Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Not-so Happily Ever After? The Princess Protection Program is here for you

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Princess Protection Program, by Alex London, (Feb. 2024, Greenwillow Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780063303874

Ages 8-12

Did you ever think about whether or not Sleeping Beauty really wanted to be kissed by some guy she never knew after being asleep for 100 years? Or if The Little Mermaid would have made a different choice if she’d know she was going to turn into foam at the end of her story? That’s the story at the heart of The Princess Protection Program; it’s a place where fairy tale princesses can escape to when they find their own stories too much. The story begins with Rosamund, who wakes up just as a prince is about to kiss her, as is their destiny – but she’s not having it. Running away, she discovers two other young women who lead her to the Orphans Home Educational Academy – or, as the students call it, Happily Ever After Academy. Verna, the fairy godmother headmistress, explains the school’s purpose to Rosamund, who meets other famous fairy tale princesses (and one prince!) who’ ve escaped their fates. At first, Rosamund is happy to be in school and making new friends, but begins noticing some strange happenings: why are the students perpetually learning the same lessons? And what happens to students who “graduate”? Something is going on at HEA, and Rosamund is determined to discover it. Starring a very familiar cast of princess characters, London also inserts some familiar names among the faculty, especially for fairy tale/fantasy readers. There are great laugh-out-loud moments mixed with conversations on consent and free will, all set in a magical world hidden deeply in our real one. A brilliant contemporary reimagining of the fairy tale universe and a guaranteed hit with middle graders and middle schoolers.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Happy World Storytelling Day! The Storyteller, by Lindsay Bonilla & Noar Lee Naggan

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s World Storytelling Day! Time to bring people (and animals!) together and weave a world of stories. Let’s start with Lindsay Bonilla and Noar Lee Naggan’s beautiful fable, The Storyteller.

The Storyteller, by Lindsay Bonilla/Illustrated by Noar Lee Naggan, (March 2024, Nancy Paulsen Books),
$18.99, ISBN: 9780593109588
Ages 4-7

Griffin’s grandmother is The Storyteller: she spins incredible stories that captivate her listener. From fairy tales and folk tales to family stories (with a big of tall tale), The Storyteller nourished Griffin’s spirit and soul with story after story, putting him in the middle of the most amazing tales. But Griffin sees what no one will tell him outright: The Storyteller is fading, and he must go on one last adventure with her. Buying “magic beans” and growing a beanstalk, he confides in his grandmother that he is scared. She promises him that they have faced far greater foes, and tasks him with keeping the stories alive before departing. This intergenerational tale of love and loss is moving and powerful. Naggan’s watercolor and pencil illustration give us a magical Storyteller with long gray hair and a colorful caftan; truly a magical person of wisdom. Griffin in his sweater and boots, is an eager student. Naggan places the two in our real, day-to-day world and in fantastic landscapes where we see Grandmother walking alongside a giant cat wearing boots, and Griffin, wearing a red cape with horns and looking like a mashup of Max from Where the Wild Things Are and Red Riding Hood, chasing a Big Bad Wolf through the woods. Bonilla’s narrative reaches that piece of us that needs stories like we need food: “The Storyteller fed him milk, fresh-baked bread, and all kinds of stories. Folktales, fairy tales, and legends”. Their goodbye is at once painful and beautiful, and we see how Storytellers leave their mark on us, and how we go on to become Storytellers ourselves. An incredible journey for readers, this is an excellent addition to collections.

On a personal note, I’ve just lost my own Storyteller, so this book meant the world to me.

The Storyteller has a starred review from Kirkus.

★“Brief but potent text is paired with illustrations that exude a sense of magic and the joy of storytelling. . . . Warmly and tenderly conveys the comfort of sharing the lore of days gone by.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Lindsay Bonilla is a professional storyteller and author whose previous picture books include Parents’ Choice Award winner Polar Bear Island, I Love You with All of My Hearts, and The Note Who Faced the Music. She lives with her husband, two wild and creative kids, and her dog, Blitzen, in North Canton, Ohio. Learn more at lindsaybonilla.com.

