Author: Rosemary Kiladitis

I'm a mom, a children's librarian, bibliophile, and obsessive knitter. I'm a pop culture junkie and a proud nerd, and favorite reads usually fall into Sci-Fi/Fantasy. I review comics and graphic novels at WhatchaReading (http://whatchareading.com). I'm also the co-founder of On Wednesdays We Wear Capes (http://www.onwednesdays.net/), where I discuss pop culture and geek fandom from a female point of view.
Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Squishy McFluff is off to tea with the Queen

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Squishy McFluff: Tea with the Queen, by Pip Jones/Illustrated by Ella Okstad, (May 2019, Faber & Faber), $16.95, ISBN: 9780571337279

Ages 3-7

Squishy McFluff, the Invisible Cat, meets the Queen for tea in his first picture book! He and his favorite human, Ava, are off to London with Ava’s family for some sightseeing, but Squishy – and therefore, Ava – have other plans. Slipping into Buckingham Palace, they happen upon the Queen herself, who’s looking over a grocery list for her corgi. Ava boldly introduces herself and Squishy (still invisible) to HRH, who insists they both stay for tea, and sends her home with invisible crowns for herself and Squishy.

Squishy McFluff is the star of a British chapter book series that looks absolutely adorable (can we get these in the States?); Tea with the Queen is the first Squishy picture book in the series. Told in rhyme from Ava’s point of view, the story is charming and perfect for tea party storytime. The story will appeal to kids’ imaginations – ask them if they’ve ever had imaginary friends or pets! – and get the creative juices flowing. Endpapers are dotted with crowns and cat paws, and Ella Okstad’s artwork is sweet and colorful, with Squishy being a dominant character, albeit a transparent one.

I love a good tea party book, and this will join my shelf. Pick this one up for yours if you have readers who love animal stories, tea parties, and stretching their imaginations. Enhance a storytime activity with some of the suggestions and downloadables on the Squishy McFluff website, including coloring pages and a dot-to-dot activity.

 

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Middle School

Odd Gods – Mythic Middle School can be Heck!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Odd Gods: Misfit Myths from Mount Olympus Middle School, by David Slavin & Daniel Weitzman/Illustrated by Adam J.B. Lane, (May 2019, HarperCollins), $13.99, ISBN: 9780062839534

Ages 7-11

This mythological mashup is straight-up hilarious. Oddonis is the son of Zeus and Freya, the Nordic goddess of love. You’d think he was set, right? NOPE. He’s got a weird chin, messy hair, a third nipple, and he’s nothing like his twin brother… Adonis. Yup, THAT Adonis. Adonis, who had six-pack abs as a baby! How does that even happen? Narrated by Oddonis, Odd Gods is the story of the Odds – the not-quite godly gods – as they navigate the halls of Mount Olympus Middle School, and of Oddonis’ attempt to wrest respect from his brother and his father when he runs against Adonis for class president.

Odd Gods has a snarky bent to the narration – think Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid – with a strong undercurrent of frustration. These are the kids that have been discounted from the very beginning. We have Mathena, goddess of math and… poultry. She loves math; she breathes it, lives it, loves it, to her classmate’s ridicule. There’s also the duck and chicken following her around; that can’t help. There’s Germes, god of sniffling and snot, who can often be found hanging out in a dumpster. Don’t forget Puneous, the smallest god of them all, and Oddonis’s best friend… Gaseous. Gaseous, who can clear a room or send a group of gods flying. Together, this group of misfits will take on the established group of Mean Gods and prove, for once and for all, that there’s room on Olympus for everyone.

Absolute fun, with black and white drawings throughout that directly contribute to the story’s flow. Hand this to your Jedi Academy readers and see how they think the two schools would do in a match-up. Heroes in Training and Goddess Girls readers will love this one, too.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Two new Pout-Pout Fish adventures!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Pout-Pout Fish: Back to School, by Wes Adams/Illustrated by Isidre Monés, (May 2019, Farrar Straus Giroux), $5.99, ISBN: 9780374310479

Ages 3-6

The Pout-Pout Fish is off to school! This time, he’s a substitute teacher, subbing for his favorite teacher, Miss Hewitt, who’s down with a cold. On the way to school, he meets a nervous new student and helps him feel comfortable with his new school and new classmates. When Pout-Pout – Mr. Fish here – feels a little overwhelmed in front of his first class, the little fish is there to return the favor, giving Mr. Fish the confidence to carry the class. TAt the end of the day, Pout-Pout gets a sweet drawing from his new student and a warm reception from his new students. What a way to start a school year!

Pout-Pout Fish: Back to School is a Pout-Pout Fish story by Wes Adams and illustrator Isidre Monés. I admit I miss the rhyme scheme and repetition that Deborah Diesen traditionally uses, but the emphasis on kindness present in Pout-Pout Fish stories is here. Isidre Monés uses calming blues for Pout-Pout and bright primary colors for the classroom, all of which will appeal to readers. And there are stickers at the end of the book, making this a great back-to-school gift for kids (and if you’re putting this on your library shelves, hold onto those stickers, or your books won’t last the day – hand them out to your kiddos as welcome back gifts).

 

The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up the Ocean, by Deborah Diesen/Illustrated by Dan Hanna, $17.99, ISBN: 9780374309343

Ages 3-6

Pout-Pout and friends are cleaning up the ocean! Mr. Fish and his friends love the ocean’s beauty, but when he looks around and sees a giant mess, he and his friends investigate and find out that THEY are the cause of the mess! That simply won’t do, so the group team up to clean up in this rhyming story by original writer and illustrator Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna.

Kids (and grownups) familiar with Pout-Pout stories will fall right into the rhyme and repetition of the story. There’s always a phrase or two that sets the plot moving; here, it’s “There’s a problem that needs solving/And we don’t know what to do/But we’re going to find some answers/Would you like to join us, too?” Old boxes of junk, food waste, plastic bags, all of it has to go, because it’s “a big… BIG.. MESS!” The friends come together to pitch in and clean up; even sorting their recyclables from their garbage. Once they’ve cleaned the ocean floor, they feel good about themselves, and extend the invitation to the reader to join them! An author and illustrator note encourages readers to clean up and protect the ocean, encouraging everyone to take action and learn more. It’s a great way to introduce conservation to kids.

The Pout-Pout website has lots of printable activities, and the website is way too much fun! (There are floating bubbles and fish!)

 

 

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction

If I Were a Park Ranger introduces kids to a green career!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

If I Were a Park Ranger, by Catherine Stier/Illustrated by Patrick Corrigan, (April 2019, Albert Whitman & Co.), $16.99, ISBN: 9780807535455

Ages 4-9

A diverse group of kids think of all the great things they’d do if they were park rangers in this picture book that takes readers across the United States for peeks at the beautiful national parks, while shedding some light on a career that you don’t often hear people talk about: the national park ranger. Catherine Stier and Patrick Corrigan provide kids with a history of the profession, and portraits of prominent figures in national parks history: Stephen Mather and Horace Albright, the founding directors of the National Park Service; Theodore Roosevelt, who created programs to protect land and wildlife, and Gerard Baker, a superintendent who brought Native American heritage to the parks, to name a few. Each child envisions himself or herself in ranger uniform, working across different locales; from desert to forest, from volcanoes to caves, battlefields and monuments; they help campers, they protect nature and wildlife, and they report emergencies that threaten our national parks.

Each spread is labeled, introducing readers to a different park. The group of rangers is racially diverse, as are the park visitors; the artwork is colorful and earth-toned, showing lush greens, calming blues, and warm browns of the lands. Deserts like Death Valley National Park get a beautiful orange and violet spreads. The author talks about her love of national parks, and how national parks contribute to STEM and art learning; there is also a note on how to become a park ranger, complete with a link to the National Park Service for becoming a Junior Ranger.

This is a fun addition to career sections, and an overall good book to introduce when talking about nature, environmentalism, and preservation. There are free, downloadable activity pages available, too! For kids interested in learning more about the US National Parks, recommend Ranger Rick’s Travels: National Parks.

Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

New York City gets a park: A Green Place to Be

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park, by Ashley Benham Yazdani, (March 2019, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780763696955

Ages 7-10

This beautiful and lushly illustrated history of Central Park starts with the land’s beginnings, as a barren area where farm animals and industrial waste left much to be desired, and the design contest devised by architect Calvert Vaux – a contest that he also entered with every intention of winning. A Green Place to Be follows Vaux’s and park superintendent Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision, focusing on their planning, execution, and invitation to artists to join in the effort. The winter of 1858 saw the first park of the park, the Lake, open for visitors; in the summer of 1859, the woodsy Ramble joined the landscape, followed by the Children’s District.

Illustrated in watercolor and pencil, this is a loving tribute to an iconic green space and the men and women who created it. Back matter includes profiles of both Olmstead and Vaux, and a Q&A on spaces within the park. Sharp-eyed readers will love returning to the illustrations again and again to find squirrels, bridges, and other affectionately placed details. There is an author’s note and bibliography for further reading.

A Green Place to Be is a love letter to New York’s green spaces and creativity. Central Park’s website has extensive information about the park, including a calendar of events and links to social media. Planetizen has a good article on teaching urban planning to preschoolers; this could be a fun activity where kids can learn and create their own green spaces! National Geographic has a fun Design a Park activity for middle grade kids, and the STAR Library Network has a printable Design a Park activity that will work with large groups of kids. It’s a fun springtime program!

Posted in Espionage, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Tween Reads

Can You Crack the Code? makes codebreakers out of your readers

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Can You Crack the Code? A Fascinating History of Ciphers and Cryptography, by Ella Schwartz/Illustrated by Lily Williams, (March 2019, Bloomsbury USA), $21.99, ISBN: 9781681195148

Ages 10-13

Three years ago, I held a great, week-long Spy program at my library for Summer Reading. The kids went berserk for it; I had a blast planning and running it, and books like Can You Crack the Code? make me think it might be time to hold a program like that again. Ella Schwartz has come up with a nice history of codes, code names, and cryptography for middle graders, with loads of pictures, informative sidebars, and activities to keep readers on their toes. Famous moments in cryptography history include the Caesar Cipher, invented by Julius Caesar, the Arnold Cipher, used by the infamous Benedict Arnold, and the Enigma machine, used by the Germans during World War II; the machine that gave them the upper hand until a team of British codebreakers at Bletchley Park finally broke the code (shout-out to computer scientist and codebreaker Alan Turing). Want to know why you have to generate a strong password, obnoxious as it may be? Check out the “Can You Hack the Bank?” activity and you’ll be changing all of your passwords. A final challenge has readers going through the book to solve one last cipher. There’s a comprehensive bibliography and the book is indexed, making this a nice volume to have on your shelves.

Display this with the Book Scavenger series, the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library books, the Secret Coders graphic novels, and – naturally! – the Girls Who Code books, both fiction and nonfiction. Brightly has a good post on fiction with puzzles and codes.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to revisit some of my old Summer Reading plans… I know this year’s theme is A Universe of Stories; maybe I’ll just use some codes to send them into space! Great escape room ideas in here, too. All around fun for your brain-teaser-loving readers.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

A classic fairy tale with modern-day sensibilities: The White Snake

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The White Snake, by Ben Nadler (based on a fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers), (May 2019, TOON Graphics), $16.95, ISBN: 9781943145379

Ages 8-12

Ben Nadler revisits The Grimm Brothers’ tale, The White Snake, with modern-day emphasis on themes including kindness to animals and pushing back against classicism, and sexism. Randall is a young servant for King Arnold, an indecisive monarch who seems confounded by the mere act of hanging a picture. He is an autocratic father, too, shouting down his daughter and refusing to consider letting her rule; choosing instead to find a suitor for her. King Arnold sends Randall to the neighboring kingdom of Borisylvania to spy and report back on why King Boris is beloved. In Borisylvania, Randall discovers Boris’ secret: he is able to communicate with animals by eating a meal of white snake. With this knowledge, Randall heads back home, showing kindness to animals along the way. This kindness pays off when Randall needs help to complete quests set by King Arnold in order to win his daughter’s hand – and save his own life.

Ben Nadler weaves themes of sexism and racism throughout the story. King Arnold is a brutish overlord who refuses to listen to his own daughter, and throws Randall in prison when he refuses to divulge King Boris’ secret. Princess Tilda come to his rescue by offering herself as bait; she tells her father to offer her hand in marriage as a contest prize. When Randall completes each quest the king sets before him, he refuses to let a servant marry his daughter and adds additional perilous tasks. When Randall finally helps King Arnold see the light, the story takes an upbeat turn and the message is loud and clear: “the animals talked to me. All I had to do is listen”.

Back matter includes an essay by graphic novelist educator Paul Karasik on retelling folk tales, and a bibliography of print and online resources. TOON has a free, downloadable educator’s guide available. The endpapers feature artwork of key figures in the story: birds, fish, horses, crowns, and apples, all arranged into a lovely design with a vintage feel. The artwork dives into surrealist territory in points, which will make you wonder just what is in that food. Randall is fair-skinned; King Arnold and Princess Tilda are brown-skinned.

