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 Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Stanley’s Store Blog Tour!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The hardest working hamster in town is back in his sixth book, Stanley’s Store (by William Bee, March 2017, Peachtree Publishers, $14.95, ISBN: 978-1-56145-868-4) . It’s a busy day at Stanley’s Store: Stanley’s got to unload fresh fruits and vegetables; Mattie helps customers pick out cheese, and there’s some excitement when Charlie doesn’t know how to control his shopping cart! Stanley’s always there to help, though, and at the end of a busy day, it’s time for him to go home.

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My colleague LOVES Stanley. When we opened this library, she made darned sure we had the full line of Stanley books ready for the kids, so when I told her there was a new book coming out, she was thrilled! I sat down and read the first five books, and they’re adorable. They introduce kids to different careers (builders, business owners – stores and diners, farmers, mechanics, and mailmen) that shape their world, and provide a little look into the events of each job’s day. Stanley’s Store is a good book to read with your child and talk about your experiences at the grocery store; it’s also a good opportunity to point out safety and paying attention, illustrated by Charlie’s mishap. I love Shamus and Little Woo, a father and son duo, whose cart mysteriously fills up with cookies and sweets when Shamus’ back is turned. The story also slips in shape and color awareness, making this a great book for toddler and pre-k audiences.

Play store! Save some packaging and let your kiddos “shop” and create displays! Plastic food is huge with the kids in my library (and with my own kiddos, when they were younger) and is available everywhere. Talk about shapes and colors and talk about what foods are good for you. This could be paired with a fun flannel board activity and there are many food-related songs available to put together a fun storytime and playtime.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

A bedtime story that you can Whisper

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

whisperWhisper, by Joe Fitzpatrick/Illustrated by Marco Furlotti, (Sept. 2016, Flowerpot Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781486709465

Recommended for readers 4-7

A parent and child bear read a special bedtime story together; the little bear lovingly asks for its parent to whisper the story so he’ll listen close, cuddle in, and have more fun. This rhyming story has a quiet cadence to the text that makes for a soothing bedtime read; the little bear’s requests are great for getting little ones corralled and ready for bed. The story encourages a bedtime routine through words and loving illustrations of a caregiver and child cuddling and settling in for the night.

My 4 year-old is normally a wild man by bedtime – especially if there was no nap earlier in the day – and this helped wind him down when I read it. It’s by no means a sleep guarantee, though – we read about 4 books after this one – but it’s a nice way to introduce a nighttime routine. The illustrations are largely close-ups of the bears, heads together, snuggling, making the reader feel like they’re part of the story. Neither grownup nor child is gendered, allowing any child, any caregiver, to identify with the characters. Have your little ones whisper along with you – the word is emphasized with smaller text throughout the book – for a shared reading experience. A sweet bedtime selection.

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

Vampires on the Run in Maine? Quinnie Boyd’s on the case!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

vampires-on-the-runVampires on the Run: A Quinnie Boyd Mystery, by C.M. Surrisi, (March 2017, Carolrhoda Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9781512411508

Recommended for readers 8-12

The second outing for teen sleuth Quinnie Boyd, Vampires on the Run returns readers to the fictional town of Maiden Rock, Maine. This time, Quinnie meets her friend’s aunt and uncle, Ceil and Edgar, who are celebrated writers of a vampire series. They dress in all black, don’t venture out in the sunlight, and are very, very pale. When weirdness starts happening around Maiden Rock, Quinnie’s mental wheels start turning and she recruits Dominic, a new kid in town, to help her get to the bottom of the mystery.

Vampires on the Run is loaded with fun whodunit clues to keep readers guessing. You don’t need to read the first Quinnie Boyd book, The Maypop Kidnapping, to enjoy this newest book; there’s enough exposition to fill readers in. I liked Quinnie, her supportive yet firm parents, her friends, and the inhabitants of Maiden Rock. CM Surrisi spends a lot of time setting up the reader: so much that you kind of know the twist is coming, but it’s a good one.

Vampires on the Run is a fun, cozy mystery for middle graders with a strong cast of likable characters. Mystery readers and fiction fans will enjoy it.

 

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

Do you like to play? Animals do, too!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

animals-doAnimals Do, Too!, by Etta Kaner/Illustated by Marilyn Faucher, (May 2017, Kids Can Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9781771385695

Recommended for ages 4-8

Do you like to dance? Do you like to play leapfrog? Play tag? Well, guess what: animals do, too! This fun book features pictures of families at play on one spread, and a corresponding spread on the next two pages, with a group of animals engaged in the same fun. The alternating question and answer format engages kids right away, and the activities that we humans do for fun, while animals do them to find food and care for their young will spark discussion with young learners.

Animals Do, Too! features animals that differ from the usual farm and jungle animals kids meet in their books. Sure, we’ve got bumblebees and frogs, but we also meet cattle egrets and marmosets, gazelles and leaf-cutter ants. A spread at the back of the book provides fast facts about each animal in the book.

There is some lovely watercolor work here, featuring lovely nature scenes. The families are enjoying one another, and the animals are playful while completing their everyday work. The parallels between humans and animals should engender interest and empathy in kids and will start some great conversations – ask the kids around you to think of animals they see every day: what does a cat do that a person does? (Stretching is a good one!) What does a dog do that a person does? (Jump and play!) You can create matching games that match the activity with the animal, for younger learners; bonus: they get to color.

The question and answer pattern of the text invites kids to interact with the text and gives them a chance to contribute before revealing the answer on the following spread. This is a good additional purchase for nature, life science, and animal collections.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Can you escape Monsterville?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

monstervilleMonsterville: A Lissa Black Production, by Sarah S. Reida, (Sept. 2016, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781510707337

Recommended for readers 9-13

Jumanji meets Goosebumps in this fun and unexpectedly touching novel. Lissa Black is not happy with her family’s decision to move out of their Manhattan apartment to a house in Freeburg, Pennsylvania, inherited when her great-aunt passes away. She’s away from her friends, her school, and the conveniences of living in New York City; she’s only got the neighbor kid, Adam, who’s set on making her appreciate life outside of the city, and this weird game, Monsterville, that she found in her aunt’s basement. Just as Lissa is set on languishing in the wilds of PA, she discovers a sad, shape-shifting goblin she calls Blue, who’s escaped from Down Under. Blue’s so sad that Lissa and Adam feed him and check in on him, but when Lissa discovers he can shape-shift, she decides to make a documentary starring Blue. But an interview with the goblin uncovers secrets that put Lissa’s family at risk. When her little sister is kidnapped and taken Down Under on Halloween, Lissa and Adam have to go in after her, and the Monsterville game is their only hope of making it back.

Lissa is hard to like at first: she’s a great older sister, but largely self-centered and snobbish at the novel’s outset. As the story progresses, and the urgency not only of Blue’s situation, but her sister’s, hits home, though, Lissa rises to the occasion and grows into a strong female character that I was rooting for. I liked her supportive, loving family and I really liked the glimpse we got of her mysterious aunt. I think a Monsterville prequel is in order, to tell her story! There was great world-building Up Above and Down Below, with Adam acting as Lissa’s – and the reader’s – guide to rural life, and the Monsterville game laying out Down Below for us before we even get there. I ended up loving this book and can’t wait to booktalk this. A film glossary at the end introduces readers to film terms, most of which show up in Monsterville – Lissa is a filmmaker, after all.

Challenge your readers to make up their own version of Monsterville! What monsters would inhabit their Down Under? What would counteract the monsters and help humans escape? This could be a great summer reading group program, just saying…

Monsterville is Sarah S. Reida’s debut novel. Find teacher resources at LissaBlackProductions.com, which also links to Sarah’s author blog and appearances.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Different? Same! looks at repeating patterns in nature

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

different-sameDifferent? Same!, by Heather Tekavec/Illustrated by Pippa Curnick, (May 2017, Kids Can Press), 416.95, ISBN: 9781771385657

Recommended for ages 3-6

Zebras gallop, bumblebees fly, lemurs leap, and a tiger prowls, but look closer: they all have STRIPES! Different? Same! celebrates the similarities among animals that would otherwise seem very different. Each spread features a group of animals that mentions a different trait, inviting readers to look closer to find the common characteristic. One animal from the previous spread shows up in each new spread – ask your eagle-eyed readers to spot them! A final spread puts all forty animals together and asks readers to search for animals with specific characteristics: who’s furry? Who would make good pets? Who would you NOT like to touch? Brief paragraphs at the end of the book explain why animals have the characteristics they do.

The digital art is very colorful and cute, creating happy, friendly animals that kids will love. The book is useful when introducing the concept of patterns to young learners and when discussing similarities and differences, which can lead to a talk on a greater scale about diversity; what makes us different, what makes us the same. This is a good additional purchase to concept collections.

Posted in Early Reader, Preschool Reads

Niko Draws a Feeling: What do you see?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

niko-draws-a-feelingNiko Draws a Feeling, by Bob Raczka/Illustrated by Simone Shin, (April 2017, Carolrhoda Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9781467798433

Recommended for ages 4-8

Niko loves to draw the world around him. Everything inspires him, and ideas flow through him, from his brain down to his fingers. He captures feelings, not images: the ring-a-ling of an ice cream truck; the warmth of the sun; the hard work of a mother robin building a next. No one seems to understand Niko. They’re looking for the bell of the truck; the sun and Niko’s face; the mother robin. Niko captures the feelings these things inspire, but no one seems to grasp that, until he meets Iris, a new girl moving into the neighborhood. She understands exactly what he has to say, because she feels, rather than looks.

I adore this book. It reaches in and touches the reader, just like Niko’s drawings. Younger children will appreciate that someone out there understands what they’re trying to communicate, much like Niko and Iris finding one another. Raczka and Shin create a story that relies on feelings and emotions inspired by the world around us, and reminding us that art, like feeling, is abstract, and able to be communicated in many ways. Simone Shin’s mixed media, digital and acrylic paints give us a world that looks like it could have been drawn by Niko himself.

