The Field by Baptiste Paul; illus. by Jacqueline Alcántara Primary NorthSouth 32 pp. g 3/18 978-0-7358-4312-7 $17.95 The place: a verdant Caribbean islandscape. The day’s activity for the community’s children: a pickup game of futbol (soccer). Does it matter that the futbol field is a converted cow pasture? Does it matter that some of the […]
Review of Be Prepared
June 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol; illus. by the author; color by Alec Longstreth Intermediate First Second/Roaring Brook 256 pp. 4/18 978-1-62672-444-0 $22.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-445-7 $12.99 “This book is a true story. And also made up.” Brosgol’s (Anya’s Ghost, rev. 7/11; Leave Me Alone, rev. 9/16) fictionalized graphic memoir captures the ups and downs (let’s […]
Review of A Round of Robins
May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
A Round of Robins by Katie Hesterman; illus. by Sergio Ruzzier Primary Paulsen/Penguin 40 pp. g 3/18 978-0-399-54778-2 $16.99 Sixteen poems follow a pair of robin parents as they raise not one but two sets of baby robins in this factual and funny volume. The story begins with “Defender Dad” telling three annoyed-looking birds on […]
Review of Speak: The Graphic Novel
May 15, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson; illus. by Emily Carroll High School Farrar 376 pp. 2/18 978-0-374-30028-9 $19.99 In this new graphic novel adaptation of Anderson’s Speak (rev. 9/99) — a powerful narrative of a high school freshman’s year of self-preservation after a brutal sexual assault — artist Carroll starkly renders protagonist Melinda’s […]
Review of Julián Is a Mermaid
May 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Candlewick 40 pp. g 5/18 978-0-7636-9045-8 $16.99 The story begins on the front endpapers with a group of older women in a pool and a boy swimming underwater. The next spread (on the copyright and title pages) shows the child, Julián, walking […]
Review of The Truth About Bears; The Truth About Dolphins; and The Truth About Hippos
May 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Truth About Bears by Maxwell Eaton III; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 2/18 978-1-62672-666-6 $15.99 The Truth About Dolphins by Maxwell Eaton III; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 5/18 978-1-62672-668-0 $15.99 The Truth About Hippos by Maxwell Eaton III; illus. by the author Primary Porter/Roaring Brook […]
Review of Baby Monkey, Private Eye
May 1, 2018 by 1 Comment
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin; illus. by Brian Selznick Primary Scholastic 192 pp. 2/18 978-1-338-18061-9 $16.99 Selznick, who won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for his 534-page picture book/novel hybrid The Invention of Hugo Cabret (rev. 3/07), here presents with coauthor and husband Serlin an almost-two-hundred-page…easy reader/film-noir homage. In five chapters, […]
Review of The Prince and the Dressmaker
April 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang; illus. by the author Middle School, High School First Second/Roaring Brook 282 pp. 2/18 978-1-250-15985-4 $24.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-363-4 $16.99 With a setting and palette reminiscent of Disney’s Cinderella and a setup involving a royal ball, this graphic novel has all the trappings of a rags-to-riches romance. […]
Review of Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam
April 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
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. […]
