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

                                                                           🌳  📚

How Creative Are Your Kids?

 My favorite part of Halloween has always been the creative costumes kids make on their own. Halloween 2020 is a little different, but not in the costume department.

 EENIE MEENIE HALLOWEENIE by Susan Eaddy, illustrated by Lucy Fleming, Harper, 2020

 What to wear? What to wear? A little girl with a dress up trunk full of inspiration has important decisions to make. Her imagination is off and waddling like a penguin or running like a pink polar bear. Could she be an ocelot? Giraffe or kangaroo? Eenie Meenie—at last, she knows what to do.      

Your little trick or treaters will love turning pages. Then turn them loose with “finds” around the house. Old curtains or sheets? Scraps of trim and fabric from your last burst of sewing? Don’t forget the kitchen. My daughter used a roll of aluminum foil to turn her 7 year old self into the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

Susan Eaddy is an author and illustrator who sculpts in clay. For her young readers and their moms, she has thoughtfully provided crafts on her web page to help extend this book’s fun way beyond Halloween. Keep scrolling down until you find out how to make a tree for a smiling little monkey. http://www.susaneaddy.com/teachers-kids

 Illustrator Lucy Fleming has peppered the pages of this charming book with surprises for sharp eyed readers. Tissue boxes? A bow tie? Lots and lots of tape and glue.

 Let’s get going!

 Switching gears, I’ve added a new feature to Book Log. How do creative folks keep their spirits up in this time when school visits, book launches, and book store gatherings have been reduced or cancelled?

 So I asked Susan Eaddy, how are you and what lifts your spirits these days? 

 

A tip from Susan Eaddy for lifting one’s spirits:

One of the things I have been thinking about is how the inability to travel has led me to discoveries in my own neighborhood. I have always been a walker for exercise, but usually limited my walks to 30 minutes in the blocks nearby. By necessity this led me to a predictable loop so I could be back home in 30 minutes. 

But now... I set out my front door and have no plan other than seeing up close a street that I've never explored. I've lived in the same neighborhood for 25 years and surprised myself by realizing that I'd never actually WALKED on the streets that are a less than a mile from my house. My curiosity keeps me walking further, and my 30 minute walks have become an hour or more as I indulge that curiosity to see what is around each corner. Every day is a new discovery of homes, tidy or unkempt, manicured gardens, or lawns bare with kids’ foot traffic.

Every home has a story I had never stopped to consider. And I make a point of making eye contact & saying hello with a big smile to every neighbor, walker or runner I encounter. It surprises people, and more often than not, they smile back. With genuine warmth.

Mirror? Window? Sliding Glass Doors?

EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE: (a true story) BY Daniel Nayeri, Levine Querida, 2020

How do you want the readers you care about to benefit from the books they read?

This is my take-away from “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.” By Rudine Sims Bishop, from READING IS FUNDAMENTAL 1/3/2015, Multicultural Literacy

If you give children books that are mirrors, they see themselves, the readers.  When you were a young reader, did you see yourself in books? Do you want your children to identify with characters in the books they read?   

Books that are windows give readers a glimpse of the world that is different from theirs.

What is it like to live in another country? Do families whose language is different from ours love each other like our families do? Do siblings fight and make up?  Do kids want to make friends in their classrooms whether the classroom is on an island or in a mountain community or inside a city building?

Sliding glass door books invite readers to step outside. What kind of world will they enter? Who will be their friends?    

Daniel (birth name Khosrou), the main character in EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE: (a true story) escapes from Iran with his mother and sister, running for their lives because their mother is a new Christian who meets in secret with other Christians. Her identity is uncovered, and the secret police give her a week to reveal the names of her Christian group members or she and her children will be killed. She finds a way to escape, taking her daughter and young son with her.

Daniel recalls how they are treated and how they respond to each sometimes life threatening and sometimes long, boring, and wearying stop on the way from the UAE to Italy to being granted asylum in the USA in Oklahoma.

