Month: September 2016

Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2016 Shortlist

| Tasha

In its third year, this British children’s book award has four categories that are age specific and the shortlist has three titles in each of those categories. Here are the shortlisted titles:

BABY & TODDLER

Never Touch a Monster, Board book Peekaboo Pals A to Z

My Enormous Book of Colours by Philip Dauncey, illustrated by The Boy Fitzhammond

Never Touch a Monster by Rosie Greening, illustrated by Stuart Lynch

Peekaboo A-Z by Becky Davies, illustrated by Gareth Lucas

 

PICTURE BOOKS

The Bumblebear Oi Dog!

The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen

Oi Dog! by Kes and Clare Grey

You Must Bring a Hat

You Must Bring a Hat by Kate Hindley

 

FICTION AGES 5-9

Claude Going for Gold! Dave Pigeon (Dave Pigeon, #1)

Claude: Going for Gold by Alex T. Smith

Dave Pigeon by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey

Violet and the Hidden Treasure (Violet #2)

Violet and the Hidden Treasure by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor

 

FICTION AGES 9+

The Bubble Boy The Crooked Sixpence (The Uncommoners #1)

The Bubble Boy by Stewart Foster

The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell

Time Travelling with a Hamster

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

This Weeks Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

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

This kid means business. Read 20 minutes, every day!:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

10 Middle Grade Fantasy Novels with Black Girl Leads

13 Children’s Books That Help Kids Understand Divorce

100 Great Translated Children’s Books from Around the World

Ann M. Martin on the Enduring Appeal of The Baby-Sitters Club and Rebooting Another Children’s Series

Beatrix Potter died 73 years ago. Now she has a new book. What to make of it?

A Child of Books: making its mark in children’s literature

Discovered Beatrix Potter tale releases

First Book, NEA Foundation to Bring Thousands of Diverse Books, Resources for Children in Need

Third of parents admit rushing or skipping pages in bedtime stories

This beloved children’s author didn’t want a funeral – she said read to a child instead

National Library Week #NLW:

LIBRARIES

5 Reasons You Should Have a Library Card – BookRiot –

The Case for Preserving the Pleasure of Deep Reading

How to Defend Your Right to Read (with memes) – Intellectual Freedom Blog

Mark the date! Watch as Carla Hayden is sworn in as our new Sep 14

Newspaper: Disappearing Archive Only Temporary for Milwaukee Library patrons –

Annie Dillard Quote Typed on Typewriter on Cardstock by farmnflea, $8.00:

TEEN READS

Funny Book Displays in a High School Library

Women in Comics: Comics For a New School Year – The Hub

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – The Trailers

| Tasha

First, here is the official trailer:

 

Then there is a new trailer focusing on the strength of the female characters:

Brian Wildsmith Dies

| Tasha

3334208 6662090

The Bookseller has the news that Brian Wildsmith has died at the age of 86. He was the author and illustrator of more than 80 books.

Author Michael Rosen said of Wildsmith: “Floods of colour exploding across the pages with a name to match: Wildsmith. He was a wild smith. I remember feeling envious: why hadn’t I had books as wild and lush as these?”

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

| Tasha

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (InfoSoup)

Every year, the youngest child in the Protectorate must be left in the woods for the witch. The sacrifice of the child has ensured the survival of their small community for years. Unfortunately, the entire witch story was made up by those in power to keep the population sad and controllable. Still, there is a witch who lives in the woods, but Xan is gentle and kind. She rescues the children who are left in the clearing, taking them to other communities where they are loved and adored. Then one year, Xan accidentally feeds the baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the small child with magic. Xan decides to keep the child, whose magic will need to be controlled. As Luna grows, her magic starts to seep out everywhere, so Xan locks it away deep inside Luna who grows up knowing nothing of magic, despite living with a small dragon and a large swamp monster. As truth starts to appear, those in power struggle to maintain control even as Luna begins to discover what is hidden inside her.

Barnhill has created a brand new classic fairy tale with this book. Her writing is rich and filled with emotion. She allows magic to be incorporated throughout her book with a natural feel and flair. It becomes almost as normal as the trees in the woods, allowing readers to realize that Luna must discover her own magic or not be living at all in this world. The world building is brilliantly done with each piece clicking neatly in, forming a full pattern of the world.

