Witch for Hire, by Ted Naifeh

This graphic novel features some dark & difficult subjects including bullying, cyberbullying, and verbal and physical abuse. Naifeh handles it well and I think it will be enjoyed by mature middle school or high school readers. The book seems to be the first in a new series, setting the main character up as a problem-solver of the magical variety for people in need. In this first book, she reigns over the losers table in the lunchroom at school and reluctantly gets involved with halting a cyberbully called “shy_shelbi” who is encouraging & blackmailing for chaos in the guise of helping. Underlying storylines feature families with abuse secrets which give the whole book an edgy feel. I appreciated that even though some problems are solved, the characters realize that there are always consequences and unsolved issues – even with some positive outcomes. Life is not easy. The graphics are colorful and facial expressions are very expressive. Light & dark help handle the mood and the seriousness of some scenes.

Witch For Hire

Chirp! Chipmunk Sings For a Friend

Chipmunk lives on a rock and sings her songs everyday. Sometimes her songs are happy, sometimes bittersweet, and sometimes very sad. Rock is a very good listener, but Chipmunk longs for a friend to sing with her. So Chipmunk sets off to find a friend. First she tries a pinecone, but Pinecone ends up getting along with rock. Then she tries a log which then leads her to finding other friends.

The illustrations complement the text, especially the illustrations about the songs. The message that it is okay to express emotions and also a message of perseverance is important.

I See You See by Richard Jackson

Maisie’s mom asks her to walk the dog – and Jonah, her younger brother in a wheelchair asks to go along too. While Maisie struggles with the dog and pushing the wheelchair, Jonah’s imagination brings the walk alive. From a tree of cats and bell machine, to a popsicle garden and a sky slide, Jonah shares his joy. As the walk progresses, Maisie begins to see the world through a more imaginative lens, changing a chore into something filled with fun and laughter.

I See You See is a celebration of imagination and the bond between siblings.

Kaleidoscope, by Brian Selznick

Like an ever-shifting scene in a kaleidoscope, the stories in this book have fragments in common – characters, themes, settings, objects. Each story starts with a kaleidoscopic image from a full drawing on the next page. Each image is related in some way to each story. Each story could be read separately. Taken together, they’re like a strand of unique beads on a very strange necklace. They go together, but it’s hard to find a common message. I enjoyed reading the stories. They were fantastical and strange and mysterious- each a little gem. I kept feeling like I was missing the bigger point of all of them put together however. The author’s note at the end explains that he had been working on a different project prior to the pandemic and then deconstructed it into these loosely connected stories during the quarantine. This makes sense, but in terms of handing this book to a middle schooler… I’m just not sure it’s going to make much sense. It might be an interesting book for a book group to discuss since the overall book still feels very mysterious & unexplained to me.

Kaleidoscope

Twinkle Twinkle Little Kid, by Drew Daywalt

While the title suggests the childhood song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the story is instead built around the nursery rhyme, Star Light, Star Bright. A young boy wishes on a star while at the same time a star is wishing on a little kid. Both are disappointed when their wishes don’t come true.Each wonder about the other’s wish. Did they wish for checkers? A tent? A frisbee? Walkie-talkies? Clyde cannot figure out what the star wished for. Finally both realize they each wished for a friend. Together they enjoy checkers, a tent, frisbee, and the walkie talkies; never having to worry about a lack of a friend again.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Kid is a sweet story with charming illustrations that would do well as a bedtime story, but lacks the humor and kid appeal of Daywalt’s other books.

Sunny Makes a Splash by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

In book four of the Sunny graphic novel series, our main character anticipates a boring, unexciting summer after finding out her friends are going to be out of town but things change after she gets a job at the Golf and Swim Club snack stand. She makes friends that are older than her and sees others start relationships. This book is a light, fun graphic novel about friendship and being a tween. I would recommend it especially if you already have the first 3 books of the series.