In a manner that evokes Scheherazade, Daniel tells his classmates about his family, his country, and Persian culture.  His classmates are skeptical and derisive. The reader learns about Daniel’s humiliating trips on bus 209, his Oklahoma neighborhood, and his family’s loneliness. Like his classmates, the reader may or may not believe this foreigner’s tall tales. (Not my description of Daniel who sometimes made me cry.)

Mirror? Window? Sliding Glass Doors?

Author Daniel Nayeri was born in Iran, spent two years as a refugee, and emigrated to Oklahoma when he was eight. This autobiographical middle grade novel is a tribute to his mother, a dedicated practicing physician before her escape from Iran, whom he says is “unstoppable.” You can meet her, and Daniel, the author, too. 

Go to https://www.levinequerido.com/everything-sad-is-untrue

Scroll all the way down to the full document short.

You will wish you could open a sliding glass door into Daniel’s mother’s kitchen to sample a  cream puff. Have you ever tasted a pastry flavored with rosewater?

RIDING A ROLLER COASTER

Today begins the second half of a year riding on a roller coaster we can’t seem to exit. Just when we think the thing has stopped, it takes off again, and we haven’t had time to re-buckle our seat belts. I’ve been looking for something to hang on to, and I’ve found something to share.


                                           


DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z, by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, Carolrhoda Books, 2020.


If every home had a copy of this book and used it in conversation often enough to make it “theirs”, we would definitely have a better world. One alphabet letter can start everyone in the family thinking until the next chance to sit and talk or stir dinner together or whatever you are doing to ward off your own brand of cabin fever.


Each alphabet letter has its own quote, its own poem about the topic title of the letter; and each poem is written in a different poetic form. Insights from “Irene Says” or “Charles says” are followed by “Try It” encouraging readers to get out of their comfort zones.

One of my favorite quotes is from Mother Teresa, paired with B for “belonging”: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” 


Irene, who lives her poem, is the winner of the 2016 Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award. Enjoy her warmth and wisdom at www.irenelatham.com.


Charles co-authored Can I touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship with Irene.  He is a poet and professional actor. Find out more about Charles at  www.charleswaterspoetry.com


Mehrdokht Amini, an Iranian British children’s book illustrator, 
 www.myart2c.com  lives in London. She created the illustrations in this book with collage, photography, acrylic, and digital painting. They work together and separately to create an emotional range and set the tone for each new conversation.       


Irene’s thoughts inspire me. Charles gives me reasons to persevere. Mehrdokht's artwork is an invitation to explore.


Their book speaks to all ages.

FOR READERS ON SANTA’S LIST

A rollicking cat detective solving a mystery while managing to get in naps and plenty of snacks is one of the most engaging characters I’ve discovered recently. 

RA THE MIGHTY CAT DETECTIVE by A.B. Greenfield, illustrated by Sarah Horne, Holiday House, 2018

Set in ancient Egypt, this action packed tale is peopled with sulkers and skulkers, members of the Pharaoh’s royal extended family whose motives are not so royal. Or maybe they are. I guess it depends upon whose opinion you seek. 

If you ask Miu, another cat, no one is playing fair. Miu seeks Ra’s help when a treasured amulet goes missing and a child servant could lose her life because of this dastardly deed. Miu insists the young girl, who has gone into hiding, is innocent. The dung beetle that whispers sage advice into Ra’s ear (although Ra wouldn’t admit that the beetle is sage), joins with Miu to convince Ra that because he is a mighty cat detective he must find the jewel and save the girl.

Illustrator Sarah Horne has created ominous looking adults to roam among these pages. The reader will shiver while rooting for the mighty detectives. I use the plural because by the end of the story, there are more than one. Ra discovers a willingness to share glory, although maybe not his snacks.

Author A. B. Greenfield www.amybutlergreenfield.com
didn’t stop with only one book featuring the mighty Ra. #2: RA THE MIGHTY, THE GREAT TOMB ROBBERY is available now and #3: RA THE MIGHTY, THE CROCODILE CAPER, is coming out in 2020. 

This book is marked as 4^th grade reading level, but reading it to a first grader or second grader gives an adult a chance to enjoy it, too. Third graders will figure it out and advance their reading skills at the same time. 

