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2016 Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award

| Tasha

Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award

The winners of the 2016 Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award have been announced. The award is given by The Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children in collaboration with the Special Needs Project. The award recognizes “effective, enlightened portrayals of individuals with developmental disabilities in children’s books.” The award is presented in even years only. Here are the winners:

CHAPTER BOOK AWARD

Rain Reign

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

 

PICTURE BOOK AWARD

My Friend Suhana

My Friend Suhana by Shaila Abdullah and Aanyah Abdullah

 

 

Review: Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock

| Tasha

Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock

Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock

Sarah knows that she is responsible for her little sister being hit by a car. Their entire summer has changed now with Robin in the hospital and her prognosis unclear. Sarah has moved to live with her grandparents on their remote farm, which is usually one of her favorite places but even that has changed. Her best friend, Ruby Lee, is changing too because the color of their skin has become all the more important in North Carolina as the school desegregate. When it looks like the girls will be going to school together, they struggle with their friendship under the rules of their parents and grandparents and their own high expectations. Sarah has a lot to navigate in this summer before middle school.

Based on the author’s family history with a car accident and a sibling, this book’s real heart is the family itself. The warmth of the grandparents’ love and care during the tragedy are palpable as they feed Sarah all sorts of good homemade cooking and teach her skills in the kitchen too. Sarah discovers that she is surrounded by people who care, but even that is not enough to assuage her guilt at what has happened to her sister as well as her guilt about how she treats Ruby Lee.

As this guilt builds, it becomes almost another character in the book, unspoken and real. It traps the real Sarah beneath it, unable to speak of what she needs to say most desperately. This is an honest depiction of what it is to feel this level of responsibility and not be able to communicate that at all. The book embraces these large feelings, gives them space to come out and be revealed, and also shows how these emotions play into civil rights in a larger scale where guilt, tradition and societal expectations come together and stop forward momentum.

A powerful mix of personal story and Civil Rights history, this book shows how important change is at every level. Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

 

Happy Holidays!

| Tasha

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I hope everyone has a happy holidays! I’ll be taking a little blogging break until January 4th and hoping that we get just a touch of snow here in Wisconsin.

I will return with my top picks for 2015, sneaking them in just before the announcements of the ALA awards. See you then!

Review: Is Mommy? by Victoria Chang

| Tasha

Is Mommy by Victoria Chang

Is Mommy? by Victoria Chang, illustrated by Marla Frazee (InfoSoup)

Told in a question and answer format, this picture book embraces the different ways that toddlers view their mothers. The book asks if their mother is tall or short. Short! Is she nice or mean, well the book shows her both ways and why the toddler sees her as mean. The same for pretty and ugly, which is how she seems when she wakes up in the morning. The book goes on to say mommy is boring and old too. But the children love her just the same.

Seeing the reviews on GoodReads, this book is clearly not for everyone. It reminds me of a reverse take on the Russian folktale about the lost little girl who tells everyone she is the daughter of the most beautiful woman in the village and it turns out to be a homely old woman that the little girl sees as the most lovely of all. Here the children also have reasons for saying something negative about their mother. Take it as a lesson in toddler honesty and not personally and it’s a very funny read with a little bit of sass thrown in.

Frazee’s illustrations add to the merriment on the page where the children clearly know they are being naughty with what they are saying, but also delight in it too. You can almost hear the giggles and see the sparkling eyes.

Silly toddler fun, this picture book will end with lots of laughs and hugs for parents with a big sense of humor. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Review: Amazing Places by Lee Bennett Ho

| Tasha

Amazing Places by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Amazing Places selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet and Christy Hale (InfoSoup)

This collection of fourteen poems celebrate various places throughout the United States. The poems celebrate moments spent in these places, from a visit to Chinatown in San Francisco to camping in the Denali National Forest. Each area has its own flavor, captured both in words and in the rich illustrations that accompany each poem. There is a dynamic mix of nature and man-made places that take the reader on a journey that will inspire future visits and exploration.

The poets included in this anthology are exceptional and include Nikki Grimes, John Bruchac, Janet S. Wong, Alma Flor Ada, J. Patrick Lewis, and Prince Redcloud. The diversity of these authors is exceptional and their voices weave together into a rich tapestry that remind all readers that this is what our nation is all about. The beauty of these different perspectives on these beloved parts of our nation adds yet another layer to the effectiveness of these poems. More information on each place is offered at the end of the book.

