A wonderful narrative non-fiction told through multiple haiku stanzas. The great-horned owl pair starts by repurposing a squirrels nest. The book follows the the pair as they prepare their nest, lay and protect their eggs, nurture their owlets until the fledglings fly off to a home of their own. The world is fraught with danger. Only 2 of the 3 eggs survive to hatch and one fledgling barely escapes a fox.

The rhythm of the haiku stanzas help map the steady progression of the owls’ life cycle. Each struggle or danger is surmounted, though not always without loss.

Slipping to the ground
Eeping, flapping, fluttering
Nest far, far away

Red fox is watching
Red fox is sneaking-slinking
Red fox is crouching

Gianferrari’s haiku is approachable for young children; rich with language, but conveying concept and feelings in a way young readers can grasp. Voss’s breathtaking illustrations instill both the movement and the stillness of an owl’s night.

Whoo-Ku Haiku is a good choice for lessons on the haiku as a poetic form, word choice, and the study of owls.

OHS Library Grade: B+

Book Details from NoveList Plus –

Genre: Fantasy mysteries; Historical fantasy; Multiple perspectives

Storyline: World-building

Writing Style: Compelling; Lush

Tone: Atmospheric; Thought-provoking

Min/Max Grade level: 7 – 12

Set in 19th Century Denmark, main character Marit is raised within an orphanage. Here she weaves magic throughout her creations as a seamstress; but this magic can be very dangerous. Merit learns to hide her abilities and use it to help her close friend, and talented dancer, Eve. When Eve is adopted by the wealthy and well-known ballerina, Helene Vestergaard, Marit leaves the orphanage to follow Eve in a life of servitude. Marit soon learns that magic runs rampant through other servants at the Vestergaard household, allowing her to look more deeply into the mysteries surrounding her fathers death and other circumstances of her childhood. 

Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy, is great for fans of classic fairy tales. Because I experienced this novel through its audiobook version, the multiple perspectives threw me off at times; I think the story would have been easier to follow had I read the text. Fans of fantasy will have fun with the elements of magic throughout the setting and world building.

Twelve year old, Julian, ends up in trouble at school again.  Despite his efforts, his dyslexia comes across to his teachers and principal as apathy for school work.  In a deal made with the principal, Julian finds himself volunteering at a local animal shelter instead of detention one day and falls in love with Star, a dog who is deaf.  Much of the story follows the unfolding of a special relationship between a boy and a dog, but also, another unlikely friendship with a peer he connected with while working at the shelter.  Bryan also has dyslexia and happens to be the principal’s son!  While a bit long and dragging through the middle, this is a truly delightful story of friendship and adventure as the boys sneak off with Star – searching for buried treasure in hopes of saving the shelter that is suddenly about to lose their funding. This is my kind of story, with a happy ending where everyone wins! 

No Place for Monsters is a spooky, supernatural-themed novel for emerging juvenile readers.  Children are vanishing along with all of their belongings and the loved ones in their lives have no recollections of them.  The main characters set out to uncover clues that lead them to the eventual rescue of said missing children.  Supporting characters have mostly negative attitudes and rude behavior toward the “hero” children throughout the book.  The story has some repetitiveness as well as a bit of confusion at the beginning. However, brilliant illustrations help make this story a quick-read.  Recommended reading grades 3-5.

In the fourth book in the series The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found does not disappoint! This is a heart-warming story about a family of seven with five children ranging from ages 5-14.  The Vanderbeekers’ have long-established relationships with their neighbors, taking them on as part of their own family in a fast-paced, realistic novel about community in a New York City brownstone. The kids in the book are strategizing to keep a close friend from moving out of state while he suffers from poverty, homelessness and neglect.  The loss of a loved one is a very sad, major event in the book but what shines is the family’s ability to overcome and embrace their memories of him.  I loved that pure generosity, helping others and friendship from the kids’ perspectives is a constant throughout the book.  While the story touches on poverty and making ends meet, the real reason I would recommend for grades 5 and up would be the parts about loss/grief and dating.  The high school freshmen discuss homecoming, boyfriends and jealousy (topics I prefer to reserve for middle grades.)

