Non fiction book review - Ada Lovelace and the Number-Crunching Machine

Ada Lovelace and the Number-Crunching Machine by Zoe Tucker

Picture book biographies can sometimes oversimplify a person's life, especially glossing over the more negative aspects. Tucker certainly doesn't take that route. We're told how Ada inherited negative personality traits from both her parents. She's described as moody and short tempered. But we also see how her determination and mathematical mind lead her to take a vague description for a calculating machine and develop a programing language to achieve that goal, drawing up designs and figuring out logistics. A great choice for a young reader needing a little inspiration.

More information: Ada Lovelace and the Number-Crunching Machine releases September 3.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Art of Taxidermy

Title: The Art of Taxidermy
Author: Sharon Kernot
Genre: historical fiction/verse novel
Similar books: Voices by David Elliot
                      Ebb and Flow by Heather Smith
Rating:

artistic, but not for everyone

Summary (provided by publisher): A heartbreaking verse novel about love and death, grief and beauty, and the very individual ways we make sense of it all.
Lottie, the daughter of German migrants, develops a fascination for death after losing her mother at a young age. When Lottie begins collecting dead animals, her aunt tries to redirect her energies into more 'feminine' activities. But her father encourages her interest, recognizing a scientist's curiosity.

My Opinion: I'm a big fan of verse novels, especially when the bulk of the plot focus on a character's inner journey or self exploration. When the author is good at imagery, making us feel along with the character it transcends story to become art. And that's certainly the case here. Even when I wasn't clear on the context of a moment, when I was confused about he actual plot, I was sharing Lottie's experience. A little more context for the setting and events in the world at large would have been nice. But this is a book to read more for how it's being told than what is being told. That style won't work for everyone but I enjoyed it.

More Information: The Art of Taxidermy releases August 23.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Other Half of Happy

Title: The Other Half of Happy 
Author: Rebecca Balcarcel
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
                      Beyond the Green by Sharlee Mullins Glenn
Rating:

lots to think about here

Summary (provided by publisher): Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American : When Quijana's Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn't know more about her family's heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy : When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she's found true friends. But she can't help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up : Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what's going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother.
In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcarcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong.

My opinion: In our culture, there's this push for imigrants to assimilate. This can leave them and their children in a cultural limbo, not really fitting in with the general public but clearly isolated from their own family. Add in general struggles to fit in when you're in your middle school years, family with health problems, the worries that can come along with having a neuro-atypical sibling and you have a fair amount to explore in this book. Perhaps, one might argue, too much, especially when you add in first crushes and increasingly complex lies. This is not a comfortable read and doesn't resolve in neat and tidy ways. But it has a ring of truth that will resonate with middle graders.

More information: The Other Half of Happy releases August 20
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle by Laura Purdie Salas

 Salas gives the reader a simple introduction to a surprising number of animals and their winter survival techniques in this little book. The illustrations and rhyming text will appeal to even the very young. Older children will learn a great deal from the text and the appendix.

More information: Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle releases September 3.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non fiction book review - Just Like Beverly

Just Like Beverly by Vicki Conrad

I read a lot of Cleary growing up. Basically every book I could get my hands on but I never read a biography. This one really spoke to me. We get the clear parallels between Beverly's early life and the characters she created. It's a biography in the vein of "famous people are just people". Beverly Cleary had no special training or background in writing. She was simply someone who saw a need and set herself to the task of fulfilling that need. The text is engaging but easy to understand. And I love that Hahn's illustrations are reminiscent of the original Cleary book illustrations.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Cassandra Steps Out

Title: Cassandra Steps Out
Author: Isabelle Bottier
Genre: graphic novel
Similar books: Rise of the Zelphire by Karim Friha
                      Jonesy by Sam Humphries
Rating:

a quick read, could be better

Summary (provided by publisher): Cassandra has a gift. Animals can show her what they're thinking. And she's done keeping her talent a secret. In the first volume of the Cassandra: Animal Psychic series, Cassandra sets out to help pets and their people.
The trouble is, other parts of Cassandra's life are changing too. Her mom has a boyfriend she really likes, but his daughter can't stand Cassandra. And Cassandra's best friend is about to leave town. Not even her trusty dog Miss Dolly can make things feel okay. When Cassandra gets on the trail of a lost cat, will she be able to help its owners? Or will her first case be a flop?

My opinion: The cover image and concept skew towards a young middle grade audience, though Cassandra herself is a teen. The actual line to line writing is fairly stiff. Additionally, there are a number of side plots that remain under-developed. This was an idea with a fair amount of potential that is simply never realized. It's possible that future volumes will make it stronger. Decent for simple entertainment but I wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out.

More Information: Cassandra Steps Out releases September 3.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Blog Tour Book review - Cape

Title: Cape
Author: Kate Hannigan
Genre: historical fiction/superhero
Similar books: The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone
                      How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson Rating:

fun and empowering

Summary (provided by publisher): Josie O’Malley does a lot to help out Mam after her father goes off to fight the Nazis, but she wishes she could do more—like all those caped heroes who now seem to have disappeared. If Josie can’t fly and control weather like her idol, Zenobia, maybe she can put her math smarts to use cracking puzzles for the government.
After an official tosses out her puzzler test because she’s a girl, it soon becomes clear that an even more top-secret agency has its eye on Josie, along with two other applicants: Akiko and Mae. The trio bonds over their shared love of female superhero celebrities, from Hauntima to Zenobia to Hopscotch But during one extraordinary afternoon, they find themselves transformed into the newest (and youngest!) superheroes in town. As the girls’ abilities slowly begin to emerge, they learn that their skills will be crucial in thwarting a shapeshifting henchman of Hitler, and, just maybe, in solving an even larger mystery about the superheroes who’ve recently gone missing.
Inspired by remarkable real-life women from World War II—the human computers and earliest programmers called “the ENIAC Six”—this pulse-pounding adventure features bold action and brave thinking, with forty-eight pages of comic book style graphic panels throughout the book. Readers will want to don their own capes for an adventure, and realize they have the power to be a superhero, too!

My opinion: Hannigan combines the excitement of superheroes, the complexity of life in wartime, and the inspiring tale of early women in STEM into a fun and easy to follow novel for upper elementary kids. These disparate elements don't seem like they would work together well but Hannigan makes it work. In large part this is because the focus is on everyday life. The focus is on people who are dismissive of these girls because of their gender and/or their age. This allows them to easily maintain the double life necessary for a superhero, not to mention the extra demands placed on people due to the war. On it's own, a plot about superheroes during World War II might not be anything special. By adding in a fair amount of historical information about ENIAC and the role of war on the beginnings of the computer age the modern reader can see the connection between this historical plot and their own life. The character development in this book is perhaps a bit thin but it's the first in a series, so we can expect to see increasing complexity in future volumes.