This picture book looks at what happened in 2020 when the pandemic hit. It turned bustling and busy neighborhoods into empty ones. Everyone stayed inside, everyone all over the world. Some people though continued to work, like police officers, doctors, grocery store workers and post office employees. Outside the squirrels and animals walked more freely in the empty streets. Inside everyone cooked, baked, played games and spent lots of time together. It all felt very different. Things kept on growing inside and out. Why did we all do it? It’s all about being different on the outside but just the same on the inside.
Pham has created a book that shows the best of us during the pandemic. It focuses on how people stayed inside and apart, how we made the best of it, and how nature continued on without us there. It shows how the brave essential workers carried on doing their vital jobs and celebrates the risks that they took. The ending of the book is sure to fill your heart too.
Pham’s art shows the wide diversity of people around the world who quarantined during the pandemic, showing different families as they stayed inside and entertained themselves with music, movies and more. Pham takes our warmth and connectivity and shows how we all made a difference during this difficult time.
A lovely and touching look at the pandemic’s impact on us all. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Macmillan Children’s Publishing.
The 2021 Notable Children’s Books list has been announced by ALSC (Association of Library Service to Children). The list is broken into age categories. Here are the books selected for Older Readers, grades 6-8 and ages 11-14. I’ve also included the All Ages category at the end of the post.
Aniyah and her brother are new in the foster-care system. At ten-years-old, Aniyah grew up in a family where they worked hard to placate her father’s temper and eventually hid from him with her mother and little brother. Now her mother is gone, but Aniyah knows she isn’t gone forever. When Aniyah hears that a new star has been found in the sky, she knows that it is her mother transformed. But the international contest to name the star will get it wrong! Aniyah, her brother and two of the other foster kids in the house set out on a wild Halloween-night journey to London and the Royal Observatory to make sure that the star is named after Aniyah’s mother after all.
This is the second book by the author of the award-winning The Boy at the Back of the Class. It is a story of familial abuse and terror, but told through the eyes of a ten-year-old whose mother tried to shelter her from what was actually happening. Aniyah has stories built around all of the noises she heard, from “moving furniture” to “playing hide and seek.” It makes the truth of the matter all the more haunting for readers who will understand what happened to Aniyah’s mother long before the character does.
It creates a deep tenderness between the reader and the main protagonist. Aniyah and her little brother are voices of pure innocence in the book, accompanied by other children who have been warned not to reveal the truth to her. Their lengthy experience in foster care contrasts profoundly with Aniyah’s demonstrating to the reader how special their foster mother is and how traumatic many of the children’s lives are.
A fine weaving of grief, innocence and trauma. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from copy provided by Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
The 2021 Notable Children’s Books have been announced by ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children). The notable titles are listed by age. Here are the selected books for Middle Readers, grades 3-5, ages 8-10.
Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng (9781536201475)
In this wordless picture book, a little girl lives with her grandmother at their general store. One day, the grandmother posts that they have an apartment for rent above the shop. Soon people are arriving to view it. But the apartment is worn out and ragged with shelves ready to fall off the walls, cracked walls and chipped tiles, boarded up windows and a bare lightbulb. Lots of people come to see it, but no one rents it. Then a young interracial couple sees the rental sign, but the grandmother doesn’t approve of them. The little girl points out that they should give them a chance. Soon the couple is hard at work transforming the apartment with the help of the girl. Their help doesn’t stop with their own space, they also smarten up the front of the store by giving it a new coat of paint and fixing the sign. Even the stray cat in the neighborhood benefits and finds a new home. As the acceptance of this queer interracial couple grows, their positive impact on the entire neighborhood does too.
I love the wordless nature of this book, allowing the illustrations to tell the entire story. Leng’s illustrations are done in watercolor and show both the loneliness of the girl and her grandmother and then the steady transformation and rebirth of the apartment and the general store. The queer nature of the couple is shown via Pride flags as well as mentioned in the dedication at the beginning of the book. I particularly adore the wild-haired grandmother, who is so stuck in her own ways and her own grumpiness that one almost loses hope, but this book shows that growth is possible, change can happen, and it can open one up to new possibilities.
This wordless picture book speaks volumes about acceptance and transformation. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
The Notable Children’s Books list has been announced by ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children.) This annual list contains books that are notable. According to their website, “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 large and has several age categories. Here are the included titles for the Younger category that covers Preschool through Grade 2, including easy readers.
Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yue (9780593306321)
Katie’s friends are heading away to sleepover camp for the summer but Katie and her mother can’t afford for her to attend. When Katie discovers that she can go for just one week, she creates a plan to earn money in their apartment building. Unfortunately, she kills houseplants, isn’t strong enough to lug groceries up the stairs, and cleaning is a bust too. But when a neighbor discovers that Katie has a way with cats, she asks her to cat sit her 217 cats, who luckily are trained to use the bathroom rather than litterboxes. Very quickly, Katie realizes that these are not normal cats. They use the computer, 3D print things, order pizzas, and destroy the apartment. Just when Katie is about to lose yet another job, the cats come together and repair the apartment before their owner returns. As she continues to cat sit, Katie starts to believe that the owner just might be the infamous burglar who has been roaming the city despite the local superheroes searching for her.
This middle-grade graphic novel is purr-fect feline fun. Set in an urban area filled with less-than-super heroes and crafty villains, Katie’s life is rather mundane. She goes to school, spends time with her single mother, and looks forward to postcards from her best friend. That all changes when she starts cat-sitting and the fascinating cats take over her life. Their naughty evil natures as well as their technology skills make for an unusual job.
The art and words work well together, creating a world primarily set in the single building and the surrounding neighborhood. Full of expressive characters, dynamic cats and strange superheroes, the book is funny and has just the right amount of quirkiness.
A great book for cat lovers and babysitters alike. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House Kids.
The winners of the 2020 National Jewish Book Awards have been announced by the Jewish Book Council. Awards are given in a variety of categories, including several which are focused on books for young readers. Here are the winners and finalists in those categories:
About our February cover – SLJ (Note: this is not being shared as a “recommended” article, but rather as a call out about a racist SLJ cover that centered on white children while allegedly promoting diverse books. Lots more to read on Twitter, if you want to dig into the very valid criticism of SLJ.)
This adorable baby is really impressed with daddy's awesome voices during story time😊❤👶. Mickey Mouse ✔ Goofy ✔ 🎥kaycheebear pic.twitter.com/oaPfckuSOk
Waking Brain Cells 