Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Inside Outside plays with perspective and scale

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Inside Outside, by Anne-Margot Ramstein & Matthias Arégui, (Apr. 2019, Candlewick Studio), $18.99, ISBN: 9781536205978

Ages 4-8

Playing with perspective and scale, Inside Outside is a wordless book that uses 18 spreads to encourage readers to look at things differently. A spelunker descends into a cave filled with crystals on one page; on the other, his fellow explorers wait outside the hole, helping to lower him down. It’s an unassuming scene until you take both views into consideration. On another spread, a canopy bed sits alone in the dark; a pillow lies on the floor, and the canopy is torn; the torn fabric tied to a post and leading out a window. On the facing spread, we see a a castle among a wide vista, knight standing guard at a turret… and a slit of a window, with a knotted fabric rope traveling down the wall. Look closer, and you’ll see a figure wading to shore, her long blonde hair down her back. Some of the illustrations are tongue-in-cheek, like the page that has a darkened museum gallery with a broken velvet rope and a missing picture; its facing page has a burglar, dressed in black, carrying a flashlight and a white frame across city rooftops; others invite more thought, like a rapidly beating heart that reveals itself to belong to a bungee jumper on the facing spread.

Inside Outside‘s digital artwork is bold with deep and bright colors throughout. It’s a great way to introduce discussions about how we see things: size, color, shapes, all factor into the illustrations and provoke consideration and evaluation. A good addition to art classes for older kids, and storytelling for younger kids. The authors previous book, Before After, plays with perspective and nature.

Inside Outside has a starred review from Kirkus.

 

Posted in Non-Fiction, picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads, Toddler Storytime

Birds, Birds, Birds: Hello, I’m Here! A new bird greets the world, and Carme Lemniscrates’s Birds

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hello, I’m Here!, by Helen Frost/Photographs by Rick Lieder, (March 2019, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9780763698584

Ages 2-5

With rhyming text accompanying beautiful wildlife photos, Hello, I’m Here! is the story of an adorable sandhill crane chick hatching and exploring its new world. The hatchling and its sibling splash around in the water and enjoy some bugs and snails under the watchful guidance of their Mama and Papa, always nearby. The photographs are beautiful, allowing readers to enjoy the fuzzy, long-legged chicks and the stunning adult birds’ coloring. The photos have incredible texture; the birds’ feathers look like they’d ruffle under one’s hand, and the chicks look so fuzzy, you’ll want to run your finger across their heads. The photos of the birds in flight are stunning. The text is sweet and has a comforting cadence; the sentences are short and put readers in the chick’s place as it discovers the world around it. An author note about sandhill cranes has some great additional information for readers: did you know that parents and chicks communicate while the chicks are still in their eggs? That went over really well when I told the parents! I love being able to add little facts like that in a storytime. The endpapers have beautiful photos of a baby sandhill crane and its parent, and of four cranes flying across the sky at sunset. Absolutely breathtaking.

I tried Hello, I’m Here! out in a recent storytime, and the kids and parents alike loved it. The parents gestured to the pages quite often, impressed with the photos, and the little ones loved hearing about the little bird taking its first steps, flapping around with its sibling, and watching other cranes fly overhead. This is a great choice for a nature/discovery/science storytime, a spring storytime, and just a plain, good storytime for the little ones. I would also read Alex Latimer’s Am I Yours? as a companion to this one: it’s got dinosaurs, but the whole story of a baby dino in its egg talking to prospective parents is just too cute to pass up.

Hello, I’m Here! has a starred review from Kirkus. This is the fifth book that Helen Frost and Rick Lieder have collaborated on; all of which have received starred reviews from Kirkus.

