Brian Jacques has died on February 5th at age 71.  His 21 book fantasy series, Redwall, is beloved by readers around the world.  They have sold over 20 million copies in over 20 countries.  His lengthy fantasy novels were unusual when he started the series in the 1980s. 

The 22nd book in the series is scheduled for publication on May 3rd.

Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb, illustrated by David McPhail

Released March 22, 2011

Timmy Bear and Mama play a game before he goes to sleep.  They tell each other their day backwards.  The story they tell one another is filled with special moments together like watching the sunset and having a picnic.  Then there are moments of fear, and told backwards they make it even more of an event.  The story builds nicely as readers discover exactly what led to Timmy Bear jumping from a high rock into the river.  The story ends as it began, with Timmy Bear in bed and Mama at his side, creating a beautiful circle of a story. 

Lamb’s writing here has such a gentle feel, it is perfect for a bedtime story.  The adventure portion in the middle keeps this from being too soft and gentle, adding a great story arc to the book that is sure to have young readers listening intently.  The exchanges between Mama and Timmy in the book have a touch of humor and a great deal of love. 

McPhail’s art captures the story with his usual style.  His illustrations are soft watercolors that work for both the active portions of the book and the slower parts.  He manages to capture so much emotion, action and movement in only a few lines.  The illustrations are simple and lovely.

This book belongs in every library and will make a wonderful gift book for toddlers who just may have similar adventures in a given day.  After reading the book it is impossible not to want to tell your day backwards, so if sharing with a group, you may have to have an activity of writing or drawing their day backwards.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Candlewick.

Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon

The author of The Rock and the River returns with another amazing book.  Ella is not part of the popular crowd at school.  In fact, she is the lowest of the low.  Teased by about her uneven skin coloring, some of her classmates call her Camo Face, Ella has trouble even looking at herself in the mirror.  She has her best friend, Z, who has been her friend for many years, but Z is getting stranger and stranger, losing himself in stories and roles.  Now there is a new boy at school, a boy who doesn’t seem to notice Ella’s skin at all.  He brings her a way into the popular world, but how can she leave Z to fend for himself?  This novel speaks to issues of race, bullying, friendship and differences, never shying away from asking very difficult questions.

Magoon’s writing here is superb.  Her writing is at times filled with such longing and ache that it enters your bones.  Other times it soars, lifting readers along with it, demonstrating that anything is possible.  She illuminates the darkness of bullying, but this book is about so much more than that.  It is about the tenderness of long friendship.  It is about the hope of the new.  It is about the beauty of difference.  It is about the strength of self.

Ella is a great character who is gripped with such self-doubt that it is almost despair.  Yet she continues on, watching out for Z, caring for her family, and even hoping that the new boy’s smile might be just for her.  Beautifully, her transformation in the book is less about her changing and more about her perceptions changing about herself and those around her.  It is a powerful and important distinction.

Highly recommended, this is an amazing book for tweens looking for a book that has depth, power and strength.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Aladdin.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller and My Life in…

Author posts on DiversityinYAFiction and Chicks Rock!

Laurie by Elfi Nijssen & Eline van Lindenhuizen

Originally published in Belgium and Holland, this tremendously sweet book takes a straight-forward approach to the story of Laurie, a girl with hearing loss.  Laurie has trouble hearing other children, so she usually plays alone.  The others tease her about being deaf and refuse to play with a girl who can’t understand them.  Laurie’s dog doesn’t mind that she’s different from the others.  Finally one day, Laurie and her mother go to the ear doctor.  He discovers she needs hearing aids, or “hearing computers” as Laurie calls them.  Now Laurie can hear cars coming, plays happily with others, and pays better attention in class.  Sometimes though, she still likes the quiet and turns her hearing aids off just to return to the silence. 

Nijssen’s writes as an author who has experienced hearing loss herself.  This makes the emotions and struggle of Laurie very real.  The book doesn’t shy away from conflicted feelings and one of the nicest parts is when Laurie decides to turn her hearing aids off or down once in a while.  It makes for a lovely moment that shows that being different was not the problem, being misunderstood was.

