Book Reviews

A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown

| Tasha

A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown

A Voice Named Aretha by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Laura Freeman (9781681198507)

Explore the life of one of the greatest singers of all time in this picture book biography of Aretha Franklin. Aretha grew up in a family filled with music and talking. She was a shy little girl, but even from a young age had an incredible singing voice. Her parents left one another when she was a child, and she lived with her father. She adored her time with her mother until her mother died when Aretha was 10. She used music to express her feelings, moving to New York City at age 18. It was the turbulent 1960s where clubs and venues were still segregated for the most part. Aretha made sure to not ever be tricked out of being paid as well as paying attention to venues where everyone was allowed. She was popular but all of her albums flopped until she made some of her most iconic songs and became the Queen of Soul.

Told in a warm and welcoming tone of someone sharing the life story of a beloved family member, this picture book biography captures the way so many people feel about Aretha Franklin and her joyous impact in their lives through her music. The text is accessible and shares the hardships of Franklin’s life and career, displaying her resilience in the face of disappointment as well as her savviness about business and civil rights. The digital art in the book is full of bright and deep colors that pop on the white backgrounds.

A grand picture book biography for the Queen of Soul. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury.

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano

| Tasha

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano

The Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano, illustrated by Mayana Itoiz and Paul Cauuet (9781541586949)

This is the second Wolf in Underpants book. Winter has arrived in the woods and everyone is bundled up to play in the snow, enjoying winter activities, and eating cheese fondue to stay warm. Everyone is having a great time, except the wolf. When he walks through town, he declares “They’re freezing!” Everyone gets worried, because he seems quite angry. So they decide that it must be his feet that are cold and have the owl knit him some socks. When they send a small animal to deliver the socks, the animal disappears. The next day, the wolf is still upset and the town decides he must need a hat. But once again the animal delivering it disappears. Meanwhile, the rumors in town are multiplying and it is decided that the wolf has gone rogue! But when they burst into the wolf’s home, they discover something they never expected.

Originally published in French, this picture book is a fascinating look at privilege and need. It also look deeply at assumptions about those who may be more wolf-like than others and accepting differences. That is all packaged in a book that is packed with humor and plenty of witty asides. Younger readers will realize the villagers are making a mistake with their decisions, but still won’t quite be certain what the wolf is up to either. It’s a wonderful dynamic of the story and really makes the book a page turner right to the end.

The illustrations are done in a mix of picture book pages and graphic novel frames. The pages are filled with animals talking, huge stores of food and marvelous details of things like the bakery and cheese factory. The illustrations are detailed and create a vibrant village for readers to explore.

A great picture book about privilege, prejudice and kindness. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Lerner.

Aster and the Accidental Magic by Thom Pico

| Tasha

Aster and the Accidental Magic by Thom Pico

Aster and the Accidental Magic by Thom Pico, illustrated by Karensac (9780593124178)

Aster has moved with her family away from the city and to a boring woods on a rural mountain. At first, she thinks they are just there for a brief time as her mother tries to deal with the lethal bird migration, but they have actually moved to the mountain permanently. When her father forces Aster out from in front of her video games, she discovers some oddities about her new home. There’s an old woman who has a herd of woolly dogs. The woman gives Aster one of the dogs, a little one with no wool. After that, Aster and her new pet discover a very strange rock in the middle of the woods, and it turns out to be a trickster that grants wishes. After a series of disastrous wishes, Aster gets things back on track. But things may still be awry, since now the seasons are failing to change, a fox is after a lot of power, and the old woman may have died. It’s up to Aster to figure out how to save the mountain that’s her home.

Pico takes the zany energy of cartoons and channels it into a book filled with twists and turns that are surprising and delightful. The reader never quite knows what is going to happen next. The book has time bubbles that change the way time is perceived, magic power stored in staffs, and talking dogs. It’s chaotic at times but in the best possible way and has a merry tone where one knows things will work out in the end, or perhaps take another twist before that happens.

The art is modern and full of humor. From woolly dogs to mountains with faces to tiny chestnut knights, each one is done with personality to spare. The art captures plenty of action, battles and magical moments.

A thrilling graphic novel with lots of love and laugh with. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random House Graphic.

