The Audio Publishers Association has announced the finalists for the 2021 Audie Awards. Given in 25 categories, several of the categories are focused on audiobooks for youth. Here are the finalists in those categories:
Stuck, by Chris Grabenstein, narrated by Mark Sanderlin, Elizabeth Hess, Oliver Wyman, Farah Bala, Rita Wolf, Caroline Grogan, Cynthia Darlow, Mateo D’Amato, J.J. Myers, Neil Hellegers, Genesis Oliver, and Chris Grabenstein
NOMINATED IN OTHER CATEGORIES
Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte – Nominated for Multi-Voiced Performance
El Laberinto del Fauno, by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke, narrated by Luis Ávila – Nominated for Spanish Language
We Wait for the Sun by Katie McCabe, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa (9781250229021)
This picture book is based on one of Dovey Johnson Roundtree’s favorite stories of her childhood and her grandmother, Rachel Bryant Graham. Born over 100 years ago, Roundtree grew up to be a renowned civil rights attorney. She and her grandmother headed into the night in midsummer. They move through the darkness to the woods to gather blackberries. As they walk through the night, other women join them, silent in the dark. The darkness gets thicker as they move into the woods, and Dovey’s grandmother encourages her to hold onto her apron strings and let her eyes adjust. They reach the blackberry clearing and everyone gets to work but not before Dovey gets the first and best berry to eat. They pick berries, the women chatting, until the sky turns pink and at her grandmother’s command the sun rises over the horizon.
McCabe takes a powerful moment in Roundtree’s life and turns it into a picture book that invites children to explore the woods at night and not be afraid. There is a sense of adventure throughout the book illuminated with the wonder of being out in a summer night. The profound silence of the night and its darkness make for a book full of mystery with text that asks to be read in a hushed tone to share the moment with one another all the way through sunrise.
Figueroa’s illustrations are rich and beautiful. She takes the darkness and tinges it with blue, teal and purple to show paths, faces and the women walking together. She also sweeps the path with fireflies and glimmers, adding to the wonder of the book.
A story that serves as an allegory for resilience, going through the darkness and knowing the sun will rise. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Roaring Brook Press.
The conclusion to the amazing Cursebreakers series, this book could not have higher expectations surrounding it. What at first was a twist on Beauty and the Beast has created its own tremendous fantasy world filled with an evil enchantress, a lost brother, a girl stolen from her world to become a princess in another, a prince who is also beastly, and a new queen who must find the respect of her people. Told in alternating points of view, the novel takes us into each person’s perspective. There is Harper, who can barely look at her once-beloved Rhen but has been learning to use a sword and defend herself. Rhen, who regrets what he was forced to do but remains terrified of the magic that flows in his brother. Grey, who now lives in a nearby monarchy and is steadily learning to use his magic, probably to attack his brother. Lia Mara, the new queen who must find her own way without using the bloodshed that kept her mother in power. As war between the two kingdoms nears, the tension builds as romance and magic mingle to create a great read.
Kemmerer has managed to keep a marvelously tight rein on this series which easily could have spiraled out of control with its many protagonists, complex world building and fantasy elements. She manages to keep it focused on what brought Harper, Rhen and Grey together from the very beginning, making sure that readers remember that, see what has been lost along the way, and then offers a possibility, a hopeful way forward.
The book is in turns heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying. The swirl of emotions works for each of the characters, each caught in their own situation, dependent upon one another, hoping they can do better than those who came before. The world itself is so strongly built from the enchantress’s curse to the castles themselves to the villages and towns that make up the kingdoms. It all clicks together into a unit that is unusual to see done so solidly in teen fantasy.
If you are a fan of the series, this one will not disappoint. If you haven’t read them yet, what are you waiting for? Appropriate for ages 14-18.
This picture book about friendship explores what happens when a best friend is grieving and angry. Told in the first person, the book draws readers directly into the tale. Two children are best friends, and they do everything together from hide-and-seek to joke books. No matter how well Marlo hides, his best friend can find him. But then one day, something was wrong and Marlo didn’t want to play. He told his friend to go away. Sharing a joke made it even worse and Marlo got angrier and angrier, until his anger took up all the space. But his friend remembered that no matter what they could always find Marlo. That’s when they found out what was going on and did just what a best friend should do, they cried together.
Arnold captures the beauty of a young friendship based on shared humor, a great dog and playing games together. He shows the richness of the friendship and how connected these two children are. That gives the platform for Marlo’s deep anger and anguish to appear. While it is confusing, his friend does just the right thing, staying around and offering comfort and empathy. Remarkably, the book is told in short and approachable sentences, allowing the images to tell a lot of the story too.
The illustrations are full of green grass, backyard spaces, and play. When Marlo’s anger appears, it is a black scribble of emotion that steadily grows to turning all of the pages to pitch black. It is in that moment that his friend finds him. That friend who speaks in first person is marvelously androgynous, able to be either girl or boy and it doesn’t matter at all.
A resonant friendship story about empathy and grief. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Roaring Brook Press.
Here are some great new picture books coming out in March to look forward to. Lots of authors you will recognize and a mix of fiction and nonfiction. Enjoy!
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Felicita Sala
Nora grew up with a con artist for a mother and quickly became an integral part of the cons she would pull, cheating wealthy men of their ill-gotten wealth. Nora became multiple girls to do this, one after another as each con ended, she would reinvent herself. She is now Nora, a girl who escaped her mother but not without having to make some terrible decisions along the way. Rescued by her older sister, she is trying to live a new life. Then she finds herself caught up in a bank robbery where the skills she built in her childhood may be the only thing that will save her. She knows how to read desperate people, how to get them what they want, and how to manipulate them. It might just be enough to keep the two people she loves alive too: her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend, who he just found out about.
Sharpe has created a feminist thriller that is a dynamite mix of survival, intelligence, bravery and pure nerve. She sets the thriller in a taut situation of its own, a bank robbery gone very wrong. Add in the character of Nora, already a survivor and not willing to ever be abused again, and you have a dangerous and explosive book that you won’t be able to put down. Nora is a unique protagonist, fascinating with her brilliant mind, unique approach to others, and what she learned in a lifetime of cons. Readers will love her throughout the book as she is alight with her newfound freedom and not ever going to lose.
Sharpe’s writing is stellar. She uses fabulous metaphors throughout, using fire, weaponry and explosions to express emotions, creating a ticking timebomb of a novel. She also writes real sparks between Nora and Iris while also demonstrating the deep feelings that Nora has for Wes. This is a book where readers can see Nora’s mind work, feel the evolving situation, but also laugh out loud with pure feminist joy at times.
A gripping, stunning thriller for teens, this one a sharp knife of a novel. Appropriate for ages 14-18.
Reviewed from copy provided by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Waking Brain Cells 