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Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The World’s Greatest Adventure Machine will take you on the ride of your life

Posted on September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The World’s Greatest Adventure Machine, by Frank L. Cole, (Aug. 20017, Delacorte Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9780399552823

A Nocturnals Easy Reader! The Moonlight Meeting

Posted on September 18, 2017September 18, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Nocturnals: The Moonlight Meeting, by Tracey Hecht & Rumur Dowling/Illustrated by Waymond Singleton, (Sept. 2017, Fabled Films Press), $5.99, ISBN: 978-1-944020-14-9

Recommended for ages 5-8

YAY! One of my favorite recent middle grade series is expanding to easy readers! The Nocturnals: The Moonlight Meeting introduces younger readers to my favorite Nocturnal group of friends: Tobin, the pangolin, Dawn, the fox, and last but never least, Bismark, the sugar glider (don’t dare call him a squirrel). An unlikely pomelo fruit brings the three new friends together, as Tobin – forever hungry – and Bismark disagree over ownership rights. Readers get a fun dose of fart humor thanks to sweet Tobin, who’s a bit nervous and has… well, a bit of a reaction. (Readers familiar with Tobin and the latest middle grade Nocturnals story, The Fallen Star, will enjoy the reference.)

Waymond Singleton’s artwork is perfect for an easy reader audience, giving the group more definition and providing an animated feel. Bismark is all wide eyes and open mouth; Tobin’s glance is shyly cast downward, and Dawn is ever gentle and ready to step in to help. As with the middle grade novels, The Moonlight Meeting emphasizes friendship, teamwork, and sharing. Fun Facts at the end of the book provide descriptions about the real-life Nocturnal counterparts. The brief sentences and easy dialogue make this a great step for readers who are ready to move on from Level 1 readers. A leveling guide on the back of the book, similar to the Step Into Reading series, explains each leveled step for parents and caregivers. This works well with a preschool or kindergarten read-aloud, too.

I can’t wait to introduce The Nocturnals to my storytime group. The group’s website at Nocturnals World is a treasure trove of information for caregivers and educators, featuring curriculum guides, library resources, discussion guides, and activity kits. If you’ve got animal fiction fans, get them hooked early and add The Moonlight Meeting to your easy readers.

Fiction, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Size matters not: Just ask Little Captain Jack!

Posted on May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Little Captain Jack, by Alicia Acosta/Illustrated by Monica Carretero, (Apr. 2017, nubeOCHO), $15.95, ISBN: 978-84-945415-0-6

The Nocturnals Return in The Fallen Star

Posted on May 2, 2017April 19, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Nocturnals (Book 3): The Fallen Star, by Tracey Hecht/Illustrated by Kate Liebman, (May 2017, Fabled Films Press), $15.99, ISBN: 9781944020057

This Aye-aye has its eyes on you! (source: Zooborns.com)

Woylie: Now say it with an Australian accent! (Source: whitemanpart.com.au)

Teamwork, friendship, and determination sees the friends through this latest adventure, and there’s a lovely message about tolerance that is especially important reading.

Things have started taking off for Nocturnals since the first book published last year! The Nocturnals World website offers Boredom Busters, face painting tips, and a wealth of educational resources for classrooms and libraries, and the New York Public Library, in conjunction with Fabled Films, launched a read-aloud writing program in New York City public schools.

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Detective Gordon and Buffy the Mouse are on the case

Posted on February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Detective Gordon: A Case in Any Case, by Ulf Nilsson/Illustrated by Gitte Spee, (Mar. 2017, Gecko Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781776571086

The Time Museum has something for everyone – no matter what time you’re from!

Posted on January 8, 2017August 29, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Time Museum, by Matthew Loux, (Feb. 2017, First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781596438491

Recommended for ages 8-12

Delia’s the class bookworm, the class nerd… you get the idea. When school’s out for the summer, all her brother wants to do is go swimming, but Delia has found something much more exciting: the possibility of an internship at The Time Museum, courtesy of her Uncle Lyndon! The Time Museum is kind of like the Natural History Museum, but on an Earth-wide basis. All time eras are welcome, as Delia learns when she meets some of the kids she’s competing against for the internship: Michiko, a Japanese girl from 2217; Titus Valerius Marianus, from Ancient Rome; Dex, who’s a Neanderthal, thank you very much, not a caveman; Reggie, a 51st century Canadian boy genius, and Greer, a prickly Scottish girl who’s already been time traveling. As they train for the internship, they must also go through time trials – going back – or forward – in time to find and collect anachronisms. They’ll also learn that working as a team is much harder, but more beneficial, than going it alone.