Lindenhuizen’s art is simple and friendly, depicting Laurie separated from the other children at first and later connected with others.  She uses space on the pages very successfully, emphasizing the spirit of the text visually.

A great pick for units on differences and diversity, this book is friendly and straight forward.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

This is a great graphic novel for elementary readers who will enjoy the action and the science fiction setting.  Zita and her friend Joseph see a meteoroid fall to earth.  When Zita looks closely, she sees that there is something embedded in the meteoroid.  It looks like a red button and despite her friend’s protests, she presses it.  Immediately, a rift opens and sucks Joseph through it.  After some moments of panic, Zita presses the button again and heads through the rift to rescue her friend.  On the other side of the rift, Joseph is being dragged away by a strange multi-armed alien who flies off with him in a space ship.  Now Zita is left alone in a strange world filled with amazing creatures.  Unfortunately, it’s a world about to be destroyed by a giant asteroid.   How is Zita going to be able to save her friend before the planet is demolished?

Hatke is a great storyteller.  Zita is a friendly, determined and strong girl character, who remains solidly the heroine of her story.  Through his friendly illustrations Hatke has created a world that makes one feel at home despite its strangeness.  The adventure here is thrilling, dangerous and great fun.  As Zita adventures through the world, readers will enjoy the humor of different characters.  Hatke embraces nuanced characters as well, which is a treat in a graphic novel for children.

The illustrations here have an anime appeal to them.  Young fans of Pokemon will feel right at home with the variety of creatures that Zita meets. 

This is one of those great graphic novels that belongs in every library collection.  Sure to check out and be very popular, just face this one out and watch it check out of the library.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

To get a sense of the illustrations, you can view the video below:

Reviewed from copy received from First Second.

Also reviewed by:

The Literate Mother

Little Lamb Books

Perpetual Learner

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Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

This picture book is told in a series of haiku poems.  The poems form the only text in the book, charmingly telling the tale of Won Ton, a cat saved from the animal shelter by a boy and his family.  Once rescued, Won Ton demonstrates that he is pure cat.  His aloof yet cozy manner is captured to perfection here in the poems.  The book is in turns touching, beautiful, wistful and very funny.

Wardlaw’s haiku read as if they were effortlessly written.  In a few words and syllables, he captures the life of a cat and the humor of life.  It is a book that celebrates poetry, making it approachable and understandable for children.  At the same time, he speaks to the power and connection in animal adoption. 

Yelchin has illustrated the book with a playful flair.  The graphite and gouache illustrations are bright and large, making them well suited to sharing with a group.  Anyone with a cat in their lives will recognize the poses, the reactions and the attitude that Won Ton displays.

A perfect book to share in a poetry unit, this book is appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Company.

Also reviewed by Fuse #8 and Wild Geese Guides.

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Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Winner of the 2011 Schneider Family Teen Book Award

High-school senior, Piper has been invisible in her school for years.  Until one day, she gets herself a lot of attention for cheering for a band.  Not that unusual?  Well it is for Piper, because she’s deaf.  And now her mouth has gotten her involved with the band as its manager.  Now the girl who can’t hear the music has to figure out how to get the band ironically named Dumb paying gigs.  And she has to do it in a month.  Piper is tired of being invisible to her classmates and her family, so being a band manager comes at exactly the right time for her.  It will take her getting to know the members of the band, understanding a lot more about herself, and learning to feel the music before she can discover her inner rock and roll. 

John has written a book with protagonist who has a disability but does not let it dictate her life.  Piper is a great character who is filled with self-doubt but does not allow it to stop her from moving ahead.  She is at times jealous, manipulative, pushy and self centered, and it all makes her that much more human and relatable.  Throughout the book she is one amazing, powerful female character.  Nicely, the book also has other great girl characters of different types. 

This book just feels real.  John uses music and humor in the book to create a beat that moves the story forward.   Small touches make sure readers know they are in Seattle.  Piper’s entire family is vividly dysfunctional but equally believable and filled with love for one another, though they have problems showing it.  The growth of the characters, including Piper’s parents, has a natural feeling. 