Listen by Gabi Snyder, Stephanie Graegin – Illustrator

This picture book discusses how even in a loud and overwhelming world if you take a moment to stop and listen you can hear the individual things around you. This book would be a great reminder to students to close their eyes and use their ears to move past the full force of one large cacophony of noise and give your full attention to something. This book has some very nice reference notes about listen.

Orca Rescue! : The True Story of an Orphaned Orca Named Springer by Donna Sandstrom

A engaging true story for young nature lovers. When a young orca is seen all alone near Vashon Island without any pods nearby, it got the attention of both orca enthusiasts and scientists. A baby orca will not survive without a family to protect and teach it. Scientist and volunteers use her distinctive call and markings to identify her family. Since she was alone, it was assumed that her mother was dead, but her grandmother, aunts, and cousins were still alive in Canadian waters. In Orca Rescue! the story of Springer’s capture, transport, and release, and subsequent reunion with her family is described.

The nonfiction narrative of Springer’s story is interspersed with well researched, age appropriate information on Orcas in general and Puget Sound resident pods in particular. Sarah Burwash’s lovely watercolor illustrations portray the complicated steps in the rescue. The endpapers include photographs of Springer in different stages of her life, a matrilineal family tree of the A10 pod, a summary of some of the threats to whales and dolphins, glossary, and a list of the individuals and organizations that were instrumental in Springers safe rescue.

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

Bryan Collier’s breathtaking illustrations of the Civil Rights protest song make this book an important addition to any elementary library. Each refrain is supported by the visual portrayal of the text with the current day children of color living and dreaming beside a black and white portrayal of historical events and figures important to the Civil Rights movement. The message is thought provoking and uplifting and celebrates progress while recognizing there is still change that needs to happen.

Since the text is based on the lyrics from the original gospel hymn, the breadth of the message is broadened beyond the repeated refrain most often part of Civil Rights protests.

The endpapers explain the origins of the hymn and provides details on the significance of the black and white historical events.

Keep Your Head Up

It’s a good book for helping kids think about and talk about and process their reactions to the world around them. It’s about a kid having a rough day. From the moment he woke up late, everything seems to go wrong all day long, and as he describes how the day is going, he also describes how he feels, and how those feelings build. At the beginning, he makes a conscious decision to walk to school with his head up even though he feels a little scrunch, because he knows any day can be a good day if you try. But as more problems pile up, his bad day face slips out, even though he’s trying not to let it. He reminds himself that his principal would tell him to keep his head up, so he does, but eventually he has a meltdown. When he’s sent to the principal’s office, he expects her face to be scrunchy, but it’s not. When his parents come to get him, he asks if this day is going to get any better, and his mom says it might, if asks him what he can do if it doesn’t, and he knows the right answer is to keep his head up, but he confesses that he doesn’t really want to, and his principal says he just has to want to try. I like that it’s a very believable, and relatable tale for a lot of kids, and it doesn’t offer a sugar-coated ending that everything’s turned around or he has overcome his feelings. I like that it reminds kids they just have to want to try. The illustrations are full of feeling, too, that support the story nicely.

Mr. Complain Takes the Train

Well, it is pretty much exactly as the title describes: an old codger opens the book by complaining that the train is late, and then he proceeds to continuously complain about absolutely everything. Luckily the ostrich/emu? taking tickets has a never ending supply of patience as he continuously adjusts things in an attempt to accommodate Mr. Complain. In the end, the train goes through a loop-de-loop that delights Mr. Complain so much he doesn’t want to get off when it reaches his destination. The pictures are cute, and it does invite a certain amount of interaction with the reader, but I guess I don’t have as much patience as our ticket-taker, because I just found it rather pointless. It’s not bad. It’s just not that great.

Moo-Moo, I Love You!

It’s one of those books for reminding children that they are loved unconditionally. Mama cow is telling her little cow how much she loves it, when she loves it, and what she loves about it, and to keep it silly instead of sappy, it plays on “moo”s throughout. She loves it no matter it’s moo-d, when they’re grooving to moo-sic, and when it’s sch-moo-zing with friends, etc. No child can be told too often how much they’re loved.

