The Second Life of Snap By Erin Entrada Kelly New York: Greenwillow Books, 2026. Science fiction. 164 pgs. 12-year-old Zuzu Santos does not like robots. Really, she doesn't trust anything that comes from the Lockwood Corporation; the super-conglomerate that governs life for the people in Barren, Texas. Zuzu and her fellow 'dusties' live in trailers with strict water rations in Barren, meanwhile people who live across the shelterbelt in the city of Bountiful have actual trees and all the water they want. To add insult to injury, Zuzu's father has been laid off by Lockwood and as a parting gift has been given a castoff robot—sans charging cable. To make things even worse, this robot is a guardian robot, specifically programmed to ensure Zuzu is attending school, doing homework, and other things a chaperone might do. Zuzu takes the robot to a nearby salvage yard, where her friend manages to reprogram the robot. In a twist, Snap (Secure Network Android Processor) now has a ...
Even Steven Written by Carrie Finison Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2026. Picture Book. Steven loves sharing. He especially loves sharing by cutting everything in half. "It's fun. It's fair. It's even." But sometimes cutting things in half isn't the best way to share, like if you're sharing a book! Help a very literal Steven learn different ways to share that may, or may not be exactly even. This book is sure to get kids laughing as Steven tries to share absurd things. Should you give every person one slide? Should you take turns licking a lollipop? This book also starts a conversation about equity. Sometimes people don't always get the same thing, but it can still be fair. The last pages end with asking the reader how Steven could share different types of objects. This is sure to be a funny primer for teaching children about sharing and how fairness doesn't always mean equal.