Book review - The Inkberg Enigma

Title: The Inkberg Enigma

Author: Jonathan King

Genre: mystery/graphic novel

Similar books: Bad Machinery series by John Allison

                     Rocket Robinson and the Pharoah's Fortune by Sean O'Neil

Rating:

 

interesting plot development

Summary (provided by publisher): Haven't you always thought there’s something WEIRD about this town, Miro?"
Miro and Zia live in Aurora, a fishing town nestled in the shadow of an ancient castle. Miro lives in his books; Zia is never without her camera. The day they meet, they uncover a secret. The fishing works, the castle, and the town council are all linked to an ill-fated 1930s Antarctic expedition. But the diary of that journey has been hidden, and the sea is stirring up unusual creatures. Something has a powerful hold over the town.
With Zia determined to find out more, Miro finds himself putting aside his books for a real adventure.

 

My opinion: King has created something of an homage to Lovecraft with this book. The parallels are certainly present. This is a fairly fanciful plot and yet it follows a clear internal logic. Each action has a consequence and leads to further plot complications. The characters are somewhat underdeveloped and the art is a bit flat. But the plot is reasonably engaging, especially for kids with an affinity for investigation and the mystical.

 

More information: The Inkberg Enigma releases September 1

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Earthworm Jim Launch the Cow

  

 Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow! by Doug TenNapel

If you're at all aware of the Earthworm Jim video game or short lived animated series, you know this book is going to be far from a traditional narrative. If this review is your first introduction to the character, allow me to give you a quick summary: a regular earthworm encounters a magical space energy and a high tech space suit which together turn him into the sentient (though rather dim) hero Earthworm Jim. He joins forces with Princess-What's-Her-Name, the genetically modified Peter Puppy who turns into a marauding monster when hurt or angry, and an unnamed mid-western farmer to fight off the evil Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and her minions Professor Monkey-for-a-Head and Psycrow. Weird, right? But to my way of thinking, it's the best kind of weird. It doesn't try too hard to fit into the workings of the real. Instead, it just asks us to follow along on a vaguely off-kilter mission that uses it's own internal logic. Kooky humor abounds, both visually and in the dialogue. If you have any affinity for chaotic humor, give Earthworm Jim a look.

 

Non-fiction book review - The Constitution Decoded

The Constitution Decoded by Katie Kennedy

There are some good very simple guides to the Constitution already on the market, but sometimes you want a little bit more. Sometimes you want more than just what the words mean. You want information about the application of our founding documents. You want to know what the rights spelled in the Constitution mean for individuals and for various levels of government. And that's where this book comes in. There is, of course, a plain language breakdown of what the Constitution literally says but equal space is given to application. This serves as a solid foundational guide for people wanting to understand their legal rights, accessible for middle grade and above.

More information: The Constitution Decoded releases September 1. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - The Candy Mafia

Title: The Candy Mafia

Author: Lavie Tidhar

Genre: mystery

Similar books: The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray

                      The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg

Rating:

 

unique format

 

Summary (provided by publisher): In a city where candy is a crime and sugar is scandalous, Nelle Faulker is a 12-year-old private detective looking for her next client.
When notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing! As a seemingly innocent investigation unravels into something more sinister, Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.
If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she'll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end...?
 

My opinion: I've read my share of kids mysteries, ranging from lost objects to actual crimes, but this may be the first I've encountered with organized crime (Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew aside). And that's not the only thing that sets this book apart from the pack. The biggest difference is the tone. Tidhar has really captured the feel of the noir story. Nelle aims to be a traditional hard boiled detective, so her approach to investigation mimics the classic Sam Spade style. The whole book follows that standard format, the characters all extreme versions of their assorted types. Following a pattern means that the plot is fairly predictable but that's not too much of a problem. There's a large cast of characters and plenty going on to keep the plot moving. A fun little read.

More information: The Candy Mafia releases September 1.