The Time Museum is a fun middle grade romp for every kid that wants to live Night at the Museum or catches every episode of The Librarians. Whether Delia and her friends are running away from dinosaurs or discovering a robot playing strip poker, there’s something here for everyone to laugh at. There’s a positive message about healthy competition and teamwork going hand in hand, there’s a giant, talking brain, and a super-cool android librarian that uses android cats to fetch books. If I had a library like that, I’d never leave; I’d just hang out at my reference desk, covered in robot kittens.

The Time Museum is a lot of fun, and maybe it’ll turn even reluctant readers into readers who see the fun in history. Add to your graphic novel shelves, and talk this one up with some good, tried and true Geronimo Stilton, our favorite time-traveling journalist mouse. Get out your Time Warp Trio series to create a fun display for everyone.

Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Middle School, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Assassin’s Creed goes YA with Last Descendants

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Last Descendants: An Assassin’s Creed Novel, by Matthew J. Kirby, (Aug. 2016, Scholastic), $9.99, ISBN: 9780545855518

Recommended for ages 12+

Owen is going through some rough stuff. He and his mother live with his grandparents; they were forced to after his father was arrested for robbing a bank and died in prison. Owen believes he was innocent, but that doesn’t stop his grandparents from badmouthing his dad whenever they get a chance. His best friend, Javier, has been more distant lately, so he really feels alone until the school IT guy, Monroe, invites him to use his device called the Animus, which will help him explore memories buried in his DNA. He convinces Javier to come along and make sure things sound on the level, and Javier ends up having a shared genetic memory in the Animus with Owen. Use of the Animus sets off some kind of alarm, though, and Monroe brings the two teens to a hideout he’s established, where they meet four other teens who have used the Animus. Monroe explains that the group all have roots in one (or both) of two ancient orders: the Brotherhood of Assassins or the Templar Order. There’s a precious relic that needs to be found, and their group is the only group that can do it through a shared genetic experience. The teens find themselves in the bodies of their ancestors, transported into the 1863 New York City, on the even of the infamous Draft Riots.

This is the first book in a YA Assassin’s Creed series, based on the insanely popular video game. I’ve never played Assassin’s Creed – I think I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m fairly inept beyond a joystick and firing button – but I love the mythology behind the game, which my eldest has played for years. Having a YA series that follows teens descended from the Assassins and Templars, going through different eras in history? I loved it! We get a look at the Gangs of New York-era Lower East Side through an interesting fantasy perspective, with some nice groundwork about the two dueling factions in place for newbies to Assassin’s Creed (I double-checked some info with my son as I read). Being a Gangs of New York fan and a student of Lower East Side history, I was thrilled to see how Kirby worked the gangs into the main storyline. The story flows through multiple perspectives, yet he keeps everything together so readers shouldn’t be confused by whose voice they’re reading, especially appreciated when characters are in the Animus and living through their ancestors. There’s great character development, action, and he doesn’t flinch from the racism that fueled the riots. The ending leaves no doubt that there will be a sequel, and I can’t wait to read it.

I’ve liked Matthew Kirby’s writing since I devoured Icefall four years ago. He creates great characters and skilfully weaves historical fiction and fantasy. With an Assassin’s Creed movie hitting theatres in a little more than two weeks, this is a book you need front and center on your displays (and on your holiday lists – we all know someone who loves this franchise). Put this one on your purchase lists.

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Blog Tour: Busy Builders, Busy Week! Interview with Jean Reidy!

Posted on August 25, 2016August 23, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Busy Builders, Busy Week, by Jean Reidy/Illustrated by Leo Timmers, (June 2016, Bloomsbury), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1619635562

Sunday! Dream day! Study, scribble, scheme day. Map, measure, plan a treasure. Gather up a team day!

The author-illustrator team that brought us All Through My Town – a storytime staple at my library – comes together to bring readers a book about working together! Over the course of a week, animal characters pull together to build a brand new playground in their community. Each day brings new things to do, from planning, to digging, to fixing and planting!

This is such a fun story to read out loud, and has entered regular rotation at home. Kids can practice their days of the week and get lost in the rhyming story, which has the added benefit of showing readers how to group tasks to get things done in the best way. On Sunday, the builders come up with plans for their big job ahead; on Monday, they clear the area. Tuesday is for infrastructure: cement, pipes, boards, fixing fences. On Wednesday, we load everything up and take it on the road. Thursday is for getting the place shaped up: drills, nails, rake and spread. Friday, the plants go in and the final details, like painting and sanding, get the park ready for their big opening on Saturday!

I love Leo Timmers’ bright, bold acrylics here. The bright colors and cartoony animal characters are a perfect accompaniment to Jean Reidy’s bouncy, happy rhyming text. Even the endpapers bring on the fun, with yellow, diamond-shaped construction signs featuring different animals working at different tasks leading readers in and out of the story.

