This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls

March 17, 2017 | Tasha

Here are some cool links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

11-Year-Old Starts Club For Young Black Boys To See Themselves In Books http://buff.ly/2n1lCzp via @HuffingtonPost

25 Gentle Chapter Books to Read Aloud to Kids http://buff.ly/2m9X3fq via @momandkiddo

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of best-selling children’s books, touching farewell essay, dies at 51 http://buff.ly/2ne0aYn #kidlit

Ava DuVernay Gives a Behind-the-Scenes Look at A WRINKLE IN TIME | Nerdist http://buff.ly/2mjL1B8 #kidlit #movies

First Nations University project brings Cree children’s books to Sask. http://buff.ly/2nlT4OC #kidlit

Locus Online Perspectives » Jane Yolen: Accidental Novelist http://buff.ly/2njAMRo #kidlit

Peppa Pig pulled: China cracks down on foreign children’s books http://buff.ly/2mjN1Z6 #kidlit

Popular and Traditional Scandinavian Folktales for Kids http://bit.ly/2mwfIn1 via @momandkiddo

Top Ten Historical Fiction Titles to Encourage a Diverse Understanding of the Past http://buff.ly/2niRBse via @nerdybookclub

You’re not imagining it — Waldo has gotten smaller http://buff.ly/2mjrIH3 #kidlit

EBOOKS

Ebook sales continue to fall as younger generations drive appetite for print: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/14/ebook-sales-continue-to-fall-nielsen-survey-uk-book-sales?CMP=share_btn_tw

LIBRARIES

As a Girl She Spent Time in the Library. Now She’s Giving It $20 Million. http://buff.ly/2ne5kk7 #libraries

Curved wooden nooks make private reading pockets in Shanghai children’s library http://buff.ly/2mIUpkn #libraries

Human Library Event A Reminder Not To Judge Others ‘By Their Covers’ http://buff.ly/2nlMFCZ #libraries

TEEN LIT

How I Feel Reading The LGBTQ+ Young Adult Novels I Didn’t Have As A Teen http://buff.ly/2ns3yfp #yalit

Jennifer Aniston to Star in Adaptation of YA Novel ‘Dumplin’ – http://buff.ly/2nJJ8hr #yalit

‘Mean Girls’ Is Getting Turned Into a NOVEL http://buff.ly/2nsnD59 #yalit

Young Adult Novels That Teach a Growth Mindset http://buff.ly/2npYRSG via @edutopia

The Road Home by Katie Cotton

March 17, 2017March 11, 2017 | Tasha

The Road Home by Katie Cotton, illustrated by Sarah Jacoby (9781419723742)

A variety of animals travel on their way home. Birds fly to warmer places, escaping the chill of winter. Mice build nests in the grass that offer safety and warmth. Wolves hunt for food to fill their hunger. Rabbits hide in the brambles, chased clear by the wolves on their heels. They reach their burrow and safety. The next day, the wolves and rabbits are outside again along with the birds and the mice. All sharing a larger home with one another.

Cotton’s poem is delicious. From the initial rhyming stanzas on the first page, she builds a full story of the importance of home and the strength of parent/child pairs in survival. Throughout the poem there is a sense of arrival or approaching home, defined in different ways for the different species. There is also a focus on security and warmth, on being together despite the odds and filling small burrows and nests with love.

Jacoby’s illustrations embrace the natural setting. They keep readers from realizing that all of the animals are in the same area by using a different feel for their habitats. The mice are in golden nests of straw, the birds soar in the sky, the wolves hunt through a forest and the rabbits are close by. Then the final reveal of them together is like the sun returning, a beautiful reveal.

Gorgeous poetry combines with strong illustrations to create a celebration of home no matter what species you may be. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Tony by Ed Galing

March 16, 2017March 11, 2017 | Tasha

Tony by Ed Galing, illustrated by Erin E. Stead (9781626723085)

Tony was a big white horse who pulled the milk wagon for Tom every morning. Tony pulled the wagon full of eggs, butter and milk. When Tom stopped to make a delivery, Tony would wait patiently. One child, the narrator, would go outside and greet Tony every morning when they pulled up, giving Tony a hug and a pat. Tom greeted the child too, saying that Tony looked forward every morning to the greeting. Then they went on with their route, and Tony had a little dance in his step in farewell.

This poem by the late Galing makes a wonderful picture book filled with spare language and power. The book walks forward with the solidity of a large horse, the delicacy of breakable eggs, and the spirit of dancing footsteps. It is entirely lovely, creating a sliver of time where horses were used for deliveries and children could greet them eagerly if they were willing to wake early enough.

Stead’s illustrations are exceptionally lovely. Her fine lines bring memories to life. The dreamy nature of the illustrations help us look back in time. She floods some pages with a bright yellow light, welcoming and warm. Others echo the mist of early morning and the quietness.

A lovely poetic picture book that slows you down to another time and place. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Creekfinding by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

March 16, 2017March 11, 2017 | Tasha

Creekfinding: A True Story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Claudia McGehee (9780816698028)

This picture book tells the true story of a lost creek that used to cross a prairie meadow. Then a farmer bulldozed dirt into the creek to create more farm land. Years later, another man purchased the field and heard from a neighbor about the creek that used to be there. He decided to try to find that creek. So he dug a creek bottom after consulting historic photographs of the land. He hoped that the water would return and it did. But a creek is more than running water and now it was up to him to bring more rocks, more plants and eventually trout in his newly rediscovered creek.

This book focuses on a compelling topic. That the land we live and farm on once used to be very different from the way it is now and that we can work to return it to its more natural state. The picture book has wonder at its center, the amazing notion that water once buried will return to a dry creek bed. It also focuses on the hard work that it took and the incredible problem solving that went into rebuilding the creek from literally the bottom up. Slowly it become reality with lots of work and patience.

