Mom Read It

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Give The Magical Animal Adoption Agency a home on your shelves!

Posted on January 8, 2015January 8, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Magical Animal Adoption Agency: Clover’s Luck, by Kallie George (Feb. 2015, Disney Book Group), $14.99, ISBN: 9781423183822

Recommended for ages 8-12

Clover feels decidedly unlucky, despite her name. One day, walking through the woods, she comes across a cottage in the woods – it’s an animal adoption agency! It’s not just any adoption agency, either – it’s a magical animal adoption agency, and Clover manages to convince the owner to let her work there as an assistant this summer. When the owner has to leave unexpectedly, Clover’s in charge – and finds herself faced with a very strange customer. Can Clover make sure the animals are safe, and manage to find some of them good homes?

This book is perfect for kids just stepping into chapter books. Aside from being one of the sweetest books I’ve read lately, The Magical Animal Adoption Agency is fun. Where else can you find out about the care and feeding of unicorns and baby dragons? The story is well-paced, sets up what promises to be a fun series, and has enough drama to get readers’ attention, without dipping into bleaker territory. Add Alexandra Bolger’s adorable artwork, and you have a fully engaging story.

I’m looking forward to seeing what other magical animals come through the doors of the Magical Animal Adoption Agency. In the meantime, this one will be a fun addition on my Intermediate shelf.

There’s a great Magical Animal Adoption Agency website, where you can submit a wish for a magical pet of your own, draw pictures of your magical pet – or print out Lost! posters, if you should misplace yours, and even adopt a magical pet of your own. Send your stories and artwork in – the site publishes contributions!

Fiction, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula – A story of family, food, and standing up for yourself!

Posted on January 6, 2015January 6, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Princess Decomposia & Count Spatula, by Andi Watson (Feb. 2015, :01 First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781626721494

Recommended for ages 10+

Princess Decomposia is a princess with way too much stress in her life. She’s stuck running the kingdom while her father lays in bed, playing sick, and demanding crazy health food fads be served to him – most of which he sends back with a complaint. When he fires the latest chef, hiring a new chef is just one more thing on Princess Decomposia’s plate, until she meets the sweet, shy Count Spatula.

Spatula brings some light into the frustration of Decomposia’s world. He makes gorgeous, sweet-laden creations that ease diplomatic relations and make Decomposia smile. The two become friends – and it doesn’t escape the staff’s notice. But the king still wants things done his way, and it’s pushing Decomposia to stand her ground.

I love this sweet story. We’ve got a spunky, independent heroine who is frustrated and buckling under a pile of responsibilities; an adorable friendship/budding romance with a sweet chef who just wants to make tasty, exciting desserts and make the princess happy; and a parent who has a lesson or two to learn in responsibility. Some will call it quirky, but for kids like me, who grew up with The Addams Family and The Munsters, this hit the spot. It’s a great story of friendship and family, with fun black and white art that will appeal to tween readers and older.

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula hits shelves on February 24th – get it for the growing goth in your life.

Non-Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Place Hacking: A Don’t Try This At Home guide to urban exploration

Posted on January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Place Hacking: Venturing Off Limits, by Michael J. Rosen (Feb. 2015, Twenty-First Century Books), $33.32 ISBN: 9781467725156

Recommended for ages 12-16

Activities like urban exploration and BASE jumping have become hugely popular over the last decade. Is it because we live in such a disposable society, that people have a need to preserve a moment in time? Is it the chance to find something new in a world that has been exhaustively explored and catalogued? There are many reasons and theories behind “place hacking”, as these kinds of activities have come to be known, and Michael J. Rosen explores the reasons, as well as the different types, of hacks. From urban explorers, seeking out abandoned and underground structures, to BASE jumpers, who look for the next (literal) high, to urban infiltrators – folks who get a kick out of showing up and gaining access to places they shouldn’t be, this is a great guide for anyone fascinated by the phenomenon.

Rosen does make sure to tell his audience that this is NOT a place hacking handbook, and emphasizes the dangers and hazards these explorers take on themselves, not the least of which is the risk of arrest and incarceration. Armchair urban explorer like myself will love this vicarious trip, and history fans can pair this with a favorite episode of the old History Channel show, Cities of the Underworld, and enjoy. Classrooms and libraries can use this in a history feature or an urban adventure feature (but PLEASE warn your audience not to try this at home!).

You can find Mr. Rosen’s author page here; he features information about his other works, links to social media, and information about school visits.

Intermediate, Non-Fiction

Experiment with What a Plant Needs to Grow – Science Fair Help is Here!

