This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts that you might find interesting:

You can also check out my library-related tweets and pins on my other blog, Sites & Soundbytes.

60 Ways to Make Reading Fun: http://pinterest.com/pin/193021533999853077/

Hunger Games Sequel Bags Philip Seymour Hoffman? http://buff.ly/KQwqbJ ‪#yalit‬

Paramount Buys ‘The Diviners’ For Fake Empire http://buff.ly/LyFBKZ ‪#yalit‬

Some Amazing Science Fiction Picture Books For Your Kids (And You)http://buff.ly/MHF3QR ‪#kidlit‬

Staying Power: Edwards Award winner Susan Cooper has been working her magic for more than 40 years http://buff.ly/L7qXNh ‪#kidlit‬

Summer Reading Flowchart: http://pinterest.com/pin/193021533999856092/

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Rusty Summer Readers http://buff.ly/LifLZI ‪#reading‬

Review: Demolition by Sally Sutton

| Tasha

demolition

Demolition by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock

There has been a movement recently to create some very original and fresh construction and truck books.  Before that, it was a bit of a desert of naming big trucks, telling how they work, and leaving it at that.  This book is one of the best of those new, fresh books about construction vehicles.  In rhyming lines, it tells the story of the demolition of a building.  It begins with the people getting ready, moves to the wrecking ball, then the excavator and its tearing jaws.  There are stone crushers and wood shredders.  Trucks are loaded and clear the site, then they start to build something.  Something with slides, monkey bars, and plenty of fun.

The rhyme and rhythm of this picture book really make it work.  It has a bouncy rhythm that makes the book ideal for toddlers.  The rhyming lines finish on each set of pages with noisy words that bring the work site to life.  Add to that the appeal of knocking something down and then building something new, and you have brought a toddler dream to life.  The illustrations have a great texture to them that evokes the dust and dirt of demolition.  They avoid being too cartoon-like and instead use different vistas on the project to allow young readers to see more than they could of in real life.

One of the most appealing construction or destruction books around, this belongs in every library collection.  It will also be appreciated by librarians and teachers who have long been looking for construction books worth sharing in a story time setting.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari

| Tasha

my mixed-up berry blue summer

My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari

June has lived on Lake Champlain with her mother forever.  They run the marina with its supplies and café.  That’s where June learned to make pies, and she is determined to enter the fair this summer to prove what a great baker she is.  But this summer is going to be very different from other summers.  First, her mother’s girlfriend has moved in with them.  Then there is the pressure from Vermont’s new civil union law that has their small town divided.  There are people who won’t shop at the marina anymore because June’s mother is gay.  It is a summer unlike any other, one where June will have to figure out how she feels about having two mothers, and then whether she has the courage to speak up. 

Gennari’s debut novel courageously takes on not only the issue of gay parents but also the political backlash that can occur to a family in modern America.  Through the eyes of June, we see a strong mother and daughter connection, an understanding that her mother is gay, but then the realization that that will be much more public with a girlfriend or spouse.  Gennari makes this a very human story that embraces the power of community and the complexities as well.  As a special aside, I will mention the great librarian character who shows a lot of support for June and her family.

This book is short and active.  It’s a perfect summer read with plenty of dips in the lake, boats on the water, bike rides in the heat, and ripening berries all around.  Nicely, it is about more relationships than the mother and her girlfriend.  June is faced with losing a friend because of their difference in opinion and then June’s changing feelings toward Luke, a boy who is her best friend. 

Perfect for a summer read while floating on a lake, this book is strong, courageous and radiant.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

2012 Carnegie and Greenaway Medals

| Tasha

Patrick Ness has won a second consecutive Carnegie Medal for A Monster Calls.  He won last year for Monsters of Men, the third book in his Chaos Walking trilogy.  His entire trilogy was prize-winning with the first book winning both the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize.  The second book in the trilogy won the Costa Book Award.

In a unique twist, A Monster Calls has also won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration.  Jim Kay’s evocative, dark and powerful art added so much to the skilled writing of Ness.  This is the first time that the same book has won both awards.

Review: Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton

| Tasha

tracing stars

Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton

Indie Lee Chickory is heading to her last day of school where she really doesn’t fit in.  Her older sister Bebe fits in perfectly, dresses like the others, and never seems to smell like rotting fish like Indie does.  That’s what she gets for feeding Monty, her golden lobster, before coming to school.  So whenever Indie does something that draws attention to herself, Bebe is embarrassed.  When Indie accidentally carries Monty to school on that last day, she does a lot more than draw attention, she runs away from school to get Monty into the water he needs.  But when they reach the sea, she loses him and he won’t return to her after the sirens from the police car go off.  Now Indie has to figure out not only how to get Monty back but also how to not be so weird and not embarrass Bebe anymore.  Bebe has a part in a summer musical, so she has a lot at stake.  It’s up to Indie to see how normal she can be.