 

 

Birds, by Carme Lemniscates, (March 2019, Candlewick Press), $14.99, ISBN: 9781536201789

Ages 2-5

Next up, I read Birds, by Carme Lemniscates. It’s a nonfiction book of a different sort, with bright, bold mixed media illustrations of various birds and two children enjoying their company. The text reads like a poetic ode to birds, starting first with descriptive sentences: “Some birds are really big/Others are tiny/Some like to show off, while others would rather watch”, moving into more illustrative musings: “A bird’s song is like the loving words of a friend/A happy song that greets us every morning/And our hearts sing, too, because birds are like good news coming”. Eagles, owls, peacocks, and hummingbirds all find a home here, as do parrots, toucans, and Canadian geese. It’s a celebration of birds, of spring, and of nature. The endpapers feature bright and bold feathers, some that you’ll recognize right away, like the peacock’s; some, you may have to guess at (is that black and white spotted one a woodpecker or a guinea fowl?). Let the kids color some feathers of their own as an after-storytime craft.

Birds went over nicely in storytime. The kids loved the bright colors and enjoyed calling out birds they recognized. We made some bird sounds (honking for the Canadian geese went over well, as did the parrot caws) and spread our arms to soar and flap like the birds do. It’s a nice addition to picture books where nature and birds are popular.

 

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

YA in dual narratives: Between Before and After

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Between Before and After, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry, (Feb. 2019, Blink), $17.99, ISBN: 978-0310767381

Ages 12+

Told in two narratives across two timespans, Between Before & After is the story of Elaine, a girl raising her younger brother, Stephen, after losing her mother and baby sister to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and her grief-stricken father to a drunken brawl, and Elaine’s teenaged daughter, Molly, as she tries to unravel her mother’s secret past. The narratives shift between fourteen-year-old Elaine’s story from 1918-1920, and Molly’s in 1955. Molly sees her journalist mother as an enigma, going so far as to create a “biography box” to hold clues to her mother’s story. Elaine’s story is a heartbreaking one, beginning with her mother and baby sister dying, and her father’s spiral into alcoholism and neglect and ending with his death. When Elaine finds work reading to a blind man in a wealthy family, she is relieved at being able to support her and her brother, but a turn of events separates Elaine and Stephen. In 1955, past and present converge when Stephen finds himself at the center of a religious controversy that shines a spotlight on the family.

Between Before and After is a solid piece of historical fiction that examines social class and mental illness. The subplot involving Elaine’s brother Stephen was interesting, but only served a small plot forwarding device for Elaine’s – and, to a degree, Molly’s – story. The characters drew me right in, and anything about New York in the early 20th Century gets my attention. I enjoyed Maureen Doyle McQuerry’s storytelling, especially Elaine’s story; she was a fully realized character.

If you have historical fiction readers, this is a good pick for you. There’s much to discuss about social class, stigma, and childhood poverty here, making this a good extension/book discussion choice for social studies/history classes.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Pack your bags! Dexter Dino’s going on vacation! Plus, a giveaway!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Vacation for Dexter!, by Lindsay Ward, (Apr. 2019, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 9781542043205

Ages 3-7

My favorite dino is back! My favorite dino is back! Dexter T. Rexter and his best friend Jack are back and they’re going on vacation in Lindsay Ward’s newest Dex-venture (see what I did there?), Vacation for Dexter! They’re going to exotic FLOR-I-DA, and Dexter is just thrilled! He’s totally vacation ready, rocking his supercool sunglasses, nifty hat, and his guidebook with all the local hot spots, but there’s one tiny problem: Dexter really, really, really, REALLY doesn’t want to get on a plane. Dinosaurs don’t fly, and he’s got a bunch of reasons why! Dexter and Jack are both going to need readers to encourage them and cheer them on through this flight, because they’re both pretty nervous!

Dexter is just great. He’s such a perfect fit for preschoolers experiencing new things, whether it’s misplacing a grown-up (Don’t Forget Dexter!), worrying about show and tell or speaking in front of a group (It’s Show and Tell, Dexter!) or facing fears head-on (Vacation for Dexter!) He’s nervous, but he admits it, and lets kids know that it’s okay, even normal, to be scared of new things, but it’s also okay to be brave and face those fears. He uses humor, empathy, and the right amount of hugs to get his message across, and there’s always a new song (we’ve got two new ones in this book!) to sing at the end. Lindsay Ward is just so good at storytelling; she gets preschoolers. The printmaking ink, pencil, and cut paper artwork is the same upbeat, bright art we’ve come to know and love: Dexter is bright orange, with red and pink splotches on his spines and body; his body and claws are lined like a piece of notebook paper, and he’s friendly, with a big, toothy smile and big, expressive eyes. Jack, Dexter’s buddy, is a child of color, with dark skin and curly, black hair. Parts of each spread look like a coloring book, colored in, adding to the kid-friendly feel.

