Month: November 2017

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Size matters not… Small, by Gina Perry

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Small, by Gina Perry, (Aug. 2017, Little Bee Books), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-4998-0401-0

Recommended for readers 3-7

Sometimes it’s a drag being small. It can be intimidating. In Small, a little girl goes through a day in the crowded city feeling small and overwhelmed. When ducks snatch her hot dog, she feels helpless… until a trip to a playground helps her turn it around by allowing her to embraces the positives in her life and how they make her feel big. The love of her family; her drawing ability; her fierce game – all of these and more make her big, brave, and loved.

Small is loaded with positivity. It’s a good book for preschoolers and kindergarteners on self-esteem, filled with moments kids recognize all too well: feeling like second banana to a younger sibling; fears about being lost in a crowd; of not being heard; of just feeling plain helpless. It also taps into positive moments that kids feel: the invincibility of being on a slide or the monkey bars; the power of sidewalk chalk, the power that comes from doing something for someone else. I read this to my toddler/preschooler storytime group, and they loved it! Two of my QH kiddos were captivated by the sidewalk chalk art, so we spent a couple of minutes letting everyone look at the spread and point to the different drawings. The story and the pictures resonated with them.

Author/Illustrator Gina Perry’s webpage has a free, downloadable butterfly craft and activity kit that I’ll definitely use – especially since I just saw a sidewalk art page! This is a great book for letting little ones know what a big space they take up in your life.

Posted in Intermediate

Nina introduces a new generation to Nina Simone

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simone, by Alice Brière-Haquet/Illustrated by Bruno Liance, (Dec. 2017, Charlesbridge), $16.99, ISBN: 9781580898270

Recommended for readers 6-10

She is a legend in music and civil rights history. Author Alice Brière-Haquet and illustrator Bruno Liance introduce Nina Simone to new audiences with this beautifully written and illustrated book. Written as a story to Simone’s daughter, who’s having trouble falling asleep, Alice Brière-Haquet weaves a tale of achievement in the face of racism, using stunning imagery: the 52 white teeth “trapping” the 36 black teeth in the keyboard, and the white keys being whole notes while the black keys are half notes: “White was whole. Black was half. It was that way everywhere and for everyone.” Music was made by “important men in powdered wigs from past centuries”. Simone recalls her anger during a recital, when her mother was expected to give up her seat in the front, to white people who came to see her play; Simone refused to play until her mother resumed her rightful spot in the front row. She speaks of Martin Luther King, and his dream being her symphony – but the dream is fragile.

This book is gorgeous. The words are beautiful and strong, and using piano keys as an illustration of endemic racism is simply brilliant. Bruno Liance’s black and white illustrations are soft, dreamlike, beautiful. This spread is my absolute favorite; I’d love to give this print as a baby shower gift.

“Dream, my baby, dream, until you spread your wings…” (from Bruno Liance’s website)

Do kids know who Nina Simone is? Probably not, unless their parents are fans. Does that matter? Absolutely not – this is a gorgeous introduction to Nina Simone, and to activism, for all ages. This book is going on my shelves, in my storytimes, and in displays for social conscience, activism, and African-American history. If you’re so inclined, you can play Simone’s lullaby, “Hush Little Baby“, in your storytime or for your little one.

Nina was originally published in France in 2015. You can find more of Bruno Liance’s artwork at his (French/English) website, Pirate des Caramels, and you can follow Alice Brière-Haquet at her (French) blog, Alice in Wonderblog. Nina has starred reviews from Foreword Reviews and Booklist.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

A Chesapeake Fable: Wind and Oyster Jack

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Wind and Oyster Jack, by Marcia G. Moore/Illustrated by Heather Crow, (Nov. 2017, Schiffer Publishing), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764354229

Recommended for readers 6-10

Oyster Jack is a Chesapeake Bay waterman, out on his boat, Dinah, harvesting oysters. Their friend, Wind, helps them by lifting Dinah’s sails and allowing the boat to move. The weather is getting chilly, though, and Wind is cold. She asks Oyster Jack to share his coat and his blanket, but he can’t – he needs them for himself! – so Wind goes off to find a coat of frost, and a blanket of snow, that she hears about on Jack’s radio. They don’t fit Wind, and Oyster Jack and Dinah are stuck without Wind. Finally, Oyster Jack comes up with a solution that will make everyone happy.

