Tag: friendship

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Apple and Magnolia: A STEM story woven into a friendship tale

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Apple and Magnolia, by Laura Gehl/Illustrated by Patricia Metola, (Feb. 2022, Flyaway Books), $18, ISBN: 9781947888357

Ages 3-7

Apple and Magnolia are two trees with a connection, witnessed by a young girl of color named Britta. She enjoys the tree’s relationship to one another; her father and sister may not believe her, but her grandmother assures her that “unusual friendships can be the most powerful of all”. When Magnolia begins to show signs of being ill, Britta does her best to stay by her friends and support them both, using the scientific method to help facilitate the trees’ connection to the other: she connects two cups to a string so they can hear each other; wrapping a scarf between the two to feel each other’s warmth; measuring the distance between the trees to see if they are growing closer together, and journaling her findings, all with the support and love of her grandmother. Britta’s father and sister are largely for comic relief, providing the devil’s advocate side of science: the nay-sayer. Cheery illustrations that look like they could be taken from Britta’s own journal make this a wonderfully playful readaloud, including endpapers that depict Britta’s sketches of the trees and their flowers and fruit. Inspired by the science of trees and how they communicate with one another, Apple and Magnolia is a great storytime readaloud and perfection for a STEM storytime or Discovery Club-type story. Author Laura Gehl’s website has a free downloadable Educator’s Guide for Apple and Magnolia, plus resources her many of her other books.

For more information about trees and their relationships to one another, visit this NPR article on an ecologist who’s studied trees; this article from Smithsonian magazine; and this article from One Tree Planted. Andy Hirsch’s Science Comics Trees: Kings of the Forest also delves into these complex and amazing relationships.

Apple and Magnolia has starred reviews from Kirkus and Foreword Reviews.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

It’s Spring, and Little Red Fox and Hazel Dormouse are awake! The Friendship Surprise

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Friendship Surprise, by Giorgio Volpe & Paolo Proietti, (March 2022, Red Comet Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781636550282

Ages 4-8

Little Red Fox and Hazel the Dormouse, the duo we fell in love with in August 2021’s Before We Sleep, is back in The Friendship Surprise! When we last left Little Red and Hazel, Hazel had just gone to hibernate for the winter, and Fox was going to wait for his best friend to wake up come the spring. In The Friendship Surprise, Little Red is all ready to welcome Hazel back – but he’s worried, because he’s made a new friend over the winter break. Will Hazel like Brock the Badger more than Little Red? Will one be jealous of the other? Little Fox is so worried that he tries to split his time between his two friends, but has a lovely surprise when they all come together to play: after all, Hazel says, “we can all three have fun together!” The Friendship Surprise gently confronts the fear or worry some children may have over adding a new friend to their friendship group, with Little Red running back and forth between Brock and Hazel. When each ultimately discovers where Little Red goes when he leaves abruptly, there’s no arguing or jealousy; just a lovely welcome to a new friend. The three animals play together across Spring forests and grass, showing kids that a duo can easily and happily become a trio, and that friendship is a gift that multiplies, not divides. The warm color palette shows lush green fields, pink poppies, and full trees. A perfect Spring storytime book, with a playful sense of hope, joy, and renewal to share. The Friendship Surprise was originally published in Italy in 2021.

Print out some Before We Sleep coloring sheets from Red Comet’s website to have handy for a post-storytime activity.

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

The Great TBR Read-Down: Carry Me Home, by Janet Fox

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Carry Me Home, by Janet Fox, (Aug. 2021, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534485082

Ages 8-12

Twelve year-old Lulu and her younger sister, third grader Serena, live in their car with their father. It’s not so bad; the Suburban has a big back seat, the showers in the RV park aren’t too far away, and the food pantry is near enough to get their food to keep in the car. It’ll be okay. Daddy tells the girls it will get better, and they hope it will, until the morning when the girls wake up and their father is gone. Lulu, afraid and distrustful of adults, keeps the girls’ father’s disappearance a secret – he’s done this before, right after their mother died – and tries to keep their RV park bill paid, get food from the pantry, and navigate both her and Serena’s school schedules, hoping upon hope that no one will discover their secret and separate the sisters. The weather in Montana is getting cold – much colder than their home in Texas – and the stress of keeping up appearances and being hungry and cold is starting to wear on Lulu. Told in the first person from Lulu’s point of view, and moving between past and present, Carry Me Home has characters that instantly feel real, with heartbreaking moments and the incredible strength exhibited by each character. It’s a story of friendship and finding home as much as it is a story of grief, loss, and poverty. A reminder that we never know what any given person is dealing with in a given moment, Carry Me Home is a book for readers who love realistic fiction. A side subplot links to Eleanor Coerr’s Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, and author Janet Fox’s author webpage includes downloadable instructions on folding paper cranes, a curriculum guide, and other resources.