There are so many ways to use this book beyond a simple storytime. Ask kids to draw their own feelings, their own experiences of the world around them. Let them explain what they see, and see it with them. Pair this with Andrew Larsen and Mike Lowery’s A Squiggly Story for a great storytime on self-expression and art.

Bob Raczka is an award-winning children’s author and poet. Simone Shin is an award-winning illustrator.

Posted in Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction

Wild Animals of the South – beautiful animals, beautiful artwork

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

wild_1Wild Animals of the South, by Dieter Braun/Translated by Jen Calleja, (March 2017, Nobrow), $35, ISBN: 9781909263970

Recommended for ages 5+

This gorgeous companion to Braun’s Wild Animals of the North (Nobrow, 2016) introduces readers to animals in the Southern hemisphere. Organized by continent: South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica, readers will enjoy the beautiful, colorful illustrations. The emphasis here is on the illustrations, making this a great starter book for younger children; caregivers can read the short passages on featured animals, which offer fun facts. For example, while most know that a male lion’s mane is his crowning glory, did you know that female lions prefer males with more beautiful and lustrous manes? And that other males will hold back when a male with a more impressive mane appears?

The art is stunning. Braun’s illustrations are geometric, with strong lines and rich colors. There is a wry sense of humor in some – the lion’s lush mane, for instance – while others, like the breaching humpback whale, are breathtaking. A waddle of penguins, under a snowy sky, stand in the stark shadow of glaciers. Braun captures habitats with the same beauty the he sees in the animals themselves.

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The $35 price tag may be a bit steep for some readers, especially those who are looking for more information than artwork (but that’s what libraries are for!), but this book is gorgeous for wildlife lovers and art lovers. For more of Dieter Braun’s illustrations, make sure to visit his website.

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Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads

Monstertown gets Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

9781484713242Monstertown Mysteries (#2): Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies!, by Bruce Hale, (Mar. 2017, Disney/Hyperion), $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-4847-1324-2

Recommended for readers 8-12

When we last saw Carlos and his friend Benny, they’d just saved their social studies teacher from a miserable life as a were-hyena. Just when they think it’s safe to relax, they’re… bored. Seriously, where do you go from were-animals, right? They shouldn’t have worried – the lunch ladies are acting weird. I mean, weird. They start feeding the boys junk food, and the girls… well, the boys catch a glimpse of what the girls are eating, and it looks like “greenish glop, scrambled eggs, fish sticks, and a sloppy joe thing with maybe-grasshoppers inside it”. Over the next few days, kids start disappearing – all boys – and the girls start getting very aggressive. They’re talking back, bullying kids, acting kind of like the boys do! They sneer at their male classmates and threaten to bite off their heads and suck out their insides! Carlos and Benny start investigating, and they’re pretty sure that the lunch ladies are giant preying mantises that have plans for both the girls and boys in their neighborhood, but who’s going to believe them?

The second Monstertown Mystery is just as much fun as the first one, with more laughs and a lot more gross humor. (Seriously, put down that snack or that sandwich while you read this. You’re welcome.) There’s some nice social commentary about sexism, even if it comes with the whole female-biting-a-male’s-head-off sort of thing; a particularly strong statement by Carlos’ friend Tina toward the book’s conclusion. Put this out with your Goosebumps books, your Lovecraft Middle School books, and your Haunted Mansion novel (when are we getting another volume of that?) and watch the kids swarm. Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies! comes with a lenticular cover, just like The Curse of the Were-Hyena did, for transformation fun.

Come on, this is a no-brainer add to collections.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Detective Gordon and Buffy the Mouse are on the case

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

detgordon_acaseinanycase_cover_lrDetective Gordon: A Case in Any Case, by Ulf Nilsson/Illustrated by Gitte Spee, (Mar. 2017, Gecko Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781776571086

Recommended for readers 6-8

Swedish author Ulf Nilsson’s third Detective Gordon series pairs the toad detective with his mouse sidekick for a very important case and a little bit of a misunderstanding. Detective Gordon has taken a break – he may have retired – and Buffy is holding down the fort in his absence, until she has to call him out of retirement when two schoolchildren go missing. Buffy has her own way of doing things, and Detective Gordon has his own way of doing things; the friends have a misunderstanding, but put aside their differences to work on what’s important. After the case is solved, they resolve their own differences.

This was my first Detective Gordon book. You don’t need to have read the previous books; readers can jump right in and follow the Detective and Buffy’s adventure. It’s a great next step for Frog and Toad readers, with a similarly tender pace and narration. Nilsson creates an adventurous subplot for the two missing kindergarten children, who want to create the steps that bring one of their favorite storybooks to life; he also explores themes of friendship, conflict resolution, teamwork, and talking things over. Gitte Spee’s soft colors and gentle characters will attract readers who love a good animal tale. This makes a good read-aloud selection, too, with many discussion topics to introduce to the kids in your classroom, library, and home.

Detective Gordon: A Case in Any Case received a starred review from School Library Journal.