This sweet story, set in the Chesapeake Bay area, is a nice way to introduce different areas of the States to readers, and a good way to talk about the different careers that flourish in different areas and environments. There’s an explanation of the skipjack – the type of boat watermen use when they go out harvesting – at the end, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has a good section on the area’s geography and facts; the Maryland Sea Grant website has a section on the oyster trade and current restoration efforts. The narrative sounds much like a modern-day fable, with the Wind interacting as a living being with Oyster Jack; the resolution explains the windsock’s origin.

This is a text-heavy story, making it a good choice for older readers who can process deeper and longer text. The artwork appears to be watercolor and has an Impressionist feel. The wind has a visible face, and breathes in swirls that cascade through each spread. The light glimmers on the water, and the snow softly blankets the town. Most pages are full-bleed; a few exceptions for large blocks of text are plain, bright white. Bunches of oysters set the tone on the endpages.

If you want to introduce readers to the Chesapeake Bay area, this is a good place to start.

Posted in Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Night Creepers: nonfiction that goes from toddler to school-age

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Night Creepers, by Linda Stanek/Illustrated by Shennen Bersani, (Sept. 2017, Arbordale Publishing), $9.95, ISBN: 978-1-607-183235

Recommended for readers 3-7

Night Creepers is both a rhyming tale about night time animals for toddlers and preschoolers and a nonfiction text on nocturnal animals for first and second graders. Each spread introduces a new nocturnal animal: foxes and wolves, bats and flying squirrels, skunks, possums, and more. On the left hand side of the spread, we have short, rhyming text about animals who wake up when the rest of the world starts getting ready for bed. On the right hand side, we have short paragraphs, constructed with simple sentences, containing information about each animal. Shennen Bersani’s realistic illustrations are beautiful, with vibrant and deep colors coming together to give readers an exciting reading experience. As with all Arbordale books, there is a “Creative Minds” section at the end, with activities and resources for further learning; they are free to photocopy and hand out for educational, non-commercial use.

I read Night Creepers in my toddler storytime this past week, and the little ones enjoyed it. One of my QH Kids excited pointed out animals she knew, and we all repeated the names of the animals on each spread. The rhyming, brief text was just the right length for a short story.

I was able to see author Linda Stanek speak at a non-fiction panel at KidLitCon, and look forward to adding more of her books – particularly, award-winner Once Upon an Elephant. Arbordale has a great website, releasing Spanish editions concurrently with English editions of their books, e-book access (and one free read-aloud e-book a month), and free resources for educators. Linda Stanek’s author website has more info about her books, and about school and library visits.

I’m always on the lookout for good nonfiction – my library’s collection needs constant updating, and animal books are big here. Night Creepers‘ appeal to different age groups means I can get this book in front of a larger group of kids, getting more bang for my budget’s buck. A nice add to primary nonfiction/easy nonfiction collections.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Bring a book (or three) for the kids at Thanksgiving!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK. How did that sneak up so fast? If you’re spending the holidays with family, you don’t want to show up empty-handed, right? And if you have kids in your family, you may be that sort of guest that likes to bring a book. (It’s not just me, is it?) Here are a few holiday books to get kids ready for Christmas:

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Panorama Pops), Illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith,
(Sept. 2017, Candlewick Press), $8.99, ISBN: 978-0-7636-9485-2
Perfect for ANY age!

 

How adorable is this itty bitty gift book? It comes in its own little slipcase, and opens to a pop-up, beautifully illustrated panoramic reading of the classic Christmas carol. There’s a brief explanation of the 12 days in the beginning of the book, which was news to me. I’ve spent the last *cough cough* decades thinking my birthday kicked off the 12 days of Christmas, but the days are actually from the 25th, Christmas Day, to the Epiphany, on January 5th. (I bet my parents are thrilled about that Catholic school tuition money.) There’s a note about the song’s origins; the words dating back to 1780, the music to 1909. Sing along with the kiddos, and then sing a fun take on the carol, like my son’s favorite, The Twelve Bots of Christmas! This one will take a beating in a public library – this one is great for storytime reference, but you’re taking matters into your own hands if you put this in circulation.

 

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Snow Globe Edition), by Michael Rosen/Illustrated by Helen Oxbury,
(Oct. 2017, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536200294
Great for all ages, but perfect for readers 3-7

This is such a fun update of a storytime classic! The cover is a 3-D, plastic-encased snow globe, with little styrofoam balls to shake up and down and all around.  This version of the story features die-cut and pop-up that will add to all of your splashing and sploshing, squelching, and squerching. I’m reading this one, along with Over the River: The Turkey’s Tale at my Thanksgiving storytime next week, and I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when I show off the snow globe. Again, this one is great for gifts and storytime reference, but circulating librarians, be ware.

 

We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Sing Along With Me!), Illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang,
(Sept. 2017, Nosy Crow/Candlewick), $8.99, ISBN: 978-0-7636-9612-2
Great for all ages, but the board book is perfect for 2-5

Another illustrated Christmas carol, this time in board book form! Sing along with adorable animal friends as they get ready to celebrate Christmas, and scan the QR code in the book for a free, downloadable version of the song. There are five fun sliders, one on each spread, that let little hands peek at little buddies hiding behind a Christmas tree, pop up snowmen, slide a cat and mouse team down a hill, open a home to visiting friends, and watch Santa fly by. This book is way too much fun, and it’s nice and sturdy: built to last repeated uses. Put this one in your board book collections, you’re all good!

 

Posted in Conferences & Events

KidLitCon2017 was amazing!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I was thrilled to be a speaker at KidLitCon this year! I’d wanted to go to the conference for the last few years, but this year, I was determined to go because it was pretty local for me: Hershey, PA. Once I received the invitation to be on a panel about bloggers and building relationships with authors and publishers, I was in! The Con is run by an incredible group of bloggers that I’ve admired since I was in library school; I was thrilled at the chance to finally meet people like Pam, The Unconventional Librarian, Sheila Ruth, fellow Tolkien fan and Cybils organizer, and Charlotte, whose speculative fiction reviews and Timeslip Tuesdays are the goods. And that’s just the tip of the blogger iceberg. I’m unpacking my brain, so this will be largely pictorial, with little bits of commentary; it was two fantastic days of learning, making new friends, and discovering new books. Can’t ask for better than that, right?

I was so excited for the keynote speaker: DORK DIARIES and MISADVENTURES OF MAX CRUMBLY author Rachel Renee Russell! She is a wonderful speaker; inspirational and fun. Her daughter is coming out with a picture book next year – you read it here! – and she was so proud because it’s already listed on Amazon. Go, Mom! She said that the bloggers from the KidLitosphere were good to her when Dork Diaries first pubbed, and she’s never forgotten that. She was generous with her time, listening to everyone who had something to talk to her about at her signings. She also had adorable bookplates that she autographed, so I was able to snag a book for my son’s girlfriend’s younger sister. I’m also a rock star in my library, thanks to this picture.

 

Our panel was up first, so it was a relief and nerve-wracking, all at once. My fellow panelists were April Crews from Calico Kidz – a great blog dedicated to educational reading – and Marisa Nicole, a high school senior who started her blog, Marisa Nicole Reads, because she wants teens to read, and she’s going to be the one to tell them how amazing YA is. We talked about fostering relationships, as book bloggers, with publishers, publicists, and authors. I loved the idea of a KidLit “godfairy” that April put out there: a librarian (whoo hoo!), bookseller, someone who knows and loves books, knows what’s coming up, and can tell you what to look out for. Marisa discussed the power of social media; tagging authors and publishers in Instagram and Twitter posts, and urged bloggers to just contact authors and publishers that you don’t have a relationship with (yet).

