This two-sided book is no Disney version of the Little Mermaid. On one side of the book the reader will find the 1930s translation of the original Hans Christian Anderson story. (Spoiler: a very different sort of “happily ever after” ending in the original!) The flip side of the book is a blackout poem of the original story that modifies the ending to one of female empowerment. The pages are lovely with simple designs in addition to the blacked out parts. The poem reads like poetry magnets on the page. The complete poem is also included outside of the blacked out pages. If a teacher were teaching blackout poetry, this would be a perfect book to demonstrate how it can be done – beyond just crossing out the parts one didn’t want. In the author’s note, she speaks of finding our own story in another – of creating a new version that speaks your truth. I thought this was a lovely little book. It was interesting to read the original version and delightful to see the “hidden” story beneath the surface.
Front cover of the bookLittle Mermaid Black-out poetry page.
This is a sweet romance set on a small town farm, between a home-town farm girl and long-lost Rockstar friend. The story is a pretty typical enemies to lovers tale – boy comes “home” to recover from one of many fame scandals; he’s in dire need of money, so selling the farm seems like the best option. Girl makes it her mission to treat the boy with “honey” in order to keep him from selling her home. There are many familial ties between the two, making the situation more complicated. Along the way the characters bicker, disagree, form a true friendship and an eventually romantic love. This story is very sweet – appropriate for ages 12+. Anyone looking for a warm, feel good read will enjoy this.
Set in the past and the present, this realistic/historical fiction book is based on the events surrounding the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Brandon is a young man who has gotten into trouble at school and thus, is visiting his father who works at the World Trade Center. When the attack occurs, Brandon is put into an obvious life or death situation. In an alternate storyline, Reshmina has grown up in war torn Afghanistan all of her life. She is a dreamer of peace but knows the reality that young men have when they must make the decision to be with the Taliban or not. These two storylines intertwine into a wonderful book where the present and history intersect. Readers will read not only the terrifying events as they occurred in New York on September 11, 2001 but also the effects of the United States being at war in Afghanistan to the normal everyday individual living through it.It is remarkable how Alan Gratz writes thought provoking literature for youth that will open the eyes of many. I highly recommend this book.
The picture book When Langston Dances by Kaija Langley is a celebration of movement and color with Keith Mallett’s illustrations seeming to come alive with every page turn. Langston is a young black boy who liked basketball, but fell in love with ballet when his mom took him to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. As we watch him leap, dip, kick, and spin on his way to his first dance lesson, his joy is contagious. Mallett is a master of making each person a distinct individual with all different skin tones, head shapes, hair, and even age lines. On his way to ballet class Langston notices other classes for tap, hip-hop, and African dance. Each one is populated with diverse students.
This book will make you want to start dancing right off the couch. Highly recommended.
A camel with a penchant for alliteration? A worried mother Kestrel falcon trapped inside a tangled tumbleweed? Two baby Kestrels escaping a gigantic dust storm riding on the head of said camel? You will encounter all of these, plus engaging historic fiction in Kathi Appelt’s Once Upon a Camel. The reader is drawn in by the idea of a camel named Zada living in the desert of Texas. The chicks must ride to safety as they are not old enough to fly. Their parents have been blown away by the storm, so they are understandably anxious. Zada provides distraction by telling them her life story. The novel goes back and forth between Zada’s stories and surviving the haboob.
Through Zada’s stories the reader gains a peek into the Middle East of the 19th century: the world of camel racing, the great wealth and power of the Pasha, the elaborate palaces. As the setting will be new for most children, there will be the excitement of discovery. It will help readers on the important journey of gaining perspectives outside of their own and building empathy. Appelt’s work gives young readers access without bogging them down with too much historical information, because we learn through the eyes of a camel.
Each character is well developed. She always adds a dash of humor. The squabbling baby birds ring true for anyone who has a sibling. Take my word that Zada’s concern about her diminishing physical capabilities as she ages is also right on the mark as I found myself nodding and smiling. Mother Kestrel Perlita’s tendency to get over excited and bossy, especially when it comes to her babies, is humorous and heartwarming. The disdain the camels have for the vain, delicate horses and their certainty of the need and satisfaction of spitting made me laugh.
The way the death of a loved one is depicted is both sad and beautiful. Her conclusion is surprising and unpredictable, but ultimately very satisfying. Keep the tissues handy. This title is highly recommended for upper elementary readers.
Beautifully illustrated, beautifully written is this book comparing our bodies to a tree. Written in poetic lyrical prose, as one long beautiful piece. comparisons include our spines to a trunk of a tree, our heads as the crown of the trees, and underneath the sapwood carrying nutrients to all other parts.
This story would make an inspirational read before a poetry unit, tree unit of study, health/wellbeing, or mindfulness/metal health and self esteem. It would weave nicely into an asana or movement practice. Also, skills such as compare/contrast and descriptive writing lessons.
One day, a beautiful sphere fell from the sky into the grass and the insects marveled at the object. This is another home run book by the Fan Brothers. Not only are the illustrations top notch, but the story of Wonder, friendship, and greed is a simple and sweet tale as well. In this story, a marble falls to the ground and the friends are taking guesses at what it is. Spider comes up with the brilliant idea of charging everyone to see the Wonder. It is a great plan at first, but before he knows it business has slowed and all his friends have left him. Did he choose greed over friendship? Spider comes up with a plan that takes lots of patience to bring everyone back together. As his plan takes shape the illustrations become more and more colorful until the last few pages are in full color to fully communicate the joy of all the friends. Up until then the illustrations are all in black and white with the exceptions of the Wonder that fell from the sky (a cat eye marble) and the money (leaves) that Spider gets greedy over. The book is rated from ages 4-8, although any person who loves art will love this book.
Please don’t forget to check out under the dust jacket for a beautiful hardcover illustration.
Beautifully illustrated and highly inspirational book for girls, young women and elders, alike. Our story begins with a young African-American girl sitting at the table with her mother and grandmother (assumed). The older women begin to tell her the story of all the women who have come before her and the foundation they layed, the work they gave, the sacrifices made to create the world today as a better place for their children’s children. In poetic form, we go through the ages highlighting events in history or seeing famous faces as we work our way to the present time. This book honors the ancestors and history of women, family, and the land our nation was built upon. The ending of the book brings our story full circle after explaining that we are standing on the shoulders of women before us, with this simple question: Who Will Stand on YOURS?
This story is about the typical child who cannot find a “good” book to read. They are certain it doesn’t exist. Until one day, something happens that changes everything….
Based on the true story of Malcolm Mitchell, Super Bowl champion, as he struggled with finding his love for books. As a young child his teacher’s homework assignment was to bring to school his favorite book in the whole world. Malcolm’s feelings about books weren’t very good. As a matter of fact, he would rather be playing. He had tried reading books before but found that they lacked action, had too big of words, and was just too hard to do.
His mother tells him that the best stories are often found inside of ourselves so Malcolm is inspired to write and share his own book with the class. It was a hit! His classmates loved it and Malcolm finally found his love with a book. To this day, he loves reading.
Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy is a memoir in graphic novel form. It is FANTASTIC! Huda writes of a time in her life when she moved from a large city where she was known as the “hijabi girl” to a small, predominantly Muslim community where nearly everyone adorned hijabis. This prompted a lot of questions for Huda in regard to her own identity. Who is Huda? The book follows her journey to find friends and fit in, but most importantly Huda’s self discovery shines through in the end. I feel all middle school and high school students will find this relatable, funny, and quick to read. I am choosing to put the book in our graphic novel section rather than the biography section because I think it will get more use.
The historical fiction WWII novel, The Enigma Game, is actually the “prequel” to Elizabeth Wein’s critically acclaimed Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire. I did not read her earlier works but this did not at all detract from my enjoyment of this well-crafted tale. The story is told in the voices of three young people brought together by the strange circumstances of war.
It is 1940 and 15-year old Louisa has recently lost both her parents at the hand of German forces. She is the child of a black Jamaican father and a white British mother, and has to suddenly be responsible for her own survival. She has a difficult time finding employment in her new English homeland because of racial prejudice and her young age, but is able to find a job in Scotland taking care of an elderly German-born ex opera singer.
Jamie, the second narrator, is a Royal Air Force flight leader stationed at a base near the Scottish village of Windyedge, where the story takes place. Ellen is the third voice, and she is a youngish volunteer driver for the military base, and grew up as a “Traveller,” the common name for the nomadic tribes of the British Isles.
Wein cleverly weaves a tale of espionage and wartime drama as seen through the eyes of her three main characters. A pilot from the German resistance leaves an Enigma code maker/breaker machine at the Limehouse pub, which is the central location for the main characters. Louisa, a classically trained musician, is able to crack German pilot code communications to help aid the Royal Air Force. The pacing of the story really varies with the voice, and I found Louis’s voice to be spunky and intelligent but somewhat contrived, as opposed to the other two older characters who seemed more genuine. I was most engaged with Jamie’s narration of dangerous flight missions. I think this story would resonate with WWII history buffs, and it has an impressive amount of historical detail that I found fascinating. Recommended grade level for this book is 9th grade and above. I give the book four out of five stars.
In Thankful, it’s the time of year for an annual family tradition – paper thankful chains to last the family through December. Each link in the chain is one more thing to be thankful for. The creation of the chain focuses on the good things in life and the physical chain is a visual reminder to be thankful for the wonderful things in our lives.
A young girl starts on her own in her room reflecting on both the concrete and the nebulous things in her life she is thankful for. From the initial thankfuls of home and family, the girl lets one idea leads to yet another. The thoughts generated as the book chronicles a child’s daily life experience that will resonate with many young readers.
The combination of two-dimensional characters placed in three-dimensional settings give the illustrations a charming feel reminiscent of a diorama.
This story about a family searching for a new home is told through the perspective of a young girl. The entire story is only 75 words, but the illustrations by Victo Ngai and the simpleness of the words make a powerful story. So much of the story is told through the illustrations. This is based on the author’s life and shows the family packing up and fleeing in a bote. The author’s note at the end tells about the author’s family’s escape from southern Viet Nam in 1980 and ways that we can help refugees today.
What are the characteristics of dinosaur? That’s No Dino! Or Is It? takes the reader through several ancient creatures and compares their bodies to what scientists believe are true dinosaurs. An Anomalocaris may have lived 508 million years ago, but it didn’t have a backbone. Therefore, it wasn’t a dino. A Pleisiosaurus was old enough and had a backbone. But, it lived in the water and, therefore, was not a dino! The last animal to be described is a velociraptor and it has all the characteristics of a dinosaur and there are ten different characteristics! The author concludes with a list of those characteristics, a glossary, an index and a short list of extra resources.
Illustrations are cartoon-like and the writing is accessible for young readers. This book is a nice introduction to dinosaurs and budding paleontologists will take note of what makes a dino a dino after reading this book.