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Book review - Scritch Scratch

Title: Scritch Scratch

Author: Lindsay Currie

Genre: horror

Similar books: The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell

                      Mothman's Curse by Christine Hayes 

Rating:

lacking in atmosphere

Summary (provided by publisher): Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She's a scientist, which is why she can't think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she's made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There's something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour...he's gone.
Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad's ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.
Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something...and Claire needs to find out what before it's too late.

My opinion: What an excellent title for a horror story. Just reading those words, one can imagine the creepiness of hearing an unexplained scratching sound in the walls or the ceiling. It sets us up for a highly frightening atmosphere. And then rather lets us down. There are plenty of frightening events, of course, but there's no slow build, no constant underlying dread. The plot is pretty solid, teaching us about the history of Chicago tragedies. We have a cast of characters working together to identify and pacify the ghost and free them from the haunting. I like many of the elements, it's just missing that one vital piece.

More information: Scritch Scratch releases September 1 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: series

 There's something wonderful about finding a good series. A solid adventure with the promise of more to come. Especially for young or reluctant readers, if you can get someone started on a series you've guaranteed months of reading. With that in mind, here are six new books that are part of series.

6 series books published in the past 6 months

1. Jasmine Green Rescues a Piglet Called Truffle by Helen Peters
2. The Accursed Inheritance of Henrietta Achilles by Haiko Hornig 
3. Lobizona by Rommy Garber 
4. Doodleville by Chad Sell
5. The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales by S J King 
6. The Last Lie by Patricia Fforde
   

Non-fiction book review - Eye By Eye

  

Eye by Eye by Sara Levine

We see plenty of books about individual animals. Or about animals that share a trait. Or about extremes in the animal kingdom. We don't get many that explore differences in a single body part. We don't put much thought into the differences between eyes other than color or maybe size. But there is so much to learn here. We learn that owls have cylindrical eyes. That a sea star's eyes are at the ends of it's arms. That a cuttlefish has W shaped pupils. But Levine does more than tell us these unusual facts. She gives us a basic explanation of why. This book is accessible to very young readers and the illustrations are quite appealing.

More information: Eye By Eye releases September 1.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley 

Book review - Isaiah Dunn is My Hero

Title: Isaiah Dunn is My Hero

Author: Kelly J Baptist

Genre: Realistic fiction

Similar books: Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

                      Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Rating:

an important read

Summary (provided by publisher): Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it's a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama's gone totally silent.
Good thing Isaiah can count on his best friend, Sneaky, who always has a scheme for getting around the rules. Plus, his classmate Angel has a few good ideas of her own--once she stops hassling Isaiah.
And when things get really tough, there's Daddy's journal, filled with stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. Isaiah wishes his dad's tales were real. He could use those powers right about now!

My opinion: I feel like the most important part of this book is the opening scenario. The Dunn family begins the book without a home but feeling like their situation is only temporary. They'd been living right on the borderline of poverty, barely holding on. It doesn't take much to tip them over the line, to start them down the downward slope to a point that they can't pull themselves out of. Grief and addiction compound an already difficult situation. We see Isaiah trying to cover his situation in school, with adults, and even masking it's extent with his closest friends. This won't be immediately relatable for upper middle class kids but those who've lived around the poverty line will recognize themselves in this narrative, a fact alone which will make it valuable. But we also get a lot of Isaiah's inner life here. We see his anger and resentment, pointed primarily at his mother but a little at his dad and and Sneaky, resentment for the things he's lost that others still have. We see the fissures that develop between lifelong friends and which cannot be fully repaired.

