Month: February 2022

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Tales from the TBR: The Mutant Mushroom Takeover

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Mutant Mushroom Takeover, by Summer Rachel Short, (Sept. 2020, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534468658

Ages 9-12

Science thriller meets low-level horror in this first-person narrated middle grade novel. Magnolia is an aspiring naturalist who lives in Shady Pines with her older brother and grandmother after their father loses his job and has to move to another state to find work. Her best friend, Nate, is an aspiring YouTuber conspiracy theorist. The two head to Old Bell’s farm to investigate possible paranormal activity, only to stumble on something far more insidious: giant, bio-luminescent mushrooms, and Old Man Bell, who collapses after catching the kids on his property. Old Bell’s mysterious last words are unsettling enough, but Maggie’s brother, his friends, and her Shady Pines neighbors start acting strangely, prompting Maggie to start doing some investigating into the possible mutant mushroom takeover. Maggie is a smart, fully realized character; Nate is largely played for laughs as her foil, but this is the first “Maggie and Nate Mystery”, and I’m looking forward to seeing both characters develop in future adventures. There’s delightfully creepy and gross moments, filled with freaky mushroom spores, giant spiders, and bat guano, for starters. An author’s note touches on the facts inspiring the fiction and makes for a great STEM discussion book.

Visit author Summer Rachel Short’s webpage for a Mutant Mushrom Takeover discussion guide, and to read about the next Maggie and Nate mystery coming next year!

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Love is Everything: Father Goose does it again!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Love is Everything, by Charles Ghigna, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764362231

Ages 3-7

Charles Ghigna’s ode to love is just what cuddle time, lapsit, and Valentine’s Day storytimes need. The poem reaffirms beliefs in everyday magic, like mornings and nights; mountains and trees, music, the seasons, and, most importantly, love. Artwork shows a little bear and bigger bear sharing time together, enjoying each other’s company, and sharing warmth and joy in the every day. Charles Ghigna begins each new line in his poetic tale with the affirmation, “I believe…” creating a sense of optimism and positivity that readers really need these days; comforting images and reassuring words come together to give young children a soothing storytime. Softly colored images of cute bears frolicking throughout nature, with uplifting verse, make this a lovely bedtime, laptime, or anytime read.

Visit Charles Ghigna’s author webpage for resources. The Poetry Foundation’s Charles Ghigna page has a biography and links to some more of his poetry.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

My Dad, My Rock: A book for dads who love being dads

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Dad, My Rock, by Victor D.O. Santos/Illustrated by Anna Forlati, (Apr. 2022, Linguacious), $13.99, ISBN: 978-164962-122-1

Ages 4-7

“I never met my grandpa. / And my grandpa never met my dad.” Oliver spends time with his father and constructs a list of what he’d like to tell his grandfather, if he were ever to meet him, about his father: how he can climb on his shoulders and pretend he’s on top of the world; how he teaches him to do things on his own; how he always reads to him at bedtime, and how he comforts him when he cries. Father and son spend their time together, enjoying each other’s company, and My Dad, My Rock is a moving story about a dad who enjoys being a dad, with all the learning that goes with the territory. Oliver’s dad isn’t afraid to cry or be silly, and lavishes affection on his child; it’s a beautifully positive portrayal of fatherhood and manhood.

Inspired by the author’s family history, it’s a lovely tribute to father-child relationships, with soft and gentle artwork to accompany the quiet text. Perfect for lapsit, cuddle time reading.

 

 

Preorder link for My Dad, My Rock.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle School, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Alone in the Woods – a survival story for tweens

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Alone in the Woods, by Rebecca Behrens, (Oct. 2020, Sourcebooks for Young Readers), $7.99, ISBN: 9781728231013

Ages 8-12

The TBR readdown continues with Alone in the Woods, which I’ve been trying to get to for ages. I loved Rebecca Behrens’s 2019 novel, The Disaster Days, and Alone in the Woods is solid proof that this is the author to read if survival stories are your thing.

Joss and Alex have been best friends forever, but their relationship is at a turning point this summer. Alex befriends Laura, one of the school Mean Girls, while at summer camp, and comes home a different person. She found another friend who likes clothes, shopping, mani-pedis, and makeup; Joss, who still loves her Lupine Lovers wolf sweatshirt and isn’t as concerned with having the latest clothes, can’t understand what happened to her best friend. When their families head to their annual joint family vacation in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, the tension between the girls is palpable, and comes to a head during a rafting trip on Wolf River that leaves them separated from their families and their shared inner tube torn. As the girls try to find their way back to their families, they discover that they’re lost in the woods, and woefully unprepared.

