When Dad tells Rox to clean her room, she quickly thinks up a bot that will do it for her, writing code that instructs her bot to use artificial intelligence to sort objects by color and type. Using code, she programs toy robots that can do things like make broccoli disappear-or mischief. In this title that was first introduced as a customizable, personalized print-on-demand product, Rox has a superpower. Girl power abounds in this book about coding that introduces young readers to the world of programming while offering them hands-on activities via a companion app. Though this book has lots of adult appeal, it will also be a wonderful bridge to exploring family history with the very young. (Picture book.

Readers who slow down will be rewarded by this visual feast that grows richer with each visit. One surprising and sparkling gatefold shows the whole garden, with Grandpa Green working on his newest creation: his grandson fighting a dragon. The illustrations say what the text doesn't need to-that the love between boy and elder is elemental and honest. When the boy reunites Grandpa Green with his missing things, readers discover that though Grandpa sometimes forgets, the garden remembers for him. Splashes of red-berries, a hair bow, gunfire and a heart-make brief appearances in this green world, but green, like Grandpa’s name, is the star of this show. Many of the illustrations morph with page turns: Tears from the baby become water from a hose a mysterious conical shape becomes a cannon a bunny near a tiny tree munches a carrot topiary. The trees tell the story of his great-grandfather’s life-from birth to chicken pox to high school to military service and, later, marriage. Watering a garden, pulling a wagon, collecting dropped gardening gloves and tools, a little fellow works in an amazing topiary world made of memories. An adoring great-grandson and a topiary garden tell the stories of one man’s life.

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith