Brave Face a memoir

Brave Face, a memoir by Shaun David Hutchinson, is not light-hearted reading.  Hutchison explores his self-worth, sexuality, depression, and anxiety through a tumultuous time in his life. All of it – good, bad, and ugly. His journey is told honestly as he swirls through thoughts of self.

Shaun struggled to fit in even in parochial elementary schools with many trips to the principal’s office. High school finds him in all new surroundings in a much larger public school with none of his old friends around.  His love of fantasy stories allows him to land a part in a school play and he feels at home with the students in the drama department. He learns he can “play a part” even in real life because of his sexuality. This leads to little things setting him off with feelings of anger and rage, such as his mom asking him to do a simple chore. In Shaun’s words, “By society’s definition, any gay man was going to live a lonely life of constant lies, die of aids, become the victim of someone who didn’t even see him as a human being, or worse. There was no future to being gay.  Therefore, I couldn’t be gay. I had a future. I’d spent a lifetime building the vision of who I wanted to be, and that person was not a fag.” Some friends will walk away as he decides to come out after high school. But he is a smart man and continues to do well academically.

Throughout the book, Shaun shares his thought process and contorted inner self-talk and the role depression has played in his life. Which Shaun was he? Why was he smoking? The cutting and burning to hide his intellectual self-loathing. The drugs. The break-ups. The suicide attempt. The commitment for treatment. The recovery. The straight-A student. The brilliant writer.

His story is written to show there is light at the end of the tunnel. It could be an eye-opener that will help one in their understanding of self or others.  Ultimately, it is a look into the mind that is a beautiful, exciting, and scary thing.

Dr. Fauci: How a boy from Brooklyn became America’s doctor by Kate Messner

This book is a fun biography of Dr. Fauci. Following him from through his childhood, being raised in Brooklyn by a family of Italian immigrants, to being the shortest player on his basketball team, delivering prescriptions for his father’s drugstore, going to college, working on solutions to new diseases, and always, always questioning things. There are some great motivational moments throughout the book about not giving up when things get tough, but instead trying to work it out and push yourself through it.

Kate Messner follows Dr. Fauci all the way to present day, as he navigates the guidelines of COVID-19 and finding a vaccine.

The end of the book provides information on how vaccines work and their safety. You also find Dr. Fauci’s Five Tips for Future Scientists, a timeline of his life, a recommended reading list, a works cited page and photographs of Dr. Fauci.

Alexandra Bye is the illustrator of Dr. Fauci. The illustrations are bright and colorful, showing many emotions and inviting readers into this biography.

For-Profit Prisons by Duchess Harris

As part of the History of Crime and Punishment series, Abdo’s For-Profit Prisons explains the concept and history behind the creation of for-profit prisons. As early as 1825, the state of Kentucky began the practice of making money by leasing out prisoners. When slavery was abolished, the use of prisoners became more common as a means to replace slave labor. Newspaper accounts of the mistreatment and inhumane conditions forced Congress to pass legislation barring Federal prisons from leasing out their prisoners, but it could not curb private prisons on a national level. Individual states enacted their own patchwork of laws. But when the US got “tough on crime” in the 1980’s with drug possession laws and the 1990’s with three-strikes laws, prison populations ballooned and taxpayers didn’t want to pay for more prisons. Private investors were back in action. Private prisons are on the radar again today because of cost and treatment of inmates. This text gives plenty of specific details to teach readers about both sides of the prison argument. If this is a topic students in your school might investigate, perhaps in a street law course, then Harris’ text is worthy.

Perfectly Parvin

Parvin Mohammadi outwardly shows confidence in her boisterous comments and snarky remarks. But as with most fourteen-year-old girls, Parvin second-guesses herself, especially when it comes to boys. As the summer wraps up, Parvin has fallen for Wesley, who held her hand and then kissed her. They are an item, now, right? So why won’t he acknowledge her at the 9th-grade orientation two days later? As he explains, Parvin is just “too much”. Why does she feel so sorry for herself is one question she should be asking. But instead, she asks, how can I get him back. Enter the plan to slow her roll and make him jealous. All Parvin has to do is get Matty to ask her to homecoming. Surely that will let Wesley know he’s made a grave mistake. With best friends Fabian and Ruth helping to run the plot, Parvin pretend-flirts with Matty while also subconsciously flirting with her Farsi teacher and friend Amir. Intentions will become muddied, in as much as Parvin is muddied in realizing that she should not have to change who she is to impress a romantic interest and if she does, she’ll lose far more. This Iranian-American teen will see that self-confidence begins with self-love and her crazy hair, room-filling laugh, and prank-loving spirit are what make her Perfectly Parvin.

