Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Frog and Toad fans, meet Peter & Ernesto!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths, by Graham Annable, (Apr. 2018, First Second), $17.99, ISBN: 9781626725614

Recommended for readers 7-10

Peter and Ernesto are best friends. They’re sloths, who live in a tree and spend their days munching hibiscus and watching the clouds, naming the shapes they see in them as they go by. But Ernesto isn’t satisfied. He loves the sky, but their tree only offers one piece of it. There’s so much more sky to see! Peter is content to stay in his tree, but Ernesto needs to take a trip and see the sky from all over. Ernesto revels in his adventure, making new friends and having exciting new experiences, while Peter stays at home, worried sick over Ernesto. Despite his fear, Peter sets off in search of Ernesto, making some new friends of his own. The two friends reunite, having both learned valuable lessons: Ernesto, the value of home; Peter, the importance of expanding one’s horizons.

The friendship between Peter and Ernesto is the sweetest part of this book. Graham Annable’s one-two punch of adorable, cartoony artwork with giant, expressive eyes, and fun dialogue will be a winner with intermediate and middle grade readers. The characters’ friendship is reminiscent of Frog and Toad; two characters, each a foil for the other, and their unabashed friendship. Their reunion will make you sigh and smile; it’s that sweet. The art is adorable, and at times – like a panel where Ernesto gazes at The Northern Lights, and we see how small he is in relation to the sky – is breathtaking.

Thank goodness, Peter and Ernesto will return. I can’t wait.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Get your cute on with Animal Babies!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Animal Babies, by Charles Fuge, (March 2018, MoonDance Press), $8.95, ISBN: 9781633225480

Recommended for readers 0-3

This adorable board book features squeal-worthy menagerie of baby animals, including ducklings, platypuses, koals, sloths, and meerkats. Rhyming text provides some factual info about the animals: baby ducks following the first thing they see; father seahorses having babies, and a perplexed snake, surrounded by playful meerkats who aren’t the slightest bit afraid of it. The illustrations are adorably realistic, and the text is just right for babies and toddler storytimes.

I’m always on the lookout for board books that give me a little something more than the basics, to use in my storytimes; Animal Babies will fit in nicely, letting me add some interactivity, like animal sounds, movements, and some teaching moments, while giving kids a nice cadence to follow along, thanks to rhyme. Too much cuteness! Pair with animal board books with animal sounds (I like this list from Inspiration Laboratories), and make it fun by adding some Sandra Boynton; I love Moo, Baa, La La La.  I also really enjoy Douglas Florian and Barbara Bakos’s Animals Play board book series, including Once I Was a Polliwog, Flamingos Fly, Leap, Frog, Leap, and Bears are Big.

Posted in picture books

Welcome to Seed School!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Seed School: Growing Up Amazing, by Joan Holub/Illustrated by Sakshi Mangal, (Feb. 2018, Seagrass Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781633223745

Recommended for readers 5-8

An acorn gets blown from his tree and lands in the middle of Seed School, meeting seeds that will grow up to be sunflowers, vegetables, even weeds. The acorn is a kind of cool new kid with a funny cap, and doesn’t know what it’ll be when it grows up, but has some ideas as the seeds all learn what goes into growing from seed to plant: what to do during the different seasons (love those long winter naps), the important stuff they’ll need to grow (soil, sun, water, and air), and visit the Leaf Librarian to learn about photosynthesis. They even learn a cute song about growing. When it’s graduation time, the seeds all travel – by bird, squirrel, or wind – to get ready to grow. It may take the lost little seed with the cool hat to figure out what he’s going to be, but it’ll be worth the wait.

I love just about everything Joan Holub writes, from her board books to her middle grade novels, and my library kids do, too. Her Mini-Myths series (with Leslie Patricelli) is aces with my toddlers (and was with my own toddler), and I can’t keep her series novels, like the Grimm-tastic Girls, Goddess Girls, and Heroes in Training on my shelves. A picture book about seeds growing into flowers, that’s kind of like Science Comics for early readers is going to fly! Putting nonfiction text into a cute, storytelling format guarantees that kids will learn and enjoy. Sakshi Mangal’s illustrations are just too adorable, with bold, black outlines, adorable little faces, and brightly colored nature against a stark white page. I would hang art from this book all over my nonfiction area, and I’m incorporating this book into a Science Storytime on seeds and gardens in the spring.

