Category: Tween Reads

Posted in Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

Tales from the Backlist: Christy Hale’s Dreaming Up

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

dreamingup_1Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building, by Christy Hale, (2012, Lee & Low Books), $18.95, ISBN: 9781600606519

Recommended for ages 5-10

When I started at my current library last year, the younger kids were in the middle of a school project on architecture. I was able to give them books like the most current picture book retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, Block City and Byron Barton’s Building a House, but after I exhausted the fiction section, I was stumped. Luckily, a quick tour of my nonfiction section brought me to Christy Hale’s beautiful book, Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building.

Dreaming Up combines illustrations of multiethnic children at work on their own constructions, with rhyming text building and swirling in construction of its own, and pairs each illustration with a photo and description of a notable work of architecture. Kids will experience the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Antoni Gaudi, and they’ll see such masterpieces as the open-air church in Cartegena, Columbia, inspired by Gothic cathedrals; a temporary Chinese school constructed by students and teachers from plywood and recycled paper tubes, and New York City’s Gugghenheim Museum. It’s an exciting way to experience the world and emphasizes the importance of play in the creative process.

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I put this book out during a storytime for my preschoolers, and just read the rhyming text. After storytime, I brought out stacking cups, blocks, and foam building pieces, and let the kids go to work. Watching the little ones work with their parents was amazing; there were walls, buildings, and winding roads by the time they were done. This is a great book for school-age kids, but you can easily modify it for younger ones. Booktalk it, let them draw or work with their hands, and see what the kids can create for you.

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Dreaming Up has received multiple awards and honors, including Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors, the International Reading Association (IRA) Children’s and Young Adult Book Award Honor, and the 2012 California Book Award. It has been designated a Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association (ALA) and was included on the Read! Build! Play! Summer Reading list of Books that Inspire Play, ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) and LEGO.

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

Quirk’s Quest: Journey to Crutonia!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

into-the-outlands_1Quirk’s Quest: Into the Outlands, by Robert Christie & Deborah Lang, (Oct. 2016, First Second), $16.99, ISBN: 9781626722330

Recommended for ages 8-12

Much like Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise, the crew of the H.M.S. Gwaniimander is on a mission to explore the outlands of Crutonia. Led by Captain Quenterindy Quirk, a captain whose overconfidence far outpaces his competence, the crew finds their voyage cut short by disaster when giants attack the ship and try to eat the crew! The survivors make their way to land, and Quirk – when not bemoaning his terrible luck – tries to keep his crew to their royal mission. After all, what better land to map than completely unknown territory? There’s danger all around, but Quirk’s crew seems to be more on the ball than he is.

This is the first book in the Quirk’s Quest series by longtime friends Robert Christie and Deborah Lang, who created the woirld of Crutonia back when they were dodging food fights in school. It’s a fun fantasy story, with cartoony, Muppet-like characters (I kept thinking of Fraggle Rock while I read) and some wild ups and downs, including secret plots, Crutonian-eating giants, and one arrogant captain determined to complete a mission in the face of failure. Kids will love it, tweens and teens will get a kick out of it. There’s a roster of important characters, a guide to the Sxervian Frog Bridge, and a mission map of the Outlands to guide readers through this new world.

Yes, I’m a First Second fangirl, but with good reason: the publisher consistently puts out great graphic novels, fiction and nonfiction, for all ages. I get parents in my libraries who tell me their kids don’t enjoy reading, but balk when I lead them to the graphic novel section, because we were all told for years that comic books were junk food for the brain. Not true, and publishers like TOON Books and First Second are prime examples of graphic novel publishers who bring on the best writers and artists to make reading exciting and informative.

If you want a sneak peek at some of Quirk’s Quest, check out the Tumblr, where you can read the first 55 pages of the adventure. I’ve also got a little sneak peek here, courtesy of Macmillan, who distributes for First Second. Make sure to visit Crutonia.com for more news about Crutonia and its inhabitants.


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

Hilda’s newest adventure: The Stone Forest!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

hilda-and-the-stone-forestHilda and the Stone Forest, by Luke Pearson, (Oct. 2016, Flying Eye Books), $19.95, ISBN: 9781909263741

Recommended for ages 6-12

The blue-haired adventure-seeker is back in her sixth installment! The time out, Hilda’s grounded, but that’s not stopping her. The only problem is that when she sets out for her latest adventure, her mom catches her and ends up along for the trip. Hilda and her mom are at each other while lost in Trolberg, the land of the trolls, and Hilda has to figure out how to get them both home safely – as a troll!

The Hilda series is such a good graphic novel series for all-ages readers. There’s fun, adventure, and a strong Scandinavian influence that draws readers right in, takes hold of their imaginations, and doesn’t let go. The cartoony art is fun and vibrant and Hilda’s sense of adventure is great. I love that Mom got into the act in this adventure, and I love that she and Hilda bicker through a good portion of this adventure, because it’s fun and yet it’s real. Yes, you’re in a land of trolls with your daughter, but she was grounded is disobeyed you, and now you’re both in this mess? I’d be giving my son grief all the way home.

I met Hilda when I found her first adventure on the shelves at the first library I worked at about two years ago. I need to catch up on more Hilda, though; she’s great fun, and I love introducing graphic novel fans to her adventures. Booktalk this with your other Hilda books, plus other great girl-power graphic novels like Zita the Spacegirl, Cleopatra in Space, and Phoebe and Her Unicorn. For tween readers , talk up the Zaria Fierce books, which also incorporate Scandinavian myths (trolls!) and stars another strong, smart heroine.

Have a look at some of the art from Hilda and the Stone Giants, courtesy of the Nobrow website.

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More great news! Hilda is coming to Netflix in 2018!

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Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Add Labyrinth Lost to your TBR NOW.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

labyrinthLabyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1), by Zoraida Cordova, (Sept. 2016, Sourcebooks Fire), $17.99, ISBN: 9781492620945

Recommended for ages 13+

Alex lives in Brooklyn with her mom and her sisters. Her dad disappeared a few years ago, and she’s taking it hard, feeling responsible. She’s about to turn 16, so the family is planning her big party. Her Death Day party. Alex and her sisters are Brujas – witches – and they’re the very real thing. But Alex doesn’t want this power. In fact, she suppresses it as much as she can – but keeps that from her family – because she’s afraid of what would happen if she were to let it go. Again.

At her Death Day party, Alex thinks she’s going to cast a spell that would leave her powerless, but something goes haywire, and her entire family vanishes right before her eyes. Now, she’s forced to get help from a Brujo named Nova; they have to travel to the in-between world of Los Lagos to bring her family back, but can Alex even trust Nova? He’s got a lot of secrets and seems to be working from his own playbook.

I loved, loved, LOVED Labyrinth Lost: it’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. The story is narrated in Alex’s voice, and she is hilarious. She’s full of snark – “resting witchface” is now a term I need to put into regular rotation – and she wields it like a weapon, guarding herself from the fears that plague her. Unchecked, her power makes her the most powerful witch in her family, and it frightens her, because she’s seen that power loosed once. Zoraida Cordova has a gift for breathing life into her characters; every single character in Labyrinth Lost is amazing. I love the interactions between Alex and her sisters and between Alex and her mother; the Lady and Nova; the characters she meets as she travels through Los Lagos, everyone. Cordova gives us wild fantasy with a realistic tale of a young woman struggling with adolescence. Her adolescence comes with dead relatives, portals to limbo, and witchcraft, but still, adolescence. Steeped in Latin American knowledge and tradition and filled with rich characters, Labyrinth Lost draws you into a world you won’t want to leave. Thankfully, it’s the first in a new series, so hopefully we’ll be visiting with the Brujas again sooner rather than later.

If you haven’t already added this to your YA collections, WHY? If you haven’t picked this up and read it yourself, stop reading this review immediately and go get a copy.

Zoraida Cordova has a great webpage where you can sign up for her newsletter, read interviews and learn more about her books, and follow her on social media.

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

What happened to the Moon? Mr. Squirrel and Moon tries to figure it out.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

squirrel_2Mr. Squirrel and the Moon, by Sebastian Meschenmoser, (Jan. 2015, North South Books), $18.595, ISBN: 9780735841567

Recommended for ages 3-6

Mr. Squirrel wakes up one morning to discover that the moon has fallen from the sky and landed on his tree! Afraid that he’s going to be blamed for stealing the moon, he desperately tries to get rid of it in this entertaining cumulative tale. The squirrel tries to shove the moon off of his branch, where it lands – and sticks – on a hedgehog. Together, the two attract the attention of a billy goat, some bees, and mice, but can they get the moon back where it belongs before someone notices?

The best parts of Mr. Squirrel and the Moon are the wordless, black and white interludes between episodes of trying to dispose of the moon, when Mr. Squirrel’s imagination takes over, picturing him in a jail cell with a (human) cellmate. The detail is hilarious, from the tiny toilet for the squirrel to the little uniforms for Mr. Squirrel and the rest of the animals as they join him in the cell, to the sight of the moon, back in the sky, with the hedgehog still stuck to it.

