Month: April 2025

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor- Book Review

| Tasha

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (9780593404546)

Maeve Abenthy is the daughter of the world’s greatest villain. Seven years ago, she lost everything when her father destroyed one of the parallel worlds and burned the gates that allowed people to move between them. When old letters are delivered by the Otherwhere Post, couriers who are the only ones who can move between the worlds, Maeve receives one that declares that her father is innocent. Her father had been a gifted scriptomancer, able to write magic into words. It was scriptomancy that connected the worlds and still does. Now Maeve must set out to find out who sent the anonymous letter, but can she trust anyone enough to let them help her?

The author of Hotel Magnifique returns with her second book. This dark academia novel is a great read, filled with a unique magical system and a fascinating world to match. Maeve as a character is flawed and prickly with great reasons and backstory. The book allows her to grow, to begin to trust and to unravel the mystery surrounding her father.

With just the right touches of romance, this fantasy novel offers a great mix of mystery and magic. Appropriate for ages 12+. Reviewed from library copy.

The Bear Out There by Jess Hannigan – Book Review

| Tasha

The Bear Out There by Jess Hannigan (9780063289482)

The author of Spider in the Well returns with this engaging picture book that warns readers that they must promise not to scream, but… There is a bear out there. When asked if she has ever seen the bear, she insists that she only needs the three bear signs to know one is there. First, the hair on your arm stands up. Second, you feel eyes watching you. Third, your feet get really itchy! As the reader, you get a glimpse of the actual bear outside. But you can’t warn her before she opens the door! Full of marvelous interaction via the page, this picture book is great fun to share aloud and you will have children shouting warnings along the way. The illustrations are loud and bold, full of pinks, oranges and haunting bear silhouettes.

With a grand twist at the end, this picture book is one to share. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins.

Anything by Rebecca Stead – Book Review

| Tasha

Anything by Rebecca Stead, illustrated by Gracey Zhang (9781797215150)

A little girl and her father move into a new apartment. She wishes that they had never moved there, missing the house they had to leave. They celebrate the new apartment 3B’s birthday with chocolate cake. The girl wishes on the candle for three “anythings.” Her first anything wish is that her room have a rainbow. Her second after a day of unpacking and new plants is for pizza for dinner. Her third comes after a night of not being able to sleep well and her father walking her to sleep. What could her last anything be?

Beautifully told with true moments of warmth and love between the characters, this picture book is a hug of a read. The illustrations are done in simple lines with bursts of colors, capturing the connection between parent and child. Well worth a wish for anything. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Chronicle Books.

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

The Author Who Wrote One Of The Best Children’s Classics Of The 1990s Is Publishing A Fantasy Book In 2025 & It Sounds Amazing – ScreenRant

Beloved bedtime story ‘Goodnight Moon’ to be celebrated May 2 on eight U.S. stamps – Linn’s Stamp News

Celebrating Our Planet: Children’s Books for Earth Day – Book Riot

Eat This!: 13 Titles to Prepare Readers For a Zombie Apocalypse – School Library Journal

How children’s picture books got to the Supreme Court – The 19th

In Conversation: Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Stead – Publishers Weekly

Put Your Butt in the Chair: Inside the Simple Alchemy of Making Art (by Elisha Cooper) – Lit Hub

LIBRARIES

Chicago Public Library no longer issuing e-cards starting in May – CBS

Maine State Library lays off 13 workers, will restructure after losing federal funds – Portland Press Herald

A treasure trove of education reports and studies is under threat – The Hechinger Report

Small and rural libraries are feeling the cuts from President Trump’s executive order – NPR

Wisconsin libraries brace for steep drop in services under federal funding cuts – Wisconsin Examiner

YA LIT

The 7 Best New YA Books Out This Week – Book Riot

8 Great Queer YA Novels for 2025 – Book Riot

A BookTok virality: The hype of the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series – The University Daily Kansan

Terry Pratchett estate launches ‘Discworld graphic novel universe’ – Polygon

Hilwa’s Gifts by Safa Suleiman – Book Review

| Tasha

Hilwa’s Gifts by Safa Suleiman, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan (9781536229424)

