Non-fiction book review - Where Does My Poo Go?

 

Where Does My Poo Go? by Jo Lindley

Let's be completely honest - most kids are going to pick this book because they are giggling about the word "poo". That being said, this is probably the most comprehensive explanation of wastewater treatment that I've ever encountered. Usually we're just told that waste is filtered out and the water is treated. Lindley gives us at least the basics of every step of the process. There's even mention of fat burgs and other problems in sewer and waste water treatment. It's worth noting that the text has a British air about it, so the details may not be entirely accurate for an American audience. Even so, it's pretty cool. It demystifies something of a taboo subject. 

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Book review - War and Millie McGonigle

 

Title: War and Millie McGonigle

Author: Karen Cushman

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: The Summer We Found the Baby by Amy Hest

                     Blue Skies by Anne Bustard

Rating:

 

a unique take on a familiar topic

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Millie McGonigle lives in sunny California, where her days are filled with beach and surf. It should be perfect--but times are tough. Hitler is attacking Europe and it looks like the United States may be going to war. Food is rationed and money is tight. And Millie's sickly little sister gets all the attention and couldn't be more of a pain if she tried. It's all Millie can do to stay calm and feel in control.
Still--there's sand beneath her feet. A new neighbor from the city, who has a lot to teach Millie. And surfer boy Rocky to admire--even if she doesn't have the guts to talk to him.
It's a time of sunshine, siblings, and stress. Will Millie be able to find her way in her family, and keep her balance as the the world around her loses its own?

My opinion: Often times, heroines in historical fiction are best described as "plucky". Not Millie. She is a consummate pessimist. She sees the inevitability of war, death all around her. SHe is, at times, selfish and a pain. She can't explain her outlook but with her parents constantly busy she has space to work through her obsessions on her own. She learns to value others, to engage with her family and recognize the struggles of her siblings. As an historical novel it's a bit of a hard sell for many middle grade readers and being introspective doesn't raise it's standing with that same age group. Kids willing to work their way through it, though, will find a wonderful edifying tale.

More information: War and Millie McGonigle releases April 6.

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Tiny house

 Sometime in the fall I ordered one of those miniature house kits on Amazon. This is one of those kits where you assemble furnishings out of paper and cardstock and a little bit of balsa wood. My final product didn't come out quite square but was still a lot of fun. And I might just have to add some more personalized decor in the future.

 

You're also supposed to glue it all shut, but how else am I supposed to move that toy goat around unless I leave the wall detached...

Graphic Novel Spotlight - Astronaut Academy Splashdown

 

Astronaut Academy Splashdown by Dave Roman

From the first volume, Astronaut Academy has played with a unique format. The stories are told from the perspectives of a wide variety of characters. Some get only one short section. Other contribute throughout the book. Some short sections tie directly into the larger book plot. Many are seemingly unrelated, a brief non-sequitor that tells us about the world or some small element that will inform the eventual resolution. Always, though, these sections tell us a lot about the character and give us an idea to contemplate as we read. In this third volume, Roman deviates slightly from that structure. We still get multiple perspectives. This one, though, has a lot few non-sequitors, a lot less random information. Instead, he's drawn in conflicts from the first two books, looking at motivations and old resentments. Fewer robots and explosions, more confrontation of grief and unresolved trauma. It's more contemplative than the previous books but ultimately a pleasant way to close out the trilogy.

 

More Information: Astronaut Academy Splashdown releases April 6.

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Non-fiction book review - Walking Toward Peace

 

Walking Toward Peace by Kathleen Krull

At first thought, walking doesn't seem like enough action to actually make a difference. Of course, Peace Pilgrim didn't just walk. Her plan was more about meeting people on their level, in every day situations and having genuine conversation. By walking for years and explaining herself to anyone who asked, Peace Pilgrim made every day change. She got people talking and thinking. Her story also shows young readers that most people are generally good, kind and generous. This is a great one to use in a classroom setting to engage in a conversation about peaceful protest and simple actions that make change.

AdvNced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - The Spy Who Raised Me

 

Title: The Spy Who Raised Me

Author: Ted Anderson

Genre: thriller/graphic novel

Similar books: Girl from Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan

                     School for S.P.I.E.S by Bruce Hale

Rating:

 

won't hold up

Summary (provided by publisher): Some parents want their children to turn out just like them. Only a few secretly turn their kids into elite special operatives.
Josie Black can infiltrate any building, speak a dozen languages, and fight like a martial arts master. But no one told her that. After J.B. detects gaps in her memory, her mom reveals the truth: she works for a covert agency, and she's given J.B. the skills of a super spy. After J.B. freaks out, runs off, and tries to escape the weird world of espionage, she'll have to decide who she wants to be.

