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

Books from Quarantine: Civil War Hero Robert Smalls

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Story of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls, by Janet Halfmann/Illustrated by Duane Smith, (Feb. 2020, Lee & Low Books), $9.95, ISBN: 9781643790169

Ages 7-11

I really like Lee and Low’s “The Story of…” series: for me, it’s easily a companion series to the more well-known “Who Was…?” series from Penguin Random House, and the subjects of the “Story of” books shine spotlights on people of color that we may not hear about as often. The biography of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls, by Janet Halfmann (The Midnight Teacher) and illustrated by Duane Smith (Seven Miles to Freedom), is a concise, thorough biography of Robert Smalls, an enslaved steamboat wheelman who saved his family and crew when he used the captain’s hat and cover of darkness to commandeer a Confederate ship and steer it directly to the Union – and freedom. Filled with illustrations and photos, readers get a great picture of Robert Smalls and his nighttime ride through Confederate waters, and his life afterward, including his further actions in the Civil War, where he took part in 17 battles, and his post-War life, when he founded the Republican Party i South Carolina and helped write the new democratic state constitution and a proposal on education, his activity in the state militia, where he attained the rank of major general, and his political life, winning seats in both the South Carolina house and senate. The book includes a timeline of of Smalls’s life and a glossary of terms, plus references and a list of further reading.

Treat yourself to this book, and this series, and treat yourself to more books about Robert Smalls, including Janet Halfmann and Duane Smith’s picture book, Seven Miles to Freedom, also published by Lee & Low, and Be Free or Die, by Cate Linberry, is available for teens and adults. Smithsonian Magazine has an excellent article on Smalls.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Books from Quarantine: Kate the Chemist

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

So while I live in my Stephen King-esque Dome (as I like to think of my home at the moment), I’ve been doing a lot of reading, in addition to my virtual programming, helping my kids with their schoolwork, and assorted goofiness with the dog. First up, let’s talk about Kate the Chemist, a fun new STEM intermediate/middle grade series.

Kate the Chemist: Dragons vs. Unicorns, by Dr. Kate Biberdorf with Hillary Homzie, (Apr. 2020, Philomel Books), $12.99, ISBN: 978-0-593116555

Ages  7-12

Ten-year-old Kate the Chemist is a science problem solver: meaning, she can solve just about any problem that she faces with science! In her first STEM adventure, Dragons vs. Unicorns, Kate is the assistant director on her school play, and her best friend is the lead unicorn. But someone is sabotaging the production! Kate has to use her science skills to figure out who’s trying to hurt the show, and how to save the day when the unicorns face a last-minute costume malfunction. The narration is fast-paced and comprehensive in its look at science, and how chemistry is a big help in day-to-day situations (baking = science! special effects = science!). Scientist Kate Biberdorf includes a recipe for Unicorn Glue at the end of the book (looks easy enough – I haven’t tried it yet) and an explanation of how it works. Ellie May series author Hillary Homzie and Kate Biberdorf come together to give readers a fun intermediate/middle school mix of drama (literal and figurative), friendship, and science. This one is a good series to watch. There are some black and white illustrations throughout; usually journal pages and scientific items like flasks and volcanoes, to add to the fun.

Kate Biberdorf is a science entertainer with a series of videos and a Big Book of Experiments to introduce kids to fun, safe, science. Her website has videos, information about her books, and contact information. Hillary Homzie’s author webpage has great info for aspiring writers, links to her blog and social media, and more information about her books.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

A magical unicorn with a unique horn: The Nuff

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Nuff, by Veronica Waldrop/Illustrated by Cat Elliott, (Jan. 2020, Tailwind Publishing), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-733-0997-0-7

Ages 3-7

This rhyming story about a unicorn with a break in her horn is an empowering story about being true to oneself, embracing our uniqueness in all its messy, pigtailed fun, valuing self-esteem and kindness over the myth of perfection, and the love we parents and caregivers have for our kids. Let your kiddo know that they are “A Nuff” for you, for themselves, for the world.

The rhyming passages are filled with sweet verses like, “She may not look like the doll in the box / or the girl in the magazine… / But she shines like the sun / with her hair undone, / like a grass-stained summer queen”. Full of love and the desire to imbue her children with self-empowerment, Veronica Waldrop created a love letter to her kids, and to ours, with The Nuff.