Book review - Bear

Title: Bear

Author: Ben Queen

Genre: graphic novel

Similar books: Edison by Torben Kuhlmann

                      Trash Mountain by Jane Yolen

Rating:

a fascinating combination

Summary (provided by publisher): Bear is a guide dog who would do anything for his owner Patrick - and embarks on an epic quest from the forest to the city to regain his sight so he can protect his best friend.
Bear is a service dog who would do anything for his owner and best friend Patrick who is blind. But when Bear suddenly loses his vision, he worries he’s lost his purpose in life—protecting Patrick! Following the misguided advice from some self-serving raccoons, Bear embarks on a transformative journey to regain his eyesight. Out of both necessity and survival, he learns to tap into his other senses and begins to see the world from a new perspective that is at times more rich and colorful than the world he’s always known.

My opinion: We see stories about animals separated from their families. Stories about relationships between guide dogs and their human companion. Not often do we find an intersection between the two concepts. Even more rare is the idea that the guide dog finds himself suddenly impaired. This complication allows Queen to explore a number of ideas. Bear is question his role in Patrick's life. If he cannot see, cannot guide, what is his purpose? Through his adventure he learns new ways of navigating and understanding the world, just as Patrick had to do. We also have an exploration of perception. When he cannot see, he interprets life based on what he hears, smells, remembers, and imagines. A solid story with some bits of animal biology and sociology interspersed.

More information: Bear releases August 18.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Picture books for everyone

The Egg by Geraldo Valerio

If any book is truly all ages, it's a wordless picture book like this one. Valerio has done a masterful job of breaking down actions and moments into multiple illustrations so we can follow the story without having to speculate about transition moments. We can see essentially every action that the stork takes. We also get a clear idea of it's emotions, between body postures and facial expressions. It's fear, desperation, loss, and love are clearly portrayed.And given the simple illustration style, the details don't get lost in background noise. Quite lovely.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley 

Non-fiction book review - The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion by Annette Whipple

I was, frankly, a bit disappointed by this book. The chapter by chapter guide amounts more to a footnote. I was anticipating a full paragraph of some element of historical context. The real strength is in the accompanying activities: crafts, gardening, research ideas, and other activities. These are of varying  quality but it's handy to have an assortment of suggestions collected all together in one place. This is a book that will shine on the homeschooler's resource shelf. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Eva Evergreen, Semi Magical Witch

Title: Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

Author: Julie Abe

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

                      Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster 

Rating:

delightful

Summary (provided by publisher): Sometimes all you need is a pinch of magic...
Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her thirteenth birthday. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test:
One: Help your town, do good all around.
Two: Live there for one moon, don't leave too soon.
Three: Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.
The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets a sunburn instead of calling down rain. And to add insult to injury, whenever she overuses her magic, she falls asleep.
When she lands in the tranquil coastal town of Auteri, the residents expect a powerful witch, not a semi-magical girl. So Eva comes up with a plan: set up a magical repair shop to aid Auteri and prove she's worthy. She may have more blood than magic, but her "semi-magical fixes" repair the lives of the townspeople in ways they never could have imagined. Only, Eva's bit of magic may not be enough when the biggest magical storm in history threatens the town she's grown to love. Eva must conjure up all of the magic, bravery, and cleverness she can muster or Auteri and her dreams of becoming a witch will wash away with the storm.

My opinion: It can be a bit risky, pulling direct inspiration from a popular piece of media like Kiki's Delivery Service. If poorly done it comes off as a pale copy. But if, as in this case, it is well done you borrow the positive associations from our fondness for the source material and uses it to build a whole new world. In this book, Abe has resolve some of my complaints about the movie, namely that there was no clear conflict or point to the plot. Eva's world has a lot more complexity. There's clear rules to magic and a larger conspiracy afoot. Eva is not an exceptional witch. Her powers are such that she has to use extra creativity to solve her problems. She also genuinely wants to help people. Yes, she wants to prove herself, but helping her people takes precedence. The plot is compelling and the characters are pleasant and reasonably complex. One I would easily recommend.
 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

Title: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: Silverworld by Diana Abu-Jaber

                     Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

 Rating: 

a solid adventure

Summary (provided by publisher): Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.
Hating her mother's humiliating superstitions and knowing that she and her friends would never venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope near the Gila, since it's the best stargazing spot. But when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right. . . .
Pao has always relied on hard science to make sense of the world, but to find her friend she will have to enter the world of her nightmares, which includes unnatural mist, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and legend.

