Month: June 2019

Review: Home Is a Window by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard

| Tasha

Home Is a Window by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard

Home Is a Window by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard, illustrated by Chris Sasaki (9780823441563)

A little girl celebrates her city home and all of the things that make it special. From the small touches like a basket for your shoes and plants in the corner to the lamplight at night from a neighbor’s window. Her family makes it special too, doing chores together, fixing mistakes, and helping one another. When the family moves to a new home, they take a lot of the elements that make it special with them. In the new house, they will once again create a home together.

In statements that begin with “Home is…” this picture book explores what makes a house a home. From the smells to the people to the windows themselves, each piece fits together like a puzzle. Ledyard’s prose asks people to slow down, to celebrate the everyday and small moments that make up their lives and their homes. The switch to a book about moving later in the book makes the first part all the more important and profound, allowing the family to rebuild easily the sense of home they always carry with them.

Sasaki’s illustrations show a multi-racial family spending days together filled with love and in a home that is warm and colorful. Those elements carry throughout the illustrations, each one making sure that readers know that small touches create a home. From lamplight at night to tables filled with family.

A beautiful look at family, home and moving. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Neal Porter Books.

This Week’s Tweets

| Tasha

Here are the tweets I’ve shared this week on Twitter.

DiversityInChildrensBooks2018_f_8.5x11

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

100 Mighty Girl Books for Tween’s Summer Reading List – https://t.co/Pe8YvqvugP

Eight LGBTQ-positive children’s books in time for Pride and year-round learning buff.ly/2FeJ2cL #kidlit #LGBTQ

If Kids Can’t Read What They Want in the Summer, When Can They? | Opinion buff.ly/2wVahob #reading

Kids Books to Celebrate Juneteenth from NYPL – https://t.co/jDHlWv08HO

Picture This: Diversity in Children’s Books 2018 Infographic – https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/

Summer reading list: 9 books to inspire young girls to know their value buff.ly/2FgTbpi #kidlit

LIBRARIES

Gay-themed books fuel fight over free speech at small-town library in Maine buff.ly/2Xj68ZL #LGBTQ #libraries

How the New York Public Library Remains Current 125 After Its Founding (Podcast) buff.ly/2wZ1Kkb #libraries

In One Year, People Visited Public Libraries More Than a Billion Times buff.ly/2WuZ38R #libraries

READING

How indie bookshops are fighting back buff.ly/31BIDus #reading #bookstore

YA LIT

Aurora Rising YA Novel to be adapted for television – https://t.co/84n0LjC2GC

Carnegie Medal goes to fires writer of colour in its 83-year history: https://t.co/Wh9LiHnS4j

Check out these books before Netflix adaptations debut buff.ly/31xQ0my #yalit

Torn apart: the vicious war over young adult books buff.ly/2WMrFWM #yalit

Where Are All The YA Books About Queer Girls? buff.ly/31GJAl1 #yalit #LGBTQ

 

Review: Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer

| Tasha

Daniel's Good Day by Micha Archer

Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer (9780399546723)

When Daniel walks to his Grandma’s house, many of his neighbors tell him to “Have a good day!” So Daniel decides to find out what makes a good day for some of the people he meets. Mrs. Sanchez, who paints houses, has a good day when the skies are clear so that she can paint. Emma has her kite along and a good day is one with a steady wind. Some people want a shady bench, others for their little ones to take a nap, The bus driver wants a please and thank you, while the gardener is looking for bees on her flowers. Daniel’s grandmother says that a hug from Daniel makes for a good day for her. In the afternoon, as he returns home, Daniel discovers that everyone found what they needed to have a good day, and so did he.

This second book about Daniel is just as charming as the first. The premise of looking at simple things that make for a lovely day allows children to see the importance of small elements in their own lives. Nothing here costs money, all items are significant and create joy in that person’s life. The writing is simple and straightforward, using the structure of an answer to Daniel’s question to move ahead at a brisk pace of a child walking through his urban community.

The illustrations are beautiful. Done in paper collage, they are filled diverse community members. In a city setting, the art also shows gardens and parks to fill the pages with green. The vibrant community is captured very successfully on the page with bright colors and lots of activity.

Another winner for Daniel. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

 

Review: You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk

| Tasha

You Are Home An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk

You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk (9781534432826)

Journey to America’s national parks in this masterful picture book. The book begins by showing the wildlife of the parks as well as the plants that grow there. Pronghorns and a bobcat fill the pages. Then humans appear, experiencing the same nature and realizing that they are home as well. Whether you live in the city or the country, in a national park you can feel you belong. From one park to another, iconic images of their scenery is shared throughout and described. This is an immersive experience of a picture book.

Turk creates an cohesive world in this book, taking readers with him traveling to the national parks. His poetic text lingers on each page, conjuring special moments where animals pause and look up, where waterfalls pour, and where there is silence among the trees. His illustrations, done in pastel on black paper, shine and draw readers into the scenes. One can almost hear the water rush, smell the pines, and feel the breezes.

