Sharing Shalom by Danielle Sharkan (author) and Selina Alko (illustrator) (Holiday House). “Some kids were on the swim team. Others took dance or practiced martial arts. Leila went to Hebrew school…” There, she learns wonderful tales of “mighty kings and quick-witted queens…and heroes who overcame the impossible.” But when her synagogue is vandalized, the girl worries that her Jewishness somehow makes her different. As all kinds of folks from the community gather to repair the building, though, she realizes that we humans have so much more that unites us than divides us.

I Will Eat You in the End by David Duff (author) and Marianna Coppo (illustrator) (Neal Porter Books). It’s not that Frank the worm wants to get eaten, but look: He’s a worm, and that’s what his people do. They get eaten. But worms also eat, he explains to his new dinosaur friend. It’s the circle of life, and all life has a beginning and an end. In fact, Frank may just outlive the mighty dinosaur (who really is a good guy). That approaching asteroid seems a wee bit ominous…

Set Sail for School by Daryl-Lynne Gottier (author) and Gal Weizman (illustrator) (Flashlight Press). “‘Ahoy there, Jack,’ I hear Dad say. ‘Up, up you go! There’s school today!’ I rub my eyes and lift my head, then roll out of my comfy…hammock!” The boy lives on a boat, you see. And his classmates do, too — they’re all students at pirate school, and their fun, silly day is filled with knot-tying, rope-climbing, whale-counting, and all sorts of other important tasks that landlubbers just wouldn’t understand!