Non-fiction book review - Summertime Sleepers

 

Summertime Sleepers by Melissa Stewart

We first learn about hibernation in some of our earliest introductions to animal biology. It wasn't until I reached adulthood that I learned about estivation, though. Personally, I knew that animals other than bears slept for extended periods and may even have grasped that these sleeps don't just happen in the winter. I did not know that it had its own name and process. This book provides the young reader with several examples of animals that estivate, the reasons for it, how they prepare, etc. There isn't much detail here but that isn't the point. The point is to introduce the idea and encourage kids to ask questions about the lives of other animals. It achieves that aim well.

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Book review - Dog Squad

 

Title: Dog Squad

Author: Chris Grabenstein

Genre: adventure

Similar books: Little Claws by Eliot Schrefer

                     Horace and Bunwinkle by P.J. Gardner

Rating:

 

cute and accessible

Summary (provided by publisher): When trouble calls . . . it's DOG SQUAD to the rescue!
Duke is not your average dog. Along with his crew, he fights crime and goes on claw-biting adventures helping dogs in peril in the hit streaming sensation--DOG SQUAD! Fred is a pretty average dog. He's scrappy. He's loveable. But he's not brave like his heroes on Dog Squad.
Fred looks an awful lot like Duke from Dog Squad though. In fact, when Duke needs a stand-in, Fred's the perfect choice. But the Dog Squad action doesn't always stop on screen! When there's danger in real life, can Fred find the courage to step up and save the day?!
It's all paws on deck in this action-packed, middle grade adventure series just right for anyone who loves dogs--and anyone who loves to laugh!

My opinion: Dog squad delivers exactly what it promises. A regular stray dog finds himself thrust into the world of Hollywood due to his resemblance to a famous dog. He learns that the dog actor is self-important and cruel, a sharp contrast to his brave and selfless character. So of course, the reader and the director come to prefer Fred with his humble and helpful attitude. His kindness wins over everyone he meets, including tough customers. It's a bit predictable but should play well with middle grade readers.

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Carrying strap

After I broke my favorite glass water bottle, I started using a peanut butter jar in it's place. It was supposed to be a placeholder while I shopped for a new water bottle but it's starting to grow on me. The only problem is the shape. Since it's short and squat it can be a bit of a pain to transport. With a little paracord and these directions I made a carrying handle that should make things a bit easier.

Book review - Finding Junie Kim

 

Title: Finding Junie Kim

Author: Ellen Oh

Genre: realistic/historical fiction

Similar books: Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki

                     Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

Rating:

 

decent elements, not sure about the whole

Summary (provided by publisher): Junie Kim just wants to fit in. So she keeps her head down and tries not to draw attention to herself. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, Junie must decide between staying silent or speaking out.
Then Junie’s history teacher assigns a project and Junie decides to interview her grandparents, learning about their unbelievable experiences as kids during the Korean War. Junie comes to admire her grandma’s fierce determination to overcome impossible odds, and her grandpa’s unwavering compassion during wartime. And as racism becomes more pervasive at school, Junie taps into the strength of her ancestors and finds the courage to do what is right.

My opinion: The structure of this novel presents us with three distinct stories. Junie is facing obvious racism at school and doesn't know how to respond to it, or if she even should. Her grandparents each tell their childhood stories in big blocks. These stories guide Junie in her decision making. I can understand that structure cut they aren't melded together very well. There is far more attention given to the grandparents. Junie's story is thin, lacking in nuance. The three sections are awkwardly pasted together. I like the idea here and given how it addresses an oft forgotten part of history I wish I liked the book itself better.
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Listen with me

 

Dawn Raid by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith

You don't have to read a lot of middle grade fiction to encounter one structured as a journal. What makes this one stand apart is it's natural tone. Most "journals" are preternaturally aware of the meaning events will have in the world at large or the deeper emotional meaning of interactions. Not this book. There are entries about racism and social unrest, of course. But there are also entries about wanting cool clothes. Or annoying little brothers. Or being embarrassed about farting at school. And the text isn't super polished. Anyone who kept a journal at age 13 knows that most of the entries take the structure "I did this and that. It was fun." And that's how this book reads. You could easily believe it was written by an actual kid. It isn't super deep but it was a fun listen and introduced me to parts of history that I knew nothing about.

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Non-fiction book review - Why She Wrote

 

Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke and Hannah Chapman

Most often profiles of famous or influential people focus on the facts of their achievements. That's certainly an element here. We have to understand what makes this person important in history. Once those facts are established, though, Burke and Chapman turn to their real focus - motivations. This is a compelling and unique approach. Most of the motivations are what we expect: paying bills, grasping for freedom, exorcising personal demons, secret keeping. A few are more challenging and stand out from the rest. These are women who fought to protect their investments and their property. Sometimes to make more money but mostly because it was theirs. If these were men their fights would be expected. In women at the time it was considered in poor taste. We can certainly admire women who did what was right for them with little regard for how it would be perceived. Each profile is accompanied by comic strip pages that illustrate the motivation. While not entirely necessary, they are well designed and support the message well. 

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Book review - Only the Pretty Lies

Title: Only the Pretty Lies

Author: Rebekah Crane

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

                      Bright Lights Dark Nights by Stephen Emond

Rating:

 

nicely introspective

Summary (provided by publisher): Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?
Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down.
Now Amoris must decide where she stands and whom she stands by, threatening her love for the boy who stole her heart years ago. Maybe Alder Creek isn’t the town Amoris thinks it is. She’s certainly no longer the girl she used to be.

My opinion: Alder Creek, as we first encounter it, seems like a pretty idyllic place. The reader will assume, as the characters do, that being artistic means the citizens are open minded and accepting. We don't have to read very far to see the cracks, blind spots created by racial, financial, and gender privilege. Unsurprisingly, the addition of a Black friend forces Amoris to see her town through new eyes. It also forces her to take a much harder look at herself and her own family, the cruel and insensitive things that she brushes off in the name of peace. Through the plot, Grace asks us to consider not only what prejudices we might be dismissing but also what the appropriate response is when we come from a place of privilege. Questioning our environment is an obvious message. The more subtle messaging is the difference between being an ally and being a savior. The messaging is a bit heavy handed and Amoris's wilful ignorance becomes a bit tiresome, like Grace is working a bit too hard to keep her sympathetic. If it serves as a starting point to discuss more complex social topics, though, it's worth a read.

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