Month: May 2015

Review: A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

| Tasha

Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

Released May 26. 2015

The Newbery Honor winner returns with another winning book for young readers. Lily can’t catch her blind dog Lucky when he escapes and runs away across the blueberry barrens in Maine. Just when she is sure he will make it all the way into traffic, Salma appears and gives the dog her sandwich and chips in order to rescue him. Lily returns with a pork pie for Salma’s family who live in the work camp on the blueberry farm, migrant workers harvesting the berries during the summer months. Soon the two girls are friends, Salma helping Lily decorate her bee houses that Lily sells to try to make enough money to get Lucky an operation to restore his vision. When the pair decide to have a booth at the blueberry festival in town, Salma also decides to compete in the beauty pageant, the first migrant girl to do so. Both girls by the end of the summer have to face hard truths, but they face them together as friends.

Lord creates short and very readable books that are deceptively readable, making them seem light and airy. But this book is anything but that, dealing with tough subjects like the death of a parent, migrant workers, racism, and difficult decisions that come with having an aging pet. Lord manages to weave all of these elements together into a strong and vibrant read that children will love. Given its short length and deep topics, it would make an ideal read aloud in an elementary classroom.

This book has two strong female protagonists. Told in Lily’s voice, the story shows how she has faced loss in her life and how it continues to impact her world. Lily is open to being friends with Salma, but she is not open to others telling her what to do with Lucky. That change comes hard to her and is only possible with the growth she achieves in the course of the novel. Salma is in many ways the opposite of Lily. Salma’s world revolves around her art but also around the tension of being a migrant worker and not having a place to call her own. Still, both girls overcome their challenges to be much more than stereotypes.

Strong writing, tight plotting, two strong girls and one amazing dog make this a book worth reading and sharing. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

Review: Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess

| Tasha

Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess

Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo (InfoSoup)

This picture book biography of the great poet E. E. Cummings is exceptional. Focusing on Cummings’ early years primarily, the book invites young readers to view their own world with wonder and to try to put it into words. As a young boy Cummings was already creating poetry, starting at age three. His mother wrote down his poems for him as he recited them aloud. His imagination extended to art as well, but his real love was words which he approached very playfully, often creating his own words or mashing ones together into new ones. The book emphasizes the hard work that Cummings put into his craft, including spending lots of quiet time observing the world around him for inspiration. After graduating from Harvard, Cummings headed to New York City where he found new inspiration all around him. He served in World War I and published his first books soon after the war ended. His poems were both loved and controversial as he toyed with form and words. Filled with Cummings’ poems as examples, this picture book is a joy to read.

Burgess does a great job with his prose which introduces the young Cummings and his early poems and then follows him as he grows older and his poems grow with him. I appreciate that the book was not attempted to be written using Cummings’ unique style. Rather it is a book that pays homage to the art, the inspiration and the man himself. Spending so much time on Cummings’ youth makes the book much more appealing to young readers who will find inspiration both in Cummings’ age when he began to write and in his poems simplicity.

The art by Di Giacomo is filled with textures and patterns. Words dance across the page, playful and light. They often break free of the lines of prose, merging to be part of the art itself. Words float up on breezes, lengthen with hot summer days, and zing with the style of New York City.

A fabulous biographical picture book, this book is a great introduction to E.E. Cummings and his work. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Enchanted Lion Books.

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

Picture Books for Kids Who Like to Tinker and Invent

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

10 Upcoming Children’s Books to Get Excited About | TheReadingRoom http://buff.ly/1QwuQcY #kidlit

Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones http://buff.ly/1JWNTwb #lgbt #kidlit

Get Ready for a Live-Action Winnie-the-Pooh Movie | TheReadingRoom http://buff.ly/1QwuUsY #kidlit

EBOOKS

People are Losing their Trust in e-books http://buff.ly/1QFrIvo #ebooks

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LIBRARIES

How One Man And His Horse Created A Mobile Library In Indonesia http://buff.ly/1cmCWWv #libraries

Librarians Versus the NSA http://buff.ly/1KRkJvY #privacy #libraries

YA LIT

Asexuality in YA Books http://buff.ly/1L3MDoC #yalit

I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell do I read? – A Queer Teen’s spoken word poem about LGBTQAI+ Representation http://buff.ly/1EHQqnf #lgbt

Liz Kessler’s top 10 books with turning points for teens http://buff.ly/1HjbXbQ #yalit

Michael Buckley discusses ‘Undertow’ and why he writes from female perspectives http://buff.ly/1H6L6zO #yalit

‘Nimona’ Shifts Shape And Takes Names — In Sensible Armor, Of Course http://buff.ly/1A2l4v9 #yalit