Highly recommended, this is a great teen book that is certainly not dumb.  It just rocks.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

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The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

The story of Betsy Dowdy has been part of an oral tradition for over 200 years.  While she may not have existed, this is a wonderful American story of bravery and determination.  Betsy was 16 years old in 1775 when the news came of the redcoats marching to Great Bridge to take ponies and supplies.  There was no hope that anyone could make it to General Skinner’s militia fifty miles away in time to bring aid.  But Betsy could not help in other ways.  She couldn’t fight.  But she could ride.  So despite the danger and the dark, she set off riding her trusty pony, Bess.  The ride was not easy.  They had to swim across a channel in December, and that was the start of the ride.  Betsy had to endure packs of dogs, ice cold temperature, and falling from Bess several times.  But in the end, she got to the general in time.  The day was saved thanks to one brave girl and her tireless pony.

Betsy Dowdy is a girl version of Paul Revere.  Griffin writes with great historical details, that bring the time period to life.  But it is Betsy herself who is the focus of this book.  Wonderfully, Betsy’s fear is allowed to show and her desperation and fatigue.  She is a very human heroine and because of that she is all the more impressive. 

Priceman’s illustrations are filled with deep colors from the purple of the frightening forest to the deep blue of the river.  Done in gouache and ink, the illustrations are wonderfully dramatic, conveying motion forward in a variety of ways.  One of my favorite images is Betsy riding into the dawn of the new day, the colors changing as she moves through the setting.  One feels the sudden surge of hope that light brought.

A powerful story of girl power that should be used in American Revolution units with elementary children.  Girls will enjoy a story that includes more action than sewing or rolling bandages.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum.

Also reviewed by The Fourth Musketeer and Kiss the Book.

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Pocketful of Posies: A Treasure of Nursery Rhymes by Salley Mavor

This book contains classic nursery rhymes like “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”  The text is unchanged from the classic style, making this book a reassuring one to share with children.   The surprise and wonder of the book is its illustrations.  Done in fabrics and threads, the illustrations have a great dimensionality to them, lifting off of the page.  There is also an almost irresistible urge to try to feel the fabric’s softness on some pages.  If you look closely, you will find other objects in the illustrations as well:  small shells, acorn caps, pine cones. 

The bright colors make the book immediately appealing.  The softness of the illustrations, created by the fabric, continue to add to the appeal.  This becomes more than a book of nursery rhymes and turns into a book that can be pored over time and again.  It is a refreshing and interesting style that is timeless and lovely.

Highly recommended, this would make a gorgeous baby gift.  Stand it up in the library facing out, and it won’t take long for someone to whisk it away to check out.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by: Young Readers.

• Join me for the same blog and a new name at Waking Brain Cells.

Thanks to my new job at the end of February (I will be the Assistant Director at the Appleton Public Library in Appleton, Wisconsin), this blog is moving to a new domain.

Because the Kids Lit name is so generic, I could not come up with a name similar enough to keep the same name.  Plus it gave me a great chance to name it something entire new!  So the new blog is called…

Waking Brain Cells

It comes from a quote from Dr. Seuss that I feature as my subtitle on the blog.  I also hope that it conveys exactly what I think reading does for children and teens. 

You can also subscribe to the new RSS feed.  

Both blogs have the same posts at this point, though some of the more recent comments came after the content from this blog was uploaded, so they will not appear on the new blog.  My apologies! 

Kids Lit will stop being updated at the end of February when I lose access to the server it lives on.  Right now both blogs are being updated with the same posts, though Kids Lit will have reminder messages occasionally (OK, often) about the move and the new name.  To avoid those, you could just move to the new blog now…  Hint, hint.

Thanks everyone for reading over the years and sharing my love of children’s literature.   I hope you make the move to Waking Brain Cells with me.

Harry & Hopper by Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood

Harry got Hopper when he was a jumpy puppy.  He taught him to sit, stay and play ball.  The two of them were inseparable.  Hopper even slept with Harry, moving from the bottom of the bed to the top over the course of the night.   But then Harry came home from school and Hopper wasn’t there.  His father broke the news of the accident gently to Harry, explaining that Hopper had died.  Harry couldn’t sleep in the bed he shared with Hopper, so he started sleeping on the couch instead.  At school, Harry couldn’t tell anyone about what had happened.  That night, Harry was awoken from sleeping on the couch by a dog leaping by the window.  It was Hopper!  The two of them spent the night together playing.  The same thing happened night after night, but Hopper was getting less solid and less warm.  Eventually, Harry had to say goodbye to Hopper.

This book should come with a box of tissues.  Sniffle.  Wild depicts the bond between boy and dog with a clarity that makes it very tangible and real.  The loss comes quickly and without prelude, jarring the reader.  As Harry moves through his grief, the return of Hopper brings that process into a similarly tangible state.  The slow disappearance of Hopper over the nights, depicts the acceptance of loss.  Harry’s grief never comes to full resolution, something that is particularly beautiful about this book and its writing. 

This book won the Kate Greenaway medal for its illustrations, and rightly so!  Blackwood’s illustrations are done in laser print on watercolor paper with watercolor, gouache and charcoal.  They have a charm to them that is emphasized by the use of lines to slow motion.  Additionally, the shadows that appear with the grief add to the darker feeling of that section of the book.  Through it all, there is a warm light in the darkness, often provided by Harry and Hopper themselves. 

A beautiful book of loss and grief, this book deserves a spot in libraries where it is sure to find an audience.  Perhaps offer a Kleenex as a bookmark upon check out.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Feiwel and Friends.

Check out a gallery of the illustration on the Guardian website.

Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy

This is the wrenching tale of Zulaikah, an Afghani girl who lives with a cleft palate that has earned her the nickname of Donkeyface from the bullies in her neighborhood.  It is a modern story, set after the defeat of the Taliban.  Zulaikah lives with a harsh taskmaster of a stepmother, her beloved older sister, and two younger brothers.  Despite her face, she is the one her stepmother sends to the  market for supplies, giving the other children a chance to mock her.  With the Americans in town, Zulaikah is offered the chance to have her face repaired.  She also meets Meena, an old friend of her late mother who offers to teach her to read.  These are immense opportunities for her, but will she be allowed to take advantage of them?

Reedy is a debut author  who served in Afghanistan with the National Guard.  Zulaikah’s story is based on a girl he met in Afghanistan.  Reedy has created a marvelous lens for readers to better understand Afghanistan, its culture and its people.  The day-to-day life shown here is so very different from our own, that one never forgets that this is a different country.  Yet Zulaikah’s hopes and dreams are universal.  So this book manages to offer a view of a foreign country at the same time it is showing our united humanity.

Zulaikah is a heroine who has seen unthinkable things, lives with a very visible disability, and yet remains hopeful about the future.  She is a girl living in a culture that devalues women and girls, and while she searches for someone to teach her to read, she is not straining against the culture she is a part of.  That is a large part of what makes this book so successful.  This is a girl who is a product of her family and culture, yet radiant with inner beauty and always hope.

This is a particularly timely book that offers a perspective of modern Afghanistan.  It also offers a very human character who will have you viewing news of Afghanistan differently, now with a spirited girl to inspire understanding.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

• • Also reviewed by:
    • Fuse #8
    • TheHappyNappyBookseller
    • Kiss the Book
    • Teen Reads

Me and You by Anthony Browne

This is a version of Goldilocks that is sure to make readers think.  The story of Goldilocks is told opposite that of the Bear family.  Goldilocks comes from a rough part of town, complete with broken windows and graffiti.  After chasing a balloon that gets away, she finds herself in front of the Bears’ home.  It’s a pretty yellow home, obviously comfortably middle class.  The Bears have headed out for a walk in the neighboring park, chatting about work, the home and the car.  When they return, they find that their house has been disturbed.  From here the story continues in the traditional way.  Goldilocks flees the house, finding her way home to the arms of her mother.  This is a Goldilocks tale that will have readers thinking.

Browne has created a book that emphasizes the differences between Goldilocks and the Bears.  The Goldilocks story is told in wordless format with a very realistic feel and muted colors.  In many of the images the only bright color is Goldilocks’ hair.  Contrasted with that are the images of the Bears.  Shown in pastels done in a much softer line, the images are comfortable and bright.  But readers’ eyes are sure to wander back to the darker side of the page and Goldilocks.

Is Goldilocks the villain that has been portrayed in the past?  Is she a greedy little girl who wants the items of some poor bears?  Not here.  Here Goldilocks may be homeless, is definitely in need of warmth, and is lost.  This book turns the tale on its head, creating a heroine out of a lost girl and questioning the motives of the comfortable bears.

A Garden for Pig by Kathryn K. Thurman, illustrated by Lindsay Ward

Pig lives on an apple farm where they grow lots and lots of apples.  And what does Pig get to eat?  Apples, apples, and more apples.  Mrs. Pippins owns the farm and she makes all sorts of apple dishes for pig to eat, but he is sick of apples all the time.  What he really wants to eat are vegetables!  So Pig breaks into the vegetable patch and begins gulping down squash, seeds and all.  When Mrs. Pippin finds him in the garden, she is not happy.  She ties Pig up.  When she catches him trying to break the rope, she shuts him in his pen.  Though Pig tries to escape, he can’t.  But he is determined not to eat any more apples!  Pig notices the next day that his pen looks a lot like a garden.  And after digesting the squash, he has the seeds he needs to make one.

Thurman’s words are simple and have a jaunty rhythm to them.  There are wonderful sounds woven into the book that children will enjoy mimicking.  Pig’s determination and tenacity as well as his creative solution to the problem add to the appeal.

Ward’s collage and cut paper illustrations have a warmth to them.  This is accentuated by the use of fabrics that offer a texture to the images.  In the apple orchard, there are words on the paper that make up the leaves: apple recipes.  The illustrations are large enough to read to a group.  And goodness knows, the poop event at the end will be a hit!

A friendly and warm introduction to gardening in an organic way, this book is a happy addition to gardening story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Kane Miller.

• Also reviewed by:
  • Cover to Cover Kids
  • Jean Little Library
  • Vegbooks

Sweet Moon Baby: An Adoption Tale by Karen Henry Clark, illustrated by Patrice Barton

This is an adoption story that takes a more fairy tale approach.  In China, perfect baby is born.  However, her parents don’t have enough food for themselves and worry about the future of this tiny baby.  So they put trust in the moon and send their baby away down the river.  On the journey, several animals help that baby.  While she sleeps, she is carried by a turtle, flown high by a peacock, sheltered by a monkey, and guided by a panda.   On the other side of the world, a family is waiting for a child.  While they wait, they prepare for her.  They create a garden, plant trees, build her a room, and fill it with pretty things and lots of books.  They know she is there, but where?  They travel long distances following the moon’s path.  And when the moon paths of the baby and the family meet, so do they.

So often adoption books are about the concrete steps taken from one family to the next.  It is a pleasure to read a book that is whimsical and magical about adoption.  Clark’s writing celebrates the connection between child and new family while paying homage to the birth family as well.  The entire book is suffused in a gentle beauty that allows anyone reading to know immediately that this is a joyous tale. 

Barton’s illustrations are particularly fine.  From the first two-page spread of the new baby and her bright-eyed beauty, the illustrations are captivating.  They have a subtle humor to them as well as a soft touch that matches the tone of the book.  Done in sketches and then digitally, the images have interesting textures.

A very successful fairy-tale telling of the adoption story, this book may not answer the questions of how an adoption takes place, but it does speak to the magical nature of love.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Knopf Delacorte Dell.

• Also reviewed by:
• BookDragon
• Journey of a Bookseller
• Young Readers

Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers

Jeffers continues his story of the friendship between a boy and penguin in this fourth book about the boy.  The boy and the penguin are great friends.  They do everything together.  But when the penguin decided that he had to learn to fly, he knew he had to do it on his own.  The boy tried to help, looking up information and trying to connect the penguin with flying experts.  But when the penguin figures out a solution, he heads off immediately to make it happen.   The boy had no idea where the penguin went.  The penguin finds himself alone and lost, unable to get in touch with his friend.  When the boy discovers where the penguin is, the question is whether he will be able to reach him in time to see his friend succeed or fall. 

This book is written with the same charming simplicity of the earlier books.  There is such a gentle and loving spirit to these books.  Yet they still have a spirit of adventure and surprise.  The friendship between the two characters is strong and true, supporting one another even if the other friend needs to do something on their own.  This is a touching story of real friendship.

Jeffers’ illustrations are done in the same style as the earlier books in the series.  They are done in a modern style that is infused with warmth from the charm of the characters and the bright colors. 

A fitting follow-up to Lost and Found, this book will appeal to fans of Jeffers and to new readers as well.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel Books.

I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History’s Strangest Cures by Carlyn Beccia

Have a symptom?  Look it up in this book, but beware!  Some of the cures listed just may not work.  It’s up to you to try to guess which ones would actually help and which might really hurt.   What would help a cough?  Caterpillar fungus used in ancient China?  Frog soup used in 16th century England?  Cherry bark used by ancient Native Americans?  Readers turn the page to discover which of the three would help.  The reasons behind the use of the cure and then the real results are offered, giving a readers a fascinating tour through medical history.  Happily, some of the cures are gross.  That and the way the information is presented as a guessing game make this book appealing to children, including reluctant readers.

Beccia has taken a cheerful approach to what could have been a very dark book.  Instead the tone stays rather merry, talking about the nutritional boost of frog soup, the healing power of spider webs, and much more.  Her illustrations add to the fun with images like maggots with smiling faces and stinky socks tied around the neck.  They have an interesting blend of macabre and silly.

There are some misses in the book.  At one point, a woman of the 19th century is shown in a short skirt, looking very modern except for her cap.  The book maintains a great pace and tone, but falls short at the end where the healing power of mother’s kisses takes on an overly sweet tone.  I also have concerns about the imagery of the mothers and children, because the only one with darker skin is prehistoric.  The only Asian faces are ancient.  It is a frustrating misstep in a book that is good overall.

Get this into the hands of reluctant readers who enjoy gross things and you too will get to talk about maggots at the dinner table!  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

• Also reviewed by:
• A Patchwork of Books
• The PlanetEsme Plan
• Read Kiddo Read
• Shelf-employed
• SMS Book Reviews

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

What a pleasure to read some great science fiction for teens!  At age 17, Amy joins her parents on the trip of a lifetime, or many lifetimes, as they are frozen for a voyage of 300 years to a colonize a new planet.   Flash ahead several hundred years and the ship Godspeed that carries the frozen bodies has created its own society over the centuries.  16-year-old Elder is the next leader of the ship, chosen from when he was an infant to lead.  He has been raised and taught by Eldest, the current leader.  But something is going wrong.  There are secrets everywhere he turns, and no one will give him the answers he needs to be the next Eldest.  To make things worse, someone has begun attacking the frozen people, and it just might be the people Elder trusts most.  This taut thriller of a novel marries mystery, science fiction and romance into a gripping read.

Revis has written a genre-bending novel that will attract many different types of readers.  Her building of the world inside the ship is amazing in its attention to detail.  The complexities of this small world flying through space are solid and fascinating.  Readers will slowly come to understand the secret horrors of life aboard the ship and are guaranteed feel claustrophobic as the metal walls seem to close in. 

Amy is a heroine with plenty of spunk and attitude.  Elder is a more subtle hero, filled with self-doubt and sometimes self-loathing, he is a complex character who has been living with lies entire life.  It is Elder that is the amazing creation in this novel.  A boy who is destined to lead but doesn’t see how. 

I do have one quibble with the book, but it comes so close to the end that I don’t want to ruin the novel for anyone.  It was one twist too many for me and a breaking of literary conventions.  I came away frustrated by the ending but blown away by the novel itself.

An enticing blend of genres, this book would be an ideal book talk choice for librarians looking for a title that will appeal to most teens.  It has an amazing opening chapter that makes it impossible to put down.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin.

Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron

British Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen has created another delight of a picture book.  Readers follow the adventures of Tiny Little Fly as he buzzes past some impressive animals.  Great Big Elephant tries to catch the fly, but even with all of his tramping and crushing, the fly flies away.  When Tiny Little Fly lands on Great Big Hippo’s ear, the hippo tries to catch him by rolling and squashing.  But the fly flies away.  Even Great Big Tiger, who swoops and snatches at the fly with his pay cannot catch the fly.  Told in a wonderful rhyme with plenty of noise and fun, this book will be right at home in any toddler story time.

Rosen’s verse here is filled with a sense of fun and playfulness.  The repetition in the book gives it a wonderful pace and gait that is a pleasure to read aloud.  Each large animal takes two winks at the fly, then tries in their own way to catch it with plenty of ruckus.  Thanks to the simplicity of the story and the attraction of the large animals, I can see this being made into a felt board story very easily.  It would also convert well into a little play acting with parents or teachers.

Waldron’s illustrations are simple but sophisticated.  They have a mix of timelessness and modernism that is charming.  His use of a natural-feeling background rather than stark white makes for a warm feel throughout the book.  Waldron combines several techniques in these illustrations from ink drawings to paint.  For reading aloud to a group, Waldron’s illustrations work well thanks to their large size.  Additionally, he allows children to guess what the next large animal will be, adding to the pleasure of sharing the book aloud. 

An ideal story time pick, get this one for any insect, tiger, elephant or hippo story time you are planning.  Heck, it’s good enough to use time and again for any reason at all.  A guaranteed hit with the toddler and preschool set.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Big Belching Bog by Phyllis Root, illustrations by Betsy Bowen

Through this picture book, readers get to explore the wonders of a bog.  Root uses free verse to invite readers deeper into the bog, discovering the plants and creatures that live here.  Small moments of life in the bog are captured in the poetry, sights and sounds are shared and wondered at.  The book and the bog have a graceful slow pace that make one take ones time and savor.  And through it all, there is something coming, something to look forward to, something that only we might witness.  This small touch of foreboding makes the book all the more pleasurable to read.  A book for children who love nature, animals and plants, this is a rich look at the quiet bog.

Root’s verse works as if it is small poems on each double page spread rather than one long poem that runs the length of the book.  These small pieces of verse make the book more readable and allow the reader to see the tiny pieces of the bog which in turn make up the whole.  This is a book that encourages you to slow down, linger, listen and watch so that you really understand the place that you are.  The book ends with details about bogs and the animals and plants seen in the book.

Bowen’s illustrations are woodcut prints that have great deep colors and thick lines.  A hermit thrush travels through each page with the reader, often cocking its head in a thoughtful way.  The illustrations capture the beauty of the bog and also that swampy feeling, the tug on your boots, the dampness that surrounds you. 

Both verse and illustrations work as a celebration of the bog, inviting readers to visit and discover the surprise themselves.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Are zombies the next big thing?  With this amazing novel, they just might be! 

Fifteen-year-old Benny has grown up in a zombie-infested world, where his town is fenced in to protect the living from hordes of undead.  Cared for by his older brother who Benny despises, Benny tries to find work in his small town.  Unable to find a job, Benny reluctantly agrees to be his brother’s apprentice, even though his brother is not nearly as cool as the other bounty hunters who head out into the wilderness to slay zombies.  As Benny begins to work with his brother, he discovers that there is much more to killing zombies than he thought.  There are also a lot more ways to be human too. 

Maberry has melded the zombie apocalypse world with a coming of age story.  The combination makes for a zombie book with plenty of action and blood, but also one with lots of heart.  Benny is a great lens to view this world through, allowing the reader to discover along with him the truth of the world he lives in.  Maberry’s writing is wonderfully varied.  At times pausing to linger on points, view the wildness of the landscape and storms, and at others rushing into battle scenes with a whipping pace that will have readers breathless. 

The characters here are well crafted, motivated in understandable ways, and have a variety of reactions to this world they have found themselves in.  The reactions are real, honest and believable.  The world building really works well too.  While there are many questions left unanswered about what brought about the zombies rising, those are questions that are deftly built into the story line.  It works well even with the questions.  We can look ahead to more books in the series that could begin to answer them. 

The cover alone will sell this book, but it is also a great choice for teen book talks.  Set the stage of the zombie world and you will have teens lining up to read this one.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

• Also reviewed by:
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  • Bookalicious
  • Bookshelves of Doom
  • Guy Gone Geek
  • Jenn’s Bookshelves
  • Karin’s Book Nook
  • Lucid Conspiracy
  • Practically Paradise
  • Reading with Tequila

Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, illustrated by David Diaz

2011 Pura Belpre Honor Book for Illustration

Opening this book is like opening a treasure box filled with images that are deep, fiery, passionate and intensely beautiful.  This is the story of Frida Kahlo and her travel to San Francisco alongside her husband, artist Diego Rivera.  Rivera was hired to paint a mural for the city, but Frida was restless as he started work on it.  As Rivera spent longer and longer hours working, Frida was left alone in a a foreign country and big city.  She didn’t speak much English and knew almost no one.  So Frida began to explore the city on her own, allowing the things she loved to be the focus.  And in the process, she found her own voice and her own artistic vision.  She was no longer silent, but instead a vivacious beauty who would show the world what she was capable of.

Told in simple words by Novesky, this book captures the situation Frida found herself in with clarity.  The author also revels in Frida finding herself and her art, her explorations and her self awareness.  It is a celebration of more than Frida Kahlo.  It is a celebration of women artists of all sorts.  Diaz’s illustrations are done in acrylic, charcoal and varnish on linen.  The combination of media give the illustrations an amazing depth of color that is beautifully saturated at times and light and airy at others.  Just the use of drips in the illustrations is beautifully done.  The drips become age, emotions and trees.  They add a wild beauty to the images that suits the subject well.

A beautiful picture book about an amazing artist, this was surely worthy of the Pura Belpre Honor Award.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.

The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green, illustrated by Deborah Allwright

Rabbit runs home, frightened that there is a fox chasing him in the dark.  He makes it home safely, but then he hears a Rat-a-tat-tat! at the door.  Who could it be?  It’s a duck who is also being chased by the fox and needs a safe place to be.  Rabbit lets Duck in, sharing his burrow, blanket and bed.  But just then another knock comes at the door.  This time it is Mouse.  Another knock and it’s Lamb.  All of them scared of the fox in the dark.  And then another knock comes at the door.  This time it’s the fox in the dark! 

A combination of dynamic writing and energetic illustrations makes for a stirring read that will have children guessing the entire way through.  Green offers young listeners plenty of rhythm and rhyme that is rambunctious.  It also builds up the drama and tension.  The book reads aloud very well and is sure to have preschool audiences in rapt attention. Allwright’s illustrations play a lot with light and dark, offering deep underground shots of the burrow that is filled with pools of yellow lamplight.  The moods set by this use of dark and light really add even further to the dynamic nature of the story.

Recommended for preschool story times, this book would also make a great Halloween read due to the tension built up.  It would make a great breather from witches and ghosts that time of year.  But don’t wait until then to share it with children!  Fit it into any story time featuring rabbits or foxes.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Doret of theHappyNappyBookseller and Ari of Reading in Color have put together an online Read In that celebrates African American authors.  The first step is to choose from 6 YA titles by African-American authors about African-American teens.  So head to Reading in Color to place your vote for the book you want to discuss and help pick a date for the Read In. 

I have a couple of favorites on the list, which made it difficult to choose.  Votes must be in by this Friday.  (Go Yummy!)

The Amelia Bloomer Project is part of the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibility Roundtable.  The list honors “strong, powerful girls and the books that inspire them.”  Hurrah!

There are many great books on this list, a list that should be used by children’s and teen librarians to keep a focus on strong and confident girls.  I am so happy to see favorites of mine in each of the age groups.