Picture books for everyone

 

How to Greet a Grandma by Donna Amey Bhatt

Like all of the best multi-age books, this one can be appreciated on multiple levels. We start with the word for a grandmother in another culture and the ways that a child might greet her. We also learn things that a grandmother and grandchild might do together in that culture. That's the surface level and certainly has value. A little discussion and thought, and you're talking with an older kid about the roles of elders in a culture. We can learn from these interactions how a culture venerates it's elders and the various family dynamics. 

Advanced Reader copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Without Separation

 

Without Separation by Larry Dane Brimner

Most schools teach about segregation exclusively in lessons about the Civil Rights Movement and the end of Jim Crow laws. Because we learn it only in that context we can get the idea that it was an issue strictly of Black and White. We are not generally taught that, depending on the area, there might be a separate school for Asians, Natives, or Latinex kids. That fact alone makes this book an important one. We want our kids to understand the full context of history and that includes the full breadth of inequality in our country. The other vital point is how much of the action here was driven by youth. Not the parents but by Roberto himself. A solid example of youth activism, well supported by charming illustrations.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The List of Unspeakable Fears

 

Title: The List of Unspeakable Fears

Author: J. Kasper Kramer

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Lord of the Mountain by Ronald Kidd

                      I Don't Know How the Story Ends by J.B. Cheaney

Rating:

 

gave me some pause, but paid off in the end

Summary (provided by publisher): Essie O’Neill is afraid of everything. She’s afraid of cats and electric lights. She’s afraid of the silver sick bell, a family heirloom that brings up frightening memories. Most of all, she’s afraid of the red door in her nightmares.
But soon Essie discovers so much more to fear. Her mother has remarried, and they must move from their dilapidated tenement in the Bronx to North Brother Island, a dreary place in the East River. That’s where Essie’s new stepfather runs a quarantine hospital for the incurable sick, including the infamous Typhoid Mary. Essie knows the island is plagued with tragedy. Years ago, she watched in horror as the ship General Slocum caught fire and sank near its shores, plummeting one thousand women and children to their deaths.
Now, something on the island is haunting Essie. And the red door from her dreams has become a reality, just down the hall from her bedroom in her terrifying new house. Convinced her stepfather is up to no good, Essie investigates. Yet to uncover the truth, she will have to face her own painful history—and what lies behind the red door.

My opinion: I had some concerns early on in this book. Mary seemed entirely too sympathetic. Her first scene showed her as a victim of circumstance, a person unfairly imprisoned by unfeeling officials. And her real history is morally complex. We're weighing personal freedom against public good, a situation with no easy answers. I was concerned also with the portrayal of Essie's fears. I was concerned that this was all being attributed to her father's death. So I appreciated when we saw back into the past and realized that she had always been anxious. Similarly, I appreciated that there were so simple solutions to her problems. Everything was a process. There were elements I didn't care for, some coincidental plot points. If you have an interest in history, though, it's a solid read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

A slightly cooler mirror

 I found this mirror at the dollar store. I don't usually check a mirror at work but this guy wanted to be on my desk.

The white frame is a little boring, though. Luckily I have a decent assortment of paint. A touch of metallic red does wonders.

Book review - A Soft Place to Land

 

Title: A Soft Place to Land

Author: Janae Marks

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Partly Cloudy by Tanita S Davis

                     The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Rating:

 

a solid read

Summary (provided by publisher): Joy Taylor has always believed home is the house she lived in her entire life. But then her dad lost his job, and suddenly, home becomes a tiny apartment with thin walls, shared bedrooms, and a place for tense arguments between Mom and Dad. Hardest of all, Joy doesn’t have her music to escape through anymore. Without enough funds, her dreams of becoming a great pianist—and one day, a film score composer—have been put on hold.
A friendly new neighbor her age lets Joy in on the complex’s best-kept secret: the Hideout, a cozy refuge that only the kids know about. And it’s in this little hideaway that Joy starts exchanging secret messages with another kid in the building who also seems to be struggling, until—abruptly, they stop writing back. What if they’re in trouble?
Joy is determined to find out who this mystery writer is, fast, but between trying to raise funds for her music lessons, keeping on a brave face for her little sister, and worrying about her parents’ marriage, Joy isn’t sure how to keep her own head above water.

My opinion: The large elements of a "new kid" story tend to be fairly similar. A kid has to find their place among their peers. Often, this means a sudden group of fast friends. We can see this coming when Joy meets the kids in her building. While she forms friendships very quickly, those same friendships are broken just as easily by her own actions. And I like the messaging here: both Joy and her new friend learn lessons about what it means to be friends, the things we share and our right to keep secrets. While I feel like some of the issues are too easily resolved and the characters are underdeveloped, this is a solid read for a kid just beginning to search for meaning in their reading.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: new in town

 Moving to a new town or a new school is a classic set-up for a youth novel, and with good reason. Finding yourself in a new situation, adjusting to new schedules and a new peer group; these are a solid framework for addressing personal and family issues. Here are six books published in the last six months that feature kids who recently moved to new town, neighborhoods, or schools as a primary character.

 6 New books with characters new to town:

1. Animal Rescue Friendsby Gina Loveless
2. What Comes Next by Rob Boyea
3. Long Distance by Whitney Gardner
4. Partly Cloudy by Tanita S Davis
5. A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks
6. White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson
   

Non-fiction book review - Earth is Big

 

Earth is Big by Steve Tomecek

This book is built on a solid concept. Scale can be incredibly difficult to grasp, especially for any measurement larger or smaller than we can see directly in front of us. You can tell me that something is 200 miles away, for example, but that doesn't mean that I truly grasp how far that is. And that's where this book comes in. We compare the size of earth to other planetary bodies, both smaller and larger. We do the same sorts of comparison with other measurements - distance, heat volume, etc. We learn a variety of science facts and also get the reminder that comparisons are relative and that a perspective change can influence our view.

Advanced Reader Copy provided  by NetGalley