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Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I'll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.Enjoy! This is a Cybils year with an interesting... Read the rest of this post

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Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I'll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.Enjoy! Writing inclusive speculative fiction is... Read the rest of this post

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Synopsis: Forge and Ashes are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Seeds of America trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson. Way, WAY back in 2009, I reviewed the first book, Chains, and was so glad to know there was a sequel in the works: it was an absorbing tale... Read the rest of this post

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This scary cover almost made me not want to read it.Synopsis: I’m a huge fan of Frances Hardinge’s Fly By Night books, so I was eager to check out this one—another middle grade fantasy. It’s hard to talk about this one without giving away... Read the rest of this post

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This is one of the most gorgeous and effectivecovers I've seen. I love it.Synopsis: Clara and Hailey are twin sisters, and like a lot of sisters, they are closer than close one moment, but in the next, they get on each other's last nerve. Hailey is... Read the rest of this post

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Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!One of the things the kidlitosphere talked about a lot in the early days of the early 2000's was the preponderance of YA novels with ridiculously 1% families in them. Rare were the books where the kids... Read the rest of this post

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Synopsis: The "every X years something life-changing/terrible/wonderful happens" trope always reminds me of that Ray Bradbury short story "All Summer in a Day," which I read for school in maybe 6th or 7th grade and found incredibly traumatic. In... Read the rest of this post

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This has been the summer of the monkeybrain - too much going on, too much we wanted to do and we're not going to get it done, because it's nearing the end of August. ::sigh:: One thing we didn't want to miss was talking about Kate Messner's latest... Read the rest of this post

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A Clatter of Jars by Lisa Graff
Read by Ellen Archer
2016, Listening Library

Quirky magical realism.
Read my full review at AudioFile Magazine.

A Clatter of Jars is Lisa Graff's follow up to 2013's, A Tangle of Knots.  I reviewed A Tangle of Knots in 2013, and declared, "If you read no other middle grade fiction book this year, you will have made a good choice." The magic doesn't wear off in A Clatter of Jars, a deftly woven, magical realism story set in the same world as the preceding book, where many people possess Talents - from the mundane (ability to understand frogs) to the powerful (telekinesis).  I particularly enjoyed this story because it features a boy who we may assume has some sort of spectrum disorder, and it has a subtle Lord of the Rings reference.

I often tell kids at the library that it's OK to start with a second book in a series if the first book is unavailable. (I don't like to see them go home empty-handed!)  Most authors do a fine job of catching the reader up on prior events.  However, because of the rich details of the world Lisa Graff has created, A Clatter of Jars is best read after A Tangle of Knots.


An audio excerpt from A Clatter of Jars and my review for AudioFile Magazine may be found here. [http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/114587/a-clatter-of-jars-by-lisa-graff/]

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I always look forward to books by Kate Messner. Why? Because I know they will be solid, kid centered and bring something to the table. I had read online that she had recently been disinvited to a school due to the content of her latest book.  I quickly went to my TBR pile and pulled out my copy to give it a go.

Charlie's sister Abby is home from college for the weekend and things aren't going exactly like Charlie had imagined they would.  When she goes to wake Abby up to see if she will come out to look at the lake with her just in case the ice flowers have shown up again, Abby waves her off telling her to just go away. Somewhat chagrinned, Charlie trudges out to the lake only to see that the ice flowers have come back. Her neighbor Drew and his nana are also out on the lake but they are checking the ice for fishing possibilities. Drew tells Charlie about the fishing derby he plans on entering and the prize of $1000 for the biggest lake perch. Since Charlie really wants a new dress for her Irish dancing competitions, she decides to give it a go.

But despite living near the lake, Charlie is scared of its winter ice. So when she joins Drew and his nana, she sticks closer to shore. Soon everyone is landing fish left and right except for Charlie. When she finally pulls one in, it's hardly bigger than the bait she used to catch it. But right before she releases it she hears something. The fish is talking to her. "Release me and I will grant you a wish."

Well, what would you do? Charlie hastily wishes on her crush liking her and to not be afraid of the ice anymore. What harm could wishing on a fish really do?

Anyone who has read a fairy tale knows that wishes can easily go awry. And Charlie's wishes are no exception. While no harm is truly done, Charlie finds herself out on the ice more and more  (since she miraculously is no longer afraid of the ice) with Drew and his nana. Not only is it adding to her feis dress fund, but it's getting her out of the house. It turns out that Abby has changed in ways that Charlie never even imagined. While she was away at school, she started dabbling in drugs which led to a full blown heroin addiction. Who can Charlie even talk to about this? When she thinks about it, she feels ashamed and bewildered. How could Abby, who she had always looked up to, done this?

