Day: January 6, 2014

Review: Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood

| Tasha

jinxs magic

Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood

In this second book in a trilogy, Jinx’s entire life has changed since his death.  He can now listen to the voices of the trees in the huge Urwald forest and they tell him things.  But his life is also in danger still.  The Bonemaster has been defeated but Jinx’s master, Simon believes he is stronger than the bindings that surround him.  Yet none of the other magic wielders of the Urwald will help Simon keep the Bonemaster restrained.  Jinx is sent to Samara, a land reached via a portal in Simon’s house and also the place where Simon’s wife lives.  Jinx must find a way to enroll in the school in order to discover the magic he needs to save their own world.  But magic is forbidden in Samara and Jinx may put the Urwald at risk as he desperately tries to save it.

Blackwood takes her already impressive world and adds onto it with Samara, a desert land where knowledge and magic intertwine.  She also deepens the readers’ understanding of the Urwald and its own sort of magic.  This interplay between different types of magic and societies makes for a book that is rich and layered. 

Blackwood also takes time to develop Jinx’s own character further, pushing him to reach the extent of his power and yet also allowing readers to see that there is more there as well.  Jinx is a hesitant hero and never quite believes he is doing the right thing along the way.  Even as his power grows, he remains fully the same character and yet changes and grows in a real way throughout. 

A web of magic and mystery, this book is a fitting follow up to one of my favorite reads of 2013.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books.

Review: The Secret Pool by Kimberley Ridley

| Tasha

secret pool

The Secret Pool by Kimberley Ridley, illustrated by Rebekah Raye

Vernal pools are easy to miss, but also necessary to the life of many animals.  This nonfiction picture book explores the amazing things that happen in vernal pools throughout the seasons.  It begins with defining what a vernal pool is and then quickly moves into spring.  The fascinating lives of frogs are described, including the way they make it through the winter.  Soon salamanders join them and breed in the pool.  Tiny fairy shrimp appear too.  As summer comes, the eggs of the salamanders and frogs hatch and soon there are tadpoles and larvae in the pools.  Now the race begins to see if they can climb ashore before the pool dries up.  The vernal pool disappears and the animals that live there and were born there move away.  They will return again with the spring and the vernal pools.

Ridley has nicely created a book that can be used at two levels.  The larger text can be shared as almost a story about the pools.  Then the smaller text provides deeper information about the vernal pools and the animals.  Her words work together well, the simpler text offers a poetic voice to the factual information that serves to remind us how amazing all of this actually is.

Raye’s illustrations are lush and minutely detailed.  She offers both larger scale images of the animals and then others done with finer lines that show more details and more animals on the page.  You never know what you will see on the next page, and I guarantee a jump of surprise when you see the bullfrog with the tadpole hanging out of his mouth like a tongue. 

This book reveals a world right under our feet that most children never knew existed.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

2013 Best Children’s Nonfiction

| Tasha

Here are my 20 picks for the best of children’s nonfiction this year.  There were a lot that I didn’t read, so please share your favorites in the comments!

africa is my home brush of the gods eat like a bear

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd

Beautifully written and illustrated, this book gives a first-person account of the Amistad, looking beyond the revolt into the trial and what happened to one little girl caught in history.

Brush of the Gods by Lenore Look

This is a very impressive biography of an incredible artist that few children will be aware of before reading this book, making it perfect to share with children in art classes.

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

A glorious look at bears, this book is a fantastic introduction to a creature, its habitat and its diet.

etched-in-clay frog song

Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet by Andrea Cheng

This powerful book informs middle grade readers about a man who could have been one of the many lost faces of slavery but who through art and bravery had a voice.

Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson

Beautiful, intriguing and great fun to read, this book is an impressive testament to the importance of frogs in our ecosystems.

henry-and-the-cannons lifetime

Henry and the Cannons by Don Brown

Strong and noteworthy, this picture book nonfiction title has history and also plenty of action and adventure.

Lifetime by Lola M. Schaefer

One of the most visually stimulating and smart concepts for a nonfiction picture book, this one is sure to beat the averages and be read more than once.

locomotive look up nelson mandela

Locomotive by Brian Floca

Gorgeous illustrations, fascinating facts and a clear love of the subject make this a riveting read whether you are a train buff or not.

Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Raul Colon

This picture book biography invites children to follow their own passions and get involved in science as well.

Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson

This is the story of Nelson Mandela captured fully in a picture book that celebrates all of his accomplishments and what he stands for as a human being.  Beautiful.

on a beam of light parrots over puerto rico

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

A great read about a great man, this picture book biography should be welcomed by young scientists as well as in science classrooms.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

A dazzling nonfiction book that will be welcome in classroom discussions and units about conservation and environment.

picture a tree price of freedom primates

Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid

An awesome addition to any Arbor Day, Earth Day, tree-related or seasonal story time or unit, this book should inspire all of us to wonder about trees.

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

This is a nonfiction picture book that is sure to inform children about an aspect of slavery that they will not have heard of as well as a tale of what a group of brave citizens can do.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

A great graphic novel, this is a stellar pick for school libraries and public libraries that will have children learning about scientific history without even realizing it!

rotten pumpkin splash of red

Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices by David M. Schwartz, photos by Dwight Kuhn

Perfect for autumn and Halloween, this book will have kids looking at their slumping pumpkins with new eyes.

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Another very successful collaboration of these two masters, this biographical picture book should serve as its own splash of red on every library’s shelves.

when the beat was born when thunder comes wild boy

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

A great nonfiction picture book biography, this book will help fill in gaps in library collections and will speak to the history of the music kids are listening to right now.

When Thunder Comes by J. Patrick Lewis

Strong and powerful, this book of poetry deserves to be shared widely and these names known and understood.

Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron by Mary Losure, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering

An engaging, wrenching read that brings history to life in the form on one amazing person.