The story uses two first-person narratives, shifting from Joss’s present-day recounting to Alex’s memories that lead up to the schism between the former friends. Rebecca Behrens has a gift for putting her characters in perilous situation and finding the people at the heart of the danger. The woods, the danger, the hunger, is all a backdrop for the heart of the story, which is the broken relationship between two friends and how it got that way. Joss and Alex have to navigate their feelings and simmering issues with each other, which can be just as fraught as being lost in the woods. The girls are foils for one another, providing strengths and weaknesses that play off each other and add to both the conflict and the resolution. Give this to your survival and adventure readers, and point them to Rebecca Behrens’s author webpage, where you can resources for all of her books, including Alone in the Woods.

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

Sherlock Dom is on the case in the new Definitely Dominguita story!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Definitely Dominguita: Sherlock Dom, by Terry Catasús Jennings/Illustrated by Fatima Anaya, (Nov. 2021, Aladdin), $6.99, ISBN: 9781534465084

Ages 6-10

The newest Definitely Dominguita book has to be my favorite one yet: Dom leaves Mundytown for greener pastures when she joins Steph for a trip to Steph’s grandmother’s home in Virginia, and walks right into a mystery that only Sherlock Dom – inspired, naturally, by her current read, the Sherlock Holmes’s adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles – can solve! Gram’s neighbor is missing Esther, her goat, and Dom and Steph are determined to help crack the case. With Pancho on Facetime acting as Inspector Lestrade, Sherlock Dom and Steph Watson track down the clues and put the pieces together to solve the mystery and bring Esther home safely.

The Definitely Dominguita books are so much fun for so many reasons: the fun, light writing and swiftly moving action; the lovable characters and their vivid imaginations that encourages kids to embrace creative play; the introduction of classic books to kids, in relatable settings and situations, and the front-and-center spotlighting of Latino/a characters, being kids and having a great adventure. I love these stories, I love the way Terry Catasús Jennings re-envisions classic books, and I love Fatima Anaya’s black and white illustrations. While this book doesn’t provide any hints as to the next book in the series, I can only hope… after all, summer’s coming and there’s always a chance Dom will pick up a copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, right?

Back matter includes a note on Dom’s latest inspiration, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Have some Sherlock Holmes coloring sheets handy, thanks to Education.com; or a fun drawing page, also through Education.com. The Mutually Inclusive blog has a great author spotlight on author Terry Catasús Jennings,

Posted in Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

We Can Be Heroes embraces young women’s power in the aftermath of a school shooting

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We Can Be Heroes, by Kyrie McCauley, (Sept. 2021, Katherine Tegen Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9780062885050

Ages 12+

When Nico Bell pulled the trigger of that gun, so many lives were changed: but the problems were there long before that day. Told in third- and first-person narration, in prose and verse, We Can Be Heroes is the story of Cassie, killed in a school shooting by her ex-boyfriend; her two best friends, Beck and Vivian, and a town split down the middle. Bell is a town named for and financed by Bell Firearms; the Bell family has a sociopolitical grip on the town because they write the checks that keep it going. Nico Bell, heir to the Bell company and poster boy for toxic masculinity, kills his girlfriend, Cassie, in a murder-suicide when she tries to escape their abusive relationship. Beck and Vivian, Cassie’s best friends, never much liked one another, but bond over the chance to give Cassie the voice she didn’t have in life by painting murals featuring women from Greek myths: women whose voices were lost, taken by monsters and men. A podcaster focuses on the case as the murals achieve viral status on social media, and Cassie’s story unfolds, shedding light on ugly shadows in the town and the Bell family. Cassie appears as a ghost, bringing Beck and Vivian together and to guide them in their mission; her story is told in first person verse.

Changing narratives and playing with narrative structure – prose, transcript, and verse – keep this already arresting story moving. I loved the use of Greek myth to tell Cassie’s story; women’s stories through history. We Can Be Heroes explores grief and loss, trauma, and unchecked privilege. Small moments, like Cassie’s excitement over music released after her death are poignant, even when played for a chuckle. A subplot involving Beck and her grandfather adds further depth. A thoughtful look at real issues facing teens today that highlights the importance of listening to women’s stories.