2013 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards–Finalists

September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 | Tasha

The finalists have been announced for the 2013 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards. The awards are made up of seven major children’s book awards. Nominated book are the best work by Canadian authors and illustrators. Here are the finalists for the English-language awards:

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen

The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, illustrated by François Thisdale

Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

Mr. King’s Things by Geneviève Côté

Mr. Zinger’s Hat by Cary Fagan, illustrated by Dušan Petričić

The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, illustrated by François Thisdale

Uncle Wally’s Old Brown Shoe by Wallace Edwards

Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction

Going Up! Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top by Monica Kulling, illustrated by David Parkins

Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story by Martin Springett, photographs by Isobel Springett

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death – The Story of Steven Truscott by Bill Swan

Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

A Call to Battle by Gillian Chan

The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizbeth Stewart

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Violins of Autumn by Ann McAuley

Yesterday’s Dead by Pat Bourke

John Spray Mystery Award

Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock

Breakaway by Michael Betcherman

Devil’s Pass by Sigmund Brouwer

The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizbeth Stewart

Neil Flambé and the Tokyo Treasure by Kevin Sylvester

Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti

Island of Doom: The Hunchback Assignments IV by Arthur Slade

Rebel Heart by Moira Young

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson

Review: Dee Dee and Me by Amy Schwartz

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 | Tasha

Dee Dee and Me by Amy Schwartz

Told from the point of view of the younger sister, Hannah has had enough of her older sister Dee Dee. Dee Dee always gets her way, gets the best seat, eats the best food. She manages to do it in sneaky ways that seem nice as first but don’t end up that way for Hannah. So Hannah decides to run away and packs up all the things she doesn’t want to share with Dee Dee. In the end, she decides not to really run away because she can’t find her teddy bear. But all alone, she spends time with the things she had packed up. When Dee Dee appears having finally done something really nice for Hannah, Hannah puts her foot down and makes some new rules for them to play together. This is a book that captures sibling relationships to a tee, or perhaps to a Dee.

Schwartz infuses her story with touches of humor that make Dee Dee’s tyrannical attitudes more funny than threatening. Both Hannah and Dee Dee have strong personalities and individual perspectives. Schwartz does a good job of telling Hannah’s story clearly but also making sure that Dee Dee is not vilified entirely. The art is vivid and colorful, displaying a family home filled with small details and lots of flowers. It is a home that you want to visit and play in.

This is a superb telling of two siblings at odds that is filled with humor and charm. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 | Tasha

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Published September 10, 2013.

From the author of Anna Dressed in Blood comes the first book in a new series, The Goddess War. The Old Gods have been around forever and knew that they would be around for eternity. But then Athena started to sprout feathers under her skin and in her lungs. Hermes started to lose weight and become emaciated. They started to do the impossible: they began to die. Desperate to find a solution, Athena and Hermes search out Cassandra, the prophetess, who is an regular teenager but one who has visions and is linked to the ancient Cassandra from Troy. There are more Gods involved though. Apollo is there to protect his beloved Cassandra. Hera is moving to survive while the other Gods die and Poseidon is throwing his considerable power behind her. This is one God-sized epic throwdown that you will not want to miss!

Blake’s world building is incredible here. While she builds off of Greek mythology, she has created a scenario where the Gods are humanized through their mortality. They are still amazing, wondrous beings, but somehow Blake manages to mix that with a fragility that makes them accessible in a new way.

Her writing is fresh and vivid both in character development and in the many action scenes. Danger seems to lurk everywhere and there are wonderful moments where the shock of violence after being lulled away is breathtaking. The book is so filled with violent action scenes that it is completely compelling to read.

Vivid and dazzling, this book will appeal to fans of Greek mythology and fantasy novels. Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from Tor.

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 | Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that you might find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Dark is Rising author Susan Cooper on Harry Potter and studying with Lewis and Tolkien | Artery http://buff.ly/18tSuQi #kidlit

Essential back-to school stories – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/15H36It #kidlit

Mitali’s Fire Escape: Children’s Books For and About Syrian Children http://buff.ly/1dvJBf6 #kidlit

Remembering Marc Simont – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1e2chLt #kidlit

RH Children’s to Publish Seuss Classics as E-books http://buff.ly/1dQhwQK #kidlit #ebooks

EBOOKS

The big short – why Amazon’s Kindle Singles are the future | The Guardian http://buff.ly/1dTN9sv #ebooks

No, seriously: Oyster comes pretty close to being a Netflix for ebooks — Tech News and Analysis http://buff.ly/1dVo2ps #ebooks

LIBRARIES

Education Week: Public Libraries Add Multimedia Learning to Digital Mission http://buff.ly/1a88t8E #libraries

A Minecraft Library Scores Big: Mattituck, NY, Branch Is a Hit with Kids – The Digital Shift http://buff.ly/15GdmAV #libraries

Public Libraries Across U.S. To Begin Testing “Super Wi-Fi” Technology | LJ INFOdocket http://buff.ly/14gilJ4

With Modern Makeovers, America’s Libraries Are Branching Out : NPR http://buff.ly/1dxYo97 #libraries

YALSA » Rethinking What We Do: Rated M for Mature http://buff.ly/17O2Uy0 #libraries

TECHNOLOGY

Social analytics service Topsy now lets you search through every tweet ever sent on Twitter – The Next Web http://buff.ly/1dTSpwn

TEEN READS

10 Famous Works of Literature With Queer Subtexts – Flavorwire http://buff.ly/15GfmJi

Dear Teen Me from author Sonya Sones (TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, STOP PRETENDING, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW) http://buff.ly/1dTRsEh #yalit

