In her “Field Notes” column “Lucha Libros: Bilingual Battle of the Books,” AnnMarie Hurtado says, “Lucha Libros started in response to the growing body of research on the importance of bolstering kids’ reading skills by third grade, and from hearing so many parents (especially non-English-speaking parents) tell me how hard it was to motivate their […]
Review of Louis Undercover
November 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Louis Undercover by Fanny Britt; illus. by Isabelle Arsenault; trans. from the French by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou Middle School Groundwood 160 pp. 10/17 978-1-55498-859-4 $19.95 e-book ed. 978-1-55498-860-0 $16.95 The collaborators behind Jane, the Fox & Me (rev. 1/14) have crafted another poignant picture book–sized graphic novel, this time about alcoholism, family separation, […]
Review of After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again
November 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Roaring Brook 40 pp. 10/17 978-1-62672-682-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-19095-6 $9.99 If The Adventures of Beekle is a study of friendship and Are We There Yet? (rev. 3/16) an appeal for mindfulness, then Santat is now […]
Review of Windows
November 20, 2017 by 1 Comment
Windows by Julia Denos; illus. by E. B. Goodale Preschool, Primary Candlewick 32 pp. g 10/17 978-0-7636-9035-9 $15.99 “At the end of the day, before the town goes to sleep… / you can take a walk, out your door / into the almost-night.” A brown-skinned child puts on a red hoodie and heads out to take the […]
Review of That Is My Dream!
November 16, 2017 by 1 Comment
That Is My Dream! by Langston Hughes; illus. by Daniel Miyares Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 32 pp. 10/17 978-0-399-55017-1 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-399-55018-8 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-399-55019-5 $10.99 Langston Hughes’s 1924 poem “Dream Variation” tells of a wish “to fling my arms wide / In some place of the sun, / To whirl and to dance / Till […]
Review of Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth
November 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies; illus. by Emily Sutton Primary Candlewick 40 pp. g 11/17 978-0-7636-9483-8 $15.99 “How many different kinds of living things are there on our planet? One, two, three, MANY!” With this important question and response, Davies begins her consideration of biodiversity, starting with the idea that […]
Review of Tumble & Blue
November 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Tumble & Blue by Cassie Beasley; illus. by the author Intermediate Dial 392 pp. 8/17 978-0-525-42844-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-698-18907-2 $10.99 Way back when, there were strange things done in the Okefenokee Swamp. A plot was set in motion by two bad people, horse thief Walcott Montgomery and murderer Almira LaFayette. Their descendants, especially a […]
Review of The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
November 13, 2017 by 1 Comment
The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse by Mac Barnett; illus. by Jon Klassen Primary Candlewick 40 pp. g 10/17 978-0-7636-7754-1 $17.99 The opening of this latest Barnett/Klassen collaboration (an original pourquoi tale) seems to presage dire events: “Early one morning, a mouse met a wolf, and he was quickly gobbled up.” But once inside, […]
Review of Refugee
November 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Refugee by Alan Gratz Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 343 pp. 7/17 978-0-545-88083-1 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-545-88087-9 $10.99 Gratz’s stirring novel humanizes the plight of refugees worldwide. Told in alternating chapters, the book follows fictional child refugees from three different eras whose stories ultimately, and surprisingly, converge. In 1939 Josef and his family, who are Jewish, […]
Review of Dear Martin
November 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Dear Martin by Nic Stone High School Crown 211 pp. g 10/17 978-1-101-93949-9 $17.99 Library ed. 978-11-101-93950-5 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-101-93951-2 $10.99 “I know your kind: punks like you wander the streets of nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn’t resist the pretty white girl who’d locked her keys in her car, could ya?” So […]