All will enjoy saying aloud names like Nefrubity and Yuyu. I leave it to you to research their roles in the royal palace.

THIS BOOK SAYS, “BOO!”

A scary book could soften the parental explanation that the resident pre-teen is too old to dress up and ring the neighbors’ door bells for trick or treat this year. Or worse, the almost grown-up is still not quite old enough to look out for younger siblings as they travel door to door. You might hint a little that you've found a book with spooky neighbors and some undead folk in the woods.

Note: a scary book lasts longer than candy and doesn’t get tangled up in braces.

THE HAUNTED SERPENT by Dora M. Mitchell, Sterling Children’s Books, 2018

Spaulding Meriwether has a problem every middle school student will recognize and I’m not talking about being the new student at Thedgeroot Middle School. Spaulding is the son of questionable (questionable? Is that a hint of more to come?) television ghost hunters, and no, I’m not talking about that either.  Spaulding is weird. What middle school student thinks he might be weird and tries to hide it? Or is already thought to be weird by the rest of the school? Does the student talk to dead people? Yes. That kind of weird. And yes, there is a haunted serpent. Why else would the book have such an enticing title?

During the Halloween ghosting season, this tale could keep your Halloween helper from answering the doorbell when the smallest gremlins pay a call. 

Author Dora Mitchell is a writer, illustrator, and children’s librarian living in Quincy, a small northern CA mining town that was built during the Gold Rush. Her web site is pretty spooky, too. Doramitichell.com

MICE ON ICE!

Breaking news: Winter is not reading the calendar! It keeps on snowing across the upper swath of our country and is not the least bit apologetic about dropping cold temperatures across the south.

Enter Lucy who loves snow and ice. If only her friends would join her.

MICE SKATING by Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Teagan White, Sterling Children’s Books, 2017

Lucy is a mouse. And so, of course, her friends are mice. Like any self-respecting and traditional mouse, each one has burrowed in to spend the cheerless days of winter below ground, snoozing, perhaps, or maybe reading books about humans while I am reading a book about them.

Not Lucy. She dons her fluffy wool cap with a pink pom-pom on top and goes adventuring. She catches snowflakes on her tongue, makes mice angels in the snow, and misses her friends. Her attempts to bring snow fun into her friends’ cozy napping spaces fail. Snow cones?  They aren’t cheese. An indoor snow fight? A soggy mess.

Then Lucy figures out how to skate.

Adding to the reader’s enjoyment, the author sprinkles wordplays on cheese throughout the sprightly text. Art shimmers. Winter re-gains its first snow of the season excitement.

Thank you, Lucy.

ABOUT THE CREATORS:

Teagan White, whose art brings Lucy and her field mouse friends to life, has illustrated greeting cards and textiles as well as children’s books and received a BFA in illustration from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design.  

Author Annie Silvestro  is the author of Bunny’s Book Club (Doubleday), another Bunny book coming out this summer, and The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains (HarperCollins, September 2018).

After considering opening a children’s book store, Silvestro decided to create books instead, beginning her writing career with determination in 2009. She joined the Society of Children’s 

Book Writers and Illustrators and “kept working and learning.”

Author Silvestro shares this journey with young authors in schools – a part of being a children’s author that she discovered she loves.  “It (author visits) was something I was nervous about doing at first, but now I’ve found it to be the very best part of my job. Engaging with children about books and reading is such a gift.”

Silvestro says she loves to tell young readers “how important it is to keep reading! You have to be a good reader to be a good writer. I also like to tell them to persevere and that it’s ok to make mistakes.”

Returning to Lucy, readers will see that Lucy perseveres, makes mistakes, and yes! succeeds. Set out the snacks of cheese and crackers. While younger readers enjoy turning pages, older readers will be chuckling over the wordplay. And a few more days of winter will be OK.    

A Path of Pebbles

Have you ever followed a trail of shiny stones, one more lovely than the other, until you found yourself deep in the woods of wondering…?

