Author: Tasha

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez

| Tasha

nightlights-by-lorena-alvarez

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez (9781910620137)

Released March 14, 2017.

At bedtime, the air in Sandy’s room fills with small lights that float in the air. When she catches one, she is transported to a fantasy world filled with beautiful creatures. During the day, those same creatures fill her drawings that she makes at her Catholic school. Then one day, a new girl approaches her and talks to her about her drawings. Her name is Morfie and no one else seems to know her. That night, Sandy is visited by a strange girl-like creature who changes what Sandy creates from the lights into something stranger and darker. Sandy continues to spend time with Morfie at school and gets help from her too. Morfie appears at Sandy’s home and suddenly her connections to the strange darkness is made clear. Now it is up to Sandy to outwit them with her creativity.

Alvarez has created a graphic novel that is abundant with creativity and beauty. While the world of Sandy’s imagination is exceptionally wondrous, the real life part also has small touches that make normal life seem special too. Sandy’s ride to and from school has interesting plants along the path that seem to come from her imaginative world rather than our own. These touches tie Sandy’s imagination into her real life experience very subtly.

The art in this graphic novel is filled with deep colors and wild creativity. There is a distinct anime appeal to the art, particularly in the characters themselves. The creatures in the light-filled imaginative world also have the playfulness of Pokemon about them as well as a gorgeous ethereal quality that floats on the page.

A dynamic and creative graphic novel for children, this one will light up readers’ imaginations. Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Edelweiss and Nobrow Press.

2017 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Finalists

| Tasha

The Children’s Book Council has announced the seven finalists in each of the categories for the 2017 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards. The award is the only national US book award voted on by children and teens. Here are the finalists:

K-2nd GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 

Don't Wake Up the Tiger Cover Frankencrayon Cover

Don’t Wake Up the Tiger by Britta Teckentrup

Frankencrayon by Michael Hall

King Baby Cover Madeline Finn and the Library Dog Cover

King Baby by Kate Beaton

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp

Nanobots Cover Peep and Egg Cover

Nanobots by Chris Gall

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Joyce Wan

The Thank You Book Cover

The Thank You Book by Mo Willems

 

3rd-4th GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Ant and the Grasshopper (Sommer-Time Story Classic Series Book 13) Duck on a Tractor Cover

The Ant and the Grasshopper by Carl Sommer, illustrated by Ignacio Noe

Duck on a Tractor by David Shannon

The Hole Story of the Doughnut Cover Noodlehead Nightmares Cover

The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch

Noodlehead Nightmares by Tedd Arnold

Once Upon an Elephant Cover Whoosh! Cover

Once Upon an Elephant by Linda Stanek, illustrated by Shennen Bersani

Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate

Wolf Camp Cover

Wolf Camp by Andrea Zuill

 

5th-6th GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Booked Cover Fuzzy Cover

Booked by Kwame Alexander

Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger and Paul Dellinger

Garvey's Choice Cover Hilo Cover

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes

Hilo Book 2: Saving the Whole Wide World by Judd Winick

Maker Lab Cover The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 1 Cover

Maker Lab by Jack Challoner

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 1: Locker Hero by Rachel Renee Russell

Wet Cement Cover

Wet Cement by Bob Raczka

 

TEEN BOOK OF THE YEAR

A Court of Mist and Fury Cover Crooked Kingdom Cover

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

The Crown Cover Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One & Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script) Cover

The Crown by Kiera Cass

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, Special Rehearsal Edition Script by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany

The Sun Is Also a Star Cover This Is Where It Ends Cover

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

A Torch Against the Night Cover

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

 

This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls

| Tasha

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

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

America doesn’t care anymore, detains beloved children’s book author

Chimamanda Adichie says we don’t have enough children’s books that tell African realities

SF library begins campaign to support unauthorized immigrants

Spring Youth Preview: 2017 | Booklist Online

What Children’s Book Influenced You the Most? Authors’ and Educators’ Picks

Why French children’s books might keep grown ups awake at night

World Book Day 2017: 20 brilliant books for reading aloud to little kids

LIBRARIES

Homeless Worry About The Loss Of A Gathering Space As MLK Library Closes | WAMU

My Glorious Return to the Library

Pick a direction, you can't go wrong!:

TEEN LIT

25 BOOKS FOR TEENS WRITTEN BY BLACK WOMEN TO ROCK YOUR 2017

An A.I. That Loves Cat Pictures: Hugo-Winning Short Story Becomes YA Novel

Kristin Cashore and Tui Sutherland Discuss Fantasy Writing as Escape

You want to talk about the revenge of the nerds? Take a quick glimpse at this highlight reel:

Scottish Book Prizes

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Home

The Scottish Book Trust has announced the winners of their Bookbug Picture Book Prize and their Teenage Book Prize. Below are the winners and videos done by the Scottish Book Trust:

BOOKBUG PICTURE BOOK PRIZE WINNER

Shark in the Park on a Windy Day by Nick Sharratt

TEENAGE BOOK PRIZE WINNER

Black Cairn Point by Claire McFall

 

