It manages to tick the boxes for early readers with rhythm and rhyme and short sentences and pictures to support the text, while still having a story to it, and one that young children can relate to. The main character is told to get ready for bed by a mom who pleads with him to avoid “dino-drama,” but the illustrations show the reader that after bath time, when he puts on his dinosaur bathrobe, his imagination takes over and he sees himself as a dinosaur who has a terrible time finding suitable pajamas. He joyfully decides he should be wild and free and naked until mom yells, “No more play time! That is it!” and he decides (now back to being a boy in a dino-robe instead of an actual dinosaur) that he better find some clothes that fit. Highly relatable for both parents and children.
Alice Nizzy Nazzy
It’s a reprint of a 1995 book. It’s a reinvention of a Russian folk tale set in a Santa Fe context. Maybe I would feel differently if I was more familiar with either the original tale or the current setting, but to me it felt a bit clunky. I’m not sure how much appeal it will have beyond the Southwest, or Russian communities. It describes a girl looking for lost sheep who encounters a local witch all the children have been warned about, who eventually escapes because the witch likes the taste of naughty children and she’s too sweet. But the resolution doesn’t seem especially connected to the other details of the story.
Impossible Moon
It begins with a girl’s description of her Grana as one who once told the best stories, but who is now too weak to tell stories, and Grana’s question that if we can touch the moon, what is impossible. At bedtime the girl ponders Grana’s question as she gazes at the moon and feels compelled to pursue the impossible. What follows is a fanciful adventure in which she launches herself from her bed into the night sky and pursues several adventures with the characters of the constellations on her way to try to touch the moon. She misses her mark, and finds herself falling sleepily back to earth, now with stories of her own to tell, along with the confidence to continue to pursue the impossible. The illustrations are beautiful and suit the imaginative nature of the tale.
Wondering Around
If one reads the title too quickly you might think it’s about wandering around, and in a way it is, but really it’s about seeking wonder in one’s wandering. It’s written in a rather poetical style, and has a beauty to it, both in text and illustrations. The illustrations are soft and rather muted, and almost seem to have a vintage look to them. It might appeal more to adults who appreciate the wonder of childhood than to the children it’s targeting.
Pages of Music
It’s a republication of a book from the 80s. The illustrations are classic dePaola, and the story is very much in line with other familiar dePaola books: it takes place in the Italian countryside and offers subtle ties to the Christian Christmas story. It tells of a boy who visits a poor island as a child and is so impressed with the generosity and joy of music that he experiences there, that when he grows up to become a famous composer, he returned to the island with a full orchestra to share a Christmas concert he’d composed just for them. It’s a nice story, but not sure it’s going to resonate with a wide audience of children.
Wellington’s Big Day Out
I really like this one. The illustrations are absolutely charming. The story addresses a theme so common among young kids — the wish to be bigger in a hurry. On Wellington’s fifth birthday he’s determined to be more grown up. He’s excited to get a coat like his dad’s as a present, but he’s disappointed that it’s too big for him. On the way to the tailor (where his dad gets his own clothes altered), he’s excited when the bus driver tells him he’s old enough now that he has to pay for his ride. When they tailor’s not in, he and his dad pass the time at the music store and the ice cream parlor, but Wellington is disappointed that he can’t quite keep up with his dad. By the time they stop to visit his granddad, he’s decided it’s not that his jacket is too big, but that he’s too small. When his granddad measures him against the wall, he is amazed to see he’s the exact same size his dad was at his age. Encouraged, he’s willing to wait until he grows into his new jacket.
This Book Is Not for You!
My one gripe with this book is that I find the character of the substitute librarian completely unbelievable, because I can’t imagine any librarian taking his attitude. Still, I know many other adults who do hold such ideas, and who often pass such attitudes to young readers, though perhaps more subtly than does the character in the book. The story tells of a boy visiting a book mobile only to be confronted by a librarian who tells him all the books he wants to read aren’t for him, trying to channel him into his own narrow idea of what is appropriate reading for him. The boy accepts what is offered him, but then subverts the efforts of the narrow-minded librarian by reading under a nearby tree where other patrons are reading (a girl, a robot, a cat, etc), and trading books with the girl who’s reading the book he wanted to read in the first place. When a dinosaur shows up and scares the librarian into giving him the book he wants, regardless of his own opinions, the young boy learns to find his own voice and insist on getting what he wants. The story takes things to the extreme to make the point about those more subtle attitudes.
The Little Butterfly that Could
The bright, cheerful, silly illustrations will draw readers in to read about the message of perseverance and believing in oneself to tackle a big job. It tells of a butterfly lost on in the ocean partway through his seasonal migration. Much of the book is a conversation between him and whale giving him a pep talk. When he finds out he’s got 200 miles to go things seem daunting, and he comes up with all sorts of excuses and protests, but the whale convinces him to believe in himself and keep trying, and eventually he finds his friends, just it time to learn about going dormant for the winter.
Puppy Bus
It’s cute. It’s about a boy who’s not excited about the first day of school, but then when he gets on the bus, he realizes he got on the wrong bus. All the other passengers are puppies, and he finds himself at puppy school. Though he doesn’t speak Bark, he goes along with things and finds himself having a rather good day, learning how to play fetch and dig and howl. The next day he’s all excited to return, but this time finds himself on a bus filled with kitties.
Bright
Rachel Kim knows what success feels like. She’s been in a famous K-pop group, Girls Forever, for several years, establishing herself as one of its stars. Rachel has traveled the world and given everything to the group but is intrigued when approached with a few independent job opportunities. With the entertainment group’s blessing, Rachel embarks publically into the fashion design of purses while also privately dating a very connected young gentleman. But not all group members are happy with Rachel’s success. Girl drama mixed with suppressed passion and a little bit of paparazzi scandal propels this semi-autobiographical story. Rachel will learn that sometimes being on a new path is scary, with the unknown around the corner, but you have to try something new to get new results. Anyone who follows K-Pop will enjoy this Bright romp.
My Pet Feet
My Pet Feet provides readers with a glimpse of what the world would be like without the letter R. A young girl awakens to greet her pet ferret, Doodles, who has now been turned into her pet ‘feet’ since the letter R is missing from the alphabet displayed on her wall. She sets out to find out what happened to the missing letter but the town is in R-less chaos. She has to escape many silly R-less obstacles such as a policewoman on a galloping hose, a fiend instead of her friend Lucas, and a flock of cows (crows with cow bodies). She climbs a cane (crane) to escape the pandemonium when Doodles runs away to help lead the way to the R thieves.
I highly recommend this book for young elementary students. The play on words provides an effortless opportunity to build letter knowledge and phonological awareness with young readers. Young readers will also enjoy searching the colorful illustrations to find all of the R-less mayhem like the motorcycle driving on ties rather than tires.
A Grand Day
A Grand Day is a celebration of the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. Children, parents and grandparents gather to enjoy one another’s company while sharing a wide variety of activities. Families are seen enjoying breakfast on the porch, gardening, making sidewalk chalk art, and visiting the park to play, have picnics, and read. The text is brief and rhyme helps detail the excitement the children feel while sharing in each adventure.
I’ve never seen anything like illustrator Samantha Cotterill’s amazing layered, three-dimensional illustrations. She is celebrated for her diorama-style illustrations which are quite unique and really fun to look at. I also appreciated the diversity of family members and one child uses a wheelchair. I recommend this book to help highlight the bond between family, “Family ties so strong and true / Part of me / is part of you.”
Star Fishing
I love the illustrations! They are sweet and fanciful, and very suited to the bedtime story this is. It tells of a child who cannot sleep, but finds a dangling star that invites him to the moon to play with a little rabbit who can’t sleep either. They keep wondering if they are the only ones who can’t sleep, but every time they cast their star line down, they real in another animal who can’t sleep, until the whole gang discovers that the stars aren’t sleepy either. After a fun night of playing among the stars they worry about little rabbit being alone again when they leave, so they create constellations to remind her of her friends, crab, big bear, little bear, fox, and rabbit before being sent off to sleep once more. I confess, as an adult reader, I was a bit disappointed in the simplicity of the plot, I wanted more to happen, but I don’t think the young children who are the target audience will care. They enjoy a story more through their hearts than their heads.
Bravo, Bucket Head!
The Lester-Munsinger duo have teamed up again to share the story of shy Mousetta, who is so shy she walks backward and hides within her parents’ clothes or wherever else she can, feeling mousey next to her cool, gorgeous, awesome field mates. The only way she can work up the courage to attend a workshop that promises to make her feel more outgoing is to wear a bucket on her head. At the workshop she is joined by Lampshade Head, Wastebasket Head, and Blankey Head, but before instruction can begin an emergency alarm warns of foxes in the area, and even the instructor takes cover, hiding in a garbage bin. Realizing that someone better do something if they’re not to end up as fox food, Mousetta tries three times to get enough oomph into her voice to get the others to join hands and charge the foxes.
Scared by the aliens with strange heads and backwards feet, the foxes flee, and Mousetta discovers that her equally shy classmates were none other than the mice she envied, who apparently also feel shy at times. Mousetta is finally comfortable enough in her own fur to lead the parade in celebration of her team’s triumph over the foxes.
A Mermaid Girl
So many children’s books address the theme of feeling like one doesn’t fit in and having the courage to be oneself, and that is fitting, as it’s a struggle we all face at one time or another. This one has the added benefit of addressing this common theme through the experiences of a group often underrepresented in our libraries. It tells of a girl who is so excited to be heading to the pool with her mom in her new burkini, feeling like “a dainty seahorse, or a splendid pineapplefish,” ready to enjoy a day as a mermaid girl. Her joy vanishes when other swimmers point out that her swimsuit doesn’t look like a “real” swimsuit, and question whether she’ll even be able to swim in it. Her mother reminds her of the brave mermaid girls who have come before her and the many more that will come later, and that to stand out is to be full of the things that make you you. With a boost of courage, she joins in and her friends see that she can do all the things they can do, until they want to be mermaid girls, too (even Sam).
A Little Ferry Tale
The illustrations are sweet in a slightly vintage sort of way that suits the story where the main character is a ferry. This little ferry finds herself jealous of the other boats at which her passengers marvel: the rough and fearless tugboat, the speedy speedboat, and the carefree and graceful sailboat. She knew her strengths (being patient and quiet and careful), but no one ever cheers for those things, so she decides to try to be more like the boats she envies. She’s sad when her attempts don’t prove successful, but in the end, she find her strengths allow her to succeed where her flashier friends fail. When fire on a nearby island threaten the animals, quiet and patient and careful are just the things that are needed
Swim, Jim!
When three young crocodiles are born, Jim is afraid to swim, but is determined to learn. Deciding that his own swamp is too dark and deep, he goes in search of a smaller swamp. Stumbling upon a kiddie pool and floaties he finds his courage, until his claw pops his floatie, but by then his sisters have joined him and point out that the pool is shallow enough to stand in. After some lessons from his sisters, he’s ready to return to the family swamp and join in the family fun. The illustrations are inviting, and the fear of learning to swim is certainly something a lot of kids can relate to.
Dress-Up Day
It’s a sweet story of a young girl who is all excited, anticipating a school costume party, but after helping her mom make a fabulous bunny costume, she is disappointed to wake up ill on the day of the party and has to miss the party. When she’s feeling better the next day, mom suggests she where her rabbit costume that day instead, and her joy is restored. Until she gets to school and the other kids stare and laugh, and she begins to doubt. Joy is restored once again when another classmate who was ill the day before also turns up in his costume, and by the end of the day he has become her best friend. The next day all the kids show up in costumes, convincing our protagonist that she’d had a great idea all along. The illustrations are charming, and the dilemma, as well as its solution are very relatable for young children: the difficulty of being all alone, and the power of a single friend to turn things around.
Hang in There!
In rhyming verse it asks the reader if they’ve ever had a day when nothing seems to go their way. It suggests a list of terrible disappointments that are both relatable and absurd: a walrus at the sink when you need a drink, scrambled worms being served for breakfast, your coat getting eaten by a goat right when it’s time to go, and so forth. It chronicles a really miserable day, illustrated with a young cat having to deal with all sorts of other animals in a difficult day at school, finally giving up and going home, only to be confronted by a yak sitting on its toys. Just when the culmination of the day’s events are about to push the kitty round the bend, a yak fart turns cries to laughter. The book ends with an admonishment never to give up hope, but to find the humor and face a bad day together with your friends. It’s fine, but I find the color scheme of the illustrations a bit jarring. I think there are better books that address the same theme without resorting to fart humor.
Teo’s Tutu
I like it. It celebrates being yourself, while recognizing that it’s not always easy to do so. It tells of a young boy who loves to dance. He’s excited and nervous on his first day of ballet lessons, knowing it will be different than the cumbia or bhangra dances he enjoys at home with his family, but inspired by memories of seeing a Swan Lake performance. When another boy in the class asks why he’s wearing a tutu, he simply answers, “Because it’s pretty.” I like that the story shows both boys and girls in the ballet class. I like that the parents and dance teacher never once make any kind of issue about Teo’s tutu, but are only ever positively encouraging Teo to enjoy himself, and yet when it comes time for Teo to choose a costume for the big performance, it only takes feeling the eyes of the other students on him to make him feel pressured to choose the shirt and pants. Even when peer pressure is subtle it can be powerful. In the end, Teo chooses the costume in which he feels most comfortable and thoroughly enjoys a successful performance before his biggest fans.