Seed School is a fun add to picture book collections, and can be a fun read-aloud or a one-on-one. Pair it with Eric Carle’s The Tiny Seed or Eve Bunting’s Flower Garden, or Lois Ehlert’s Planting a Rainbow and Growing Vegetable Soup. Get out some flower coloring sheets, and you’re set!

Posted in professional development

Professional Development Reading: Time for a Story

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Time for a Story: Sharing Books with Infants and Toddlers, by Amy Brooks Read & Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting, (Nov. 2015, Gryphon House), $19.95, ISBN: 9780876596586

I’m always looking for new ways to learn within my profession and expand on that knowledge. And since the family finances are like, “Nuh-uh” when it comes to getting another grad degree, I’ve turned to books. There is some great stuff out there! Since I’m always in search of strengthening my storytimes, especially to babies and toddlers, I started with Time for a Story. Saroj Ghoting spoke at an in-service at my library one time, and I really liked the way she talked about storytelling and how to apply learning to storytime, so I jumped at the chance to read a book she had a hand in.

Time for a Story is a good start to digging into storytime and how to incorporate singing, play, talking, reading, and writing into any and every book you pick up. Amy Brooks Read and Saroj Ghoting have tips and reading lists ready for babies and toddlers, concentrating on the early childhood literacy and the best ways to introduce a lifelong love of reading in kids. Reading, you say? Yes, reading! Kids start making connections early – print awareness is wonderful, we all know that. Keep books all over the place for kids to develop that print awareness. Let them chew on those board books (not library books, though, PLEASE), let them hold books and turn pages. I hand out books for kids to hold onto and explore during my storytimes, so it was gratifying to read that here. I was also relieved to discover that it is okay for my kiddos to wander during storytime, and for me to keep reading – they’re still paying attention while they explore. Family Literacy Tips are great to post around your libraries and classrooms, and talk through with parents during storytime.

There are book lists and samples of ways to read different books. I appreciated the advice on reading wordless or sparsely worded books, like Peggy Rathmann’s Good Night Gorilla, because I feel like it’s an untapped resource for my storytimes.

This was a nice start to my professional development reading, with information that I will come back to. Saroj Ghoting has a very useful website where you can find resources in a multitude of languages, including Spanish and Chinese. Gryphon House has a video of Amy Brooks Read discussing storytime strategies on their website.

Posted in Conferences & Events

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018: A Different Pond #ReadYourWorld

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The next book on my #ReadYourWorld shelf is this quietly beautiful story of a father and son.

A Different Pond, by Bao Phi/Illustrated by Thi Bui,
(Aug. 2017, Capstone), $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-62370-803-0

Recommended for readers 5-10

A Different Pond is an autobiographical story of a father and son’s fishing trip that tells us so much more. The boy and his father wake before dawn to go fishing; his father has a second job he must leave for after they fish. Little pieces of information in the words and art tell us about this family: the bare bulb burning in the kitchen; the take-out calendar, dated 1982; references to Vietnam and war, family members not coming home; the fact that his father must work a second job and fish for food because “Everything in America costsa  lot of money”; even the father’s calloused hands. This is the story of a refugee family trying to get by in their new country, and the story of a son embracing quiet time with his father. It’s powerful and timely and perfect in its simplicity, the text reading like evocative verse:, such as Bao Phi’s description of his father’s spoken English: “A kid at my school said my dad’s English sounds like a thick, dirty river. But to me his English sounds like gentle rain.” The art goes from warm colors inside the family’s home to vibrant shades of blue and gray as father and son fish, and the art is presented panels and spreads, with the endpapers providing us a glimpse into childhood memories: an action figure, a pair of sneakers, a decorative door hinge. Notes from the author and illustrator, with childhood photos, bring readers deeper into the immigrant and refugee experience.

A Different Pond is one of Kirkus’ Best Books of 2017 and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist.

 

cropped-banner2018 multicultural book

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM: Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD: Audrey Press,Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari,Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul,Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKidsAuthor Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. SwiftAuthor Elsa Takaoka,Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL PublishingAuthor Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane WhittinghamAuthor Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with MCBD on social media and be sure and look for/use the official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Posted in Preschool Reads

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018: Down in the Subway #ReadYourWorld

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Take a tropical vacation… in the New York Subway!

