Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Cátia Chien (Clarion Books, 44 pages, ages 4-8). Two children describe a summer day in the city, from the sun rising between the buildings on their block, to an open fire hydrant that helps them beat the heat, to the sweet juiciness of a slice of watermelon. This summer day is special, though, and after dinner, they climb to the roof and wait for darkness to fall. An explosion of color and sound lights up the night sky as the fireworks begin. And just when you think the show is over–ka-boom!–a foldout page shows the brilliant grand finale. A few sparks and a sharp burning smell linger in the night air as the kids return home and get ready for bed.

The poetic text and brilliant illustrations, highlighted with fluorescent pink, engage all the senses to bring an urban summer day to life. I’m sure that grand finale page won’t last long in a public library, but it is truly spectacular. A perfect read-aloud for a July 4th celebration.

Miss Liberty by Erin Moonyeen Haley (Storytide, 224 pages, grades 4-7). Savvy’s greatest wish is to someday be Miss Liberty in her town’s Fourth of July celebration. This year for the first time, she’s one of the Liberty Line dancers backing up her sister Levi, who’s been Miss Liberty for three years in a row. But this year, things are happening that make Savvy’s anxiety kick into high gear. For starters, people around town are starting to say the Fourth of July celebration isn’t what it used to be, and that maybe it’s time to call it quits. Then Levi starts using her platform to speak out for voting rights…when everyone knows Miss Liberty is supposed to be silent and just look beautiful! Savvy and her aunt, another diehard Miss Liberty fan, take it upon themselves to save the big event, but as the summer goes on, Savvy starts to see that there is more than one side to a story and that sometimes it’s okay to live with uncertainty about what’s going to happen next.

This debut novel is filled with memorable characters: not only Savvy, but Levi, Aunt Bobbi, and her good friends Seymour, the only boy dancer in the Liberty Line and a budding fashion designer, and Dulce, an aspiring journalist and historian who has her own blog. I liked the way Savvy comes to terms with her anxiety and learns to express herself in ways that work for her, and how she learns to let go of the need for a definite outcome.