ALL ABOUT HAIR

Hair is important. Ads featuring hair products for growing hair, coloring hair, erasing hair, compete for a buyer's attention on TV and wherever else space is open and for sale. Everyone knows what a bad hair day is. The person proclaiming it will be avoided. Usually. Of course, kids need their own book about hair. It’s important to them, too.

 THE HAIR BOOK by Latonya Yvette, illustrated by Amanda Jane Jones, Sterling Children’s Books, 2022.

Children notice hair at a very early age. They cut the dog’s hair, their dolls’ hair, little brother’s hair…and their own.  Sometimes this urge to cut hair extends into adulthood.

I remember when I was four, my mother was shopping, and my dad decided to surprise her by trimming my bangs.  It turned out to be more difficult than he thought. I was draped in a towel and held my mother’s hand mirror in front of my face. I watched as Dad trimmed a little here, evened up a little there. By the time my mom came home, the bangs I had been brushing out of my eyes edged my forehead in a light brown fringe.

It took a few weeks for Mom’s surprise to fade and my fringe to become bangs again. She and Dad talked about it. A lot. With so much interest focused on hair, I decided to cut my doll’s hair. Her bangs did not grow back. I won't tell you about my little brother's hair. 

What do you suppose inspired the author and illustrator to create this book? Both were little girls once upon a time. And probably still girls at heart. Both are moms. The rest we can guess.

THE HAIR BOOK just launched as a board book and a picture book this month. In bold primary colors and spare text your young listeners and early readers will see themselves or someone they know.  They might discover someone new.

Party hair.  

Poufy hair.

All gone hair.

Beard hair (Santa?)

Monster hair (is that you in the morning?)     

 What's your hair story?

THE HAIR BOOK is an eclectic mix, but the message is clear: No matter what style or type of hair you have, YOU are welcome everywhere.

 

RAISINS TASTE LIKE MUD!

Do third graders have strong opinions? Ask one!

AVEN GREEN SERIES by Dusti Bowling, Sterling Children’s Books, 2021

AVEN GREEN SLEUTHING MACHINE

AVEN GREEN BAKING MACHINE

Chapter book readers love series because they make friends with the main character and want to follow her from book to book.

Meet Aven Green.

Feisty. Fun. Filled with energy. She bounces from being a sleuthing machine to becoming a competitive baker. Next on her list is to be a musician. But which instrument will she choose?

Aven was born without arms. She tells the reader that up front. The rest of her is a solidly built third-grade girl. She has a curious mind and a vocabulary that plays havoc with word choices. Employing her feet, she meets daily challenges with courage and humor while she learns new skills and adapts to surroundings that didn’t plan for her.

Parents will want to follow Aven’s adventures, too. How else will they understand why their children are trying to use their feet instead of their hands to get dressed, brush their teeth, and turn the pages of a book?  

Best-selling author Dusti Bowling www.dustibowling.com clearly knows and understands her readers as well as her lively characters.  Aided by easy to read facial expressions and body language sprinkled throughout the pages by illustrator Gina Perry, Aven and her friends fairly skip off the page to meet readers where they are, learning to navigate the choppy seas of growing up. Aven’s  mom and dad and the parents of her friends are kind and supportive with a dash of good humor and strength. 

The author spent years writing and researching Aven. Jessica Cox was one of her inspirations. Cox is a Motivational Speaker and Life Coach, the world’s first licensed armless pilot and the first armless black belt in the American Taekwando Association.   

Covid has caused the author to miss the school visits she loves, and that has been a downer. However, she has enjoyed slowing down and spending more time with her family and more time outdoors in the desert many of her characters explore. She’s grateful for zoom technology, virtual school visits, and Tuesdays. Those are the days – Tuesdays -- when Dusti Bowling regularly schedules classroom visits.  She derives “joy and happiness” from talking with kids.

In classrooms virtual and in person, Dusti encourages children to make reading a part of their lives. Her advice to those dreaming of becoming a writer: “Reading is the best thing you can do.” Her message to parents is to allow kids to choose what they want to read. Their tastes will grow and develop as they do.

In her own home, Dusti reads with and to her children whom she homeschools.  At the end of the day, they listen to audio books together.

In the meantime, Aven, the sleuth, baker and soon to be musician, is pondering her next life’s work. She will inspire the young readers at your house, and YOU, too.

Building Someday

 How Do You Build the Future? 

What is your picture of “someday?” 

How do you get there? 

Where do you start?  

 

BRICK BY BRICK by Heidi Woodward Sheffield, Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020

 

Luis is proud of his Papi who builds big city buildings, brick by brick. His Papi works hard. 

