Author: Tasha

2012 Notable Children’s Books–Middle Readers

| Tasha

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) annually recognizes a list of the best books for children.  The list is a lengthy one, so I’ll break it up by ages, as the committee does.

Here is the list for Middle Readers:

America Is under Attack : September 11, 2001 : the Day the Towers Fell. By Don Brown.

Balloons over Broadway: the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. By Melissa Sweet.

Breaking Stalin’s Nose. By Eugene Yelchin.

  

The Cheshire Cheese Cat : a Dickens of a Tale. By Carmen Agra Deedy Illus. by Barry Moser.

Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. By Duncan Tonatiuh.

Dream Something Big : the Story of the Watts Towers. By Dianna Hutts Aston, Illus. by Susan L.Roth.

  

E-mergency. By Tom Lichtenheld, Illus. by Ezra Fields-Meyer.

Emma Dilemma : Big Sister Poems. By Kristine O’Connell George, Illus. by Nancy Carpenter.

The Great Migration : Journey to the North. By Eloise Greenfield, Illus. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist.

  

Inside Out and Back Again. By Thanhha Lai.

Junonia. By Kevin Henkes.

Lemonade, and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word. By Bob Raczka, Illus. by Nancy Doniger.

  

The Lily Pond By Annika Thor. Trans. by Linda Schenck.

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families. By Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match /Marisol McDonald no combina By Monica Brown, Illus. by Sara Palacios.

  

Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller. By Xavier Garza .

Migrant. By Maxine Trottier, Illus. by Isabelle Arsenault.

Night flight : Amelia Earhart crosses the Atlantic. By Robert Burleigh, Illus. by Wendell Minor

  

No Ordinary Day. By Deborah Ellis.

Nursery rhyme comics: 50 timeless rhymes from 50 celebrated cartoonists. Illus. by Patrick McDonnell … et al.

Soldier Bear By Bibi Dumon Tak, Illus. by by Philip Hopman. Trans. by Laura Watkinson.

  

The third gift. By Linda Sue Park, Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline.

Thunder birds: nature’s flying predators. By Jim Arnosky.

Treasury of Greek mythology: classic stories of gods, goddesses, heroes & monsters. By Donna Jo Napoli, Illus. by Christina Balit.

  

The trouble with May Amelia. By Jennifer L. Holm.

Underground. By Shane Evans, Illus. by Shane Evans.

The unforgotten coat. By Frank Cottrell Boyce, Illus. by Carl Hunter, and Clare Heney.

  

The watcher : Jane Goodall’s life with the chimps. By Jeanette Winter.

Wonderstruck. By Brian Selznick.

Won-Ton : a cat tale told in haiku. By Lee Wardlaw, Illus. by Eugene Yelchin.

 

Young Fredle. By Cynthia Voigt, Illus. by Louise Yates.

Zita the spacegirl. By Ben Hatke.

2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults

| Tasha

Given out by YALSA, the Best Fiction for Young Adults includes the best fiction for ages 12-18.  Books included on the list must be both high quality literature and appealing to teens.  There are 113 books on the full list and also a top ten:

   

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

  

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

  

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

2012 Notable Children’s Books

| Tasha

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) annually recognizes a list of the best books for children.  Here is their definition of notable: “As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.”

The list is a lengthy one, so I’ll break it up by ages.  Here is the list for Younger Readers:

   

All the Water in the World. By George Ella Lyon, Illus. by Katherine Tillotson

A Ball for Daisy. By Chris Raschka

Blackout. By John Rocco

Bring on the Birds. By Susan Stockdale

  

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred. By Samantha R. Vamos, Illus. by Rafael López

Chirchir Is Singing. By Kelly Cunnane, Illus. by Jude Daly

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? By Susan A. Shea, Illus. by Tom Slaughter

  

Dot. By Patricia Intriago

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. By Sherri Duskey Rinker, Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld

Grandpa Green. By Lane Smith

  

Harry and Hopper. By Margaret Wild, Illus. by Freya Blackwood

I Broke My Trunk. By Mo Willems

I Want My Hat Back. By Jon Klassen

  

King Jack and the Dragon. By Peter Bently, Illus. by Helen Oxenbury

Little Treasures : Endearments from around the World. By Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Illus. by Christopher Raschka

Me…Jane. By Patrick McDonnell

  

Mouse & Lion. By Rand Burkert, Illus. by Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Naamah and the Ark at Night. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Illus. by Holly Meade

A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story. By Li Qiong Yu, Illus. by Zhu Chen Liang

  

Over and Under the Snow. By Kate Messner, Illus. by Christopher Silas Neal

Prudence Wants a Pet. By Cathleen Daly, Illus. by Stephen Michael King

See Me Run By Paul Meisel

   

Should I Share My Ice Cream? By Mo Willems

Stars. By Mary Lyn Ray, Illus. by Marla Frazee

Tales for Very Picky Eaters By Josh Schneider

  

Tell Me the Day Backwards. By Albert Lamb, Illus. by David McPhail

Ten Little Caterpillars. By Bill Martin, Illus. by Lois Ehlert

These Hands. By Margaret H. Mason, Illus. by Floyd Cooper

  

Tìa Isa Wants a Car. By Meg Medina, Illus. by Claudio Muñoz

Where’s Walrus? By Stephen Savage

Who Has What? : All about Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies. By Robie H. Harris, Illus. by Nadine Bernard Westcott

Review: Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid

| Tasha

hugs from pearl

Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid

Pearl is a very friendly little porcupine, and one of her favorite things to do is give everyone hugs.  But porcupines are prickly and Pearl’s hugs hurt!  At first Pearl tried keeping Band-Aids handy after hugs, but she didn’t like to make her friends say “Ouch!”  Then she tried pin cushions on her quills, but that took way too long and she couldn’t reach them all.  Pearl tried a long hot bath, but her quills refused to soften.   Pearl decided that she just couldn’t give hugs any more.  But then she got inspiration on her way home from school when she saw some bees buzzing happily among the thorny roses.  Could Pearl have figured out the trick to pain-free hugs from a porcupine?

Schmid has created a story that is simply told and can be read solely as a book about a little porcupine, but it is also a story that could be used for discussions about what each of us has that is prickly and hurts other people and how we can solve it.  The story has a touch of heartache and a real sweetness to it that never becomes sickly sweet or overbearing, instead it has a great freshness to it.

The art is equally fresh with its charming mix of pale greens and pinks.  Pearl herself glows with her pale pink blush, popping on each page compared to the other animals.  Her facial expressions manage to convey deep emotions even though they are just a few lines on the page.  The simplicity in both the text and the illustrations make the book very enticing.

This book is a shining example that adorable, sweet books can also be stirring and warm.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

| Tasha

friends with boys

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

Released February 28, 2012.

Maggie McKay has been homeschooled her entire life by her mother, who has left the family.  Now she has to start regular high school, just like her three older brothers have.  Maggie has never had any friends who were girls, happily being friends with just her brothers.  As Maggie starts high school, she discovers the boredom, the cliques, and the first tentative steps at real friendship, even one with a girl!  Add into the mix a tragic ghostly mystery complete with a female ghost who follows Maggie around, and you have an interesting mix of graphic novel, paranormal, and high school reality.

Hicks has created a very engaging graphic novel here with her mix of genres.  Her characters are fully-formed, with all of the major characters displaying real depth.  The relationships between siblings is a large part of the storylines in the novel.   I also appreciated a story about a homeschooled teen who may be hesitant to enter high school but is not specifically troubled by her previous schooling.

The graphic format is well-used here.  The images are regularly used to tell more of the story than the characters’ speech bubbles do.   Done in black and white, the use of shadow and light is very effective.  The story takes several surprising twists, which makes it all the more readable.

A graphic novel about a girl who is not particularly girly is just the right book to have in library collections.   Appropriate for ages 13-15.

Reviewed from copy received from First Second.

YALSA 2012 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers

| Tasha

YALSA’s Quick Pick list focuses on books that teens ages 12-18 would pick up on their own and read, specifically books that reluctant readers will enjoy.  I find it an amazing list to use to broaden collections with books that are sure to move off the shelves.