Down in the Subway, by Miriam Cohen/Illustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg,
(2003, Star Bright Books), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-932065-08-4

Recommended for ages 4-8

Oscar and his mom are on a hot subway train, when a fellow passenger – a brightly outfitted Island Lady – reaches into her bag and pulls out a magical Island Party, complete with food, cool island breezes, a Calypso singer and steel band, even the green Caribbean sea! You can just hear the music and feel the energy coming from this story as you read it; it’s a wonderful New York story that embraces our multicultural surroundings and shows how a hot, sticky summer subway ride can turn into a great time with a little imagination.

Miriam Cohen’s story invites readers in for a magical afternoon, and Melanie Hope Greenberg’s art is colorful and loaded with movement and expression, from the swirling island breeze that winds its way through the subway car, to the group of passengers jumping up to dance and eat together. I love the spread that illustrates three of the train cars moving and grooving along the track with palm trees sticking out of the windows and an island breeze carrying it along its path. Down in the Subway shows New York at its best: a gathering of cultures, enjoying a trip together.

I’ve enjoyed this book for a few years now, so I was thrilled to receive this for my MCBD review. I had a great Subway Storytime using this book, plus Karen Katz’s Subway, and I gave kids little laminated (play) Metrocards of their own to wave around as we sang songs. (That was a laptop or two ago, so I’ll have to dig into my portable hard drive for that storytime plan and put it up.)

Thanks so much to Star Bright Books and MCBD!

 

cropped-banner2018 multicultural book

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM: Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD: Audrey Press,Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari,Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul,Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKidsAuthor Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. SwiftAuthor Elsa Takaoka,Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL PublishingAuthor Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane WhittinghamAuthor Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with MCBD on social media and be sure and look for/use the official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Posted in Preschool Reads

Don’t Forget Dexter! is too much fun!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Don’t Forget Dexter!, by Lindsay Ward, (Jan. 2018, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1542047272

Recommended for readers 4-7

Dexter T. Rexter is the friendliest, cutest toy dino you’ll ever meet, but he’s got a BIG problem: Jack, his best friend, has DISAPPEARED! They were playing in the doctor’s office just a second ago, but Dexter’s found himself all alone and needs your help! This adorable book is perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners , who will jump at the chance to calm Dexter down throughout the story, as he gets more and more shaken up at the thought of being lost, or – even worse – abandoned, for another toy.

Lindsay Ward writes books that just know kids. Her epic tale, Brobarians (2017), looked at siblings relationships through a child’s imagination at play. Dexter shows readers that she knows – just like our kids do – that toys have feelings, just like they do, that they love us as much as we love them, and that they’re just as afraid of being lost or left behind as the kids that play with them are.

I love this story, I love Lindsay Ward’s cut paper, pencil, and ink artwork – Dexter’s belly looks like a page out of a kid’s notebook, how cool is that? – and Dexter’s handmade toy look, and I love this adorable, fun story about the mutual love between a kid and his toy. This is already a huge hit for me at home, where my Kindergartner and I sing “the Dexter song” at the top of our lungs, and at my library, where I gave my storytime families a sneak preview read a few weeks ago. Storytime tip: Hand out some soft toys, if you have them, during the read-aloud, and watch the kids bond.

If you’ve ever had to run back into a restaurant, library, or store; or drive to another state to pick up a beloved friend that a tired kiddo left behind, you need to get this book.

Don’t forget to print out some Dexter coloring sheets, right here, from the author’s website! Want a shot at winning your own copy of Don’t Forget Dexter (U.S. addresses only, please)? Check out this Rafflecopter giveaway!
Lindsay Ward was inspired to write this book after her husband texted her a photo of a toy dinosaur abandoned at a doctor’s office. The caption read: “Well, they left me here.” Lindsay thought it was so funny that she sat down to write Dexter’s story immediately. 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 writing and sketching at her home in Peninsula, Ohio, where she lives with her family. Learn more about her online at www.LindsayMWard.com  or on Twitter: @lindsaymward.

 

Praise for  DON’T FORGET DEXTER!