 

So, little did I know that illustrator Floyd Cooper was sitting in on our panel. That’s a doodle he left when the panel was over. A doodle! I’ve just about mastered the 3-D cube as my go-to doodle. This is why he is the illustrator and I’m the lady shoving his books into kids’ hands. During his afternoon keynote, Floyd talked about his “erasing” artwork – he treats a board with paint, gets a stretchy eraser, and goes to work. He created a portrait as he spoke, showing us how he works. I was in the back, so I know it’s not that great a picture, but it should give you a bit of an idea of how genius his work is. He stood up and called this image forth, as he was speaking, with an eraser.

 

That moment when you meet CD Bell, whose books, Weregirl and Chimera, you’ve been getting emails about, and getting excited for, and all you can do is fangirl over her 2010 book, Little Blog on the Prairie. Thank goodness she was gregarious – and generous! She gave me copies to read, so I’ll be diving into them soon. Promise.

 

The astounding Pam Tuck, who gave a keynote that blew my mind. When she mentioned that she “only” had EIGHT CHILDREN when she started writing her first  book, As Fast As Words Could Fly, I realized that “I’m so tired, my 5 year-old really tuckers me out” is probably something I should never, ever say again. She’s now the proud and lovely Mama of 11 kids, and I can’t wait to read her book, My Mother of Many. It’s out next year, so I’ll have to grumble and wait. She is one of the most genuinely kind people I’ve ever met.

I met so many great, funny, smart people with a passion for KidLit that it fired me up again. It made me excited to get back to my library and get more books in front of my kiddos, it made me excited to curl up with my own little one to read and read and read again, and it fired me up to keep blogging, keep finding books to talk about, and to blog better. By better, I mean to really, really read diversely; to find authors and illustrators that represent everyone in my library, my community, my world.

 

It wasn’t all KidLit. Being at Hershey was pretty amazing. They really do have chocolate EVERYWHERE, and it really does smell like chocolate when you’re walking around outside! While I was KidLit-ting, my Hubs and my Kiddo were enjoying touristy stuff at Hershey and Amish Country, but they made sure to make time for me when I was done with the conference for the day, and took me back to Hershey World, where we went on the World of Chocolate ride and wandered around the ginormous Hershey store. All in all, it was a fun little getaway for two of my favorite guys, and a fun getaway for me. I’m already looking forward to next year.

 

 

Posted in Teen

Wild Beauty – beauty can hide ugly secrets

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Wild Beauty, by Anna Marie McLemore, (Oct. 2017, Macmillan), $17.99, ISBN: 9781250124555
Recommended for readers 13+

Teen Estrella Nomeolvides and her cousins live on the beautiful Californian garden property, La Pradera, for generations. Known as “las hijas del aire”, they are bound to the land, forming beautiful flowers that create breathtaking gardens, but the gift is a curse: every man loved by a Nomeolvides woman disappears. Just… dissipates. The cousins are all in love with the same woman, Bay Briar, and pray to the gardens to keep her safe from vanishing; instead, a young man they call Fel appears, thrust forth by the garden. Fel has choppy memories of his past, and Estrella takes it on herself to help him recover his memories. What none of them realize is that Fel’s memories – Fel’s past – is inextricably linked to the ugly truth behind a Pradera.

There is a lot going on in Wild Beauty. There are several subplots that intertwine with the main story, all moving toward the revelations at the end. Beautifully written, with fully realized characters, Wild Beauty can be confusing – there were characters and subplots that took me a few re-reads to fully get my head straight – and the story tends to meander, which may frustrate some readers. Readers familiar with magical realism will recognize this and press on. There’s beautiful imagery, gender identity and fluid sexuality, and a respect for Latinx heroines and matriarchal family structures.

Wild Beauty has starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. Bust Magazine has a great write-up on the book and the author.

Posted in Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Supernatural thriller: We All Fall Down

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We All Fall Down, by Natalie D. Richards, (Oct. 2017, Sourcebooks Fire), $10.99, ISBN: 9781492654384

Recommended for readers 13+

Part fated romance, part supernatural thriller, We All Fall Down is the story of Theo and Paige; two friends who are haunted by a night on an old bridge, where an argument between Theo and another classmate turned into a fight; Theo took a swing, but it was Paige who was injured.