Pack Vacation for Dexter, some cookies, and your own kiddo’s best friend for your next trip. And make sure to print a few copies of this picture of Dexter to color in!

 

Win your own FULL SET of Dexter books, including Vacation for Dexter! Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway! (U.S. addresses only, please!)

 

 

Lindsay Ward is the creator of the Dexter T. Rexter series. Although she isn’t afraid of flying, she always looks forward to cookies during her flights. She is also the author and illustrator of Brobarians, Henry Finds His Word, and When Blue Met Egg. Her book Please Bring Balloons was also made into a play.

Most days you can find Lindsay with her family, writing and sketching at her home in Peninsula, Ohio. Learn more about her online at www.LindsayMWard.com or on Twitter: @lindsaymward.

Praise for Vacation for Dexter!

“The illustrations are just as laugh-out-loud funny as ever, with the toy’s expressions stealing every scene…Jack and Dexter have become a beloved duo, and the dino’s behavior-modeling sure goes down easily.” —Kirkus Reviews

 

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Middle School, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Middle Grade Quick Takes: Toy Academy, Ask Emma, Confusion is Nothing New

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Every now and then, I dive into my TBR, which accumulates at an astonishing rate. This week, I managed to read a few more from the TBR, and wanted to give a quick take on them, since they’ve been out for a while but still deserve some mention.

Toy Academy: Some Assembly Required (Toy Academy #1), by Brian Lynch/Illustrated by Edwardian Taylor, (Jan. 2018, Scholastic), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-338-14845-9

Ages 7-10

This is the first in a new intermediate/middle grade series, and it’s SO much fun. Grumboldt is a stuffed animal of some sort – he has a somewhat amusing and dubious origin – and desperately wants to belong to a kid of his own. He meets a transforming car robot named Omnibus Squared, who, as it turns out, is recruiting toys for Commander Hedgehog’s Institute for Novelty Academia – The Toy Academy. Grumboldt manages to talk his way into admission, and tries desperately to be a great toy, so he’ll be assigned to a great kid, but he’s got some challenges. There’s a bully (it’s always a soldier, isn’t it?) named Rex constantly bugging him, and he can’t stay awake during Bedtime Prep. When Commander Hedgehog’s arms go missing, though, Grumboldt sees a chance to help out and make good at Toy Academy after all.

Have readers who love Toy Story? (Seriously, who doesn’t?) Give them Toy Academy. It’s sweet, hilarious, and loaded with toy references that everyone – kids and grownups alike – will recognize and get a laugh out of. Brian Lynch is a screenwriter with Minions and The Secret Life of Pets to his credit, so he knows how to write things that kids like. Edwardian Taylor’s art is a perfect match for the wacky, fun storytelling and gives us characters we’ll know and love for books to come: Grumboldt is a lovable plush with mismatched parts; Micro is a lively action figure whose collectable status limits her movement – she’s stuck in a plastic bag, because she HAS VALUE; Commandant Hedgepig is a knockoff, off-brand version of Commander Hedgehog who insists on being called his proper name rather than his emerging nickname, Bootleg. The second Toy Academy book, Ready for Action, is also available, so put these on your series purchase lists if you don’t have them already.  The kids will love them.