First Second announces second Delilah Dirk book — The Beat http://buff.ly/14ejtlT #yalit

Review: How to Hide a Lion by Helen Stephens

September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 | Tasha

How to Hide a Lion by Helen Stephens

Oh my, what a charmer of a book! It is the story of a lion who comes to town to buy a hat. But the people in town are afraid of him and chase him away. He runs off to hide in a yard under a dog house where he is discovered by a little girl named Iris. Iris immediately recognizes that he is a kind lion and invites him into her house. They did their best to keep him hidden and Iris took good care of him by brushing his mane and putting a bandage on his hurt foot. They also had a lot of fun, but that’s when they would almost be discovered. A lion bouncing on a bed makes a lot of noise! When Iris’ mother discovered the lion, the lion ran off. He hid with the stone lions in front of the Town Hall. While he was there, he saw two burglars leaving the Hall. After the lion saves the day, everyone in town realizes what a kind lion he actually is and present him with… a hat.

Stephens has created a picture book that has a simple appeal. The growing friendship between the lion and the little girl is done in a very organic and natural way. Humor is sprinkled throughout as the little girl attempts to hide the lion. Stephens also makes sure that even though the lion is kind, he is still completely a lion and an animal. The two main characters are wonderfully different and make for compelling characters especially when paired.

The art in the book reads as vintage with their bright color washes. The lines of the drawings are done with a light hand and are nicely simple. This is a book that would be right at home next to Lyle Crocodile. It reads immediately as a classic and hopefully will become one!

Too clever to be called sweet, this book is warm and friendly. A perfect book to share with your big cat at home or to curl up like a lion and listen to. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Co.

Review: Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell

September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 | Tasha

Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell

In 1860s England, each little town has its own monster that terrorizes its population. And they love it! In fact, there is money to be made if your town has a popular monster. It brings in tourism and you can sell merchandise too. However, the monster at Stoker-on-Avon was not a popular monster. He barely left his cave anymore, sulking on the hill above the town. Rayburn was one depressed monster. It is up to Dr. Charles Wilkie, an inventor whose workshop was shut down by the town and who is willing to do almost anything to get it back, and Timothy, a street urchin who snuck along, to get Rayburn back in fighting spirit again. This graphic novel is packed with new friends, old pals, big battles, and amazing monsters.

Harrell took this graphic novel quickly out of any stereotypical themes very quickly by having the populations appreciate their monsters so thoroughly. The mix of delight and monsters is great fun, adding a real unexpected twist to the story. Rayburn is a wonderful character with a gloomy perspective that plays nicely off of the enthusiasm of the human characters.

Harrell’s art is filled with color and dynamic movement. He brilliantly captures monster battles and is equally successful at creating friendship bonds between characters. The art welcomes children to enter the world of the book, where they will find a great mashup of modern art and humor with a historical fantasy setting.

Fun, vivid and filled with action, this graphic novel will prove popular in every library. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

More Than This by Patrick Ness

September 4, 2013 | Tasha

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Released September 10, 2013.

After Seth drowns, bones smashed against rocks, muscles clenching in the icy water, he wakes up. He is naked except for some bandages and very weak, but most disturbing, he is back in England at his childhood home. A home that contains many of the worst memories of his life, except for his most recent ones. There is no one else around, even the insects are silent and no birds or planes fly overhead. Seth is completely alone in a world that is covered with dust and dirt. Seth can’t sleep either because whenever he does, memories sweep over him, specifically ones that he would prefer to never remember and it’s as if he was living them all over again. Is this the afterlife? His own personal hell? Seth has to first figure out how to survive and then start finding answers.

Ness creates a world, a hell, an afterlife, a future that is breathtakingly haunting. It is profoundly empty, amazingly personal, and intensely confusing. Readers who enter this book will be taken on a journey that is astonishing. It is a puzzle that they will solve along with Seth and the answer will be astonishing. I don’t want to give things away because the book is such a journey to the truth.

Ness writes powerfully of first loves, suicide and having to life with one’s decisions. Seth’s death in the water is described in great detail, each moment captures, each pain explored. As the memories flash into his head, the reader starts to understand what drove Seth to kill himself but also other deep truths about Seth and his life.

Complex, gritty and profoundly beautiful, this book is a wonder of writing. It is beyond inventive, taking readers to a place they never expected to find. You are in the hands of a master storyteller here in one of his best books yet. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Candlewick Press.

Review: Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen

September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 | Tasha

Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen, illustrated by Dan Santat

Picture Day is a day when you want to take the perfect picture. That doesn’t come easily! In fact, the boy in this book has been planning his Picture Day for months. But nothing seems to be going well at all. First is the bedhead hair that makes his brother laugh, then his favorite shirt is stained and smelly, and that all leads into the incident with the syrup at breakfast. The day continues this way and when he gets to school he starts to get into trouble with how he is acting. He won’t practice his smile, choosing instead to stick out his tongue. He sends paint flying during art. He doesn’t get a comb to fix his hair. In the end though, it all comes off just like he planned, or does it?

Diesen has a wonderful kid-like sense of humor that is very evident throughout this book. Her timing is great, the story will have everyone laughing. Readers will figure out what is really happening in this book just as the author decides to reveal it. Then the entire book still makes sense, but in a different way. It makes for a great read.

Add in Santat’s vibrant and equally funny art and you have a real winner. Santat captures the funniest moments in the text with great style. The image of the syrup incident is my favorite but I also love the picture taken at the end of the book.

Funny, pure silliness and just right for the start of a new school year. Try this one out with older elementary students since they will love the humor too. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.