Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter

October 12, 2021September 13, 2021 | Tasha

Cover image for Everybody in the Red Brick Building.

Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Oge Mora (9780062865762)

Everybody in the red brick building was sleeping until Baby Izzie howled in her crib. That set off a chain reaction that got lots of people in the building awake. Rayhan tried to quietly check on his parrot, who shouted to Wake up! The boys sleeping outside got into a game of flashlight tag. Natalia set off her light-up rocket. And the noise kept growing with a car alarm too. Then quiet returned with the street sweeper going by, acorns plonking down, windchimes, and Izzie getting snuggles. Finally, everyone in the red brick building was asleep – again.

Wynter takes a classic children’s story structure and brings the noises to a full cacophony before returning the building steadily to quiet again. The book is a great mixture of wildness in the middle of the night and then quieting to fall asleep, making it a great book to get restless children to bed. The text is filled with repeating loud noises that children will enjoy joining in to help make them even louder. As the book quiets down, the sounds become soft and gentle while staying just as enjoyable as before.

Mora’s illustrations are done in colorful paper collage that show the diverse community that lives in the red brick building together. The colors take the deep blue of night to the orange warmth of indoors to teals, lavenders, and yellows. The colors are engaging, making each page turn a new room of its own. The illustrations are just as dynamic as the book, and that is certainly saying something!

A great read-aloud bedtime book. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Balzer +Bray.

Off-Limits by Helen Yoon

October 11, 2021September 13, 2021 | Tasha

Off-Limits by Helen Yoon (9781536207316)

Dad’s office is off limits for playing. But the temptation to enter is irresistible. Maybe if the little girl just looks around and doesn’t touch anything. Perhaps one piece of tape won’t hurt anything… Soon the lamp has a tape scarf and looks lovely. She then discovers the paper clips and binder clips which quickly form into necklaces, crowns and more. Post-It notes come next and soon the room is filled with paper chains, lines of notes, and that’s when she realizes that it’s gotten out of control. She sneaks out, trailing office supplies in her wake to hide in her room. But what does she find there?

Yoon has taken my own love of office supplies and turned it into a picture book that celebrates creativity and the joy of tape, post-its and binder clips. Readers will feel the barely suppressed need to play with the office supplies at first and then the relief of just giving in and doing it. Told in the voice of the little girl, the text is entirely her dialogue as she plays, rationalizing along the way what she is doing and then her horror at discovering how far she went.

The illustrations are a huge part of the delight of this picture book. The tape alone offers so much visual pleasure with it in her hair, dangling like earrings, and taping her mouth shut. Then come the clips and the sticky notes, and the entire book swirls with ideas until in one final amazing page, it all comes together into a stage-like finale. Add in the twist in the end and it is so much fun!

A dazzling look at office supplies that get out of control. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Candlewick.

Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister? by Chitra Soundar

October 11, 2021September 24, 2021 | Tasha

Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister? by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun (9781536214826)

Sona lives in a home with lots of family members and others who stop by regularly. There is her mother and father, Thatha, her grandfather, Paatti, her grandmother, and The President who lives in the neighborhood. There is also Elephant, her best friend, and a toy she has had since she was tiny. When Amma, Sona’s mother, tells her that she is expecting a new baby, Sona isn’t so sure that it’s good news. She will have to share her room and her things with the new baby. Sona wants badly to be the best big sister ever, but sometimes her emotions get in the way. She has a chance to help pick the perfect name for the new baby, but she may just wait too long in the end.

Perfectly pitched for young readers, this early chapter book is a glimpse of life in India with rickshaws to get to school, jasmine in the garden, and pooris for a snack. Sona’s reaction to a new baby is just right, an honest mixture of wanting to participate and also resenting what she may lose too. The extended family plays a large part in giving Sona both the attention and the space she needs to process her feelings without making her ashamed along the way.

The illustrations add to the depiction of life in India, capturing the connection of the family members, shared meals, and crowded streets. The images are full of warmth and love.

A look at the emotions of a new baby combined with a visit to India. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Candlewick.

Jazz for Lunch! by Jarrett Dapier

October 8, 2021September 9, 2021 | Tasha

Jazz for Lunch! by Jarrett Dapier, illustrated by Eugenia Mello (9781534454088)

A boy heads with their Auntie Nina to a jazz club for lunch. The musicians play while the chefs in the kitchen cook, their sounds mixing together. But it’s so crowded that they can’t get to the front and can’t get any food either. It gets hot too, so the two head out and Auntie Nina has a new plan. The next day, the two of them set up in the kitchen. They listen to jazz on the stereo and start cooking together. There is cinnamon, peanuts, chicken, cheese, and much more, as they name the dishes after jazz icons. Soon it is the boy’s turn to have a drum solo played on the pots and pans. A knock comes on the door, and it’s all of the jazz musicians from the club. They share a great meal together. Now what’s for dinner?

This book cleverly demonstrates the improvisation of jazz music through having to change their plans for the day. That theme is also part of their cooking as their free-flowing style continues there with plenty of style. The text throughout the book has rhyme and rhythm. Dapier uses repetition of the phrase “Jazz for lunch!” throughout the book to great effect.