Ask Emma, by Sheryl Berk & Carrie Berk, (May 2018, Yellow Jacket), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-4998-0647-2

Ages 8-12

Emma is a 13-year-old seventh grader who loves to give advice, whether or not it’s asked for. She decides to start an Ask Emma column, so she can make herself available to all of her classmates at Austen Middle School, but quickly discovers that she’s a bit tone deaf in the process; she tends to push her best friends into doing things her way. She even tries to get the cute new guy, Jackson Knight, to join all the groups she thinks he should and tell her all about himself, but he gives a little pushback, which adds to his mystery. Emma starts getting some negative comments on her blog, and things start going haywire in Emma’s real world, too. When a hurtful picture of Emma starts making the rounds around the school, she decides to nip a potential cyberbully in the bud and takes action.

This is the first book in a new series from The Cupcake Club authors Carrie Berk and Sheryl Berk, and it left me a little wanting. Emma never really sees how self-absorbed she is, or apologizes for the things she does to her best friends. Her friends turn their backs on her when another student that Emma tries to “help” lies to make herself look good, but she never has that aha! moment when she examines her own behavior. A few negative blog comments and one mean picture become an overblown cyberbullying campaign, which, in this day and age, is forward thinking – catch cyberbullying in its early stages, before it becomes something out of control – but her related blog entry makes it sound like she endured a hateful campaign where she was bullied day and night. This one is a little out of touch; maybe an additional purchase where the authors are popular. The additional characters, including Jackson Knight and Emma’s best friends, Izzy and Harriet, seem interesting and I’d like to read more of their stories.

 

Confusion is Nothing New, by Paul Acampora, (May 2018, Scholastic Press), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-338-20999-0

Ages 9-13

Fourteen-year-old Ellie Magari just found out her mother, who left her and her father when Ellie was a baby, has died. Never having known her mother, Ellie tries to figure out who her mother was, especially when her father presents her with a box of her mother’s memorabilia, mysteriously sent to Ellie. She discovers that her mother was the singer in an ’80s tribute band, married her *other* high school sweetheart, and that the band is playing the local college soon. Ellie struggles with learning about her mother and how to grieve someone she never knew, while expressing frustration with her father’s reluctance to talk about her at all. Thankfully, Ellie’s friends, her principal, and an interesting new music teacher are there to help her put together the rest of the missing pieces.

Confusion is Nothing New is good, and yes, I say that partly because I love all things ’80s. (I would make a heck of a playlist to booktalk this book.) But aside from the music, it’s got a solid, readable story, and the characters have incredible heart and humor. Ellie is a likable, relatable character who takes no foolishness when a teacher treats her friend badly; she’s also vulnerable and working her way through big revelations dropped on her throughout the book. I loved her school band friends and the ease of their relationships; their humor, and their loyalty to one another. This one is a good read for tweens and teens – it’s on the cusp of being YA, but not – who want to read about another character figuring it out as best as she can.

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade

Penguin, Adventurer, Treasure Hunter: Mr. Penguin has it all!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure, by Alex T. Smith, (April 2019, Peachtree Publishers), $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-68263-120-1

Ages 8-12

Mr. Penguin is ready for an adventure! He opens up a small office, dons a dashing hat, packs a lunch of fish finger sandwiches, and waits for a phone call. When Boudicca Bones, from the Museum of Extraordinary Objects calls him to hunt down a lost treasure somewhere in the museum, he and his sidekick, Colin the Spider, are ready! The only thing is, treasure bandits have escaped from prison and have managed to find their way into the museum, too. It’s up to Mr. Spider and Colin to keep one step ahead of the bandits and keep themselves safe in the process!

Written by the author of the Claude chapter book series, Mr. Penguin is a perfect next step for intermediate readers who are ready to take on meatier chapter books, but aren’t quite ready for that big jump into middle grade fiction. Mr. Penguin is hilariously earnest, often stumbling into situations where his smarter, less verbal colleague, Colin, can save the moment. There’s a plot twist that readers will laugh out loud about

The artwork is largely black and white, with pops of orange to make images pop. If you have Claude fans – and why wouldn’t you? – or have readers that love adventure, hand them Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure.

