illustrated – Page 81

Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

You want football stats? SI Kids has them! 1st and 10 is loaded with lists, stats, and photos!

Posted on September 8, 2016September 7, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sports Illustrated Kids 1st and 10: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Football (Revised & Updated), by the Editors of Sports Illustrated for Kids, (July 2016, Sports Illustrated, $19.95, ISBN: 978-1-61893-173-3

Recommended for ages 8+

Do you love lists? Do you love stats? Do you love football? There’s something for everyone in this updated edition of Sports Illustrated for Kids’ book, 1st and 10: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Football. There are loads of Top 10 lists, sure: Top 10 Rivalries, Nicknames, Fantasy Performers, Stadiums, and more, but each of these lists is loaded with stats: dates, scores, major games, players, you name it. There are 36 lists in all, with some great career highlights for longtime football fans and new ones who want to learn some of the history behind the sport.

Since I’m not well-read or conversant in sports, I’ve been trying to beef up some of that knowledge so I can guide the kids at my library to books that will interest them; 1st and 10 is a great book for me to lead them to. I can easily booktalk it, because it’s quick bites of information. There are things I can focus on, like the Top 10 Artifacts (the first Super Bowl ring! A football from 1895! My inner archivist and history nerd is rejoicing!), Movies (The Replacements is a long guilty pleasure of mine), and Hairstyles (My hair on the most humid of days has nothing on Troy Polamalu). Add in the stunning photography that you’d expect from Sports Illustrated, and you have a book that collectors of any age will enjoy.

1st and 10 is part of a series of Top 10 lists for each sport: you can also add Full Count: Top 10 Lists of Everything Baseball, Slam Dunk! Top 10 Lists of Everything Basketball, Face-Off! Top 10 Lists of Everything Hockey, and The Top 10 of Everything Sports. I’ll be putting these books on my shelves, now that I know about them. They’re great go-to resources for any library that has sports fans coming through the doors.

Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

Kid Artists is a great addition to Quirk’s “Kid” series

Posted on July 21, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kid Artists, by David Stabler/Illustrated by Doogie Horner (Aug. 2016, Quirk Books), $13.95, ISBN: 9781594748967

Recommended for ages 8-12

The third outing in Stabler and Horner’s “Kid” series, following Kid Presidents and Kid Athletes, introduces kids to artists. Before the museum exhibitions, every artist was a kid, shaped by his or her circumstances. Kid Artists organizes 17 artist profiles into three sections: Call of the Wild, focusing on artists who grew up with a love of the outdoors; It’s a Hard-Knock Life, featuring artists who overcame obstacles like discrimination, war, poverty, and extreme shyness; and Practice Makes Perfect, where artists who had a teacher, friend, or family member cheering them on to practice, perfect, and succeed.

There are funny stories and inspirational stories, all illustrated in full-color. We learn that Claude Monet had a lucrative caricature business as a kid, and that Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Medusa, on a shield was so terrifying that his father almost ran away from it! Kids will meet artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose graffiti art on the streets of New York garnered them fame, and Jacob Lawrence, whose Migration Series tells the story of the migration of African-American families from the rural, southern United States up north, in search of a better life.

I enjoy this series, because it introduces kids to a wide range of people under one umbrella term. They’ll be exposed to new people, cultures, and ideas, in a kid-friendly atmosphere with a bite-sized biography that shows them that no only do we all start out as kids, but we all have challenges to overcome.

Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

Reasons to Smile spreads joy

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Reasons to Smile: Celebrating People Living with Down Syndrome, by Andrea Knauss & Elizabeth Martins (Feb. 2016, Schiffer Publishing), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764350405

Recommended for ages 12+

The world has been pretty horrifying lately. As I was straightening up my TBR pile, I found this book; it had fallen behind the stack and was passed over for a couple of months. Having finished it, I think that it was less of a mistake and more fortuitous timing: I needed this book at the moment I found it.

Reasons to Smile compiles 56 short profiles, celebrating people living with Down sydrome. Most are written by family and friends, and a few are written by those living with Down syndrome. Each profile features a picture, usually of the person spotlighted.