The illustrations are rich and filled with diversity too. Some images evoke nature and the movement of water and wind while others are filled with fine lines that create very realistic and detailed images. People of different races filled the pages, none of them placed in the more stereotypical settings but instead diversity is expanded as children explore museums and sites from different backgrounds than their own.

Chock full of diversity on a variety of levels, this book embraces the rich tapestry of America. Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Edelweiss and Lee & Low Books Inc.

Review: Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

| Tasha

Mother Bruce by Ryan T Higgins

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins (InfoSoup)

Bruce is a bear who likes very little in life. But he loves eggs. He finds complicated recipes on the internet that he tries out. When he discovers a recipe for goose eggs, he immediately heads into the forest to source the items. Back home, he puts the eggs in water but then has to run out for firewood. Returning home, he finds that the eggs have hatched into four goslings. He considers eating them with butter, but loses his appetite. He tries to return them, but Mother Goose has left for the winter. So he is stuck with the four little goslings who follow him everywhere. He tries to make the best of it, but it’s very challenging for one grumpy bear to suddenly be a mother to four little birds.

Higgins has created a laugh-out-loud funny picture book about a bear who finds himself unable to say no to parenting four goslings. The humor is wonderfully silly, from the way that Bruce “shops” and “locally sources” his ingredients in the forest to the attempts to get the geese to migrate south. The book shows that this grumpy bear has a heart of gold as he cares deeply for the geese and allows his entire life to be changed by them without getting overly mushy at all. The ending too was a surprise, one that fits perfectly but I didn’t expect at all.

A lot of the humor of this picture book is carried in its illustrations which have a real attitude of their own and a point of view. Readers will fall for Bruce despite his grumpiness thanks to the illustrations alone. The little goslings too are a delight as they imitate Bruce, drape themselves around, and explore the world. The illustrations of the goslings as teens is perfection.

Funny, perfect to read aloud, and a surprise of an autumnal read, this picture book is great fun. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

| Tasha

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The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (InfoSoup)

Adam isn’t looking for romance at his OCD group therapy session but when Robyn walks in, everything changes. Adam has enough going on in his life with his divorced parents, a stepmother, and a little brother who needs Adam all the time. As Adam starts to teach Robyn about Catholicism, the others in his group become intrigued too. Soon Adam finds himself showing them all the church that he and his mother left years ago. Adam reassures himself that everyone lies, but his lies seem to be increasing each day, from lying to Robyn about where he lives to lying about his mother’s escalating condition. Adam wants to feel in control of his life and to get better, but it is all getting out of control, especially his OCD.

This teen novel won the Governor General’s Award in Canada. It speaks to the OCD condition and the difficult journey towards a healthier mental state. It also has a huge heart and a large dose of humor. Adam’s entire life could be seen as a tragedy but thanks to the writing here that keeps it from becoming morose, the book is triumphant and so is Adam. This is not a book that minimizes the impact of mental illness, instead it embraces the difficulties and concerns, showing how each and every day, each threshold and each twist of panic can change what is happening.

Adam and Robyn are beautiful foils for one another. Adam begins the book as the person with it mostly together while Robyn is freshly released from a residential program. But as the book and their relationship progresses, that changes in a realistic and heart-wrenching way. Throughout, readers see the depth of Adam’s issues and the strength it will take to stop lying to everyone, but mostly to himself.

Funny, deep and immensely satisfying, this novel deals with teens with OCD and how life just keeps on happening no matter how many lies you tell. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Review: Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell

| Tasha

Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell

Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell (InfoSoup)

Clement, Jean and Alan Alexander were having a pajama party at Clement’s house. The three bounce on the bed together, do the chicken dance, and have a funny-face contest. They played hide-and-seek, had a snack and watched the stars. They all started to get sleepy, so they got ready for bed but still had enough energy to listen to a bedtime story. They ended their party with a list of the things they were thankful for, a very long list.

McDonnell channels the energy and feel of every great classic bedtime read in this new book. He lets us in on the fun of a sleepover, focusing on all of the small things that make for a wonderful night with friends. His recap of the day with gratitude is something that many families can incorporate into their days, whether they are having a pajama party or not. It again returned the focus to those simple joys of life and time spent with one another.

The art has a gorgeous dreamy quality to it at times and other times has a zesty playfulness. The pleasure of the small animals playing with one another and not being sleepy at all transitions beautifully to sleepy creatures headed for bed. The final scene where they are revealed to be stuffed animals belonging to a little girl is particularly lovely.

A gentle bedtime story filled with lots of play and then bedtime for everyone. Yawn! Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

A New The Little Prince Trailer

| Tasha

Wowza. I continue to be impressed.