Four months later, they’re each trying to move on, but something at the bridge refuses to let them forget. Paige and Theo must work together to stop whatever energy is coming from the bridge.

I had higher hopes for All Fall Down, to be honest. It’s an interesting look at two characters with varying mental illnesses – Theo claims to have “ODD, ADHD… I’ve got to be forgetting some letters here”, and Paige suffers from severe anxiety. The story didn’t really need a supernatural element added to it to be compelling; Natalie Richards had great material to work with, had she gone deeper into the characters, their relationship, and the repercussions of the night Paige was injured. It’s an interesting thriller that started strong, but could have been unputdownable with just a slight change in focus.

Posted in Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Children of Exile series heats up with Children of Refuge

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Children of Refuge (Children of Exile #2), by Margaret Peterson Haddix, (Sept. 2017, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1442450066

Recommended for readers 10-14

The second book in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s new series, Children of Exile, is told from Edwy’s point of view. He’s Rosi’s friend and a fellow Fredtown refugee; brought home with the rest of the children and smuggled by his crime lord father into Refuge City to stay with his brother and sister while the violence in his hometown, the Cursed Town, settles down. His brother, Enu, and sister, Kiandra, have no interest in him: have no interest in anything other than the money their father keeps sending, so they can live as they please. Edwy tries to acclimate to life in Refuge City, but can’t get Rosi out of his mind. And when he discovers that Rosi – still stuck in Cursed Town – is in serious danger, he knows he has to act, and that he needs help from his siblings to save Rosi.

I loved Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series; Children of Exile is every bit as compelling. I was drawn to the series by one of my library kids, who asked for Children of Exile shortly after it arrived at my library, and proceeded to tell me how amazing he heard it was from a friend. Haddix does middle grade dystopia well. She makes her societies uncomfortably believable, taking a hard look at current events and applying them to a darker future. Here, she explores race and war; a society so war-torn that an alien society intervenes, and the consequences.

If you haven’t read Children of Exile, I highly recommend it, but you can step into the world with Children of Refuge; it’s a different character’s story, and there is enough exposition to fill you in. With the Shadow Children series still showing up on reading lists, this is a good time to booktalk a new series by the same author. Make a great dystopian middle grade display with The City of Ember series, Lois Lowry’s The Giver books, and Marcus Sedgwick’s Floodland.

 

 

Posted in Preschool Reads

Hedgehog and Rabbit: Friends who have each other’s backs

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hedgehog and Rabbit: The Scary Wind, by Pablo Albo/Illustrated by Gómez, (Nov. 2017, nubeOCHO), $14.95, ISBN: 978-84-945971-7-6
Recommended for readers 3-7

Two friends, Hedgehog and Rabbit, are in the garden looking for snails and eating cabbage, when a gust of wind stirs up a pile of leaves and scares them both! Each friend runs off in a different direction, but realizes they’ve left the other behind. Determined to be brave, Hedgehog and Rabbit each disguise themselves to scare the windy monster – but will they end up scaring each other instead?

 

Hedgehog and Rabbit: The Stubborn Cloud, by Pablo Albo/Illustrated by Gómez, (Nov. 2017, nubeOCHO), $14.95, ISBN: 978-84-945971-9-0
Recommended for readers 3-7

Hedgehog and Rabbit, are in the garden on a sunny day, looking for snails and eating cabbage, when a cloud rolls in and covers the sun! Try as they might, neither Rabbit nor Hedgehog can get the cloud to move out of the way. Looks like they’ll have to enlist some help from their fellow animal friends.

 

The Hedgehog and Rabbit stories are sweet, fun books about friendship. Like an earlier readers’ Frog and Toad, the two friends spend time together, watch out for one another, and face some amusing weather-related misunderstandings together. The stories revolve around Rabbit and Hedgehog not being in on the joke – but the readers are, allowing for some fun dialogue with your audience as the stories progress. These stories can be a fun enhancement for early lessons on weather. Gomez’s illustrations are bright and eye-catching, and the characters have expressive faces, which makes these books a fun storytime choice.

Hedgehog and Rabbit are also available in Spanish (Erizo y Conejo).