Igneous Rocks by Grace Hansen

Grace Hansen has once again provided young readers with clear, concise, easy to understand, basic information on a subject without talking down to the reader, this time the subject is IGNEOUS ROCKS.

Igneous Rocks by Grace Hansen explains what igneous rocks are: where and how they are formed- including the rock cycle and what igneous rocks are used for in our lives.

Two or three sentences of information, in large font text, on the left side page accompany large (10.5″ X 9″) full page photos on the right side page.

The book includes: table of contents, index, glossary, and “abdokids.com to access crafts, games, videos, and more!” [GIK551] (24) The same website information can be obtained by using the QR code provided on the same page.

Bulldozers by Aubrey Zalewski

Bulldozers by Aubrey Zalewsk gives young readers basic information on why and where bulldozers are used. Bulldozers level ground, plow snow, build roads, mining, logging and can also be used by farmers.

The three main parts ( tracks, blade, and ripper) are labeled in a photo. The vocabulary words are highlighted in blue throughout the medium sized text of the book. The blue matches the outside spine of the book and other sidebar bits of information.

Bulldozers by Aubrey Zalewski has the added feature of four QR codes – one for each chapter. When the first QR code is scanned the reader will see of short video clip of bulldozers moving earth. The other QR codes will send the reader to more information (links), and activities. The same information can be obtained by going to popbooksonline.com/bulldozer on a computer.

Clown Fish by Emma Bassier

Young readers will discover much about the real life of Clown Fish, made so popular in the movie FINDING NEMO.

Clown Fish by Emma Bassier has the added feature of four QR codes – one for each chapter. When the first QR code is scanned the reader will see of short video clip of the clown fish swimming. The other QR codes will send the reader to more information (links), and activities. The same information can be obtained by going to popbooksonline.com/clown-fish on a computer.

The format is the typical large font text on one page filled with color photos on the opposite page. The spine of the book is in purple, as are the vocabulary words as they are presented within the text.

Fort McHenry: Our Flag was Still There by Joanne Mattern

Joanne Mattern puts the events leading up to the writing of our national anthem into order from the building of Fort McHenry, to the battle observed by Francis Scott Key between the British and the United States’ troops at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, and beyond.

“when British troops attacked American ships, [President James] Madison had had enough. The War of 1812 lasted about two years. In the end, Madison was seen as a popular President who stood strong against being bullied by the British.” (15) At the beginning of the War of 1812, the United States did not have a trained army and only three large ships in its navy, but Madison had the support of the American people.

The British had already burnt Washington, D.C. and were converging on Baltimore protected by Fort McHenry.

Each turn of the page has the text broken up with interesting side bars, maps, diagrams, illustrations and/or portraits of leaders from the time period, or photos of live re-enactments from Fort McHenry which is part of the National Park Service.

When Villians Rise

The third and final book in Rebecca Schaeffer’s trilogy that started with Not Even Bones and gained depth in Only Ashes Remain, might leave readers feeling a little disappointed in characters in When Villians Rise. Character development was a strong suit in book two of the series, yet this reader felt it could have been taken a step further here. While the main focus is on Nita surviving, the best aspect of this book is that Schaeffer didn’t let the text turn into a teenage romance novel. Instead, the reality of relationships not going down that path was refreshing. Much of the end was a shock with many twists and turns — maybe too many. Nonetheless, the storyline wraps up leaving a reader feeling satisfied. Finish the trilogy in your library if you have the other two.