I’m not going to lie: you will well up reading some of these stories, but it will be a joyful welling up. The love, courage, and guidance coming from these writers made me feel just a little bit better about our world. I love that Andrea Knauss and Elizabeth Martins compiled this book out of love for their daughter and sister, Anna. Andrea writes that she’s “Anna’s Mom”; I’ve been “Will’s Mom”, “Alex’s Mom”, and now, “Gabe’s Mom”, and that little sentence connected this mom and I. We love our children. We fight for our kids. Knowing each other’s challenges brings us together just a little bit more.

Also included in the book is the renowned essay, “Welcome to Holland”, by Emily Perl Kingsley, which makes things so much easier to grasp. Another mom suggests giving this book as a baby shower gift to moms who may need it. I agree, but I’d take it one step further and put this on middle school reading lists. I see you raising an eyebrow, but stay with me. There are some great nonfiction works on summer reading lists, I see them. And disability in tween and teen lit is finally recognized and encouraged. A beautiful book on inspirational essays, featuring stories about families working with Down syndrome would be a smart move, to show the joy that comes hand in hand with the challenges; to show the smiles and read about the optimism and affection these families bring to the world.

I loved reading Reasons to Smile. It made me want to be a better person and a better mom. You can visit Andrea Knauss’ website, The Mighty, and find resources on parenting, Down syndrome, autism, and more.

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Pick your parents: The Parent Agency

Posted on June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Parent Agency, by David Baddiel/Illustrated by Jim Field, (May 2016, HarperCollins), $16.99, ISBN: 9780062405449

Recommended for ages 8-12

Are you parents sooo boring? Are they too strict? Like your brother/sister/dog better than you? Not wealthy enough to give you the lifestyle you want to become accustomed to? What would you do if you could pick your own parents: what would be on your wish list? Barry Bennett feels the same way. His parents are too boring, they’re not rich, they’re strict, they named him Barry, and after they mess up his perfect idea of a James Bond birthday, he’s fed up. He wishes he had new parents, and finds himself transported to an a parallel universe, where an organization called The Parent Agency helps kids test drive and select the perfect parents for them. The thing is, picking parents out, even when you have an incredibly detailed list of demands? Not as easy as you’d think.

The Parent Agency is a fun book, with a premise all kids will appreciate: kids who want new parents. Parents that will let them do anything, get anything, be anything they want, but there’s always a catch. Kids learn that just because someone looks good on paper doesn’t mean that they’ll be as wonderful in reality. Barry meets parents who fit a certain mold, but they expect their children to fit into that mold, too – and who wants to do that? That whole unconditional love business comes into play, and gives Barry the wake-up call he needs.

Kids will get a good laugh out of the book – the laid back, hippie parents gave me some laugh-out-loud moments, as did the talking posters in Barry’s room. Jim Field’s black and white illustrations throughout add to the laughs. Booktalk this one with The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling and Judy Blume’s Freckle Juice for “the other side isn’t always greener” type reading. Ask kids to come up with their own Parent Agency lists, and try to debunk them – playing devil’s advocate can be fun!

Originally published in the UK, The Parent Agency has finally reached U.S. shores. David Baddiel is a comedian, TV host, and author; The Parent Agency is his first children’s book.

Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

My Weird School: nonfiction on the run with Fast Facts!

Posted on June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Weird School Fast Facts: Geography, by Dan Gutman/Illustrated by Jim Paillot, (June 2016, HarperCollins), $5.99, ISBN: 9780062306173

Recommended for ages 8-12

AJ and Andrea from the hugely popular My Weird School series are here to stuff your heads full of fun facts! The Fast Facts series is just that: loads of factoids, split into subject areas, narrated by My Weird School characters AJ, the attention-loving goof-off, and Andrea, who’s going to run the country one day.