The endpapers give readers a clue as to what’s really going on, and the subdued artwork challenges readers to look closer to discover the wonderful little extras Sebastian Meschenmoser adds to his story. This is a fun read-aloud, and is even better for independent readers to sit down and look through at their leisure. There’s so much to discover here.

squirrel_1Image source: PictureThisBook.com

Mr. Squirrel and the Moon was a Winter 2015 Top Ten IndieNext Pick.

 

 

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

Depression is not your fault: Detached, by Christina Kilbourne

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

deatchedDetached, by Christina Kilbourne, (Sept. 2016, Dundurn), $12.99, ISBN: 9781459734319

Recommended for ages 13+

Anna is a high school student who doesn’t feel like she fits in. She’s got friends and family who love her, and she’s a talented artist; she seems to have everything going for her, but she doesn’t feel anymore. She’s detached from everything around her; she’s just going through the motions. She doesn’t want to live like this any longer, but she doesn’t want to hurt the people she leaves behind. She’s got plans written out, and finally, once her parents are out for the night, she overdoses on painkillers. A neighbor discovers her and gets medical intervention in time, but now the journey back to life begins, not just for Anna, but for everyone whose lives she touches.

Detached is a painful and accurate look at depression and how it affects everyone. Chapters alternate between Anna’s, her mother’s, and her best friend’s points of view, all told in the first person. Aliya, Anna’s best friend, notices Anna acting strangely, but is worried that saying something will alienate Anna. Anna’s mother, still grieving her own mother’s death, worries about her daughter, but doesn’t seem to grasp the gravity of Anna’s situation until it’s almost too late – and then, we read how Anna’s journey out of the black hole of depression affects a parent. It’s achingly real and it’s scary because it’s something we see in the headlines every day. Are we bad parents if we intervene? Are we bad parents if we don’t? I’d love to see parents and kids read this together and see how the other half thinks.

One of the most important messages coming out of Detached is this: depression is not the sufferer’s fault. It’s not a parent’s fault. It is an illness, just like any other, and it needs to be treated without stigma, with medication, therapy, love, understanding, and care. No one asks for depression to hit. This isn’t a gift, and sometimes, it’s just not possible to find the voice to ask for help. This is the power of Detached: to be that plea for help, for understanding, and to start dialogues that will shed light on an insidious disease.

Detached is an important addition to YA collections, particularly because it does talk so openly about a subject people are often uncomfortable addressing. Display and booktalk with Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why (which also has a very good companion website) and Julie Anne Peters’ By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead.

I read an e-galley of Detached, so I didn’t see additional resources at the end of the book; I hope that some have been added to a finished version. In the meantime, if you need help or know someone who does, please consider The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

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

Teens on the brink: The Light Fantastic, by Sarah Combs

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

light-fantasticThe Light Fantastic, by Sarah Combs, (Sept. 2016, Candlewick), $17.99, ISBN: 9780763678517

Recommended for ages 12+

April 19 is Senior Skip Day, and it’s April Donovan’s 18th birthday. It’s also four days after the Boston Marathon and 18 years after Timothy McVeigh drove a truck bomb through the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. April has a rare memory condition, hyperthymesia, which means she has photographic recall of her life’s events. This recall has spurred an obsession with tragedies that have happened in April, her birth month, throughout history. Elsewhere, Lincoln Evans – connected in his own way to April – is trying to understand his sometime girlfriend, Laura. Their teacher is distracted by another student’s chilling statement earlier. Across the country, a group of teens that call themselves The Assassins, led by someone calling himself (herself?) The Mastermind, are getting ready to set something terrible into motion.

The Light Fantastic brings together seven voices to tell the story of teens on the brink. There’s one adult voice here; a teacher’s voice, and she’s not there to be the heavy, the whistle-blower, or the accomplice. Each voice has a painful story to tell; each narrator has a tale to tell, intertwined with the events of April 19, 2013. It’s a tense, complex novel with some diversity to its voices. It felt a bit scattered at times – I think it may be the multiple narrators, backstories, and locations. Bringing everyone together online was helpful; I would have liked to see a little more of that interaction.

In these days when school and public violence surrounds us, The Light Fantastic is an important book to get into readers’ hands and get them talking. Booktalk this with A.S. King’s I Crawl Through It and by Marieke Nijkamp’s This is Where it Ends. Candlewick offers a free discussion guide with common core information.

