Posted in Librarianing

This Week’s Grab-and-Go Kits: Basquiat and Lola’s Garden

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’ve gotten away from posting about grab-and-go kits, and that’s a shame because they’re such fun to work on. This week’s kits are thanks to my library’s programming group, making sure I’ve got supplies to play with.

The Teen/Middle School kit is inspired by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maya Angelou’s poem, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, illustrated by Basquiat. The activity challenges readers to come up with their own book covers, with Basquiat’s art as a guide; kits have a pamphlet with ideas on how to create a Basquiat-like book cover, a brief bio on the artist, and links to more info. For the kit, I doubled up on supplies to give teens/tweens two covers (I don’t have a bustling teen area, so I created less kits). Each kit contains two sheets of art paper; a sheet of tissue paper; a glue stick, and 2 pastel sticks. I printed out a Basquiat crown on yellow cardstock and stuck them on each of the bags. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.

Today, I put together a craft kit inspired by Lola Plants a Garden, by Anna McQuinn. This one is for the little ones, and is an imaginative craft. The pieces are conceptual: there are 2 flat dowels, 5 cardboard geometric shapes, 4 clothespins, and 4 triangular paper cups. The instruction sheet includes HOT (Higher Order Thinking) questions and invites kids and families to use the pieces to create something that will help them plant or grow something. I took it in a slightly different direction, coloring in shapes, using the clothespin to attach them to the cups, so it looks like they’d put that out to identify what plants they’re growing. The dowels let them illustrate how they would scoop the dirt and plant their seeds. There are no wrong answers here; just creative thinking and hands-on imaginative play. I also included a little booklist of gardening books, fiction and non-fiction, English and Spanish, and I put a printout of the book’s cover on the bag.

We’re working on more grab-and-go kits, so I’ll keep them coming here. If you’ve got good ones to share, please do!

 

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Tales from the TBR: The Mutant Mushroom Takeover

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Mutant Mushroom Takeover, by Summer Rachel Short, (Sept. 2020, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534468658

Ages 9-12

Science thriller meets low-level horror in this first-person narrated middle grade novel. Magnolia is an aspiring naturalist who lives in Shady Pines with her older brother and grandmother after their father loses his job and has to move to another state to find work. Her best friend, Nate, is an aspiring YouTuber conspiracy theorist. The two head to Old Bell’s farm to investigate possible paranormal activity, only to stumble on something far more insidious: giant, bio-luminescent mushrooms, and Old Man Bell, who collapses after catching the kids on his property. Old Bell’s mysterious last words are unsettling enough, but Maggie’s brother, his friends, and her Shady Pines neighbors start acting strangely, prompting Maggie to start doing some investigating into the possible mutant mushroom takeover. Maggie is a smart, fully realized character; Nate is largely played for laughs as her foil, but this is the first “Maggie and Nate Mystery”, and I’m looking forward to seeing both characters develop in future adventures. There’s delightfully creepy and gross moments, filled with freaky mushroom spores, giant spiders, and bat guano, for starters. An author’s note touches on the facts inspiring the fiction and makes for a great STEM discussion book.

Visit author Summer Rachel Short’s webpage for a Mutant Mushrom Takeover discussion guide, and to read about the next Maggie and Nate mystery coming next year!

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Love is Everything: Father Goose does it again!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Love is Everything, by Charles Ghigna, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764362231

Ages 3-7

Charles Ghigna’s ode to love is just what cuddle time, lapsit, and Valentine’s Day storytimes need. The poem reaffirms beliefs in everyday magic, like mornings and nights; mountains and trees, music, the seasons, and, most importantly, love. Artwork shows a little bear and bigger bear sharing time together, enjoying each other’s company, and sharing warmth and joy in the every day. Charles Ghigna begins each new line in his poetic tale with the affirmation, “I believe…” creating a sense of optimism and positivity that readers really need these days; comforting images and reassuring words come together to give young children a soothing storytime. Softly colored images of cute bears frolicking throughout nature, with uplifting verse, make this a lovely bedtime, laptime, or anytime read.

