Mooooo

This spring I made some wooden spoon puppets for a craft fair but I wasn't overly fond of the way they turned out. I decided to play some more with the concept and this is what I came up with.

Something about a cow lends itself to this form.

Book review - A Long Pitch Home

Title: A Long Pitch Home
Author: Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard
                     The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Rating:

even better than I expected

Summary (provided by publisher): Ten-year-old Bilal liked his life back home in Pakistan. He was a star on his cricket team. But when his father suddenly sends the family to live with their aunt and uncle in America, nothing is familiar. While Bilal tries to keep up with his cousin Jalaal by joining a baseball league and practicing his English, he wonders when his father will join the family in Virginia. Maybe if Bilal can prove himself on the pitcher's mound, his father will make it to see him play. But playing baseball means navigating relation-ships with the guys, and with Jordan, the only girl on the team—the player no one but Bilal wants to be friends with. A sensitive and endearing contemporary novel about family, friends, and assimilation.

My opinion: I really enjoyed the narration in this book. Bilal's voice really shines. His confidence in Pakistan, his uncertainty and depression during his early weeks in Virginia, is sense of loss and feeling out of place, all of this comes through in his dialogue and narration. More than most characters we can understand why he makes poor choices regarding Jordan. At first he genuinely doesn't understand what is going on. Later, he doesn't want to lose his small group of tenuous (and admittedly fairweather) friends. 
All in all, this is a quick and compelling read. It highlights sports, politics, and the need for interpersonal understanding and patience. A solid choice for nearly any middle grade reader.

More Information: A Long Pitch Home releases September 6.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Graphic Novel Spotlight - Bone

Bone by Jeff Smith

If you've spent much time around middle graders, you probably have some passing familiarity with this graphic novel series. Originally published as black and white comics in the 90s, they've been collected and published in graphic novels, first in black and white and more recently (by Scholastic) in full color. These adventures, populated by a curious blend of humans, rat monsters, dragons, talking animals, and whatever the Bone cousins are meant to be, have continuing appeal for young readers. And to older readers too. I picked up Out From Boneville somewhat reluctantly, thinking I'd just flip through it and see what the fuss was all about. I chuckled through my first rat creatures scene, grew curious about the cast of characters, and before I knew it I had joined the lengthy hold-list at my local library for the next volume.
Some have objected to the series given references to smoking, drinking, and gambling (many of which have been removed or softened in the Scholastic editions). Honestly, though, the average kid is not going to notice these things. They are so immersed in the complex adventure, in the complex characters and the overt humor, that subtle questionable references escape them. This is a series that kids come back to time and again. They pour over the minutiae of the illustrations, absorb all peripheral material (which now includes at least one collection of short cartoon stories and three prequel novels). Bone is a great gateway to more traditional fantasy novels too. I've seen kids graduate from Bone to The Lord of the Rings.

Book review - Ellie Ultra: An Extra-Ordinary Girl

Title: An Extra-Ordinary Girl
Author: Gina Bellisario
Genre: superhero
Similar books: Kung Pow Chicken by Cyndi Marko
                     The Gumazing Gum Girl!: Chews Your Destiny by Rhode Montijo
Rating:

Super cute

Summary (provided by publisher): Ellie is super excited for first day at Winkopolis Elementary School. After spending her whole life being homeschooled by super-genius inventor parents, she can't wait to hang out with normal kids and learn normal things. But Ellie soon learns that her super powers make her stand out in a not-so-super way. Can she save the world and fit in with her new friends? Or is blending in the one thing this superhero can't do?
For ages 6-8. From the new Ellie Ultra series.

My opinion: This is a cute story with substance behind it. Ellie goes through the full cycle of fitting in with her peers: liking everything about herself, realizing that things she saw as positives may be viewed as negatives by others, changing herself in order to be accepted, and eventually fully embracing herself once more. It's a simple story, given the target age group, but the writing is strong. The plot and limited illustrations are appealing.

More Information: Ellie Ultra: An Extra-Ordinary Girl releases September 1.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Ornaments already (sigh)

It's still August and temperatures around here are still topping out in the 80s but craft fair season is just weeks away. So I find myself working on Christmas ornaments lately. Here are a few new designs I've been trying out.

Book review - The Changelings

Title: The Changelings
Author: Christina Soontornvat
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: The Wrong Side of Magic by Janette Rallison
                     The Peddler's Road by Matthew Cody
Rating:

entertaining

Summary(provided by publisher): Izzy’s family has just moved to the most boring town in the country. But as time goes on, strange things start to happen; odd piles of stones appear around Izzy’s house, and her little sister Hen comes home full of stories about the witch next door.
Then, Hen disappears into the woods. She’s been whisked away to the land of Faerie, and it’s up to Izzy to save her. Joined there by a band of outlaw Changelings, Izzy and her new friends set out on a joint search-and-rescue mission across this foreign land which is at turns alluringly magical and utterly terrifying.

My opinion: I'm not entirely sure this book has enough world-building. Fantasy novels depend on the reader's ability to understand a fictional location. We get a simple explanation here but nothing with any depth. I'd have liked a better understanding of the world of Avahlon, it's intricacies and the way humans and faeries relate to one another.
On the positive side, characters have a decent level of depth. The grow in small ways, begin to understand one another better.
I'd say its a good choice for budding fantasy fans, less so for those who already read the genre intensively.

More information: The Changelings releases September 1.
Advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: History

I'm a fan of historical fiction for all ages, but especially for middle grade readers. I've always found historical fiction to be a good way to make a personal connection with a history lesson. It personalizes dry facts. Here are six historical fiction books, mostly for middle grade readers, published in the last six months.

6 New Historical novels

1. Tru and Nelle by G Neri

2. Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey

3. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

4. Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

5. The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyce

6. Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard