Day: July 23, 2014

Review: The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin

| Tasha

hula-hoopin queen

The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Kameeka just knows she can beat Jamara at hula hooping, but her mother reminds her that today is Miz Adeline’s birthday, so she can’t go and hula hoop.  Instead Kameeka has to help get ready for the party.  Kameeka helps sweep, dust, wash floors, clean windows, and peel potatoes.  Her mother makes a cake but Kameeka is so distracted that she sets the temperature too low and the cake is ruined.  So her mother sends her out to get more sugar.  On the way home from the store, Kameeka meets Jamara and the two start competing for who can hoop the longest.  It isn’t until another of their family friends walks up that Kameeka remembers Miz Adeline’s party.  Now Kameeka is going to have to explain why there isn’t a cake at the party.  But some quick thinking finds a solution and then Kameeka herself is in for a surprise, hula hoop style.

This clever picture book shows different elements of a community.  There are moments of good-natured competition, times that you have to put your own wishes aside and think of others, and other times where forgiveness is important too.  Godin manages to wrap all of this into a very readable book that invites readers into the heart of a tight-knit community where the older generation may just has some tricks up their sleeves too.

The illustrations by Brantley-Newton show a diverse urban community with busy streets and brightly-colored stores and shops.  She uses patterns to create the curbs on the road, wall coverings and floor textures.  Despite being animated and dynamic, the illustrations keep a lightness on the page that keeps it sunny.

Community-driven, intergenerational and a great look at personal responsibility, this book has a wonderful warmth and charm.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

| Tasha

misadventures of the family fletcher

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

The four Fletcher boys could not be more different from one another.  There is the serious ten-year-old Eli who is starting a private school separate from his brothers for the first time and who just may have made a horrible decision changing schools.  There is Sam, aged twelve, who loves sports and is popular at school but who will find himself stretching into new interests this year.  There is Jax, also aged ten, who has a huge homework assignment that will have him talking to their new grumpy neighbor for help but only after he calms down from a number of things.  Finally, there is Frog who is just starting kindergarten along with his imaginary friend and who may have a new imaginary friend named Ladybug.  It all adds up to a wonderful read with lots of humor and one amazing family.

Filled with laughter, an angry neighbor, elaborate Halloween parties, soccer, hockey and plenty of pets, this book is sure to please middle grade readers.  Add in the diverse backgrounds of the four boys in the family and their two dads and you have a book that celebrates diversity without taking itself too seriously.  It’s the ideal mix of completely readable book with its diversity simply part of the story not the main point. 

All of the boys as well as the two fathers are unique individuals with their own personal responses to crises and situations.  Each chapter begins with a note from one character to another, usually funny and always showing their personality.  Perhaps the best part of the book is that this family dynamic is clearly one of love but also filled with normal chaos and the daily strain of work, school, neighbors and friends.  It reads like a modern classic.

I hope we get to read more of their misadventures in future books, because this is one family that I want to see much more of!  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

Publisher’s Weekly Spring 2015 Sneak Preview

| Tasha

Publisher’s Weekly has released their Spring 2015 sneak preview for children’s books.  The list includes picture books, middle grade and teen.  Listed by publisher, this is a great way to see the books long before they arrive, build your future must-read list, and start a list of books to keep an eye on for your library purchases. 

Enjoy!