Noar Lee Naggan (noarleenaggan.com) also illustrated Lilah Tov Good Night (by Ben Gundersheimer). Originally from Israel, with a background in animation and graphic design, he is now a full-time illustrator in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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

Continental Drifter seeks belonging

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Continental Drifter, by Kathy MacLeod, (Apr. 2024, First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781250813749

Ages 8-12

Eleven-year-old Kathy lives in Bangkok with her Thai mother, American father, and her sister. The family doesn’t seem to interact much, so Kathy’s looking forward to the family trip to her father’s family in Maine: – with a summer camp trip-within-a-trip included! Feeling like she doesn’t quite fit in with her family and friends in Thailand, she has high hopes for America, but discovers that she doesn’t quite fit in with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls who can’t figure out where Thailand is – maybe she’s saying Taiwan wrong? Kathy loves Maine. She loves her extended family; she loves food she can’t get in Thailand, like blueberry pie and clam chowder. She LOVES shopping the the mall. But she feels out of touch within her own family unit, and it doesn’t help how she feels in the world at large. Continental Drifter is MacLeod’s graphic memoir about a child of two cultures searching for belonging, but it’s more than cultural: this family doesn’t interact. Her retired father prefers his alone time, and her high-powered mother runs a business, comes home, and wants her own time. Her older sister is going through adolescence, leaving Kathy to feel unmoored at home; with her friends in Thailand, there are questions about her American half, and when she visits her American family, there are questions about being… not American. MacLeod tells her story without melodrama; we see the lonely girl at the heart of the story, and we see how others in her family have their own loneliness. It’s a moving story that will resonate with readers from immigrant families and readers who may simply feel out of place. Back matter includes an author’s note and photos. Readers who love Remy Lai’s storytelling will Continental Drifter.

Continental Drifter has a starred review from Kirkus. Follow Kathy MacLeod on Instagram for more comics. MacLeod also has archived comics on BK Magazine, which have a slice of life in Bangkok flavor.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables? Fantastic, can’t wait to tell my kids!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables, by Kyle Lukoff/Illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi, (Feb. 2024, Henry Holt & Company), $18.99, ISBN: 9781250867841

Ages 4-8

Chester is a kid who just wants to get some vegetables from the community garden so his mom can make him a salad. He gets schooled by the garden’s inhabitants on the many groups that fall under the “vegetable umbrella”. Broccoli? That’s a flower, and her name is Juanita, thank you very much. Potato and Carrot? Those are roots; Lettuce and Kale? Those are leaves. Cucumber, Pepper, and Eggplant are all fruits. Different groups explain their importance and their jobs to Chester with often hilarious moments: Lettuce informs Chester that being good in a salad doesn’t make one a vegetable: “…bacon is good in salads, but that doesn’t make bacon a vegetable”. When Chester claims that vegetables taste good but don’t have a lot of sugar, Beet corrects him, noting that “they literally use me to make sugar”. So why are all these different groups of tasty foods grouped under one term? “Say anything enough times and it’ll stop sounding like a real word”, replies Corn. Newbery Honor Award and Stonewall Award winner Lukoff takes a funny story about vegetables to teach a lesson on social constructs, and an author’s note at the end of the story invites readers to think about  and discuss other social constructs. Tsurumi’s illustrated vegetables have personality, and Chester is sweetly exasperated as he tries to work it all out. Endpapers show the group of of sassy “vegetables”, clearly labeled to help readers identify them. Download free activity worksheets here.