What’s in Your Mind Today? by Louise Bladen

| Tasha

What's in Your Mind Today by Louise Bladen

What’s in Your Mind Today? by Louise Bladen, illustrated by Angela Perrini (9781506463773)

This picture book explores meditation with small children, beginning with sitting still and counting breaths. The book then asks via its rhyming text for children to take a look at what is happening in their minds. Then the book moves away from meditation instruction to looking at what other children are thinking about. Molly’s fluttering thoughts are like butterflies, moving quickly and unable to be caught. Oliver’s thoughts are monsters that melt away when he looks at them. George’s mind is full of troubles that burst like bubbles. Amelia’s thoughts are squirmy like worms. For all of the children, if they look at their thoughts, the thoughts go away, transform and leave them more at peace.

Bladen’s rhyming text is lighthearted and playful, inviting children to explore rather than being a formulaic look at meditation and its impact. Sharing a series of different types of thoughts with children is especially helpful, particularly when we all struggle with different thoughts at different times. The power of sitting meditation is clear here, yet not didactic in tone.

Perrini’s illustrations embrace those various thought patterns, launching visually into them and exploring how they make us and the children feel. There are dark pages, light pages, wriggly and bubbly pages. Each is shown with a sense of lightness and play.

A great addition to meditation books for children. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Beaming Books.

An Ordinary Day by Elana K. Arnold

| Tasha

An Ordinary Day by Elana K. Arnold

An Ordinary Day by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic (9781481472623)

It was an ordinary day in an ordinary neighborhood, but two of the houses across the street were unusually quiet. A car pulled up to each of the houses. A doctor got out of each of the cars and each entered a different house. Outside, life in the neighborhood continued to be ordinary. Inside though, it was different. In the house on the left, a golden retriever was on a bed surrounded by her family. Soft music played. In the house on the right, a woman rested on a bed with her family around her and soft music playing. Both doctors say “She is ready” and start to help. One family says goodbye to a beloved pet while another greets a new member of their family. All part of an ordinary and extraordinary day.

This is a gentle and quiet book that looks deeply at both tragic and joyous moments in our regular everyday lives. The pairing of the two together is what makes this book truly sing. The two stories dance together, moving in concert with one another until they diverge in major and minor keys. Arnold’s writing is steady and strong, offering a foundation for these large emotions to build upon. Yet she also soars as appropriate with the moment.

Vukovic’s illustrations are light and airy, almost ready to float off the page. Done in charcoal, pastel,  watercolor, ink and digitally, the art is filled with soft colors that mist and cloud across the page. The diverse neighborhood shines here, on an ordinary day.

Beautifully illustrated and written, this quiet book about death and life is a gem. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta

| Tasha

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta, illustrated by Frank Morrison (9780062430151)

George Washington Carver grew up to be a famous botanist and inventor. In 1921, he spoke before Congress, talking about how the humble peanut could be used to make so many different products. This famous man’s connection with plants and the earth came from an early age in the form of his own secret garden. Born into slavery in 1864, he was kidnapped as an infant along with his mother. His mother was never found, but George was brought back to slavery. George and his brother grew up on the farm, even after slavery was abolished. Every day, George headed to the woods and the garden he was growing there. He learned all about plants without being mocked or teased, soon helping people in the area with their sick plants. He grew up, got an education, and became an Agriculture professor at Tuskegee Institute He also traveled the United States working directly with farmers to answer their questions and improve their farms. 

Barretta’s picture book biography of this famous African-American scientist and genius is fascinating and filled with moments of wonder. The frightening kidnapping in his infancy, his start as a slave and then working on a farm for his previous owners, and his incandescent mind finding a way forward to learn and grow all add up to a remarkable life. The text is engagingly written for a compelling read. 

Morrison’s art is phenomenal. The browns of the days of manual labor on the farm contrast with the bright greens, growing shoots, and tall trees of George’s secret garden. The two parts of his life could not appear more different. 