Fast Facts: Geography covers the definition of geography, and starts out big: like, Planet Earth big, with facts about the earth’s rotation and its “imaginary lines”: its axis, the equator, and the international date line. Next, AJ and Andrea tackle the continents; bodies of water; mountains, deserts, and forests; the fifty United States; and finally, AJ’s favorite topic, natural disasters. Each fact is bulleted by a picture of AJ or Andrea, so you can tell who’s talking to you, and the dialogue is loaded with back and forth bantering between the two characters. There are black and white photos and line drawings throughout the book to add to the reader’s interest.

My Weird School Fast Facts: Sports, by Dan Gutman/Illustrated by Jim Paillot, (June 2016, HarperCollins), $5.99, ISBN: 9780062306173

Recommended for ages 8-12

Next up, we have Fast Facts: Sports, with chapters devoted to the biggies: baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, golf, and auto racing. Other chapters include facts about speed records; other sports, like skating, skiing, bowling, and tennis; the Olympics, and a wrap-up of other weird sports facts. You want to know why umpires have to wear black underwear? The answer’s in here. Like Fast Facts: Geography, Fast Facts: Sports is loaded with photos, statistics and fun facts, and black and white illustrations by My Weird School illustrator Jim Paillot.

The Fast Facts books are fun. The Sports books will be popular with kids who are fans of the series or just sports fans in general; it’s a good companion book for kids who love wacky facts and ephemera. The Geography book is a good companion book that you can booktalk when kids come in with a geography project – it’s a companion book, an additional book, but the My Weird School brand will make sure it gets read, and maybe, just maybe, inspire a reader to explore an interesting topic.

Kids love My Weird School and all its offshoots. These are the second and third books in a nonfiction series (the first, My Weird Writing Tips, was published in 2013). Having some nonfiction feature popular characters hopefully spikes some interest.

Dan Gutman is a prolific children’s author, with My Weird School and The Genius Files being two of his hugely popular book series. He’s got a great author website where you can find out about all of his book, read excerpts, download study guides, watch book trailers, and read about ways that kids can change the world.

Illustrator Jim Paillot has illustrated for School Library Journal, Weekly Reader, Boys Life, and many other children’s books. He has a great website with funny comics for kids, illustrations, samples of his work, and a shop where you can buy prints of his artwork.

(images courtesy of My Weird School Wikia)

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

It’s a Fairy Tale Summer: Girl in the Tower

Posted on June 5, 2016June 4, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Girl in the Tower, by Lisa Schroeder/Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli, (March 2016, Henry Holt & Co.), $16.99, ISBN: 9780805095135

Recommended for ages 8-12

In true fairy tale fashion, we have an evil queen, a magic spell, and a hidden princess. Young Violet has never known life outside of the castle tower: the evil Queen Bogdana imprisoned her mother shortly after Violet was born, believing that Violet’s beauty will allow her to create a spell that will make her just as beautiful. Bogdana enchanted Violet’s father, sending him away with no memories of his wife or new baby. Mother and daughter pass their days making up stories for one another, alone in their small cell. Thankfully, the palace staff looks after the two, even creating a beautiful garden to sneak the young girl out to once in a while, where she plays with the hummingbirds that live in the garden. As Violet nears the age where the queen can work her spell, she takes Violet, telling her she will become a princess and be adopted by Bogdana and the king, but can never see her mother again. Violet’s mother makes the sacrifice for her daughter’s sake, but Violet is far too smart for Bogdana – she knows something is strange in the castle, and she’s going to find out and reunite her family.

This is a wonderfully modern fairy tale that retains the sense of wonder and magic from classic tales. Violet is a spunky, smart young princess in training, the Bogdana is a perfectly evil queen with a deep-seated self-esteem complex. Ms. Schroeder may humanize Bogdana by letting us in on her motivation, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s done horrible things to people for the most insipid purposes, and Violet – a naturally lovely and kind foil to Bogdana’s darkness – is going to set the balance right. It’s a great book with strong heroines – her mother is pretty outstanding, herself – and I can’t wait to get this onto my shelves and into my booktalks. I love my fairy tales – the kids here all know it – so I’ll be chattering this up alongside Imelda and the Goblin King for a nice discussion on smart heroines. The black and white illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli add beautiful depth to the story.

