Inktober

Throughout the month of October, much of my creative energy is funneled into craft fair prep and Inktober drawings. Since I try not to flood you with Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, here's a shot of my full Inktober wall from this year.

 

Book review - Shine!

Title: Shine!
Author: J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Lost Boy's Gift by Kimberly Willis Holt
                      The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin
Rating:

a solid but predictable journey

Summary (provided by publisher): "Who do you want to be?" asks Mr. Van Deusen. "And not when you grow up. Right here, right now."
Shine on! might be the catchphrase of twelve-year-old Piper's hero--astronaut, astronomer, and television host Nellie Dumont Frisse--but Piper knows the truth: some people are born to shine, and she's just not one of them. That fact has never been clearer than now, since her dad's new job has landed them both at Chumley Prep, a posh private school where everyone seems to be the best at something and where Piper definitely doesn't fit in.
Bursting with humor, heart, science, possibilities, and big questions, Shine! is a story about finding your place in the universe--a story about figuring out who you are and who you want to be.

My opinion: If you're at all familiar with middle grade fiction, you'll likely be able to predict the final scenes of this book within the first couple of chapters. This means that the value of this story is the lessons the characters read along the way. The final lessons are obvious. The lessons about people being more than they appear, more than your first impressions, are in some ways more important. Even these lessons are fairly heavy handed, but this is often the case with middle grade fiction. More importantly, the characters all have at least a little complexity. They make wrong decisions but find ways to make it up to the people they've wronged. They regret bad choices and resolve to do better. While I might have liked a slightly more complex ending, the one we get is reasonable. It's not a mind blowing read, but a decently enjoyable one.
More information: Shine! releases November 5
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non-fiction book review - The Great Shark Rescue

The Great Shark Rescue by Sandra Markle

If you're looking for a solid, accessible introduction to an animal and the ecological concerns surrounding it, Markle's books a a good place to start. Through the simple story of a pair of whale sharks in danger, Markle is able to introduce the reader to a wide variety of issues: the biology of sharks; how sea creatures get classified; how commercial fishing nets work; how scientists track and study sharks; how ocean species are affected by climate change; conservation efforts; the things we still don't know about this species. Each element is introduced and explored organically. 
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Black Canary: Ignite

Title: Black Canary: Ignite
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: super hero
Similar books: Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia

                      Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki
Rating:

a fun little adventure

Summary (provided by publisher): Thirteen-year-old Dinah Lance knows exactly what she wants, who she is, and where she's going. First, she'll win the battle of the bands with her two best friends, then she'll join the Gotham City Junior Police Academy so she can solve crimes just like her dad. Who knows, her rock-star group of friends may even save the world, but first they'll need to agree on a band name. When a mysterious figure keeps getting in the way of Dinah's goals and threatens her friends and family, she'll learn more about herself, her mother's secret past, and navigating the various power chords of life.
With expressive and energetic art by Cara McGee to match the trademark attitude and spunk of Meg Cabot's characters and dialogue, this mother-daughter story embraces the highs and lows of growing up without growing out of what makes us unique. It's an inspirational song that encourages readers to find their own special voices to sing along with Black Canary!

My opinion: Black Canary is a superhero who doesn't get enough attention. All of the attention tends to be focused on the Superman/Batman world. While Black Canary exists in the same universe (the Joker is referenced several times in this book) those characters exist on the periphery. Dinah is able to establish herself as a hero of her own merits, to explore her powers without comparing to other heroes. And her powers are unique, sonic disruption through the power of her voice. This is not a perfect book. Characters get only a minimal amount of development and the plot can be a bit scattered. Still, it's a fun introduction to a character who deserves more attntion.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - What Makes Us

Title: What Makes Us
Author: Rafi Mittlefehldt
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Borderline by Allan Stratton
                      Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
Rating:

lots to think about

Summary (provided by publisher): Eran Sharon knows nothing of his father except that he left when Eran was a baby. Now a senior in high school and living with his protective but tight-lipped mother, Eran is a passionate young man deeply interested in social justice and equality. When he learns that the Houston police have launched a program to increase traffic stops, Eran organizes a peaceful protest. But a heated moment at the protest goes viral, and a reporter connects the Sharon family to a tragedy fifteen years earlier — and asks if Eran is anything like his father, a supposed terrorist. Soon enough, Eran is wondering the same thing, especially when the people he’s gone to school and temple with for years start to look at him differently. Timely, powerful, and full of nuance, Rafi Mittlefehldt’s sophomore novel confronts the prejudices, fears, and strengths of family and community, striking right to the heart of what makes us who we are.

My opinion: Several years ago we saw a lot of books about the families of school shooters. Now we've moved on to the families of terrorists. While the details change the general themes remain the same: grief at war with guilt and the pressures of public perception. In this case, we have the added complication of racism and anti-semitism. Eran's anger in complicated not only by his family history but by a public pre-disposed to unfairly judging him based on his race.This is just an added complication to the question of whether anger and violence are ever justified. There are elements of generational guilt and community ties. It comes to no solid conclusions, just starts a conversation that we must all decide for ourselves.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel Spotlight - The Tea Dragon Society

The Tea Dragon Society and The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill

As you might expect from the titles, the Tea Dragon books are a gentle and artistic exploration of a society. This is a world with dragons and other mythological creatures. Some are humanoid and, in fact, interact with people on the same level. Others, primarily the tea dragons, are more like pets or farm animals. Through the course of the two books we see various aspects of the world: careers, relationships, and dangers. The dangers come into play more in The Tea Dragon Festival, where we see the wildness and violence of the world. Even so, this is a relatively minor element of the plot. It's shown more as a complexity of the world an a real plot element. The art style is soft colors without distinct outlines, making the books gentle both to read and to look at.

Non-fiction book review - Ours to Share

Ours to Share by Kari Jones

Jones covers a great deal of group living in a handful of pages. This means that this is a simple overview but that's to be expected. Anything beyond an overview of the history of community becomes pretty complicated pretty quickly. Jones walks us through different forms of early society with a special focus on shared resources. It's the modern era, of course, that gets the most focus and that changes format. In the modern era we look at the difficulties of living in communities and the problems sharing resources. This highlights a serious and complex issue in a way accessible to young kids.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley