Author: Tasha

Review: Sweety by Andrea Zuill

| Tasha

Sweety by Andrea Zuill

Sweety by Andrea Zuill (9780525580003)

Sweety is a naked mole rat, though fortunately for the pictures in the book mole rats like to wear clothes. But Sweety is not like the other naked mole rats. She loves to spend her time identifying fungi and does her school book reports in interpretive dance. She doesn’t have any friends because as her grandmother tells her, she’s a “square peg” and she doesn’t fit in. Happily, Sweety has her Aunt Ruth, who also didn’t fit in as a child. Ruth encourages Sweety to just be herself and that eventually she will find other like her who are different too. Sweety wonders how to find others without being too desperate, and in the end, she manages to do exactly the right thing.

Zuill has created a picture book that is entirely heart warming and charming. Sweety is a marvelous character, someone who is not only different in her interests but also looks different than the others around her. The large headgear that she wears adds to that as well as her bald head. My favorite part of the book is the wry look at popularity and the literal single hair that separates beauty from being different. These moments appear throughout the book and encourage readers to see Sweety as an individual.

A great picture book with one big personality. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.

Review: Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang

| Tasha

Magic Ramen The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang

Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Kana Urbanowicz (9781499807035)

In the aftermath of World War II, Osaka remains devastated. Food is scarce with bad harvests and rationing. The luckiest people stand in long lines for bowls of ramen. When Ando sees this, he realizes that something must be done to help people. He decides to dedicate his life to food, first opening a salt business and eventually following his memories of those hungry people to figure out how to make instant ramen. It was a long process of invention, trial and error. Once he created the perfect noodles, he moved on to trying to figure out how to create the broth too. He tried many things and continued to fail until he saw his wife frying tempura and was inspired to fry his noodles first. Eureka!

This nonfiction picture book offers a frank and fascinating look at the process of the invention of instant ramen. From the original inspiration through all of the mistakes and trials to the final result. The book has a great pacing, lingering over the more touching moments of inspiration, zooming through years where Ando had other priorities, and then slowing once again to explore the experimental process of invention.

The illustrations are completely appealing and often have a broad sense of humor included. They have a sense of motion and cinematic approach, particularly while Ando is inventing the ramen. Using panels, the ideas flow quickly and fail just as fast. The result is a cleverly designed book that inspires.

Just as satisfying as a warm bowl of ramen, this is a delicious read. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange

| Tasha

Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange

Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange (9781338353853)

Released April 30, 2019.

Pet lives with her family in a lighthouse on the southeast coast of England just as World War II is coming to England’s shores. The daughter of a German immigrant and a lighthouse keeper, Pet loves the wildness of the coast, the way they can see long distances from the pinnacle of the lighthouse, and the warmth of their family. But as the war progresses, things change. Mutti is taken to an internment camp for being German and in the process is accused of espionage and sending messages to the Germans. Pet knows that her kind and gentle mother hasn’t done it, and sets off to find out what actually happens. There is the strange man who lives in a shack nearby or it could even be Pet’s older sister, who is always disappearing and doesn’t seem to be actually working on her boat the way she claims. As the war gets closer, Pet must work to untangle who is an enemy in their small town and who she can trust as her family crumbles around her.

I was entranced with the writing of Strange’s first novel, The Secret of Nightingale Wood, and this one has the same strong and stirring writing laced with touches of magic and wonder. In both of her books, Strange makes young women the heroines of their own stories even as they struggle to figure out what is going on around them. The setting here is almost another character in the book, depicted with glowing terms and a love of the sea. The perspective of the lighthouse is used throughout the novel and aspects of the structure help our young heroine discover the truth, even when it is hard to hear.

Pet is a unique heroine. She is not particularly brave since she tends to freeze at signs of trouble and be unable to move even when in physical danger. That continues to be true throughout the book. Yet at the same time, Pet also shows what bravery truly is and works with desperation and determination to discover the truth.

Another brilliant read from a gifted author, this one offers an extraordinary perspective on World War II. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Scholastic.

 

Review: Wild Baby by Cori Doerrfeld

| Tasha

Wild Baby by Cori Doerrfeld

Wild Baby by Cori Doerrfeld (9780062698940)

Just as an orangutan mother and baby wake up and stretch in the treetops, the wild baby rushes off to explore. Sliding and swinging through the jungle, the baby wants to touch and dance and hop, no matter who gets bothered along the way. As they chase through the jungle, the baby ends up being hunted by not just mother but a jaguar while chasing butterflies. Just as the baby is in the utmost danger, everything works out. Now he has to contend with a rather irate mother who carries him back to their nest. Happily, he has a lovely surprise for her when they get there.

For anyone who has cared for a toddler who loves to dash away, this will be a familiar feeling. Doerrfeld creates a madcap race through the jungle done with very simple language sprinkled liberally with the word “wild.” The pacing is exciting and fast and the book is filled with just enough danger and plenty of love. The illustrations are filled with orange fur, playfulness and glee.