Cat Elliott’s illustrations are colorful and cartoony, with animal characters and friendly faces, and a little unicorn with a bent horn, patched knees in her jeans, and a messy ponytail. She’s relatable and adorable, and kids will enjoy reading about her.

Author Veronica Waldrop wrote The Nuff during a two-year battle with breast cancer. She passed away in 2017, but The Nuff remains to inspire her daughters, and children everywhere.

 

The Nuff‘s book website has free, downloadable activity sheets for the kiddos while we’re at home. Enjoy.

Posted in picture books

Helping kids process grief

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We are seeing days like no other these days. It’s got to be confusing, scary, and altogether awful for our kids, who may be experiencing loss and who see news about loss and grief all over the news. Kindergarten teacher and author Joanna Rowland has created a quietly soothing picture book and companion workbook that may provide some comfort to you and the little ones during this time.

The Memory Box: A Book About Grief, by Joanna Rowland/Illustrated by Thea Baker, (Sept. 2017, Beaming Books), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-5064-2672-3

Ages 3-8

Written as a letter from a child to someone in the child’s life who has passed, The Memory Book is a child’s-eye view of grief and loss. Opening with the analogy of losing a balloon – “I can always get another balloon. / But I can never have another you. / I miss you.” – the book goes through questions and wishes, and the understanding that some days are okay, and some days are hard, that come to kids when experiencing a loss. The narrator then creates a box of memories, and a journal, so that she will never forget her loved one.  A grief consultant writes an end note about helping children process grief, and provides some help in answering some tough questions kids ask us. Mixed media illustrations provide texture and warmth, and the colors are calming and soft, and the overall look and feel of the book feels like we have opened the child’s own Memory Box and Memory Book.

The Memory Box is a Midwest Book Award Finalist, a Mom’s Choice Award winner, and a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award winner.

 

The Memory Book, by Joanna Rowland/Illustrated by Thea Baker, (Jan. 2020, Beaming Books), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-5064-5781-9

A companion to The Memory Box, The Memory Book is a journal for children and families going through their grief. Beginning with a note on how to approach journaling, the book continues with writing prompts similar to the narrator’s dialogue in The Memory Box, with space for photos, memories, and artwork. Families are encouraged to talk about their memories and feelings, with journaling space available to capture these moments. Not meant to be filled up at once, The Memory Book allows an entire family to capture their feelings, emotions, and memories in one place over the course of time, as they come up.  Color illustrations from The Memory Box and newer illustrations throughout help ease readers and writers into prompts and discussion, and the book is set up, journal-style, with plenty of writing and drawing space.

Sensitive and soothing, The Memory Box and The Memory Book are good choices to have on hand for kids and families dealing with grief.

Posted in Uncategorized

Fill your basket with Easter Books!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Easter Storybook: 40 Bible Stories Showing Who Jesus Is, by Laura Richie/Illustrated by Ian Dale, (Jan. 2020, David C Cook), $18.99, 978-0-8307-7860-7

Ages 4-8

Beginning with Jesus’ time as a boy in the temple and ending with His resurrection and promise, “I am with you always”, The Easter Storybook contains 40 illustrated Bible stories about the life of Jesus. Each story begins with a Bible passage and includes a discussion question for families to explore together. Each story presents a different facet of Jesus – Teacher, Good Shepherd, Savior – and will help children relate their own insights and stories to events in the Bible. The illustrations are colorful and softly realistic with famous Biblical scenes, like Palm Sunday and the Sermon on the Mount. There’s one story for every day of Lent, making this a good choice for families who celebrate together and for kids in parochial or Sunday school.

 

Hoppy Floppy’s Carrot Hunt, by Educational Insights/Illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti, (March 2020, Candlewick Entertainment), $9.99, ISBN: 9781536212310

Ages 0-3

You have to have a fun board book for the Littlest Easter Bunny fans! This lift-the-flap, egg-shaped board book is a slam dunk for little ones. Hoppy Floppy the Rabbit is on the search for colorful carrots to fill her Easter basket. Some animal friends pitch in along the way, but she needs some extra help from your littles! Sturdy flaps on each spread let kids search for colorful carrots. Inspired by the Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel board game from Educational Insights (and with an appearance from Squirrel), this is a book that babies and toddlers will love. Illustrations are colorful and cartoony; perfectly kid-friendly. Great for learning colors, animals, and nature (point out trees, flowers, bushes).

