Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Graphix/Scholastic 320 pp. g 10/18 978-0-545-90247-2 $24.99 Paper ed. 978-0-545-90248-9 $14.99 e-book ed. 978-0-545-90249-6 $9.99 Krosoczka offers a graphic memoir that is altogether more mature in style, theme, and content than his previous work for younger audiences (the Lunch Lady series; […]
Review of The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone
October 9, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty Intermediate Levine/Scholastic 380 pp. g 10/18 978-1-338-25584-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-25585-0 $10.99 In this highly entertaining and brilliantly plotted fantasy, orphaned ten-year-old Bronte must embark alone on a multi-kingdom visit to her many aunts, a trip minutely scripted by the terms of her parents’ will. […]
Review of The Season of Styx Malone
October 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon Intermediate, Middle School Lamb/Random 298 pp. g 10/18 978-1-5247-1595-3 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-1596-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-1597-7 $10.99 It’s summertime, and the living is easy. At least it was before narrator Caleb and his older brother Bobby Gene make a bad deal with their nemesis, Cory, leading […]
Review of We Don’t Eat Our Classmates
October 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Disney-Hyperion 48 pp. 6/18 978-1-368-00355-1 $17.99 The first day of school is tough enough; imagine you’re a wee Tyrannosaurus rex and it turns out that your classmates are, of all things, human. Penelope Rex does what any nervous dino would […]
Review of The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees
September 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Houghton 105 pp. 9/18 978-1-328-81015-1 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-328-56104-6 $13.99 There are over five million Syrian refugees around the world today, and each one has a unique story. Brown returns to the comics format of Drowned City […]
Review of A Parade of Elephants
September 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes; illus. by the author Preschool Greenwillow 40 pp. g 9/18 978-0-06-266827-1 $18.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-266828-8 $19.89 “Look! Elephants! / One, two, three, four, five. / Five elephants. / Marching. / A parade of elephants!” The sturdy walkers, each rendered in a pastel color with a thick brown outline, stay in the same […]
Review of Louisiana’s Way Home
September 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo Intermediate Candlewick 230 pp. g 10/18 978-0-7636-9463-0 $16.99 Readers first met Louisiana Elefante in Raymie Nightingale (rev. 3/16) as the orphaned daughter of famous trapeze artists and as one of the Three Rancheros, a steadfast trio of young friends who vowed to always have one another’s backs. In this […]
Review of Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide
September 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero; illus. by Zeke Peña Middle School, High School Getty 96 pp. 3/18 978-1-947440-00-5 $19.95 This 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Nonfiction Award–winning biography introduces readers to “an icon. Orgullo mexicano. Maestra.” Photographer Graciela Iturbide’s (b. 1942) story is told in comic-panel format, with striking black-and-white illustrations, high-quality […]
Review of Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice
September 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice by Lawrence Goldstone Middle School, High School Scholastic Focus/Scholastic 266 pp. g 8/18 978-1-338-23945-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-23948-5 $17.99 In 1873, a mob of armed white men massacred more than one hundred black “freedmen” in the town of Colfax in central Louisiana. Setting the stage […]
Review of Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground
September 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground by T. R. Simon Intermediate, Middle School Candlewick 261 pp. g 9/18 978-0-7636-4301-0 $16.99 This second novel featuring a young Zora Neale Hurston and her friend Carrie Brown is once again set in the girls’ hometown of Eatonville, Florida, in 1903, less than forty years after the end of […]
