The Skylark’s War by Hilary McKay has won the Costa Children’s Book Award. The novel was published in the United States under the title Love to Everyone.
The Costa judges said it is “As perfect a novel as you could ever want to read.”
Day: January 8, 2019
2018 Best Youth Nonfiction!
What a year for nonfiction! It was filled with looks at math, science, art, music and much more. Here are my picks for the best nonfiction for children and teens in 2018:
Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James R. Ransome (9780823420476)
An important and lovely book about Harriet Tubman that belongs in all libraries. – My Review
Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World by Gary Golio (9781627795128)
A great pick for libraries looking for quality biographies of musicians. – My Review
Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez (9781682630136)
A glorious look at the Apollo missions. This belongs in every library. – My Review
Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost (9781250175366)
A smart choice for libraries looking for great STEM reads. – My Review
Drawn from Nature by Helen Ahpornsiri (9780763698980)
Throughout there is a grace of line and delight. An organic look at nature in all of its beauty. – My Review
Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles edited by Jessica Burkhart (9781481494649)
Reading this book is an exercise in opening your heart. It belongs in every public library serving teens. It will save lives. Period. – My Review
Lovely Beasts: The Surprising Truth by Kate Gardner, illustrated by Heidi Smith (9780062741615)
A beautiful and fresh look at some of the most misunderstood animals in the world. – My Review
Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe, illustrated by Barbara McClintock (9780316278201)
The book shows again and again the resilience and determination that it took for Sophie to succeed. – My Review
One Day a Dot by Ian Lendler, illustrated by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb (9781626722446)
A great look at the science of the Big Bang and evolution for small children, this is a cleverly designed book. – My Review
Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Katherine Roy (9780316393829)
A winner of a science read. – My Review
Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Steven Salerno (9781627791687)
A very intriguing tale that is a mix of women’s rights, ingenuity and economics. – My Review
So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Daniel Minter (9781626728721)
This book aches with pain, loss, and grief. – My Review
The Sockeye Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett David Huson), illustrated by Natasha Donovan (9781553791395)
The book is deep and lovely, the tone unique and lush. – My Review
Water Land: Land and Water Forms around the World by Christy Hale (9781250152442)
A brilliant book that will have young readers looking at water and land in a new way with plenty of terms to name what they are seeing. – My Review
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson (9780525580423)
A call to action for young people, this book is an anthology that belongs in every library in our country. – My Review
Review: When Sadness Is at Your Door by Eva Eland
When Sadness Is at Your Door by Eva Eland (9780525707189)
This quiet book looks at how children can handle deep emotions like sadness in a proactive way. It explains how sadness, depicted as a large blue round creature, can arrive without notice and be so close you almost smother. It reveals how sadness can almost become you, but try not to be afraid. Instead listen to the sadness, ask it where it came from, be quiet and sit together for a while. Do things together, even take a walk with one another. Give it room and make it welcome, and then tomorrow is a new day.
Eland takes a rather Buddhist approach to handling negative emotions as she asks the reader to sit with their emotion, welcome it and basically make it feel at home. The book shows that emotions can’t be hidden or pushed away. This approach leads away from anger and misery and into an acceptance that makes this book very gentle. In the art there are clear echoes of Harold and the Purple Crayon in its simplicity. The color scheme is muted and reflects the quiet nature of the text and the content.
A clear and gentle look at difficult emotions. Appropriate for ages 2-4.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House.
Waking Brain Cells 