Tween Reads – Page 115

Blog Tour: The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish!

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish, by Deborah Diesen/Illustrated by Dan Hanna (Sept. 2015, Macmillan), $16.99, ISBN: 9780374355494

Recommended for ages 3-7

The grumpiest fish in the sea is back, and this time, he’s stressed out over holiday shopping. He’s so worried about finding the perfect gifts for all of his friends, that he’s missing the whole point of the h0liday season – it’s the thought that counts, after all! He learns that making handmade gifts that speak from the heart are the best gifts of all – a valuable lesson for kids and adults alike.

The kids in my library LOVE Pout-Pout Fish. When I first got here, there were two board books of the original story that were worn to the point of falling apart (they’ve been replaced). I can’t wait to bring this story out as the holiday storytimes get a little closer (I have to do Thanksgiving, after all!), with a fun craft afterwards that will show the kids how delighted their parents are with their own handmade gifts.

The book is written in rhyme, perfect for young audiences to follow along. Pout-Pout’s initial refrain about gift-giving: “A gift should be big, and a gift should be bright, and a gift should be perfect—guaranteed to bring delight! And a gift should have meaning, plus a bit of bling-zing, so I’ll shop till I drop for each just-right thing.” will resonate with grownups who work themselves into a state each and every holiday, and maybe give them the message to slow the heck down and enjoy the season.

How happy are we when our kids give us a handprint on a piece of construction paper, or a tissue paper flower? It’s a gift made for us, with love. And it goes beyond that – look at the success of Etsy, the site where crafters sell their handmade stuff. We want that personal touch, that connection. I knit for my friends and family, and the time and love that goes into my gifts means that anyone who gets something handknit from me is pretty amazing in my life. It’s a message that we seem to inch away from a little more every year; maybe the Pout-Pout Fish will help bring us back to that all-important message this holiday season.

Dan Hanna’s art is absolutely adorable. Pout-Pout has a big, gloomy pout as he rushes around trying to make everyone happy – but himself. Paired with Deborah Diesen’s rhyming text, kids will giggle and engage with this book right away. My toddler loved it!

Add The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish to your holiday libraries and get your winter crafts ready. But wait – you can also enter this Rafflecopter giveaway //widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js for a chance to win your own copy!

INTERVIEWS WITH THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR!

Deborah Diesen, Author

Since the first book, we’ve seen Mr. Fish go to school, learn to smile, face the dark, discover how to dream and play hide-and-seek. What do kids (and their parents) love most about the series?

I think one of the things that makes Mr. Fish an appealing character for many kids and parents is that kids and parents alike can identify with his experiences. Toddlers sometimes pout; so do adults! Preschoolers have things they’re scared of; so do adults! Kindergarteners get nervous about starting something new; so do adults! Mr. Fish’s experiences provide a way for kids and grown-ups to explore those issues together. In addition, the stories have rhyme, repetition, and wordplay, which are fun in a read-aloud book. And Dan Hanna’s illustrations! They’re fantastic. They truly bring the stories to life.

What do you hope young readers (ages 3-6) will learn from The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish? Is there a message here for grown-ups as well?
I hope that Mr. Fish’s latest tale will help children to realize that presents don’t need to be expensive or complicated or splashy. Simple, heartfelt presents that connect us to one another are the best gifts of all. A drawing; a craft project; time spent together; even just a smile! These sorts of gifts are the most cherished and the most enduring. It’s a lesson we grown-ups have to re-learn periodically as well.

Do you have any tips for parents of toddlers about the joy of giving presents, rather than just receiving them, this holiday season?
Kids love to give presents, and they especially love having an active role in the process of creating the presents. Try a craft idea or project that’s extremely simple and stress-free, and then let your child have at it with a minimum of help. The more messy, lopsided, and imperfect the results the better! Have fun with the process, and as you do you’ll create not just gifts but memories as well.

Dan Hanna, Illustrator

The items in the shop and the gifts Mr. Fish imagines in this story are so detailed and quirky. How did you come up with them? Did you have a specific inspiration?

For the imagined gifts, I drew on my own experience as a kid where I would dream up magnificent presents for my family and friends. Eventually, as with Mr. Fish, I would have to confront reality and drastically scale back my plans.