Stacked: What About YA Non-Fiction?: A Look at Recent and Upcoming Titles http://buff.ly/1K1GA6p #yalit

Superheroes, Royalty, and a Dystopian Adaptation | YA Graphic Novels http://buff.ly/1KN4TBS #yalit

Why teenagers have to take terrible risks in YA literature – and in real life too http://buff.ly/1EFkYFg #yalit

YA Novels Inspired by Peter Pan http://buff.ly/1F8Vkxo #yalit

Review: Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera

| Tasha

Polar Bears Underwear by Tupera Tupera

Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera

Polar Bear has lost his underwear and he can’t remember what they looked like. It’s up to readers to turn the pages and help Mouse find Polar Bear’s underwear. Could it be the striped underwear? Nope, those are Zebra’s favorite ones. The pair covered in doughnuts and treats belongs to Pig. The little flowery pair is too small for Polar Bear but fits Butterfly perfectly. Rabbit wears carrot printed underwear…on his head! One after another, there are no Polar Bear underwear. But wait, could it be that Polar Bear had them on all along?

Sure to elicit giggles, this book uses die cuts on pages to great effect. The first page shows just the underwear and little readers will delight in turning the page and seeing who they belong to. Each one makes sense with the animal on the next page, making a book that is nicely satisfying even as it is full of humor.

The illustrations are strongly done and will project well to a room of children. With plain brown paperbag backgrounds, the collage illustrations pop on the page, whether for pink pigs or black cats. The twist at the end works very nicely with the illustrations, since readers can turn back to the very first page and notice the trick carried throughout the entire book.

Funny and delightfully clever, this Japanese picture book is sure to find a happy audience in the United States. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

| Tasha

Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Inspired by a true story, this picture book is about a girl who refused to allow societal rules to stop her from her musical dreams. In Cuba, girls were not drummers, but one girl dreamed of pounding drums big and small and making amazing music. Everyone said that only boys could be drummers though, so she kept quiet about her dreams.Everywhere she went though she could hear drumbeats that were all her own. Finally the girl dared to start drumming on real drums and she joined her sister in an all-girl band. Her father did not approve of her drumming but eventually allowed her to play for a teacher to see if she could really drum. And she could!

Engle, known for her gorgeous poetic books for older readers, has created a marvelous picture book here. Reading like poetry, the book looks deeply at a girl who refused to give up her dream to play the drums, even as she hid the dream deep inside herself. It is a book that celebrates artistic gifts even as it works to dismantle gender stereotypes and show that girls have the same artistic skills as boys do. The build up in the book is done with real skill, allowing readers to thrill at her accomplishments as her hard works comes to fruition.

Lopez gives us a bright-colored glimpse of Cuba in this picture book. Filled with lush plants, starlight, water and birds, the illustrations shine on the page. Done in acrylic paint on wood board, they have a great texture to them as well as an organic quality that adds to their depth on the page. The result is a picture book that is vibrant and rich.

A dynamic picture book that celebrates music and breaks stereotypes, this book will inspire children to follow their own dreams. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

| Tasha

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

Stewart and Ashley don’t fit together like the kids on TV, their blended family is not entirely happy. Stewart is 13-years-old and went to a school for academically-gifted students until he and his father moved in with Ashley and her mother. Stewart doesn’t fit into his new public high school easily. Ashley on the other hand is the most popular girl at the high school. She loves her social status, makes sure everyone knows that she is on top, and loves to put together cute outfits and rework her clothes. Stewart lost his mother two years ago and isn’t ready to have a new mother while Ashley’s father announced he was gay and now lives in the little house in the backyard. Ashley hasn’t forgiven him at all and worries what will happen if news of his being gay gets out at school. Now these two very different teens have to figure out how to live together and how to survive one another at school too.

Nielsen takes two very different teen characters and tells their story of living together in both of their voices. Stewart is a great character, very bright and quite awkward, but also willing to try new things and put himself out there because his mother would have wanted him to. He quickly moves from potential stereotype into a unique character with quirks and interests all his own. While he may not make friends easily, he has a distinct charm about him, a gentleness and a sensibility that is lovely to see in a teen male character. Ashley takes more time to embrace the changes happening in her family and more time for the reader to see who she really is. The juxtaposition of the differences of the two of them plus this delay in understanding her more fully offer the book exactly the tension it needs to move forward and be compelling to read.

Ashley is a difficult character to enjoy. She is hugely self-centered and focused on social climbing more than being herself. Nielsen doesn’t shrink away from making a prickly teen girl a central character, something that is just as welcome as a gentle boy in middle school literature. The two of them together have a dynamic relationship, filled with moments where they collide but also gorgeous moments where you can see them grow together as siblings. The end of the book is immensely satisfying, particularly because it shows Ashley as a deeply thoughtful girl who has a creative flair in fashion and solutions and Stewart as a brave hero.