Transportation books have done well at all of my libraries, so this is a no-brainer for my collection. If your readers love books like Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, and Kate and Jim McMullan’s series (I Stink!, I’m Brave!, et al), this is a perfect fit. Busy Builders also lends itself to a days of the week read-aloud, right next to fun books like John Himmelman’s Chickens to the Rescue!, or Albert Bitterman’s Fortune Cookies.

I was lucky enough to get a few minutes with author Jean Reidy, and we talked about Busy Builders, Busy Week! Read on!

MomReadIt (MRI): I love the idea of the characters coming together to create a playground! Did you decide on the idea of building the playground as the best way to talk about the days of the week, or did the story come together separately?

Jean Reidy (JR): A little bit of both, I’d say. When my editors at Bloomsbury asked me to write a days-of-the-week book for their list, I loved the idea. So I brainstormed a variety of approaches that ranged from the mundane to the wildly weird. But that’s the way I like to work, creatively uncensored, putting all the possibilities out there. I’ve always wanted to write a construction trucks book, so when I hit on the notion of a “construction week” the only decision left was, “What can we build in a week that will resonate with a child?” Well, a playground, of course. Even better, a playground designed by illustrator Leo Timmers. And while the premise was fun and uncomplicated, the idea of a community coming together to transform an old, abandoned city lot into something fun and beautiful felt like it added an additional layer of meaning to the essential story. I like that layer. I think it gives readers more to talk about. And Leo did a fabulous job bringing it to life.

MRI: When you were working on the text, did you plot out the different phases of construction to help you group together the tasks the characters undertake each day?

JR: That would have been really smart, eh? But my process was a little looser than that. I tried to keep my free association of the topic going as long as I could before I forced it into any kind of order. I wanted to fully explore all the fun possibilities for structure and language. So, I developed word lists—starting with the days of the week and then all the construction actions, sounds, vehicles and tools I could think of. I played with those lists until I sounded out the bouncy rhythm and rhyme scheme I wanted for my young readers. From there, I made sure that the construction tasks were logically ordered and grouped so that the artwork could then bring sense to the process of building the playground.

MRI: You’ve also written a book called ALL THROUGH MY TOWN that features animals as the main characters. Do you think these two books could take place in the same storytelling universe? Could the kids from All Through My Town come and play at the new playground built in Busy Builders, Busy Week?

JR: Oh my goodness! What a brilliant idea! I love unexpected connections, surprises and meta moments in storytelling. So let’s play that out. ALL THROUGH MY TOWN is loosely modeled after the Chicago suburb in which I grew up—a self-contained town with its own shops, library, gardens, fire department and only thirty miles from Chicago. The Chicago and Northwestern train line—now called the Metra—whistled through multiple times each day, taking commuters to and from the Windy City. BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! takes place in an urban area where the characters transform an old empty lot. So yes, let’s have our town characters hop on their train and visit their city friends—all meeting up at that brand new playground. Bloomsbury, how ‘bout it? Readers, toss me a title! Let’s do this!

Jean Reidy is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award. Especially gifted at writing for very young children, Jean is a frequent presenter at national and local literacy, writing, and education conferences and at schools across the country—in person and via Skype. She is a member of the Colorado Council International Reading Association and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and she serves on the board of Reach Out and Read Colorado. Jean writes from her home in Colorado where she lives right across the street from her neighborhood library, which she visits nearly every day. Visit her at www.jeanreidy.com and on Twitter: @JeanReidy.

Follow Jean on the BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! tour!

Mon, Aug 22	Cracking the Cover
Tues, Aug 23	Literary Hoots
Wed, Aug 24	NC Teacher Stuff
Thurs, Aug 25	Mom Read It
Fri, Aug 26	Unleashing Readers
Sat, Aug 27	Booking Mama
Mon, Aug 29	Bluestocking Thinking
Tues, Aug 30	Jean Little Library
Wed, Aug 31	Geo Librarian
Thurs, Sept 1	Mrs. O Reads Books
Fri, Sept 2	Where Imagination Grows

Click here for a free classroom curriculum guide and storytime kit!

Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to receive a copy of BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! (U.S. addresses, please.)

Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Teddycats: A coming of age animal adventure

Posted on July 26, 2016July 26, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Teddycats, by Mike Storey (July 2016, Razorbill) $16.99, ISBN: 9781101998830

Recommended for ages 9-13

Bill Garra is a Teddycat – a unique jungle-dwelling mammal, living high up in the tallest trees; a community they call the Cloud Kingdom, far away from the other animals in the forest. The Teddycat elders want to keep Cloud Kingdom a secret; to remain separate, to keep outsiders out. Bill doesn’t always understand the rules the elders make; rules like keeping their extra sharp claws hidden unless they need to climb or get out of a life-or-death situation, and he definitely doesn’t understand why he has to keep his friend, Luke, an olingo, out of Cloud Kingdom. When he sneaks Luke into Cloud Kingdom for a look around, the problems seem to begin: predators, including humans, take notice and stalk the Teddycat community. When Bill’s best friend’s sister is trapped and taken by the humans, the Teddycat elders vote to go into hiding, but Bill sets out to rescue her, along with an old frenemy, Omar, a grizzled scout named Diego, a recuperating jaguar named Felix, and Luke. Bill and his group risk banishment from Cloud Kingdom as they face the dangers of the forest.

Wow. Look at this cover. I thought I was going to read a sweet animal adventure when I picked up Teddycats, but what I got was an emotional read about the dangers of deforestation and trophy hunting and a strong subplot about isolationism. Throughout the novel, Bill discovers the downside to the elders’ choice of isolation and the power of teamwork. The big danger here, though, does not come from other animals: it’s the humans, referred to as “Joe” by the Teddycats. They burn, kill, and leave devastation in their wake. They want to sell the Teddycat claws as trinkets, or figure out how to weaponize them, with no regard for the lives they impact. It’s a strong statement, and it may affect some more sensitive readers when animals die. It’s not over the top or gory, but the narrative is matter of fact in stating that these animals are at the mercy of humans and the havoc we wreak.

There are some strong characters in this book. Bill is the self-centered youth who comes of age on his journey; the elders are the frightened old men who are afraid of change; Felix is the wise old cat, and Diego is the grizzled voice of experience. There are more wonderful characters to meet here, and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about animals in the forests of the Andes. Yup, I looked it up. I didn’t see “teddycats” specifically listed, but I did find Olingos versus Olinguitos, which were much more recently discovered. I’m making a wild guess here, but I’m relating Olinguitos to Teddycats (since that’s also what came up in an initial Google search on “Teddycat”).

Left: Olingo; Right: Olinguito (images via Google Images)

Grab an atlas to booktalk this story! Explain where the Andes are, talk about some of the residents of the forest that they’ll encounter in the book, and use this opportunity to talk up conservation and preservation of our rain forests, our environment, and the folks we share this world with. Heck, show them the scene from the Spongebob Squarepants movie, when they discover Shell City, and see all the dried starfish and sea life that gets sold as souvenirs!

Talk about movies like Finding Nemo and Happy Feet, that also deal with human impact on the environment, and then talk about all the ways they can help make a difference. Whether it’s writing a letter to a politician, cleaning up after themselves, or being aware of the world around them, they count.

This is a solid animal adventure story with a message; animal fiction fans and kids that are on the lookout for environmentally conscious stories will love it.

Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The Nocturnals reunite and face The Ominous Eye

Posted on July 26, 2016July 25, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Nocturnals: The Ominous Eye (Nocturnals #2), by Tracey Hecht/Illustrated by Kate Liebman, (Sept. 2016, Fabled Films Press), $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-944020-03-3

Recommended for ages 8-12

The three friends we met in The Mysterious Abductions are back! In this latest Nocturnals adventure, Dawn, the serious fox, Tobin, the sweet and nervous pangolin, and Bismark, the overconfident sugar glider, try to get to the bottom of a frightening jolt that shakes the earth. They meet a tuatara named Polyphema, who seems to know a lot more than she’s letting on. Polyphema talks about a Beast responsible for the earthquake and destruction, and how it will strike again if the animals don’t listen to her. Dawn seems to be the only one who doesn’t trust Polyphema; Bismark is smitten, and poor Tobin is just nervous.

Nocturnals is a fun animal series. This second book introduces some conflict into the small group of friends, illustrating that teamwork doesn’t always come easy, and that trust must be earned. Animal fiction fans will enjoy meeting more exotic animals in this book – I never knew what a tuatara was, or that they really do have a third eye! This little tidbit makes Polyphema an even more interesting character, making her insights and visions more believable to the animals in the story.

source: The Quantum Biologist

This is a good follow-up to the first book, and yet newcomers to the series can jump right in without having read the first book (but read it – it’s good!). Kate Liebman’s color illustrations add to the text, giving the reader a nice frame of reference for some of these new animals he or she will meet during the course of the book.

Animal fiction fans will enjoy this series. See if you can put out some animal atlases and have the research where the novels take place! Talk up nocturnal animals, and ask the kids to identify more nocturnal animals. Use the educator resources available on the Nocturnals website, especially the printable animal fact cards, to help them along. There’s a third Nocturnals book coming in March 2017, too – mark your calendars!