Kyle Lukoff is a Newbery Honoree, a Stonewall Award winner, and a National Book Award finalist. Visit his author page to learn more about his books and upcoming events. Illustrator Andrea Tsurumi is a Society of Illustrators Silver Medalist and Red Clover Book Award recipient. You can visit their author page to read their comics and learn more about their books.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Taxi, Go is a rhyming run through town

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Taxi, Go!, by Patricia Toht/Illustrated by Maria Karipidou, (Feb. 2024, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536231533

Ages 2-5

An adorable, big-eyed taxi has a busy day ahead in this sweet rhyming story. Waking up and driving to the heart of town, Taxi picks up fares and drops them off at all sorts of places, from a business meetings to shops to concerts. The last fare of the day is a family coming home from a trip; Taxi picks them up at the airport and drops them off at home before heading back to the depot for a good night’s sleep. The story brings readers through a busy little town and touches on street safety and stopping for emergencies. An inclusive, diverse group of characters provide a welcoming feel. The colorful and cheery digital illustrations are eye-catching, with a bright red taxi sporting wide eyes and a smile; human characters have similar big-eyed, friendly expressions. A generous palette of reds and yellows add energetic flow, and there is a lot of movement in the book: Taxi is always on the move; dogs’ tails cheerfully wag; people hail Taxi and move through a bustling town. Vehicle books are always popular in my library, and this will be another entertaining read for storytimes. A good addition.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Speck: an epic journey

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic, by Margaux Meganck, (March 2024, Knopf), $19.99, ISBN: 9780593301975

Ages 3-6

Go on an epic journey with a tiny speck in this gorgeously illustrated story. A little speck is born in a tide pool and is swept along “past creatures to cling to rocks, / past flickering fins and flashing scales”; separated from their group, each speck is searching for something. Some drift apart, some feel small in such a big ocean, but hiding? That’s just not part of the adventure. Embracing the wonder, a brave little speck grows and perseveres. A beautifully told parable for all ages, Meganck reaches readers by letting us know that we all feel small in this vast world, but the journey is worth it. Embrace it all and find your place in the world. Breathtaking watercolor illustrations play with perspective, bringing readers up close to a smiling barnacle and pulling back to show a colorful ribbon of fish swimming in a whale’s wake. Perfect for readalouds with younger readers and deeper explorations with older readers, Speck is a must-purchase for collections. Keep this one in mind for Caldecott season, folks.

Speck has starred reviews from Kirkus and The Bulletin.

 

 

★ “A poignant, reflective story that’s every bit as relevant to children as it is to adults. . . . Deeply moving.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Margaux Meganck spends her days dodging raindrops and drawing from her imagination in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Her author-illustrator debut, People are Wild, received two starred reviews and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Her illustration work has earned multiple accolades. Speck is the second book she has both written and illustrated. To learn more, visit margauxmeganck.com.

 

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

I Try encourages resilience

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I Try: Resilience for Little Ones, by Susie Brooks/Illustrated by Cally Johnson-Isaacs, (Dec. 2023, Kane Miller), $13.99, ISBN: 9781684645688

Ages 3-6

Kids show that humans can learn a lot about resilience from the animal kingdom in this sweet story about resilience. An inclusive and diverse group of children work together to try new things, as animals act as teachers: beavers show a group of children how to work as a team to build a tent, and penguins encourage a group of ice skaters to keep going, marching together in the coldest of weather. When a spider’s web breaks, it makes a new one, and when a boy’s baby brother tips his toy tower over, he takes a deep breath and starts over. Brooks touches on calming techniques. teamwork, and joy to get her message across, and Johnson-Isaacs creates gently colored illustrations with friendly animals and children to show readers that teamwork makes the dream work. A good additional purchase for social-emotional focused collections.

I Try is the companion to Brooks & Johnson-Isaac’s I Breathe: Yoga Poses for Little Ones (2020).

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

A fairy tale retelling and a neurodivergent main character who saves the day

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf, by Craig Barr-Green/Illustrated by Francis Martin, (March 2024, Kane Miller), $17.99, ISBN: 9781684647866

