Month: September 2015

Review: Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin

| Tasha

Fire Engine No 9 by Mike Austin

Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin

Released September 22, 2015.

This picture book embraces the drama of responding to a fire, showing firefighters sliding down their pole, heading out to the fire, and then putting it out. Along the way, they hook the hose up to the fire hydrant, save a baby, and head directly into the burning building. The book is filled with sounds like alarms sounding, sirens blaring, smashing windows, and the water rushing out of the hose. Climactic and action-filled, this picture book is perfect for the youngest fire-fighting enthusiasts.

Short and filled with almost entirely words that relate to the sounds of a fire response, this book reads quickly and effortlessly. The pacing is frenetic but also systematic like the response itself. The entire book has the feel of excitement but also of an elite team that is prepared to help people.

The art is vibrant and filled with motion. When the fire engine is rushing to the fire, the entire vehicle leans forward with the speed. Dark smoke appears on the page as they reach the fire, billowing over the rest of the city. Bright reds are used very effectively as a background color to amp up the drama and imply the heat of the fire. One of the firefighters is revealed to be a woman at the end of the book, something got a cheer out of me.

Sirens, trucks, action and rescues make this simple book about fire fighters a dynamic pick for toddlers. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

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

Bunches of Board Books

| Tasha

I’ve gathered a bunch of board books that are new favorites:

Red Light, Green Light

Red Light, Green Light by Yumi Heo

Ideal for the little one riding in a carseat behind you, this board book has traffic lights, stop signs, fire engines and anything else that little ones like about riding in the car. Lift the thick large flaps to see what the signs mean. The large bright pictures are inviting and there are plenty of opportunities to make noises and talk about driving in a car. This board book has sturdy enough flaps to survive public library life too.

 

  

Seasons Board Book Series by Ailie Busby

Coming out in October, this board book series has a lovely warmth about it, even in winter. Each book begins by talking about what clues you have when each season begins. There is later sun in the winter, early sun in the summer, leaves falling in the autumn, birds singing in the spring. Then in each season the children head outside and experience the weather and the season. The text is rhythmic and inviting. Expect to jump in crunchy leaves this fall after reading it with your little one.

 

 

What’s That Noise? Series by Cocoretto

Another collection that is coming out in October, this collection mixes the jolly ruckus of lots of sounds with lifting the flaps and a guessing game. Each one begins with a noise, sometimes with a visual clue too of what is making that noise. Lift the flap after taking a guess. The books are in different themes of vehicles, animals, toys and instruments. These flaps are large and sturdy enough for little hands even in a public library.

National Book Award Longlist Announced for Young People’s Literature

| Tasha

The 2015 National Book Award Longlist for Young People’s Literature has been announced. The finalists will be named on October 14th and the winners announced on November 18th.

Bone Gap Challenger Deep Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin

Nimona Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M. T. Anderson

The Thing About Jellyfish This Side of Wild: Mutts, Mares, and Laughing Dinosaurs Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy, #1)

The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

This Side of Wild: Mutts, Mares and Laughing Dinosaurs by Gary Paulsen

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

X: A Novel

X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon

Review: Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson

| Tasha

GRX050 Silver Six COV TEMPLATE

Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson (InfoSoup)

Violet and her family live happily together in an asteroid belt where her mother is a clothing designer and her father salvages items from outer space. Then Violet’s school is eaten in a space whale feeding frenzy and she has to go to work with her mother. While they are there, more whale attacks happen and her father disappears. Violet decides that she has to find out what happened to him. She gathers two friends together, one of them a snazzily dressed chicken and the other the last of the Lumpkins. But there are many dangers in space and Violet and her friends get set upon by space gangs, have to traverse a ring of trash, and then must figure out why the whales are on a rampage. It’s up to Violet to save her dad and she just might save the entire galaxy along the way.

Thompson is the acclaimed author of graphic novels like Blankets and Habibi. This is his first graphic novel for young readers and with it he demonstrates his immense skill in writing for any age. Violet is a strong and fierce female protagonist who is the one running into danger to save others, and I love a girl who works to save her father in space. It’s a great feminist twist on a more traditional structure. Louis, the chicken, is also a great male character who also is non-stereotypical and loves his clothes and not adventuring in space. Additionally, the book uses humor constantly, creating a book filled with puns and laughter, just what I’d want in any space adventure.

Thompson’s art is wonderfully strong. He takes the time to show young readers not only the outside of the spacecrafts but the insides as well using cutaways of the hulls. The various worlds and space structures that they visit are unique and diverse, creating a full sense of adventure as the book moves along. Thompson never forgets that this is a science fiction book, keeping the art and the story fully grounded in that world and setting. He also manages to include themes of environmentalism and individuality very successfully.

Another strong girl to join Zita the Spacegirl in taking readers to space and the stars. Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Reviewed from ARC received from GRAPHIX.