Posted on January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Experiment with What a Plant Needs to Grow, by Nadia Higgins (Mar. 2015, Lerner Publishing Group) $26.65, ISBN: 9781467757300

Recommended for ages 8-12

There are few absolutes in life, and the annual school Science Fair is one of them. Experiment with What a Plant Needs to Grow is here to rescue your child (and you) from yet another ice cube melting experiment. With full-color photographs and easy to read, step-by-step language, the book guides you and your child through the necessaries in keeping a plant alive – sunlight, air, water, minerals – and the finer details: how much water does a seed need to sprout? What will a plant do to find the light it needs (hint: a LOT)?

The book is a science fair project in one convenient spot. There are several experiments from which to select, and the book never gives anything away for free – it asks questions to guide your child in the scientific process, never handing your child the answer. These are hugely helpful questions that they can use to write their own notes and summaries, and bring home that winning ribbon. Good luck!

Uncategorized

Resolving to Rock in 2015!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’ve been a huge fan of Storytime Katie’s blog since I was in library school. I love her storytime ideas, especially her Flannel Fridays posts, which have been a great source of professional development for me as I get my children’s librarian sea legs steady. Today, she’s given me a hand yet again, by introducing me to Storytime Underground and Resolve to Rock – talking about setting professional goals, and helping support fellow children’s services providers in their goals. So here I go.

Having just discovered Storytime Underground, I resolve to register for their Storytime University training and apply it to my storytimes. A huge part of my Books for Kids work is wrapped up in storytimes, so this will be hugely helpful.

Seek out more resources on providing sensory-friendly storytimes. I need to work on reaching the special needs kids in my storytime classes. I used a few ideas from Storytime Katie in the past, and definitely saw a spark, so I need to incorporate more.

Get coding, and get my patrons coding! I’ve gotten through a few lessons on building a website, and the introduction to WordPress on my Treehouse account at Queens Library, so I need to make time and get through the training.

Up my picture book and nonfiction game. I read a lot of middle grade and YA fiction, but my RA skills in nonfiction and picture books could use some work.

Join a professional committee. I’m looking at ALSC and YALSA, and leaning toward ALSC because I work more with younger children. But I have to make a decision soon, and need to get involved.

Those are the big ones. 2014 was a good year for me personally and professionally, so I want to keep the momentum going! Good luck to everyone!

Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads

Cybils Finalists Announced!

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’m sorry to be a bit late on the news, I’ve been in bed with an awful head cold. But the great news is that the 2014 Cybils Finalists have been announced!

You can find the full list of finalists, across all categories, here.

I had the honor and privilege of being a first round judge in the Middle Grade Fiction category this year – and WOW, what an amazing experience that was! We had over 130 entries this year; 34 of which I ended up reading. And I was in the minority, which fills me with even more amazement and respect of my fellow children’s book bloggers/teachers/librarians/bibliophiles. Here’s hoping that next year, I’ll get to participate again, and I promise, I’ll get more of those books in. In the meantime, I’ve discovered so many new, exciting books that I can now handsell to the kids at all of my libraries and in my life. It’s a great feeling.

If you’d like to just go straight to the Middle Grade Fiction nominees, click here – I wrote the blurb for The Meaning of Maggie, a book which I hope everyone will read and find meaning in as I did.

More reviews to come in this New Year – and I resolve to get more picture book reviews in; I seem to have gone lacking in that area. If you have a book you think I’m missing out on, please let me know!

Have a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium – fantasy and steampunk fun!

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro (Jan 2015, Disney-Hyperion), $16.99, ISBN: 9781484700068

Recommended for ages 9-12

Poor Grubb. He’s 12 – or thereabouts, and leads a pretty miserable existence. He was a foundling, and the woman who took him in died, leaving him at the mercy of her drunk, abusive husband, who feeds him only enough to keep him from starving and forces him to work as a chimney sweep. After he stows away in a trunk to hide from his master/stepfather after an on-the-job incident, he discovers Alistair Grim and his Odditorium, a weird and wonderful place where he meets a young prankster, an honest-to-goodness fairy, a talking pocket watch, and a samurai army powered by blue energy. Right after the mysterious Mr. Grim agrees to take him on as an apprentice, the Odditorium falls under attack, and it’s up to Grubb to make sure that the mysterious blue energy doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium is a fun steampunk read for fantasy fans. Grubb is the classic orphan protagonist, whose origin is surrounded in mystery; Mr. Grim is the mysterious benefactor who takes him in to teach him his magic. There are automatons, there are evil forces, there’s good vs. evil, and a mysterious aether-type magic. All the elements are there, and Mr. Funaro makes them blend together to provide an exciting story that kids will love.

The author’s webpage offers a bio and links to social media, information about the Odditorium, and contact information.

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Remember The Time Warp Trio? Now, meet the Left Behinds!