Mouse Calls
Mouse Calls is written by Anne Marie Pace and is a delightful picture book about a mouse who carefully gathers everyone together to wait out a storm.
The book begins with dark clouds rolling in across the waves. Mouse runs to tell Moose, setting off a series of events that has all animals rushing to shelter in a cave. The message quickly passes from one animal to the other in a rhythmical pattern, “Mouse calls Moose. // Moose calls Goose. / Goose calls Dog / and Hog / and Hare. // Hare calls Bat. / Bat calls Cat. / Cat calls Frog / and then calls Mare.” The animals in the book seem to be chosen based on rhyme rather than habitat.
My favorite part of the book is Erin Kraan’s detailed illustrations which are layered with different patterns, textures and colorful details. Students will have fun looking at what the animals bring along with them as they gather in the cave to pass the time or share with others. This is a fun, rhyming read aloud focused on the theme of community.
Rosie and the Pre-Loved Dress
Rosie and the Pre-Loved Dress is a charming book highlighting the world of possibilities found in a thrift store. Rosie visits her local thrift store with her mother when a yellow dress that sparkles and shines catches her eye. When Rosie gets the dress home she finds the name Mila written on the label inside. She tries to imagine all of the adventures Mila had in the dress before her. Rosie loves the new-to-her dress and wears it every day until she outgrows it.
The illustrations are whimsical and sweet. The character is cute and quirky, she wears the dress on many adventures like skateboarding with mismatched socks. A fun fact, author Leanne Hatch is also a textile and accessories designer that lives in the Pacific Northwest. I highly recommend this book. I think this book is a great way to share the joy and wonder of recycled clothing.
Becoming Blue
Author Ellen Tarlow and illustrator Julien Chung create a clever and engaging picture book about finding what it means to be your true self.
Blue very much wants to be like his friend Red. Red is exciting, funny and fascinating. Blue tries to copy his friend Red, but it isn’t easy or as fun as Blue thought it would be. Blue sets out on a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.
The illustrations in this book are simple and bold. The message of self-acceptance is easy for young readers to relate to and understand. It would be a wonderful book to add to classrooms and library collections.
A Secret Princess
The YA novel, A Secret Princess, is a creative collaboration by two renowned young adult literature authors, Margaret de la Cruz and Margaret Stohl. With clear homage to Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of The Secret Garden, A LittlePrincess and Little Lord Fauntleroy, de la Cruz and Stohl weave an entertaining but fanciful story around three young people who chance to meet in a repressive English boarding school called The Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentlemen. The 2022 novel holds no surprises in plot, setting or character development. Teenage attraction at almost first sight, the unfair use of adult power, the instant friendship formed from disadvantage and the magical powers of a hidden garden are formulaic and expected. The surprising and refreshing aspect of this light and breezy novel is the inclusion of a person of color, Sara from the Philippines, who experiences subtle and blatant prejudice from every class level in pre-industrial England. The “prince” is a physically challenged young man whose wealth and privilege cannot bring him what he most desires: health and mobility. The third main character is Mary, a strong-willed, determined young woman who will not be the “lady” that is expected of her.
The rewriting of the classic stories by Burnett to reflect multi-cultural backgrounds and people of color is to update the original work with an air of honor and respect. These young characters overcome difficulties through friendship, courage and a bit of “luck”. A Secret Princess is a whimsy, frivolous read.
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Reviewed by OHS Senior, Adelaide E.
Interweaving Arthurian legend with the harsh realities of slavery and its modern affects, Bloodmarked will be a compelling and educational read for people of all ages, but primarily the YA audience, as it has a young female lead on the path of discovering more about her heritage and newfound powers. This retelling of Arthurian legend will engage readers who enjoy books with themes involving confronting racial prejudice and discovering oneself and abilities.
Soon after the events of the previous book Legendborn, Bree Matthews is learning to control her powers as a medium and the Scion of Arthur in order to rescue fellow scion Nicholas, a quest on which her right to rule is questioned by the Order of the Round Table, and her relationship with the Kingsmage Selwyn Kane develops.
I liked that it had a strong female protagonist whose struggles included people challenging her right to rule and discovering the implications of her new status as a medium, which includes obtaining the powers, skills, and qualities of her ancestors, such as Arthur.
Personally, I didn’t feel that there was much development with her relationship with Sel or Nick. Nothing substantial happened because Nick was kidnapped throughout the entirety of the book, leaving Sel to remain his Kingsmage. There was some discussion about whether Sel would be able to be Kingsmage to the both of them, but this was an unresolved point in Bloodmarked.
