Month: May 2021

Your Heart, My Sky by Margarita Engle

| Tasha
Cover image for Your Heart, My Sky.

Your Heart, My Sky by Margarita Engle (9781534464964)

Liana and Amado are trying to survive Cuba’s el período especial en tiempos de paz—the special period in times of peace, in the 1990s. The time period when the Cuban government’s strict rules after the collapse of the Soviet Union threw the population into famine. Liana avoids the summer labor she has been assigned to, even though she opens her family to retribution. She spends her days instead with a dog she met, a special singing dog who helps bring her together with Amado. Amado is the brother of a prisoner, which already puts his family under additional scrutiny. He wants to follow in his brother’s pacifist footsteps as the mandatory military service looms in his future. As Liana and Amado come together, they must find a way to help one another survive starvation while seeing if they can have any future together at all.

Engle is the master of the verse novel, weaving her incredible poetry into tales of Cuba. This time, her focus on a period of starvation in Cuba is particularly exceptional. She creates a beautiful romance between two people (and a special dog) in the midst of such political upheaval and danger. The romance is captivating but it is the state of Cuba itself that creates the energy and horror in the story. From people dying of starvation to political imprisonment to casting yourself on the water to try to reach America. There are no easy decisions here, all ways lead to death or prison.

As always, Engle’s books are captivating. Her writing is marvelous, building the romance from tentative first meetings to real love and connection in an organic and honest way. The characters themselves are beautifully drawn. Similar in their situation, they find themselves reacting in very different ways that drive them apart. Their plans for the future seem disparate but could just be the way they can survive and be together after all.

Tense and horrifying, this poetic look at starvation in Cuba is riveting. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Line and Scribble by Debora Vogrig

| Tasha
Book cover.

Line and Scribble by Debora Vogrig, illustrated by Pia Valentinis (9781797201870)

Though they are very different, Line and Scribble are great friends. They love to show one another what they are creating with ruler-straight lines or dreamy swirls. Line travels by straight roads, railroad tracks or planes that head straight to their destination. Scribble wanders, creates roller coasters. Line makes straight fur on dogs and straight elegant hair on people. Scribble makes fluffy cats and people with curly hair. Line likes breadsticks while Scribble enjoys cotton candy. Line likes to drink with a straw and Scribble makes bubbles. Together the two of them also combine to create a very dramatic visual storm full of straight rain, swirls of tornadoes, and plenty of wind. When the entire page is dark, Line sweeps it all away and the two friends start again.

This Italian import is joyous and full of ways to celebrate differences between friends where you can stay entirely yourself and still play together. Mostly told in the illustrations, this picture book is marvelously stylized with its almost entirely black and white images made of simple lines and swirls. Readers will enjoy exploring shapes and ways to make entire pictures with just a line or curl.

A lively and touching book about friendship because of differences. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Chronicle Books.

News to Wake Your Brain Cells – May 21

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

8 spring picture books for children – many by Minnesota artists and writers – StarTribune

10 great books for young gamers – Book Riot

16 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) children’s books – NYMetroParents

The book I wrote was just banned. Now I’m fighting to get it to every kid I can. – HuffPost

Breaking up with your favorite racist childhood classic books – The Washington Post

YA LIT

25 of the greatest queer YA books to add to your summer reading list – PopSugar

The best YA novels to read this summer – Entertainment Weekly

Film based on young adult novel explores justice system through Black teen’s eyes – CBS

The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation by Alice B. McGinty

| Tasha
Cover image

The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by Shonto Begay (9780525645009)

Cody, a child living in the Navajo Nation, wakes up thirsty. The bucket in the kitchen is empty and so are all of the water barrels outside. This is the only water that Cody and his family have. Meanwhile, Darlene Arviso is getting ready to work. She has running water in her trailer, but many in the Navajo Nation do not. She climbs aboard the school bus she drives and delivers students to school. Then she heads to her other job. She fills the yellow tanker truck with water from the water tower and heads out onto the road once more. She drives many miles through the mesas, steep hills and valleys. Eventually, she reaches Cody’s home where she fills the water barrels. Over the course of a month, Darlene delivers water to over 200 families and then starts over again.

