We’re so excited to share that SABER-TOOTH by Robin Gow is a January/February Kids’ Indie Next Pick!

The Kids’ Indie Next list is a bimonthly list that features the top nominations from independent booksellers across the country, highlighting the stand-out children’s books across genre and ages. We’re pleased to see that SABER-TOOTH is included among this month’s selections! Bookseller Betsy Haberl of Booked blurbed the novel for the list, saying “This story works on all levels: literal, magical, emotional.”

Robin Gow’s latest middle grade book is a verse novel following a boy who digs up and loses control of a saber-toothed tiger buried in his backyard. Exploring the complexity of anger, identity, and family, SABER-TOOTH offers a moving portrait of what it means to truly find one’s voice.

And the critics agree! The book has received three starred reviews so far. Kirkus called it “Deeply cathartic; balances emotional depth with engrossing suspense” while Publishers Weekly wrote how “Gow (Gooseberry) artfully explores the sometimes turbulent emotions that come with growing up and growing apart, culminating in a heartening, deeply felt work.” The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books offers a detailed review, noting that “The poems, all in Jasper’s voice, use negative space imaginatively…Jasper himself is a compellingly imperfect narrator.”

Congratulations, Robin!