STEPPING STONES: A Refugee Family’s Journey by Margriet Ruurs, artwork by Nizar Ali Badr, Orca Book Publishers, 2016

First I read an article in Bookbird,  A Journal of International Children’s Literature. The article was written by Margriet Ruurs, an award winning author of more than 30 books for children.  She, too, was following a path of pebbles, first showing up on Facebook. She saw the artwork of a Syrian sculptor from Ugarit, now living and working in Lattakia, Syria. He simply arranges rocks on the ground or on a rectangle of plywood – except it’s not so simple. His images tell deeply emotional stories.

Author Ruurs had to find this artist, had to ask him about his life and work. Her article in Bookbird details her determination to find him and her inspiration to write a book about a refugee family’s journey to find a peaceful life. She wanted Nizar Ali Badr to tell this eloquent story in stones undergirded by his own intriguing story: a gifted artist managing to create in spite of a multitude of deprivations.

I had to follow the trail to her book, too, as reader. I had to know how her search ended, as well as more about the artist himself.

Ruurs’ story follows a young girl who is forced to flee her home when war comes to her Syrian village and “Life in our village changed. Nothing was as it had been.” The pebble people who are her family say good-bye to the rooster and the goat and go to the end of the earth where they must cross a vast sea. The physical burdens of the pebble family’s belongings bow the adults’ bodies, but the weight of loss is a burden the sculptor conveys in all the bodies, young and elderly.

This family created by author Ruurs survives the sea, but other refugees do not. On land once more, the family stops. “Mama and Papa planted seeds to grow flowers to remember those who did not reach freedom.” It’s a tender scene. Love, care, hope. All told in stones that have become real people to the reader.

Badr has not left his homeland. In the foreword, author Ruurs notes that sometimes the artist does not have money to buy the glue that would make his art permanent. It becomes one of those “meant to be” moments that made it possible for the artist and author to create this book for a publisher willing to consider challenging circumstances. Badr says his ancestors left “a signature in my genes to create and share my work with honesty and modesty.” Ruurs hopes she can raise awareness of the plight of those who must flee the horrors of war.

This is a beautiful book.

A Bull Named Ugly

What happens when the older brother you idolize, the one all the girls in the small town of Salt Lick, Nevada fall for, the bull riding champion everybody brags about, goes to Iraq and steps on an IED?  (An Improvised Explosive Device also known as a street bomb.)

BULL RIDER by Suzanne Morgan Williams, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2009

It may be his brother Ben struggling with a traumatic brain injury and life-altering physical injuries but 14 year old Cam who prefers riding a skateboard to clinging to a grouchy fire snorting bull also crashes headlong into change. Author Williams brings the world’s problems to Cam’s ranch and everyone in this warm, loving family must adjust to roles outside their expectations.

The other members of Cam’s family are well thought out to provide just enough poignancy with a good balance of family fun. The adults have adult challenges, but the author keeps the focus on Cam and how he relates to his brother’s shifting moods contrasted with the unsettling discussion about patriotism, love of country and the willingness to sacrifice. A bull named Ugly plays a major part, too, but that’s all I’m going to tell you.

Suzanne Morgan Williams has a solid background in nonfiction for young people. She researches deeply with extensive acknowledgements. Through her craft Bull Rider comes to life, receiving the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Juvenile Book of 2009.

If you missed this novel when it first came out, read it now. It’s timely today. Movies are being made about our war vets, but do any of them get inside the heads of their younger brothers and sisters? This book will motivate you to thank a veteran for his or her service -- and the vet's family, too.

Visit the author at suzannemorganwilliams.com

Read This Book!

We are in the midst of the 35th annual Banned Books Week which began on September 24th.
I read banned books. Do you?

BAN THIS BOOK by Alan Gratz, Tor/Starscape, 2017

"How can you put into words how a book slips inside of you and becomes a part of you so much that your life feels empty without it?" These are the words of 4th grader Amy Anne Ollinger when she finds out her favorite book, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, has been removed from her school library book shelves. Note: "not banned, but removed" is the explanation when Amy Anne asks. To Amy Anne it's all the same.