This is a very successful novel for middle school readers who will see themselves in either Ashley or Stewart. The book explores deep subjects but keeps a light tone, making it a great read.

Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Review: Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter

| Tasha

Miss Hazeltines Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter

Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Birgitta Sif (InfoSoup)

Miss Hazeltine opened a home for the most fearful of cats and owners brought their cats to her for help. Other cats arrived on their own, including Crumb, who was the most timid. Miss Hazeltine taught the cats lessons to help them build their confidence from Bird Basics to How Not to Fear the Broom, the hardest class of all. Even though Crumb hid under the bed, he too got Miss Hazeltine’s positive attention as she praised him for not being scared of the dark. Then one day after many, many cats had arrived, they ran out of milk. Miss Hazeltine set off in the dark to get some, but met with a fall into a ditch. When she did not return, the cats worried but they all hesitated to head out into the night. Crumb was the only one who had heard where Miss Hazeltine was going, so it was up to him to lead a rescue by cats who were once shy and fearful.

Quirky and wonderfully odd, this picture book will resonate with children who may be afraid of a variety of things. Potter’s language is filled with lovely moments of humor and equally marvelous times of quiet. Using lists of things like fears or lessons, she creates a strong storyline that is very appealing. The character of Miss Hazeltine is strongly written, a woman embracing her own unique skills. Crumb too is a small and shy cat who grows the heart of a lion by the end of the book. Filled with plenty of growth and development of characters, this is great fun to share aloud.

The illustrations by Sif add a great level of spirited oddity to the book. Miss Hazeltine is lanky and loving. The cats use their tails as much as their faces for expression. The setting ranges from the cozy house filled with cats to the deep dark strangeness of the woods. In all of them, the eyes of the cats glow and fill the setting with plenty of life.

Add this to any cat story time or a unit on bravery for a winning read! Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Knopf Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss.

Review: Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker

| Tasha

Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker

Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

The Dullards are a very boring family and that’s just the way that Mr. and Mrs. Dullard want it to be. But lately their three children, Blanda, Borely and Little Dud, have been giving then bad shocks. The children want to read books, play outside, and have fun. The parents are so horrified that they move to a duller neighborhood. Once there though, they need to make sure their home is boring enough by getting rid of the colorful wallpaper and then watching the paint dry. Even that won’t stop their children though, so they move back to their original home, just in time for the circus to come to town. Luckily for their children, the Dullards sleep very soundly.

Pennypacker offers an inventive riff on The Stupids, one that embraces the dull side of life. She perfectly captures the humor of a family wanting to just be bored all of the time, taking it to such a level that the humor is laugh-out-loud funny. From their reaction to chunky applesauce to asking to have the vanilla flavor removed from their ice cream, the book is a joy to share aloud. Beautifully, the humor is delivered in the ideal deadpan manner, matter-of-fact and with a straight face (of course). The Dullards wouldn’t have it any other way.

Salmieri captures the gray dullness of the Dullard’s lives very nicely, using images like the children watching an unplugged TV and seated on the bare floor. He contrasts that with the children who may be dressed in the same dull colors but are independent thinkers who add color in many other ways. The illustrations add so much to the book, creating those moments where the children are doing their own thing much to their parents dismay.

Funny and vibrant despite its dull subject, this picture book is sure to get even the most bored children giggling. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Trio of Playful Board Books

| Tasha

The Game of Tops and Tails

The Game of Tops and Tails by Hervé Tullet

Play a mix and match game of tops and bottoms as you mix up colors, shapes and objects. Done in split pages that let you mix up the page, the ones that match have the same color scheme, but the fun is in have acrobats on mountain ranges while the shape side gets wilder. Great fun for toddlers to proudly create silly images.

LOOK!

Look! by Édouard Manceau

Open this big board book and peer through the rectangle cut into the pages. Can you find something in view that matches what is on the page? Is there something high and low? Are there different sized things? How about near and far? The book gets more inventive as you move through it, with a velcro page that invites you to look for things that make noise, a shiny page, and even one that is soft to the touch. Expect to see kids peering out of this book and having a wonderful time.

Peekaboo

Peekaboo by Giuliano Ferri

A traditional game of peekaboo is afoot in this book as young readers turn from one page to the next and find different animals covering their eyes with wings and paws. Parents can uncover the eyes by lifting the flaps. This is sure to delight those toddlers who love the game. Expect giggles when they discover the mirror at the end too.