Ali loves visiting his grandfather in Palestine and has a favorite tree in their olive grove. The tree was planted by his grandfather’s grandfather and is named Hilwa. Ali is visiting at harvest time for the first time and is shocked to see that they are hitting the trees with sticks to get the olives to fall onto tarps on the ground. Even though his grandfather says that they won’t hurt the trees, Ali tries to harvest olives without hitting the branches. It’s impossibly hard work, so soon Ali tries the stick method and makes it rain olives. The olive trees, including Hilwa, provide olives, olive oil, soap and even fuel for fires. After a feast of olive treats, Ali must return home with one little green gift in his hands to plant back in America. 

A beautiful look at the connection of people and trees, the importance of planting for the future and the vitality of olives and all they provide. The Palestinian family is warm and generous, celebrating Ali and his growing connection with the land. The digital illustrations have an organic feel thanks to watercolor effects and a touch of depth from small splatters. 

A timely visit to Palestine and its people. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Oasis by Guojing – Book Review

| Tasha

Oasis by Guojing (9781250818379)

JieJie lives with her little brother in a barren wasteland that they trek across for water and to reach the phone that lets when call their mother who works in a far off city. One day, the children discover the broken parts of a robot in a trash heap. JieJie uses skills her mother taught her to fix the robot and her little brothers asks the robot to be his mom. The AI boots into mother mode and soon the three of them are living a better life together, but what will happen when their real mother returns?

Done in pencil illustrations that capture the dark desolation, this graphic novel looks towards the light. Color is introduced only sparingly, offsetting the darkness but never taking it fully away. The story is hauntingly told, the answers are never easy and the humanity of robots and humans alike is the center of the tale.

Another simply beautiful read from this author. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Here Is a Book

| Tasha

Here Is a Book by Elisha Cooper (9781419766756) Released April 22, 2025.

Cooper does it again in his signature style. Taking what could have been a dry subject of how a book is made, Cooper infuses it with wit, charm and still offers real information. Starting with author and artist inspiration and work, we travel with the idea to the publisher to the printer. Then the finished book is taken across the country to a school where one student takes it home and is inspired herself to create.

While Cooper’s illustrations are as always top notch, it is also the writing that sings here. Using repetitive forms without rhymes, this book gently swings the reader along, inviting exploration, pausing and relishing in the wonder. This was one of those books that had me sighing happily at the end and so thrilled to be a small part of getting books into children’s hands.

Appropriate for ages 4-9. Reviewed from e-galley provided by Abrams Books.

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

Books in Bloom: Children’s Books About Spring – Book Riot

Inside a New Exhibit That Celebrates the Most Unappreciated Part of Children’s Books. – Lit Hub

LIBRARIES

Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads – The Guardian

Students Fighting Book Bans Are the Focus of the New Documentary Banned Together – Teen Vogue

YA LIT

I saw the rise and decline of YA literature from the inside. Here’s what it was like by Charlie Jane Anders – LA Times via AOL

2 New Picture Books to Connect with Nature

| Tasha

Here are a pair of newer picture books that celebrate our connection with nature and invite young ones to head out and explore:

Forest Song by Kirsten Hall & Evan Turk (9780593480366)

Explore poetry and nature together in this gorgeous picture book. Hall has written a poem that pays clever homage to great poets such as Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Edgar Allen Poe. The illustrations by award-winning Turk are rich with color, riotous with swirls and an invitation into the drama of the forest. Combined with the lyrical language, this book is a celebration of the woods.

Appropriate for ages 4-8 and can be used with older children to explore poetry. Reviewed from library copy.

A Pocket Full of Rocks by Kristin Mahoney, illustrated by E.B. Goodale (9780593428542)

Fill your pockets with a young child as the seasons change. From rocks in winter to petals in spring, shells in summer and acorns in fall. Layer them all together in a glass jar to see your year. Reach for them in your pocket when you need some comfort. This picture book celebrates seasons through the senses, touching each item, listening to them and pretending with them too. The illustrations are marvelously simple and yet filled with a magic of fairies and nature.

Appropriate for ages 3-7. Reviewed from library copy.