This clever board book opens to reveal four separate sections, all done in sturdy board pages. Little ones are encouraged to play with the sections, as each one has an engaging question on it. Can you make a plate of only circles or triangles? Can you make one of only one color? Can you find a plate with all your favorite foods? Start turning the pages and you will discover a multi-topped pizza, Japanese sushi and miso soup, tacos, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and various fruits and veggies.
This book asks children to play with it. Families will be able to come up with their own challenges for one another since the book has 4,000 combinations. Turn all the way to the end and all of the sections end with empty plates and a few crumbs.
Clever and fun, you won’t be able to stop playing with this one. Appropriate for ages 1-3.
Books+Publishing has the announcement of the shortlist for the 2020 Readings YA Book Prize. The Australian prize is open to authors with a debut or second YA novel. The judges looked for books that were “great YA fiction, had diversity in style and subject matter, and were stories that young people would enjoy.” Here are the shortlisted titles:
Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy (published in July 2020 in the United States)
The Américas Awards are awarded by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs to “encourage and commend authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States” as well as to provide recommended titles for classroom use. Here are the 2020 awards that were announced in May:
WINNERS
Beast Rider by Tony Johnston and Maria Elena Fontanot De Rhoads
After a plane crashes on its way to the Dominican Republic, two families are impacted with grief and loss. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her auntie who is a local healer. She dreams of becoming a doctor and going to college in America. Her father, who died in the plane crash, lived most of the time in New York City, spending every summer with Camino. In New York City, Yahaira’s father was also killed in the crash. Yahaira had adored her father until she discovered his secret. She had been his champion chess player, competing and winning for him. But once she found out that he had another family in the Dominican Republic, she never forgave him. Now he is gone and it isn’t until they are preparing for his funeral that Yahaira and Camino discover that they are half-sisters born within months of one another.
Written in verse, this novel moves between the perspectives of Camino and Yahaira. The book begins with their father still alive and quickly moves to the crash and the shock of loss. The differences between their lives are stark with the poverty of the Dominican Republic clearly depicted as well as the dangers for teen girls. Still, it is also shown as a place of strong community, loving families, with bright colors, great food and warm welcomes.
Acevedo so clearly could have allowed the revelation of their shared father to be the defining moment of both of the girls’ lives. But she moves beyond it, creating a bond between these two teenagers that is powerful and haunting. It is not automatic, but steadily built as the trust grows between them, offering them both a way forward from the crash that they never anticipated.
Beautifully written, this is another marvel of a read from Acevedo. Appropriate for ages 14-17.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Quill Tree Books.
Master picture book author and illustrator Robinson returns with a book just right for our pandemic situation. The book moves in a complete circle, beginning and ending with the same phrases. It starts with the importance of things that are too small to see with the naked eye. The book expresses that you matter whether you are first or last, go with the flow or go your own way. You matter if you fall down, if others are too busy to help, or even if you have to start all over again. You matter if you are far from home and feel alone. Whatever your age, you matter.
This picture book demands that readers see themselves as vital and important in their world regardless of status, situation or mood. It insists from a deep and powerful place that everyone matters, with no caveats at all. Robinson’s warmth exudes from the page even with such simple language and brief lines. That works to make this book accessible to even the youngest of children.
The art is great, adding humor to the book as one part focuses on mosquitoes and dinosaurs, comets and restarting the entire world. It also embraces diversity, showing people of different races, faiths and abilities.
An anthem for all of us to hold in our hearts. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
The American Booksellers Association has announced the Independent Booksellers’ Debut Picks of the Season, also called Indies Introduce. These picks cover both summer and fall for this year and are selected as the best of the season. The lists include adult fiction and nonfiction, middle grade and young adult. Below are the middle grade and young adult picks:
Here are some great books that speak to the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, the righteous anger we are seeing on the streets, America’s long history of racism, and voices that have always been worth investing in and listening to:
Waking Brain Cells 