 

Posted in Adventure, Espionage, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

New NatGeo Explorer Academy: The Falcon’s Feather

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Explorer Academy: The Falcon’s Feather, by Trudi Treueit/Illustrated by Scott Plumbe (interior) and Antonio Javier Caparo (cover), (March 2019, National Geographic), $16.99, ISBN: 9781426333040

Ages 9-13

The second Explorer Academy adventure picks up shortly after the first adventure, The Nebula Secret, concludes, and the action kicks in pretty quickly. Cruz Coronado is back, and he’s on a mission to get the remaining ciphers that his mother hid around the world before her untimely death. His best friends, Emmett and Sailor, are right in the thick of it with him, and his Aunt Marisol is, too. The evil Nebula group is still trying to get Cruz out of the way, and now, there’s something new afoot; something only hinted at: they want Cruz done away with before his 13th birthday. Could it be something to do with that unusual DNA-shaped birthmark on his arm? We’ll have to keep reading to find out, because that’s all you’re going to get here.

In addition to the globe-hopping mystery, The Falcon’s Feather also talks conservation and preservation; this time, Cruz and his friends save a pod of whales entangled in nets, and, while visiting the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, have a discussion about biodiversity. NatGeo is committed to educating readers about world issues, and this is a great way to do it: put kids in the middle of an adventure and let them experience it! There are all sorts of new gadgets and gizmos in this volume, and Mell, our favorite robot bee, is back. One scientist creates a communication device that allows Cruz to communicate with the endangered whales, and it’s an outstanding moment in the book; Cruz’s world opens up when he not only hears the whales’ songs, but connects them to human understanding. This installment ends on a tense note, assuring that readers (like me!) will be waiting for the next book. The Truth Behind the Fiction section introduces us to the real-life scientists who inspire some of the book’s characters, including a deep-sea submersible pilot, an explorer studying ecosystems and biodiversity, and a geoscientist researching climate change. Color illustrations throughout the book are just gorgeous and will keep readers turning pages. Maps at the beginning of some chapters help place readers when the characters find themselves in a new location.

This series is a no-brainer. Get it on your shelves for your burgeoning explorers/conservationists/secret agents, or just readers who love a good, tight suspense read.

 

Posted in Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Tween Reads

Middle grade entrepreneurial books kids will want to read: From an Idea to…

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I had a bit of business book success a few years ago when I put Notch’s – the creator of Minecraft – bio on the shelves at my first library, but books about successful businesses aren’t always easy to come by for a middle grade audience. This new series from Case Marketing founder Lowey Bundy Sichol tries to fill some of that gap, taking brands that are uber-popular with tweens and breaking down the companies’ histories, successes, and setbacks.

From an Idea to Disney: How Imagination Built a World of Magic, by Lowey Bundy Sichol/Illustrated by C.S. Jennings, (Feb. 2019, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-328-45361-7

Ages 10-12

From an Idea to Disney is part bio on Walt Disney, part bio on his empire, from Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie to Disneyland, Disney World, and all of Disney’s acquisitions. The chapters are quick, explain business practices in plain language and include callout boxes with definitions for specific business terms. Disney’s story focuses on the development of the family-friendly, inclusive brand, Walt Disney’s desire to create full experiences for families at his parks, and how the Disney family pushed back at what they perceived an over-merchandising of the brand in the 1990s, bringing about a management change that brought Disney back to Walt’s original vision.

Inspirational quotes from Walt himself run throughout the book, and black and white line drawings add visual interest. A Walt Disney Company timeline, bibliography, and source notes round out the volume.

 

From an Idea to NIKE: How Marketing Made Nike a Global Success, by Lowey Bundy Sichol/Illustrated by C.S. Jennings, (Feb. 2019, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-328-53062-2

Ages 10-12

Global athletic shoe giant NIKE began as high school athelete Phil Knight’s grad school project for an entrepreneurship class. Despite pushback from his critical father, he made a go of it, bringing his high school track coach, Bill Bowerman, into the fold. Bowerman would go on to create the “waffle iron soled” sneaker that would grip surfaces better – and ruined his wife’s waffle iron in the process. From an Idea to NIKE concentrates on the value of marketing in NIKE’s success, from athletic endorsements, to the Just Do It campaign, to running different sales channels, including NIKETown stores and the ability to order customized shoes online. The book mentions NIKE’s struggle to survive shortly after going public, when Reebok rose to popularity in the early ’80s; their quest to gain footing in Europe and the soccer market, and dealing with endorsed athlete scandal.

