Book Reviews

Ty’s Travels: Super Ty! By Kelly Starling Lyons – Book Review

| Tasha

Ty’s Travels: Super Ty! by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Niña Mata (9780063083721)

Ty becomes a super hero in this newest book in the award-winning beginning-reader series. When Ty puts on his mask and cape, he’s ready to save the day just like his favorite super heroes. So when a dad needs someone to open the door for him, Ty saves the day! At the playground, when a boy is frightened of the slide, Ty saves the day by sliding with him. Mom can’t find her keys, but Ty can! Ty takes a break from all of his hard work as a super hero but when his paper plane gets stuck in a tree, Ty may be the one who needs to be saved.

Done in simple and readable language that is accessible to beginning readers, this book continues the themes of community and family that run through the entire series. Though the book’s language is simple, the story has a great depth to it and asks questions about being a helper and also accepting help from others. The illustrations are bright and cheery. They capture Ty’s imagination in childlike sketches that pop against the otherwise smoothly drawn images.

Another great book in a series that can’t be missed. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins.

Daisy Rewilds by Margaret McNamara – Book Review

| Tasha

Daisy Rewilds by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Kerascoët (9780593125670)

Daisy has always been a conservationist, composting her baby food and sleeping on a bed of leaves as a toddler. Now she is doing a very important experiment by skipping her baths for five weeks. Soon she is growing all sorts of plants on her body. Happily, she has an Auntie Betsy who is a gardener and knows just what to teach Daisy, when to water her, when to flip her upside down. Soon a glorious collection of native plants starts to rewild on Daisy’s body. She lives out on the lawn even in hot August. When September comes, the neighborhood takes notice of Daisy’s amazing plants and wonder how they can do something like it. This is all part of Daisy’s plan.

McNamara writes a story about conservation that is filled with joy and possibility. Rather than having a didactic tone, it shows how one child can make an impact on their neighborhood, even if they don’t do it quite like the rather magical Daisy. The illustrations add to the playful tone and the wonder of the rewilding process happening on a human body.

Plant this one on display or even better use it in a story time to watch it grow. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House Studio.

All of Us: A First Conversation about Disability by Dr. Megan Pamela Ruth Madison – Book Review

| Tasha

All of Us: A First Conversation about Disability by Dr. Megan Pamela Ruth Madison and Jessica Ralli, illustrated by Jonathan Eden (9780593891483)

Part of the First Conversations series, this nonfiction picture book tackles speaking to young children about disabilities with a straight-forward approach. The book begins by explaining that everyone looks different from one another and that it is not what we can physically do that makes us matter. The book moves on to respecting how people describe themselves. It talks about access and ableism, defining both clearly and offering deeper explanations about disability justice and its importance. 

It is powerful to find a picture book that offers information that is so informative and impactful. This book goes beyond the superficial nods at disability and truly looks at the damage of ableism and offers resources on what people can do to change access. There is no talking down to children here, just a frank, clear approach to the subject that centers each person with a disability as their own expert and voice. 

Get this one into your library collections. Appropriate for ages 3-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Penguin Workshop.

Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel – Book Review

| Tasha

Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel (9780316512633)

The sun comes up on a dark world. One flower is waiting to absorb the sunlight, opening as the sun rises. A bee visits the flower, carrying the light of the sun from the flower to its hive. A bear eats the glowing honey from the hive and is in turn feasted on by mosquitos that are then eaten by a bird and the cycle of sharing solar energy goes on. Eventually wolves poop on the ground and the plants absorb the energy. A cow eats the grass, a human milks the cow and night falls as a cat enjoys the milk.

Poetic lines invite young readers to explore the way energy moves through a food cycle and how we are all interconnected with one another. The illustrations are particularly compelling with the glow of energy moving across the various creatures and the page.

A beautiful shining read. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Beetle & the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne – Book Review

| Tasha

Beetle & the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne (9781665907484)

This sequel to Beetle and the Hollowbones captures the same spirit as the first. In this new story, Beetle and Kat are looking forward to attending the Chimera Carnival together, an event that happens every ten years. The event draws dragons from across the world to the space. But when Kat and Beetle discover an injured dragon who is crying for their egg to be rescued, they are drawn into a dark mystery that hides behind the celebration. Meanwhile, Beetle’s magic starts to manifest physically in new ways and Kat has to deal with her parents and their expectations for her and her magic. As the threat grows, Kat and Beetle have to figure out who to trust and how to battle a force that could wipe out everyone they love.

Layne does such an amazing job of creating a graphic novel that is both an adventure through a magical realm and also an exploration of the two main characters and their love. This second book explores the world more fully, including Beetle’s goblin magic and a new underground realm. It also has the characters coming out to loved ones and developing their connection to be even closer. The art is filled with purples, oranges and greens, bringing the world, the carnival and the characters to life with color and action.

A dynamic and loving second book in a great graphic novel series. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum.

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson – Book Review

| Tasha

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (9780593616673)

At first the book is a basic primer on mammals, reptiles and birds. But when it turns to the subject of fish, it all becomes much more personal! A wide variety of fish are shown, but also called rebels and outlaws! You can’t see what they are up to underwater, plus they break all natural laws. What is happening in their “schools” anyway? So many questions and so much concerning behavior. By the end of this book, you may be questioning your pet fish too.

Completely silly, full of misinformation mixed with facts, this book is a glorious giggle to add to any story time. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

George & Lenny Are Always Together by Jon Agee – Book Review

| Tasha

George & Lenny Are Always Together by Jon Agee (9780593857731)

George and Lenny are best friends and spend all of their time together. Then Lenny starts to think about what it might be like to be alone. George thinks it will be lonely and sad, but Lenny starts to think that it might be fun to be alone. Lenny finds a perfect place to be alone, since it only fits one. George offers to come along, but Lenny is sure he can be alone. Lenny does have fun alone. He plays music, reads a book, builds with blocks and much more. But soon he realizes that he misses George. Don’t worry, George too has found a perfect place to be alone, right near by.

Agee is a master of picture books and finding just the right pacing and tone. He uses humor that will have children giggling without laughing at the characters and their feelings and worries. George is a great foil for Lenny as the two navigate allowing some space in their friendship to be on their own, while still managing to be there for one another.

Funny and full of heart. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Penguin Random House.

So Many Years by Anne Wynter – Book Review

| Tasha

So Many Years: A Juneteenth Story by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey (9780063081147)

This joyous and lyrical picture book celebrates the Juneteenth holiday by looking back at the enslavement of the Black-American people and the expression that came afterwards. What would you wear if you’d only been able to wear rags? How would you sing if you had only been able to sing in code? How would you eat if you’d only had scraps? The questions show the devastation and deprivation of those enslaved, the lasting impact of that on the generations that followed. And somehow, out of that came fashion and music and feasts and more. That transformative spirit is what is embraced here in such simple words.

So many Juneteenth books are for older children and cannot be shared aloud easily. This picture book calls to be read aloud to celebrate the holiday, inviting joy in what has been overcome and delighting in the new expression that came out of it. Wynter does an incredible job of taking complex issues and transforming them into something that children can understand and talk more about. She doesn’t oversimplify and lose the darkness either. It’s an incredibly difficult line to walk and she does it with such confidence and skill. The illustrations are done in acrylic on boards and Photoshop, hearkening to the past with black and white pieces that contrast with bright colors in other parts of the page.

A great Juneteenth read that belongs in every library. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner – Book Review

| Tasha

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (9781547616398)

Finn isn’t having a good end of school. He has missed lots of gym class, hasn’t turned in his poetry project about heroes, and just kicked over a gravestone. He’s in big trouble for that last one. It turns out the grave is that of a local Adirondack High Peaks heroine, so her daughter reaches out to see if they can make a deal. She will drop the charges if Finn climbs all 46 of the High Peaks by Labor Day. Plus, he has to take along the dead woman’s dog who loves to hike. As Finn begins to hike and reach summits, he learns a lot along the way, particularly about his anger towards his father who died recently and was by everyone else’s account a hero.

As I read this book, I was in awe of Messner’s skill. She combines so many disparate elements into a book that feels organic and beautiful. Her use of a verse novel format makes so much sense here, allowing us to feel what Finn does even as he is in denial about much of it. His poetry project weaves its way through the verse, capturing his voice and rage. Finn can’t see himself through most of the book, can’t see the people around him and their support, can’t see his father and the truth about him, can’t find his way through.

This is a book about what nature can do for a person who is lost and not looking to be rescued. It is a book about the various ways that heroes enter our lives, the forms they take that are unexpected and sometimes drooling dogs, the connection that can result in shared experiences. It is about so much at once and yet again, is superbly focused and deftly written. Messner shows her mastery here.

A mountain of heart, a range of emotions, and quite a summit of a book. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.