Author: Tasha

2020 Cybils Finalists – Preschool & Elementary Categories

| Tasha

The Cybils are the long-running Bloggers’ Literary Awards given to books for children and teens. I’ll be breaking the finalists into three groupings based on reader age. This first one is for the youngest readers and includes the finalists for Fiction Picture Books, Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books, and Elementary Nonfiction:

FICTION PICTURE BOOK FINALISTS

The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann

Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Brianne Farley

I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero 

The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade

EASY READERS

The Best Seat in First Grade by Katharine Kenah, illustrated by Abby Carter

Cat Has a Plan by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Fred Blunt

King & Kayla and the Case of the Unhappy Neighbor by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers

See the Cat: Three Stories about a Dog by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

Ty’s Travels: All Aboard! by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Nina Mata (I nominated this one!)

What about Worms!? by Ryan T. Higgins

Yasmin the Gardener by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly

EARLY CHAPTER BOOKS

Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee, illustrated by Dung Ho

Monster and Boy by Hannah Barnaby, illustrated by Anoosha Syed

Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo

Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem: Tales from Deckawoo Drive by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

ELEMENTARY NONFICTION

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns 

The Fighting Infantryman by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents by Kate Messner and Adam Rex

No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History by Lindsay H. Metcalf (Editor), Keila V. Dawson (Editor), Jeanette Bradley (Editor/Illustrator)

The Story of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Duane Smith

Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery by Meeg Pincus, illustrated by Yas Imamura

16 New Children’s Books Coming in January

| Tasha

Here are 16 new children’s books arriving this month that have received starred reviews!

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

The Ambassador of Nowhere, Texas by Kimberly Willis Holt

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast and Other Tasty Poems by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Ruth Chan

The In-Between by Rebecca K.S. Ansari

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yue

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance Cover

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm

Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued by Peter Sis

Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica by Rebecca E.F. Barone

Root Magic by Eden Royce

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day

Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles

The World Between Blinks by Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin

Unplugged by Gordon Korman

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt

| Tasha
Cover image for Just Like That

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt (9780544084773)

In the summer of 1968, Meryl Lee’s best friend died. Her parents decided to give her a fresh start at St. Elene’s Preparatory Academy for girls, a boarding school in Maine. Meryl Lee doesn’t fit in with the wealthy girls around her, finding all of the rules and expectations stifling. Meanwhile, Matt Coffin is also on the Maine coast, except he is living in a decrepit shanty trying to survive. He is on the run from a criminal gang whose leader murdered his best friend. Matt works on the fishing boats, earning just enough to feed himself and heat his small shanty. After Matt is attacked and nearly killed, the headmistress of St. Elene’s takes him in. They start to form a family along with one of the fishermen who takes Matt out on the water. Meryl Lee is also finding that she can make friends in different ways, though the blank of grief is often waiting to overtake her. Soon the two will meet, discover one another and find that they are drawn together in grief and hope.

Every new book by Schmidt is a delight. This one is a heart stealer of a book where readers will adore both Meryl Lee and Matt as well as the adults who care for them both. As Meryl learns again and again, friendship starts in a variety of different ways, as long as you are open to it. Readers will leave this book more open to discovering amazing people in their lives who were there all along.

The historical setting works particularly well to keep Matt able to stay hidden as long as he does. It also plays a role in events at St. Elene’s with staff getting into trouble for publicly expressing their political beliefs and the Vietnam War taking the brother of one of the girls who works at the school. Schmidt explores grief with a deep empathy and kindness but also with a cracking sense of humor at times.

Deeply sad, often lonely but also full of hope and friendship. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Clarion Books.

16 New Picture Books Coming in January

| Tasha

Here are 16 picture books released this month that are getting starred reviews!

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho

The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership and Legacy by Kekla Magoon, illustrated by Laura Freeman

I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, illustrated by Julia Kuo

Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara

Moose, Goose, and Mouse by Mordicai Gerstein, illustrated by Jeff Mack

Oona by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

Outside Inside by LeUyen Pham

Over the Shop by Jonarno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng

The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin

Runaway: the Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard, illustrated by Keith Mallett

Seeking an Aurora by Elizabeth Pulford, illustrated by Anne Bannock

Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga

Time for Kenny by Brian Pinkney

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

We Wait for the Sun by Katie McCabe, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

What’s the Matter Marlo? by Andrew Arnold

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

| Tasha
Cover image for Legacy

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes (9781681199443)

In this companion book to One Last Word, Grimes explores the legacy of Black women writers from the Harlem Renaissance. Grimes has selected poems from these little-known female poets that speak to themes of heritage, nature and activism. Each of the poems in this collection is accompanied by a poem from Grimes that uses the “Golden Shovel” technique of taking a line from the Harlem Renaissance poem and using that line as the last words in each line of Grimes’ poems. In addition, each pair of poems is also matched with a work of art from female Black illustrators, creating an exciting and energizing grouping with every turn of the page.

Once again Grimes amazes with a poetry collection. Grimes has an astute eye for selecting poems for her collections that young readers will enjoy, understand and connect with. When she then creates her magic of using those poems as inspiration for her own, she demonstrates such poetic skill in both the poem construction but also in managing to pay tribute to what the poem is about and translate that into modern day poems for young readers.

Reading this collection is like finding one treasure after another. New poets are discovered. The art is beautiful, clearly inspired by the pair of poems that it is matched with. This collections serves to show Black poets and artists speaking in their own rich voices, offering a look at the women who paved the way for today.