1, 2, 3, Off to School!

It’s the kind of book that invites children in to spend time with it. The illustrations are so full of small detail with lots happening on each two-page spread. The story is a simple one, that of a gnome child who is disappointed to be told he s/he won’t be starting kindergarten for another year, so s/he sets off to spend the first day of school visiting all the forest animals in their different schools, watching how their school day progresses. Each two-page spread shows a cross-section of another school, full of details (both pictorial and small word blurbs) showing all that’s happening at the mouse school, the bunny school, the hedgehog school, etc. At the end of the day Pom returns home to tell Momo about all that s/he is looking forward to in Kindergarten, and Momo asserts she will be right there waiting to hear about those adventures. The one editorial adjustment I would have wished for was more distinction in the font between the paragraphs on each page that tell the through story and the blurbs that share the details. The reader is unlikely to read all the words on every page every time they peruse the book, but for read-aloud purposes, it would be better if the continuing story stood out a little better, as it sometimes gets lost among all the other words on the pages.

Blueberry Cake

It’s a sweet story, told mostly in pictures, with limited, repeated text. When a young bear asks his mom to make blueberry cake, she points out that they need blueberries. He sets out very excitedly and finds and picks and eats blueberries, until he is distracted by a butterfly to a field of flowers, which he picks to fill his bucket. Upon returning home, he asks his mom again about blueberry cake, but when she asks again about blueberries, he has only flowers to offer. The next morning he rises early, picks blueberries, and leaves the bucket full for his mother to find, and they enjoy their blueberry cake together alongside a beautiful bouquet, until he asks about applesauce… Its simplicity makes it great for emergent readers, and in particular, the way the same words are used with varying punctuation makes it great for teaching about punctuation and context as clues for reading with expression.

Beautifully Me

I love the illustrations in this book: they are bright and beautiful and full of feeling. And I love the idea/purpose guiding the book: it’s about being comfortable in your own skin and not body shaming ourselves. I just didn’t like the story as much as I wanted to: it came across as rather preachy and pedantic. It is about a young Bangladeshi-American girl who is excited and confident about starting school for the first time, but is questioning comments she hears her family members make about their weight. At school she hears a boy tease another girl about looking fat. That night at dinner she puts all the pieces together and declares herself on a diet, turning down her favorite dinner. Her family gathers around her and explain their own mistaken thinkings and her mother tells her that “beauty is how you make people feel and the kind things you do,” and then all is right with the world again. I just wish it had been more subtle with more story and less preaching. It’s an important message, but it was delivered in too heavily handed a manner.

Fuzzy, Inside and Out: A Story About Small Acts of Kindness and BIG HAIR by Zachariah Ohora

Fuzzy Haskins is a kind soul who is super fuzzy. He smiled at everyone he passed on the street. He helped others when he saw a need. But when the rain and humidity came smiles around him turned into frowns. He became too fuzzy! This is a lovely book about being kind to others. This is a great book that talks about the positive feelings one can have when they share and are kind to others.

Outer Banks: Lights Out

Outer Banks is a multi-season Netflix series that is pretty popular amongst teens. This original novel has the same setting and main characters, but the plot for this book is different. Told in multiple POVs, these two and a half days of John B and JJ’s spring break solidifies their hatred of the Kooks. Kooks are the tourists that flood their North Carolina coastal town. John B and JJ want to escape the Kooks and their dad-issues –John B’s dad has been missing for months and presumed dead while JJ’s is an alcoholic. The plan is for them to go fishing in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”, a Bermuda Triangle of sorts. When the weather turns nasty, their night becomes dangerous. The diction is over-the-top in simplicity — it’s a fast read that fans of Outer Banks will probably enjoy but those without the background might be frustrated with the low quality. While this reader fully expected the story to end on a cliffhanger, which would seem appropriate, it ties up too easily, which does not match the drama in these teens’ lives. This is a recommendation that will be checked out again and again as long as the series continues but it is not one for the history books.

I Don’t Want to Read This Book

I Don’t Want to Read This Book by Max Greenfield starts off with the narrator declaring that they do not want to read this book. Books are full of words, sentences, and paragraphs. On each page, the narrator explains why they do not want to read the book. Even at the end of the book the narrator the narrator says the changes of reading the book again are infinitesimal.

Bisa’s Carnaval

Bisa’s Carnaval by Joana Pastro is a delightful picture book about Clara who is so excited to celebrate her favorite holiday, Carnaval, with her family. Her Bisa (great-grandma) helps Clara make her costume for the parade, but says she is too old to take part in the parade. Clara decides to take the parade to her Bisa.

The vibrancy of the illustrations and the different font sizes bring the feeling of excitement and joy of the Carnaval to the reader. The author and illustrator note’s at the end give personal perspective to Carnaval and the glossary at the end translates some of the Brazilian Portuguese words.

The Barking Ballad: A Bark-Along Meow-Along Book

The Barking Ballad by Julie Paschkis is an interactive picture book. The author has used a stanza from Oliver Goldsmith’s poem “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” to build her own poem. The book starts out with a cat that was left behind when someone moved away and she is wandering around alone and hungry. One day a dog is hit on the head by a falling rock and the cat takes care of the dog. Soon the cat and the dog are friends and are inseparable.

Throughout the book, the reader will find red dots which mean the readers should bark and yellow diamonds which mean the reader should meow. In a read-aloud, the reader would need to figure out a way to demonstrate when the audience should bark or meow. This book is geared towards pre-readers but there is some vocabulary that would need to be defined for them (bereft).

Earth’s Aquarium: Discover 15 Real-Life Water Worlds

By Alexander Kaufman; illustrated by Mariana Rodrigues

This oversized book is both beautiful and informative. This book begins with the important aspects of many watery worlds and defines each: salinity, density, light penetration, currents, pressure, waves, water acidity, and tides & oxygen concentration. 15 different water ecosystems are highlighted from all parts of the planet. Within each, 8-10 species are illustrated and discussed, as well as the importance of each unique type of watery ecosystem. Each ecosystem features a two-page spread of the ecosystem “in action” followed by 2 pages of information about specific species. While the reader may never see the fast-moving freshwater of the Amazon River in South America, they can certainly see similar ecosystems near their own homes.  The illustrations are gorgeous and are worthy of time spent just swimming around the pages. This book would be a great addition to a science class involved in water quality testing or any school library where water issues are studied. This is a highly recommended picture book for older audiences since the text is geared toward older students!

Earth's Aquarium: Discover 15 Real-Life Water Worlds

What About Will

By ELLEN HOPKINS

While Trace used to have a close relationship with his older brother, Will, everything changes after Will suffers a serious brain injury in a football game. “The incident” has a permanent effect on Will’s personality. He now skips school, hangs out with the wrong crowd, steals money, and eventually becomes addicted to pain medication. Trace, already juggling his parent’s separation and pitching for his school baseball team, hides what he knows about Will from their father. When Will attempts suicide, Trace learns the hard way that the best way he can help his brother is to be open with his parents about the direction Will’s life is taking him. The author, Ellen Hopkins writes this story of family love in prose, the perfect format for the storyline.

The New Friend, by Charlotte Zolotow

Originally published in 1968, the story of The New Friend remains true to the experiences of childhood today. Newly illustrated by Benjamin Chaud, Zolotow’s story begins with a celebration of all the things both mundane and imaginative that a boy and his friend with long brown hair do together. When the girl with the long brown hair finds a new best friend with whom to share all her experiences, the child is devastated and rushes home in tears. In his dreams that night he finds a new friend to share those mundane and imaginative experiences of childhood. Upon waking he is determined to find a new friend so that when he thinks of his old friend, he will no longer care.