The shop items are based on all the goofy stuff you can find on the shelves of some of the more interesting gift shops.

Of all the items that the Pout-Pout fish dreams up (robot, spaceship, submarine etc.), which one would you love to get this Christmas?

The Submarine! When I was a kid there was an ad in the back of a comic book for a submarine. The ad went something like this: “Deluxe Submarine! Life Size! Torpedo Tubes! Absolutely NO Cardboard Parts! Only $10!!

I saved up the money and sent away for it. As I waited for it to be delivered my dreams were filled with visions of underwater adventure. Eventually it arrived and sank my dreams into the abyss. It was just a cardboard box with torpedo tubes made from toilet roll tubes. It was even more depressing than the Sea Monkeys and X-Ray Glasses.

What do you think was your most valuable childhood experience?
Being bored. I firmly believe that having enough free time to sit around and be bored is very important for the development of a healthy imagination.

What do you want the students to get out of your school visits?
That being a writer or illustrator is like being a wizard. Your magic wand is a pencil. Your potions are words and scribbles. And the spells you cast will be the stories you write and the pictures you draw. So pick up a pencil and make some magic happen!

THE NOT VERY MERRY POUT POUT FISH BLOG TOUR

Chat with Vera chatwithvera.blogspot.com

MomReadIt https://momreadit.wordpress.com/

Anakalian Whims anakalianwhims.wordpress.com

Mymcbooks Blog mymcbooks.wordpress.com

Outnumbered 3 to 1 http://www.outnumbered3-1.com

Picture Books Review http://www.picturebooksreview.com/

Check It Out https://maclibrary.wordpress.com/

Jumpin Beans http://jumpin-beans.blogspot.com/

Caiafa Craziness http://www.caiafacraziness.com

TeacherDance http://www.teacherdance.org/

Kid Lit Reviews http://kid-lit-reviews.com/

Heck of A Bunch http://www.heckofabunch.com

Leslie Lindsay http://leslielindsay.com/

Double Duty Twins doubledutytwins.com

GeoLibrarian http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/

Cassandra M’s Place http://www.cassandramsplace.com

Philly Burb Moms http://www.phillyburbmoms.com

Not So Average Mama http://www.notsoaveragemama.com

Tales of Mommyhood http://www.talesofmommyhood.com/

Susan Heim on Parenting susanheim.blogspot.com

Bookish Babes https://bookishbabes.wordpress.com/

Bea’s Book Nook http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/

Bumbles and Fairytales http://bumblesandfairytales.blogspot.com/

Be the Difference http://mariadismondy.com/blog/

Stacking Books http://www.stackingbooks.com/

Local Busy Bees http://www.localbusybees.com

Reading through Life http://readingtl.blogspot.com/

Parenting Healthy http://www.parentinghealthy.com

Unleashing Readers http://www.unleashingreaders.com/

Kristen Remenar http://kristenremenar.com/

Oh My! Omaha http://www.ohmyomaha.com/

My Silly Little Gang http://mysillylittlegang.com/

The Corner on Character http://corneroncharacter.blogspot.com/

Mommy Ramblings mommyramblings.org

SoCal City Kids socalcitykids.com

Saffron Tree http://www.saffrontree.org

Mrs Brown Loves Bookworms http://mrsbrownthebookworm.blogspot.com/

The Neighborhood Moms http://www.TheNeighborhoodMoms.com

Inspired by Savannah http://www.inspiredbysavannah.com

The Reading Nook Reviews http://www.bookrookreviews.com/

In the Pages Blog inthepages.blogspot.com

Writers’ Rumpus http://writersrumpus.com/

Miss Marple’s Musings http://www.joannamarple.com/

Investing Love http://www.aliciahutchinson.com/

Natural Mama http://www.naturalbabygoods.com/

One Crazy Kid http://onecrazykid.com

Mommy’s Block Party http://www.mommysblockparty.co/

Mommy Has to Work http://mommyhastowork.com/

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Blog Tour: Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares Excerpt

Posted on November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The publicity team for Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares was kind enough to give me a sizable excerpt to feature, so you can get sucked in like I did. Read, enjoy, and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win your own copy of the book, plus some nice swag!

