BBC has released the first trailer for their new animated version of Watership Down. It’s a book that my family read aloud again and again during my childhood. This new version is lush and gorgeous with an all-star cast of voice actors. The four-episode series premieres on December 22nd on BBC One.
Kirkus has released another of their best of the year lists. Here are the books selected as their best YA with plenty of great surprises included:
After the Fire by Will Hill
After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay
And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Rovina Cai
Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
An Assassin’s Guide to Love & Treason by Virginia Boecker
Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team That Awakened a City by Phillip Hoose
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen
Black Wings Beating by Alex London
Blacklisted!: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment by Larry Dane Brimner
Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge
Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu
The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta
Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr’s Assassin by James L. Swanson
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Dream Country by Shannon Gibney
Driving by Starlight by Anat Deracine
The Fall of Innocence by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico by David Bowles
Final Draft by Riley Redgate
Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones
For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas
The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century by Neal Bascomb
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Home and Away by Candice Montgomery
The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker
I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall
I, Claudia by Mary McCoy
If Only by Jennifer Gilmore
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
Iron River by Daniel Acosta
Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
Last Pick by Jason Walz
Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
My Brother’s Husband by Gengorah Tagame
My Name Is Victoria by Lucy Worsley
Notes from My Captivity by Kathy Parks
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron
Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto
Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert
The Place Between Breaths by An Na
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Secrets of the Casa Rosada by Alex Temblador
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
The Storyteller by Traci Chee
Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
This Book Betrays My Brother by Kasigo Lesego Molope
This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender
Troublemakers by Catherine Barter
Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens edited by Marieke Nijkamp
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners by Naomi Shihab Nye
Votes for Women: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson and Tonya Bolden
What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger
Wildcard by Marie Lu
Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay
Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller (9780316562584)
Aria lovers her fluffy, touchable hair but others love it a bit too much for her comfort. It seems like every time she leaves the house, someone is reaching out to feel her hair. She tries going to the ocean to get away from everyone, but even the mermaids want a touch. The same thing happens when she heads to the jungle or the castle. The only place she can find peace is on a deserted island, but she gets too lonely there. When she returns home, Aria figures out the power of setting boundaries and not allowing others to touch her without her permission.
Written in a wonderfully accessible way, this picture book will speak to children who are always having their hair touched, particularly African-American girls who wear their natural hair. The incorporation of whimsical settings makes the entire book feel lighter and a bit playful. The seriousness of being able to say no to others, even adults, is the final part of the book and is handled perfectly with just the right tone. The art in this picture book is bright and friendly. Aria’s hair is depicted in a most touchable way adding to the appeal of the book.
Humor adds a nice touch to this book about the importance of being able to demand respect for your body and hair. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from library copy.
The esteemed children’s literature journal Horn Book has released their Fanfare list that features their picks for the best books of the year. Here are the titles:
PICTURE BOOKS
A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Chris Raschka
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
The Field by Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier
Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
I Really Want to See You, Grandma by Taro Gomi
Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes
The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke, illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd
Pie Is for Sharing by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard, illustrated by Jason Chin
They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki
FICTION
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
Love to Everyone by Hilary McKay
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Price and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Rebound by Kwame Alexander
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
NONFICTION
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
Water Land: Land and Water Forms around the World by Christy Hale
Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr (9781536200171)
Astrid loves living in her tiny village in the mountains. The only problem is that no other children live nearby. She does have a best friend, Gunnvald, a neighbor in his seventies who loves to play the fiddle and can be rather grumpy. Astrid spends her time playing outside, building prototype sleds with Gunnvald, and bothering the owner of the wellness retreat nearby. When some children do come to the retreat (where children are forbidden) Astrid becomes friends with them despite having a fight first. Astrid’s world is idyllic, but something is about to change. When Gunnvald has an accident and has to have surgery, the secret he has been keeping from Astrid is revealed. Could it be that nothing will ever go back to normal again?
This Norwegian book has been translated into languages and sold around the world. It’s wonderful to see it on American shelves. Parr writes with a delightful sense of merriment throughout her book. She speaks to the importance of children having freedom and an ability to make choices in their life (even if one of those choices can’t be missing school all the time). She also demonstrates what a life lived outdoors looks like and the importance of loving a place and identifying with it.
The book uses the story of Heidi as a central plot point, which is very interesting since I had been thinking of how much this tale was like Heidi from the start. It is partly the setting itself of a mountaintop with an older man who is grumpy yet warm. But another large component is the character at the heart of both stories. Astrid, like Heidi, is fiercely independent and loves with all her being.
Richly told, this book is a delightful wintry read that feels like a long-lost classic. Get it into the hands of fans of Heidi and Pippi Longstocking. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from ARC provided by Candlewick Press.
Waking Brain Cells 