Book Reviews

Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham

| Tasha

Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham (9781250798350)

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 Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf

| Tasha
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The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (9780593302279)

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.

Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson

| Tasha
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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.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Candlewick.

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable

| Tasha
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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.

News to Wake Your Brain Cells – Feb. 5

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

13 children’s books that encourage conversations about financial hardship – Insider

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.)

Catching up with Philip Stead and Matthew Cordell – 100 Scope Notes

Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels – The Guardian

Reading picture books to my son felt repetitive – but that helped me see how brilliant they were – NBC News

‘She Persisted,’ now in chapter book form, brings history to life – NPR

Their stories matter: the nation’s oldest Black children’s book fair goes virtual for 2021 – WHYY

LIBRARIES

Chicago Public Library workers wonder why they’re not at higher priority level for COVID-19 vaccine – CBS Chicago

Libraries helped us cope during coronavirus shutdown and are critical to Florida’s recovery – Dayton Beach News-Journal

Madison Public Library’s 2.1% budget cut to impact homeless individuals, community members – The Badger Herald

YA LIT

12 riveting YA books hitting shelves in February 2021 – PopSugar

20 Black voices in teen fiction from 2020 – Seattle Public Library

All the new young adult SFF books arriving in February – Tor

The best found family YA books – Book Riot

How “Tiny Pretty Things” writer Dhonielle Clayton is bringing more diversity to publishing – Ms.

The Project by Courtney Summers

| Tasha
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The Project by Courtney Summers (9781250105738)

Lo is a survivor. She was born premature but lived, and she survived the car crash that killed her parents. Her sister, Bea, was always there until after their parents died. Then she disappeared into The Unity Project, leaving Lo with their great-aunt. Now Lo works as an assistant at a magazine, determined to become a writer. She knows there is more happening at The Unity Project than their public face of good deeds for the local community shows. Recognized by a young man at the subway who then killed himself, Lo discovers that he was part of The Unity Project too and that his father believes the Project killed him. Now Lo may have the opportunity to finally uncover what is actually happening at the Project, but as she gets closer to the truth, it may be too much for her to withstand.

Summers follows up her bestseller Sadie with this twisting, mind-bending novel. It is a slow burn of a book, steadily building toward the terrible truth that the reader can only suspect and guess at. Lo, with her physical and mental scars from the accident, is tragically lonely in her life and literally alone. She makes the ideal protagonist for a psychological thriller and also the perfect victim for a cult.

Teens who have followed the NXIVM cult news will recognize elements of that cult in this one. The book steadily tightens the noose around Lo while revealing Bea’s personal experience in the cult years earlier. From idyllic love to control to brutality and abuse, the mental anguish is intense. It is a book full of turns and twists, lies and prophesies, love and survival.

Amazingly raw and gripping, this tense novel is dizzying. Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Wednesday Books.

Where Is the Dragon? by Leo Timmers

| Tasha
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Where Is the Dragon? by Leo Timmers (9781776573110)

When the king is too scared to sleep, he sends his three brave knights out to save the kingdom from the dragon in his nightmare. Armed with a sword, a polearm and a candle, the three make their way through the deep darkness of the pages, illuminated only when their candle gets close enough to chase away the shadows. The knights have never seen a dragon, so they talk about what a dragon looks like as they walk. Readers will see dragons in the shadows on each page, which after the page turn are revealed to be things like piles of fluffy sleeping bunnies or large plants with birds roosting on them or even bears and foxes curled up snoring. After falling into the water, two of the knights are ready to turn back. Just as the candle finally goes out, the knights head home, and that’s when a shadow starts to move…

Timmers has a marvelous sense of humor in all of his picture books. This book glows with that humor, as each shadow is cleverly revealed to be nothing at all. The dialogue between the knights is delightful, talking about the dangers of dragons from their flaming breath to spiky tails to sharp teeth. As each is discussed, the knights firmly declare that they are not scared or bothered. Just the page turns alone in this picture book are a joy, each reveal is great fun to guess at before turning the page.