Visit Charles Ghigna’s author webpage for resources. The Poetry Foundation’s Charles Ghigna page has a biography and links to some more of his poetry.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

My Dad, My Rock: A book for dads who love being dads

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Dad, My Rock, by Victor D.O. Santos/Illustrated by Anna Forlati, (Apr. 2022, Linguacious), $13.99, ISBN: 978-164962-122-1

Ages 4-7

“I never met my grandpa. / And my grandpa never met my dad.” Oliver spends time with his father and constructs a list of what he’d like to tell his grandfather, if he were ever to meet him, about his father: how he can climb on his shoulders and pretend he’s on top of the world; how he teaches him to do things on his own; how he always reads to him at bedtime, and how he comforts him when he cries. Father and son spend their time together, enjoying each other’s company, and My Dad, My Rock is a moving story about a dad who enjoys being a dad, with all the learning that goes with the territory. Oliver’s dad isn’t afraid to cry or be silly, and lavishes affection on his child; it’s a beautifully positive portrayal of fatherhood and manhood.

Inspired by the author’s family history, it’s a lovely tribute to father-child relationships, with soft and gentle artwork to accompany the quiet text. Perfect for lapsit, cuddle time reading.

 

 

Preorder link for My Dad, My Rock.

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

Alone in the Woods – a survival story for tweens

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Alone in the Woods, by Rebecca Behrens, (Oct. 2020, Sourcebooks for Young Readers), $7.99, ISBN: 9781728231013

Ages 8-12

The TBR readdown continues with Alone in the Woods, which I’ve been trying to get to for ages. I loved Rebecca Behrens’s 2019 novel, The Disaster Days, and Alone in the Woods is solid proof that this is the author to read if survival stories are your thing.

Joss and Alex have been best friends forever, but their relationship is at a turning point this summer. Alex befriends Laura, one of the school Mean Girls, while at summer camp, and comes home a different person. She found another friend who likes clothes, shopping, mani-pedis, and makeup; Joss, who still loves her Lupine Lovers wolf sweatshirt and isn’t as concerned with having the latest clothes, can’t understand what happened to her best friend. When their families head to their annual joint family vacation in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, the tension between the girls is palpable, and comes to a head during a rafting trip on Wolf River that leaves them separated from their families and their shared inner tube torn. As the girls try to find their way back to their families, they discover that they’re lost in the woods, and woefully unprepared.

The story uses two first-person narratives, shifting from Joss’s present-day recounting to Alex’s memories that lead up to the schism between the former friends. Rebecca Behrens has a gift for putting her characters in perilous situation and finding the people at the heart of the danger. The woods, the danger, the hunger, is all a backdrop for the heart of the story, which is the broken relationship between two friends and how it got that way. Joss and Alex have to navigate their feelings and simmering issues with each other, which can be just as fraught as being lost in the woods. The girls are foils for one another, providing strengths and weaknesses that play off each other and add to both the conflict and the resolution. Give this to your survival and adventure readers, and point them to Rebecca Behrens’s author webpage, where you can resources for all of her books, including Alone in the Woods.

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Sherlock Dom is on the case in the new Definitely Dominguita story!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Definitely Dominguita: Sherlock Dom, by Terry Catasús Jennings/Illustrated by Fatima Anaya, (Nov. 2021, Aladdin), $6.99, ISBN: 9781534465084

Ages 6-10

The newest Definitely Dominguita book has to be my favorite one yet: Dom leaves Mundytown for greener pastures when she joins Steph for a trip to Steph’s grandmother’s home in Virginia, and walks right into a mystery that only Sherlock Dom – inspired, naturally, by her current read, the Sherlock Holmes’s adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles – can solve! Gram’s neighbor is missing Esther, her goat, and Dom and Steph are determined to help crack the case. With Pancho on Facetime acting as Inspector Lestrade, Sherlock Dom and Steph Watson track down the clues and put the pieces together to solve the mystery and bring Esther home safely.

The Definitely Dominguita books are so much fun for so many reasons: the fun, light writing and swiftly moving action; the lovable characters and their vivid imaginations that encourages kids to embrace creative play; the introduction of classic books to kids, in relatable settings and situations, and the front-and-center spotlighting of Latino/a characters, being kids and having a great adventure. I love these stories, I love the way Terry Catasús Jennings re-envisions classic books, and I love Fatima Anaya’s black and white illustrations. While this book doesn’t provide any hints as to the next book in the series, I can only hope… after all, summer’s coming and there’s always a chance Dom will pick up a copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, right?