This is a wonderfully deep and thoughtful book for preteens that explores expectations and sisterhood.  While Indie’s own plans may be to not stick out and not be unusual, readers will be delighted to find out that is not the message of the book.  Instead Indie is clearly her own person and unable to fit into any mold, no matter how much she may want to.  Bebe is actually the sister in crisis, the one desperate to be perfect, the one who would do almost anything to belong.  The book allows readers to figure that out on their own as the book progresses. 

While the book is deep, it is also a great read for summer because it has plenty of humor and action to keep things moving.  The setting is clear and used throughout the story almost as its own character.  The dynamics of a small tourist town, the beauty of the natural setting, and the sea herself all play into the action and the story.  The addition of a theater performance and Bebe being an actor and Indie working on set construction gives the book another element that works particularly well, and also gives the book some of its most interesting characters.

This pre-teen novel about a young girl who is unique in many ways but also wants to fit in will resonate with young readers who will be buoyed by the way the story works out.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Philomel.

ALSC Notable Children’s Books Nominees–Informational and Nonfiction

| Tasha

I always look forward to the list of titles under consideration for the Notable Children’s Book list from ALSC. Notable books must be “worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding.” The list includes books for birth through age 14.

Here are the informational and nonfiction titles that will be discussed at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference.

INFORMATIONAL PICTURE BOOKS

  

Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why by Lita Judge

The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and Our National Parks by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

  

Mrs. Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman Olympic High-Jump Champion by Heather Lang, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Stay: the True Story of Ten Dogs by Michaela Muntean, illustrated by KC Bailey and Stephen Kazmierski

 

NONFICTION POETRY

 

Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart selected by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Michael Emberley

Freedom’s A-Calling Me by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown

  

I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery by Cynthia Grady, illustrated by Michele Wood

In the Sea by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld

  

Step Gently Out by Helen Frost

A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Meilo So

 

NONFICTION BIOGRAPHY

  

Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Chuck Close: Face Book by Chuck Close

 

Steve Jobs: The Man Who Though Different by Karen Blumenthal

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

 

NONFICTION

 

The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins

Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard by Loree Griffin Burns

 

First Girl Scout: the Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth

Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices by Gwenyth Swain

 

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

We’ve Got a Job: the 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson

ALSC Notable Children’s Books Nominees–Fiction and Picture Books

| Tasha

I always look forward to the list of titles under consideration for the Notable Children’s Book list from ALSC. Notable books must be “worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding.” The list includes books for birth through age 14.

Here are the fiction titles that will be discussed at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference.

FICTION

   

Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

Crow by Barbara Wright

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Freaky Fast Frankie Joe by Lutricia Clifton

   

Kepler’s Dream by Juliet Bell

Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

  

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

  

One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Wonder by RJ Palacio

 

PICTURE BOOKS

  

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham

Demolition by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock

  

Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan, illustrated by Merhdokht Amini

  

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers

Just Ducks by Nicola Davies

 

Oh, No George! by Chris Haughton

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo

  

Pip’s Trip by Janet Morgan Stoeke

We March by Shane W. Evans

Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

Reading to Babies

| Tasha

The Guardian has news of a British survey by ICM and the Fatherhood Institute on behalf of Booktrust.  The study was done with more than 500 parents of infants participating. 

They found that 64% of parents were not reading to their babies at 7 months old and that 57% did not own a single book. 

Booktrust provides families with a pack of free books via their Bookstart program.  Happily, 75% of families started sharing books with their babies as soon as they received their free books. 

The Booktrust program is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week.  Booktrust gives books to 3 million children a year in the UK with 30 million titles having been given away since 1992.

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

| Tasha

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Alina lost her family in the Border Wars and now depends solely on her close friendship with fellow orphan Mal.  Now the two of them are in the army together and head off for the dangerous crossing of the Fold, a place where magic contaminated the very world and covers it in darkness and horrible monsters.  When the two of them were younger, they were tested for magic themselves, but neither of them had any.  So what happens in the Fold is even more remarkable.  The ship they are crossing in is attacked by hundreds of beasts and Mal is horribly wounded.  Alina shields his body with her own as the monsters attack, but then she loses consciousness herself.  Coming to, she is guarded by soldiers and taken before the Darkling himself, a man almost as powerful as the king.  But what could she have done that would make her worthy of his attention?

It is difficult to believe that this is Bardugo’s debut novel.  Her writing has a wisdom and surety that is very special.  From page one, I was captivated by the strength of her world.  Set in a Russia-like place, the world and society are solidly built and remarkably original.  This is a world torn apart by war, where there is also an internal power struggle happening that could cause irreparable harm to the society too.  It is a world where villains look like heroes and heroes can appear villainous at times. 

The individual characters are well written and finely drawn.  Alina is a heroine who often doesn’t act like one, a girl with power that she does not understand, and a loneliness that aches the bones.  She is brave, strong and at the same time young and naïve.  The Darkling is equally successfully written.  He is aloof until he is close, disdainful until he is captivated, and completely complex.  He’s a delight of a character, one that offers no easy answers.

Highly recommended, this is one of the most original fantasies I have read in awhile.  Not populated with vampires, zombies or angels, it is still filled with magical writing, amazing characters and one incredible world.  Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Company.