Author: Tasha

News to Wake Your Brain Cells – April 17

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Audible streams Harry Potter, hundreds of other audiobooks for free – Consequence of Sound

#AuthorsTakeAction, Authors Save Lives – Publishers Weekly

How Kids’ Lit is responding to the coronavirus – Publishers Weekly

Jason Reynolds to start online initiative as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature – SLJ

Little scientists: children prefer storybooks that explain why and how things happen – ScienceDaily

Spring 2020 middle grade spotlight: a book list – Publishers Weekly

LIBRARIES

Most libraries are closed. Some librarians still have to go in – The New York Times

School Library Journal offers free full access to content, digitized magazines – SLJ

Two libraries in one: when schools and public libraries share space, all users benefit – SLJ

TEEN LIT

Young adult fiction round-up: reworking of Irish myth is a hit – The Irish Times

Hello, World! by Ethan Long

| Tasha

Hello, World by Ethan Long

Hello, World! by Ethan Long (9781250191755)

The first in the new Happy County series, this picture book invites plenty of exploration by readers. The bright colored and vibrant pages are filled with details for children to explore. The text in the book invites readers to look for specific things, but it’s also great fun to just explore this world on your own too. Some pages are filled with noises, others with a quest for a great spot to nap, still others with restaurants with signs to match. Turning the page may reveal an up-close look at a specific character or a wider view of the entire community.

Inspired by Richard Scarry, this updated version is brighter and funnier. It also offers a wider variety of activities to engage in. The text is funny, filled with puns, and has a merry tone that invites readers to really have fun. The illustrations are colorful and filled with marvelous details yet still have a simpler feel to them.

A great book for a trip, this one will keep children happily busy for some time. Worth exploring together too! Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Henry Holt & Co.

Don’t Feed the Coos! by Jonathan Stutzman

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Don't Feed the Coos by Jonathan Stutzman

Don’t Feed the Coos! by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Heather Fox (9781250303189)

The team behind Llama Destroys the World return with a book that’s for the birds. The book cleverly begins with the tone of Give a Mouse a Cookie but quickly turns it into a cautionary tale about feeding “coos” or pigeons. If you do feed one coo, more will come. You may try to escape, but they will follow you all the way home. No matter what you do, they will still stay with you. And because you have fed the coos, they will make coo poos. Everywhere. You will try everything to get rid of them and nothing will work. So you will accept your fate and make them part of the family. Until one day, you return with them to the park…

There is something so just right about the style of Stutzman’s writing. His tongue-in-cheek is clear but he also clearly cares about writing a superb picture book for children at the same time. That balance is not an easy one to create and sustain. Here, he pays homage to a favorite picture book style, yet also plays with it enough to break it just enough to make it fresh and interesting again.

Fox’s illustrations are bold and graphic. They use white space strategically, playing up the humor of an existence filled with pigeons and how that will change everything. The coos are adorable, until the pooing starts.

A clever and funny delight. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Henry Holt & Co.

My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano

| Tasha

My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano

My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (9781534427228)

A little girl talks about her new friend, who just might also be her best friend too. The two of them play together at the park, quacking like ducks, running around, and even siting quietly. Her friend knows how to turn leaves into skeleton hands and fix flowers that have been stepped on, kind of. The two draw together, and the little girl realizes they might just be best friends. They hide together during hide and seek, trying to muffle their giggles. When the little girl pretends to be a pickle, her friend laughed and laughed. They may like different kinds of ice cream, but they can still be best friends. Perhaps tomorrow they can learn each other’s names!

Fogliano perfectly captures the wonder of meeting a kindred spirit as a child and spending an entire day together laughing and playing. Her writing shows all of their shared activities and how they help the two girls bond closely together, despite just having met. Silly things like pretending to be a pickle serve to prove they have the same sense of humor, so that taste in ice cream flavors can be ignored. The ending of the book is clever and sets just the right moment, showing deep understanding of children.

Tamaki’s illustrations are marvelous. She shows the two girls playing and laughing together. They are done in a modern limited color palette of pinks, greens and browns that show the girls in fine-lined detail with very expressive faces. It’s like getting to play along with them yourself.

A warm look at first friendships. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Magnificent Homespun Brown by Samara Cole Doyon

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Magnificent Homespun Brown by Samara Cole Doyon

Magnificent Homespun Brown by Samara Cole Doyon, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (9780884487975)

Celebrate the magic of the color brown in this book filled with poetic words and enticing illustrations. Deep secret brown is the color of the river currents and also the little girl’s eyes. It is the color of her eyelashes which are the same brown as the shadows of the hemlock trees in the woods where they hike. Amber brown is the color of honey and the color of her hair. Radiant brown is the color of the sand at the beach and the color of her skin. Brown is the color of caramel and cocoa, the color of warm family moments on icy cold days and the color of fall leaves and laughter. 

Doyon’s poetry is approachable and accessible for young readers who will see themselves not only reflected on the pages but celebrated for all of their colors. Doyon’s poem is not simple, she insists on looking deeply at the colors and moments that connect us all, the laughter and the love in our families, and the beauty of African-American skin. She has created a picture book that delights in turning what society sees as a negative into a joyous positive party.