The full list includes 117 titles, and here are the top ten:

   

Bronxwood by Coe Booth

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

D.C. Comics: The Ultimate Character Guide by Brandon Snider

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

  

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Middle School: The Worst years of My Life by James Patterson

Pavement Chalk Artist: the Three-Dimensional Drawings of Julian Beever by Julian Beever

  

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Whoogles: Can a Dog Make a Woman Pregnant?…and Hundreds of Other Searches That Make You Ask “Who Would Google That?”  by Kendall Almerico and Teen Hottenroth

The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery by Brenda Haugen

2012 Great Graphic Novels

| Tasha

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has named the top ten graphic novels as well as a longer list of graphic novels perfect for teen readers.  Here is the top ten list: 

  

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgal

Axe Cop, Volume 1 by Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle

A Bride’s Story, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori

   

Daybreak by Brian Ralph

Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone, Josh Neufeld & others

Scarlet by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

   

Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Volumes 1 & 2 by Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, & others

Wandering Son, Volume 1 by Shimura Takako

Zahra’s Paradise by Amir and Khalil

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts that you might find interesting:

Children’s books increasingly emphasize visual art http://j.mp/x9BrTa

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, and "Why We Broke Up" | Artery http://j.mp/zn5Vyn

Harry Potter’s iPhone screen:

Hear an excerpt from Odyssey Award winner ROTTERS http://teachingbooks.net/ql4krcv #alayma #alamw12

Here is the petition for school libraries: http://bit.ly/zCjFU5 #alayma

Hobbies boost children’s academic skills – RTÉ News http://j.mp/w2RpIn

How to choose the best books for kids and teens – On Parenting – The Washington Post http://j.mp/xRwRx5

Hugo gets the most Oscar nominations in 2012. Why? – http://CSMonitor.com http://j.mp/vZUUVq

Interview: John Green http://j.mp/xku3ay

Is ‘The Hunger Games’ Building Too Much Buzz For Its Own Good? : Monkey See : NPR http://j.mp/xkMi1A

Just subscribed to the RSS feed of The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults http://j.mp/yM8nCB

squeetus blog: the mighty librarian http://j.mp/w9x48F

Take Your Child to the Library Day Launches on February 4th! http://j.mp/wrK1ad

TED Blog | Harnessing the power of reading: Q&A with illustrator Elizabeth Zunon http://j.mp/zV8WfA

Trending in Youth Culture: The Best Blogs and Sites for Youth Advocates | VOYA http://j.mp/zFQCjx

YA market ripe for digital, say publishers | The Bookseller http://j.mp/zqctzn

Review: A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson

| Tasha

boy called dickens

A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by John Hendrix

Enter the world of Charles Dickens’ childhood in this picture book.  The fog and cold of London will enfold you, along with the smoking chimneys and the dankness of the Thames.  Twelve-year-old Dickens worked in Warren’s blacking factory, wrapping bottles of blacking for sale.  He entertained the boy next to him with his stories when they could get away with it.  Dickens worked ten hour days and when work is finally completed, he headed home to his tiny attic room where he lived alone.  His family was in the debtors’ prison with only Dickens bringing in any money at all.  When his father and family is released from prison, Dickens’ life changes and he is finally allowed to go to school.  This book celebrates the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth in a way that will resonate with children.

Hopkinson’s story begins with an invitation into London and into understanding the world at that time better.  It is actually like entering a novel by the great writer.  Readers will chase after the fast-moving Dickens until they figure out where he is headed.  There is an element of play and fun from the get-go, even though the subject here is very serious. 

Hendrix’s illustrations show the gritty world that Dickens grew up in.  Yet all is not fog and work, there is the beauty of story, the world of imagination.  It’s an impressive mix of historical accuracy and a more whimsical take on creativity. 

Picture book biographies of historical figures can be tricky, since so much information needs to be shared.  Here the balance of story telling and imagery is deftly done, creating a book that is noteworthy.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from library copy.