A great picture book about our national treasures. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

 

 

2019 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals

| Tasha

The 2019 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Award Medals have been awarded. Interestingly, both awards have gone to verse books in these oldest of the UK’s children’s book awards. Here are the winners:

Carnegie Medal Winner

The Poet X

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Kate Greenaway Medal Winner

The Lost Words

The Lost Words illustrated by Jackie Morris, written by Robert Macfarlane

The awards also have a Shadowing Project where young people across the UK get to shadow the judging process and make their own awards. This year, the award winners match, a testament to the skill of the judges and the children alike.

Review: Operatic by Kyo Maclear

| Tasha

Operatic by Kyo Maclear

Operatic by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler (9781554989720)

A middle grade graphic novel that focuses on the power of music and opera? Yes please! This innovative graphic novel tells the story of Charlie, who has an assignment to find her own personal perfect song. Her music class listens to all sorts of musical genres but the one that resonates with Charlie (and no one else in her class) is the music of opera singer Maria Callas. As Charlie searches for her song, she is thinking of two classmates. There is Emile, who is quiet and intriguing. Then there is the empty desk left by Luka, who was targeted and bullied for his gender nonconformity. As Charlie finds her song, she also discovers her inner diva and the ability to empower those around her.

Maclear’s story is all about the impact that music, specifically the right music at the right time, can have on one’s life. She writes with a deep empathy for young people finding their own way through middle school, focusing on the importance of friends but also on reaching out to others and helping them too. The book is filled with emotion and connection that exemplifies youth and hope.

Eggenschwiler’s art is exceptional. He creates images that perfectly capture the emotions of have a crush on someone, or feeling certain ways in your group of friends. The illustrations move through various single-colors as their main palette from yellows to blues to reds and back. Filled with individuality and creativity, the illustrations are interesting and unique.

A great graphic novel for middle grades, this one speaks to each person being both an individual and a member of the community. Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman

| Tasha

Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman

Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Heather Fox (9781250303172)

The book begins with the prediction that on Friday, Llama will destroy the world. On Monday, it all began with Llama eating far, far too much cake. On Tuesdays Llama dances, so he tried to put on his dancing pants. He had to squeeze in to them because they didn’t quite fit due to the amount of cake he had eaten the day before. His pants ripped, creating a sound loud enough to enter space and create a black hole. On Wednesday, Llama noticed the black hole, did scientific calculations and then made a sandwich instead of letting anyone know. On Thursday, signs of doom started appearing everywhere. On Friday, everything was sucked into the black hole. But what will happen on Saturday?

I love that the entire plot of the book is laid out in the title and again on the first page. Llama is going to destroy the world and it will happen on Friday. That hangs over the head of the reader, creating a sense of real drama. It also allows the book to head in a wild and zany direction that is incredibly engaging and that only gets sillier as the week continues. The ending is a great twist in a book that looks a physics, time and space.

Fox’s illustrations are so funny. Llama has googly eyes and a comical face with plenty of expression. The different elements of the story are given heft and drama by the illustrations, including the ripped pants, the pile of cake, and of course, the black hole.

Funny, scientific and zany, this picture book is so much fun. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Henry Holt & Company.

2019 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Award Winners

| Tasha

The winners of the 2019 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards were announced last week by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader. These awards are the only national book awards where the winners are entirely selected by children and teens. With over 24,000 votes cast in total, these are the winners:

KINDERGARTEN-2ND GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

I say OOH You say AAH There’s a Dragon in Your Book

I Say Ooh You Say Aah by John Kane

Honor Book: There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott

 

3RD-4TH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Back to the Future Safari Pug (The Adventures of Pug)

Back to the Future: The Classic Illustrated Storybook, based on the movie by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, illustrated by Kim Smith

Honor Book: Safari Pug by Laura James, illustrated by Églantine Ceulemans

 

5TH-6TH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Ghost Boys Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Honor Book: Sewing the Rainbow: A Story About Gilbert Baker by Gayle E. Pitman, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

 

TEEN BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Prince and the Dressmaker The Poet X

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Honor Book: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Review: Abner and Ian Get Right-Side Up by Dave Eggers

| Tasha

Abner and Ian Get Right-Side Up by Dave Eggers

Abner and Ian Get Right-Side Up by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Laura Park (9780316485869)

Open the book and you will discover that friends Abner and Ian are stuck on the sides of the page rather than being appropriately at the bottom of the page like any other book. What will get them into the right position? All they know is that the story really can’t start until they are in the right spot. Perhaps the child reading the book can help? But first Abner and Ian have to decide who will ask the child for help and when. The first shake doesn’t help at all, but makes it worse for both of the characters. More shaking continues and the results get more funny with each shake. Can it ever be fixed and the story begun?

I had not expected to be delighted by another book that asks children to shake the book, but this one is simply superb. A large part of the appeal are the characters themselves and their unique voices. I love their complaining and the different personalities that come forward, sharing weird little factoids and just having a conversation together that sounds natural and is entirely engaging.

Add to those interesting characters some odd visual results from the shaking that are very unexpected, and you have a winner of a picture book. The simple illustrations add to the appeal here, making the various positions on the page all the more humorous.

Funny and fascinating, this is one book that will shake you up! Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.