The illustrations are pure delight, as you can see from the cover. They take warm autumnal colors, which of course include brown, and create a book that glows in the reader’s hands. Skin color is celebrated, as is diversity in the African-American community. There is pure joy in the illustrations that matches the positivity of the text.

A positive look at African-American families, skin colors and experiences. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

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Kent State by Deborah Wiles

Kent State by Deborah Wiles (9781338356281)

Two-time National Book Award finalist Wiles takes a deep look at the Kent State shooting in 1970. Using oral histories and articles from the incident, Wiles writes a searing book that looks at the various viewpoints at play in 1970 in Kent, Ohio and the nation. Beginning a few days before the shooting, Wiles sets the stage and captures the tensions between the town, the college, and the National Guard. As the tragedy looms, the horror of the moment grows. Still, when the shooting happens in the book, though one knows what is about to occur, it is written with so much empathy that it is almost like learning about it for the first time.

Brace yourself for this one. Wiles doesn’t pull any punches here. She allows all of the voices to speak, almost a chorus of the times, speaking about the draft, the Vietnam War, the incredible pressures on college students, the attitudes of the town, and the expectations for the National Guard. Her writing is a dramatic mixture of poetic verse, social justice, historical quotes, and passion.

It is great to see Wiles also entwine the voices of Black students into her story. So often forgotten or assumed to be included, they speak with a clarion voice here, insisting on being heard. Even more importantly, their perspective draws a clear line between what happened in history and the shootings of Black Americans happening today.

Incredible writing and strong historical research make this much more than regular historical fiction. Appropriate for ages 13-18.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Scholastic.

Whoo-Ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari

| Tasha

Whoo-Ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari

Whoo-Ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Jonathan Voss (9780399548420)

The story of a great horned owl family is told in dramatic fashion using only haiku poems in this picture book. A pair of great horned owls find a squirrel’s nest and claim it as their home. The mother bird lays three eggs in the nest, losing one when the crows attack her. Now there are two eggs left to guard and keep warm. Soon two owlets emerge from their eggs, eating the prey that Mama and Papa bring to them. The woods has lots of dangers like hunting hawks and foxes waiting for an owlet to fall. Mama is there to protect them though, until it is time for them to take wing and find a home of their own.

Through her series of haiku poems, Gianferrari creates moments that build on one another into a full story of the first months of egg laying and owlets growing up. Focusing on the strength and power of the most commons owls in North America, along with their exceptional parenting skills, the book also reveals the dangers they face despite their size.

Voss’ illustrations are a gorgeous match to the beauty of the poetry. Illustrated in sepia ink and watercolor, with digital color added, these illustrations captures the various moments with skill and drama. The quiet moments are just as powerful as the action ones, filled with dappled forest light and the incredible creatures.

A marvelous book of nature poetry for children. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown

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A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown

A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Laura Freeman (9781681198507)

Explore the life of one of the greatest singers of all time in this picture book biography of Aretha Franklin. Aretha grew up in a family filled with music and talking. She was a shy little girl, but even from a young age had an incredible singing voice. Her parents left one another when she was a child, and she lived with her father. She adored her time with her mother until her mother died when Aretha was 10. She used music to express her feelings, moving to New York City at age 18. It was the turbulent 1960s where clubs and venues were still segregated for the most part. Aretha made sure to not ever be tricked out of being paid as well as paying attention to venues where everyone was allowed. She was popular but all of her albums flopped until she made some of her most iconic songs and became the Queen of Soul.

Told in a warm and welcoming tone of someone sharing the life story of a beloved family member, this picture book biography captures the way so many people feel about Aretha Franklin and her joyous impact in their lives through her music. The text is accessible and shares the hardships of Franklin’s life and career, displaying her resilience in the face of disappointment as well as her savviness about business and civil rights. The digital art in the book is full of bright and deep colors that pop on the white backgrounds.

A grand picture book biography for the Queen of Soul. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury.

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano

| Tasha

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano, illustrated by Mayana Itoiz and Paul Cauuet (9781541586949)

This is the second Wolf in Underpants book. Winter has arrived in the woods and everyone is bundled up to play in the snow, enjoying winter activities, and eating cheese fondue to stay warm. Everyone is having a great time, except the wolf. When he walks through town, he declares “They’re freezing!” Everyone gets worried, because he seems quite angry. So they decide that it must be his feet that are cold and have the owl knit him some socks. When they send a small animal to deliver the socks, the animal disappears. The next day, the wolf is still upset and the town decides he must need a hat. But once again the animal delivering it disappears. Meanwhile, the rumors in town are multiplying and it is decided that the wolf has gone rogue! But when they burst into the wolf’s home, they discover something they never expected.

Originally published in French, this picture book is a fascinating look at privilege and need. It also look deeply at assumptions about those who may be more wolf-like than others and accepting differences. That is all packaged in a book that is packed with humor and plenty of witty asides. Younger readers will realize the villagers are making a mistake with their decisions, but still won’t quite be certain what the wolf is up to either. It’s a wonderful dynamic of the story and really makes the book a page turner right to the end.

The illustrations are done in a mix of picture book pages and graphic novel frames. The pages are filled with animals talking, huge stores of food and marvelous details of things like the bakery and cheese factory. The illustrations are detailed and create a vibrant village for readers to explore.

A great picture book about privilege, prejudice and kindness. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Lerner.