Add this one to your middle grade fairy tale collections, and take a look at some more of the artwork here:

Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine: Animal Adventure!

Posted on June 1, 2016May 31, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine, by Henry Cole (Apr. 2016, Peachtree Publishers), $16.95, ISBN: 9781561458660

Recommended for ages 8-12

A young boy’s brother launches his pet mouse off in a homemade airplane, and starts the little mouse off on the adventure of a lifetime! Sammy, the mouse, lands in a field and discovers that life outside of his friend Hank’s room is very, very different. Thankfully, he meets a wonderful group of animal friends that help him in his quest to get back home, but he has to steer clear of the awful weasel, Mustela, who wants Sammy’s plane for himself!

This was another of my PLA goodies, and I’m so glad I listened to the rep and took an ARC. I love Henry Cole’s writing and illustration, and when she told me that this book was inspired by a childhood experience: Henry Cole did have a pet mouse named Sammy Shine, and his brother did launch Sammy off in a plane; this book is what Henry likes to think Sammy went on to do after that flight. What tribute to a pet is sweeter than that?

Illustrated with Cole’s beautiful black and white drawings, we get an animal adventure up there with The Rescuers, Stuart Little, and The Great Mouse Detective. The characters are sweet, even when they’re cantankerous (I always had a soft spot for Templeton in Charlotte’s Web), and the exciting sense of adventure leaps off the page, extends its hand to the reader, and invites you in to join the fun. Intermediate readers will adore Sammy, and middle graders will come back to Sammy to enjoy one more mission. I hope Mr. Cole dreams up more missions for Sammy and Co.; I’d hate to think that the adventure only lasted for one brief moment.

Get this one on your shelves for summer reading, and booktalk it with old favorites like The Rescuers, and new classics like The Tale of Desperaux, The Guardians of Ga’Hoole, and The Warriors series.

Henry Cole is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. Among his more recent titles are Big Bug and Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. He has illustrated such ground-breaking titles as And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, I Know a Wee Piggy by Kimberly E. Norman, and The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein. His author website includes information about all of his books and school visits, and games.

Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

Is Jasper John Dooley Public Library Enemy #1?

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Jasper John Dooley: Public Library Enemy #1, by Caroline Adderson/Illustrated by Mike Shiell (Apr. 2016, Kids Can Press), $15.95, ISBN: 9781771380157

Recommended for ages 7-10

Poor Jasper! He borrowed a book from the library, so he could practice reading. He wanted his skills to be sharp when it was his turn to sit on the big, comfy chair at the library and read to Molly the dog, that’s all! But Jasper accidentally dropped the book in the tub and drowned it, and THEN, his father set it on fire by trying to dry it in the stove. And THEN, he shot it with a fire extinguisher! Now, Jasper and his dad are Book Killers, and he’s terrified that he owes the library $2500 for the book! How can he raise that much money before Wednesday, when it’s his turn to read to Molly?

This is the sixth book in the Jasper John Dooley early chapter book series, and it’s adorable; great for young readers who are ready to advance from Easy Readers to chapter books. Jasper is very likable, and his reasoning will click with readers: his mom reads in the bathtub, so it should be easy, right? He misjudges a decimal point when trying to determine the price of the book he needs to replace, and comes up with $2500 instead of $25. He feels huge responsibility for the library book in his care, which provides opportunities for discussion about responsibility and taking care of others’ belongings, as well as realizing that everyone makes mistakes – even parents – and that, yes, accidents happen.

This is the first Jasper John Dooley book I’ve ever read, but I would like to get these on my library’s shelves, because they’re great reading. Like most series fiction for emerging and newly independent readers, you don’t need to read from book one to pick up the series; they’re independent stories with characters that you’ll get to know right away. Black and white llustrations add to the enjoyment of the story. You can easily have a read-aloud with this book: classes will get a kick out of it! Good role models, sweet humor based on misunderstanding, solid discussion points make this a good addition to your series collections.

