Branch into chapters: Ivy lost and found by Cynthia Lord, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

I have a small but eager subsection of readers who like gentle, heartwarming stories and this new beginning chapter series is just right.

Ivy starts life as a birthday gift for Anne. Like Anne, she has brown skin, long brown hair, and the two have many wonderful adventures, especially outdoors. But then she is forgotten, lost, and sad. When Anne rediscovers her, Ivy has dreams of resuming their life together, but Anne is an adult and she has different plans; she takes Ivy to the library to become a book buddy and be borrowed by a child. At the library Ivy meets a brand-new princess doll, a fluffy unicorn, and other toys. She's not sure whether or not she wants to be borrowed, and when Fern, Sophie, and Ethan pick out Book Buddies she's has conflicted feelings about Sophie urging Fern to check her out - after all, Fern doesn't even really want to take her home!

Ivy discovers that she's still good at some things - like playing outdoors and listening - as Fern confides her feelings while building a fairy house - but then all three of the Book Buddies get left outdoors, with Ivy and Piper the squirrel stuck in a tree and Lilyanna the princess doll left on the ground! The three of them learn to be better friends and talk about their feelings though, as do Fern and her family and in the end Ivy is happy to be a Book Buddy and ready to be borrowed again when she goes back to the library.

Graegin's gentle black and white illustrations will be familiar to fans of Kallie George's Heartwood Hotel series and these are just as adorable. Fern has curly black hair and dark skin while her stepsiblings Sophie and Ethan are white. I loved seeing the pictures of the little outfits Anne makes for Ivy in the beginning and the only thing this book needs is its own Ivy doll to go along with the story!

As a librarian who circulates toys and kits, I will say there's a lot more to the process than just letting kids check out the toys (and I can't help wincing at some of the adventures they go through, like getting wet or falling in the toilet) but it's certainly a rewarding program and libraries who don't have similar ones will definitely want to consider a Book Buddy collection before adding this book. The social-emotional learning theme is strong throughout, with both the toys and children learning how to deal with new situations, Ivy with being Forgotten and then Borrowed and Fern with a new blended family and the welcoming, but overwhelming, attentions of her new younger stepsiblings.

Verdict: A sweet start to a new series, with a gentle, caring message. I hope Candlewick manages to source some Book Buddies to go along with these, preferably machine-washable!

ISBN: 9781536213546; Published September 2021 by Candlewick; Galley provided by the publisher