How did this happen? An influential parent has protested the book -- and several others  -- as inappropriate.

Amy Anne does a lot of protesting inside her head until the injustice of it all empowers her. A leader, an organizer, an advocate, a champion. All of these are unleashed as one little girl digs in and learns what our country and our rights are all about.

This is a PPR book. Parents, Please Read! You need to know what is going on inside your child's head that isn't being said out loud.  Thanks to Alan Gratz for making this topic accessible to all ages.

A Reader's Guide is included in the book. All curriculum guidelines are met.

Any mistakes in this review are mine. The book was due at my library and had to be returned because there is a waiting list. I could not double check and re-read and write more as I usually do. The copies I buy will probably not stay in my house long because I will give them away to someone who gets as energized by the topic as I do.

Every title mentioned in BAN THIS BOOK has been banned somewhere sometime. Can you find your favorites? I discovered I've been reading banned books my whole life --  I just didn't know it.

Can a Story Save the Kingdom?

If your kids are into saving kingdoms this year, here is a holiday book to give them some options.

THE STORY BOOK KNIGHT by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2016

Leo was a gentle knight. So begins this gentle tale. He likes to read. However, his parents succumb to the way it is always done, and when they pronounce, “Knights must FIGHT,” Leo is puzzled.

However, not only is Leo a gentle knight, he is a dutiful son. And so he sets off to tame a dragon, armed with gifts from his parents, a new shield and sword. (He also packs sandwiches and a stack of books.)  

Along the way to find the elusive dragon, Leo encounters a griffin, (he knows it is a griffin because he has read about one), a troll, and finally, in a village where the people are in hiding, an ENORMOUS and cranky from a nap, DRAGON. 

The cover copy asks, “…can a story be as mighty as a sword?” Read this to your four year old and discover a happy ending and a delightful answer.

This book’s creators live in Wales with their two daughters. I’m guessing lots of stories are told in their home.

My suggestion: after you have read this to your young listener half a dozen times or so, suggest he or she read it to the baby or a doll, or even the dog or cat.  Like Leo, you will be left in peace to read.  It’s your turn to read to YOU.

Happy Launch Day!

When the debut novel of a dear friend is released and available for book shelves in libraries, bookstores, and your house, it's a cause for celebration. Drum roll, please!

THE LAZY DRAGON AND THE BUMBLESPELLS  WIZARD  by Kath Boyd Marsh, CBAY Books, 2016

With a twin sister like Hazel, Cl’rnce doesn’t need any enemies. On the other hand, he’s done a pretty good job of making enemies all by himself.  Cl’rnce is a prankster.  Hazel is a spoiler.

A spoiler is a role I do not wish to play, so I will say as little as possible about what really happens in this delightful fantasy about dragons and wizards (which you could figure out from the title, yes?) and a race to see who will be Primus, ruler of all the Dr’gon Nations.

First, Cl’rence needs a Wizard Partner. He doesn’t want one.

Meanwhile, back at her desk, the author is creating Moire Ain, a perfect WP, except first she has to escape from the Hedge-Witch.

And then, there is the Whisper Stone. It’s a treasure sought by lots of evil-doers, or evil doer wannabes.

Those who have endured sibling torment will gravitate to Cl’rnce’s corner even as they giggle at Hazel’s insults. He has been suffering from Hazel’s rants for 420 years. No wonder all Cl’rnce wants to do is nap. That alone would make a dr’gon tired, wouldn’t it? On the other hand, thinking up mischief is tiring, too. And Cl’rnce is gifted at that. It’s carrying out all those great chuckle-worthy plans that lands him in trouble.

The readers won’t nap. From giggling 3^rd graders to page turning 4^th and 5^th graders, this tale is filled with magick and kindness, heroes and villains, witches and dragons and ….well there’s no end to the enchantment.   

And I can’t leave out Raspberries! He’s a guard bird. At least that’s what I’d call him.

Another drum roll, please.

Building Confidence

Is there anything more endearing--especially for parents--than watching happy kids rush toward school, eager to learn?