Excerpt from Chapter 10, Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares, by Tom DeLonge and Suzanne Young

Jarabec splashed some water on his face, clearing off the dust and grime. “I was like you, Poet,” he said, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his eyes. “A Lucid Dreamer—a bit of a lost soul. The man who owned this garden taught me through my dreams. He too, was a Poet. I learned how to garden, at first. Dreams can be useful that way. An indestructible training ground. I could kill the plants and bring them back without ever damaging a single stem. Eventually, the man’s lessons extended into other skills: how to fight, how to be strong, how to survive. And long after he was gone and this place had been razed, I recreated it—every detail near perfection.” Jarabec glanced around, and for a split second, Poet saw a touch of melancholy cross his features.

“It’s beautiful,” Poet said. Jarabec smiled, and crossed the yard to his monocycle, squatting in front of it to adjust a piston near the tire. “So this means I can enter your memories?” Poet asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted that sort of invasive power.

“No,” Jarabec said. “You can’t enter a memory. What you’ve done is enter my dream.” Jarabec stood, wiping his palms along the thighs of his pants. “You see,” he continued, “most people start their dreams in the Waking World— at their jobs, their homes, their memories. Their personal dream world is only slightly different. A few, like you or me, can get deeper, find a place like Genesis.

“Occasionally, a lost soul will end up in the Dream World. That’s where you come in,” Jarabec said. “You can guide them out; bring them home. You return them to the safety of their dreams with your tunnels. Someone like you can gain access to anywhere, I suppose. We don’t know the limits yet.”

Poet walked over to sit on a bench, facing Jarabec. There was so much he wanted to know that he wasn’t sure where to start. He ran his palm roughly over his face and looked at the Dream Walker. “So you can enter my dreams, too?” Poet asked.

“No,” Jarabec replied. “That is a Poet’s talent. When I found you on the subway, you’d already left your dreams on your way to Genesis. And this time, you found me.”

Poet thought about that, nodding his head. “My brother and I would share dreams, though,” Poet said. “Does that mean Alan—?”

Jarabec shook his head. “No, your brother is not a Poet. All that time, you were in his dream. You tunneled in and lived it with him. Perhaps neither of you realized.”

“Okay,” Poet said. “Well, then what was up with that thing, the Night Terror—it almost killed me.” He could still picture the creature’s glowing red eyes, the way it was ready to devour him.

Jarabec nodded, and crossed to a vertical garden planter with shelves and picked up a pair of garden shears, examining the blade. “You’re right,” Jarabec said, running his thumb along the sharp edge. “But it didn’t. And it won’t. You’ll find a way to kill the Night Terror when you need to.” Jarabec walked over to a row of rose bushes, trimming off the buds that were wilted.

Old habit, Poet thought. Jarabec’s movements were deliberate and practiced, as if the dream was pulling him into his old role.

“Why didn’t you just kill the monster in the subway?” Poet asked him. Surely the Dream Walker was better equipped to handle murderous monsters than he was. Jarabec clipped a dead rose and let it fall to the ground.

“Because it’s not my Night Terror.”

“Fair enough,” Poet said, holding up his hands. “Explain things, then. Are there rules to this? Because, honestly, I have no fucking clue what’s happening.”

Jarabec turned to him and looked him over. “I can’t tell you how to beat your Night Terror. You have to find the answer in yourself. He’s the manifestation of your fear.”

Poet scoffed. “You can’t give me a hint?”

“No.” Jarabec touched his chest, and the armor opened, his Halo rising up above his shoulder.

Although Poet had seen it before, in this calm moment, he was struck by the beauty of the Halo. The sphere was gold and majestic. He narrowed his eyes as the Halo began to revolve around them, and noticed its scrapes and scars. Scorch marks.

“So that’s your soul?” Poet asked quietly. He’d seen Jarabec use it to protect them, but he hadn’t thought about how it would be affected. “It’s…damaged.”

“It is,” Jarabec said, watching the Halo circle. “And I feel every wound.” He touched his chest. “A constant ache in the Waking World. Some Dream Walkers have little left of their Halos—their souls harden like a weapon. Let’s just say their waking selves can become a bit unfeeling because of it.”

“So it changes who you are in the other reality,” Poet asked.

“Oh, yes. But it was a choice we made,” Jarabec said. “In the dreamscape, your soul is your life. And the souls of Dream Walkers are especially bright—so strong they can exist outside of our bodies. They protect us, but at great cost. It’s not a decision to be made lightly.”

“But…how?” Poet asked. “How did you release your soul?”

Jarabec stiffened and glanced at the bamboo fencing, as if waiting. Poet listened a moment, but heard nothing. Still, the Dream Walker’s change in demeanor piqued his concern. “That’s a story for another time,” Jarabec said. “Right now we need to figure out how we can develop your talents. Get you ready.”

“Talents?” Poet said. “Well, I can break into your dreams, apparently. Create giant holes that I can pull people through. I used to be able to make stuff, but not always. And not when I was in the city.”

“No, you won’t be able to,” Jarabec said. “In your dreams, you control your surroundings, so long as you can focus your mind. But in Genesis—the Dream World—you’re just a Poet: a guide for the lost souls.” The Dream Walker began to pace, his Halo widening its circle to follow as he walked the rows of flowers, rubbing his chin. “And it is exceedingly rare to meet a Poet. Most know better than to be found.”

Poet leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “And why’s that?”

“Your bright souls make you targets,” Jarabec said. “If REM were to get his hands on one of you, you can’t imagine the havoc he could inflict on the Waking World. The power of your soul would allow him passage to destroy and terrorize. To cause nightmares. And nightmares give him strength, power. He won’t be content until the entire world dreams of destruction and misery. And even then, that probably won’t be enough.”

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

Blog Tour: Poet Anderson … Of Nightmares – and a Giveaway!

Posted on November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Jonas Anderson is a teenager who’s had a recent run of hard luck. His parents are dead, recently killed in a plane crash, and his older brother, Alan, is in a coma after a car crash. Jonas is no ordinary teen, though – he’s also Poet Anderson, a Lucid Dreamer – someone who can walk around in dreams and interact with other dreamers – who’s on the run from REM, an evil being who lives in the Dreamscape. Poets like Jonas are special dreamers; they can guide lost dreamers who accidentally find themselves in the Dreamscape. And REM wants to use Jonas to gain entry into the Waking World, where he can spread his terror net even wider, controlling everyone’s dreams and trapping them in a world of nightmares.

Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares is the first book in a new YA/New Adult series by musician Tom DeLonge, who you may remember from Blink 182, and New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young. Conceived of by DeLonge as a multimedia experience, there’s also a soundtrack, a comic book series, and an prequel animated film, Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker, which won Best Animation at the Toronto International Short Film Festival last year. And the animation is truly gorgeous, just take a look:

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares is kind of like The Matrix, but with dreams. We live in two separate realms, but a handful of people can move between the Dreamscape and the Waking World, fighting evil and protecting the rest of us regular dreamers here in the Waking World. Jonas, despite having a brutal run of it recently, deals with his grief, knuckles down to stay in school and hold down a job while learning more about his talents. Jarabec, a Dream Walker who becomes Jonas’ mentor in the Dreamscape, helps keep him safe while educating him and training him for battles to come. Jonas is a likable character who you want to root for; you want this poor kid to catch a break for once.

The characters surrounding Jonas are also vivid, coming off the page and taking up space in your imagination. Jarabec is a gritty, curmudgeonly mentor that you respect and ultimately love. The Dream Walkers – the foot soldiers in this battle – will both irritate and impress, like the antiheroes they kind of are. Night Terrors will make you think about all the crazy times you thought of the monsters in your closet or under your bed and wonder whether you were maybe just a little right after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book, and was very happy with the way DeLonge and Young left a thread for the next book hanging there, dangling, waiting for readers to take the bait.

The first book is available right now, and for more information about the graphic novels, music, and full animated video, check out Tom DeLonge’s website, To the Stars Media. To join the book club community, find out about the director’s cut of the book with rich media content, visit the Eden Hotel Book Club.

