Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge Middle School, High School Viking 212 pp. g 4/18 978-0-670-78506-3 $22.99 e-book ed. 978-0-425-29178-8 $11.99 The Vietnam War was a time of virulent political divisiveness, profound cultural upheaval, and horrific events. It can be challenging to understand, especially for young people born decades afterward, […]
Review of The Parker Inheritance
April 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson Intermediate, Middle School Levine/Scholastic 344 pp. g 3/18 978-0-545-94617-9 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-545-95279-8 $10.99 In 2007 Abigail Caldwell, the first female and African American city manager for the town of Lambert, South Carolina, was forced to resign after covertly digging up the municipal tennis courts, looking for buried treasure. […]
Review of The Poet X
March 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo High School HarperTeen 361 pp. g 3/18 978-0-06-266280-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-266282-8 $9.99 Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, whose name means “one who is ready for war,” has been fighting her whole life. The self-described “brown and big and angry” Dominican girl from Harlem furiously confronts catcalling boys, chafes under her Catholic […]
Review of Wed Wabbit
March 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans Intermediate Fickling/Scholastic 246 pp. g 2/18 978-1-338-18527-0 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-18528-7 $10.99 This inventive and surprising fantasy adventure begins when Fidge’s little sister Minnie runs into traffic and is seriously injured. Ten-year-old Fidge, who feels responsible for the accident, is then sucked into another world, Wimbley Land, a place that […]
Review of Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot
March 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling Middle School, High School Algonquin 310 pp. g 2/18 978-1-61620-734-2 $18.95 This is a fascinating account of the bumpy road to women’s suffrage in the U.S., beginning in earnest with the Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 and culminating with the ratifying […]
Review of The Journey of Little Charlie
March 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 245 pp. g 1/18 978-0-545-15666-0 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-16400-8 $10.99 This latest addition to Curtis’s Buxton Chronicles (Elijah of Buxton, rev. 11/07; The Madman of Piney Woods, rev. 9/14) takes place in 1858, when the Fugitive Slave Act was in force. When […]
Review of This Is the Nest That Robin Built
March 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This Is the Nest That Robin Built by Denise Fleming; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Beach Lane/Simon 32 pp. g 3/18 978-1-4814-3083-8 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-3084-5 $10.99 A celebration of bits and pieces, of process, and of creation, this picture book describes how a robin builds a nest, shown through collage art that mirrors […]
Review of Martin Rising: Requiem for a King
March 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illus. by Brian Pinkney Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 128 pp. 1/18 978-0-545-70253-9 $19.99 A creative poetic celebration of the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. that also, as a song for the dead, includes a meticulous explanation of how and why he died. Henny Penny […]
Review of Bird Builds a Nest
February 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Bird Builds a Nest [A First Science Storybook] by Martin Jenkins; illus. by Richard Jones Preschool, Primary Candlewick 32 pp. g 2/18 978-0-7636-9346-6 $16.99 Striking mixed-media illustrations, collage-like and muted with earth tones, depict a burnt-orange sun rising in the east and a bird perched on a tree branch, perfectly representing the opening sentence of […]
Review of A Skinful of Shadows
February 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge Middle School, High School Amulet/Abrams 415 pp. 10/17 978-1-4197-2572-2 $19.99 Hardinge’s (The Lie Tree, rev. 5/16) latest tour de force is set during the reign of King Charles I against the backdrop of the 1600s English Civil War and is, as unlikely as it sounds, something of a […]
