Oh my goodness, does this look good! So much better than Insatiable… What do you think?
Released on Netflix on December 7th.
Review: It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy
It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy (9781524766450)
When Theo’s photographs are vandalized at school, he and five other seventh graders spend their spring break doing a Justice Circle. Theo is angry that he has to spend time with the people who may have ruined his photos but also scared that that person targeted him enough to also spoil his pinpoint camera project the next day. But as the Justice Circle works, the five of them discover ways to make new connections: sock puppets, yoga-ball soccer, and lots of candy. Still, as the end of the week nears, no one has confessed to being the vandal and Theo is getting more and more stressed. When one more of his projects is ruined that week, he is convinced he knows the perpetrator. But does he?
Levy’s middle-grade novel cleverly mirrors The Breakfast Club and yet also takes the format in a different direction by adding a mystery. Readers will quickly make assumptions about the different teens themselves. Was it the jock? The weirdo? The goody-goody? The invisible kid? The screwup? One of them has to be the culprit. Still, as the week goes on, readers will question those initial opinions and learn that there is more to each of the characters than a single label.
Strongly written and compellingly paced, this novel is a fascinating look at how justice can be done in a school setting without the use of detentions or suspensions. It asks readers to look deeply at the characters, to join Theo on his journey of learning about the others. As the characters reveal more about themselves, they become all the more human and interesting, and they might just become friends too.
A great novel about the complexities of being a seventh grader and the truths you hide. Appropriate for ages 10-13.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
Publisher’s Weekly Best Picture Books
PW has released their list of the Best Children’s and YA Books of 2018. They represent the top 50 books of the year out of the 1700 children’s and YA books published in 2018 that PW reviewed. Here are their picks for the best picture books:
A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson
The Crocodile and the Dentist by Taro Gomi
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
The Elephant by Jenni Desmond
The Eye That Never Sleeps: How Detective Pinkerton Saved President Lincoln by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes
Fox & Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier
Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Julia Sarda
The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke, illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year edited by Fiona Waters, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Up the Mountain Path by Marianne Dubuc
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
2018 Environment Award for Children’s Literature
The winners of the 2018 Environment Award for Children’s Literature have been announced. The award is given annually by The Wilderness Society in Australia and is celebrating its 25th year. The winners are books that promote a love of nature in children. Here are the winners:
PICTURE FICTION
Florette by Anna Walker
FICTION
Wombat Warriors by Samantha Wheeler
NONFICTION (Tie)
Coral Sea Dreaming by Kim Michelle Toft
Rock Pool Secrets by Narelle Oliver
Review: Our Celebración! by Susan Middleton Elya
Our Celebración! by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Ana Aranda (9781620142714)
A community heads to a celebration together in this vibrant picture book that offers a mix of Spanish and English. The celebration features a large parade with fantastic floats, marching bands, fire engines and much more. There is plenty of delicious food to try and refreshing drinks to sip. When the rain begins, the fun doesn’t stop, though everyone celebrates when the sunshine returns bringing with it a celebratory rainbow.
Elya does a marvelous job of offering Spanish words for children to learn. Almost all of them can be figured out from the context in the poem. I appreciate that she uses the Spanish words for many of the rhymes, rather than burying them in the center of the lines. This makes them all the more enjoyable to read aloud and great fun to figure out. The book will also welcome Spanish-speaking children and allow them to decode the English as well. It is a cleverly built picture book.
Aranda’s illustrations are filled with brilliant colors of sunshine yellow, deep purples, bright blues, and hot pinks. They show a diverse community celebrating together with big smiles, lots of fun and whimsical parade participants.
A bright and busy picture book that dynamically includes Spanish and English. Appropriate for ages 2-4.
Reviewed from library copy.
Review: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson (9781338209969)
Marinka never asked to be a Yaga, but since she is the granddaughter of a Baba Yaga, she has been learning to speak with the dead and guide them through the Gate and into the stars. All Marinka really wants is to make a real human friend and do things that other twelve-year-olds do. Making friends is nearly impossible though when you live in a house with chicken legs that can move you all over the world overnight. So when Marinka gets another chance to make friends with someone, she takes it, even if it breaks all of the rules that she has been taught. As her decision changes her entire life, Marinka is left to figure out who she really is and what she wants to be.
Anderson has a clear love of Russian folktales, taking a beautiful view of Baba Yaga and giving her a larger community, more chicken-footed houses and a longing for family. The folktales at the center of the book continue to reverberate throughout the story, offering Marinka distinct choices. Marinka makes her own decisions though, ones that readers will not agree with though they might understand. As her situation grows direr, Marinka becomes almost unlikeable, and yet Anderson is able to bring us back to loving her by the end.