A great add to your graphic novel and fairy tale collections. TOON has copies available in both hardcover and softcover. Check out the interview Smash Pages did with Ben Nadler!

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Big moves, big thoughts in A New Home

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A New Home, by Tania de Regil, (April 2019, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536201932

Ages 4-7

A boy from New York City and a girl from Mexico City are each moving, and nervous about their new home. Readers quickly understand that the kids are swapping places: the boy is moving to Mexico, and the girl, to New York. They voice their worries about everyday things they will miss: an after-school snack on the way home; cheering on a local sports team; having places to play. Optimistically, they also think about the new friends they will meet, and hope they enjoy their new home.

A New Home speaks to kids’ concerns and fears over leaving the familiar and starting over somewhere new, as it reassures those fears by illustrating another child enjoying those same things. The boy from New York stands under a T-Rex skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History as the girl from Mexico City stands in front of the Sun Stone in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, each hoping there will be places for their classes to explore their past. The book touches on some of the challenges of city life, including homelessness and poverty. Back matter provides more information about the places and images that come up in the book; everyday images like hot dog carts and street music all get their moment here. Soft, yet bright illustrations make big city living a little less overwhelming.

A New Home is a good addition to your books about moving. Brightly and Moving.com offer reading lists with further book suggestions. There’s a free, downloadable activity kit available through the publisher.

Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

To Infinity and Beyond! The Day the Universe Exploded My Head

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again, by Allan Wolf/Illustrated by Anna Raff, (March 2019, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780763680251

Ages 7-12

This is one of the best kids’ poetry books I’ve come across in a while! The Day the Universe Exploded My Head contains 29 poems, all about the wonder of space. Each planet gets a poem here, as do the outliers (Planet X, Charon, Pluto). There are nods to pivotal moments in space history (the 2013 meteorite over Cheylabinsk, Sputnik) natural phenomena (black holes, lunar and solar eclipses), and notable scientists (Ivan Ivanovich, Children of Astronomy). The poems are upbeat, factual, and, quite often, very funny, as with the poem, “Planet X”: “I’m one part supercilious/Another part mysterious/One part you-can’t-be-serious/They call me Planet X”. There are a wealth of poems for readers to read out loud, too: “Going the Distance” is a rap for two voices, color-coded for each speaker. The artwork: digitally assembled color collage, made from sumi ink washes, salt, pen, and pencil, explode off the page, with texture that will entice kids to see the swirls of light curling off a star and a fuzzy rings of moons around Neptune.

Non-fiction that informs and excites is aces with me, and The Day the Universe Exploded My Head is a great way to kick off and conclude a space storytime, a STEM program, or a fun read-aloud. Have some printable space coloring sheets ready to hand out, or check out illustrator Anna Raff’s webpage for super-cool activities (I like the Little Card printable for a library visit). Author Allan Wolf’s webpage also has activities, including poetry jokes.

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head has starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

When Mom and Dad say no, Baby takes matters into his own hands… Baby’s First Bank Heist

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Baby’s First Bank Heist, by Jim Whalley/Illustrated by Stephen Collins, (March 2019, Bloomsbury), $17.99, ISBN: 9781547600625

Ages 3-7

Baby Frank is a cute little baby who loves animals and would love to have a pet, but Mom and Dad each say no. This doesn’t sit well with Baby Frank, who devises his own moneymaking scheme: he’s going to rob a bank. Hey, he’s already rocking black and white striped pajamas! He’s little, so he can crawl his way through laser beam alarm systems and past dozing guards. One Frank starts raking in the cash, he amasses quite the animal collection – but how much longer can he hide things from his parents? Frank’s cover is blown, and his parents devise a suitably adorable plan to repay the banks and put Frank to work.

Originally published in the UK, Baby’s First Bank Heist is a cute rhyming story that preschoolers and kindergartners will enjoy; they’ll appreciate Frank’s taking matters into his own hands, and they’ll get a laugh out of the different ways he tries to hide his growing menagerie from his parents. Cartoony gouache, ink, and Photoshop artwork is appealing, and makes for a fun pet storytime. Put some stuffed animals around the room and let the kids gather a few wild pets of their own.

YouthLitReviews, Imagination Soup, and Pre-Kinders all have really good pet picture book lists – add some to your pet storytime! Boss Baby is a good readalike, for stories about babies who are more than meets the eye. I also like Crackerjack Jack for a fun rhyming story about a robber waylaid by his duck. Hey… he kinda looks like Frank, come to think of it…