Back matter includes a note on Dom’s latest inspiration, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Have some Sherlock Holmes coloring sheets handy, thanks to Education.com; or a fun drawing page, also through Education.com. The Mutually Inclusive blog has a great author spotlight on author Terry Catasús Jennings,

Posted in Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

We Can Be Heroes embraces young women’s power in the aftermath of a school shooting

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We Can Be Heroes, by Kyrie McCauley, (Sept. 2021, Katherine Tegen Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9780062885050

Ages 12+

When Nico Bell pulled the trigger of that gun, so many lives were changed: but the problems were there long before that day. Told in third- and first-person narration, in prose and verse, We Can Be Heroes is the story of Cassie, killed in a school shooting by her ex-boyfriend; her two best friends, Beck and Vivian, and a town split down the middle. Bell is a town named for and financed by Bell Firearms; the Bell family has a sociopolitical grip on the town because they write the checks that keep it going. Nico Bell, heir to the Bell company and poster boy for toxic masculinity, kills his girlfriend, Cassie, in a murder-suicide when she tries to escape their abusive relationship. Beck and Vivian, Cassie’s best friends, never much liked one another, but bond over the chance to give Cassie the voice she didn’t have in life by painting murals featuring women from Greek myths: women whose voices were lost, taken by monsters and men. A podcaster focuses on the case as the murals achieve viral status on social media, and Cassie’s story unfolds, shedding light on ugly shadows in the town and the Bell family. Cassie appears as a ghost, bringing Beck and Vivian together and to guide them in their mission; her story is told in first person verse.

Changing narratives and playing with narrative structure – prose, transcript, and verse – keep this already arresting story moving. I loved the use of Greek myth to tell Cassie’s story; women’s stories through history. We Can Be Heroes explores grief and loss, trauma, and unchecked privilege. Small moments, like Cassie’s excitement over music released after her death are poignant, even when played for a chuckle. A subplot involving Beck and her grandfather adds further depth. A thoughtful look at real issues facing teens today that highlights the importance of listening to women’s stories.

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

New books for your animal fans

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Animals, animals, animals, kids love books with animals. Here’s a roundup that will brighten and delight…en.

P is for Puffin: The ABCs of Uncommon Animals, by Timothy Young, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $8.99, ISBN: 9780764362477

Ages 0-6

Timothy Young hits shelves with an abcedary board book that puts “uncommon animals” – E is not for Elephant here! – front and center. Each letter features an animal or two, with a sentence or two of informational text and a phonetic pronounciation guide for each animal’s name. Some letters feature two animals: P is for both Puffin and Pangolin; Q is for Quokka and Quoll. There are loads of fun facts to be discovered, like the mara, who is not a deer, but rather a large rodent that looks like a cross between a deer and a rabbit, or the shekru, which looks like a multicolored squirrel and is about twice the size of the squirrels we’re more familiar with. Acorn illustrations on each page give readers an idea of each animal’s size. The author is donating 100% of his royalties to the Wildlife Conservation Network to protect the endangered species that inspired this book! Wildlife Conservation Network protects endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists around the world to help animals and people coexist and thrive.

I’ve been a Timothy Young fan since my youngest first read and loved The Angry Little Puffin back in 2014, and I’m happy he’s still writing books and introducing readers to new animals. P is for Puffin is great to introduce new animals to the earliest learners – it’s a sturdy board book with attractive illustrations – and the book will grow with readers as they discover more detailed text.

Visit Timothy Young’s author page where you can find drawing lessons, downloadable coloring pages, and information about virtual author visits.

 

Yay for Big Brothers!, by Janet Halfmann/Illustrated by Shennen Bersani, (Nov. 2021, Arbordale Publishing), $10.95, ISBN: 9781643518220

Ages 4-8

Big brothers are the best, aren’t they? In the animal world, big brothers are pretty great, too: Yay for Big Brothers is all about animal big brothers, and how they help their families by doing all sorts of things, like helping feed them at meal time; helping carry little siblings around; playing, and helping keep them safe and out of trouble. Thought-provoking questions invite readers to chime in with how they help out with their families and their littlest members, be it a younger sibling, cousin, or family friend. Photorealistic artwork  shows a variety of animal families and Janet Halfmann puts the narration in each animal’s paws, letting each big brother contribute how he helps care for his little siblings. A fun way to talk about animal jobs and animal families that younger learners will enjoy. View a preview PDF at Arbordale’s website; find the back matter Creative Minds supplement here, and visit Janet Halfmann’s author website to find a free printable activity.