My opinion: We know a lot of what to expect from a book like this one. JB stumbles on the fact that she has been trained to be a spy. So of course she and her friend go on the run from shadowy forces and all of the skills she has been programmed with aid in her escape. This one is interesting in that it involves corporate espionage instead of governmental, but the plot elements remain largely the same. It's pretty simple entertainment but is predictable enough that it probably won't hold up to multiple reads.

More information: The Spy Who Raised Me releases April 6.

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Sloths and llamas

 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.

Rather than use the 4 included crayons, I pulled out my alcohol markers.

 

Book review - Sherlock Bones and the Sea Creature Feature

 

Title: 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. 

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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:

1. I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan
2. The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
3. When You Look Like Us by Pamela N Harris
4. The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S by David Levithan
5. City of Villains by Estelle Laure
6. Fadeaway by E.B. Vickers
   

Non-fiction book review - A Kid's Guide to the Names of Jesus

 

A Kid's Guide to the Names of Jesus by Tony Evans

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. 

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Book review - Soul Lanterns

 

Title: 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.
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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.

Book review - The Seventh Raven

 

Title: 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. 

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Picture books for everyone

 

The Floating Field by Scott Riley

What I like best about this book is that it doesn't feel the need to be a blunt object with the messaging. Riley presents the story in a simple, chronological manner. Events follow logically. We are presented with both the "what" and the "why" of the actions these boys took. The illustrations are dynamic and support the text well. The information is clear enough in both the text and the art that you could use this with small kids to do some basic comprehension analysis. Older kids can do more textual analysis, gleaning messaging, without those elements being flatly spelled out.

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Non-fiction book review - Classified

 

Classified by Traci Sorell

This book was the very first I'd heard of Mary Golda Ross and I'm always game to learn about trailblazing women. Classified does not disappoint. We are introduced to Mary as a youth, a girl with a passion for the sciences in an era when girls were not encouraged to pursue STEM careers and where higher education for non-whites was far from the norm. But Mary doesn't seem to have been at all bothered by those facts or by social pressures. She simply wanted to learn and followed her education to logical conclusions. This is a very brief biography and we learn very little about her contributions but this is largely due to the nature of that work. It is, as the title suggests, still classified. A cool addition to a collection of short biographies. 

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Book review - Project Pay Day

Title: Project Pay Day

Author: Brent Hartinger

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan

                      King Dork by Frank Portman

Rating:

 

too unbelievable

Summary (provided by publisher): “Our parents just said we had to get summer jobs. They didn’t say *what* summer jobs!”
Dave and his two best friends, Hannah and Curtis, are looking forward to a summer of complete freedom, but their parents have another idea: they insist that the three teenagers get summer jobs. 
But the friends come up with a plan: Why not invent fake jobs to get their parents off their backs? The trouble is, their parents are going to want to see them bringing in real money. And that means finding a way to get-rich-quick, but without breaking the law, and without doing any actual work.
The summer passes and Dave, Curtis, and Hannah try a long list of schemes: trying to catch bank robbers to win the reward; scientifically calculating the “correct” number of jelly beans in a contest jar; finding and exploring a network of underground smugglers' tunnels; and even diving for sunken treasure. 
But “Project Pay Day” never quite goes according to plan, and they don’t make the money they need.
Soon summer is almost over, and they have no choice but to solve a big local mystery — or face the consequences of their actions, which includes their parents breaking up the trio for good!   

My opinion: From the beginning, I had trouble with the details of this book. One or two details that defy logic or don't match how things work in the real world are annoying but workable. But this book is littered with them in every chapter. Like the fact that Dave and his friends calculate the total they will need based on a 40 hour work week. It's a little detail, but what teen works a 40 hour week, especially for a first job? Or the sheer number of opportunities they have to make thousands of dollars in a single scheme in a small town Contests, solving crimes, treasure hunts - they have both fantastic and terrible luck. If the characters were more complex, it could be more forgiving of such a nonsense plot but that simply isn't the case. Dave, Curtis, and Hannah have no real depth and the parents are even more one dimensional. Hard pass.

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The Great Owl Repaint Project Finale (for now)

It's been a while, but at long last I've finished up repainting my collection of owls. I had a couple of small owls that we name Tippy and Tupelo. 

I modeled them on the juvenile look of the Great Horned Owl and the Oriental Bay Owl.