13 Reasons Why – The Trailer

| Tasha

Netflix is creating a film version of 13 Reasons Why which will premiere on March 31st. They just released a dramatic trailer:

Nope! by Drew Sheneman

| Tasha

nope-by-drew-sheneman

Nope! by Drew Sheneman (9781101997314)

This almost-wordless picture book is about a little bird who just isn’t sure he can fly quite yet. Told in a graphic-novel style, the story revolves around a caring mother bird and her very nervous offspring. When he looks over the side of the nest, he is frightened by how high it is. When he glances down again though, he has filled it with all sorts of imaginary threats. One time there are wolves circling below. Another time a hungry cat is hiding near the base of the tree. Or maybe alligators and water? The mother bird is patient to a point and then takes matters into her own hands, with plenty of love.

Sheneman’s book is told almost entirely in images. He has a great sense of timing that creates a bouncing rhythm to the book. The action moves from the mother bird encouraging flight, a frightened reaction with a strong “Nope!” and then back to nurturing again. The mother bird has a face that conveys her patience, love and her complete understanding of the situation. The little bird’s fright is also obviously conveyed on his face, moving to panic rapidly.

Funny, wordless and entirely engaging. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

 

The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley

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the-crane-girl-by-curtis-manley

The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Lin Wang (9781885008572)

Released March 15, 2017.

Yasuhiro discovered an injured crane caught in a trap and freed it, the crane pressing its red crest to his cheek before flying away. The next night a girl came to his home where he lived with his father. She asked to stay with them and work for them. His father, Ryota, agreed to let her stay though they aren’t rich and have little to share. The girl, Hiroko, noticed the loom in one of the rooms and was told that it belonged to Yasuhiro’s mother who had died. Hiroko offered to weave silk for them to sell as long as they never opened the door while she was working. They agreed. She soon returned with fine silk that Ryota was able to sell for a nice sum, enough to stop him from having to look for work for awhile. Soon though, he needed more silk and then still more, faster and faster each time. As the demands grew, Hiroko was unable to recover between weavings, making each time take longer and longer. When Ryota finally opened the door, there was Hiroko as a crane, weaving on the loom and using her own feathers. Hiroko finished the weaving and then flew off, but it was up to Yasuhiro to decide what life he was going to choose going forward.

This picture book version is based on several versions of the traditional Japanese crane folktales. One theme in these stories is the concept of a debt that needs to be repaid. This version has a father who plays the impatient villain in the story, allowing real love to blossom and grow between the human boy and the crane girl. The writing here is superb. It is simple enough to be shared aloud well and yet rich enough that the story really comes to life. Manley uses haiku inserted throughout to speak the characters’ deepest feelings that they don’t share aloud in the story. This use of brief poetry embraces the Japanese setting of the tales in another way, enriching them further.

The illustrations are enchanting. They have a light to them, one that shines from the silk the girl creates and emanates from her body and feathers. Done in watercolor, they are filled with fine details, small touches of steam rising from a teapot and snow on shoulders draw readers further in.

A rich retelling of the Japanese crane folktale, this version offers great writing combined with wonderful illustrations. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Edelweiss and Shen’s Books.

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

| Tasha

city-of-saints-and-thieves-by-natalie-c-anderson

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson (9780399547584)

Tina has returned to the place where her mother was murdered to destroy the man she knows killed her. An experienced thief, she must break into one of the most highly guarded and defended homes in Sangui City, Kenya. But things do not go as planned and Tina is discovered by the son of the family, someone she had once been close childhood friends with. The two of them begin to work together to solve the mystery of her mother’s murder, Tina to prove the father guilty and his son to prove him innocent. Their search for the truth will take them back to Congo, the place that Tina and her mother fled as refugees. Soon Tina is learning more about her mother than she ever knew, pieces to the puzzle of her life and death. Danger is ever-present in their journey and in solving this mystery even more secrets need to be defended and exposed.

From the very first page, Anderson draws readers into this African murder mystery. Filled with tension and threat, this novel also shows the life of a refugee in Africa, the beauty of small village life in the dangerous Congo, the risks of traveling into a country at war, and the wealth that can be made by spilling blood. The setting is amazing, moving from Sangui City and its urban gangs to Congo village life, each is drawn with precision and both are filled with beauty and menace.

Tina is a fully drawn character in search of the truth. She knows who killed her mother and she is driven primarily by revenge. The book’s pacing is exactly right, allowing readers to experience the various settings and Tina’s changing situations fully as each clue and piece of information is revealed leading them onward. Tina is a great mix of intelligence, cunning and force. She is a criminal with a cause, a character that is compellingly written and understandable.

A thriller of a teen novel, this book has a unique setting and one dynamic female protagonist bent on revenge. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

A Darker Shade of Magic – The Movie

| Tasha

A Darker Shade of Magic Cover

The Hollywood Reporter has the news that the film rights to the YA novel A Darker Shade of Magic series have been won by Sony. The first book was released in February 2015 but it was only in the last couple of weeks that a bidding war broke out for the film rights.