Today's craft is a quick one. I don't usually buy cardboard craft kits, but when I saw this one at the dollar store featuring two of my favorite animals I couldn't resist.
Monday, March 22, 2021
Friday, March 19, 2021
Book review - Sherlock Bones and the Sea Creature Feature
Author: Renee Treml
Genre: mystery/early chapter book
Similar books: Sandwich Shenanigans by Verity Weaver
Wallace and Grace Take the Case by Heather Alexander
Rating:
a decent beginner mystery
Summary (provided by publisher): Sherlock Bones’s home, the Natural History Museum, has added an exciting new exhibit, Reef to Shore, that includes a mangrove forest and shallow coral reef habitat, with touch tanks in between. When Sherlock overhears a that a swamp monster has been sighted, he gathers his team to investigate. At first Sherlock Bones suspects Nivlac, a quirky octopus with a talent for camouflage—and tank pranks.
But then, loud bellowing leads Bones and team to the mangroves, where they find a horrifying long-haired green beast! Can they escape the creature—or is it too late for our beloved frogmouth bird skeleton and his ragtag mystery-solving team?
My opinion: Treml uses the graphic novel format to powerful affect in this book. There is no narration, no captions. Instead, Bones provides necessary information through expository dialogue. The mystery is a bit odd but certainly education. We learn quite a bit about ecosystems and animal behaviors through the investigation. The characters are consistent if a bit odd. A decent choice for young readers, especially those who find a page full of text overwhelming.
More information: Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature releases March 23.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Pick 6: Gone Missing
We get stories about a lot of different kinds of mysteries. Murders tend to be thrillers. When an author wants to present us with a more contemplative mystery, they tend to pick something more like a missing person. Investigating a missing person reveals secrets, truths about a person that make for a more complex understanding of individuals. Here are six books featuring a missing person published in the past six months.
Six new missing person novels:
- I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan
- The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
- When You Look Like Us by Pamela N Harris
- The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S by David Levithan
- City of Villains by Estelle Laure
- Fadeaway by E.B. Vickers
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Non-fiction book review - A Kid's Guide to the Names of Jesus
For kids who grow up in the church, there is often a gap. A time period where they have outgrown bible story books but aren't ready for deep theological exploration. And it's an important gap to bridge. You can only read about Adam and Eve or David and Goliath so many times before they become stale. And that's where books like this one come in. It follows the same structure as any adult theological text. We have a central concept broken down into elements, each element explored in depth in it's own chapter. In this case, each chapter takes a name given to Jesus, gives us the context in which it is used, and explores what it meant at the time and what it means for us now. The examples are accessible and applicable to modern life. A solid choice for upper elementary and middle school kids.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Book review - Soul Lanterns
Author: Shaw Kuzki
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai
Rating:
artistic reflection, but a bit of a hard sell
Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn't even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones' experiences. By opening people's eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.
My opinion: My first thought about this book is that the artistry and culture don't really translate properly into English. The central focus of the plot is on shifts in culture after a world changing event. Can we, as American readers, properly understand those shifts if we don't really understand what the culture was like before Hiroshima? This also isn't a straightforward narrative. It's glimpses into the lives of people in a neighborhood, the secret pain they are hiding and the effort they've made towards normalcy. The central ideas here are compelling and heartbreaking, and the ideas are vital for us to understand. I'm simply concerned that the emotional distance and meandering writing style may make it a hard sell for young readers.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Monday, March 15, 2021
Visible mends
I've been really into visible mending lately. Mostly for me that means darning knitted garments in contrasting colors.
I also attempted darning a hole in my running shoes. A tricky fix but it should keep these shoes usable for a few more runs.
I did also patch some fleece pajamas this weekend as well, using contrasting fleece and some rainbow thread.
Friday, March 12, 2021
Book review - The Seventh Raven
Author: David Elliott
Genre: retelling/verse novel
Similar books: The Daughters of Ys by MT Anderson
Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Rating:
a literary reflection on a fairy tale
Summary (provided by publisher):When Robyn and his brothers are turned into ravens through the work of an unlucky curse, a sister is their only hope to become human again. Though she’s never met her brothers, April will stop at nothing to restore their humanity. But what about Robyn, who always felt a greater affinity to the air than to the earth-bound lives of his family?
My opinion: I don't believe I was familiar with this particular fairy tale, though I've read others that were similar. Maybe I'd find this book more compelling if I were. As a verse novel, it's a pretty quick read but not especially action driven. We have to assume a lot of actions from context. Elliot is doing some interesting things with poetic structure here, applying different structures to different characters based on personality. And there's some messaging about desire, longing, and duty. It's a valiant effort but more of a reflection than a narrative.
More information: The Seventh Raven releases March 16.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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