A fascinating look at a remarkable man. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Enchanter’s Child: Twilight Hauntings by Angie Sage

| Tasha

Enchanter's Child Twilight Hauntings by Angie Sage

Enchanter’s Child: Twilight Hauntings by Angie Sage (9780062875143)

The author of the Septimus Heap series returns with a new fantasy world. Alex lives in Luma, where all magic is forbidden. She has a deck of Hex cards that come to life in her hands and show her images of the future. She’s always had them, given to her as a small child by the family that gave her away. But one jealous foster sister decides to name Alex as an enchanter and everything changes. Alex flees with her youngest foster brother into a world designed to hunt her down with magical hauntings. Her step mother is placed in jail for harboring her. As Alex escapes, she still doesn’t believe that she’s an enchanter’s child, though the Hauntings do target her. Meanwhile, her father who used to be an important enchanter, is searching for her. But it’s a large world, full of Hauntings that will kill them both, even though he designed them all.

Sage has a skill for developing entire worlds that click together beautifully as the story continues. Readers will wonder about why people don’t just flee the gloomy streets of Luma out to the countryside, and Sage has built dark and deadly reasons for them to stay behind the walls of the city. The entire world though is also piercingly beautiful with its citrus groves, deep woods, large meadows and turreted cities. Sage takes the time to fully build her world and its logic, allowing young readers to explore it alongside Alex.

Alex herself is a grand protagonist, figuring out that she actually is an enchanter’s child on her journeys. She is brave, forthright and clever. Happily, she is also joined by a large group of secondary characters who are all interesting as well. That includes her father, who was been hiding for years in the woods, eating snakes and spider eggs. He is joined by a person tasked with killing enchanters who just can’t bring himself to do it. Then you also have a family happy to help Alex, who have lost enchanters themselves.

Brilliantly structured, beautifully described settings, and great characters bring this new series fully alive. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Katherine Tegen Books.

Swim Swim Sink by Jenn Harney

| Tasha

Swim Swim Sink by Jenn Harney

Swim Swim Sink by Jenn Harney (9781368052764)

After three tiny ducks hatch from their eggs: “Crack! Crack! Crack!” “Quack! Quack! Quack!” Their mother leads them down to the pond to swim. The ducklings jump in: “Swim, swim…sink!” Wait, ducks are supposed to float and swim. They try it again, and the duckling sinks every time. Perhaps there’s a solution? Water wings? Scuba gear? A jetski? But nothing seems quite right, until the duckling comes up with a unique solution all their own that involves using their discarded eggshell. Now the story works again and so does the rhyme. 

Harney uses broad comedy in this picture book that just has to be read aloud to be enjoyed to the fullest. The rhyme she creates is wonderfully bouncy and jaunty, offering just the right amount of rhythm and speed to be cleverly derailed by the sinking duckling. The humor here is just right for toddlers who will delight in the surprise of the story shifting right in front of them. 

The art is bright and bubbly with a merry tone. The sinking duckling in the green-blue water is satisfying and abrupt, adding to the humor of the moment. The final solution the duckling figures out is another great visual moment in the story. 

Reading this one aloud will always go swimmingly. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children by Jonah Winter

| Tasha

Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children by Jonah Winter

Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (9780449812914)

Mother Jones is mad. She is furious at the treatment of children who work in the mills for a paltry 2 cents an hour to help keep their families from ruin. She saw the issue first hand and called the newspapers. But the newspapers are owned by wealthy men who were friends with the owners of the mills. So Mother Jones came up with a plan to create a protest march from Philadelphia to New York City. The march started on July 7, 1903. They got a lot of media attention, and Mother Jones changed her plan and decided to march to Washington, D.C. Mother Jones presented her arguments in every town and then the children put on a play. It took them fourteen days to reach New York City and six more to reach D.C. They didn’t get to see the President, but the march did its job anyway and laws changed to forbid child labor in the United States. 

Winter tells the complex story of Mother Jones and her fight to stop child labor in the United States. By focusing on the march itself, the picture book stays sharp and fast paced. He uses quotes from Mother Jones in the text as well as on the endpapers which really capture the spirit of Mother Jones and her willingness to fight for others. 

The illustrations center on Mother Jones in her black and white outfit standing out against a pastel world that is almost foggy in its softness. This works very well for this subject, showing the impact of a person willing to make sacrifices and stand up to demand change.

A dynamic look at the unique historical figure of Mother Jones and her continued impact on our world. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.