Book review - Planet Earth is Blue

Title: Planet Earth is Blue
Author: Nicole Panteleakos
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
                      Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
Rating:

compelling

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger--it's the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.
While foster families and teachers dismiss Nova as severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can't express. As the liftoff draws closer, Nova's new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she's counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she'll see Bridget again. Because Bridget said, "No matter what, I'll be there. I promise."

My opinion: It's a wonderful, important thing, giving voice to marginalized characters. It's an awesome responsibility too, especially when you give voice to someone who has no voice of her own. We often wonder what goes on in the mind of a non-verbal person. Panteleakos suggests a complex and troubled inner dialogue, a tenuous grasp on reality and a frustration with a world that doesn't try to understand. Nova's story is hopeful and heartbreaking. For the reader familiar with the Challenger disaster, knowing what is coming, the ways Nova's hopes will be dashed, that things will end so terribly just when it is all turning out so well, is compelling. With an ending that speaking to the hope for better things to come, it's an all around solid read and joins the ranks of such books as Mockingbird and Wonder.

More information: Planet Earth is Blue releases May 14.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: Series

There's something wonderful about finding a good series. A solid adventure with the promise of more to come. Especially for young or reluctant readers, if you can get someone started on a series you've guaranteed months of reading. With that in mind, here are six new books that are part of series.

6 series books published in the past 6 months

1. Escape from the Palace by Santa Montefiore
2. The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel
3. Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster by Tom Angleberger
4. Ivy and the Goblins by Katherine Coville
5. Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T Smith
6. Suer Potato's Galactic Breakout by Artur Laperta

Non-fiction book review - Put On Your Owl Eyes

Put On Your Owl Eyes by Devin Franklin

There is no shortage of kids books about exploring nature. Most focus on identifying animals or plants. That is certainly an element of this book. The larger focus, though, is on mindfulness. How do we identify animal tracks other than by making observations? It's about making a closer connection with your environment, even when its quite familiar. And that's worth celebrating.

More information: Put On Your Owl Eyes releases May 28.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Groovy!

I bought this action figure at the dollar store with the intention of giving him a squid head, but the squid proved surprisingly hard to attach.

Random inspiration struck one day and I decided to take it in a different direction.

First, I gave it a new neck joint with a bamboo skewer, straw, bead, and hot glue.

I formed his new head with Model Magic air dry clay, then finished it off with paint and wiggle eyes.

He's very happy to be Earthworm Jim

 
 

Book review - The Lovely and the Lost

Title: The Lovely and the Lost
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke
                      Too Shattered for Mending by Peter Brown Hoffmeister
Rating:

a bit of a mixed bag

Summary (provided by publisher):  Kira Bennett's earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Together with Cady's son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world's most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home.
But when Cady's estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child-one of several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park in the past twelve months-the teens find themselves on the frontlines sooner than they could have ever expected. As the search through 750,000 acres of unbridled wilderness intensifies, Kira becomes obsessed with finding the missing child. She knows all too well what it's like to be lost in the wilderness, fighting for survival, alone.
But this case isn't simple. There is more afoot than a single, missing girl, and Kira's memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.


My opinion: In a book like this one, where minors investigate a mystery, it's important to draw careful lines. Barnes handles this carefully. The teens are actively involved in searching for the missing child. As soon as it becomes clear that a crime has been committed, though, the teens are blocked from the investigation. They can do search and rescue because they are trained. They cannot interfere with the police. And the teens themselves are careful to stay out of the way of the police. Sure, they keep investigating but their investigation takes the form that any citizen could do. They talk to people, hunt through library records. Their training simply gives them different insight than other people. The mystery itself is thinly evidenced, the suspects vague at best. Compelling enough for a single read.

More information: The Lovely and the Lost releases May 7.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non-fiction book review - Planet Fashion

Planet Fashion by Natasha Slee

This book follows a consistent pattern. It takes a region/cultural group and time period and explores the fashion elements that defined the era. It looks at silhouettes and fabrics. The role of gender and politics. It's largely the "what" of a time period's fashion but there's a fair amount of exploration of "why". This includes not just the clothes but also the culture. Be it bicycles or disco, war or economic surplus, many things have an influence on fashion. Slee looks at a wide variety of locations as well. A fun look at history for young readers.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Carp kites

There's something about the look of carp kites that I thoroughly enjoy. So I like to portray them whenever I can. In this case, for a card for an upcoming craft fair.