 

 

The Pangolin Revelation, by Lori Schildwachter/Illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein, (Nov. 2021, Arbordale Publishing), $10.95, ISBN: 9781643519791

Ages 4-9

I love all the pangolin love in books lately! The Pangolin Revelation is a fun story about school projects and how the pangolin is the ultimate animal mashup. Loran is a student with an assignment: write a report about your favorite animal, or create an imaginary animal. Loran sets out to create an imaginary animal with scales like a dragon or a fish, to protect it from predators; a long, sticky tongue, like an anteater, to help him eat; the ability to climb trees, like a squirrel, but with a prehensile tail, like a monkey. After listing all the parts to his imaginary creature, Loran realizes that this mega-mashup is a real animal: it’s a pangolin! Framed within a school project plotline, The Pangolin Revelation unfolds as a research project with a surprise ending, keeping readers entertained as they imagine their own mashup animals. (Psst… all you need is construction paper and crayons, pencils, or markers to recreate this as a program). Earth-colored illustration and photorealistic animal artwork. A fun meeting of nonfiction and fiction.

 

Wild Animal ABC, by PJ Rankin Hults, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764361197

Ages 5-8

A rhyming ABCecdary that’s got a whimsical spirit and plenty of fun, Wild Animal ABC, like P is for Puffin, is all about teaching kids the alphabet using letters, but each of these animals has a very distinctive personality and hat to go with it: “Chester the Chipmunk / Is a curious guy. / He loves to explore / And always asks, ‘Why?'” “Vinny the Vulture / Likes his dictionary. / He won his class spelling bee / With his vast vocabulary”. Watercolor paintings of each animal, in decorative frames, add a quirky, playful feel to the story. The glossary at the end includes facts about each animal mentioned, and a thought-provoking question to get kids talking. A Who Am I? game lets kids think about different hats and the purposes they serve, from a wizard’s hat to a birthday hat. The endpapers show all different accessories that kids can go back and look for throughout the book, and you can ask littles to spot animals or habitats on the cover.

 

 

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate

Maps of My Emotions takes readers on a social-emotional adventure

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Maps of My Emotions, by Bimba Landmann, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9780764362217

Ages 5-8

A boy embarks on a journey where he encounters emotions like hope, fear, anger, joy, and love as he travels through landscapes both exciting and perilous. An oversized hardcover in graphic novel format, Maps of My Emotions lay out emotions and landscapes, with destinations like the Island of Desires and Hills of Future; the Sea of Doubt and Great Lake Horror; the Labyrinth of Anxiety, and Awkwardness Seatown. The format follows a layout where panels lead the boy to his next destination, and a spread with the lay of the land for each spot on the journey. Each map looks like a part of the body – The Land of Hope is laid out like an eye; the District of Anger stretches out over a hand; the Shadowlands of Sadness mirror a pulmonary system – and each area has a dominant color that shades the area. Good for discussions on our emotions, where we feel and process them, and what colors kids see as their “fear color” or “joy color”.

There are some good emotions resources on Education.com to use in conjunction with this book; I chose “third grade” as a filter to cover the age group I think would get the most use of Maps of My Emotions at my library. You should look over the offerings and see what would work best with yours.

An additional purchase for collections where you have learners who learn and communicate more visually, Maps of My Emotions would work with a program where you invite your learners to create their own emotion maps.

Posted in Uncategorized

Happy Multicultural Children’s Book Day: The Dreamcatcher Codes by Barbara Newman

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day, and the books just get better every year! This year, I received a copy of The Dreamcatcher Codes by Barbara Newman, and what a book this is! A YA story about our connection to the earth, with incredible female characters and a story that comes at a critical moment in time.

The Dreamcatcher Codes, by Barbara Newman,
(Aug. 2021, Green Writers Press), $15.95, ISBN: 9781733653473
Ages 10+

Earth is dying. Our bee colonies collapse; our oceans are choked with plastic; the animals we share our lands with are dying as we encroach on their land and their natural resources. The only hope is for the sacred Codes of Nature, but they’ve been stolen by a giant raven. Now, four girls must come together to seek out the missing piece of the Codes and restore order to the land. Powered by the four points of the compass and the four elements – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth – the girls must work together as they embark on an adventure that elevates climate change and the role of young women in our world. It’s fantasy grounded in reality; an empowering, unputdownable adventure that fantasy readers,  environmental advocates and activists, and adventure/survival readers will love.

Author Barbara Newman’s webpage invites readers to become “Allies for the Earth” and posts links to environmental organizations like Zero Hour and Tree Sisters. A portion of the proceeds for The Dreamcatcher Codes goes to organizations for climate justice and environmental activism, so while reading your world, make your purchase count.

The Dreamcatcher Codes is an International Impact Award Winner for Multicultural Fiction and a Best Book Awards finalist in two categories: Multicultural Fiction and Fantasy/Fiction.

 

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.

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