Review: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

| Tasha

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman (9780062671158)

This collection of short stories is lush and beautiful. Written by fifteen female authors of Asian descent, the stories are modern twists on more traditional tales. Using the folklore of East and South Asia, the stories in this book take those tales and modernize them with clear feminist and girl-power themes. The stories are grand, mythological, stirring, and amazing. Readers will find themselves swept away, learning of myths they have never heard before and finding new ways to love tales they grew up with.

Compiled by Ellen Oh, the CEO of We Need Diverse Books, these stories are women speaking from their own diverse backgrounds. One of the most vital components of the book are the short paragraphs that follow each of the stories, tying them to that author’s upbringing, the original tales, and explaining their inspiration. Throughout the book there are themes of love and loss, death and redemption. No matter whether they are fantasy or contemporary fiction, these stories are each tantalizing and rich.

One of the best teen short story collections I have read in recent years, this one should be in every public library. Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Greenwillow Books.

Review: Run Wild by David Covell

| Tasha

Run Wild by David Covell

Run Wild by David Covell (9780670014118)

Head outside with this picture book that encourages children to run in nature. Sunshine, fresh air, breezes and dirt are all celebrated here. Jump in the water, talk to worms, run through the woods. The joy of running fast, getting dirty, howling and diving. The book is entirely outdoors and movement through nature, a pelting quick book that is full of natural delights.

The text has organic rhymes embedded in it. It works really well read aloud where the rhymes fall into place in a natural way, encouraging children to be loose and free, just like the text. The illustrations are just as loose as the text suggests. They are filled with trees, mushrooms, birds, caves, water, and children.

A fresh and natural read that encourages children to play outside for the day. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Viking.

This Week’s Tweets

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on Twitter this week:

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CHILDREN’S LIT

Agent Danielle Smith’s Former Clients Speak Out

The Story of a Bear of Very Little Brain

Jason Reynolds: ‘What’s unusual about my story is that I became a writer’

Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror for Youth: 2018, by Maggie Reagan | Booklist Online

THE VANDERBEEKERS OF 141st STREET has been optioned by Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions – https://t.co/Td8KZmadEK

LIBRARIES

transformed into a tattoo shop for a day and a portion of the proceeds went to the library.

Here’s why this Belgian sourdough librarian flew to Canada for yeast

U.S. Public Libraries Saw 1.39 Billion Visits In 2015, A New Report Finds

“We used to ask families and children to sit quietly and read together….We now know that children learn best through play, an understanding that has guided us to reenvision how our children’s spaces could maximize children’s learning,”

Review: The Princess and the Pit Stop by Tom Angleberger

| Tasha

The Princess and the Pit Stop by Tom Angleberger

The Princess and the Pit Stop by Tom Angleberger, illustrated by Dan Santat (9781419728488)

In a car race, the princess is forced to pull off for a pit stop to refuel. While in the pit stop, she is told that she is in last place with only one lap to go. Maybe it is time to give up? But instead she hits the gas. Car by car, she moves up through the ranks, passing different fairy tale characters along the way. Narrated by the Frog Prince speaking into a mic, the excitement builds. She goes over Tom Thumb and under the giant. She zooms past other characters like the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, the Seven Dwarves, the Ugly Duckling and many more. In the end, it is down to her and the Ugly Stepsisters as they race up to a cliff’s edge.

Angleberger writes with a directness that works very well for a book told primarily through a microphone and an excited frog. The book could have been just a list of different storybook characters, but with Angleberger’s humor it becomes a series of jokes and puns that make the book really rev. Santat’s art is stellar, creating a book with lots of different perspectives. It incorporates the feel of a graphic novel and also has the colorful playfulness of a picture book.

A funny and incredible book filled with girl power and glory. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Review: Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak

| Tasha

Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak

Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost (9781250175366)

Min is a microbe that lives in this book. Readers get to look at the page closer and closer, until with a micron microscope they can see the individual strands that make up the paper. Resting there, very bored indeed, is Min. The readers pick up Min on their finger and then move her to their teeth. The next page shows the surface of a tooth very, very close up with the microbes creating cavities. Min moves on, but one of the tooth microbes comes along too. This pattern continues to the reader’s shirt and then finally their belly button, each place close up and full of microbes.

Shown in such a playful way, children will enjoy the lesson on microbes without realizing they are learning science. The interactive piece of the book is also a pleasure, though it will limit using the book with a very small group or one child at a time. There are more microbial facts at the end of the book to enjoy. The illustrations are a delightful mix of images from an electron microscope and cute little microbes that are different colors and shapes from one another.

A smart choice for libraries looking for great STEM reads. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy provided by Roaring Brook Press.