 

Hazel and Twig: The Lost Egg, by Brenna Burns Yu, (March 2020, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536204926

Ages 3-7

In this second Hazel and Twig installment, Korean-American bunny sisters Hazel and Twig are playing in a meadow when they discover a pale blue egg. First, they decide to hatch it themselves, but when it begins raining, they head home to keep it warm; but after considering how worried the egg’s family may be, they call on their Umma and Appa (mother and father) to help them seek out the egg’s family. Adorably narrated and with delicate, lovely pastel ink and watercolor illustrations, this sweet story about sisterhood, exploration, and family is a sweet way to greet Easter egg hunters.

Posted in Non-Fiction, picture books, Uncategorized

A future President’s best friend: Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln, by Shari Swanson/Illustrated by Chuck Groenink, (Jan. 2020, Katherine Tegen Books), $17.99, ISBN: 978-0-06269900-8

Ages 5-8

Based on a story remembered by President Abraham Lincoln’s childhood friend, Honey, The Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln is a nonfiction picture book story of the 16th President and the dog he rescued and named Honey; and how Honey repaid the favor by rescuing Abe Lincoln. One day, while picking his family’s corn up from the mill, Lincoln discovered and cared for an injured dog, who followed him home. He convinces his parents to let him keep the dog – who he names Honey – and she joins him everywhere he goes. While exploring a cavern one day, Abe gets jammed between two boulders and Honey sets out to find help, finding Abe’s mother and Mr. John from the corn mill, and leading them to the cavern, where they are able to rescue young Mr. Lincoln.

A sweet story about our animal companions and the special relationship we have with our dogs, Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abraham Lincoln is an uplifting nonfiction story about an early chapter in the life of one of our most popular Presidents. There’s a timeline of Abraham Lincoln, who famously loved animals, and his “Animal Encounters”, chronicling key points in the former President’s life, including his many pets and moments of caring for animals. An author’s note goes into more detail about the origin of the story behind Honey, The Dog Who Saved Abraham Lincoln, and the many pets Lincolns populating the Lincoln White House. The digital artwork is kid-friendly, with gentle-faced, softly realistic characters and muted greens and browns. The endpapers display a map of the area of Hodgen’s Mill, where Abe Lincoln grew up, circa 1816, when Lincoln found Honey.

A nice addition to picture book nonfiction collections. Think about reading this one on April 11, National Pet Day!

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Bo the Brave knows that monsters aren’t always that easy to spot

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bo the Brave, by Bethan Woollvin, (Apr. 2020, Peachtree Publishers), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-68263-182-9

Ages 3-7

Any day I get to talk about a new Bethan Woollvin book is a good day. She creates fairy-tale heroines that upend all existing conventions, whether it’s the witch getting the goods on bratty Hansel and Gretel, or Little Red Riding Hood saving the day on her own. Her new book, Bo the Brave. stars another young girl who teaches readers that monsters aren’t always fairy tale creatures – they’re much closer.

Bo is a young girl who wants to be a monster hunter like her brothers. When they tell her she’s too little, so she strikes out on her own. On her travels, she meets a griffin, a kraken, and a dragon, all of whom seem much nicer, and certainly more helpful, than she’s been led to believe. In fact, the dragon is a mother, grieving because her baby’s been kidnapped by monster hunters! Bo, pretty sure she knows exactly who the culprits are, leads her new friends to the rescue: while delivering a stern lecture to her brothers. Bo the Brave has learned that rumors and hearsay are deceiving and can lead to a lot of misunderstanding and heartache. In this story, it’s her brothers that “were certainly acting like monsters”, not the griffin, the kraken, or the dragons!

That’s the best part of Bethan Woollvin’s storytelling. She takes a look at who the real monsters are, like Hansel and Gretel; she has heroines who save themselves – they have no time to deal with that whole helpless girl foolishness – like Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Bethan Woollvin’s heroines have no time to waste, waiting for someone to rescue them and no patience to follow someone who doesn’t value them for who they are. They’re out there on their own, using their brains and their own common sense to save the day, and teach some valuable lessons.