Take the UFC to a whole new underground, illegal and nearly deadly, once-you-are-in-you-are-in-for-life level of mixed martial arts and you get Brawler by Neil Connelly. There are many brawlers in this low-brow community. Slated to win the state championship in his weight class for the 2nd year in a row, Eddie MacIntyre loses control during the district wrestling tournament, taking a swing at the referee and breaking his jaw. Assault charges on the way, Eddie is accosted by a gentleman who has been watching his aggressive wrestling style for quite some time. Eddie chooses to go down the road to big money in bad places. Eddie is given a personal trainer- a girl with Tae-Kwon-Do skills whose father was also wrapped up in the business, as was Eddie’s own father, unbeknownst to him. Once you’re in, you’re in until you are dead or near death from revenge. Eddie is truly a brawler, beating guys stronger than him because he could forecast their next moves. But there’s no good way out of this life which keeps readers going until the end just to see how Connelly resolves the story. While brutal and very detailed with wrestling jargon, fans of MMA will probably devour it.

Izzy has a big personality and she often gets in trouble. One day at recess she gets her friend, Zoe, in trouble again and this time Zoe is not as fast to forgive. Izzy doesn’t know what to do while she waits for Zoe to be her friend again. Izzy’s live-in nanny and single parent mom, help her navigate the struggles of not knowing if her friend will forgive her. Izzy’s mom decides that Izzy’s exuberance shows that she has a lot of love to give, so they adopt a puppy. Izzy relates to this to her own adoption story as told by her mom. This is a beginning chapter books with large type and black and white pictures.

What Grew in Larry’s Garden besides unusually colorful tomatoes, carrots, rainbow chard, purple potatoes, and more was kindness, trust, warmth, beauty, healing, love and so much more.

Larry’s summer garden grew vegetables. The heirloom tomatoes provided Larry with seeds he sprouted in winter for his students. His students cared for them and watched them grow. Then the students gave the plants away to neighbors and strangers alike, along with an individualized letter as to why they were being gifted with the plant.

Community can grow from small acts of kindness like tiny seeds into fruitful plants.

Based on a true story.

Author, illustrator Jorey Hurley creates a picture book on the life of a beehive using fifteen words. Those fifteen words are almost an inch tall in bold type. Each one of those fifteen words adorns a separate double-page spread of distinct, yet simple images telling the story of a queen bee starting a new hive after a “swarm”.

buzz, swarm, explore, find, build, lay, feed, grown, fly, collect, pollinate, guard, sting, keep, honey

For those of us who need a few more words to understand the life cycle of a beehive be sure to read the “author’s notes” at the end.

Simply impressive!

Do you need a book to let school aged children know they can help change the world for the better? Then, The Big Idea Gang: BEE THE CHANGE fits the bill. Readers will learn how important honeybees are to the world’s food chain, while also learning that the lessons their teachers’ are instructing them in, for persuasive writing, do work in the real world.

While elementary friends, Kim Park and Lizzy O’Malley, get excited about honeybees through Kim’s parent’s friend Ozzie- the beekeeper, they learn how important honeybees are to the food we eat daily. Then, they get their friend Deon Gibson, Lizzy’s twin brother- Connor , and Otis Smick interested in honeybees. Finally, when they ask their teacher for help, she guides them through the steps of persuasive writing’s call to action. The gang gets the principal, the school nurse- who is in charge of the school garden, Ozzie the beekeeper, and a big school turnout of students and parents on a drizzly Saturday morning to plant a much bigger garden that will attract honeybees.

The Big Idea Gang: BEE THE CHANGE works well at showing how elementary students can change the world for the better, but Preller’s writing may be a bit too obvious he is teaching a science lesson, too . Stephen Gilpin’s black and white illustration ( two or three per chapter) show a diverse group of ordinary students working together and enjoying it.

Included at the story’s end, Deon and Connor recap twelve honeybee facts they found interesting. Then, their teacher presents five pages on how to engage people with your ideas or writing.

If you need a book to show why and how persuasive writing is important, The Big Idea Gang: BEE THE CHANGE does the job in a very obvious way.