Want your own copy of Poet Anderson? There’s a giveaway! Good luck!

Just click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares, by Tom DeLonge and Suzanne Young
Hardcover, 368 pages, $17.99
ISBN: 978-1-943272-00-06
Publication Date: November 1, 2015
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads

Blue Whale Blues: A good friend always helps cheer you up!

Posted on November 6, 2015November 6, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Blue Whale Blues, by Peter Carnavas (Kane Miller, Sept. 2015), $22.99, ISBN: 978-1610674584

Recommended for ages 3-7

Blue Whale is singing the blues about life’s little obstacles, but his friend Penguin is always there to cheer him up. Can the poor whale ever learn to laugh at himself and make lemonade out of life’s lemons?

This is an adorable story about something kids (and adults) will recognize right away – letting the little things get to you, and the importance of having a friend there to help you shake off the blues. Blue Whale sings about his “Blue Whale Blues”, but Penguin always jumps in with a better way of handling life’s little trials. Blue Whale Blues is about the importance of having a friend to boost you when you’re feeling down, but also the value in laughing at yourself – something Whale eventually learns. Preschoolers will love the cartoony art and the upbeat ending. Grownups, make up your own Blue Whale Blues tune and sing along – the kids will love it!

Blue Whale Blues is a fun addition to storytime and classroom libraries. It’s available through Usborne as well as through online retailers.

Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Start the day off with Good Morning Yoga!

Posted on November 6, 2015August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Good Morning Yoga, by Mariam Gates/Illus. by Sarah Jane Hinder (March 2016, Sounds True), $17.95, ISBN: 9781622036028

Recommended for ages 3+

Perfect for kids and grown-ups, Good Morning Yoga starts everyone’s day off with a series of yoga poses, accompanied by positive, uplifting visualization.

Kids are stressed out. Between test anxiety, general school and social anxiety, and overscheduling anxiety, kids are operating under a level of stress most of us never knew at such a young age. Yoga is a way to help everyone focus, breathe, and relax. Starting children off with a yoga practice is a wonderful way to give kids a head start on recognizing when and how to calm themselves and connect back with themselves when what’s inside them may go a little haywire – just like us.

Mariam Gates, the founder of Kid Power Yoga, wants Good Morning Yoga to help kids focus, relax, self-monitor, and self-soothe. She’s an experienced educator and yoga practioner – what a great way to bring the two passions together, right?

Ms. Gates and illustrator Sarah Jane Hinder put together a beautiful, calming vinyasa flow for kids and adults to follow to greet the morning. The book takes kids through a series of poses and breathing exercises, featuring multi-ethnic children and bright, varied backgrounds like a ski slope, a volcano, and a mountain top. The images illustrate that yoga is truly for everyone, everywhere.

The text leads the kids through poses and visualizations – a gentle stream, an explorer, a playful dog – and always, as with grown-up yoga classes, brings the children back to the centering breath with the repeated phrase, “As I breathe in, as I breathe out…” A series of pictures throughout the book and at the end guide the series of poses to create a flow that kids will quickly pick up. Each pose is fully explained at the end of the book.

I’ve been dying to do a yoga storytime for ages; ever since I read Storytime Katie’s Yoga post, where she did a preschool yoga program, and this book is going to be a valuable addition to my yoga libraries – both my work library and my home library! The book doesn’t come out until March, but never fear – Goodnight Yoga is available right now. Parents, check this book out, and do some yoga with your little ones. I used to do YogaKids DVDs with my older two when they were kidlings, and we had a great time with it. You’re laughing together, you’re creating fun poses, and for a little while, you’re just happy in the moment with the most important people in your life. Teachers, this is a great set of books to have on hand for a quick break in the day, especially during test season.

Here’s some of the beautiful art from Good Morning Yoga, to tide you over until March (or until you get your copy of Good Night Yoga).

Animal Fiction

Quackers – A story about fitting in and standing out

Posted on November 3, 2015August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Quackers, by Liz Wong (Mar. 2016, Knopf Books for Young Readers) $15.99, ISBN: 978-0-553-51155-0

Recommended for ages 3-7

“Quackers is a duck. He knows he is a duck because he lives at the duck pond with all the other ducks.”