Learn more about the Jasper John Dooley series on the Kids Can Press webpage.

Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Finally! Ricky Ricotta and the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune!

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune, by Dav Pilkey/Illustrated by Dan Santat (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545631440

Recommended for ages 5-10

FINALLY, the last two books in the Ricky Ricotta series are here! You don’t understand; about a decade ago, my son – now a junior in high school – devoured the first seven Ricky Ricotta books. He loved them. I loved them. And then, there was nothing. We were down two planets! We waited. We watched. We hoped. We saw new Captain Underpants books hit the shelves, but Ricky remained silent. And then, a glimmer of hope: the entire line of existing Ricky Ricotta adventures were re-released, with Dan Santat’s amazing and colorful art taking the whole series up a notch. I ordered two sets for my library and booktalked this series like my rent depended on it (which, kinda, it does).

VINDICATION! In January, we got Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot and the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune! Patience pays off!

Ricky and Robot are finally back, and trying to think of something fun to do that won’t cause a giant mess. They find an old building that they can use material from to make a giant fort, and it looks like they’re going to have a great, stress-free day after all. Nah, just kidding: grumpy Farmer Feta next door is annoyed about the noise the two friends are making, and lets the evil Neptunian scientist, Nimrod Nightcrawler, use his property to dig a tunnel over to Ricky’s property to wipe them out! With some help from Ricky’s cousin, Lucy, and the now-tame Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter, Ricky and Robot have to save the day again.

The adventure is laid out like the other Ricky adventures, with Dan Santat’s art really rebooting this whole series. He’s managed to leave in the most fun part of the books, though: the Flip-O-Rama fight sequence, where readers can flip the right hand page back and forth to make the picture look animated (and add their own sound effects). Nimrod ends up in jail with the seven previous bad guys, and we see one more cell waiting…

My son now considers himself too old for Ricky Ricotta. I, however, am just the right age; I’m also a completist – how could I not finish the series? I had a great time reading this book and revisiting a series that I enjoyed then and I still chuckle at now. Kids are drawn to Dan Santat’s art, and when I tell them that the same artist write and drew Sidekicks AND Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, they’re even more excited, because they love seeing how they can recognize his art and yet spot the subtle differences in a picture book, graphic novel, and a chapter book.

Bottom line: this is a great series for libraries and collections. If you’re familiar with the series, you’ll love it; if you’re not, and you like fun humor with over the top robot fights and villains, you’ll love it.

Be on the lookout for Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. The Unpleasant Penguins from Pluto in May!

History, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads, Women's History

Book Review: Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures (Scholastic, 2007)

Posted on October 8, 2011October 30, 2011 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 8-12

As a little girl, I was captivated by Helen Keller’s life story. One can only imagine Helen Keller’s struggles, but even more amazing and inspirational are her triumphs: graduating college with honors at a time when women were still fighting for the right to vote. Learning to lip read while being blind and deaf, relying only on touch to communicate with the outside world. Becoming a political and social activist at a time when women were supposed to be seen and not heard. She was an amazing woman who was surrounded by amazing women; first, her beloved teacher Annie Sullivan and later Polly Thomson, and when I saw this book in my local library, I snatched it up.

I was not disappointed. Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures is a gorgeous book filled with photos of Helen throughout her life. There are childhood pictures of her and pictures of her with Annie Sullivan; pictures throughout her college career at Radcliffe, and pictures of her with the many public officials she met throughout her life. Always mindful of her appearance so people would not look at her and see her handicap first, she is always dressed beautifully and perpetually smiling. There are some candid photos, including shots of her with her pets and even a shot of Helen, Annie, and Annie’s husband, John Macy.

Keller’s great-grandniece Keller Johnson-Thompson writes the foreward where she discusses asking her grandmother questions about her famous relative. Notes at the end of the book provide further reading on Helen Keller, including a link to Ms. Johnson-Thompson’s biography on the American Foundation for the Blind’s home page, where she serves as an Ambassador; there are many links to Helen Keller photographs and artifacts on this page. There is also a link to the Helen Keller birthplace museum.