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

Career Day: The STEM Club Goes Exploring

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

stemThe STEM Club Goes Exploring (My Future Story series), by Lois Melbourne, (Sept. 2016, Greenleaf Book Group), $15.95, ISBN: 9781626343030

Recommended for ages 8-12

The STEM Club is excited! They’re going to interview STEM professionals to help them with their own presentations during their school’s Favorites Day. The Club visits a video game company, a veterinary clinic, a hospital, and a mine to learn about the career opportunities in these fields.

This is one of those books you have to have in your collections, whether it’s a classroom, school, or public library. STEM is everywhere; we’re teaching it, we’re creating programs using it, and kids are loving it. It’s bringing a little bit of fun and discovery back to education, which is a great thing, and it’s teaching kids that there are so many careers out there for them, that they can reach for the stars. You can work at NASA, you can create video games or apps, you can be a doctor, a veterinarian, or do anything you can think of. Science and Math aren’t as scary as they used to be when you start talking about coding and gaming, right?

The STEM Club Goes Exploring is the answer to a lot of those “yeah, but what can you do with that?” questions. The ones the kids’ parents sometimes ask me when I’m showing them how to set a code that will make BB-8 roll across their screen, or how to create Hogwarts in Minecraft. The series will also work really nicely with The Magic School Bus – think of it as the school next door; maybe even the middle school Miss Frizzle’s kids head to once they graduate elementary school.

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

What Dog Knows

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

what-dog-knowsWhat Dog Knows, by Sylvia Vanden Heede, (Sept. 2016, Gecko Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781776570362

Recommended for ages 7-10

Wolf is tired of his cousin, Dog, always knowing more than he does, so he checks a book out of the library (never mind that he can’t read), and tries to outsmart Dog with his new knowledge about mummies, knights, and dinosaurs.

Mixing facts into the fictional tale of the Dog and Wolf, this seems like it’s geared toward younger readers, but then throws in the process of mummification, and a plotline where Wolf intends to mummify Cat, his antagonist, and suddenly, things take a little bit of a weird turn. This wasn’t really my book, and I don’t see the kids in my library really catching on with this one because it’s a bit disjointed and quirky. The art is very sweet, and I did love that Cat struck fear into Wolf’s heart, but overall, it didn’t work for either age group (4-7 vs 8-12) for me.

This is the second Dog and Wolf book from Gecko. Wolf and Dog was published in 2013.

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

Road Trip, Part Deux: NatGeo’s 125 Wacky Roadside Attractions

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

wacky125 Wacky Roadside Attractions, by National Geographic Kids, (May 2016, National Geographic Kids), $12.99, ISBN: 9781426324079

Recommended for ages 8+

Maybe your road trips tastes run a little more… unique. National Parks are beautiful, but what if you want to drive through a giant tree or see a giant boxing crocodile? If that’s the case, then NatGeo Kids’ 125 Wacky Roadside Attractions is just for you.

Part of the “125” series that includes 125 Cute Animals, 125 Cool Inventions, and 125 Amazing Pets, Wacky Roadside Attractions brings readers the craziest, wildest roadside hotels, statues, and other landmarks from all over the world. A world map labels and numbers all the attractions, should you want to start sticking pins in the places you want to go. Features cover anywhere from 1/2 a page to 2-page spreads, providing a brief description, location, and fast facts about each landmark. I was excited to see Wisconsin’s House on the Rock, which I first encountered in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and seeing Pedro from South of the Border brought me back to the road trips down to Florida that I’d take with my parents.

This book is just too much fun. It’s a crazy, fun road trip around the world that families will love to take together. Great photos and fun text against bright backgrounds make every page an eyecatcher. Add this to your collections, and vote on future attractions at NatGeo’s site.

south-of-the-border_1Me, my dad, and a gorilla at Fort Pedro, South of the Border, mid-80s

 

south-of-the-borderPedro welcomes you South of the Border! (image courtesy of The Dillon Herald)

This book is doing gangbusters at my library! The kids think it’s hilarious (the giant water fountain and the T-Rex you can hang out in are big favorites). I’m trying to think of a fun program – because that’s what I do with good books – that would incorporate the road trip mentality with a staycation budget. Maybe the kids and I will armchair travel every week, and put a pin in a different attraction on the map? Maybe we’ll find some new, wacky attractions along the way, or make up some of our own? I’ll let you know when we figure it out.