Quackers is the story of a cat who’s grown up with ducks. He doesn’t see himself as anything other than a duck, and neither do the ducks around him. But sometimes, Quackers doesn’t feel like he quite fits in. He has trouble making himself understood, he’s not in love with the food, and he really, really hates getting wet! One day, when Quackers meets Mittens, he learns that he’s what others call a cat – he’s not a duck at all! He tries to fully embrace his feline side, but he ends up missing the duck life. And that’s when Quackers learns that bringing all the parts of your different backgrounds together makes for a wonderful feeling. .

Quackers is a great book to have on hand for read-alouds and libraries with multicultural populations. It’s a great book to give to an adoptive family as a welcome home gift for baby, too! Quackers is a duck – no one thinks any differently. Once he learns that he’s a cat, though, he tries to throw himself into being a cat – but when you’ve been raised lovingly by one group, why walk away? This is the heart of the story, and it’s when Quackers realizes that he can be a cat and be a duck, he’s happiest. Kids from different backgrounds will learn that they can embrace more than one culture, whether it’s a culture they’re adopting, like moving to a new city/state/country, or a culture that they’ve been adopted into.

On a different note, Quackers works for all kids who may feel like they don’t fit in, for whatever reason. I’d pair this with Harvey Fierstein’s The Sissy Duckling to reach LGBT kids and kids being raised by LGBT families. Quackers teaches kids (and their caregivers!) to embrace themselves first and foremost – you can’t ask for a better message than that.

The art, created digitally and with watercolor, is adorable and soft, with soothing greens and teals for the water and grass. The text is set off almost like an old photo album, placed in small text boxes with a font that looks almost handwritten. Kids will love reading this book and adults will love reading it to them. Take a look at some of the art, below.

You can find more of Liz Wong’s illustrations at her website.

Fiction, Horror, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads

Took – You’ll never look at your dolls the same way again

Posted on November 2, 2015November 1, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Took, by Mary Downing Hahn (Sept. 2015, Clarion Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9780544551534

Recommended for ages 10-14

Local legend says that Old Auntie takes a new girl every 50 years to slave for the old witch. Once she’s worn out, she lets her go and takes another. And the girl let go never lives for long after.

Daniel and his sister Erica are new to West Virginia when they hear this story. It sounds ridiculous, right? And Daniel has more on his mind than worrying about some crazy old fairy tale. His family has relocated from Connecticut to this ramshackle house with a history in West Virginia after his father’s layoff. The kids at school are awful, and Erica withdraws further into herself and her doll, Little Erica. But when Erica disappears one night, word is that she’s been “took” – especially when a girl who looks like the one who disappeared 50 years before shows up wearing Erica’s clothes. His family is falling apart, and Daniel knows it’s up to him to get his sister back and make things right.

This book wraps itself around you like a fall chill. You can feel it creeping through you, but you can’t quite get it out of your bones until you finish it. Ms. Hahn creates a tale that had me searching the Web to find out if this was an actual local legend, it’s so fleshed out and believable. She gives us solid characters with issues we can certainly understand, possibly even empathize with – unemployment, underemployment, being bullied for being the new kid at school, and watching the cracks in one family threaten to tear it apart. It’s a very human story set within a paranormal thriller, and it’s a great read for kids who have aged out of Goosebumps and are ready for a little something more.

Mary Downing Hahn is an award-winning children’s book author and former children’s librarian (whoo hoo!). You can check out her author page and see a complete list of her books and read an FAQ with Ms. Hahn.

Fantasy, geek, geek culture, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

Star Wars Jedi Academy: Attack of the Journal!

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Attack of the Journal (Star Wars Jedi Academy), by Jeffrey Brown (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $9.99, ISBN: 9780545852784

Recommended for ages 7-12

For all the kids who love Jeffrey Brown’s Jedi Academy series, there’s now a journal where you can DIY your own comics, write your own stories, and read commentary from Roan and his fellow Jedi Academy classmates and instructors!