Display and booktalk with readalikes like Katherine Applegate’s Crenshaw and Melissa Sarno’s Just Under the Clouds.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Blog Tour and Giveaway: This is (Not) Enough

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Orange and Purple Fuzzy Friends are back! Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant’s adorable twosome are wracked with anxiety over the perfect gift in This is (Not) Enough.

This is (Not) Enough, by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant,
(March 2022, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 9781542018517

Ages 4-8

The two BFFs are excited: they’re giving each other gifts! But how do you find a gift that’s worthy of your best friend? Like Orange says, it “has to be COOL and FUN and BIG and ‘WOW’!” Each tries to choose the perfect gift for their perfect friend, only to discover that the love and time that goes into the gift is everything. Perfect for preschoolers and younger school-age kids who are navigating those strong feelings and how to communicate them, This is (Not) Enough is all about the moment we realize that the best gifts come from the heart. The dialogue between the two friends is heartfelt, and two additional friends add even more humor to the story. The artwork brings the humor  to the forefront, with hilarious facial expressions and body language. Another fun readaloud with characters we’ve grown to love.

 

Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant are the creators of Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small as well as series titles That’s (Not) Mine, I Am (Not) Scared, We Are (Not) Friends, and It Is (Not) Perfect. They also wrote and illustrated Christopher Award winner Eraser, Hudson and Tallulah Take Sides, Can I Tell You a Secret?, and Will You Help Me Fall Asleep? Christopher’s work can also be seen in The New Yorker and the Boston Globe and his cartoons are syndicated worldwide. This husband-and-wife team lives in New Jersey with their two daughters and their dog, Hudson. Visit them at www.annakang.com and www.christopherweyant.com.

Twitter: @annakang27 @ChristophWeyant

Instagram: annakangbooks; christopherweyant   

Facebook: Anna Kang – Author; Christopher Weyant

 

One lucky winner will receive a copy of This is (Not) Enough, courtesy of Two Lions (U.S. and Canada). Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Sometimes Cake finds reasons to celebrate

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sometimes Cake, by Edwina Wyatt/Illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie, (Jan. 2022, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536217810

Ages 2-5

A little girl named Audrey happens upon a Lion holding a balloon and asks if it’s his birthday. It isn’t, but they discover a mutual love of celebrating, so they sing songs, have cake, and give a few cheers. When Audrey finds Lion again, he seems a bit down, and claims it isn’t a day for celebrating; it’s just “an ordinary day”. To cheer him up, Audrey throws a party to celebrate ordinary days, and the two friends play, dance, and enjoy one another’s company. Sometimes Cake is about celebrating something; anything, for the pure joy of it. Pencil and ink watercolors provide a gentle, colorful look into a sweet story about joy and about lifting up friends when they could use a hand. Read this with your storytime group and invite them to make their own party hats and dance.

Sometimes Cake was originally published in Australia in 2020. Author Edwina Wyatt’s webpage offers a free downloadable storytime kit for all of her books.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade

An animal whodunit! Homer on the Case

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Homer on the Case, by Henry Cole, (Apr. 2022, Peachtree Publishing), $8.99, ISBN: 9781682633571

Ages 8-12

Award-winning author and illustrator Henry Cole has a new adventure for middle grade animal fiction fans. Homer on the Case is a whodunit starring a homing pigeon named Homer who’s taught himself to read! He lives with his human friend, a boy named Otto, and Otto’s grandfather, who passed his love of raising and training homing pigeons onto Otto. Over the years, Homer’s taught himself to read using the newspapers that Otto lines his cage with, and he loves reading the newspaper to find out what’s been going on. When he and his parrot friend, Lulu, witness a series of robberies committed by animals running throughout the park, they decide to investigate: after all, their humans have been affected! Once they follow the crooks to their hideout, they discover that they need some human help: Lulu can say some human words, and Homer can read… can they put their skills together to get the people to pay attention? Fun storytelling with action and humor make this an easy handsell to readers. Henry Cole has a light, fun storytelling voice and imbues his animal characters with human qualities that endear them to the humans in their stories, and the humans who read them. Black and white illustrations start off each chapter and give readers a sneak peek at what they can expect to discover in the pages ahead.

Homer on the Case was originally published in hardcover in April 2021. Peachtree Publishers has a free, downloadable discussion guide available. Henry Cole’s author website has fun games related to his books, a library of information on each of his books, and information about school visits.

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

Margo Maloo is back in The Tangled Web

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Time for another graphic novel roundup! I’ve been reading and tearing through both my new and pre-existing TBR, and work’s kept me on my toes, so please forgive the spotty posting schedule as of late.

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web, by Drew Weing, (Dec. 2021, First Second), $15.99, ISBN: 9781250206831

Ages 8-12

The third Margo Maloo adventure is full of heart and humor, and introduces some new drama. Monsters’ hiding places are being discovered and they’re being run out by ghost-hunting teens, kids, and developers, who want to raze old buildings to make way for expensive new luxury housing (sound familiar?). There’s tension building between Margo and Charles, her assistant in monster ambassadorship, because Charles’s background as a monster journalist makes him a little sus in her eyes. A setup leads to a big misunderstanding between the two friends, but they have to put their differences aside when a family of giant spiders need to be saved from a factory about to be blown up!

Drew Weing has given us such fun, insightful characters in the Margo Maloo stories, and manages to address very real-world problems in the frame of a fantasy. He’s addressed diversity and prejudice in previous Case Files, and takes on gentrification and affordable housing this time around. Even Echo City’s human residents are feeling the stress as Charles’s superintendent dad fixes up the apartments in their building, expecting the rents to go sky high and price them out of their homes. Readers will be happy to see familiar characters, including Kevin Charles’s neighbor and friend, and Marcus, the Battlebeenz-playing monster. Drew Weing also starts an interesting new subplot that brings a shady new element into the story and causes strife between Margo and Charles. I can’t wait to see how this develops. Don’t miss this fun series.

 

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 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 Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Susan B. Anthony, Inner Lights, and owning your voice: Susie B. Won’t Back Down

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Susie B. Won’t Back Down, by Margaret Finnegan, (Oct. 2021, Atheneum), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534496361

Ages 8-12

Susie Babuszkiewicz is a fifth grader with a lot to say: she’s worried about polar bears, she’ll let you know it’s not fair that she’s got to be called Susie B. now that there’s another Susie – one who spells her name all cool, like Soozee – in her school, and she really dislikes the Usual Geniuses who always get called on in class and get picked for cool things in school. Kids like Susie, who have “butterflies” in their brain? They never get called on unless it’s to criticize or ask if they’re paying attention, and she’s tired of it! She and her best friend, her spark, Joselyn, decide to run for seats on the student council to give “normal” kids a chance. Susie wants to be student council president so that she can raise awareness for polar bears and “get to be the boss of everyone… AND eternal glory”. Susie B. doesn’t seem to have the biggest grasp on 5th grade politics just yet, but that’s okay: aspirations are good!

The elections serve as the backdrop to Susie’s growth trajectory; the main focus of the novel. Written as journal entries to Susan B. Anthony, the topic of Susie’s hero research project, Susie learns that our heroes are human to a fault, friendships can be fleeting, and eternal glory may not be within reach by fifth grade, but learning to love yourself and advocate for yourself is. Brilliantly written in the first person, Susie B. has a sense of humor and pathos that readers will love and see themselves in. There is a strong subplot of Susan B. Anthony, and other “heroes of history”, having human foibles – and how we can appreciate the good that they do while not shying away from – not whitewashing over – the human failings.

Positive portrayals of neurodivergent characters, great pacing, and high relatability makes Susie B. Won’t Back Down a great book for classroom discussions and pleasure reading. Don’t miss this one.