The eighth biennial Dolly Gray Award Winners have been announced for 2014. They are awarded to the best books for children and young adults that “authentically portray individuals with developmental disabilities.”
Here are the winners:
Intermediate Award
Remember Dippy by Shirley Reva Vernick
Young Adult Award
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Max Makes a Cake by Michelle Edwards, illustrated by Charles Santoso
Max was growing up, he could dress himself, almost tie his shoes, and he knew the Four Questions for Passover in Hebrew and English. It was his mother’s birthday and he wanted to make her a cake. But when his little sister started to cry and Max’s dad took her for her nap. Max waited and waited for his dad to come back to bake the cake, but his sister just kept waking up and crying. So Max decided to make some frosting to help. It turned out very nicely, a mix of jam and cream cheese. Max knew that to bake a cake, he had to wait for his father. But then he had a great idea, one perfect for Passover.
Edwards has written a story that organically incorporates Passover and its meaning. She shows a warm and loving Jewish family with a father who takes expert care of his children. Max’s clever solution to the cake is nicely foreshadowed in the book but is also a wonderful surprise solution that readers will not see coming. It is also a pleasure to see a picture book about a child who solves a problem himself with creativity.
Santoso’s art conveys the same warmth as the text. He uses humor throughout in his images, with a cheery note. His depictions of Max are particularly well done as he solves the problem but not without a little mess.
Clever and creative, this is a welcome addition to public library’s Passover collections as well as a great choice for birthday story times. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from digital copy received from Edelweiss and Random House.
The Sydney Taylor Book Awards honor the best new books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Here are this year’s winners followed by the honor books:
Younger Readers Gold Medal
The Longest Night: A Passover Story by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Catia Chien
Older Readers Gold Medal
The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco
Teen Readers Gold Medal
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
Honor Books for Younger Readers
Stones for Grandpa by Renee Londoner, illustrated by Martha Avilles
Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenberg Perlov, illustrated by Cosei Kawa
Honor Books for Older Readers
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
Dear Canada: Pieces of the Past by Carol Matas
Honor Books for Teen Readers
Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati
The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax, illustrated by Caryl Strzelecki
Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf
Originally published in Germany, this is a gorgeous coming-of-age story that is dark and immensely funny. It is the story of Mike who just doesn’t fit in. He’s considered one of the most boring people in his school, ignored entirely by girls and laughed at when he reads his writing out loud. He’s not even invited to the best party of the year though everyone else is. Everyone but Andre, better known as Tschick, who comes to school drunk, looks like he’s been fighting, and wears outdated clothes. Tschick and Mike have absolutely nothing in common, but when Tschick shows up unexpectedly in a stolen car when Mike has been left home alone for an extended time, they head on a road trip that no one will ever forget.
Winner of several awards in Germany, this book is much more than a standard teen road trip book. What could have been cardboard stereotype characters instead blossom in the hands of Herrndorf to become much more complex and intriguing. They get more and more interesting as the book progresses, steadily revealing themselves to one another and to the reader. It turns out that Mike is far from boring in any way and Tschick is far from any sort of stereotype.
Readers know from the beginning how the road trip ends, but the joy is in getting to that point. I guarantee it is not a straight line! The setting of modern Germany is one that many teens may not have explored, especially through the eyes of native Germans. The translation is done very well, leaving it particularly European, but also making it flow for English speakers.
I am usually not a fan of road trip stories, but this is definitely one trip worth taking. Funny with a lightness but also depth, this is a wonderful teen read. Appropriate for ages 14-16.
Reviewed from digital galley received from Arthur A. Levine Books and NetGalley.
Gobble You Up! by Sunita, text by Gita Wolf
Based on a Rajasthani folktale, this picture book is a work of art. Jackal’s best friend is Crane, but then one day he was too lazy to hunt for food. Jackal challenged Crane to catch twelve fish all at once. Crane managed to do the feat, and then Jackal quickly gobbled down all twelve fish. Crane protested and then Jackal ate Crane too. Tortoise witnessed this, so Jackal had to eat Tortoise as well. Squirrel dared Jackal to eat him too, and Jackal managed. One by one, more animals get eaten and Jackal’s belly stretches and stretches. The elephant was more difficult to swallow, though Jackal managed. Then Jackal got very thirsty from eating all of those animals one after another. And you will just have to read the book to see how it all ends!
The first thing that you notice about this book is that it feels different in your hands. It has a different weight, a different balance. It smells different. The pages have a texture to them and the ink has body on the page that your fingers can feel. Inside, the story is told rapidly and with wonderful sounds and reactions. This is a story that comes from an oral tradition and you can hear it as you read it aloud. It flows and moves. If you are a librarian who does storytelling, get your hands on this book.