Want to make your own Jedi Academy class schedule? Make your own lightsaber? Write for the school newsletter, the Padawan Observer? This is the place for you! Loaded with creative and introspective ideas for kids, the Jedi Academy Journal offers kids fill-in-the-blank story outlines, lots of creative spaces for their own drawings and original writing, and prompts throughout the book. Some prompts encourage kids to look inward and write about what they feel they could do better, who inspires them and who they think they inspire. Comic strips with the characters from the Jedi Academy series pop up throughout the book, making this a great purchase for Star Wars fans. When they finish the book, they can even fill out their own Jedi Academy Diploma!

This is a journal, so it’s mean to be written in – so libraries may not want to invest money in this one. It’s a great gift idea, though, in the vein of the Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself book and a fun way to extend and put a personal spin on a favorite series.

Attack of the Journal is already in stores, so put this one on your shopping lists. The holidays are coming! If you’re bringing the joy of Star Wars to a lucky kid for the first time, consider the 3-book set, which includes the first and second Jedi Academy graphic novels and the journal.

Middle Grade, Middle School, Non-fiction

What’s Up in the Amazon Rainforest?

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

What’s Up in the Amazon Rainforest?, by Ginjer L. Clarke (Sept. 2015, Grosset & Dunlap), $8.99, ISBN: 9780448481036

Recommended for ages 8-12

I’ve been doing a lot of weeding in my new library spot, and the first section I hit was the Animals section. Naturally, I need some new books to fill in my shelves, and this beauty fits the bill. It’s a new geography series, loaded with color photos and a fold-out map, and it’s laid out like a dossier file, with photos sharing space with informative text, laid over maps in the background, and little touches like circled paragraphs and paper clips to give the feeling that kids are reading an environmentalist’s journal.

There’s a ton of information packed into this book: Ginjer Clarke looks at each layer of the rainforest, the flora and fauna that can be found there, and moves on to provide quick profiles on the people that live in the rainforest, products that come from the rainforest (yay, coffee and chocolate!), and most importantly, the importance of conservation and preservation. A bibliography and index round out the book. I’d love to see a glossary and some websites for kids included in future editions – admittedly, I’m working from a galley of the book, so if any of these resources are included in the finished copy, I apologize! In the meantime, her blog offers really cool updates and photos of different places she visits while researching her books. (Wait until you see the size of the oarfish.)

You’ll learn about pink dolphins – who knew there were dolphins in the rainforest? – and howler monkeys, Kapok and cacao trees. Fold-out maps will let kids place themselves in the locations they’re reading about.

Author Ginjer L. Clarke writes popular nonfiction books for kids. She’s got a section dedicated to her Baby Animals series on her website, and sections with more information about her other series, including more of her What’s Up, Out, and Wild Animals series.

Check out some more of What’s Up in the Amazon Rainforest below. The pictures are unbelievable!

Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

The Magical Animal Adoption Agency is open for business!

Posted on October 30, 2015October 29, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Magical Animal Adoption Agency, Book 2 The Enchanted Egg, by Kallie George/Illus. by Alexander Bolger (Nov. 2015, Disney Book Group), $14.99, ISBN: 9781423183839

Recommended for ages 8-12

The Magical Animal Adoption Agency is back, and so are Clover, whose gifts with animals surpass any magic she may not have, Mr. Jams, the proprietor, and Dipity, the green magical cat Clover rescued from the witch in the first book. In this second book in the series, Clover must once again keep an eye on the adoption agency while Mr. Jams is away – but a large egg has hatched early, and the newest member of the adoption agency is keeping Clover on her toes!

This series is a feel-good read. Clover is a sweet, gentle soul who learns about herself and what she’s capable of in each book, going from a self-conscious, clumsy girl in the first, to a more confident young girl who realizes that she doesn’t need magic to take care of magical creatures in this book. There are positive messages about self-esteem and caring for others, taking responsibility, and most importantly, the value of being kind.

This is a great series for kids, especially those who love fantasy or just love animals. The first book was well-received at my former library, and I can’t wait to get these two books into my new patrons’ hands. Animal fiction does really well with middle graders, and a series like this, that pairs the fantastic within our everyday world gives readers a necessary spark of magic in their lives.

Magic Tree House fans, Critter Club fans, steer them all to these books. They’ll love you for it.