Review: Snap! by Hazel Hutchins

| Tasha

Snap by Hazel Hutchins

Snap! by Hazel Hutchins, illustrated by Dušan Petričić

Released September 22, 2015.

Evan had a new set of crayons that were perfect until he accidentally broke the brown crayon. He tried to fix it by pressing it together and taping it, but nothing worked. Then Evan realized that one broken crayon is actually two crayons! As Evan continued to color, more crayons snapped. When he stepped on one, he found that he could create different things with the crushed color and with others without wrappers. Evan’s only green crayon disappeared under the stairs and then he didn’t have any green at all, until he discovered that yellow and blue combined to make green. Soon Evan was mixing all sorts of colors. Finally he is left with only three colors: red, blue and green and no space to color any more. But Evan has starting thinking in new ways and finds a way to make new discoveries and art.

Hutchins has taken a universal moment in childhood, when the first crayon breaks and made it into a celebration of creativity and thinking in new ways. The discoveries outweigh the loss of a whole crayon, creating new opportunities and new ways to color and draw. The part where he steps on a crayon is so well done, allowing youngsters to see situations like that as a chance for discovery. Throughout the tone is jolly and inviting, just the antidote to perfectionism we need.

Petričić’s art is very appealing. Evan is a boy who is colored the same bright colors as his crayons, allowing him to pop on the page even as it fills with art. At the same time, he is rendered partially as an uncolored person, which makes for a very modern and intriguing look. The scribbles and child art are done well, always filled with experimentation and ideas. 

Combine this with a crayon craft and you will have a great program, just be ready for some of the children to snap your crayons on purpose! Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Annick Press and NetGalley.

Review: The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

| Tasha

Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (InfoSoup)

Christopher was taken from the orphanage where he grew up to become an apprentice to Master Benedict, an apothecary in 17th century London. Christopher loved working in the workshop and learning about the different capabilities of the various ingredients stored there. He created medicines that helped heal various afflictions, but he also got himself into trouble too. All it took was one homemade cannon, a best friend, and a stuffed bear. But all is not entirely good in Christopher’s world. There is someone murdering apothecaries but torturing them first. Christopher soon finds himself in the middle of the worst possible danger and left with only a trail of cyphers and clues to help him figure out who to trust.

Sands manages to create a rip-roaring adventure story and yet keep it true to a historical mystery set in the 17th century. Readers are immersed in the hierarchies of the apothecary guild, the complex political world, and the desperation of being an orphan and having no place to live in London. There are unlikely heroes, crafty booksellers, kind madmen, and plenty of villains. The book catapults readers into the story, leaving them breathless with the vaudeville humor of the story, gasping as the pace gets even faster, and holding on by their fingernails as the story twists and turns.

Christopher is a great character. He is smart as can be, solving cyphers and puzzles as well as figuring his way out of impossible situations. He is also brave, enduring real danger for the sake of what he believes in and what his master taught him. Add to that a humble nature that makes him a good friend and a tendency to find trouble. Other characters are compelling too, from his best friend who has real depth to his character to the villains who have complicated reasons for what they do. It’s a book that reads as a puzzle that readers must decipher.

It’s a wild delight of a novel that will have young readers captivated thanks to its chemical mix of science and historical fiction. Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Aladdin Books.

2015 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards Finalists Announced

| Tasha

The finalists for the 2015 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards have been announced. There are awards for books in both French and English. Below I have included only the English titles. The full list can be seen here.

 

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

Any Questions? A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison

Any Questions? by Marie-Louise Gay

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs

From Vimy to Victory: Canada's Fight to the Finish in World War I Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress The Night Gardener

From Vimy to Victory: Canada’s Fight to the Finish in World War I by Hugh Brewster

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

 

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

Dolphin SOS From There to Here

Dolphin SOS by Roy Miki and Slavia Miki, illustrated by Julie Flett

From There to Here by Laurel Croza, illustrated by Matt James

Hope Springs Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress

Hope Springs by Eric Walters, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant

The Most Magnificent Thing Nancy Knows

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Nancy Knows by Cybèle Young

 

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction

From Vimy to Victory: Canada's Fight to the Finish in World War I If...: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers

From Vimy to Victory: Canada’s Fight to the Finish in World War I by Hugh Brewster

If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers by David J. Smith, illustrated by Steve Adams

 Starting From Scratch: What You Should Know about Food and Cooking

Residential Schools, With the Words and Images of Survivors: A National History by Larry Loyie with Wayne K. Spear and Constance Brissenden

Starting from Scratch: What You Should Know about Food and Cooking by Sarah Elton, illustrated by Jeff Kulak

Why We Live Where We Live

Why We Live Where We Live by Kira Vermond, illustrated by Julie McLaughlin

 