THIS IS NOT A CAT! By David Larochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka, Sterling Children’s Books, 2016

At the Sunny Hills Mice School, the first lesson will be about DANGER. Or CATS.

Note: on the first page, one little mouse doesn’t look all that happy and the “something” peering around the tree at two skipping mice and one mouse dragging his feet is licking its lips. That creature does not look like a cat. Hmmm. Anyhow, turn the page to see the teacher introducing the lesson of the day: How to recognize danger.  Glowering from the easel is a large picture of a CAT.

To the mice kids’ delight, the teacher shows them pictures of a bunny, a butterfly, an ice cream cone—none of these is a cat. And then, a huge cat appears.

After that, the action is wild, zany, and chaotic. The child on your lap or in the reading circle in pre-K, is laughing so hard, you might need to take a breathing break. I will not spoil the ending.

David Larochelle is a former teacher, and Mike Wohnoutka has illustrated over 20 children’s books and written and illustrated 3 picture books. The pair also collaborated on an award winning book, Moo!  I can imagine them in a brain storming session. Again, there must be a time-out to breathe. Oh, do visit their websites.

Now, why did I call this book a confidence builder? All the words in the book are written using only the words in the title. Young children will be reading this one on their own before you can say, "SCAT!"

Time To Talk

My first child valued her library card. When the time came that the books she checked out were of her own choosing, not mine or a teacher’s, I discovered that books open doors to discussion. That’s especially helpful when the discussion is not easy.

Bullying is always a concern, but as school bells announced the end of summer this year, at least one news source reported that the group most vulnerable to bullies in academic settings is the LGBTQ community.  If you want to begin a discussion with your kids, here are a couple of books that might open a door. One is for parents, the other for teens.

PLAYING A PART by Daria Wilke, Translated by Marian Schwartz, Arthur Levine Books, imprint of Scholastic, 2012.

Grishka’s mother and father are actors in a puppet theatre in Russia. This is Grishka’s whole world. His friend, Sam, a talented young adult actor and puppeteer, has announced he will leave the theatre soon and go to Holland to escape the risks of homophobic persecution in Russia.  A number of subplots involving family and friends lend themselves to the coming of age moments Grishka experiences, including standing up to his grandfather who is homophobic.

I saw the Jester puppet as a metaphor for Grishka’s personality and growth. How and why do people play the part of the Jester? What made them be that way? What happens when the role of Jester doesn’t work?

Author Daria Wilke was born in Moscow and grew up surrounded by the art and craft of puppetry.  Marian Schwartz is an award-winning translator of Russian literature.

This is a beautifully written thought-provoking book, and the translation preserves its quality.

  

CROOKED LETTER i: Coming Out in the South, edited by Connie Griffin, NewSouth Books, 2015

The contributors to this enlightening collection of first-person narratives are professional writers who are Southerners. They are also gay, lesbian, or transgendered. Readers will applaud their courage to share some of their most painful growing up experiences.

The thread that caught this children’s writer’s eye was not the Southern connection, but the childhood experiences of each writer.  Parents who simply didn’t understand what they were doing tried to do the right thing. In most cases this turned out to be the very worst thing to do to their much loved children. The same thing could be said for the community, teachers, pastors, many who thought their actions were helpful when in fact, they were hurtful and their impact destructive.

In reading this book a second and third time, which I often do before I review a book here, I kept returning to the essay by Merril Mushroom, “The Gay Kids and the Johns Committee” for a sense of history in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. Were others being persecuted? Yes, the McCarthy hearings were in progress. And then there was Brown vs. Board of Education. Whatever the term “civil rights” means to you, capitalized or not, the circle of those who should have them and don’t is wide.

The essays can be read out of order. If you are looking for a shorter essay that ends with hope and acceptance, “Coming Home,” by Logan Knight is a good choice.  It is the second essay in the book, but it would also be a good one to read last as a way to remember the book. Hope and acceptance between generations is always a positive sign.

May you find doors to walk through to discussions that will keep leading you and yours forward together.