The endpapers illustrated Bo the Brave’s evolution, too: the front endpapers are a map, pre-journey, where Bo notes where the “horrid forest monsters”, “scary cave beasts”, and “slimy sea monsters” are, along with her “stinky brothers’. The back endpapers are edited to show that her “stinky brothers” are actually her “monster brothers”, and each of the new friends she’s made have their rightful names noted on the map.

Bo the Brave has a starred review from School Library Journal, and is essential reading.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Books for Bedtime… or not.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Anyone else finding that bedtimes are taking on lives of their own? Here are a few books to let us know we’re not alone. Turn bedtime into funtime with these wacky families!

Friday Night Wrestlefest, by JF Fox/Illustrated by Micah Player, (Feb. 2020, Roaring Brook Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781250212405

Ages 4-8

It’s Friday night. Pizza’s been eaten, school’s out for the weekend… it’s time for FRIDAY NIGHT WRESTLEFEST! One family’s Battle To the Bedtime is an inspiration to the rest of us as they adopt their fantastic ring personas – Dangerous Daddooo (“He’s mad. He’s bad. He’s DAD.”), Tag Team Twins, Peanut Brother and Jellyfish, and “special guest star”, Big Bald Baby – and turn their living room into an all-star arena! Will Mom come in for the big save, or will Big Bald Baby clear the ring?

The artwork is a riot of color and movement, with kids and parents sailing through the air, talking smack, and dramatically posing. The family that plays together, stays together, for sure: endpapers feature a lovely wall of family photos in the usual well-mannered poses up front; back endpapers have the family striking victorious poses, hugging one another while celebrating various Wrestlefest wins.

This is a non-stop fun family read for bedtime or anytime. And if you were to construct your own wrestling ring in your living room to take on your family, you’d definitely want to download this activity kit from the publisher, so you could outfit yourself with a cool mask, pick out a great wrestler name, and get that championship belt all shined up.

Everyone’s Awake, by Colin Meloy/Illustrated by Shawn Harris, (March 2020, Chronicle Books), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-4521-7805-9

Ages 4-8

A foreboding house on a hill has a single light shining on a dark, dark, night… wait a minute, this is no scary story! Turn the page, and discover what’s going on in that house on that late, late night: everyone’s awake! This rhyming story stars a family that just can’t sleep, and the young narrator takes us through what everyone’s up to: Dad’s in the kitchen, Grandma’s crafting, Sister’s flossing and putting her hair in braids, but all of a sudden things take a turn for the anarchic when Mom starts tap-dancing to Prince and Dad rolls a motorcycle in the room. Even the ghost of Grandpa shows up for a late night visit!  The manic story lets readers cut loose and embrace the chaos of bedtime gone wild. The ink, charcoal, and pencil artwork has a soft, surreal feel to it, lending a dreamlike, half-awake half asleep feel to the story. There are amazing details to be found in each spread, like Prince’s album covers, and the spines on the family bookshelf. Blues, oranges, and yellows dominate the landscape, taking readers from a drowsy sleep to full-on, sleepless mania and back again.

Author Colin Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter of The Decemberists, and the author of several children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling Wildwood series. Illustrator Shawn Harris is an artist and musician and the illustrator of several award-winning children’s books including Her Right Foot and What Can a Citizen Do?

Will this family ever get to sleep? You don’t expect me to spoil the surprise, do you? Everyone’s Awake is an hilarious bedtime romp.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Books for Babies!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

How’s everyone doing? We all good? Healthy? Safe? I hope so. I’m back with another roundup of books you can read to your babies! Keep them entertained with board books and picture books like these adorable stories. Just ORDER them, or see if your local library has the ebook version. PLEASE. And support indie bookstores that are working hard to keep their employees paid and with benefits!

Alphaprints: Puppy Love, by Priddy Books, (Dec. 2019, Priddy Books), $7.99, ISBN: 9780312529383

Ages 0-3

How cute is this book? Embossed fingerprint animal faces with photo-textured bodies, tabbed pages that stand up to tiny, exploring hands, and five huggable rhymes about being snuggly and huggly! Adorable animal characters are bright, and rhymes teach littlest readers about bear hugs, love birds, purrfect pals, puppy love and bouncing bunnies. Kids will love the embossed fingerprint faces that provide interesting new texture. Use the photos that create each character’s body to talk about other textures: have fruit around the house? Let the little ones rub the apple, or banana, and tell them about “smooth” textures. Show them a pom pom, and tell them that is “fuzzy”. Point out colors, shapes, and animal sounds. There’s so much to be done using this little book!