McGinty offers a glimpse into the story of one woman and her hard work that allows people on the Navajo Nation to survive without running water. At the same time, she also speaks to the hardship of lives lived without modern conveniences and the worry that can create in children like Cody. Throughout the book, Darlene is treated as the hero she is, a critical link to drinking water for families who ration it, using a fraction of what modern families tend to use.

Begay’s art captures the beauty of the Navajo Nation by showing many landscapes full of purple, blue and yellow light. Using watercolor washes to fill the background, he creates moments of worry, tenacity and joy as Darlene finally reaches them with water.

A powerful look at modern Navajos and the impact of community in the face of poverty. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.

On the Other Side of the Forest by Nadine Robert

| Tasha
Cover image

On the Other Side of the Forest by Nadine Robert, illustrated by Gerard DuBois (9781771647960)

A little rabbit and his father live together near the edge of a dark and menacing forest where no one goes. His father has always wanted to know what is on the other side of the forest, so he sets a plan in motion. He takes their wheat harvest and begins to bake bread. When other rabbits in the community come around, he offers them bread in exchange for four large stones. Those stones, the two rabbits use to start building a huge tower to see above the tall trees. Their work continues for weeks and weeks until one day a terrible storm knocks down all of their hard work. The father rabbit falls asleep exhausted near his ruined tower, and that is when the community of rabbits appears and helps to rebuild the tower, higher than it was before. After lots more bread, more stones and plenty of hard work, the tower is complete. The little rabbit and his father are the first to climb to the top and see the surprise waiting for them.

Translated from the original French, Robert’s picture book reads like a folkloric story filled with classic elements such as bread, stones and sacrifice. She uses a storyteller’s voice throughout the book, drawing readers into the story. She excels at brevity in her text, using just enough to keep the story moving ahead and also explaining what is happening with enough details to bring it to life.

The art is exceptional, marvelously mixing modern and vintage elements into something very interesting and unique. The idyllic countryside setting is shown both in the closeup images as well as those showing extensive landscapes. The process of building the tower uses all sorts of levers and pulleys, showing the ingenuity at work and the hard labor involved.

A book full of suspense, fresh bread and community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Greystone Kids.

Kiyoshi’s Walk by Mark Karlins

| Tasha
Cover image.

Kiyoshi’s Walk by Mark Karlins, illustrated by Nicole Wong (9781620149584)

Kiyoshi’s grandfather Eto is a poet who writes poetry with brush and ink. Kiyoshi wishes that he could write poems too. When he asks his grandfather where poems come from, the two set off on a walk in their neighborhood. At the corner store, they see a cat on a pile of oranges. Eto stopped and wrote a poem about what happened when the oranges toppled, inspired by what they saw. The two hear pigeons flying above them, inspiring the next poem from what they heard. After seeing an abandoned teddy bear, Eto writes a poem about how it got there and how it feels, all from his imagination. The two reach the river together where Eto writes one last poem of the day, capturing his feelings. Now it is Kiyoshi’s turn to figure out that poems come from our surroundings and how that touches what is in our hearts. He’s ready to write his first poem.

Karlins has created a touching story of the connection between grandson and grandfather. The story is gentle and focused on finding poems throughout their day together. The book clearly shows how heart and imagination meet inspiring moments in life to create art, whether it is poetry, prose, music or art. Throughout the book, Eto treats Kiyoshi as an equal, gently showing him how he works and allowing Kiyoshi to also discover on his own.

The luminous art was done digitally. It evokes the warmth of colored pencil on the page. The fine details work well in showing the vibrant and changing urban setting they live in. The color palette changes as they walk, ending with the setting sun reflected in deep colors in the river.

Full of inspiration, poetry and connection. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Lee & Low Books.

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly

| Tasha
Cover image for Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey.

