The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thomas and Rosemary Mosco
I'm a big fan of the quirky and weird, especially when it comes to trivia. Info about a volcano within a volcano? Sign me up! This book introduces young readers to wonders of the world, be they naturally occurring or human constructions. It's built around a great structure too. Each wonder is paired with a similar attraction on another continent. Thus the reader sees not only what makes each place unique, but also the things that tie them together. This is the sort of book you can leaf through repeatedly, finding new things every time.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
I'm a fan of craft kits, especially these little wooden decorations. You're supposed to color them but I find the ink tends to run. I prefer paint.
Sir Simon Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson
Sir Simon takes the idea of ghosts and turns it slightly onto it's ear. He's a pleasant character, in that he does not wish those he haunts any actual harm. He's doing a job. Some parts he enjoys; others are more of a chore. Add into the mix an enthusiastic child. A child who finds the idea of ghosts thrilling. Simon, as we might expect tricks the boy into doing his chores. The resulting role reversal serves to teach young readers about strengths, seeing the world from a new perspective, and empathy. The plot is simple enough for young readers to follow, inventive enough for older kids to enjoy. Most importantly, the illustrations add context, emotion, and a dose of cheeky humor to the tale.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
The Vast Wonder of the World by Melina Mangal
Most of us get only a limited view of black history in school. Even during Black History Month we get stories of Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and maybe George Washington Carver. We get abolition and the Civil Rights Movement, ignoring contributions in literally every other field. Mathematics. Business. Music. Art. Science. THat's where books like this one come in. If the public school system fails us then people like Mangal will take up the task. I'd never heart of Just. He achieved amazing discoveries with a microscope that was barely better than a hand lens. And Mangal doesn't hesitate to tell the reader the way that American society dismissed this amazing scientist doe to his race. Better to acknowledge the prejudice so that we can learn from it.
More information: The Vast Wonder of the World releases November 1.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Title: Property of the Rebel Librarian
Author: Allison Varnes
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
Rating:
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| not my favorite |
Summary (provided by publisher): When twelve-year-old June Harper's parents discover what they deem an inappropriate library book, they take strict parenting to a whole new level. And everything June loves about Dogwood Middle School unravels: librarian Ms. Bradshaw is suspended, an author appearance is canceled, the library is gutted, and all books on the premises must have administrative approval.
But June can't give up books . . . and she realizes she doesn't have to when she spies a Little Free Library on her walk to school. As the rules become stricter at school and at home, June keeps turning the pages of the banned books that continue to appear in the little library. It's a delicious secret . . . and one she can't keep to herself. June starts a banned book library of her own in an abandoned locker at school. The risks grow alongside her library's popularity, and a movement begins at Dogwood Middle--a movement that, if exposed, could destroy her. But if it's powerful enough, maybe it can save Ms. Bradshaw and all that she represents: the freedom to read.
Equal parts fun and empowering, this novel explores censorship, freedom of speech, and activism. For any kid who doesn't believe one person can effect change...and for all the kids who already know they can!
My opinion: Conversations about censorship in any form, and specifically the right to read, are important. This is particularly true for middle graders who are just beginning to realize that they have rights and that they can take action when those rights are being restricted, that even kids can take action when life is unfair. Any book that starts that conversation is worth reading. That being said, this wouldn't be my first pick. I found the events too extreme, the time frame unrealistic. We go from a complaint about a single book to the complete gutting of the library in a matter of days. Suspension for possession of a book is an extreme punishment and is enacted overnight. It isn't believable. Now, the intent is sound. I just think other books get the message across better.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
I started hand drawing note cards for a craft fair last fall and kind of got bitten by the colored pencil bug. I've got another craft fair coming up in just over a month so I've been working on some new designs. Here are a few early attempts.
Title: No Fixed Address
Author: Susin Nielsen
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin van Draanen
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Rating:
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| a solid read |
Summary (provided by publisher): For fans of Wendelin van Draanen and Cynthia Lord, a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness.
Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Astrid swears him to secrecy; he can't tell anyone about their living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, his best friends at his new school. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care.
As their circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets a chance to audition for a junior edition of Who What Where When, and he's determined to earn a spot on the show. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. But things don't turn out the way he expects. . . .
Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.
My opinion: Nielsen's strength is in her characters, well developed and usually atypical. In this case we have a single mother and her quirky son. Topically, it deals with poverty, homelessness, and mental illness and the way these issues affect and compound one another. I like that we see living around the poverty line as normal. Felix admits to his friends that things are tough at home, that his mother sometimes loses her job, that money is tight. This is not seen as shameful but a fact of life. It's only the homelessness that he has to hide, between school rules and the looming threat of the foster system. Each complication to their situation makes the other elements harder to overcome and drives them deeper into poverty. It's a sympathetic, charming read. A few plot elements are a bit fantastic but not to an unforgivable degree.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
