2015 Carnegie Medal Longlist

February 13, 2015February 10, 2015 | Tasha

Here are the 20 books on the longlist for The Carnegie Medal, a British award for exceptional writing for youth. The shortlist will be announced on March 17.

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman

Close Your Pretty Eyes by Sally Nicholls

The Company of Ghosts by Berlie Doherty

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Hello Darkness by Anthony McGowan

The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean

Monkey and Me by David Gilman

More Than This by Patrick Ness

My Brother’s Shadow by Tom Avery

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff

Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis

Smart by Kim Slater

Tinder by Sally Gardner, illustrated by David Roberts

Trouble by Non Pratt

Us Minus Mum by Heather Butler

When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss

2015 Notable Children’s Books

February 12, 2015February 6, 2015 | Tasha

Notable seal image

The Association for Library Service to Children have announced their list of the 2015 Notable Children’s Books. The books are selected by committee and are defined as “Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, 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 covers preschool through grade 8. Lots of great reads!

2015 Amelia Bloomer Project List

February 11, 2015February 9, 2015 | Tasha

The 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project List has been announced. It is part of the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibility Round Table. There are over 40 titles on the main list and then the list also has a Top Ten. Here are the titles in the Top Ten:

Because I Am a Girl: I Can Change the World by Rosemary McCarney

Every Day Is Malala Day by Rosemary McCarney

Hidden by Donna Jo Napoli

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai

Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

A Pair of Twins by Kavitha Mandana, illustrated by Nayantara Surendranath

Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

A Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to the United States Congress, Broke Down Barriers, and Changed the Country by Ilene Cooper, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

February 11, 2015February 2, 2015 | Tasha

Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Sarah’s family moves all of the time, away from the cold that her mother despises. But when her mother walks out one day, Sarah’s father falls apart. He barely eats and never grocery shops. It all falls to Sarah to keep them both alive. Her father seems to be becoming less human by the day, descending into an animal with scruffy hair and yellowed teeth. Unable to care for Sarah, he takes her to her grandparents’ home, grandparents she had been told were dead. Left in a moldering castle in a deep woods, Sarah begins to figure out the deep curse that keeps her entire family prisoner. Her grandmother treats her coldly, putting her to work in the gardens. Her grandfather is trapped in a cage, fully transformed into a beast yet still able to speak to Sarah at times. Sarah doesn’t believe in the magic at work at first but soon is forced to admit that something is happening as she witnesses it for herself. Yet there are twists to the curse that bind her to witches, boys in the wood, and the beasts of her family, including the beast inside herself.

Hellisen beautifully converts the story of Beauty and the Beast into something quite different and extraordinary. Her writing is as lush as the forest itself and she weaves amazing descriptions onto the pages that bring the entire book to life. She uses this technique for both characters and the setting. Here is her description of the castle when Sarah first sees it on page 48:

It was a single squat turret, like a jabbing finger or a lone tooth, made of mottled stone, dribbled and spattered with lichen in yellows and reds. Furry clumps of moss clung velvety and green at the base. Ivy grew wild, so thick in some places it distorted the shape of the tower, and sprays of leaves crowned with little blue-black berries rose over the low walls around the outskirts. Tumbled boulders marked the faint outlines of rooms that had long since fallen.

Talk about showing and not telling! She is a master at that, creating mood with details that linger in your mind. This castle is no fairy tale one, or is it?

Hellisen does not set her protagonist on a simple quest either. Sarah slowly reveals the twists and turns of the curse, binding herself closer and closer to disaster with each revelation. Disaster waits on the other side of each breath and at times it seems to have already won. Sarah though is up to the challenge, willing to sacrifice herself to try to prevent the curse from continuing onward in her family.

This is a gorgeously written tale of love, betrayal, revenge and family. Fans of retellings of classic fairy tales will find so much to adore in this fantasy novel. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Co.

Review: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

February 3, 2015February 2, 2015 | Tasha

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Ada has never been outside of her family’s one-room apartment. Her mother won’t let her be seen by others, though Ada does sit at the window and wave at people. Ada has one foot that is twisted and doesn’t work right, so she crawls around the apartment. But when Ada realizes that she has to get stronger, she teaches herself to walk on her twisted foot, even though it is agony, making sure that her mother doesn’t find out. World War II comes and children are being sent to safety outside of London. Though her mother refuses to let Ada go, Ada escapes along with her little brother Jamie and gets on a train of evacuees. From there they head into the country and are reluctantly taken in by a grieving woman. Immediately Ada is given crutches which let her get around more easily and she stubbornly sets out to teach herself to ride her host’s ignored pony. But there are many changes to come, ones that both test the strength of Ada and others that more strongly tie her to the woman who gave them shelter and care.

There are books that you read that tumble into, ones that are impossible to put down, but you don’t want to read them quickly because you are so entranced with the world they are showing you. This was one of those books for me; I adored this novel. All of the characters are human, they all make mistakes, lose their tempers, figure things out, move on and continue to care (in their own ways) for one another. They are all brave in their own ways too, escaping from a life of imprisonment and hate, learning to live after loss, and creating their own family. These are inspiring people, but the book also shows that community matters, that being accepted for who you are is vital, and that there are people out there to love us.

Bradley’s writing is exceptional. It reads easily and beautifully. She captures Ada perfectly, from her overwhelming fear of being beaten or put in a dark place to her determination and stubbornness; from her teaching herself to walk to the freedom of riding a horse. Ada is remarkable. She is a prickly child who does not let anyone into her world easily, but at the same time with the story told in her voice the readers understand her and witness how much she wants to connect and yet cannot. That first person narration is a critical reason that this book works so well.

Brilliant characters shine on the page as this book looks at war, abuse, and love in a complex and heroic way. Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dial.