A terrific toddler pick. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie L. B. Deenihan

| Tasha

When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie L. B. Deenihan

When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie L. B. Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha (9781454923817)

A little girl had made a list of what she was hoping to get for birthday gifts. On the list were items like a phone, a computer and a drone. But her grandmother got her a lemon tree. In this twist on the adage that when given lemons you should make lemonade, the narrator of the book offers the girl some advice on how to handle her gift. The advice includes what face to make when given the gift and details on how to care for her lemon tree including cautioning her not to hurt it. As the girl follows the advice, she discovers a connection to her lemon tree even before it bears its first crop of lemons for her. As she literally makes and sells lemonade from her lemons, the girl now has to decide how to spend her cash. She returns to the original list, but adds a new number, one that the lemon tree has taught her all about.

The clever twist on the adage is well done, creating a scaffold for the entire story. While the narrative of the book focuses entirely on advice, the illustrations show how the girl chooses to follow it. The narrative is humorous and offers choices for the main character in how she can react to options in her life. Throughout, as is appropriate for a book based on making lemonade, the spin is to be more positive and never sour.

The illustrations are fresh and funny. The family is depicted as African-American and the story is set in an urban area. This gives the lemon tree a great canvas to offer change and the main character a great place to offer lemonade. The illustrations are funny and bright.

A great spin on an old saying, this book is a breath of positivity. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Sterling Children’s Books.

This Week’s Tweets

| Tasha

Here are my tweets from the last week:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

8 Awesome Queer Books for the Youth and Tweens in Your Life

How This Guy Used Kids’ Books to Become the Biggest ‘Jeopardy!’ Winner Ever

New York Times – Entrancing Poetry Picture Books

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani receives 2018 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature

LIBRARIES

9 facts about librarians you probably didn’t know

17 Horror Stories From Librarians That Will Make You Say, “Oh No, No, No, NO”

Award-winning libraries rewrite the book on good design

Beyond books: The big benefits of a free library card

Carla Hayden’s plan to digitize the treasures of the Library of Congress –

Huge majority of New Yorkers say budget cuts for public libraries would hurt communities across the city: poll

In Praise of Public Libraries

National Geographic – See 23 of the world’s most enchanting libraries

READING

How I Read 100 Books in a Year

Kids who are read to before kindergarten know 1 million more words

YA BOOKS

10 Political YA Books to Keep You Engaged

The Best YA Books Written By Black Women That You Haven’t Read Yet

‘Serious Moonlight’ author Jenn Bennett’s best YA romance books

Your Handy Guide To YA’s Best Fantasy Epics

Review: Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre

| Tasha

Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre

Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre (9781481494724)

An ideal book to read as spring arrives, this picture book focuses on flowers emerging as the seasons change. Close-up photographs are paired with more distant landscapes to show both the details of the plants and flowers and also the impact of a large group of flowers blooming in different habitats. Stalks, flowers, leaves and more are shown. The photographs also capture the growth of the emerging plants. The book then moves on to the flowers specifically, celebrating their colors and shapes. It also shows the insects that visit the flowers and other wildlife around.

Sayre specializes in simple nonfiction books about nature with great photography. Here, she has created a book that must be shared aloud. It has a strong rhythm and structure to the text with a refrain of “bloom boom!” with which children will love to join in. The photographs are filled with color and details. They invite readers to look closely and are large enough to share with a group.

Another winning nature picture book from a master book creator. Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Beach Lane Books.

 

Review: Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler

| Tasha

Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler

Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler (9780802855176)

Enter the dreams of creatures around the world in this picture book. The dreams of the animals can be surprising like the sloth dreaming of racing and moving fast without moving at all. They can also be more logical, like the ant who dreams of dots marching in single file. Other animals are shown in their habitat and their unique way of sleeping like the swallow who sleeps while flying, the flamingo who has pink dreams, or the frog who sleeps in the mud. Each animal is given a short poem about their slumber, creating a book that is ideal for bedtime but fascinating enough to return to again and again.

Simler’s writing is exquisite. By using different approaches to the various animals, she creates a book that explores the wide variety of creatures in our world while focusing specifically on how they sleep. There are the animals who are prey that sleep looking for security and safety while the predators like the lion with a full belly don’t need to worry about that. The illustrations in the picture book are equally successful with their touches of neon orange illuminating the night. Done in fine lines, the pages use their mostly black backgrounds very successfully as the creatures shine against it.

A delightful mix bedtime and beasts. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy provided by Eerdmans.

Review: Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron

| Tasha

Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron

Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron (9781771473040)

On each page of this book, human babies are compared with animal babies in their activities throughout the day. Baby wakes up like a sea star in the sun. They play like a kitten batting at a butterfly. Baby toddles like a bear cub. They bundle up like a penguin. They eat like a chipmunk, filling their cheeks with food. The book contains many similes and metaphors and even the smallest child will enjoy looking at the animals and the ways that they are just the same.

The text is simple and straight-forward, showing the direct comparisons between baby and animal in a charming way. Activities like crawling, diaper changes, hopping, and toddling make this book accessible to all children. The illustrations show a diverse group of babies, ranging in age from around six months to one year. Done in collage, they are simple enough for little ones and delightful as well.

A winning book for infants and toddlers. Here’s hoping it comes out as a board book soon. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Owlkids.