 

Book review - Like Home

 

Title: Like Home

Author: Louisa Onome

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

                     Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Rating: 

 

socially complex

Summary (provided by publisher): Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and the memories she has growing up there with her friends. Ginger East isn't what it used to be though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, most of her friends' families moved away. Kate, whose family owns the local corner store, is still there and as long as that stays constant, Nelo's good.
When Kate's parent's store is vandalized and the vandal still at large, Nelo is shaken to her core. And then the police and the media get involved and more of the outside world descends upon Ginger East with promises to "fix the neighborhood." Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.
Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She's pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Now Nelo's entire world is morphing into something she hates and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything--and everyone--she loves.
 

My opinion: I've started noticing book recently that focus on gentrification. It's an unexpected trend but an important one. We need to understand the full social impact of these events on people and communities. This book shows us a community in decline, largely because of gentrification. Always a bit of a rough place, Ginger East is losing small businesses and desperation is driving residents to actions of questionable legality. While the inciting incident is an act of vandalism, the plot isn't especially driven by the mystery of the vandal's identity. Rather, the focus is on how the world around Nelo is changing: businesses and people. We see how moving to different neighborhoods and stratified a once tight-knit group of friends to the point that they barely understand each other. We see a number of different perspectives on the changes in Ginger East, both positive and negative. Onome also invites us to consider who has a right to be a part of the conversation about these changes. We see characters taking advantage of a social justice situation for their own benefit, for optics. We're asked to question what battles are worth fighting and when we just need to accept change. This is a book with a lot of content, but not a lot of action. More thinking than doing.

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Graphic Novel Spotlight - Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic

 

Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic by Thom Pico

Aster is an adventure somewhat reminiscent of Hilda (with a touch of Chickenhare thrown in for complexity). We are presented with a wide variety of folk-tale creatures and all sorts of magic. Aster is also balancing her role in this magical world while keeping it hidden from most of the people around her, including her mother. It should be said that this volume is a sequel, but I was a couple of pages in before that became apparent. Its easy enough to understand this book without being familiar with the first one (though I'd recommend reading them in order if you have the chance). Not only are we given sufficient context for the events of the first book, the plot of this one basically stands on it's own, only contributing small elements to the larger series plot. It's a fun adventure with a fair amount of humor and charming illustrations. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - A Time of Fear

 

A Time of Fear by Albert Marrin

The Red Scare and the Cold War are, to my way of thinking, underrepresented in our history classes. The most we typically get is a brief mention that they happened and a vague overview of what they meant for the average citizen. As such, we typically see them as a backwards way of thinking that couldn't happen now. Marrin has set out to correct those perceptions. He gives us the full context: the rise of Communism and it's ties to Nazi Germany; the role of anarchists and the terror they perpetrated; espionage and moral panics. Finish reading this book and you will grasp what a complex issue this really is. Now, the actual writing is a bit clinical and dry so it won't appeal to all readers. For the young reader already interested in history, though, it's bound to be an eye-opener. 

More information: A Time of Fear releases March 30.

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Book review - Secrets of Camp Whatever

Title: Secrets of Camp Whatever

Author: Chris Grine

Genre: fantasy graphic novel

Similar books: Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke

                     Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson

Rating: 

 

a promising new series

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Eleven year-old Willow doesn't want to go to her dad's weird old summer camp any more than she wants her family to move to the weird old town where that camp is located. But her family—and fate itself—seem to have plans of their own. Soon Willow finds herself neck-deep in a confounding mystery involving stolen snacks, suspected vampires, and missing campers, all shrouded in the sinister fog that hides a generation of secrets at Camp ... Whatever it's called. 

My opinion: Camp is a great setting for any book, but especially for a graphic novel. And especially when mythological beings are involved. Camp Whatever presents the reader with the perfect blend of spooky and funny. We have realistic kid characters: selfish, fearful, reckless, rude. They are also pretty accepting of the existence of monsters. They don't spend much time looking for alternate explanations for the odd occurrences. The villain, while a bit over the top, presents a genuine threat to both the human and monstrous characters. This is clearly an introductory volume and future volumes promise to be even stronger. Give this one a try if you have a fondness for the world of weird.

More information: Secrets of Camp Whatever releases March 16.

A magical skirt

 I recently got a great deal on a dress. At just a couple of dollars, this jersey knit dress was too good to pass up. Since it didn't fit quite right as a dress, I figured I'd deconstruct it and remake it as a skirt.

Since it had a seam at the waist, it was a simple matter to detach the bodice, which I've saved for a future project. I had planned to simply add some pockets, but once I got working on it I decided the fabric was a bit thin so I decided to line it with a contrasting fabric. And for a little extra fun, I made the pockets of the contrasting fabric as well. 

 I'm pretty happy with the overall result, though I may add space helmets to a couple of the unicorns if I can find some silver embroidery thread...