Ages 4-7

Gina Kaminski is an autistic young girl who uses emojis to let readers know how she is feeling. She’s not having a great day at school because it’s hot, smelly, and loud, so she heads to the reading room with Anya, a woman who appears to be a paraprofessional or teacher; there, Anya reads Gina the story of Little Red Riding Hood, which really doesn’t sit well with Gina for a multitude of reasons. Gina decides she’s ready to visit fairy-tale land and correct the mistakes she found in the story, and, in an amusing an inventive retelling, saves the wolf and the day. Gina is so likable: she’s ready to tell readers how she interprets the world and invites us along for the ride, and she clearly lays out how she sets to correcting the holes in the story, using her emojis along the way so we know how she feels and what her triggers are. Endpapers feature a variety of emojis to let readers see a range of emotions, and the simple and direct illustration uses color for emphasis, with bold outlines to define Gina and her world. Fonts change when Gina speaks versus fairy tale characters, helping readers transition back and forth. This British import is the first in a new flipped fairy tale series; with a clever and endearing neurodivergent main character and creative ways to rewrite stories that may be worrisome for some readers, it’s worth reading and adding to collections. Visit author Craig Barr-Green’s webpage for a sneak peek at Gina’s next adventure.

Gina Kaminski Saves a Wolf has starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus Reviews.

For more information about autism feelings charts, visit the UK’s High Speed Training page or Autism Little Learners, which has a self-regulation chart. Teachers Pay Teachers has a wealth of free emotion charts available for free, and Autism Parenting Magazine has a very good article on how emotion charts are helpful.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

What’s faster than a cheetah? Well…

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

There’s Nothing Faster than a Cheetah, by Tom Nicoll/Illustrated by Ross Collins, (Dec. 2023, Kane Miller), $15.99, ISBN: 9781684647958

Ages 4-7

This uproarious race tale tips its hat to Aesop’s classic fable, The Hare and the Tortoise, while putting a new spin on the hilarity. A cheetah and a snail are set to race, and the narrator tells readers not to have high expectations: “…there’s NOTHING faster than a cheetah!” “Nothing?” “NOTHING.” The race begins, and a laugh-out-loud parade of alliterative animal contestants show up as the story posits whether such wonders could compete: “Not a rhino on roller skates?” “Penguins on pogo sticks?” “What about a hippo on a hang glider?” Meanwhile, attentive readers will notice that the snails are up to something, leading toward a reveal that will delight everyone. The question-and-answer format will make for a fun and interactive read-aloud and alliteration plays with language in a way that invites readers to think of their own animal combinations. Endpapers feature the animals mentioned in the story, and their relative speeds. Bright and colorful illustration shows animals with amusing and dramatic expressions and inventive combinations. A fun addition to storytime collections.

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

Guess Who and What’s on the Menu? Animal non-fiction for kids!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Eye Guess: A Forest Animal Guessing Game, by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes, (Jan 2024, Charlesbridge), $8.99, ISBN: 9781623544478

Ages Infant-3

Play a game of Guess Who? with littles with this illustrated board book that offers clues and extreme close-ups. Spreads alternate question and answer, with close-up illustrations and a brief clue and a full spread of the animal in its environment… and a sneak peek at the next animal for readers to discover. Realistic illustrations are in full color and pay attention to details and are reminiscent of Steve Jenkins’ books. Fonts are easy to read and the repetitive question and answer format will help readers identify animals after a few reads. A good addition to board book collections.

 

 

 

Menus for Meerkats and Other Hungry Animals, by Ben Hoare/Illustrated by Hui Skipp, (March 2024, Kane Miller), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684648306

Ages 6-9

Kids who have ever wondered what’s on the menu for different animals will get a kick out of this friendly book that describes what different animals eat and why: who’s a vegetarian? Who’s a meat-eater? Who dabbles in both? There are 10 profiles of animal appetites in here, including the dung beetle and the different types of poop they snack on, so be ready for a lot of laughs. Spreads alternate between a menu, offering a few general facts about the animal’s eating habits and what they eat and drink, and a dinner spread, which gets into more detail about how they eat what they do: grizzy bears are omnivores who will dig up roots, eat berries, and fish for bears, and they eat most of the time they’re awake because they hibernate through the winter, for instance. Fun fact boxes provide more statistics, like length and weight. A glossary and index make up the back matter. Hot pink endpapers have animal illustrations, and the interior illustrations are colorful, bright, and cheerful. A fun additional add to animal collections, and let’s be honest here: can you ever have enough books on poop? The kids at my library would say no.