Author: Tasha

Milo Armadillo

| Tasha

Milo Armadillo by Jan Fearnley

Tallulah wants a pink fluffy rabbit for her birthday.  But it wasn’t easy to find a pink fluffy rabbit.  They could find other pink stuffed animals, but not a rabbit.  They could find rabbits, but not a pink one.  Then her grandmother had a great idea!  She would knit Tallulah one.  She started with pink fluffy yarn, when she ran out she added other colors, and in the end she had created something very different from a pink fluffy rabbit.  She had created Milo Armadillo.  Tallulah was disappointed, but got to know Milo.  When she got together with her friends, they all had pink fluffy rabbits along and Tallulah longed out loud for one too.  Milo heard her and tried to be more bunny-like but it didn’t work, so he left.  Will Tallulah realize the value of Milo before it’s too late and he’s gone forever?

Fearnley has created a book that is a delight to read.  Her illustrations and text work seamlessly together, both working to tell the complete story.  She tells a real story without being too wordy.  The pacing is nicely done with just enough humor to keep it moving in a sprightly way.  The pages where Grandma creates Milo are very funny and will have anyone who knits or has failed at knitting laughing aloud.  Fearnley’s illustrations are a brilliant combination of mixed media featuring cut paper, paint and fabrics that really support the story and offer a vibrant and creative look.

A book about individuality, creativity and favorite toys, this is a book that will speak to a lot of children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Planet Esme and Young Readers.

Race You to Bed

| Tasha

Race You to Bed by Bob Shea

Shea returns with another silly, zany picture book.  Readers race to bed with a white, fluffy bunny as he runs uphill, drops downhill, makes lots of noise, and escapes a wide variety of traps and troubles.  Young readers will be laughing aloud at the manic rhymes, fast pace, and pure silliness of this book.  Perfect for children who don’t want to go to bed and would much rather be running around.  The ending is charming and provides the perfect button to the book. 

Shea excels here at writing verse that is strong, fast and funny.  It is also beautifully short which adds to the fast pace and will keep young listeners very happy.  Make sure that you keep control of the pace as you read, because the illustrations offer a lot of the humor and are worth slowing down for.  The illustrations are done in Shea’s trademark simplicity that has a great graphic quality to it.

Perfection for bedtime or pajama story times, this book is pure fun.  Race you to see who can read it next!  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Smile

| Tasha

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Based on personal experiences, this graphic novel will speak to those of us who are teenagers and those who have survived that age.  Raina just wants to be a normal kid.  But one evening, she falls when running, tripping and damaging her front teeth.  This sets her on a journey of braces, dental surgery, and headgear.  On top of her dental issues, Raina also deals with the normal teen issues of friends, bullies, and crushes on boys.  Readers get to watch Raina grow up from a sixth grader to a high school student as she learns about acceptance, self-esteem, and the importance of good dentists.

Written with lots of humor, this book has a feel for what makes being a teenager both funny and painful.  Telgemeier’s writing is refreshing and fast paced.  Her art is friendly and silly.  With her art and writing combined, she has created a book with a fresh feel that has universal appeal.  While speaking of her own issues with teeth, she speaks to all of our strange teen situations and what each of us dealt with or is dealing with. 

A fresh, funny look at being a teen, this book will easily find a readership and be eagerly passed from person to person.  Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) where most of the illustrations were not yet in color.

2010 Audie Award Nominees

| Tasha

The Audio Publishers Association has announced their nominees for the best in audio books.  Here are the nominees in the children’s and teen categories:

 

Ages Up to 8

A Dog on His Own by M. J. Auch, narrated by William Dufris

Arabel’s Raven by John Aiken, narrated by Sneha Mathan

Friend or Fiend with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume, narrated by Kathleen McInterney and Judy Blume

Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems, narrated by Mo and Trixie Willems

Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

 

Ages 8-12

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck, narrated by Ron McLarty

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen, narrated by Tom Parks

The Midnight Charter by David Whitley, narrated by Simon Vance

Operation Yes by Sara Holmes, narrated by Jessica Almasy

Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate by Adrienne Kress, narrated by Christopher Lane

 

Teens

Going Bovine by Libba Bray, narrated by Erik Davies

In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren

Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by Dion Graham

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, narrated by Jeannie Stith

2009 Cybils Awards Announced

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Cybils- The 2009 Cybils Winners_1266176320287

The 2009 Cybils Awards have been announced!  I served on the judging panel for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy.  I am so proud of our decision and the great discussions that led to it.  Thank you for the nominating panel who gave us such great titles to choose from too!