My opinion: Generally speaking, you know what you're in for with this book. As with any of the "Rick Riordan presents" books, we have a regular kid who is confronted with the reality of myth or folk lore. There's magic, spirits, and an over-arching villain who must be defeated within a specific time frame. This book shines in the details that have been fitted into that framework. It's more than just a different culture. Pao's life experiences are unique. She's facing borderline poverty, racism and classism. The world seems designed to prevent her from advancing. And with her interest in science, she's dismissive of folklore as nonsense. She sees her mother's interests as not only foolish, but potentially damaging. This adds to the conflict on multiple levels. And her interest in science informs her approach to the challenges she faces.

 

Listen with me

Absolutely Everything by Christopher Lloyd

As promised by the title, this book takes us from the creation of the universe to the modern era. As you might expect, no single event gets much detail. This is especially true since the intended audience is middle grade. Even major world events, from mass extinction to the world wars, get a few sentences apiece. The focus of the text is less on the details of events and more on general movements, the sorts of things that were happening and what that tells us about various cultures or species interactions. Even more, there is an emphasis on how the whole of human history makes up just a tiny fraction of the history of our world.
The interest level for the text is high. The vocabulary is accessible. As an audio, it's well read. Lloyd has a flair for the dramatic, so it may be a bit over-acted at times but that will simply add to the excitement for a young reader.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Jefferson Measures a Moose

Jefferson Measures a Moose by Mara Rockliff

We learn many facts about Jefferson from school lessons and pop culture. His fondness for measurement is not one of those things, which is a real shame. I'd no idea how much Jefferson's work did for standardization and record keeping. Not only is this story an interesting anecdote, it's a good example for young readers. Through this tale of Thomas Jefferson, we can see that even the most unusual interest can be valuable. Even if something is considered a waste of time, it may have value. With detailed, elegant illustrations this is an entertaining read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Quintessence

Title: Quintessence
Author: Jess Redman
Genre: magical realism
Similar books: The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara
                      What We Found in the Corn Maze and How it Saved a Dragon by Henry Clark
Rating:

pleasant and empowering

Summary (provided by publisher): Find the Elements. Grow the Light. Save the Starling.
Three months ago, twelve-year-old Alma moved to the town of Four Points. Her panic attacks started a week later, and they haven’t stopped—even though she’s told her parents that they have. She’s homesick and friendless and every day she feels less and less like herself.
But one day she finds a telescope in the town’s junk shop, and through its lens, she watches a star—a star that looks like a child—fall from the sky and into her backyard. Alma knows what it’s like to be lost and afraid, to long for home, and she knows that it’s up to her to save the star. And so, with the help of some unlikely new friends from Astronomy Club, she sets out on a quest that will take a little bit of science, a little bit of magic, and her whole self.

My opinion: A lot of book explore the idea that we all have something that makes us special, something that only we can contribute. What makes this book stand out is that the thing that makes each of these kids special, their elemental power, can also be detrimental. It makes them prideful, impulsive, leads them to make truly disastrous decisions that have long reaching consequences. Additionally, while they are forced to address their interpersonal issues and they gain more understanding of each other, that understand doesn't automatically mean that they get along. It merely starts them on a path. The plot, the exploration of starlings and quintessence, is an odd combination of magic and fringe science. It may be a bit too weird for mainstream readers but will be a compelling read for a small group of kids.

Headed to Hogwarts

I had one of these Hotel Transylvania blind bag trunks. It was fun but I knew right away that it had the potential to be more.

A little acrylic paint gives it a more traditional look and by painting only the "H" of the logo, it's ready for Hogwarts. Since I'm a Ravenclaw, I painted the inside blue and gray.