★ “Ward’s ink, colored-pencil, and cut-paper illustrations give readers a toy’s view of the world and allow children to stomp in Dexter’s feet for a while, his facial expressions giving them lots of clues to his feelings. Lost and found was never so riotously funny or emotionally draining.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Ward (Brobarians) is as funny as ever as she chronicles her orange hero’s nervous, no-filter state of mind, and her cut-paper, pencil, and ink drawings—with their visual asides, annotations, and shifts in scale—are irrepressible. It’s high anxiety made highly adorable.” —Publishers Weekly

 

 

Posted in Non-Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Women's History

Votes for Women! Suffrage was a fight every inch of the way.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Votes for Women! American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot, by Winifred Conkling, (Feb. 2018, Algonquin Young Readers), $19.95, ISBN: 9781616207342

Recommended for readers 12+

Winifred Conkling is emerging as a definitive chronicler of women’s history. Passenger on the Pearl told the story of Emily Edmondson, who escaped slavery and dedicated her life to education young African-American women; Radioactive! gave long-overdue props to Irène Curie & Lise Meitner, whose work on radioactivity was often overlooked in a male-dominated field; now, Votes for Women gives us a comprehensive history of the fight for American suffrage, long before women finally won the right to vote in 1920. For readers who may only be familiar with Susan B. Anthony, this volume is indispensable, introducing readers to Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Susan B. Anthony’s counterpart and founder of the suffrage movement, and Alice Paul, who took her cue from the more action-oriented British suffrage movement, and went to jail for the cause, where she and fellow protestors suffered deplorable conditions and were force-fed. We meet Victoria Woodhull, the first female Presidential candidate, and revisit Sojourner Truth’s famous speech, “Ain’t I A Woman?” Most importantly, we learn about the beginnings of intersectional feminism; when abolitionists and suffragists found common ground – and then diverged under political fire.

This is a comprehensive book, complete with photos, primary sources, and writing that never turns away from the more difficult moments in the battle for the vote: from racism to violence, it’s all here. It’s a good book for your nonfiction collections and women’s history collections for middle school and high school, with extensive primary source references, a timeline of American women’s suffrage, a bibliography, notes, and an index. Booktalk this with the graphic novel, Sally Heathcote: Suffragette by Mary M. and Bryan Talbot, which features a fictional character from the British movement, and is a great hook to get teens interested. A Mighty Girl has a strong list of additional reading, filtered by age, on suffrage.

 

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Socially smart storytelling: Sara Varon’s New Shoes

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

New Shoes, by Sara Varon, (March 2018, First Second), $17.99, ISBN: 9781596439207

Recommended for readers 8-12

Francis the Donkey is the best shoemaker in his village, using the finest materials to handcraft beautiful shoes. One day, he gets the most exciting news: his favorite calypso singer, Miss Manatee, is coming to sing in his village, and she wants him to create a special pair of new shoes just for her! He’s so excited, but he’s out of the special tiger grass that’s integral to his shoe designs. He asks his friend and supplier, Nigel the Squirrel Monkey, to go into the jungle and get some more tiger grass, but when Monkey doesn’t come back as expected, Francis has to go find him… will he get back to his village AND be able to make Miss Manatee’s shoes on time?

I am a Sara Varon fan. I loved Sweater Weather, and my library kids adore Robot Dreams. I love her cartoony illustration, her bright colors, and in the case of New Shoes, the deeper messages found in her story. Francis is a genuinely kind character who is mortified when he discovers that his shoe materials have been acquired via shady means, and immediately sets to putting things right. When Francis realizes he has to make special accommodations for his newest client, he does the work, researching how to make the best footwear for Miss Manatee. Nigel is big enough to admit his mistakes, apologizes, and helps Francis grow his own materials responsibly.  There are strong messages about fair trade and honesty, good business practices, sustainability, and consideration of others’ differences to be found here, all told in a story that kids can understand without dumbing down the message. It’s smart storytelling with a social conscience that respects the reader. What more can you ask from your books?

I can’t wait to put New Shoes on my graphic novel shelves. It’s got a little nonfiction snuck in, as Francis travels, with his guide book, through the South American jungle and encounters such inhabitants as the capybara, jaguar, and three-toed sloth; it’s got a moral compass, a main character who loves calypso music, and it’s just fun reading.