At school, Luis works hard, too, book by book, especially books about dogs. While he makes tiny bricks with clay and builds a tiny house the right size for a tiny dog, Luis dreams of living in a house and asks his Papi, “When?” 

His Papi says, “Someday.”

If you’ve missed old fashioned values of love for family and pride in a job well done, then this is a book to read to your kids over and over again. The surprise ending is a happy one, the way the best stories leave you feeling warm inside.

Heidi Woodward Sheffield, the author/illustrator, has won awards for her illustrations from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, but this is her first picture book. You will understand why it won the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats Award. 

This is a book to enjoy. Page by page. 

POWERFUL WORDS

This middle grade novel is well deserving of the awards it has received so far this year, including Golden Kite and Newbury honors. A bridge building book, this one will lead to discussions about difficult subjects. Parents will want to read it before and with their daughters and their sons.

 FIGHTING WORDS by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020.

10 year old Della is nearly killed when the meth her mom and her boyfriend are cooking in the bathroom of a sleazy motel blows up. Her mom is incarcerated and another of her mom’s boyfriends takes custody of Della and her older sister Suki. He says he is the girls’ father.  Nobody bothers to check. Both girls 

suffer failures of a system designed to protect them but not getting the job done.

This could have been a hard hitting YA told from Suki’s point of view. The author chose, and I think rightly so, to make Della the main character and show how and where gender disrespect and sex abuse can be called out at an age earlier than most adults would think.

Victimized by the boyfriend claiming to be the girls’ dad, Suki was Della’s protector. Always. Through Suki’s actions, the girls escape the fake father and are placed with Francine, a tough as nails foster mom. She has been down a few rough roads herself and knows how to call things what they are. She tells both girls about their experiences, “It is not your fault.” and “You need to have a childhood. I am here to take care of you.” And most importantly, “You can be kids.”

It’s a triumph when Della reacts to bra strap snapping bully Trevor by standing up to him and saying, “Never touch me or any girl in this class without permission ever again.” The 4^th grade class is shocked into silence. Instead of getting herself in trouble by calling Trevor bad names or trying to get even other ways which always ended in getting Della in trouble—thanks to lots of therapy here—Della emboldens other girls to stand up and say, “He did this to me, too.” Adults realize they had not been paying attention. They had missed this problem. At the same time, Della feels a flicker of empathy for Trevor. What made him the way he is?

The book ends before the girls face the offending pseudo dad in court, but the reader is left with hope that the girls have begun to heal.

Author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley creates memorable characters strong enough to overcome unbelievable odds and convince readers that life can be hard but kids can be stronger.  Like Fighting Words, her novel The War That Saved My Life also won a Newbery honor. Both novels deserve a thorough reading by adults who care what happens in the lives of the children around them. For helpful resources see the author’s web page, kimberlybrubakerbradley.com as well as her Author’s Note in Fighting Words.

                                                          

SERIOUS ABOUT SERIES

Did you have an invisible friend when you were a child? She belonged to you alone. Do you remember when your friend went away? Maybe it happened when you learned to read, and your secret friend was replaced by a new friend who lived inside a book. That could be why series are so popular. Kids today are the same as we were as kids. They love having a friend that belongs to them and, they think, them alone.

Mermaid Tales, The Winter Princess by Debbie Dadey, Aladdin, Simon &Schuster, 2020

Pearl Swamp learns that of all the third graders at Trident Academy, her name has been drawn to be the Princess at the Winter Festival. She is ecstatic. But before she can share this wonderful news, her parents tell her they have decided to adopt a baby brother, a merbaby. 

What? Pearl’s amazing, fantastic, unbelievable announcement doesn't get announced. Instead, she learns her life, her home, her PARENTS are going to be shared. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of this surprising development in an only child’s life. (I’m waving mine!)

The story moves along from cliff hanger to cliff hanger and Pearl makes all kinds of discoveries about herself and others. If you read this before or with your daughter, you will find lots to talk about and probably learn something about your daughter, too.

Author Debbie Dadey has written more than 160 books, many in series for ages 6-9. The Winter Princess is # 20 in the Mermaid Tales. You can find other series and  titles as well as the forthcoming Mermaid Tales #21, Sleepover at the Haunted Museum, at debbiedadey.com

 

  

Time for R-E-S-P-E-C-T

 

A word too long missing from our daily practices is now coming forward to be heard. How timely that a book for young people bears the title and brings forth a story that illustrates it.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison, Atheneum BFYR, 2020

This is a biography in verse about the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Award winning author Carole  Boston Weatherford follows this musical prodigy from her birth to gospel singing parents in Memphis, TN to her young days singing in the church her father pastored in Detroit to singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the  presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

Aretha Franklin recorded her first album at age 14 and went on to win 18 Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  “Respect” is one of her many rhythm and blues hits.