Bleeding Violet

| Tasha

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Hanna has never really fit in.  She is distractingly beautiful, uses sex as a weapon, has been diagnosed as manic depressive, and hears her dead father in her head.  After bashing her aunt in the head and leaving her for dead, she heads to the home of her mother whom she has never even met.  But Rosalee is cold and aloof, nothing like the mother that Hanna pictured.  Rosalee gives her two weeks to see if she can fit in with the other people in town, or she will have to leave.  Hanna heads to school and immediately finds herself surrounded by bloodthirsty monsters, glass statues that used to be people, and other teens who dismiss her as a transient.  But Hanna is determined to find a place for herself in this odd town that just might be even more strange than she is.

Hanna is a character who is easy to dislike immediately, but throughout the book readers get to see beyond her outer shell and to the girl who is desperate for a mother who cares for her and for a place where she belongs.  Reeves writes with a flair for horror.  This book glories in gore, is filled with eye-widening moments, and will have readers turning the pages breathlessly.  This horror is right in your face and almost tangible.  The pacing is also done very well, with moments of stillness nicely contrasted by frenetic action scenes.  The world Reeves has created will remind readers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Hanna as heroine takes the novel in a different direction.

I must also mention after so many questions about YA covers and protagonist’s skin tones, that Hanna is bi-racial.  The is half Finnish and half African-American.  On the cover, her skin is a caramel which is just right. 

Get this into the hands of Buffy and Twilight fans and they will be delighted with a new heroine who isn’t afraid to get her hands bloody.  Appropriate for teens aged 14-18.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller, Pure Imagination, Frenetic Reader,

Plus you can see an interview with Dia Reeves at WriterJenn or you can visit Dia Reeves’ blog.

Breaking Dawn in Two

| Tasha

Cinematical has the news that the principal stars of the Twilight movie franchise have been signed to do a fifth film.  That was the major stumbling block in having Breaking Dawn broken into two films. 

Summit films is also said to be looking for “high-end” directors to do the final movie. 

So Twi-hards, what do you think of two films?  And what dream director would you love to see tackle the final films?

2010 Notable Books for a Global Society

| Tasha

Selected by a committee of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association, these are 25 books that enhance student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world.  The books must have been published in the US the previous year.

Happily, some of my favorite books are on the list.

Ajmera, Maya. Faith. Written by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Anything But Typical.

Bausum, Ann. Denied, Detained, Deported: stories from the dark side of American immigration.

Bryan, Ashley. Words to my Life’s Song. Photographs by Bill McGuinness.

Burg, Ann E. All the Broken Pieces.

Combres, Élisabeth. Broken Memory: a Novel of Rwanda. Translated by Shelley Tanaka.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. 14 Cows for America. In collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez.

Edwardson, Debby Dahl. Blessing’s Bead.

Griffin, Paul. The Orange Houses.

 

Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Freedom.

Khan, Rukhsana. Wanting Mor.

Lin, Grace. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

Marshall, James Vance. Stories from the Billabong. Illustrated by Francis Firebrace.

Murphy, Jim. Truce: The Day The Soldiers Stopped Fighting.

Naidoo, Beverley. Burn my Heart.

Napoli, Donna Jo. Alligator Bayou.

National Geographic. Every Human Has Rights: a Photographic Declaration for Kids.

Nelson, Marilyn.  The Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

O’Brien, Anne Sibley. After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Written by Anne Sibley O’Brien and Perry Edmond O’Brien.

Partridge, Elizabeth. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary.

Perkins, Mitali. Secret Keeper.

Reynolds, Jan. Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming.

Russell, Ching Yeung.  Tofu Quilt.

Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World.

 

Thanks to Mitali for the link.

Kitten’s Spring

| Tasha

Kitten’s Spring by Eugenie Fernandes

Take a walk along with Kitten as Kitten explores a farm in spring.  As Kitten goes through the farm, readers will see pairings of adult and baby animals.  These include frogs and tadpoles, birds and eggs, chickens and chicks, ducks and ducklings, a cow and calf, pig and piglet, sheep and lamb, and owl and owlet.  The book is written in rhyme that adds to the appeal.  The illustrations are eye-catching and lovely with a real dimensional feel to them that will offer young children lots to pore over.

Fernandes is a well-known Canadian author.  Her ability to create a book with a specific feel and theme shines here.  Using only a few words per page, she writes with a simplicity that is welcoming for very small children.  Her art is equally warm and friendly, filled with tiny details that make it fun to visit again and again.  It is done in clay, acrylic paint and collage.

This book would be perfect to add to a toddler story time about spring, farms or cats.  Its small size is also very inviting for lap reading and children will love to talk about the animal noises and the other things they see in each picture.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers.