These are my favorite reads from 2011 – not all of these titles were published in 2011, and some aren’t “Juv/YA” titles per se, but no matter! Castle Waiting, Vol. 2, by Linda Medley. Pub. 2010. The art and writing are as funny and clever as in Vol. 1 (see my previous review). I actually [...]
Ehud Ben-Ezer. Hosni the Dreamer. Illus. Uri Shulevitz. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997. Hosni is teased by the other shepherds for being a daydreamer. One day, his dream of travelling to a big city comes true – Hosni is asked to accompany the sheikh, his master, on a journey to sell camels in the [...]
* EXPLORING OUR WORLD * Donna Jo Napoli. The Crossing. Illus. Jim Madsen. New York: Atheneum, 2011. Napoli retells the story of Lewis and Clark from the viewpoint of Sacajawea’s son, who was a baby at the time. Gorgeous mellow-toned digital scenes (I could have sworn they were hand-painted) match the soothing rhythm of the [...]
Bruce Coville. Jennifer Murdley’s Toad. Illus. Gary A. Lippincott. San Diego: Harcourt, 1992. 156 pp. Jennifer Murdley hates mirrors. She hates being reminded of her ugliness. Why can’t she look more like her beautiful mother? Or her thin, blond classmate, Sharra? Or, most of all, like the gorgeous Jennifer in her dreams? But no, the [...]
Nnedi Okorafor. Akata Witch. Viking – Penguin, 2011. 349 pages. Formerly on my “reading wishlist,” inspired by the Charlotte’s Library review. NOTE: Akata Witch contains strong language and some graphic violence, as well as other scenes that may be too frightening for younger readers. It started when she looked into a candle flame and saw [...]
According to Japanese legend, a homeless cat once saved a samurai warrior and brought wealth to a poor monk simply by raising one paw. This is one variation of the beckoning cat (Maneki Neko) legend, which some say originated between the early 17th and late 19th centuries. Two of the most recent re-tellings of this [...]