Another astounding collection from Grimes that belongs in every library serving children. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury.

Holiday Break

| Tasha
Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

I’ll be taking a break from blogging to spend time with family. May your holidays be healthy, safe, warm and full of love. I hope to curl up with some new books and return with some new favorites to share. See you in the new year!

Mr. Brown’s Bad Day by Lou Peacock

| Tasha
Cover image for Mr. Brown’s Bad Day

Mr. Brown’s Bad Day by Lou Peacock, illustrated by Alison Friend (9781536214369)

Mr. Brown has a very important business job and carries a very important briefcase. He was always busy going to meetings and signing papers. But no matter how busy he is, he always makes time every day to go to the park for lunch with his important briefcase. On this day though, Mr. Brown didn’t notice a little baby grabbing his briefcase. Mr. Brown soon spots his briefcase heading away in a stroller. But before he can reach it, it gets hooked onto an ice cream cart. From the cart, it is soon snagged by a rider on the Ferris wheel. By the time Mr. Brown got through the line and onto the ride, the briefcase was carried onto a bus. Mr. Brown had lost his hat, his jacket and was quite the mess, but he borrowed a tricycle and headed after the bus. After all, his briefcase held very important things. Mr. Brown never caught the bus until it was already stopped at the school. He headed home with his briefcase held close. Once at home, he opened the briefcase to make sure all of his important items were still there. They were! But you may be surprised by what was in the briefcase.

Peacock takes a child’s view of business work in this picture book that is far more about the chase and the briefcase than Mr. Brown’s important work day. The wild chase around a delightful park and then through town is great fun with plenty of anticipation as the Ferris wheel turns or the bus chugs away. Peacock adds tension in the book, some of which is a marvelous surprise when the important contents of the briefcase are revealed.

The illustrations are warm and dynamic. The park is a delightful green, inviting and filled with all sorts of animals enjoying their day outside. There is a sense of community throughout the book, whether it is spending time together in a park or offering a tricycle to a grownup.

A busy book full of friendly animals and one very important briefcase. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Candlewick Press.

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh

| Tasha
Cover for Every Body Looking

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh (9780525556206)

Ada has grown up living with her Nigerian father, her mother a ghost moving in and out of her life because of her struggles with addiction. Ada was not a petite little thing, instead thick waisted and with a hairy upper lip, her clothes boyish, she didn’t make friends easily at school. Now Ada is off at college, the first time she has been able to make decisions on her own. Her time at a Historically Black College has her exploring her sexuality and looking more deeply at her childhood. She is also steadily being drawn into dance, helped by one of her only friends at college, a girl who isn’t a student there. Suddenly, Ada’s strong body makes sense as she expresses herself through dance, taking ownership of her body and her past.

Iloh’s verse novel is pure power. She writes so much truth in these pages, directly talking about sexual abuse, playing touching games with other children, and the expectations of conformity at young ages around appearance. She also shows through emotion, sex and introspection that there is a way forward, as long as you are true to yourself and what you want to do with your life. Her verses are searing at times, other times like a dream, and still others a call to action. She writes with such compassion and courage here that it’s incredible that this is her first novel.

Ada is a marvelous character, full of trauma from her childhood, cared for by a father who was doing his very best for her, which sometimes was not enough. Just the poems about therapy as a small child are insightful and achingly raw, full of such confusion. It is Ada’s triumph in finding her own path that is full of music and dance that offers hope to the reader and inspiration as well.

Powerful, honest and triumphant. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

111 Trees by Rina Singh

| Tasha
Cover image for 111 Trees

111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl by Rina Singh, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer (9781525301209)

Part of the Citizen Kid collection, this nonfiction picture book explore the story of how one village in India came to celebrate the birth of girls. Sundar grew up walking with his mother to get water through the heat. until she is killed from a snake bite. After this, Sundar takes comfort in hugging trees, thinking of his mother. Sundar grew up and taught his children to love nature as much as he does. He works for a mining company and grows so worried about what they are doing to the local environment and their unwillingness to plant trees to help that he leaves his job. He runs for election and becomes the head of the village. When his daughter dies, he plants trees in her memory. He has an idea, declaring that every girl born in the village will be welcomed by the planting of 111 trees. Sundar is mocked for this idea that goes against customs, but he does not give up. He steadily speaks with people, convincing them of the impact they could have on the local environment by planting these trees. As the trees grow, life in the village changes. Now the women don’t have to walk long distances to get water, the fruit of the trees help feed the children and families, and girls can go to school with the boys as the gender inequality is overturned.

Singh builds her story with care, showing Sundar’s childhood with his mother and then his loss of her as the deep inspiration for his idea. She demonstrates how one man’s quest to fix the environment can make an enormous difference not just for him but for an entire community, the future of the girls that grow up there, and the quality of life for all. Singh does not lecture, instead showing how resilience and perseverance can eventually pay off. The Author’s Note at the end of the book offers more information on Sundar and the other customs that he has ended, including child marriage.

The illustrations show the changing landscape as the trees are planted. From a desert-like wasteland, the steady increase in trees transforms the landscape and the pages to lush green. The images focus on the interplay between human and nature, showing a community that even when skeptical continued to listen.

An inspiring picture book that tells the true story of one man’s quest to bring back trees and stop gender inequality. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Kids Can Press.