It will be tempting for the lucky adult who reads this to a young listener to get lost in the opening scene of children playing. Hide and seek? It’s reminiscent of a peaceful worry-free time in childhood.  Why turn the page just yet? Your young listener will wake you from your reverie with a gentle tug and sweet command, “Read!”

Words spelled out in the text headings of  R-E-S-P-E-C-T, like B-L-E-S-S-E-D, G-I-F-T-E-D,              G-R-O-O-V-E, R-I-G-H-T, P-R-O-U-D, and H-U-M-B-L-E- lead readers to meet the beloved “Ree Ree”, the person behind the legend.

This skilled blend of art and words comes from an award winning pair.

Illustrator Frank Morrison is a children’s book illustrator and fine artist who has won Coretta Scott King Illustrator honors and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

Author Carole Boston Weatherford’s lengthy list of books has received 3 Caldecott honors, 2 NAACP Image awards, the Golden Kite, and a Coretta Scott King author honor.

A college professor, Weatherford also loves to interact with her readers K-12. Before the pandemic, she traveled a lot. Through E-mail she nurtures other writers, no matter their ages. And in spite of Covid, she has been able to write.

In the challenging year of 2020, this is how the author is coping.

“Work is my refuge and has been for many years. If I can write, the world is not totally on its head.”

A self-described “foodie”, she finds joy in gardening and eating what she grows. “I honor my emotions and feelings in small things.” Even in small things, she stays “in the now."

“If the spirit moves us, we have to pray, believe in something greater than ourselves. What is important is that we survive.”

She encourages others to, “Engage in self-care and keep things in perspective.” In her own life, she has come up with a new day: Tomorrow’sday. “We don’t have to do some things today. Save it for Tomorrow’sday.”

Happily for us, Tomorrow'sday will also bring us more books from her busy pen.

 

Tricks, Treats, and Treasured Titles

 

When you were a kid, did you read some books over and over? I had a whole closet of books like that. Summertime was my favorite time of the year because I could pull out these old friends, head for the closest climbing tree, and read hidden in the branches until I was missed. And that always happened too soon.

                                      

 THE SHERLOCK FILES by Tracy Barrett

THE 100-YEAR-OLD SECRET, by Tracy Barrett, Henry Holt & Co., 2008                                      A Junior Library Guild Selection

THE BEAST OF BLACKSLOPE, by Tracy Barrett, Henry Holt & Co., 2009

THE CASE THAT TIME FORGOT, by Tracy Barrett, Henry Holt & Co., 2010

THE MISSING HEIR by Tracy Barrett, Henry Holt & Co., 2011

      Armed with the casebook of their famous ancestor, 12 year old Xena and her younger brother Xander set out to solve cases their great-great-great-grandfather, Sherlock Holmes, did not.   

     Author Tracy Barrett weaves a tantalizing tale about this brother and sister detective team with cliff hangers dropped in all the right places. While they set about discovering London during the family’s year of residence there, the kids are normal enough to be curious and risk nail biting adventures, but smart enough and respectful enough to keep themselves out of the greatest danger to their freedom, parental interference (aka grounded.) Sherlock Holmes would be proud of these smart sleuths.     

     One of the nicest parts of this series is that all four are already available in libraries and book stores. Your enthusiastic young readers won’t  have to wait until the next one is published. They can indulge themselves during this spooky Halloween season and store them away for summer reading. Climbing tree recommended.

      In keeping with the new feature on Book Log, I asked Tracy Barrett how she is keeping her spirits up during this year of Covid.

      Her response:

      "I’m having a hard time with any sustained activity. That pretty much leaves writing out of my daily routine, but I itch to be creative. So what am I doing?

·      I’ve delved deep into my “recipes to try” file and have found some winners (some real losers, too!).

·      My one packet of elastic turned out to have about only a yard of elastic in it. This was before stores had figured out curbside pickup, so I found a pattern for face masks without elastic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIKJe03ecos&t=218s) and sewed about 50 to distribute to friends and family. I used up a lot of scraps of fabric that were too nice to throw out but too small to do much of anything with!

·      I spent many happy hours creating a felt “Quiet Book” for my toddler granddaughter.

·      I’ve been knitting, knitting, knitting. I buy yarn online from my local yarn shop and pick it up from a rack outside their door.

·      And I haven’t neglected the writing world, either. I’m revising a manuscript I wrote a few years ago, and critiquing other people’s work. I’ve attended some of SCBWI’s* excellent webinars and learned a lot in areas I haven’t delved into before.

     I hope these activities are keeping my creative side alive until I’m ready to sit down at my computer and plot a new book!"

 

*Society of children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

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