John’s Turn by Mac Barnett (author) and Kate Berube (illustrator) (Candlewick Press). It’s Sharing Gifts time at school, so “John prepared. He was hidden behind a big blue curtain. He unzipped his bag and changed into his clothes. He put on a white leotard. He put on black pants. He put on black slippers. Then he was ready.” But what if the other kids laugh at him? What if they’ve never seen a boy dance ballet and don’t think it’s a “gift” at all? Well, he’ll just have to twirl, hop, pirouette, leap…and see what happens!

I'm a Neutrino: Tiny Particles in a Big Universe by Eve M. Vavagiakis (author) and Ilze Lemesis (illustrator) (MIT Kids Press). “I am a fermion that can hardly be traced. I come in flavors, but not ones you can taste. Electron, muon, and tau are the flavors I crave. The flavor I have determines how I’ll behave…They still don’t know my mass! Can you believe that it’s true? Who will find out? Could it one day be you?” The large concepts behind the smallest of particles are presented here in accessible, kid-sized tidbits that non-scientist moms and dads will be fascinated by, too.

My Big Book of Outdoors by Tim Hopgood (Candlewick Studio). Written “for everyone who stayed indoors in 2020,” this oversized ode to Mother Nature’s bounty includes crafts, recipes, splashy artwork, poetry, and facts arranged for young readers to explore. Divided by seasons, there’s something here for everyone — from amateur naturalists who never met a tree they couldn’t climb, to tentative hikers and bird watchers eager for a roadmap to the wider world around them.

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