Mello’s illustrations are filled with bright colors of saffron, tomato, melon and blueberry. The illustrations swirl with movement, whether it is music moving through the air or ingredients dancing into the pan.

A delightful jazz riff on food. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Atheneum.

News to Wake Your Brain Cells – Oct 8

October 8, 2021October 5, 2021 | Tasha

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

15 must-read October children’s book releases – Book Riot

Children’s book awards that celebrate diversity – SLJ

David Walliams: ‘Harmful’ Chinese character removed from children’s book – BBC News

How the Clique books taught me to hate other girls and myself – New York Times

‘I, Witness’ makes world events visceral for young readers – NPR

Shang-Chi director to helm American Born Chinese series for Disney+ – Tor

‘The stories will be the last thing to go’: Robert Munsch on his legacy as one of Canada’s great storytellers – CBC

Why parents tried to ban this children’s book about a Chinese immigrant family – Yahoo

LIBRARIES

Mid-Continent Public Library Board blasted as banned books comments suggest censorship – KCUR

Sexual harassment, intimidation, violence on the job worsened during pandemic, librarians report – CBC

Why investing in libraries is a climate justice issue – Next City

Wyoming librarians under fire for books about sex, LGBTQ – The Washington Post

YA LIT

11 new YA books you won’t want to miss this October – PopSugar

How students fought a book ban and won, for now – New York Times

Top new YA books in October 2021 – Den of Geek

Westworld’s Gina Atwater to adapt YA fantasy novel ‘Raybearer’ for Netflix series – Collider

2021 Youth Book Prize for Social Justice Shortlist

October 7, 2021October 5, 2021 | Tasha

Goddard Riverside and the Children’s Book Council have announced the shortlist for the 2021 Goddard Riverside / CBC Young People’s Book Prize for Social Justice. The award “recognizes nonfiction books for children and teens related to urban life and issues that support values such as community, equality, opportunity, mutual understanding, respect, caring, and justice.” The winning book will be announced on October 18th. Here are the titles on the shortlist:

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols

Cover for Concrete Kids (Pocket Change Collective)

Concrete Kids by Amyra Leon, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpre Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories by Annette bay Pimentel, illustrated by Magaly Morales

Cover for Something Happened in Our Park

Something Happened in Our Park: Standing Together after Gun Violence by Ann Hazzard, Marietta Collins, and Marianne Celano, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown

Tani’s New Home: A Refugee Finds Hope and Kindness in America by Tanitoluwa (Tani) Adewumi, illustrated by Courtney Dawson

Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alverez by Larry Dane Brimner, illustrated by Maya Gonzalez

The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer

October 7, 2021October 5, 2021 | Tasha

Cover image for The List of Unspeakable Fears.

The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer (9781534480742)

The author of The Story That Cannot Be Told returns with her second book for middle-grade readers. Essie is scared of a lot of things, so many things that she keeps a list of the things that scare her like cats, electric lights, closets, darkness, and doors. Her mother has remarried after the death of Essie’s father and the two move from where they live in poverty in the Bronx to North Brother Island where Essie’s new stepfather runs a hospital for those with incurable contagious diseases. Of course, Essie is also terrified of disease, and is particularly worried when she learns that Typhoid Mary is a resident of the island. Once on the island, Essie starts to see a girl her age and have nightmares about the red door that leads to the attic, which is just like the one that she has seen in her dreams for years. Essie must follow the clues to see if her new stepfather is conducting horrible experiments on his patients and who the girl is, a process that will force Essie to face all of her fears.

This historical novel for middle-grade readers is a fascinating look at contagious diseases in the past. It is given particular weight given the Covid pandemic, adding to the tension and fears of the book. The setting of North Brother Island plays a large part in the story, giving it a gothic loneliness, foreboding mists, and a marvelous creepiness both due to its landscape and to its purpose as a quarantine hospital.

Essie is a character who changes and grows as the book progresses. At first entirely paralyzed by irrational fears, she slowly reveals the grief and reasons behind her frights. Her willingness to face a ghost along the way, plays against her fearfulness and shows exactly who she is without her shame and grief clouding her world. It’s a complex rendering of a character that is immensely satisfying as she untangles the mystery she finds herself in.

A creepy and ghost-filled read that also offers historical context of our current pandemic. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

11 new october ya releases to wake your brain cells

October 6, 2021September 24, 2021 | Tasha

Here are 11 great teen reads for your fall TBR pile. They have received plenty of starred reviews and praise and offer a nice mix of fiction and nonfiction titles. Enjoy!

Cover for Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert

Briarheart by Mercedes Lackey

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Punching Bag by Rex Ogle

Rise Up! How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy by Crystal M. Fleming

Thirty Talks Weird Love by Alessandra Narvaez Varela

The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield

National Book Award Finalists

October 6, 2021October 5, 2021 | Tasha

The Finalists for the 2021 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature have been announced by the National Book Foundation. The five finalists are mostly first-time nominees with the exception of Kekla Magoon who has received her second nomination. Here are the finalists: