April 2016 – Mom Read It

Cuddle your kids all over the world with How Far Do You Love Me?

Posted on April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

How Far Do You Love Me?, by Lulu Delacre, (2013, Lee & Low Books), $11.95, 9781600608827

Recommended for ages 4-8

Based on a bedtime game the author played with her daughters, “How Far Do You Love Me” takes readers all over the world, comparing their love to the 13 breathtaking sights and locations in the modern world. “I love you… to the place where the eagle is lost gliding along the rim of the sky”, reads one spread, with a parent holding a child above her head, the Peruvian mountains of Maccu Picchu surrounding them. Each spread takes readers to a different locale and illustrates adults and children together, enjoying the natural beauty around them and each other’s company.

This is a great bedtime book, and paired with a similar “I love you” book like Sam McBratney’s Guess How Much I Love You, gives kids a loving sense of security and a wink and nudge to their competitive nature. My little guy and I have extended our game to the planets these days: he loves me to Pluto and back, and I love him three times around the sun and back. We name the planets we encounter along the way, adding a little bit of science to our I Love You game. You can bring in a similar game here, going further around the world, naming famous places (“I love you to the Empire State Building… I love you to the Grand Canyon!”), states, or countries.

The art is colorful, with a spread for each location. The colors are bright but subdued, realistic, and with shadowing that gives each landscape a breathtaking depth. A nice addition to bedtime stories and books about the world around us.

Lee & Low offers a comprehensive teacher’s guide for How Far Do You Love Me?, including discussion questions, ELL activities, and ways to expand on the story.

Lulu Delacare also authors the Raffi y Rosi easy readers series. Her author webpage contains information about author visits, her books, and links to educator guides for several of her books.

Early Reader, Fiction

Say Gracias-Thanks! every day!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Gracias ~ Thanks, by Pat Mora/Illustrated by John Parra. Translated by Adriana Dominguez, (2005, Lee & Low Books), $17.95, ISBN: 9781600602580

Recommended for ages 4-8

Told in English and Spanish, a biracial boy gives thanks for everyday things, from the bee that didn’t turn him into a pincushion to his brother making him laugh so hard he fell off his chair; for his friend, who showed him a book with a great idea about what to do with troublesome parents, to his abuelita, who always has a dollar to give him. It’s a sweet, lyrical look at the little things we encounter daily, but may not remember to be grateful for. A note from the author asks readers what they’re thankful for and notes that making a list helps keep track of all the little things to be thankful for.

The book is a gentle reminder to be thankful for things all year long – we don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to say “thank you” for things that make us happy! This can be a jumping-off point for a discussion about being grateful and saying thank you more often. Have the kids contribute with three things that they are grateful for today.

Gracias ~ Thanks received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, and is a Pura Belpre Honor Book (2010). It has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2010/2011 Gelett Burgess Award – Children’s Book of the Year and the 2009 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration.

Pat Mora’s author website includes some ideas and activities to use when reading Gracias, and a page dedicated to the book lists its multiple awards and honors, includes a video from the author.

I love anything by Pat Mora – she writes instant classics that draw focus to small moments, as with Gracias, folklore (Doña Flor), and love for our families (so, so many books). Her books, by virtue of being bilingual, invite all readers to sit down and enjoy a story. Together.

Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

A school can be anywhere: Armando and the Blue Tarp School

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Armando and the Blue Tarp School, by Edith Hope Fine, Judith Pinkerton Josephson/Illustrated by Hernán Sosa (March 2014, Lee & Low), $12.95, ISBN: 9781620141656

Recommended for ages 5-8

Armando’s family are pepenadores -trash pickers – living off things they can use, recycle, and sell from the city trash dump community where they live. Armando works with his father to help support the family, but dreams of being one of Señor David’s regular students. Señor David sets up a blue tarp in his colonia and teaches the children how to spell, count, and learn words in English, and says a school can be anywhere – even on a tarp in a colonia. At first, Armando’s parents discourage him from attending the school, saying that they need him to help the family and that they have always been pepenadores, but slowly, his father sees the importance of an education and allows Armando to attend the school. Shortly after, a fire burns down several homes in the colonia, Armando’s included, and it’s Armando’s picture of the blaze that runs in a newspaper and calls support to the colonia. Money and support come into the community, allowing for a new school building to be built.

Inspired by the real-life Señor David: a New York City special education teacher in the 1980s who went to Mexico to teach children living in the Tijuana colonia – Armando and the Blue Tarp School shows kids that education is a privilege not every child enjoys. Armando desperately wants to learn; he saves bits of erasers, paints, and paper he finds while working alongside his father in the trash dumps, and is thrilled when Señor David returns to his area. Kids will also see that not all parents understand the value of education: Armando’s father scoffs at his son’s “dreams of school”. To many parents in poverty-stricken areas, education takes time away that could be spent working and earning money for the family. For many families, work is survival and education is an expense they can’t afford.

This is a great book to use in classroom, library, and home discussion about how education is perceived throughout the world, and it opens up a chance to find out from kids what they think about education. Do they understand how important it is in the long run? Ask themselves to think about Armando, and put themselves in his place. There are some activities at the Blue Tarp website, some discussion questions, and suggestions for expanding on the story’s theme.

Armando and the Blue Tarp School was a nominee for a California Young Reader Medal and was turned into a stage production in 2009; kids can listen to one of the songs from the show and watch video taken from the show at the Lee & Low blog.

An author’s note at the end of the book provides more information about David Lynch, his Responsibility organization, and the Los Angeles Times article about his work in Mexico that prompted an anonymous donor to donate money to build a school in the Tijuana colonia. There are photos of Lynch and his colonia students, success stories of previous students, and a glossary and pronunciation guide.

A valuable addition to #weneeddiversebooks and school-age collections.

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

What is the Secret of Dreadwillow Carse?

Posted on April 28, 2016April 28, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse, by Brian Farrey (Apr. 2016, Algonquin Young Readers), $16.95, ISBN: 9781616205058

Recommended for ages 8-12

In a fantasy kingdom where all the subjects are deliriously happy, two girls bond over their mutual feelings of sorrow, helplessness, and ultimately, determination. Princess Jeniah is a 12 year-old Queen Ascendant; her mother is dying and she’s got very little time left to learn to be a queen, let alone to process the grief she’s feeling. Her mother’s cryptic message about the mysterious bog, Dreadwillow Carse, fires up her curiosity: “If you enter the Carse, the monarchy will fall.”

At the same time, a village girl, Aon, loses her father when the Crimson Hoods come and take him away, ostensibly to become the next advisor to the monarchy. The villagers barely recognize that he’s gone, and Aon – who’s already lost her mother to the Carse – is bereft. Aon is not like the other villagers. She feels a sadness she can’t explain. All the time.

When the two girls encounter one another, Jeniah asks Aon for a favor: explore the Carse. The monarchy can ask someone else to enter the Carse, after all, can’t they? In return, Aon asks Jeniah to send her father home. This meeting sets each girl off on her own personal voyage of discovery, where they’ll uncover long-kept secrets of the Carse, the monarchy, and most importantly, about themselves.

On the face of it, this is an interesting middle grade fantasy tale, with multicultural characters and a Big Secret to be uncovered. Read a little deeper, and you discover that this is an interesting portrayal of pre-adolesence set in a high fantasy setting. A villager and a monarch bond over their mutual sadness, that they feel they can never show to others. The people around them are either keeping secrets from them, as with Jeniah, or are wandering through life in a false delirium, refusing to see what’s going on around them, as with Aon. Aon feels a sadness no other villager can grasp, and she feels frustrated and ignored. The Carse’s presence holds so many answers, but they’re discouraged from venturing in. They have to work together to find answers, and those answers will reveal terrible truths about those around them.

Tweens will identify with the girls and their feelings of frustration; many will understand the undercurrent of seemingly inexplicable sadness and the pressure to put on a smiling face. They’ll share Jeniah’s frustration with her tutor, who answers all of her questions with questions – she has to learn not only to question everything, but to weigh the answers in front of her before she acts. The character development is built steadily through the book, with small plot reveals throughout leading readers further and further, until they reach the conclusion that hits hard and leaves a lot of questions in its wake. This is a great book to hold a discussion group with. I’ll be booktalking it for sure.

A good addition to middle grade collections and fantasy fans’ TBRs. Author insights and an excerpt are available on the Algonquin website. The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse has received a starred review from School Library Journal.

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade

Go on an adventure with Stick Cat!

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Stick Cat: A Tail of Two Kitties, by Tom Watson (May 2016, HarperCollins), $12.99, ISBN: 9780062411006

Recommended for ages 8-12

A spin-off of the popular Stick Dog series, Stick Cat introduces us to… well, Stick Cat, who lives in an apartment with his human friend, Goose, and hangs out during the day with Edith, the cat next door. The two love to play games and listen to Mr. Music tune pianos at the factory next door, but one day, Mr. Music has an accident! His arms are trapped in the piano when the top of the instrument crashes down, and Stick Cat has to figure out a way to save him.

Introduced by the same middle grade narrator that draws Stick Dog, we learn Stick Cat’s origin: he wants to impress a classmate who suggests that he draw a Stick Cat. We launch into Stick Cat’s adventure, which will grab Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, and Big Nate fans right away. It’s a similar format, with line drawings accompanying text, and filled with humor. Stick Cat and Edith banter back and forth during their daily playdate; Edith is a little dense and self-centered, and Stick Cat plays off of that while trying to spare Edith’s feelings and accomplish his rescue mission.

Readers can visit the Stick Dog/Stick Cat website for videos, downloadables, quizzes, and the author’s blog. A Tail of Two Kitties is the first Stick Cat book, with two more in the planning stages. There are currently four Stick Dog books.

Both series are a fun addition to middle grade collections and will likely appeal to reluctant and struggling readers – I know my Big Nate and Wimpy Kid books are always off the shelves, so this may help stem the tide a bit this summer!

Uncategorized

Spotlight On: Our Love Grows, by Anna Pignataro

Posted on April 28, 2016April 2, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I adore Our Love Grows; it’s a perfect read-aloud for growing boys and girls (who will never be too big for a loving lap, right?). Enjoy this spotlight from the publisher, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, and please wander over to my review if you want more info.

Our Love Grows, Written and Illustrated by Anna Pignataro (April 5, 2016; Hardcover, ISBN 9781492634188)

Title: Our Love Grows

Author: Anna Pignataro

Release date: April 5, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Praise for Our Love Grows

“[Pignataro] creates delicately ethereal landscapes for the pandas to traverse—forests dense with pine and bamboo, snowy hillscapes—while showcasing a playful tenderness in their explorations and interactions… Pitch perfect in its spirit of cozy reassurance.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review!

“A sweet story for parents to share with their young children. The theme is straightforward and told in rhyme. The book conveys a similar message to Sam McBratney’s Guess How Much I Love You, and the engaging artwork greatly enhances and complements the story. The pen and paint illustrations have a soft tone and will give readers a warm feeling.” —School Library Journal

About the Book

Like the sky, and the trees and the child she holds… A Mother’s Love Grows.

In the deep green forest, Pip asked,

“Mama, when will I be big?”

Pip is an adorable, roly-poly little panda who sees the world changing and growing. But Pip is feeling a bit left behind. Luckily Mama is there to show playful and curious Pip that, like the trees in the forest and the stars in the sky, he’s growing and changing too. And no matter how much Pip grows, the one thing that will never change is how much Mama loves him!

Our Love Grows on Goodreads

Buy the Book:

About the Author

Anna Pignataro is the creator of the bestselling books Mama, How Long Will You Love Me? and Mama, Will You Hold My Hand? Her works have been translated into eleven different languages, and she has won numerous awards including the Crichton Award for Illustration. She lives in Australia with her family.

Connect with Anna Pignataro:

Website: http://annapignataro.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annapignatarobooks/

Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway to win your own copy of Our Love Grows!

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Fiction, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

My Name is Not Friday is a younger generation’s Twelve Years a Slave

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Name is Not Friday, by Jon Walter (Jan. 2016, David Fickling Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780545855228

Recommended for ages 12-18

Living in an orphanage in the South at the end of the Civil War, Samuel is always trying to keep his younger brother, Joshua, out of trouble. The latest prank to be laid at Joshua’s feet is a big one; Samuel takes the blame to keep his brother safe, and finds himself sold into slavery as a consequence. He’s stripped of his given name, renamed Friday, and threatened to keep his true origin – that he’s a freeborn black boy – a secret. Told in the first person through Samuel’s eyes, readers get an often brutal, heart-breaking account of slavery in the last days of the Civil War.

My Name is Not Friday is a powerful book, at times difficult to read. The characters aren’t always likable, and they’re not always loathsome – that’s part of the struggle. It’s easy to hate the mustache-twirling, top hat-wearing villain, but when it’s a child who struggles with wanting to do the right thing – even when he doesn’t really fully understand the right thing – it’s not as easy. Friday is a sympathetic character, and the frustration of his situation comes across so strongly, that I had to put the book down a few times.

An important addition to shelves, My Name is Not Friday has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. Suggested for middle school and high school readers for overall content. Put this on your shelves next to Solomon Northrup’s Twelve Years A Slave and Alex Haley’s Roots, which returns as a mini-series on History Channel at the end of May.

From SLJ: An author’s note references historical documents, including Harriet Jacobs’s classic Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Suite for Human Nature is a musical folktale made art

Posted on April 23, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Suite for Human Nature, by Diane Charlotte Lampert/Illustrated by Eric Puybaret (May 2016, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)$17.99, ISBN: 9781416953739

Recommended for ages 4-10

A musical collaboration between legendary songwriter Diane Lampert and Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis becomes a beautifully illustrated parable on humanity in this gentle story about Mother Nature and her challenging children.

Mother Nature is busy. She’s got seasons to change, flowers to wake up and put to bed, and all of Earth’s creatures to care for. But she really longs for children of her own, so using bits and pieces of nature – sticks, stones, seeds, leaves – she ends up making five children: Fear, Envy, Hate, Greed, and Fickle. Each time, she’s taken aback when she realizes how tough it is to raise a child, and asks humans – the creatures that can’t fly, swim, roar, or gallop – to keep an eye on her unruly children once she buzzes off to tend to another season. Each time she returns, she creates another child, hoping to even things out, and each time, things get a little more complicated, especially when the children’s personalities start rubbing off on the humans. When she takes some advice from the Winds, and creates Twins, though, things change.

Suite for Human Nature is told in old folktale tradition, telling the story of human nature; its strengths and its weak spots, and the one thing that conquers all. Breathtaking acrylic and linen illustrations by Eric Puybaret make this a joy to read and gaze at. This is a better read-aloud for slightly older listeners, who can sit for a little longer and use their imaginations to fly away with this story. Ask your listeners to draw their feelings – what materials would they use? What colors would they give them? Older kids doing a unit on fairy tales and mythology could compare this story to the myth of Pandora’s Box.

Absolute must for collections. I would love to get hold of the actual music.

Diane Lampert (1924–2013) was a renowned songwriter who contributed to lyrics for artists from The Beatles to Brenda Lee and over twenty movie title tracks such as The Snow Queen, I’ll Take Sweden, Billie, and Silent Running, as well as songs for The Wild and the Innocent, and Trees Lounge, and for Bob Hope, Gary Grant, and Buster Keaton, among others. Suite for Human Nature first debuted at a concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with the world-famous Boys Choir of Harlem.

Eric Puybaret has illustrated many children’s books, including Suite for Human Nature; the bestselling Puff, the Magic Dragon; The Night Before Christmas; Over the Rainbow, as well as many others in his native country, France. Eric’s critically acclaimed work was praised by The New York Times as “elegantly rendered” and Publishers Weekly calls it “graceful [and] whimsical.”

Have a look at some of Eric Puybaret’s beautiful art:

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Beyond the Red: Intergalactic politics and species war with a dash of romance

Posted on April 23, 2016April 23, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Beyond the Red, by Ava Jae (March 2016, Sky Pony Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781634506441

Recommended for ages 16+

Kora is a reigning queen of an alien race that’s seen its share of violence: her parents were killed during a terrorist attack during her birthday; her people are locked in a race war with human settlers, known as red-bloods, that exist on her planet, and she’s been the target of assassination attempts. Her twin brother, Dima, holds a grudge against her – he and their deceased father felt Dima should have ascended the throne – not a woman – but birth order is destiny.

Eros is a half-blood soldier, raised by humans and yet, held at arm’s length because of his half-alien blood. His adopted parents and brother are killed during one of Kora’s army raids, and he’s taken prisoner, where Kora decides to make him her personal guard. She has some questions about his true identity, and decides he’d be a valuable asset to keep close to her.

Despite being wildly attracted to one another, they play it safe, knowing that Eros’ half-blood status could get him killed at any time, and would certainly be a death sentence for any children they’d have if they married. Kora accepts the proposal of a high-ranking diplomat, but an assassination attempt leaves her and Eros running for their lives. Now, they have to work together to save the human rebels and keep Eros’ secret on a much larger scale.

There’s a lot of storytelling and world-building in this debut from Ava Jae. The entire story provides the groundwork for a series, and the ending leaves no question about a sequel being in the picture. It just wasn’t my book, alas: it never hooked me. The story seemed to focus on a few points that were emphasized again and again: Eros’ physical attraction to Kora; Dima’s simmering rage toward Eros, his jealousy toward Kora; Kora’s vacillating on her attraction to Eros. We don’t know anything about the human encampment on this world, only that they seem to have been left there generations ago. I’m hoping more about the schism between the two races will emerge in future books, because that has potential for a huge story.

The novel is more young adult than teen for sensual content, violence, and mild language. Space opera fans and fantasy fans should give this one a look.

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Imagination steers one boy past The Storm

Posted on April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Storm, by Akiko Miyakoshi (Apr. 2016, Kids Can Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9781771385596

Recommended for ages 3-7

A young boy is planning on a weekend trip to the beach with his parents, but a storm threatens otherwise. When the storm arrives, the boy tries not to be scared, imagining himself on a ship that’s strong enough to drive the storm away. When he wakes up the next day, will his dream of smooth sailing come true?

This is a perfect rainy day read. The gray charcoal illustrations with bright spots of blue (the boy’s shirt, the rain puddles) communicate the overall mood of the coming storm and the hope that it will pass in time to enjoy a trip to the beach. When the storm arrives in all its fury, the boy finds a safe place for himself: curled up in his bed, covers over his head, so he can’t hear the rain. He waits out the storm by imagining himself on a ship with propellers powerful enough to blow the storm away. He faces his fears by finding a safe place and through visualization.

The book provides a great opportunity to talk to young readers about overcoming fear and using positive imagery to steer them past any storms – negative thoughts or fears – in their own lives.

Read this one with Mercer Mayer’s There’s a Nightmare in My Closet or Lemony Snicket’s The Dark to talk about overcoming fear. Or just curl up on a rainy day with The Storm and a copy of Taro Yashima’s Caldecott Honor book, Umbrella, for a rainy day read.

The Storm has received a starred review from Kirkus. The Storm is writer and illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi’s first picture book, and won the Nissan Children’s Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix. Her book, The Tea Party in the Woods, was published by Kids Can Press in 2015.