The illustrations by McGehee are based directly on her visit to the land the book is about. Done on scratchboard, the illustrations have a wonderful weight to them, capturing the deep greens of the prairie, the richness of the biodiversity, and the transformation of the land.

A fascinating topic that is just right for environmental units or Earth Day, this picture book is a celebration of nature and man working together. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

March 15, 2017March 11, 2017 | Tasha

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (9780062498533)

This teen novel has more buzz than any I’ve ever seen. Happily, it is all entirely justified and I’ll join the crowd in singing its praises and looking forward to the upcoming film!

Starr is sixteen and witnessed a friend killed in a drive-by shooting when she was a child. Now she finds herself witnessing another killing, this time another friend who is shot in the back by a police officer during a traffic stop. Starr already lives in two worlds, the poor neighborhood where her family lives and her father has a store and the private prep school she attends in the suburbs. Now she must walk an ever more razorsharp edge, figuring out the dangers of the truth and the equally harsh dangers of staying silent.

Thomas takes on racism in modern America head on and without flinching. She paints a picture of poor African-American communities that looks beyond the poverty into the heart of the community itself. Still, this is not a picket fence world but one that is complex, riddled with gang activity, but still has a heart and a culture that sings. Thomas also shows the choices that African Americans must make in staying in a crime-filled community to help or moving away for safety of their children. It is not simple, nothing in this novel is, thank goodness.

The characters are incredibly rich and complicated as well. Starr is a wonderful heroine, grappling with grief, the situation of being a witness, and the knowledge that even telling the truth may not make a difference. She is wise, young, hopeful and jaded all at once. She is a face for what is happening in this country and a way that white teens can understand the issues and black teens can see themselves portrayed beautifully in a novel.

I must also mention the incredible African-American fathers shown in the book. Yes, there are men who are awful here too. But Maverick is a complicated father with high expectations for his children who cheated on Starr’s mother and also did jail time for his gang activity. That doesn’t mean he isn’t there for his family or loves them any less. Again, it’s complicated. Add to that Uncle Carlos who is a police officer and who stepped in to help raise Starr when Maverick was in jail. He is a crucial character to the story, and also a critical figure in Starr’s upbringing and her strength.

This debut novel is breathtakingly honest, searingly angry and exactly what we need right now. I can’t wait to see what this author does next! Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley

March 15, 2017March 10, 2017 | Tasha

Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley

Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley (9781626723177)

Tic and Tac are brothers and are horribly bored. Ma Badger tries to get them to read books or build a fort or fish. Finally, she asks if they’d like to help hang laundry. The two of them merrily agree since they have never tried doing that yet. The two help their mother and do so well that she leaves them working and heads to the market. Soon the two little badgers have finished hanging the laundry and find even more clothes to hang. They gather more rope and more items from the house, hanging them all on the line! Luckily, their mother knows exactly what else needs to be clipped to the line.

Bagley, the author of Boats for Papa, has created a delightful mischievous picture book. The two little badgers are naughty in the best possible way, carrying the game as far as possible before their mother discovers what they are up to. Children will love to see the household items hanging on the lines and wonder what is coming next. The ending is entirely satisfying as well.

The art is bright and colorful. The final reveal of the clothes lines and all of the objects is amazing. There are plenty of details in the illustrations to linger over and enjoy. The bright colors add to the playful feel of the entire book.

Not just for naughty children, though they will laugh the loudest! Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Study Shows Children Prefer Paper

March 14, 2017March 13, 2017 | Tasha

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New research from Australia shows that children are more likely to read the paper version of books rather than on devices. The study looked at children in Year 4 and 6 who had access to e-reading devices. It showed that children did not tend to use their devices for reading even if they were regular readers in general.

In fact, the research showed that the more devices a child had access to, the less likely they were to read in general. In other words, access to e-reading devices inhibited reading.

These findings mirror those of previous research of teenagers and college students, showing that they all prefer to read on paper.

Argyle Fox by Marie Letourneau

March 14, 2017March 9, 2017 | Tasha

Argyle Fox by Marie Letourneau (9781939100092)

On a blustery spring day, Argyle wants to head outside and play. However, nothing works quite right due to the pesky wind gusts. He tries building a card tower and a gust blows it down. He tries creating a spider web of yarn and gets all tied in knots. He tries more robust games like pretending to be a knight or a pirate and each game is ruined by the wind. Argyle returns home sadly. His mother encourages him to keep on thinking about how he can successfully play outside in the wind. With lots of thought and even more work, Argyle comes up with a great solution perfect for a windy day.

Letourneau has created a picture book that celebrates the joy of playing outside even on a windy day. She shows the power of imagination as Argyle tries game after game. Then with some inspiration from his mother, Argyle himself solves the problem and finds a solution. The hard work he puts in is a critical part of the story as is his irrepressible spirit throughout.

The illustrations are very appealing. They have a delicacy to them that allows for small details that become ever more important as the story goes on. It isn’t until Argyle is in his room with all of the things he has used in his play earlier in the book that readers will suddenly see what the solution is. The clever art offers plenty of clues for children to be inspired before Argyle himself.

Perfect reading for springtime, this book invites children outdoors even on the windiest days, just make sure you have the right toy too! Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley received from NetGalley and Tanglewood.

2017 Klaus Flugge Prize Longlist

March 13, 2017March 10, 2017 | Tasha

This is the second year of the Klaus Flugge Prize for illustration. It is given to “the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s book illustration.” There are 15 books on the longlist for this British prize:

Animal Surprises Baxter’s Book