwhile, Martha Hickson has faithfully continued keeping up with her side of this project, so any delay in updates falls squarely on me. Thanks, Martha!
All that said, we have some catching up to do. So, let’s get to the stars!
The Stars So Far!
Since it’s been a while since our last update, we have a LOT more stars to talk about! As of this update, our spreadsheet includes 1,660 starred reviews for 1,070 individual titles. That's nearly double the 845 we had collected when I last shared this information back in April.
Another exciting update, for me anyway, is that among this growing constellation of stars, we also officially have our first six-star title of 2026! The Second Life of Snap by Erin Entrada Kelly has now earned a starred review from all six of the journals Martha and I curate. Am I surprised that Erin's newest dystopian sci-fi for middle grade readers reached this milestone first? No! Am I surprised that only one book has joined the six-star club so far? A little.
Which made me wonder: Is this really surprising, or is this how things normally progress? And because I have a zillion deadlines all competing for my attention, of course, I decided to research this instead!
Now... I don’t have a saved August 2025 version of the spreadsheet, but using the dates of the reviews, I was able to reconstruct a pretty good snapshot. And for a bona fide book nerd like me, the comparison is interesting!
Number of Stars | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
⭐ | 672 titles | 669 titles | +3 |
⭐⭐ | 263 titles | 209 titles | +54 |
⭐⭐⭐ | 92 titles | 89 titles | +3 |
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 30 titles | 29 titles | +1 |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 12 titles | 8 titles | +4 |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 1 title | 7 titles | −6 |
Total unique titles | 1,070 | 1,011 | +59 |
Total starred reviews | 1,660 | 1,552 | +108 |
Of course, many of the books on our spreadsheet have earned stars from websites and reviewers we don’t curate. However, if you’re interested in how the rest of our data is shaping up, here’s the latest breakdown.
One quick note: if you were one of the approximately 38,299 people who messaged me to let me know that the chart showing how the reviews break down by journal wasn’t working, first: thank you! Second: it’s fixed now. And third: here’s what happened.
Earlier this year, we realized that School Library Journal had started posting additional reviews online through something called SLJ Xpress. Adding this new source meant we (and by “we,” I mean Martha!) had to go back and record all the SLJ Xpress reviews we’d missed. Then, I updated the formulas so those new records would be reflected in our data. However, I clearly missed this one. Ooops!
And speaking of annoying changes to how each journal manages their reviews, I just have to rant hyperbolically about the way Publisher's Weekly has switched from web-based to PDF digital archives. To say that this change has ruined my life is, well... a gross overstatement. HOWEVER, it is a massive pain in the 🍑 that has made curated PW reviews even more time consuming. Why these journals don't consult me prior to making these structural changes is mind boggling. /rant
Anyway, you can take a closer look at all the spreadsheet-related data by checking out the tabs labeled “stats” at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
What's On My Radar?
For this update, I’m putting a little twist on my usual list of books I’m excited about. In addition to my affection for them, these starred titles all have something else in common, too. Or, more specifically, their creators do.
Think you can figure out the connection? Take a look at the books below and see if you can spot what ties them all together. Don’t worry, I’ll reveal the answer at the end!
⭐️ ⭐️ Absent by Rex Ogle
Three middle school boys are missing school, but for three very different reasons. Told through a mix of verse, prose, and comics, Absent brings Manny, Calvin, and Liam together in detention, where they begin to discover just how much of one another’s stories they’ve been missing. I’d like to say this book had me at “multimodal middle grade novel tackling chronic absenteeism,” but the truth is, it had me at Rex Ogle!
⭐️ ⭐️ When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller
When Nomi, Vi, and Arthur were younger, they discovered a book of prophecies that promised to tell them what the future held. Now, as wildfires threaten Seattle and the final prophecy begins to come true, the three friends must figure out whether knowing the future means they can actually change it. As a fellow Washingtonian, I loved the way Tae captures our connection to the natural world, while also weaving in some timely questions about our online lives.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Here Come The Aunties! by Cynthia Leitich Smith and Aphelandra
Here Come the Aunties! celebrates all the aunties who show up for a child, whether they’re connected by kinship, friendship, or community. Following young River through everyday moments, celebrations, and sorrows, this joyful picture book is really a celebration of the many people who help love us into who we become.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ As I Dream of You by Jennifer Lee and LeUyen Pham
Inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, As I Dream of You follows two teens whose love story blurs the boundaries between dreams, reality, life, and death. It’s also a stunning example of just how complex and compelling graphic novels can be, with LeUyen Pham’s illustrations using color, symbolism, and visual foreshadowing to help tell the story!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Three Pieces of Broken Glass by Emily Barth Isler’s and Vesper Stamper
The three pieces of broken glass on Great-Grandma Inge’s windowsill hold three family stories, from the joyful breaking of glass at a Jewish wedding to the shattered windows of Kristallnacht and a family reunited after fleeing Germany. Based on family and community connections, this beautiful picture book explores how all the pieces of our history, both joyful and painful, matter.