Pony Girls is set at a summer horse camp for young school aged girls. Eight year old Charlie, the main character, is full of anxiety. Charlie has a difficult time being able to complete any activity because of her all consuming anxiety. Luckily for Charlie, her friends and camp staff are there to support her, as are Charlie’s mother and therapist, Dr. Bell ( who are in communication with the camp staff), when she is not at camp. Charlie uses strategies learned from Dr. Bell to help her through the tough times, multiple times, throughout the day, but the same strategy does not help each and every time. Sometimes deep breathing helps, other times it is folding origami, or petting a cat or horse, or her newly added strategy of ‘visualization’. Little by little, strategy by strategy, with the support of the people around her, Charlie is learning to cope with camp and life in general. It helps when a friend mentions she is also afraid of the dark, so keeps a flashlight under her pillow. It helps when the neighboring farm asks for the Pony Girls help socializing their rescued horses. It is a win / win situation.

Pony Girls: Charlie is so heart warming from the deep concern the characters have for Charlie and each other, but of course, as in real life, there is at least one person, who is not part of the solution. If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. This book, also, has one.

Paula Franco’s black and white illustrations, one in each of the ten chapters, gives added life to the story, especially through facial expressions. The large text font is easy on the eyes. The 8″ X 5.75″ size of the book makes it comparable in size to a standard paperback book.

Sumer camp is fun, even with a bit of homesickness or other anxiety, and Pony Girls: Charlie is no exception!

Illustrated by Mike Lowery

Knot Cannot is a humorous story of homophone wordplay that will make the reader chuckle. Can Knot do what Snake can? He cannot – slither, hiss, swallow, shed, climb, or swim. There is not a lot Knot CAN do. But he can save snake from the a bird by twisting him into a knot so he’s too big to swallow. Knot’s envy gives way to an understanding of his own self worth. Valuing what he can do helps Knot recognize the reciprocal nature of friendship.

Cartoon-like illustrations support the story’s silliness. A hilarious read aloud that celebrates the playfulness of language and the importance of inflection to convey meaning.

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had 24 hrs left to live?  The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte is a suspenseful dystopian Sci-fi thriller. This book is a tale based on two orphaned sisters in a futuristic water-world, Equinox and Palindromena. The oldest sister,  Elysea, drowns during a dive and leaves the younger sister Tempest to survive on her own. For two years Tempest was diving and saving money to resurrect her sister, Elyea. At Palindromena her sister is brought back to life for only 24hrs. Tempest wants to find out from her sister what happened the night she died and what were the secrets she withheld about their parents’ death. This Sci-fi thriller is a real page-turner and kept me thinking about what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller with a little bit of romance.

Max is athletic, outgoing, and still closeted about his sexual preferences except with his closest friends. Jordan is exactly the opposite. Told in alternating chapters from each teen’s voice, Bill Konigsberg has once again authored a story of real, raw life for two boys who discover the other to be inherently attractive — a pull in their soul that seems surprising because of their differences. Jordan’s family is in crisis because of his father’s death. Max is the type of person who loves to help people — a perfect match. Max also seems like the person who has everything in control, but readers will ride along with Max on his physical and mental journey which is the more important focus of Konigsberg’s story. Max and Jordan’s love is so exciting as they enjoy those times where they invent new activities they can enjoy together. Their passion gets real and this is when Max’s struggle will no longer be able to stay hidden. The Music of What Happens is a wonderful addition to the growing LGBTQ+ literature available to young adults and should be in every school library.

Written by Camille Andros
Illustrated by Brianne Farley

Like Charlotte the Scientist Gets Squished, Charlotte the Scientist Finds a Cure is a story about a rabbit named Charlotte who is really into science. In this tale, Charlotte’s grandfather has moved in with Charlotte and her family. Grandpa encourages Charlotte to continue with the science experiments.

One day, Grandpa gets sick then the other forest animals start getting ill. Charlotte has a guess as to what was making everyone sick but the experts who came to town didn’t pay her any attention. Charlotte continued on in spite of the experts. Charlotte diligently worked in a methodical manner.

Does she find the cure? Read this wonderful brightly colored picture book to find out. Like her other book, Camille Andros includes a page of scientific terms and their definition.

Primary grade students wanting basic information about the phases of Earth’s moon will especially find The Moon helpful. There are nine pages of text, each opposite a full page of gorgeous color illustration or photo of the text’s topic. Each page of text usually has three sentences set in a large font. Topics include: creation of the moon theory, reflection of the sun’s light / phases of the moon, and craters.

The Moon measures 11″ x 9.5″.

The Moon ends with a page of three More Facts, a glossary, index, and Abdo Kids Code (abdokids.com OTK0536) for “crafts, games, videos, and more.”

To the Moon has the format of The Magic School Bus in that it has the story line accompanied by most of the illustrations and the factual text bubbles on every page turn.

To the Moon tells the story of Neil Strong’s class field trip to the Space Museum. There Neil sees exhibits about Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon in 1969. Neil wants to gather as much information as he can to make his science fair project extra special. Then, using his imagination Neil is transported to the moon itself. On the moon, Neil comes across an android named Luna who fills him in on basic moon facts like: lack of air, gravity, craters, and use of space suits. Before he knows it, Neil is back at the Space Museum and ready to go to the moon himself someday.

There are enough facts in this book that a student could use To the Moon as a reference book for a report. Mike Byrne’s does an awesome job showing the vast size of the moon using perspective. Mike also includes people of color in the illustrations and a student in a wheel chair. Though these do not add information to the story being told, it is a small step forward from a cultural diversity point of view.

To the Moon ends with an activity for making a moon diary of the moon’s phases and the usual: glossary, index, reference books, and websites (www.lerneresources.com) including NASA.

This picture book, Swashby and the Sea, by Beth Ferry, is a heartwarming tale of unexpected friendship crossing typical age barriers. Although the book is recommended for ages 4-8, I think it would be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Juana Martinez-Neal’s illustrations bring the story to life through: word play in the sand, detailed facial expressions, and minute details like observant crabs and hints of Spanish language, like Swashby’s boat, El Recluso. The story begins as Swashby, a reclusive sailor, has retired to the beach for a relaxing life of solitude. However, his plans are  quickly ruined when his new neighbors, a granddaughter and her grandmother, move in. The book tells the story of a friendship between a young playful girl of color with an elderly grumpy white man. The unnamed girl’s persistence and kindness eventually win over the tough sailor, or Mr. Swashby as she calls him.  My only complaint is when the girl is swept into the sea, the severity of the situation is not acknowledged. Highly recommended for in-depth discussions or lessons, or as quick pleasure read that leaves you with a warm feeling inside.

Back in 2013, Bridget Heos and illustrator Joy Ang gave birth to Mustache Baby. If you know Mustache Baby, then you already know what happens when his mustache starts out short, then grows long with ends that curl. This book has facial hair magic verses Christmas magic. Two, two, two magics in one story.

The story begins with Billy’s (a.k.a. Mustache Baby) friend Javier , who was born with a full beard. “On Christmas Eve, Javier’s beard…turned white…[making] him Santa’s #1 helper, Santa Baby!”

Santa Baby is helping adult Santa, but forgets to make the toys. Oh, no! Along comes Baby Billy to become an elf and make the toys. Hurrah! With all the work of making the toys, Baby Billy’s mustache has grown long and curls at the ends. Oh, no! “BAD GUY MUSTACHE!” is keeping all of the toys he’s made for himself. Baby Santa becomes upset. His beard is growing longer turning Javier/ Baby Santa into “MAD GUY BEARD!” The two start a snowball fight with each other. When Elf Baby/Billy hurts an innocent the two rush to help the injured. Slowly, their mustache and beard go back to normal, just in time for adult Santa’s arrival. Adult Santa invited them to ride along with him in his sleigh. “…kids heard them exclaim, as they rode out of sight, Merry mustache to all…and to all a beard white!”

If you are a Mustache Baby fan, yes you will want this book , too. If they are new to Mustache Baby younger children may find this book with BAD GUY MUSTACHE and MAD GUY BEARD disheartening at Christmas time, but older children will like it. This said, it is not a wonderful stand alone book without the rest in the series.