The book does have Luna as a protagonist but it is so filled with rich characters that there are many heroes and heroines. There is Antain, the boy who refused to witness babies die. There is the amazing Xan, elderly and full of life, determined to do good even with her last breath. Glerk and Fyrian the monster and dragon are perfect for both humor and wisdom. Luna herself has to be even more special to stand out against these other characters, and she certainly is!

This book is magical, clever and luminous. Definitely one for young fans of fantasy or for anyone looking for a rich reading experience. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Anna Dewdney Dies

| Tasha

Llama Llama Red Pajama Llama Llama Mad at Mama

The author of the popular Llama Llama series, Anna Dewdney, died on September 3rd in her home after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. She was 50 years old.

Her Llama Llama books captured the toddler experience with humor and an engaging rhyme and rhythm.

Publisher’s Weekly has a full obituary.

 

The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

| Tasha

The Poets Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan (InfoSoup)

Released September 13, 2016.

Newbery Medal winning author Patricia MacLachlan returns with a gorgeous little book. Two siblings, brother and sister, are trapped in a snowstorm. They had been left with the car when their mother went for help, but were warned that if the car was entirely covered with snow, it might be a dangerous place to stay. Nearby lives Teddy, a dog raised by a poet, so a dog who understands words and can even speak. However, only two kinds of people understand him, poets and children. Teddy discovers the children and brings them back to the poet’s home, a home that he hasn’t entered since his beloved human companion died. Soon the children are making the house into a different kind of home, but no less filled with the beauty of words and the feelings of love.

MacLachlan has created a lovely short book that wraps readers in warmth. It is as if readers too have been rescued from the cold and the dark, welcomed into a place of firelight and sustenance. It is an enchanting book that brings back the feelings of being at home during a storm and knowing you are safe and secure. MacLachlan’s writing is assured and masterful. She is so succinct and deft in her storytelling that she manages to offer a full story in less than fifty pages and even make it feel leisurely and special.

Throughout the book, Teddy the dog explores what it is to be special to someone, loved by someone and then to lose that person. Through his memories readers see how Sylvan, the poet, died and how Teddy has managed to stay on the property. As he works through his grief with the children near him, there is a strong sense of the importance of poetry and words and expression.

A very moving and noteworthy addition to MacLachlan’s exceptional body of work, this book is exquisite. Appropriate for ages 8-11.

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

Scottish Teenage Book Prize

| Tasha

The inaugural year of the Scottish Teenage Book Prize has three books up for the honor. The prize is run by the Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland. £500 goes to each shortlisted book and then the winner receives £3000. The winner is selected via a vote by children aged 12-16 across Scotland.

Here are the shortlisted titles:

The Last Soldier Black Cairn Point Silver Skin

The Last Soldier by Keith Gray

Black Cairn Point by Claire McFall

Silver Skin by Joan Lennon

Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LeFleur

| Tasha

Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LeFleur

Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LeFleur (InfoSoup)

Released September 13, 2016.

In a country at war, even children are not safe. Sofarende is being bombed, including the town where 12-year-old Mathilde lives. There isn’t enough food, the sirens sound often, and then there is the destruction and people dying. Mathilde does have her best friend Megs who lives only a few doors away. Now the government has started recruiting children into service. It offers families a chance to have enough food and enough money to survive. The children have to pass a test. Mathilde knows that if Megs takes the test, she will be taken into service since Megs is top of their class. Mathilde takes the test as well, realizing that she too can change the way her entire family survives and lives though recognizing that she isn’t as gifted as Megs in school. But this test isn’t like any other they have ever taken, so the results aren’t either.

LeFleur has written a haunting look at war and the way that it impacts families and children. She presents us with a society that is already battered by the conflict and facing serious shortages. Into that angst and fear, she introduces a way forward, sacrificing children to the effort. It is that moment that mirrors so many choices that families must face in war, sending children to safety, sacrifice in order to find hope, becoming refugees. It is a powerful moment that LeFleur allows to stand and lengthen beautifully.

In the latter part of the book, the children’s efforts at war are meticulously written, yet there is a lovely lack of clarity as well. There is hope in what they are doing, a sense that children see the world very differently from adults and that that is important and valid. At its heart is hope for the future, an end to the conflict and an ability to look beyond today. This too is a powerful time, where conversation and humanity could win over war and despair.

This is the first in a series and I look forward to the next installment. The combination of skillful writing and a powerful scenario with a dynamic and unique heroine creates a series that is very special. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Wendy Lamb Books and Edelweiss.