 

 

Baby Shark (Based on the World’s Catchiest Song), Illustrated by Stevie Lewis, (Jan. 2020, Henry Holt), $8.99, ISBN: 9781250263186

Ages 0-3

You know the song. It’s burned into your memory banks like Gangnam Style, don’t fib. This adorable board book will be a beloved companion to the  music video you have eternally queued up on YouTube. A little girl and her mom walk into an aquarium, where the girl is excited to see a shark: a baby shark, really. (Cue beginning music) Sure enough, a baby shark swims by, and the words to the song run through the book for a fun version of the sing-a-long, with a twist! Kids visiting the aquarium all join the little girl, each joining in on a new phrase (“Mama Shark, Daddy Shark, the whole family is here”), and the sharks gather to greet the kids. The digital artwork gives us an adorable group of sharks and multicultural families having a fun day at the aquarium together, and you’ll be singing this song for a looooong time to come.

Need Baby Shark coloring sheets? Of course you do. SuperSimple, the home of Baby Shark and countless other music videos that make my storytimes so much fun, have your back with a six-page set. They also offer a Baby Shark printable play set – get those craft sticks out!

 

We Love Babies!, by Jill Esbaum, (Dec. 2019, National Geographic Kids), $17.99, ISBN: 9781426337482

Ages 0-5

Who does animal babies better than NatGeo Kids? This rhyming ode to babies of all shapes and sizes in the animal world is just too cute. Snouts, and bills, beaks and cheeks, the cutest baby animals get their moment to shine against brightly colored and patterned backgrounds. The photos are breathtaking, and the digital artwork of fluttering butterflies and baby animal cheerleaders ups the cute ante. Read this and talk up how adorable our own kiddos’ ears, noses, toeses, and belly buttons are. Give all the snuggles and kisses, because we all need more of that now. I’ll be reading this at an upcoming virtual storytime, because it just makes me happy.

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

We Could Be Heroes: dogs, rocks, and adventures in friendship

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We Could Be Heroes, by Margaret Finnegan, (Feb. 2020, Atheneum Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-5344-4525-3

Ages 8-12

Hank Hudson is a boy who loves rocks and The Jungle Book. He does NOT like the very sad book his teacher is reading to the class: it gives him the a’a feeling, which is a geological term for lava flow which moves and cools at different rates. Hank has autism, and feels things, sees things, in a way that doesn’t always match his classmates. His classmate, Maisie Huang, notices him after a big incident lands Hank in some hot water. Her parents are geologists, so she invites him over to see their rock collection. It’s there that Hank discovers Maisie’s ulterior motive: she wants Hank to help her “rescue” her next door neighbor’s dog, Booler. Booler has seizures, and Mr. Jorgenson, his elderly owner keeps Booler tied to a tree outside, because it’s too dangerous for him to be indoors. Maisie has built up a vision of her neighbor that isn’t too flattering, and Hank, while happy to have a friend, is conflicted about a lot of Maisie’s “rescue” ideas. But the two kids become friendlier with Mr. Jorgenson, until he has an accident and his daughter comes to town. Hank and Maisie decide that Booler isn’t safe, after all, and revisit their initial rescue plan. Filled with cringeworthy, funny, and touching moments, We Could Be Heroes is a story about friendship, understanding, and feeling “less than”.

Hank and Maisie are complex characters that feel real. Readers may know kids like Hank and Maisie at school – they may be Hank or Maisie. Margaret Finnegan captures the feelings that go into a meltdown for a person with autism by linking Hank’s love of rocks and geology to the feeling that heralds a meltdown; the “a’a”, a Hawaiian word that, once defined, paints a picture for readers and opens the door to understanding. Maisie may frustrate some readers – this is a great character to talk about; find her motivation, and give pros and cons of her focus on saving Booler. The adults in the novel each have wonderful depth, too; they are all invested in our characters and important parts of the story throughout.

A strong choice for book discussions, We Could Be Heroes is a good realistic novel that delves into the complexity of emotions and friendships. Author Margaret Finnegan has epilepsy and autism resources available on her author webpage.

We Could Be Heroes is a Junior Library Guild selection.