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly (9780062970428)

Marisol is the only one in her family who hates the big magnolia tree in their back yard. She has named the tree Peppina, and doesn’t like it because Marisol is scared of climbing trees. Her best friend Jada isn’t scared of anything. She can climb the tree like a flash and so can Marisol’s older brother. Marisol though worries a lot. She even worries about worrying too much. She is scared of learning to swim and almost didn’t learn to ride a bike either. Marisol is the only person in her class whose mother was born somewhere else. Her mother was born in the Philippines. She’s also the only person whose father works on an oil rig during the week. That’s why she also worries about Evie Smythe, a mean girl in her class who seems nice but makes fun of Marisol and her family. So what will happen when Marisol decides she has to climb Peppina after all? Maybe something amazing!

Award-winning author Kelly based Marisol upon herself as a child. Marisol’s worries and internal voice ring so true because of that connection to the author. As Marisol frets, she finds herself up in the middle of the night often and spends the time watching silent movies so no one else wakes up. She loves Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, naming some of the objects around her home after the actors she sees on screen. These are the clever moments in the book that fully bring it to life.

Readers will enjoy Marisol who may be worried, but also is entirely her own person. While she keeps some of her quirks between herself and Jada, others are more obvious in her life. Marisol is funny and filled with imagination, allowing her to become a bird even if she doesn’t like heights.

A charmer of a chapter book that “may be” just the one you are looking for. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Greenwillow Books.

2021 Indie Book Awards Shortlists

| Tasha

The shortlists for the 2021 Indie Book Awards have been announced. The awards are curated by independent bookstores across the UK and Ireland. The awards celebrate paperback books in several categories. The winners will be announced on June 25th.

Here are the shortlisted titles in the juvenile categories:

CHILDREN’S FICTION

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

The Night Bus Hero

The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Q. Rauf

Tamarind & the Star of Ishta

Tamarind & the Star of Ishta by Jasbinder Bilan

Licence to Chill (Vi Spy #1)

Vi Spy: Licence to Chill by Maz Evans

Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant (released in the U.S. in October 2021)

Voices #5: Windrush Child (Voices 5)

Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

PICTURE BOOK

The Bear, the Piano & Little Bear’s Concert by David Litchfield

Dog Gone

Dog Gone by Rob Biddulph

 The Girl and the Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes & Sarah Massini

The Hospital Dog

The Hospital Dog by Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie

Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love 

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls, illustrated by David Litchfield

The Elephants Come Home by Kim Tomsic

| Tasha
Cover image of The Elephants Come Home.

The Elephants Come Home by Kim Tomsic, illustrated by Hadley Hooper (9781452127835)

Based on a true story, this picture book shows the immense connection and love that can come from saving elephants. Lawrence Anthony and Francoise Malby owned an animal sanctuary, Thula Thula, in Africa. In 1999, they rescued a herd of wild elephants who were causing damage where they had been living. But it was not as simple as creating a space for the elephants and moving them in. The elephants were not sure they wanted to stay, and certainly didn’t want to be penned in. They made that clear after destroying their first enclosure and escaping. Lawrence and Francoise had to act quickly to avoid the elephants being slaughtered by hunters, so they called in the help of a helicopter, who found them and managed to move them back to Thula Thula. Lawrence decided to camp with the elephants, forming a bond with their matriarch, Nana. Once that happened, they were able to leave their enclosure and head into the full Thula Thula sanctuary with the other animals. They could visit the farmhouse whenever they wanted too. It was when tragedy struck though that the true connection to the elephants became clear.

This incredibly moving story shows the connection that can happened between human and animal, one that goes both directions through gentleness, protection and a deep understanding of one another’s value. The patience that Lawrence shows through the book is notable and is what allows him to bond with the herd. People who already love elephants will find new knowledge here about conservation, protection and how very intelligent they are.

The art feels like a series of prints, each created with watercolor, ink and printmaking. The colors are magnificent from the blues of late night to the dusty oranges of African day to the lush greens of Thula Thula itself. The elephants are drawn with real character, their hugeness and their emotions clear in each image.

A remarkable story worth enjoying with your own herd. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy provided by Chronicle Books.