Though only nine, Ella is an expert on everything related to her Poppy Hill home. Located in a whimsical Victorian with a view of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, Ella's apartment is on the middle floor, where she lives with her moms, and it provides her with an excellent view of the young couple (Leo and Cleo) moving into the unit below. She can barely contain her excitement to meet them and give them a tour of the building and shared garden. LaCour's new transitional chapter-book series is cozy and classic-feeling as it reveals the lives of 1106 Wildflower Place's inhabitants me eccentric, some secretive, but all kind. Precocious Ella's curiosity and gregariousness are infectious, and she'll easily sweep readers into her charming world. The book contains three stories divided into short chapters adorned with grayscale illustrations. Ella's intergenerational friendships with all of her neighbors (she's the only kid) and the understated inclusion of LGBTQIA+ couples only add to the book's bigheartedness. An ideal pick for graduates of Kate DiCamillo's Tales from Deckawoo Drive.

It's wonderful having great neighbors.Ella Josephine Norwood, 9, lives with her two moms in a pink, green-trimmed apartment building on San Francisco's Poppy Hill. Ella's close with everybody there, except the elderly Robinsons, who cultivate magnificent rose bushes and have occupied the top floor for years but are never seen in public. Ella befriends a newly arrived engaged couple and teaches them how to deal with a few household "glitches." She keeps regular tea dates with a free-spirited neighbor and walks the dogs of a gay married couple whose wedding she attended as a flower girl. After Ella writes a "top-secret letter" to the Robinsons, they invite her to visit and ask for a favor. The shy Robinsons, living in a rose-bedecked apartment, need Ella's help tying bows for gifts they plan to give the neighbors. Their gift for Ella? A rose-shaped gold pin, like the one they wear, because she has "blossomed." Ella is sweet and self-assured, with a good sense of humor; like her building, this chapter book is cozy and comforting. Aside from a lone reference to teachers and friends, readers learn nothing about Ella's schooling or interactions with people her own age. Still, those who enjoy stories about warm, quirky interpersonal relationships will appreciate this one. Ella and most of the other characters appear light-skinned in the attractive, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations, though Mr. Robinson and several other neighbors are people of color.Readers will want to move in here and meet these folks. (Chapter book. 7-10)

In this warm chapter book series opener, three brief, homey stories depict an irrepressible nine-year-old welcoming new residents to her beloved San Francisco apartment house, pondering the mutability of time, and finally meeting her reclusive neighbors. All her life, de facto concierge Ella has lived in the pink and green building at 1106 Wildflower Place. She knows its quirks—such as how to get the oven working in the ground floor apartment, and when to expect the raucous sounds of an instrument so rare it doesn’t have a name—and cheerfully shares her knowledge with residents. The only child of moms Abby and Livy, Ella cultivates affectionate bonds with each of the inhabitants, including theatrical Matilda and dog owners Jacques and Merland, as well as the shy Robinsons on the top floor, despite never having met in person. Through Ella’s infectious narration and the stories’ loosely defined plots, LaCour (My Friend, Loonie) sketches distinctive, endearing characters and offers a gentle celebration of intergenerational friendship and community. Cozy grayscale illustrations by Albert (Santa’s Secret Holiday) imply racial diversity among the supporting cast; Ella appears white. Ages 7–10. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (Nov.)

Gr 1–3— Printz Award—winning author LaCour is best known for her young adult novels that handle sensitive themes, such as teenage suicide, grief, queer love, hope, mental health, and loss. The author's foray into chapter books takes on lighter themes of time and its passing, family, community, inclusion, and the mindfulness of noticing things. Smart, curious, nine-year-old Ella is deeply involved in everyday happenings in the charming old pink Victorian house at 1106 Wildflower Place, San Francisco. Living there are the mysterious and rarely seen older couple, the Robinsons, long-time residents of the top floor. Ella and her two mothers share the middle floor with interracial gay couple Jacques and Merlan, and in the two ground floor apartments are Matilda, an artist, and the new neighbors, Leo and Cleo. Ella is determined to help the new neighbors settle into their unconventional household, and maybe meet the Robinsons along the way. Albert's drawings of people and things alluded to in the plot function as accents and aren't designed to move the story along. Readers will appreciate the simple, chapter-driven format of third-person narration with its appropriate vocabulary. Each speaker is clearly identified, and children should have no problem jumping back into the story if their reading is interrupted. VERDICT A worthwhile purchase that tells a pleasant, inclusive story populated by characters who represent a variety of backgrounds and identities and who come from diverse walks of life.— Cheryl Blevens