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

Arrow Through the Axes Dance of the Banished The Gospel Truth

Arrow through the Axes by Patrick Bowman

Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

The Gospel Truth by Caroline Pignat

Underground Soldier Unspeakable

Underground Soldier by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat

 

John Spray Mystery Award

About That Night Dead Man's Switch Julian

About That Night by Norah McClintock

Dead Man’s Switch by Sigmund Brouwer

Julian by William Bell

The Show To End All Shows: Book 2 Of Master Melville's Medicine Show The Voice inside My Head

The Show to End All Shows by Cary Fagan

The Voice Inside My Head by S. J. Laidlaw

 

Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Boundless The Nethergrim The Night Gardener

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends, #1) The Story of Owen (The Story of Owen #1)

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

 

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

The Art of Getting Stared At Blues for Zoey The Bodies We Wear

The Art of Getting Stared At by Laura Langston

Blues for Zoey by Robert Paul Weston

The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts

The Gospel Truth What We Hide

The Gospel Truth by Caroline Pignat

What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn

Review: Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers

| Tasha

Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers

Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers

Released September 29, 2015.

A new book from the author of The Big Wet Balloon, this graphic novel for young readers encourages creating your own books. Henrietta has a new box of colored pencils and sets out to create her own book with help from her cat, Fellini. It becomes a tale of a brave girl named Henrietta who discovers a three-headed monster in her wardrobe. The wardrobe turns out to be a magic one, leading to a labyrinth filled with clothes. They search for a hat for the one head of the monster that doesn’t have one to wear. But when they find a hat they also discover another monster, this one has one head and three hats. How will they escape?

Liniers is a well-known Argentinian cartoonist. This book embraces the creative work of children, nicely capturing the simple story arc of a child as well as the colorful and loose art style. The creative process is also captured with asides from Henrietta to Fellini that show her having problems at times coming up with new ideas and at other times having problems with the continuation of the story line after something dramatic happens. It’s a clever way to demonstrate the hurdles of creativity and story writing without lecturing.

The art is wonderful. Linier uses two clearly different styles in the book, one for Henrietta’s real world and the other for her written story. The real world ones are quieter and more realistic while the story is zany. It is filled with scribbles, colors, and really looks as if a creative child could have done it. The result is a book where the real world pieces are clearly different than the story, avoiding any confusion at all.

A solid graphic novel for young readers, children with dreams of writing their own books will love this journey through creativity. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from copy received from TOON 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:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Alex Gino: ‘I knew I was different as a kid’ – http://buff.ly/1Fyd9Tw #kidlit #transgender

But How Do You Really Teach With Picture Books? – Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension http://ow.ly/RNjfY #kidlit

Captain Underpants book reveals Harold marries a man – http://buff.ly/1MbZOIk #kidlit #lgbt #bravo

Christian groups slam transgender book ‘George,’ saying it will only confuse kids http://buff.ly/1iuqHuq #transgender #kidlit

Five questions for Eric Carle – The Horn Book – http://buff.ly/1KZAGms #kidlit

Laura Carlin wins the Bratislava children’s books illustration award 2015 – http://buff.ly/1K5oVKm #kidlit

Maurice Sendak Sent Beautifully Illustrated Letters to Fans — So Beautiful a Kid Ate One – http://buff.ly/1Niv6vK #kidlit

What I’ve Learned from the Books My Kids Love | Brightly http://ow.ly/RNR3l #kidlit

Where the magic happens: children’s illustrators open up their studios – in pictures – The Guardian http://ow.ly/RN9kD #kidlit

LIBRARIES

Chicago’s Chinatown library breaks cookie-cutter mold http://buff.ly/1NgcMTQ #libraries

Launch Pad Makerspace at Buffalo & Erie County Public Library – http://buff.ly/1Lmcvuo #libraries

Library of Congress’s computer woes also disrupt national service for blind and disabled users http://buff.ly/1hTCkKI #libraries

The most popular books in U.S. public libraries, mapped by city http://buff.ly/1IVY1PU #libraries

National Wales library card launches – http://buff.ly/1LVdK6n #libraries

San Diego Opens First Public Library Biotech Lab – http://buff.ly/1hX5Pvf #libraries

libraries: what are they up to?:

TEEN READS

12 Books for Fans of I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson – The Hub – http://buff.ly/1K70UCO #yalit

Award-winning teen book Into the River banned in New Zealand – http://buff.ly/1Nnz4F2 #yalit

David Levithan Inks Four-Book Deal With Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers – http://buff.ly/1KEPCrG #yalit

One Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with Patrick Ness – http://buff.ly/1EYlViJ #yalit

Patrick Ness and John Green lead authors to raise £200,000 for refugees in 24 hours http://ow.ly/RNj2p #yalit #refugees

Why fiction can help us understand the Syrian refugee crisis – http://buff.ly/1Nntnqv – #yalit