Review: I’m Sad by Michael Ian Black

| Tasha

I_m Sad by Michael Ian Black

I’m Sad by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (9781481476270)

Flamingo is very sad today. He wonders if he will ever feel better. A little girl and a potato, yes a potato, try to explain about emotions and feelings. At times the three of them get a bit down all together, but they quickly turn to a plan to cheer up Flamingo. The girl and potato think of things that they love, but they don’t work for Flamingo. He doesn’t eat ice cream or dirt. In the end, they decide that sometimes it’s OK to just be sad. Flamingo worries that his friends won’t like him if he’s still sad tomorrow, but they assure him that they still will. Then potato makes a joke and the book ends with lots of laughter.

Told entirely in dialogue, this is a frank look at sadness and emotion. It explains a variety of approaches to emotions, ending with the most important one which is to not push the emotions away and that they will naturally change on their own. Black’s use of a potato as a main character seems odd until his personality starts flying and it suddenly steals the show. Ohi’s illustrations are big and bold, filled with flamingo pink (of course) and other bright colors that will make this a great read aloud, particularly when shared with different voices for the three characters.

A quite happy and optimistic book about sadness. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Simon & Schuster.

 

Review: All Summer Long by Hope Larson

| Tasha

All Summer Long by Hope Larson

All Summer Long by Hope Larson (9780374304850)

Bina’s summer has just started, but it’s already going wrong. Her best friend, Austin, is heading to a month-long soccer camp. He’s also acting strangely and has decided that they are too old for some of their regular summer activities. Once he’s left for camp, Bina finds herself watching too much TV and just hanging out alone. Then she bumps into Austin’s older sister who turns out to be into music just like Bina is. The two of them start hanging out but when Austin returns things stay just as strange. Bina has to navigate her way through new friendships and old ones as she also grapples with her love of music and what that means for her friendships too.

Larson is the author of several graphic novels for children and teens. Here she tackles middle-school summers with a focus on music and individuality. Bina’s summer will feel familiar to readers, a stretch of time that is meant to be the best but ends up being time that needs filling with more than binge-watching TV. The incorporation of a friendship between a boy and a girl that does not involve romance or attraction is great to see. Readers will fret that Austin’s strange attitude means he “likes” Bita, but the truth makes sense and fits the story well.

The art is friendly and approachable. Done in a limited orange and black palette, it speaks of summer heat and sun. Bita herself is lanky and tall, her angles oozing with middle-school gawkiness in an appealing way. Her parents are just involved enough but also absent in a way that shows trust too.

A graphic novel perfect for summer reading.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from copy provided by Farrar Straus Giroux.

Review: Otis and Will Discover the Deep by Barb Rosenstock

| Tasha

Otis and Will Discover the Deep by Barb Rosenstock

Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Katherine Roy (9780316393829)

Otis loved the ocean since he was a boy. He experimented with different ways to dive lower and lover in the water. Will didn’t discover the ocean until later in life, spending time in the woods, trekking the world and climbing volcanoes. Otis heard that Will wanted to dive deep into the ocean and with his background in machines knew that Will would need a very special submersible to survive. Otis reached out to Will again and again until Will agreed to see him. Otis built the machine and Will planned the expedition. The two tall men managed to squeeze inside the small space and then down they went into the deep. Lower and lower they went, creaking and remembering to breathe. They reached 800 feet and then returned to the surface, smiling.

Rosenstock has created a wonderful text for this book that captures the importance of teamwork and connecting with others who have a similar passion but different skills. The differences between the two men are highlighted and then it is even more powerful when the two come together and work on a common goal. I particularly enjoy Will supporting Otis as they descend into the depths. That same support of remembering to breathe is very effectively used to create drama as the depth increases, since readers too  may be holding their breath. The art by Roy is exceptional, adding to the drama of the tale by showing the Bathysphere as isolated, suspending in the dark water. The two men and the contortions they go through to fit and work together in the small space are also charmingly captured in the illustrations.

A winner of a science read. Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon

| Tasha

Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon

Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Chris Raschka (9781484750223)

When Mrs.Giordano has to stay home sick, a substitute comes to run the classroom. Unfortunately though, all of her changes are really disruptive for the very young students in the class. So one of the students writes a series of poems to Miss Pelly, the substitute. Miss Pelly doesn’t know how to pronounce their names, doesn’t collect the homework that is due. The class doesn’t visit the library on their scheduled day, the turtle tank isn’t cleaned, and turns at being line leader are disrupted. Miss Pelly even laughs too often, but she does share a great book of poems with the class and it might just be alright if Mrs. Giordano takes another day off to get well.

The authors capture the confusion at having routines disrupted by a substitute teacher. Through the vehicle of short poems, this picture book is approachable and gives voice to a child’s frustration at things being changed and grappling with being flexible and understanding. The illustrations have a childlike whimsy to them, with noble turtles, red-glasses wearing crocodiles, and a substitute who looks kind even when the child is unsure.

A winner for classrooms preparing for substitutes or other big changes. Appropriate for ages 5-8. (Reviewed from ARC provided by Disney Hyperion.)