The New York Times has announced their list of the best in books for youth for 2016. The list covers picture books through teen books, fiction and nonfiction. The list is selected by the Children’s Books Editor of The New York Times Book Review.
I love seeing so many of my favorite books of the year there along with others that I must try yet.
Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington (InfoSoup)
Moving away from Alabama is hard for Keet. She is moving closer to her beloved grandfather though, which helps. The two of them spend days together fishing, something that Keet used to find challenging because she loves to talk and tell stories. But at her new school, she is teased for her accent and suddenly her words start to dry up. She finds it hard to make friends and even at home she isn’t talking much. Slowly though, Keet starts to find her voice again and makes a new friend. Just as she starts to talk though, her grandfather suffers a stroke and struggles with the slow recovery. Keet though has just the solution, showing him the way forward with stories.
Harrington’s verse novel is pure loveliness. Throughout she plays with various poetic forms, delicately moving from haiku to concrete poems to narrative form with many others included too. She nicely lists them at the end of the book, talking about their difficulty and what makes a poem that form. Her skill is evident throughout with all of the forms as she tells the story of Keet and her progress from losing her confidence and her voice to finding it again. The voice of Keet’s new friend is including in the poems as well, often playing against ones in Keet’s voice.
The characters here are given time to grow and stretch on the page. Keet is a wonderful character filled with a great energy and drive, but also stuck in a lack of confidence that hits her out of nowhere. It is a book about quiet and both its power and the ability to drown in being silenced. It is a book about friendship, about family and the importance of finding your place and your voice.
Beautifully written and strikingly gentle, this book is a celebration of the individual and their ability to speak their own stories. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Reviewed from library copy.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, who brought us the film versions of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, will return with a film of Mortal Engines, based on the books by Philip Reeve.
Variety has the news that the film will premiere in December 2018.
In this week of Thanksgiving in the United States, I wanted to share my own thankfulness for those of you who take the time out of your busy day to read my blog. Thank you too to the librarians and teachers who connect children and books each and every day. Thank you to parents who spend bedtime with books shared together. May you have a lovely holiday week.
All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang
Badger’s Fancy Meal by Keiko Kasza
Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora, illustrated by John Parra
Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell
Thank You, World by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin
Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival by Grace Lin
Winter Candle by Jeron Frame, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
As the next four years go by, we will all need to be brave. Brave enough to stand up when others are in trouble, brave enough to speak up even when our voices shake, brave enough to love those who don’t agree with us. Here are some picture books to inspire:
Hands around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books by Susan L. Roth and Karen Leggett Abouraya
The Knowing Book by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Birgitta Sif
Nightsong by Ari Berk, illustrated by Loren Long
One Day in the Eucalyptus Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom
The Promise by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Laura Carlin
The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Running with the Horses by Alison Lester
The Wren and the Sparrow by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg
You Can Do It, Bert! by Ole Konnecke
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (InfoSoup)
A finalist for the National Book Award, this book for teens is exceptional. It is the story of two teens, Daniel and Natasha who meet one another through a series of events. Daniel, a poet, firmly believes in love at first sight and destiny bringing them together. Natasha though does not, believing in science and what is provable. The day is a big day for both of them. Natasha’s family is being deported back to Jamaica that night unless she can figure out a way to stop it. Daniel is being interviewed for Yale, a school and a career path that his Korean parents have chosen for him. When the two meet, the chemistry is palpable, but the timing is horrible. Daniel decides that he can prove to Natasha that love is real and measurable, but can he do it in time with their deadlines working against them both?
I can see why this book is getting all of the attention and praise that it is. It’s an amazing read, filled with possibility and the sense that the universe may just be on our side sometimes. It’s filled with romance and chemistry. The prose has a lightness that is exceptional, creating space for these two amazing characters to meet, breathe, and tumble head over heels in love with one another.
Meanwhile, it is also a story of New York City. It’s a story of immigration and illegal immigrants, of losing a culture and then losing the dream of America as well. It’s a story of overt racism and the new generation of teens who see beyond that and into hearts. It’s a story of profound loss, of parental betrayal, of hope that manages to rise again and again.
A book perfect for today, this teen novel is a voice of hope despite our challenges and loving through it all. Appropriate for ages 14-17.
Reviewed from library copy.
Here are some cool links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
#KidLitSafetyPins – our community stands against bullying and marginalization http://buff.ly/2fgZfiB #kidlit
The Brown Bookshelf: A Declaration in Support of Children http://buff.ly/2fWTiZI #kidlit #diversity
Children’s author struggles to get stories of color in mainstream http://buff.ly/2fCv5qC #kidlit #diversity
Children’s Books About the Immigrant Experience http://buff.ly/2f0oJQh #kidlit
R.J. Palacio Brings Her ‘Wonder’ Message to Younger Readers http://buff.ly/2fXhxca #kidlit
Social Justice Picture Books! http://buff.ly/2g18oiE #kidlit #socialjustice
LIBRARIES
After Election, Librarians, Book Creators Vow To Support Children http://buff.ly/2eXYoCy #libraries
Children’s laureates demand UK government investigate school library closures http://ow.ly/32Je306akJN #LibrariesTransform
READING
One Way To Bridge The Political Divide: Read The Book That’s Not For You http://buff.ly/2fJuIKU #reading
TEEN LIT
5 Fat-Positive Queer YA Books http://buff.ly/2g17yTd #yalit
The winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature has been announced. First, let me say how very impressed I was with the entire list this year. It was filled with diverse authors and powerful wonderful stories and writing.
I love the winner and am thrilled to see a graphic novel win!
If you haven’t read this trilogy, you need to right away. It’s incredible.
Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds by Jorge Argueta, illustrated by Alfonso Ruano (InfoSoup)
This stunning book of poetry looks at the flood of children from Central America who are making their way to the United States. 100,000 of them have walked to our country, escaping to safety and what they hope is fresh opportunities. The book opens with a few poems that show the beauty of Central America and then swiftly moves to the problems and the gangs that are in control. Then begins the long march north, the trust placed in coyotes that lead them, the dangers they face, the rough conditions and the courage it takes to head towards the unknown. The book ends with poems of Los Angeles and hope.
Written by a Salvadoran poet, this book’s poetry soars and lifts even when speaking of dark and dangerous subjects. Throughout there is a focus on hope and the distant wonder of the United States. There are poems of the journey that are aching with loss. There are poems of strong parents who carry children and others of the children alone and fearful. It is a book that captures the range of immigrants coming to the United States, particularly children from Central America whose story is shared with such poignancy on these pages.
The art by Ruano is startling and beautiful. He has surreal moments in the art that capture a little touch of playfulness at first. That moves quickly to sense of isolation at times, of being alone in a stark landscape. Towards the end, there is one painting of a child afloat in the air on a blue, cloud-like sleeping bag who is finally heading home with his parents. It is a picture of such tenderness and captures the youth and dreams of these children.
An important book that shows the plight of Central American children as they walk to the United States, this is a challenging book of poetry that demands attention. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Reviewed from library copy.
Waking Brain Cells 