Posted on December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington, by David Potter (Jan. 2015, Random House) $16.99, ISBN: 9780385390569

Recommended for ages 10-14

Mel and his schoolmates, Brandon and Bev, are the Left-Behinds: children of wealthy and/or famous parents who make little time for them, they’re shipped off to boarding school and spend the holidays there. On a holiday school trip, the three find themselves transported through time, ending up in Colonial America – just in time to save the life of one General George Washington right before the historic crossing of the Delaware. Armed with just his iPhone, Mel must figure out how to save his friends, save George Washington, and save America! Oh, and he’s on, like, 8 percent battery.

The story is the next step for fans of Jon Sciezska’s Time Warp Trio series, who are on a higher reading level and ready for a more challenging novel. The book looks like it’s the first in a promising new series, with likable characters, a rogue iPhone app, Benjamin Franklin (who makes anything in which he appears even better) and a mysterious nemesis. There’s solid history here: the author did his research and his love for American history is clear here. This would be a great book to have students read alongside a unit on American history.

The author’s website offers information about the book, a bio on the author, and transcripts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, along with a section on where to catch historical re-enactments. For now, there’s only the Washington Historic Crossing available; I hope we’ll get some more as the author writes more!

The Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington releases next week, on January 5th.

Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Teen

The Scarlet Letter (Manga Classics) makes another classic more accessible to readers

Posted on December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Scarlet Letter (Manga Classics), by Nathaniel Hawthorne/adapted by Crystal Chan/illustrated by SunNeko Lee (2014, Udon Entertainment/Morpheus Publishing), $19.99, ISBN: 9781927925331

Recommended for ages 13+

Reading the story of Hester Prynne and her scarlet letter is a rite of passage in high school, but that doesn’t always make it an accessible book. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of adultery and a small New England Puritan town can be difficult for reluctant or struggling readers. Udon Entertainment’s Manga Classics line reaches out to those readers with beautiful art and drills the story down to the main points and action, drawing a reader in and, in essence, teaching them how to read the novel.

As with Udon’s manga adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the main story is faithfully intact, merely abridged for easier storytelling. This is by no means a replacement for the novel, but it serves two tremendous purposes: 1) to bring new readers to the story who may never have picked the book up before, and 2) to serve as a companion read to readers who have trouble with the novel. Manga is a popular art medium that’s been reaching beyond purely Japanese titles and finding a firm audience in American adaptations, from popular YA series like Twilight and Beautiful Creatures to classics like Les Miserables, Pride and Prejudice, and now, The Scarlet Letter.

I will be adding this book to my burgeoning manga classics collection. It would a fun display idea to feature the original and its manga adaptation side by side – I’d love to see how it affects my circulation.

The Scarlet Letter will be out in March, but you can pick up copies of Udon’s manga adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Les Miserables right now.

Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Not a Dr. Logan’s Divorce Book – a Survival Guide for Kids Stuck in the Middle

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Not a Dr. Logan’s Divorce Book, by Sydney Salter (2014, Character Publishing), $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-9890797-5-4

Recommended for ages 8-13

Eleven-year-old Logan’s parents have split up, turning her life upside down. Her father has already moved on and is dating; she and her mother have relocated from their house to a small apartment, and she’s feeling left behind by her friends, her father’s family – even her father, himself. Logan’s mom immerses herself in the teachings of a self-help author/TV host, Dr. Donna; Logan finds Dr. Donna quotes taped up all over her home. To combat her feelings of helplessness and frustration, Logan begins her own (Not a) Doctor Logan’s Divorce Book, part journal, part book of lists for dealing with the hurdles of being a child of divorce, all survival guide for kids.

I did not expect this book to bowl me over as hard as it did. Like half the country, I’m a child of divorce. Although my parents split when I was 18, rather than 11, I went through many of the same emotional upheavals and experienced so many of the same feelings that Logan describes – especially the feelings of anger and frustration with the parent that left. Ms. Salter covers the depression one parent experiences, and the almost teen-like personality the other parent takes on – how is a kid supposed to deal with this? She also manages to find the humor in every situation, from Logan’s botched “love magic” that she hopes will reunite her parents, to her idea that shirking her schoolwork will reunite her parents, albeit in the principal’s office. We take Logan’s journey with her, and see her through to the other side, when things just may get better after all.

The story, written in the first person, allows readers to place themselves in Logan’s shoes. Illustrations by Chelsea Eaton give firmer shape to the story, and I loved the journal entries, complete with notebook spiral rings. Different fonts help emphasize Logan’s writing versus her overall narrative.

Book discussion questions at the end are helpful to both book discussion groups and parents who may want to read this book with their kids, letting the questions lead them into deeper conversations about any life changes going on. There are also links to divorce resources for children and parents alike.

Sydney Salter dedicates the book to us readers, and to her nine-year-old self. My 40-something self thanks her for it. I’ll be getting this on the shelves at my library, where kids who need it will be able to find it.

The author’s webpage includes a Q&A, discussion questions about her other books, links to her social media, and a link to her blog.