⭐️ Este Es Un Cuento by John Schu and Lauren Castillo, translated by Ana Izquierdor
In this Spanish-language companion to This Is a Story, a child’s trip to the library becomes a celebration of all the ways stories help us explore our interests, connect with others, and make sense of the world. I especially love its reminder that story helps us understand everything!
⭐️ ⭐️ An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon and Corinna Luyken
Houdini is an octopus with nine brains, a knack for escaping her aquarium tank, and a deep longing to return to the sea. Told in free verse from Houdini’s perspective, this illustrated middle grade novel combines fascinating octopus facts with a tender story about friendship, freedom, and what it means to truly understand what another living being needs.
⭐️ ⭐️ Listen to the Girls by Chrystal D. Giles
When Calla’s favorite teacher is accused of inappropriate behavior toward girls at his former school, she struggles to reconcile what she’s hearing with the teacher she thought she knew. This powerful middle grade novel explores grooming, believing girls, and the complicated courage it takes to listen to others closely enough to recognize when you might have a story of your own to tell.
⭐️ Together for Mama by Pooja Makhijani and Nadia Alam
When Asha’s new baby sister arrives, she’s thrilled to be a big sister, but she also notices that Mama is struggling. Told through Asha’s eyes, this tender picture book tackles postpartum depression in an honest, age-appropriate way while showing how family and community can surround someone with care when they need it most. I also love how Mama is not treated as someone who needs to be fixed. Rather, her story reminds us that struggle is a part of life, and that families can find their way through hard things together.
⭐️ ⭐️ A Place to Dance by Eric Rosswood, Richard Lamberty, and Vincent Chen
As a child, Richard Lamberty loved ballroom dancing but wondered why boys always had to lead while girls got to twirl, dip, and spin. This joyful picture book biography follows how Richard learned to dance both roles and ultimately helped create spaces where same-gender couples could compete, celebrating the idea that sometimes being yourself means changing the rules. I love this book so much!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
When a classroom braiding craze grows into one enormous braid made from scraps of fabric brought from home, the students turn it into something they can all share. I love how this book literally weaves individual stories and memories into something communal, creating a beautiful celebration of creativity, collaboration, and the stories contained in everyday things.
⭐️ ⭐️ Orris and Timble: Star Stories by Kate DiCamillo and Carmen Mok
In the final book of this tender early-reader trilogy, Timble the owl offers his cautious, book-loving friend Orris the rat a chance to leave the safety of his barn and see the world for himself. It’s a gentle story about friendship, trust, and finding the courage to take a leap, or in Orris’s case, a flight, into something new.
So... did you figure out the connection between these amazing book creators (apart from the fact that they all have a book on this year's starred review spreadsheet AND I absolutely adore them, of course)?
If you guessed that every one of these books was created by someone who is either a current or upcoming guest on Season Three of The Reader’s Heart, give yourself a gold star!
Some of these conversations are already out in the world, while others are still headed your way, but putting this list together reminded me just how ridiculously lucky I am to spend time talking with the people who create books like these.
One thing I’m super proud of this season is the collection of free, student-facing activities I’m creating to accompany the books we discuss in each episode. While you can listen to The Reader’s Heart wherever you get your podcasts, these free resources are only available in the show notes I create for each episode
What Did I Miss?
Finally, as a reminder, Martha and I manage this resource in all of our spare time. Har! The longer I spend curating this spreadsheet, the more respect I have for Jen J., the public librarian who began this work way back in 2011! Four years into my journey as a part-time spreadsheet sommelier, I have no idea if I’ll be able to keep it up for as long as the first Jennifer did. But I do know this much: no matter how careful we are, mistakes happen! We miss reviews. We misspell titles. And sometimes we delete whole sections and have to start again. 😬
When you notice an error, we hope you’ll let us know! But, as a reminder, we ask that you do the following when submitting corrections:
Remember: we typically update this spreadsheet once per month. With that in mind, please wait at least one month before letting us know that we’ve missed a starred review. For example, if you notice that a starred review published on May 15th isn’t yet on our spreadsheet, please wait until after June 15th to let us know.
Please only submit review corrections once. We will get to them as soon as we are able. Promise!
