Honor Books
When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham
Pride by Robin Stevenson
WINNERS
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan – didn’t see that coming!!
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
2017 Schneider Family Book Awards
Best Young Children’s Book
Six Dots by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Best Middle Grades Book
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
Best Teen Book
When We Collided by Emery Lord
2017 Alex Awards
The ten best books for adults that have appeal for teen readers:
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
The Regional Office is Under Attack by Manual Gonzales
In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
Buffering by Hannah Hart
Arena by Holly Jennings
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North
Die Young with Me by Rob Rufus
The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon
The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Stambach
Liveblogging the ALA Youth Media Awards
Hi Everyone! I’ll be liveblogging the ALA awards. Please forgive any typos, particularly in spelling of names! I’ll do my best to keep my fingers flying correctly.
Getting shivers of anticipation!
10 Great Books for Youth and Teens with Great Heroines
The number of books written with amazing heroines makes it daunting to pick 10. May your life be filled with too many heroines as well on this Inauguration Day. Let’s get inspired!
Audacity by Melanie Crowder
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and illustrated by Brooke Allen
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
You Can’t See the Elephants by Susan Kreller, translated by Elizabeth Gaffney
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are some cool links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Art from Alessandro Sanna at 7-Imp today: http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=4244 ….
Art from Brian Pinkney at 7-Imp today: http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=4241 ….
Babette Cole, anarchic creator of Princess Smartypants, dies at 66 http://buff.ly/2jCKJEc #kidlit
The Banned Books Your Child Should Read http://buff.ly/2jqEvK6 #kidlit
I Love This German Grandma Reading Children’s Books On Twitch http://buff.ly/2jgIB5s #kidlit
Kirsten Greenidge on adapting the beloved Bud, Not Buddy for the stage – DC Theatre Scene http://buff.ly/2itHGS3 #kidlit
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: the 6 main changes from book to Netflix http://buff.ly/2jBvgEE #kidlit
Picture Books on the Joy of Mail, Without the E – NYT – http://buff.ly/2jQqPFl #kidlit
LIBRARIES
4-year-old bibliophile becomes librarian for a day in world’s largest library http://buff.ly/2jrcnX6 #libraries
ACLU asks Iowa City Public Library to remove bathroom cameras http://buff.ly/2itNoU8 #libraries
.@BeloitPL exciting new cafe project is another example of how #librariestransform lives – http://www.beloitdailynews.com/article/20170116/ARTICLE/170119807
Personal librarians abound at one public library http://buff.ly/2j1OYJ1 #libraries
SF Public Library’s quest to put diversity on shelves http://buff.ly/2jCQ7ay #libraries #diversity
TEEN LIT
Exclusive: E. Lockhart to publish a new YA novel http://buff.ly/2itJpGU #yalit
The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling by Timothy Basil Ering
The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling by Timothy Basil Ering
Captain Alfred is heading home with his boat full of ducks for his farm and one special duck egg that’s about to hatch as a present for his wife. But his boat is hit by a storm and everything including the egg is thrown overboard. Luckily, the egg survives the storm, kept afloat in the Captain’s fiddle case. When the duckling hatches from the egg, he is all alone until he spots something else floating in the sea. It’s the Captain’s fiddle and when the duckling hugs it closely it produces a beautiful sound. But how can one little duckling and one fiddle survive the open sea? It will take the magic of music.
Ering is the illustrator of The Tale of Despereaux and has created other picture books of his own. This picture book has a gorgeous tone and pace, each moment shining and special as the story unfolds. Ering allows the story space to speak, giving time to the duckling finding the fiddle, a moment to pause when the duckling reaches land, and many other such moments too. Each is beautifully told with a voice that reads aloud beautifully. It’s a tale that children will enjoy, an adventure of wonder and music.
The illustrations are a wonderful mix of cartoon and lush realistic settings. The duckling has a personality all his own, glowing yellow on the page. Other moments like the storm approaching are filled with nature in all of its beauty and fury. The pages turn and one is never sure if it will reveal a sweep of nature or a new comical moment. The entire book works as a whole, the surprise of page turns, the comic elements and the natural details.
A picture book about music and friendship that is a great pick for a read aloud. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from library copy.
10 Great Picture Books on Heroism
On the eve of inauguration day, I hope that we all have the courage to be the heroes and heroines that our nation needs right now. Here are 10 picture books to inspire young ones and you too!
Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud by Tracey Fern, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust by Loic Dauvillier, illustrated by Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo
How to Be a Hero by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Chruck Groenink
Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic by Monica Carnesi
Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith
Luna & Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Malala, Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal, a Brave Boy from Pakistan by Jeanette Winter
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin, illustrated by Eric Velasquez
Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King
Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King (InfoSoup)
Everything has changed for Obe over the last few years. His family’s farmland has turned into a housing development. His best friend is now friends with the kids living in the new development. He has constant nose bleeds caused by something he doesn’t like to talk about, but it has a lot to do with his ex-friend and the new development. Obe spends a lot of time at the creek on his family’s remaining property, cleaning up the trash left by others. Then he meets an unusual animal. It is an odd mix of pig and dog and it eats plastic. Obe names the animal “Marvin Gardens” and knows that he has to keep it a secret from everyone. But when his ex-friend discovers the animal too, Obe has to decide who to trust and who can help Marvin Gardens survive.
A.S. King is best known as a writer for teens. She has made a lovely transition to middle-grade writing here in a novel of environmentalism and self-acceptance. King wrestles with the problems of middle-grade friendships, the loss of green space, and the question of how one kid can make an impact on climate change or even on his local environment. Throughout, her writing is a call for action, for personal responsibility and for staying true to what is important to you as a person.
Obe is a fascinating protagonist. At first, he seems young and naive, but as the book progresses, one realizes that he is simply interested in the environment, understands deeply changing friendships, stands up for others, and speaks out for the rights of animals and nature. King manages this without giving Obe a major shift or change, rather it is the reader who grows and changes and understands the character in a different way. It’s all thanks to King’s skill as an author, her way of showing adults as fools at times, and her willingness to allow Obe to simply be himself.
A strong book about the environment and a rousing call to be responsible for your own patch of earth, this will be a joy to share aloud in a classroom or with children who love nature and don’t mind a bit of muck on their shoes. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reviewed from ARC received from Arthur A. Levine Books.
Waking Brain Cells 