The art is fabulous, from the big details of the shadowy dragon shapes to the small detail of the candle steadily shrinking as the pages turn. While the short knight has quite an uneventful hike through the forest, the other two knights find themselves in a lot more trouble along the way. The final dragon reveal is marvelously satisfying, particularly the final page.

Perfect for any knights and dragon fans you might have, this book is a great read aloud. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Gecko Press.

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day

| Tasha
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The Sea in Winter by Christine Day (9780062872043)

All Maisie has ever wanted to do is ballet. All of her friends are in ballet with her, rather than attending her school. But Maisie hurt her leg a few months ago and has been unable to dance. She goes to school, spending all of her time alone there. She gets texts from her ballet friends, but often doesn’t feel like responding to them. Now her family is planning a trip to the coast, near the Makah community where her mother was raised. Maisie’s doctor has agreed that since she is healing so well, she can hike the wintry forest with her family, in fact, she may be able to start dancing soon! Spending the days together with her mother, little brother and stepfather though makes it tough. Maisie is optimistic that her leg will get better, but tired of being asked about it, especially as her leg starts to twinge more and more as the trip goes on. Maisie must face the question of what she is if she cannot be a dancer after all.

Day’s book is quiet and thoughtful. She builds a supportive family for Maisie, blended out of her mother and a loving stepfather who is unfailingly kind but also willing to set boundaries too. Her little brother serves a critical role in the book, often being the only person who can bring Maisie out of her sadness and focusing on her leg. The deep conversations Maisie has with her parents come naturally as part of the story and serve to reveal the adults’ backgrounds, Native history and give context to what Maisie is going through.

Maisie herself is a protagonist who is deeply focused on herself. She finds herself saying things to her parents that she regrets, treating her little brother poorly at times, and then trying to remedy it. She is full of a deep sadness and anger, even when she is optimistic about her future. The book is a study of a girl suffering a real loss of her dreams and coming to terms with that.

Wintry yet full of warmth and self discovery. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Heartdrum.

Love Is a Revolution by Renee Watson

| Tasha
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Love Is a Revolution by Renee Watson (9781547600601)

Nala plans to spend her summer sampling new ice cream flavors and bingeing on Netflix. Since it’s her cousin’s birthday, she agrees to go to an open mic night for Inspire Harlem, a local teen activist group that her cousin is part of. The MC at the event is Tye Brown, who is handsome and funny, just the type of person that Nala wants to have as a boyfriend. Unfortunately, Nala starts off by telling him a few small lies, like that she is an activist too, that she works at a nursing home and that she’s a vegetarian too. As Nala and Tye spend their summer together, growing closer together, Nala’s lies become larger. Tye tries to help Nala with her nonexistent job at the nursing home her grandmother lives in. He also tries to change her even further, giving her gifts to help with her presentation skills and a water bottle so that she can be more green. Can lies turn into love? Can Nala find a way to be herself before she loses everything?

Watson once again writes a book that reads beautifully and easily while grappling with real issues. Here she focuses on what happens when a girl is willing to not be herself for a guy. While Nala’s lies are concrete, young women will also recognize how they may have disguised their true selves for a boy to like them more. The book is about liking yourself enough to stand in your own truth, not hide, and to be that person no matter who you are with. And if it doesn’t start that way, how to get back to that strong center and let it guide you.

Beautifully, Nala is a plus-sized girl who is not ashamed of her size, who likes cheese, meat and ice cream, and who is able to gain the attention of the cutest guy in the group. Time is spent thinking about her makeup and hair, but not her weight. It’s vital for Nala to be a strong person in this book, a girl you would not think would lie to get a boyfriend. She must find her way back to pride in herself, love for who she is, and a sense that she deserves the best.

Big-hearted, this novel tells the deep truth to young Black women through a series of lies. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury.