Starred Review in The Horn Book!

I'm always happy when my issue of The Horn Book Magazine arrives in the mail. But it's especially exciting when this is inside:

A starred review in The Horn Book Magazine (!!) for my upcoming book, Helen's Big World, written by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by me, published by Disney-Hyperion. Here's a snippet:

"Tavares's illustrations for Helen's Big World are, per the title, big and bold and often in intense close-up. Stirring and awe-inspiring..." *The Horn Book (starred review)

Thank you, Horn Book!

Helen's Big World also got a nice review in Publishers Weekly this week. I especially like their description of this illustration:

"Dark and almost demonic, it conveys instantly both the catastrophic nature of Helen's disabilities and the steely will that raged to be unleashed." -PW

I almost scrapped this picture and started over, because I worried that it was too dark. I like it now, though.