Sunita’s art is the center of the book. Called Mandna, this art form is practiced only by women and taught from mother to daughter. It is used to decorate the mud walls of homes and done without brushes. The art is beautiful, richly detailed and unique. Make sure to read the information at the end of the book for more facts about the art and how the book was made.
Unique and lovely, this is a rich folktale from a region of India that will delight and amaze. Appropriate for ages 4-8.
Reviewed from library copy.
Tippy and the Night Parade by Lilli Carre
Released February 11, 2014.
In the morning when she wakes up, Tippy’s room is a complete mess. But all Tippy remembers is falling asleep, how did this all happen? The next night, she goes to bed as usual after cleaning up her room. And then readers get to see exactly what happens when Tippy goes sleepwalking along a pier, across the garden, hopping on lily pads, lost in the fog and trees, down a hole, into the desert, up a mountain and back down to her window. Just to wake up the next morning again without knowing what happened.
Carre lets her images tell the majority of the story in her debut graphic novel. And the images are a smart mix of modern with a vintage flair. They have a flatness to them that adds a quirky quality to the book. They also have a great sense of humor as the parade builds in length and more animals are included. My particular favorite is the rotund bear. And what a parade it is, sharp-eyed readers will enjoy looking at the mess in her room and matching the animals that had joined her walk back home.
Funny and quirky, this parade is one worth marching along with. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Toon Books.
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
8 Mom-Approved Books on Puberty That Kids Will Actually Like | The Stir http://buff.ly/L2erkp #kidlit
13 Civil Rights Picture Books for Kids – What Do We Do All Day? http://buff.ly/1hnLU3r #kidlit
ABC Books for Winter: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/193021534003573697/
Chris Raschka and Jon Klassen: A Caldecott Conversation — @100scopenotes 100 Scope Notes http://buff.ly/L2Oxgp #kidlit
Ten Ways to Raise Writers by Julie Falatko | Nerdy Book Club http://buff.ly/L2eyMM #writing
EBOOKS
eReading Is Rising, But It’s Not Replacing Print: Pew Research – GalleyCat http://buff.ly/1hvPys0 #ebooks
MAKING
You Bought It, You Own It! Time to Reclaim the Right to Use/Tinker/Repair/Make/Sell/Lend Your Stuff | EFF http://buff.ly/1hvJfF4 #making
TEEN READS
9 Teen Novels As Good As They Are Popular http://buff.ly/1hnLUAu #yalit
Top 13 YA Books for Talking to Teens About Tough Stuff | Laurie Halse Anderson http://buff.ly/1cV4hra #yalit
Junkyard by Mike Austin
Two huge robots are in a junkyard where there is garbage that goes on for miles. Then the robots start munching, eating cards, buses, planes and more. They devour trains, chains, tires, and bicycles. They drink paste, goo and toxic waste. Then the story changes and the robots clean up the few things that are left behind, just one little stack. And it’s time for something new. The robots dig holes in the ground and plant trees and flowers. They build a playground and dig out a lake. They have gardens and dirt piles. And now what once was a junkyard is a place just for you!
Done in a romping rhyme, this picture book has the appeal of huge robots and destruction. I must admit that I was completely disarmed by the change of tone in the book when the robots changed from destruction to creation. It was a striking choice to make in the book and one that will increase its appeal.
Austin’s art is vibrant and colorful. He uses deep colors that are rich and pop against the white background. The robots are friendly even as they devour planes and buses. With the rhyme, the entire book has a playful feel that makes it work well.
A celebration of robots, destruction and making something of nothing, this is a bright and fun joy of a book. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
Love Monster lives in a world filled with soft and cuddly pastel animals and everyone loves them. But no one loves a red, googly-eyed monster who isn’t so cute. So Love Monster decides to head out and see if he can find someone who will love him despite not being cuddly. Love Monster searches and searches for someone like this. He even thinks he’s found them, but then discovers that he has not. He’s just about to give up, but learns some things are worth working hard to find.
Bright does an admirable job of creating a book that has a very large message without it consuming the story too much. She uses a narrator voice that is strong and individual which helps keep the book from becoming to sweet as well. Love Monster is a great character, primarily because he isn’t a complainer and refuses to just settle for a life alone.
Bright’s art is bight and large. Love Monster pops against each pastel page with the pages getting darker colored as the story progresses. Finally, night has fallen and the stars come out in a black sky and Love Monster pops there too.
Monsters and love, sounds like a great Valentine’s Day book for little monsters. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from copy received from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Waking Brain Cells 