As with From an Idea to Disney, From an Idea to NIKE is loaded with fun facts, business term callouts, quotes from Phil Knight, and black and white line drawings. There’s a NIKE timeline, a list of the brand’s top endorsement deals, a bibliography, and source notes.

If you have nonfiction readers that have an interest in how business or brands work, stick a toe into the water and put a few of these into your collection. They’re quick reads and offer a beginning look into the business world. Focusing on entrepreneurs can be inspirational for readers – consider a book club or program where kids can come up with their own entrepreneurial idea? Have books like Jessie Janowitz’s The Doughnut Fix and Jacqueline Davies’s The Lemonade War handy. Other titles in the series include From an Idea to Lego and From an Idea to Google.

 

 

Posted in picture books

Introducing The Sharing Bees

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Sharing Bees: Kindness Matters, by Antoinette Clark/Illustrated by Russel Wayne, (2017, Royal7Publishing), $19.99, ISBN: 9780997926019

Ages 5-8

The Sharing Bees are a group of bees who play and work together in Honeycomb City. Kindness Matters stars Sadie, a worker bee who loves to share with her fellow bees, especially the adorable baby bees. Sadie heads out to get some pollen and nectar for the hive, along with her best friends, Gabby, Madi, and Simone, but when the rain starts to fall, the bees are worried: they’re loaded with with pollen and nectar, can they safely fly back to the hive? No problem! Sadie encourages her friends to work together, and the bees start sharing their load, spreading out the weight. They arrive home safely, feed the baby bees, and get some praise from the Queen herself!

Kindness Matters has a solid story to tell about teamwork and sharing. The text is a little dense for new readers, so it will work better as a readaloud. The artwork is bright and colorful, and the characters have bee bodies with human heads and antenna, so think about letting the kids make their own antenna headbands as a storytime craft. The characters are a diverse group and have big, expressive eyes and wide, happy smiles.

A cute story about teamwork and sharing, Kindness Matters is a nice additional purchase for collections.

 

Posted in Non-Fiction, picture books

History via foldout timeline: A Brief History of Life on Earth

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Brief History of Life on Earth, by Clémence Dupont, (Apr. 2019, Prestel Publishing), $24.95, ISBN: 9783791373737

Ages 6-10

A book that touts the claim, “Book folds out the length of a triceratops”, on the cover is a book that I’m going to stop and read. A Brief History of Life on Earth attempts to put the changes our little blue dot has been through into perspective by creating a foldout book that stretches through time and unfolds to reveal the formation of volcanoes and glaciers; the development of aquatic life, to the dinosaurs, early mammals, and modern humans, ending with a modern-day lakeside scene. Each spread folds out, accordion-style; the illustrations are colorful. Each spread has the noted age and time period (Hadean Age, 4.6 to 4 billion years ago; Proterozoic Age, 2.5 billion to 540 million years ago), and a brief, descriptive paragraph. Upon reaching the end of the Holocene Epoch (11,700 years ago to the present day), readers can flip the page over and look through a timeline of Earth’s first 4.6 billion years, really giving kids an idea of how recently we humans arrived on the scene. The book unfolds to a full 26 feet (8 meters), allowing you to see a truly visual timeline. Just get a lot of volunteers in a large space to hold the pages!

This is a handy book for classroom and library reference, and a fun gift for science fans. In circulation, I know my copy would be dead within the first 3-5 circs. But would I buy a copy to use during science storytimes or Discovery Club sessions? Heck, yes. It’s fun, eye-catching, and informative.

A Brief History of Life on Earth was originally published in the UK in 2017. Reference Readalikes would include the Wallbook Timeline books by Christopher Lloyd and the Welcome to the Museum series.