Only Ashes Remain

In the sequel to Not Even Bones, Rebecca Schaeffer’s energy continues from the first and dives further into Nita and Fabricio histories — character development being the focus of Only Ashes Remain. It’s not often that an author can bring that energy to the backgrounds of characters and move the plot along as well. Schaeffer masterfully keeps readers guessing what will happen next while they also watch characters start to change, grow, and be resilient. This resiliency is a trait young readers need to recognize more often in today’s world. The villains are rising up, leaving a nice cliffhanger to keep readers wanting the next in the series and is aptly named as such. A well-constructed sequel, if students liked Not Even Bones, they will most likely enjoy this continuation Nita’s struggle to succeed in getting revenge.

The Seventh Raven

The Seventh Raven, by David Elliott, ropes readers into a fantasy story of a family, their dreams, and their reality. In a family of seven boys, Jack and Jane would like a girl. Once born, April struggles to stay alive until a curse allows her to thrive at the cost of all of her brother’s lives. April will spend her young adult life trying to find a way to break the curse. But Robyn, the seventh boy, will not want to escape the curse. David Elliott’s poetic creativity here is masterful. He found just the right word choice, just the right cadence, and just the right tone for each character. All of these choices are also explained at the end of the text — an ah-ha for those that didn’t catch the stylistic and tonal shifts. This novel in verse could easily be used in the classroom for students to discover many aspects of poetry. For IB schools outside of the US, this would be an excellent work in translation. Highly recommended for lovers of literature.

The Disney Bros.: The Fabulous Story of Walt and Roy

The NBM Graphic Novels publisher has another home run with the terse writing of Alex Nikolavitch combined with the creative reflectiveness of Feliz Ruiz’s art in The Disney Bros.: The Fabulous Story of Walt and Roy. Nikolavitch thrusts the reader into the tension of Roy and Walt’s working relationship. Both men are “ideas” men but Walt comes off as a little more savvy and a little more gruff. Success was not immediate once Mickey Mouse came to life, but with playing his cards right in the Hollywood market, Walt and Roy are able slowly become the dominant force in the cartoon industry. Walt has been coined a visionary before and Nikolavitch portrays this aspect of his story as the strongest characteristic of the man — always looking for the next opportunity to go bigger. From comics to talkies to full-length feature movies to the crazy idea of an amusement park, Walt may have vented his frustrations in boisterous ways but he did not let frustrations stop his creativity in how the business could grow. Readers will also see that the business life of all things Disney were not all happy endings, despite their overall success.

Ruiz’s graphics were spot on, from the “Hollywoodland” version of the Hollywood sign in the 1920’s to TV cameras on set in the 1950’s. The variety of sizes of panes and overlapping of backgrounds felt perfect for the tension that existed between the two brothers. While students might not see this during a 1st read, it wouldn’t surprise this reader if students checked it out again and again, slowly realizing how well the graphics support the “angle” Nikolavitch refers to in the introduction of the book.

Overall, this is a highly recommended graphic biography for school and public libraries.

Across the Pond by Joy McCullough

Callie, a seventh grader, gets a restart on her life when her parents inherit a castle in Scotland. Introverted and still stinging from her friend problems at her old school, Callie begs her parents to let her be homeschooled for the remainder of the year. They agree — on one condition — that she enrolls in a social activity. Inspirited by the journal of the former lady of the castle, Callie chooses a birding club.

Her parents are distracted by the renovations needed on the run-down-castle. Her extroverted brother is loving his new public school. Callie’s first acquaintance with a girl her age ends poorly. But as the story moves along, Callie learns two important things — what it means to have a true friend and how to stick up for what she believes.

I initially thought the whole “we inherited a castle in Scotland” premise was a little over-the-top until I took the time to read the author bio and discovered she had once lived in a castle in Scotland. That helped me buy into the story. While I have 6th graders at my school, who may enjoy it, I think this book would be better in an elementary school

The Prison Healer

Lynette Noni’s darker adventure fantasy, The Prison Healer, will bring vibes of other popular fantasy, from Incarceron to The Hunger Games. Kiva Meridian has been living inside the prison of Zalindov for the past 10 years, using the teachings of her father to guide her as the prison’s primary doctor or healer. Kiva’s past comes to the reader in waves, while the plot rolls along quite rapidly over the course of fall season. Kiva also has the job to give new inmates the mark of the prison, as she cuts a “Z” into the top of an inmate’s hand upon arrival. The physical scarring doubles as mental scarring for Kiva as she believes she is wrongfully imprisoned. Yet she does want to do her job, one of the best ones to have in the prison, to the best of her abilities, including protecting the most important patient, the Rebel Queen. Kiva will be tested in her abilities to navigate a budding romance, maneuver political turmoil, and survive deadly “ordeals”. Two of the three she passes with flying colors as a pro-fem protagonist. This reader wishes Kiva discovered her own superpowers to survive the “ordeals” rather than relying on those of others. Still, the quick pacing of the plot and dialogue, with many twists and turns, will keep any fantasy reader entertained, even if they skim a few pages here and there. Complete with a cliffhanger that came at the last minute, The Prison Healer is worth adding to school library shelves grades 7 and up.

Bid My Soul Farewell

As a sequel to Give the Dark my Love, Revis didn’t grasp this reader’s attention as much as with the first book. It focused on the politics of the story and less on character development. It was a slower read as the character’s ideas were repetitive. The romance of the entire story didn’t sit well because of what felt like a forced coupling. Characters who had different goals and beliefs were put together leaving this reader thinking it would never work out. Only the last part of the book was worth the time to read as there is an unexpected twist.

Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

In this sequel to “Anya and the Dragon,” thirteen-year old Anya is determined to bring her father home from war. She enlists her friend Ivan and the dragon Hakon to help in this fantastical story of adventure and magic. The book keeps a face pace, encountering elves, monsters, and a dangerous underground city. When they meet magical Lena, she turns Hakon into a human which both helps and hurts their quest. The book left me wondering if there will be a third book in the series.

A Pig, a Fox, and a Fox

A Pig, a Fox, and a Fox is by Jonathan Fenske and is part of the Penguin early readers series. This book is part of a collection of Pig and Fox books by Fenske. In this rhyming book Fox has a toy fox that looks just like him. He uses it to pull pranks on his friend Pig. In the first prank, Fox puts the fox on top of blocks and Pig, seeing his friend in peril, saves fox. He seems amused by the trick of it not being his real friend. In the second prank Pig seems less amused, and by the third chapter they are both done and put the toy away. Both Pig and Fox get frustrated and mad throughout the book with each other and the pranks that are being played. Fox gets progressively more and more injured with each prank and by the end end his injuries are a bit unsettling (black eye, bruises, a band-aid and scratches). The injuries and lack of kindness between friends didn’t make me want to read this book and had me questioning why it was necessary. I have read other Pig and Fox books and have found them funny, this book fell short.

Bunny will not Jump!

This book is part of a Ready to Read series that Jason Tharp writes and illustrates. All of these books use color coded speech bubbles to convey the character’s dialogue. This is great for emerging readers. As a Level 1 book, this book has mostly short sentences and easy to sound out words. In this book Bunny will not jump, despite him being a bunny and Big (a bear) giving it his all to persuade Bunny to jump. As the story moves along, Big and Bunny discover it is their differences that make Bunny not feel like jumping. Once they acknowledge they are different and that their differences give them different capabilities, they talk about its not what it looks like when you do it, it is whether or not you are having fun while doing it. This is a great message for kids!

One of the best things about Jason Tharp’s books is that he involves the reader. Children love that Big can SEE them and asks them to push buttons or shake the book to help the story move along. Despite this, this book is not one of my favorites in the collection. There are less interactive pieces to it and although I love the message, a bunny just refusing to jump is not as funny as the other books. Having said that, there is no doubt that kids will enjoy this book, especially if they know the characters from previous ones.

My First Puppy by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

The cover photo of five diverse six year olds with five diverse puppies will draw young readers into this book about owning their very first puppy.

The first nineteen pages alternate through the five joyful children interacting with their various puppies. Sniffing hands, putting on collars, walking on a leash, learning to sit and stay, providing food and fresh water, and cleaning up puppy meshes are some of the subjects written about in huge font short sentences. Then, the final eleven pages are meant to be shared with the child and an adult to get them on the same page with puppy care. ‘A Bed or Crate’, ‘Things to Cuddle’, ‘Sense of Smell’, ‘Choose a Name’,’ Walking on a Leash’, ‘Sit, Stay, and More!’, ‘Going Outside’, ‘Being Patient’, ‘Food and Water’, ‘Checkups’, ‘A Wagging Tail’, ‘Always Be Gentle’, and ‘Stay Safe’ are the topics to be discussed between the child and adult.

Jill Wachter’s minimalistic photos of puppy and child with her illustrated balls, collars, and other puppy items accentuate the corresponding text.

Happy Birthday, Puppy Pals! by Michael Olson

Fans of the Disney channel’s Puppy Dog Pals series will enjoy this retelling of Happy Birthday, Puppy Pals!  from season one in 2017.

Puppy Pals Rolly and Bingo are excited about having a birthday. It never crosses their minds they should be giving each other a gift until their sister Hissy the cat brings it up. In the end, both Rolly and Bingo trade their favorite thing to get a present for their brother in true ‘Gift of the Magi’ fashion. This time though, Hissy trades her own things to get the puppies favorite things back.

Vee is for Valentine by Chelsea Beyl

Fans of the Disney channel’s Vampirina series will enjoy this retelling of Vee is for Valentine from season one in 2017.

Vampirina, or Vee for short, is part of a vampire family who has moved to Pennsylvania from Transylvania. This is their first Valentine’s Day. They have always celebrated Ghoulentine’s Day, in the past. Vee has made two sets of holiday cards to give out for the occasion. One set for her human friends at school and another different spookier set for her Transylvania friends and family at home. When one card from each set gets into the wrong grouping Vee must retrieve the spooky card from a classmate before it is opened.

“Loving our friends is what monsters do best… and what VALENTINE’S DAY is all about.”

Doc McStuffins- Brontosaurus Breath by Sheila Sweeny Higginson

Fans of the Disney channel’s Doc McStuffins series will enjoy this retelling of Brontosaurus Breath from season one in 2012. Written for beginning readers (Level Pre-1), there are pictographs inserted into the sentences of characters and their names.

Lambie and Bronty want to give their toy friends ‘cuddles’, but three sets of friends run away, while the last friend ‘passes out.’ It turns out Bronty has some salami stuck in his teeth from lunch causing bad breath. Doc McStuffins removes the salami and teaches Bronty how to brush his teeth. The toys “have a toothbrushing party!” when Bronty is afraid to use a toothbrush.

The Art of Saving the World

For the past 16 years, Hazel has been living with a small radius of her house that includes her school, a few stores, a mini-golf course, and one restaurant. Her town is not small, but if she goes outside of this radius, the universe literally begins to freak out. When she was born, a rift, or a tear into the universe, was formed. The rift acts up now and again spitting out things from other dimensions — trees, furniture, and not known to Hazel, other Hazels. The government had set up barns on their property to monitor the rift and government agents had become Hazel’s friends as they had to track her every move. But her 16th birthday is the flashpoint. The rift begins its meltdown on a whole new level. Hazel will meet her versions from other dimensions and will slowly learn her destiny in the process of saving her world from being entirely sucked into the rift. Corrine Duyvis’ incorporation of current coming of age issues into an out-of-this-world experience feels surprisingly authentic. Teens will appreciate Hazel’s struggle to be her true self, even if it is something she learns through the eyes of her other selves.

Bunny Will Not Be Quiet!

I don’t like it. It’s supposed to be a Level One early reader, but it’s got a lot more big words than the level two books I’ve read from the same series. It tries to invite interaction by telling the reader to give Bunny a high five or poke him on his elbow, but the story is kind of lame: Bear tells us that Bunny is noisy everywhere, they go to the library, Bunny is noisy there too, and then they go to a movie where they both get shushed by others in the audience for talking about how hard it is to be quiet.

Cat Has a Plan, by Laura Gehl

It’s very much a VERY early reader (Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go!, which comes before Pre-Level one). It has only one to two sentences per page, and those are very short, direct, and repetitive, to the point of stilted reading. Normally stilted writing annoys me, but this works almost like a wordless book, where the bright, amusing illustrations tell a complete story even without the text: Cat and Dog play tricks on each other, taking turns claiming possession of a stuffed dinosaur until one of the tricks backfires and the dinosaur falls down a hole, where Mouse gets to claim it; Cat and Dog solve their problem by working together to put on a play to earn enough money so they can each purchase their own stuffed toy, which makes Mouse happy too, since he’s the storekeeper who gets their money.