Happy Earth Day!

How do you celebrate Earth Day? Do you pick up trash? Plant a tree? To help you get in the mindset of saving our planet, here are some books that have an ecological message.

Middle Grade
Stinky Cecil series by Paige Braddock
Hawk by Jennifer Dance
Secrets of Selkie Bay by Shelley Moore Thomas
Parched by Melanie Crowder
Travels with Gannon and Wyatt series by Pattie Wheeler
The Last Dragon Chronicles series by Chris D'Lacey
A Bird on Water Street by Elizabeth Dulemba
The Last Wild by Piers Torday
Wild Wings by Gill Lewis
Waluk by Emilio Ruiz
Operation Redwood by Terrell S. French
 
Teen
Dig Too Deep by Amy Allgeyer
The Rain duet by Virginia Bergin
The Stellow Project by Shari Becker
Rootless by Chris Howard
Threatened by Eliot Schrefer
Some Fine Day by Kat Ross
Skink - No Surrender by Carl Hiassen
 
Non-fiction and picture books
Water Wow! by Paula Ayer
One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul

If you know of any other decidedly ecological novels I welcome your input.

Pick 6: Art

I wrote before about how book characters seem to share just a handful of hobbies. At the time, I was focused on musicians but the habit is common enough that I was able to put together a similar list based on art. Here are six books published in the last six months focused in some way on art and artists.

6 new books about artists

1. My Kind of Crazy by Robin Ruel

2. Shades of Darkness by A R Kahler

3. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jean Bennett

4. Hello? by Liza Wiemer

5. Behind the Canvas by Alexander Vance

6. This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Book review - Masters of Disguise

Masters of Disguise by Rebecca L Johnson

This book is more than just an exploration of how these creatures disguise themselves. Johnson looks at why they employ disguises and how our understanding of their camouflage has changed. This book explores the ways that scientists study and test theories of camouflage. Its very visually appealing too. Lots of images and color blocks which has the potential to be overwhelming if done wrong but is in just the right proportions here. This book is compelling enough for young readers and informative enough for older readers. A solid addition to a non-fiction collection.

Book review - Once Upon a Dream

Title: Once Upon a Dream
Author: Liz Braswell
Genre: fantasy/retelling
Similar books: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
                     Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
Rating:

better than I expected

Summary(provided by publisher): What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.
It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering princess in a castle, a prince poised to wake her. But when the prince falls asleep as his lips touch the fair maiden's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.
With a desperate fairy's last curse controlling her mind, Princess Aurora must escape from a different castle of thorns and navigate a dangerously magical landscape--created from her very own dreams. Aurora isn't alone--a charming prince is eager to join her quest, and old friends offer their help. But as Maleficent's agents follow her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are and, moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up? 

My opinion: This is the second book in Braswell's Twisted Tales series and I didn't have very high expectations for it. I was quite disappointed by the first book, A Whole New World. Imagine my surprise when I found this to be a fascinating, compelling read. A few things set this book apart. 1) Braswell doesn't set us directly in the world of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, the world we expect going in. Instead, most of the story with which we are familiar has passed. 2) Instead of simply re-imagining familiar events Braswell explores the emotions and complexities of familiar characters. She asserts that years of isolation and being lied to would likely have left Aurora not a pleasant, pliant, ready princess but a depressed and betrayed, broken young woman, especially having wedding plans and a complete change of identity thrust upon her mere hours after meeting the "boy of her dreams". This book explores a literal internal journey where the protagonist must fight not only a literal external evil but her own insecurities, anger, betrayal and the like. This is somewhat high philosophy and as such will not be everyone's cup of tea but is likely a good choice for anyone who has ever questioned the logic of a fairy tale.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

So much in one word

Some time ago, I posted about some shoes I had repainted to look like owls. I actually picked up two pairs of shoes on that occasion and the second pair has been hanging out in my craft supplies ever since, waiting for the perfect idea. I painted them black, reasoning that one can never have too many pairs of black shoes, and with the vague notion of perhaps printing some sort of repeating pattern on them. 

This weekend I found myself in need of a quick project and also in something of a Harry Potter mood (which is weird since I was watching Daredevil). Not only is a patronus a great visual, but "Always" is one of Snape's best lines, so these shoes pretty much designed themselves.

 

 Bonus points if you know the reference in the post title. If not, check out the YouTube video below.

Book review - The Eureka Key

Title: The Eureka Key
Author: Sarah L. Thomson
Genre: adventure
Similar books: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman
                     Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Rating:

cautiously optimistic

Summary(provided by publisher): This smart, exciting new adventure series with an interactive puzzle-solving element is National Treasure meets Indiana Jones for middle-graders.
When middle school puzzle master Sam and history wiz Martina win a contest for a summer trip across the US, they discover they've been drafted into something vastly more extraordinary. Joining another kid on the trip, Theo, a descendant of George Washington himself, they must follow clues to find seven keys left behind by the Founding Fathers. Together the keys unlock Benjamin Franklin's greatest invention--a secret weapon intended to defend the country. Each key is hidden in a unique location around the U.S., protected with puzzles, riddles, and traps. This has kept the weapon safe . . . until now! Gideon Arnold, a dangerous descendant of the infamous Benedict Arnold, is on the chase.
In competition with Arnold and his thugs to reach the artifacts first, Sam, Martina, Theo, and readers must use their wits to solve ingenious puzzles, escape death-by-booby-trap, and, by the end of the series, save our nation by uncovering many of its greatest secrets.

My opinion: There are some great elements in this book. You've got a team made up of disparate personality types and a nicely complex plot. That plot is well set-up for a full series; clearly each book will focus on finding one of a series of keys leading to a final confrontation with Arnold for control of all of the keys and, thus, the mystery weapon. There's plenty of room there for complications, different types of puzzles to introduce and solve. The inclusion of historical trivia and the use of the national parks as settings is a great element as well. There is a danger, with a beginning like this, for the strong structure of the larger plot to become stale and predictable if there are not enough new elements introduced in each further novel. And with the characters not only needing to learn to work as a team but all having slightly abrasive personalities, this book lacks the charm of more established team series like Percy Jackson. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

Peanut Butter & Cupcake by Terry Border

This book in great on two levels. Looking at it in terms of the lesson learned: the new kid trying to find his place in the neighborhood, searching for new friends and playmates, is universal. Peanut Butter is a great character, approaching each new kid or group with optimism, not flagging even in the face of repeated rejection. The surface is where this book really shines, though. Not only are the photos highly entertaining, there is a repeated refrain "Hello. I'm new here and I like to play. Maybe now, maybe later, or even all day. I'll make you chuckle deep down in your belly. And we'll go together like peanut butter and..." Each instance of the refrain ends with a different food item: hamburger, cupcake, egg, spaghetti, etc. That alone is enough to elicit groans and giggles from kids and parents alike. Add in a wide range of food based puns and it's pretty much a surefire hit.