Author: Tasha

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

17 Joyful Picture Books to Enjoy on Summer Vacation – SLJ

Celebrating 35 years of the Children’s Books Ireland Awards – The Irish Times

Every adult should read more children’s novels. Here are the five best – MSN

How Tove Jansson’s Moomins illustrations taught us to imagine, resist and belong – The Conversation

Luck of the Draw: 5 Fabulously Funny and Adorable Picture Books – Book Riot

Mothers in children’s books: a matrix – Lit Hub

This author ‘fixed’ ‘The Giving Tree’ with a new ending. Some say it’s long overdue. – USA Today

LIBRARIES

ALA Disappointed by Senate Vote to Block Hotspot Funds – ALA

Political Attacks on Libraries Endanger Small-Town Democracy – Scientific American

States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts – NPR

YA LIT

All the New Young Adult SFF Books Arriving in May 2025 – Reactor

Judy Blume Talks Inspiration Behind Her Controversial Teen Novel Forever, and the Change Happening at Home When She Wrote It – People

Summer Love: 16 Romantic Reads for Teens – SLJ

Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin – Book Review

| Tasha

Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin, translated by Shan Chen (9781623546236)

A young boy and his family head into the Chinese mountains to pick tea together. Father usually goes on his own, and it’s a special treat for everyone to come along. They must pack extra clothes for the mountain weather and carry baskets on their backs. When they reach the mountaintop, there are the tea fields. Everyone must work together to pick the tea leaves with their sticky juice. The brothers work hard, have some fun, take a nap, and enjoy their day together as a family. The nature around the family is shown in deep greens, from the mountains to insects to birds and snakes.

This is a fascinating glimpse of Chinese culture. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Charlesbridge.

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the Day) by Corey R. Tabor – Book review

| Tasha

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) by Corey R. Tabor (9780063373587)

Crow is sitting on his spot on the telephone wire and doesn’t want to play today. He KAWS Squirrel away rather than joining in creating a mess of trash, he won’t practice tricks and loops with Hummingbird, and rejects all of the other animals too. Crow seems awfully grumpy until the phone rings and he suddenly leaps into action! Children will love the sudden change from angry Crow to saving the world and then seeing Crow come back to the telephone wire and be much friendlier.

Clever and funny, this is one for those curmudgeons among us, and their friends. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Greenwillow Books.

Aurealis Awards 2024

| Tasha

The winners of the Aurealis Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate the best of Australia’s speculative fiction. Here are the winners for the main categories. You can visit their official site here for the full list.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble (available in U.S. in June)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Anomaly by Emma Lord

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Thoroughly Disenchanted by Alexandra Almond

BEST SF NOVEL

Temporal Boom by J M Voss (available in U.S.)

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa – Book Review

| Tasha

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa (9781338843262)

Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt to wear at an upcoming powwow, a skirt that is traditionally worn by Anishinaabe girls. Anang is two-spirit and nonbinary. While they have some concerns about wearing a ribbon skirt, they decide to follow their dreams. Helped along the way by spirits, turtles and crows, Anang steadily gathers the items they need for their skirt. Supported by their family and friends, Anang must also deal with a girl who used to be a close friend but now is more like a bully. It’s up to Anang to stay strong, follow their path and create their perfect skirt.

Mukwa is also a two-spirit Anishinaabe and this is their debut book. Written with a wry sense of humor, an honest take on support and fear, and a delight in the spirits helping, this graphic novel has a winning combination. The illustrations are bold and colorful, making the graphic novel all the more approachable for young readers.

A timely and joyful look at being nonbinary and living your dream life. Appropriate for ages 8-12. Reviewed from library copy.

Beehive by Jorey Hurley – Book Review

| Tasha

Beehive by Jorey Hurley (9781481470032)

Following her Fetch and Nest, Hurley returns with another simple picture book that invites the youngest children to explore nature. Told in single words on double-page illustrations, the bees in the book buzz, swarm, find and build their hive. They will also defend the hive and sting when a skunk gets a bit too interested in their sweet honey.

Share this as spring blossoms around us. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster.

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

A collection of some of the best book and library links of the week:

CHILDREN’S LIT

5 New LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books Explore History, Family, Feelings, and Fun – Mombian

10 Fabulous Picture Books Celebrating Neurodivergent Kids – Book Riot

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels – The Guardian

Don’t ban the book: Kids can benefit from challenging stories – Skeptic

Most parents don’t enjoy reading to their children, survey suggests – The Guardian

Top 5 board books for children, chosen by New York Times bestselling author Jon Klassen – Big Issue

LIBRARIES

How Libraries Are Faring Under the Trump Administration – Time

More than books: 10 different ways public libraries make our lives better – PBS

YA LIT

23 Canadian books for young adults to read in spring 2025 – CBC

2025 YA Trends: Bouncing Between the Dark and Light – Publishers Weekly

Rather than ban her books, Ellen Hopkins says Utah should ‘trust in young people’ – KUER

Marvelous May Books

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PICTURE BOOKS

Blue Sky Morning by Kim Jihyun

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) by Corey Tabor

Firefly Season by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Fireworks by Matthew Burgess

Frank’s Red Hat by Sean Avery

The Gathering Table by Antwan Eady, illustrated by London Ladd

The Glass Pyramid: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Khoa Le

The History of We by Nikkolas Smith

Hurricane by Jason Chin

Jim!: Six True Stories about One Great Artist: James Marshall by Jerrold Connors

Lighthouse Ladies: Shining a Spotlight on Hardy Heroines by Kris Coronado, illustrated by Islenia Mil

One Day in June: A Story Inspired by the Life and Activism of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline, illustrated by Charlot Kristensen

So Many Years: A Juneteenth Story by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey

Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States by Rajani LaRocca

Where Are You, Bronte? By Tomie DePaola, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Gate, the Girl and the Dragon by Grace Lin

J vs. K by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft

El Niño by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Malcolm Lives! by Ibram X. Kendi

The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell

One Crazy Summer: the Graphic Novel by Rita Williams-Garcia, illustrated by Sharee Miller

YA LIT

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

Invisible Wild by Nikki Van De Car

This Moth Saw Brightness by A.A. Vacharat

Out of Air by Rachel Reiss

Song of the Lioness Book 1: Alanna: A Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, adapted by Vita Ayala, illustrated by Sam Beck

This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph

Up in Smoke by Nick Brooks

Wake the Wild Creatures by Nova Ren Suma

You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor- Book Review

| Tasha

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (9780593404546)

Maeve Abenthy is the daughter of the world’s greatest villain. Seven years ago, she lost everything when her father destroyed one of the parallel worlds and burned the gates that allowed people to move between them. When old letters are delivered by the Otherwhere Post, couriers who are the only ones who can move between the worlds, Maeve receives one that declares that her father is innocent. Her father had been a gifted scriptomancer, able to write magic into words. It was scriptomancy that connected the worlds and still does. Now Maeve must set out to find out who sent the anonymous letter, but can she trust anyone enough to let them help her?

The author of Hotel Magnifique returns with her second book. This dark academia novel is a great read, filled with a unique magical system and a fascinating world to match. Maeve as a character is flawed and prickly with great reasons and backstory. The book allows her to grow, to begin to trust and to unravel the mystery surrounding her father.

With just the right touches of romance, this fantasy novel offers a great mix of mystery and magic. Appropriate for ages 12+. Reviewed from library copy.