Kate Messner has written an important book that somewhat gently looks at the fact that anyone can be swiftly taken down by drugs, and specifically by opiates. I live on Staten Island where opiate abuse and heroin are at an all time high.  I commute to Manhattan with my children, and by the time they were 9 and 12 respectively they could tell the difference between someone napping and someone in a nod. They have witnessed police using narcan on people who have OD'd in the ferry terminal. They watched me try to convince the friends of a woman in the throws of an OD to allow me to call an ambulance for her. Kids aren't too young for this story. My kids are living this story everyday they commute. And the brothers and sisters of kids all over our Island are living Charlie's story.  So I would like to applaud Kate Messner for telling this story. It is one I plan on sharing and book talking whenever I get the chance.

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Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!Here's one of the infrequent middle grade novels we review here on this site; I chose it because the main character is a.) adopted and b.) Cambodian - just like my sister. She would have laughed a lot... Read the rest of this post

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Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!It's National Mental Health month, and I've been looking for books which fit the theme. While this book has a great many negatives for me, not the least because there is an unethical relationship with an... Read the rest of this post

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Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!Synopsis: Jaded, bored, and sarcastic, Evelyn Wyndham, at an eminently marriageable age, is deeply disinterested, and thought to be the tiniest bit odd both by her parents, and by well-bred Bramhurst... Read the rest of this post

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I don't often like to review a book waaaaay before it comes out, so this is less of a review, and more of a squee with a few salient details you could find on the back of the novel. I posted this review for the first time in August, because I Could.... Read the rest of this post

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Lauren Oliver, author of the Delirium trilogy, Before I Fall and Liesl & Po, has created a tense psychological thriller in Vanishing Girls.

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Join the Summerfield sisters for a journey of family, friendship, and football in this first title of the fictional chapter book series designed for elementary-aged girls from Small Publishing.

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This book is both a quiet coming-of-age novel, and a suspenseful mystery, making it somewhat difficult to review without providing spoilers. In some ways, it was a fairly typical YA novel about a high school girl - yet, there was a lot else going... Read the rest of this post

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Young readers looking for reinvented, well-known characters and a light-hearted romp of a read will no doubt enjoy Once Upon a Zombie.

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Whilst books about changes in family dynamics and how you as a child might feel when you find out you’re about to become a big sister are not hard to find, Whatever happened to my sister? by Simona Ciraolo is the first picture book I’ve ever come across which explores the sisterly dynamic at a later and equally crucial time; what happens when your older sister no longer wants to play with you, but instead is more interested in music and boys and clothes?

Whatever happened to my sister? is an observant, compassionate and sensitive portrayal of how a younger sister can feel as she sees her big sister grow up and grow apart, leaving behind the shared childhood games and mischief the sisters once shared.

Ciaolo gently witnesses the sadness mixed with hope and the confusion mixed with loyalty as a younger sister tries to understand why her big sister no longer wants to hang out with her. But just as the younger sister bursts into tears at the horribleness of it all, who should step up to give her a hug and reassure her that some things never change? The comforting ending reminds us that whilst at times big sisters may seem strange and distant, in the end they’ll always be there for you.

This rare take on sisterly relations is poignant and honest. The big emotions are contained by muted and calm illustrations made with a limited palette, at times reminding me of the graceful style of Komako Sakai. Greys predominate at times of sadness and confusion, whilst oranges and reds come to the fore when things take a happier turn.

A small personal frustration with the portrayal of he father as someone who doesn’t get involved in emotional life of his daughters aside (he would rather sit behind his newspaper and keep out of it all; this appears to from a different age to that which my two daughters are growing up in), Whatever happened to my sister? is moving, beautiful and reassuring. It’s a book I’m very happy the two sisters I’m bringing up now have as part of their home library.

Having read Whatever happened to my sister? together, we decided to celebrate M and J’s sisterhood by creating a photo album of the fun and games they’ve got up to together over the years. I trawled through all our photos of them since J (the younger sister) was born, selected a good few and then printed them and stuck them in an album in age order.

In a day and age where nearly all our photos remain digital-only, this time-lapse book delighted not only me as their mum, but also the two girls as they relived many happy memories.

They customised the front of the album:

They then went through adding comments or speech bubbles to various photos.