Anderson surrounds Marinka with a beautiful and rich world. There is her own Baba Yaga, filling the house with good cooking, lots of love and ghosts every evening. Then there is Jack, Marinka’s pet jackdaw, who sits on her shoulder and puts pieces of food in people’s ears and socks. A baby lamb soon joins them as well. Yet by far, the most compelling member of Marinka’s home is the house itself. Filled with personality and opinions, the house is intelligent and ever-changing.
A dynamic retelling of the Baby Yaga folktale, this picture book offers a big world of magic and ghosts to explore. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from ARC provided by Scholastic.
2019 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Nominations
The long list of nominations for the 2019 CILIP Carnegie Medal has been announced. The Carnegie Medal is awarded by UK children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children.
At the same time, the long list for the 2019 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was also announced. The Greenaway Medal is awarded by UK children’s librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children.
The long lists are seriously long, so I’ll post the full shortlists here when they are announced in March. The winners will be revealed in June 2019.
Review: Up the Mountain Path by Marianne Dubuc
Up the Mountain Path by Marianne Dubuc (9781616897239)
Every Sunday, Mrs. Badger walks to the mountain peak. Along the way, she greets her various animal friends and finds gifts to give others later. She helps anyone who needs it too. When a young cat asks to share Mrs. Badger’s snack, she invites the cat along to the mountaintop. They need to find the little cat her own walking stick and take breaks along the way, but the two eventually make it to the peak. They enjoy one another’s company and the trip so much that they continue to make the trek together again and again. Eventually, Mrs. Badger grows older and has to be the one taking breaks and finally she can’t make the trip any longer. The cat continues to make the walk, finding her own young animal to mentor on the way.
This gentle picture book has such depth to it. Mrs. Badger is a fabulous character, exhibiting deep kindness and thoughtfulness for others. She knows everyone she encounters on the walk and makes connections easily. She demonstrates how to make and keep friends with all of her actions. This becomes even more clear as she walks with the young cat, teaching them how to make the long climb to the peak. The book can be read as a metaphor for life but children can also simply enjoy the story of the friendly badger and a young cat who become friends.
Dubuc’s illustrations move from full pages of images to smaller unframed pictures that offer a varied feel throughout the book. She makes sure to have a special feeling when the characters make it to the mountaintop. The vista is striking but it is the journey itself that makes the book sing.
A quiet book about connections and community. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
Reviewed from library copy.
This Week’s Tweets
Here are some items I shared on Twitter this week:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
12 Picture Books That Showcase Native Voices, from @debreese via @sljournal: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=1809-Native-Voices-American-Heritage …
30 Thanksgiving Books for the Little Ones In Your Life https://buff.ly/2F8Lp3i #kidlit
Debating the Best Way to Teach a Child to Read – https://t.co/thosNuygXa
The Everlasting Joy of Terrifying Children – The Atlantic https://buff.ly/2CWq9Lb #kidlit
“I feel strongly that by reading with your child, by the simple act of holding them close while you read to them, you let them know that you care for them, have time for them and love them.” – http://bit.ly/2qqtfjf @carlemuseum
LGBT+ people erased from books in Russia with ‘gay propaganda’ law | Reuters https://buff.ly/2SVoJWQ #kidlit
‘Nostalgia’ wins Children’s Book of the Year award for Arabic Children’s Literature Awards https://buff.ly/2qqEB6G #kidlit
Royal Mint rejected Roald Dahl coin over antisemitic views https://buff.ly/2SRntUD #kidlit
The Soviet Children’s Books That Broke the Rules of Propaganda https://buff.ly/2SCuI2D #kidlit
LIBRARIES
After man burns LGBTQ children’s books, donations to Orange City library skyrocket https://buff.ly/2SBXS20 #libraries #lgbt #kidlit
New Calgary Public Library opens – 660 CITYNEWS https://buff.ly/2AEg3gy #libraries
TEEN READS
12 Books to Read If You Loved ‘The Hate U Give’ https://buff.ly/2AHDSE5 #yalit
Epic Reads Partners with Emma Roberts’s Book Club on ‘Why Not YA?’ https://buff.ly/2SBYJja #yalit
There are a whole host of YA books you need to get stuck into this month including #Pulp – https://t.co/K8eJb6YVHi
Tiny Books Fit in One Hand. Will They Change the Way We Read? https://buff.ly/2zaE64N #Reading #yalit
Young Adult Fantasy Novels That Sweep Readers Away https://buff.ly/2Pe01Tw #YAlit
Waking Brain Cells 