Reviews of the Week
Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder; illus. by the author High School Dial 202 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55302-1 $18.99 This moving and candid graphic memoir offers a refreshingly honest portrayal of grief and growing into adulthood “for anyone struggling with loss who just...
Parachutes by Kelly Yang High School Tegen/HarperCollins 485 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-294108-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-294113-8 $10.99 Claire lives in Shanghai with her wealthy, image-obsessed, and unhappy family. When Claire’s parents send her to prep school in America, she boards with a fellow student (who’s on scholarship), Filipina American teen...
In My Anaana’s Amautik by Nadia Sammurtok; illus. by Lenny Lishchenko Preschool Inhabit Media 24 pp. 4/20 978-1-77227-252-9 $16.95 A baby’s perspective of being held in its anaana’s (mother’s) amautik (“the pouch in the back of a woman’s parka where a baby can be carried”) is explored in lulling, sensory-rich...
On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Berne; illus. by Becca Stadtlander Primary, Intermediate Chronicle 48 pp. 2/20 978-1-4521-4297-5 $18.99 Berne’s picture-book biography is a lyrical appreciation of Dickinson’s skill with words, painting a vivid picture of the poet’s special abilities (“With the power of...
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley; illus. by the author; color by Whitney Cogar Intermediate, Middle School RH Graphic/Random 223 pp. g 5/20 978-0-593-12524-3 $20.99 Paper ed. 978-1-9848-9684-1 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9686-5 $9.99 This tender graphic novel by Alex Award winner (for Relish) Knisley illuminates the challenges of finding oneself in...
Lift by Minh Lê; illus. by Dan Santat Primary Little, Brown 48 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-03692-4 $17.99 Lê and Santat (Drawn Together, rev. 7/18) present another story focused on everyday familial relationships, expressed through concise writing and extraordinary visuals. As young Iris waits for an elevator with her family in...
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang; illus. by the author; color by Lark Pien High School First Second/Roaring Brook 446 pp. 3/20 978-1-62672-079-4 $24.99 “I’m just not a sports kind of guy,” begins Yang in this comics-format offering that brilliantly combines journalism, memoir, and sports history. Yang, who taught math...
The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein Middle School, High School Little, Brown 426 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-01258-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-01651-3 $9.99 In this companion novel to Code Name Verity (rev. 5/12) and its prequel The Pearl Thief (rev. 5/17), and featuring characters from both, Wein takes her turn at...
One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole; illus. by the author Primary Scholastic 48 pp. g 4/20 978-1-338-35997-8 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-59929-9 $11.99 This wordless story follows a family and a paper bag through the generations. A tree becomes a log that gets hauled to a paper mill,...
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