I think we’ve created a lovely keep-sake here, documenting their first 7 years of sisterhood. Hopefully, if and when things get tough between them, they’ll remember both Ciraolo’s lovely book and this photo album, and together they’ll be little lights of hope for better times.

Whilst creating and customising their photo album M and J listened to:

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves – Aretha Franklin duetting with Eurythmics

Oh No, I Like My Sister by Barry Louis Polisar

Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana…

Other activities which might work well alongside reading this book include:

Reading the graphic novel Sisters by Raina Telgemeier. An autobiographical exploration of sisterhood! My 7 and 10 year old sisters have enjoyed both this and Ciraolo’s book a great deal.

Exploring “the best sisters in children’s books” – an article from the Guardian’s Book Doctor.

Blinging up your big sister’s headphones – this could be a fun birthday present for a younger sister to make for an older sister.

If you liked this post you might like these other posts by me:

Welcome to the family by Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith, with an idea for a set of family puppets.

What makes us happy? With a home-made lift-the-flap book using family photos and reminding us of what cheers us up.

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Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.

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I don't often like to review a book waaaaay before it comes out, so this is less of a review, and more of a squee with a few salient details you could find on the back of the novel. I really enjoyed this book; it was unashamedly a love story -- but... Read the rest of this post

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click to embiggenA surfeit of conflicts sistericalMakes this graphic novel hysterical - And a journey by carMakes it all worse by farA truce would be some sort of miracle!Other Noteworthy Info: This incredibly fun graphic novel, published last year,... Read the rest of this post

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Those of us who were English majors can be some of the biggest sticklers for facts, just the facts, ma'am, when it comes to our literary giants. We might argue loudly about canon, be Holmes buffs who tend to be wary of fan fiction, and dispute over... Read the rest of this post

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Title: Sisters Author: Raina Telgemeier Publisher: GRAPHIX Publication Date: August 26, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0545540605 208 pp. ARC provided by publisher Raina Telgemeier made her name with the Eisner-winning Smile, a middle grade graphic novel that perfectly captured what it's like to be different when you're not entirely sure you want to be different. Raina has created another note-perfect

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I was lucky enough to receive this ARC a long time ago. It was irresistible.  I mean, look at that cover! Read that title! I am a person who has never even had a twinkie, but I knew I needed to read this one.  Sometimes a book just gives you a feeling, and this one was calling to me.

Twelve year old Gigi (short for Galileo Galilei) and big sister Didi (short for Delta Dawn) have moved from their trailer park digs in South Carolina to an apartment in Long Island.  One of the only things they have brought with them is their late mother's recipe book which helped the girls win big money in a cooking contest, and Didi is set on giving Gigi a better life that she had.  Gigi is all registered to go to Hill on the Harbor Preparatory School and as long as she keeps following Didi's recipe for success by studying hard and getting top grades, everything will be great.

But here's the thing...Gigi is ready for some changes.   She has even come up with her own recipe for success that doesn't include studying in the library every extra moment of the day.  Instead she wants to find friends her own age, try on a new version of her name, and find ways to have the qualities she knows her late mother would see in her shine.  Gigi (now Leia) is feeling confident about memorizing her locker combination and her schedule and is ready for her first class on her first day when she crashes into Trip who just happens to be the most beautiful boy she's ever seen, and is also in her English class.  All of a sudden this front row girl was sitting in the back row next to Trip.

But change isn't alway smooth or easy, and even though Trip and most of his friends are super nice, mean girl Mace notices Leia's dollar store shoes and less-than-healthy E-Z Cheeze sandwich and makes sure that Leia knows that she is the square peg at school.  Leia can handle the insult about the shoes, but nobody makes fun of Didi's cooking!

Readers will be rooting for Leia as she navigates through all sorts of changes in her life. From the tony world of private school to freshly unearthed family secrets, Leia's life is not following any recipe!  Kat Yeh has written a treat of a middle grade story that will tug on your heart strings and make you smile in equal measure.  The multifaceted characters and rich turns of phrase that had me reading with a twang are only a couple of the reasons I read this book in one big gulp.  The Truth About Twinkie Pie is a book with honesty and heart and I cannot wait to share it with the tweens in my life!

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Title: Maple & Willow Together Written and illustrated by: Lori Nichols Published by: Nancy Paulsen Books, Nov. 4th, 2014 Themes/Topics: sisters, sibling dynamics, making up Suitable for ages: 3-7 Fiction, 32 pages Opening: Maple and her little sister, Willow, were always together. … Continue reading →

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