May Recommendations

In WALTER HAD A BEST FRIEND, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier, Walter and Xavier hiked together, painted pictures together, and even knew how to be “best friend quiet" together. In all things, the pair “were best friends together. Until… quietly… slowly… they weren’t.” Now Walter doesn’t hike and he doesn’t paint pictures. When he’s quiet, it’s “sad” quiet. Then, one morning, Walter realizes that maybe he’s ready to try “a new trail.” The pitch-perfect text doesn’t waste a single word in describing a friendship that ends with nobody at fault, one that simply moves on. Ruzzier’s signature pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations endearingly depict all the critters and the wonderfully fanciful landscape they call home.

ALL THE BEATING HEARTS, written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Cátia Chien, gracefully reminds readers how, although we may wake up to eat different foods and wear different clothing, and we may spend our days in different ways, and even when good things happen and bad things happen, even then, in our beds at night “we are all just hearts/beating in the darkness”—we are all “here/and alive/together but apart/the same, but exactly different.” Pastel and colored pencil illustrations are at once childlike and sophisticated, literal and whimsical, and they beautifully anchor and elevate the text. A wonderful book, the kind that shows how loud a “quiet” book can be.

HELLO, DOOR, written by Alastair Heim and illustrated by Alisa Coburn, stars a thieving fox who gleefully explores someone else’s fancy house, bagging items as he goes. “Hello, clubs. Hello, clocks. HELLO, LITTLE JEWELRY BOX!” This fox is having a grand time until a family of bears arrives home, who don’t take at all kindly to the vulpine burgling. Never fear, the unquenchable fox quickly forms an alternate plan. Uncluttered, humorous, rhyming text and action-packed, cartoony illustrations keep this one zipping along.

In MY BABA’S GARDEN, written by Jordan Scott and illustrated by Sydney Smith, a boy takes readers to visit his Baba, who “lives in a chicken coop beside a highway.” Every morning, Baba feeds the boy and walks him to school. When it rains she “walks slow because she is looking for worms,” which they add to her garden after school. When Baba moves in with the boy and his family, he brings her food, and plants tomatoes in a pot for her. And he looks for worms… Gorgeous, poetic text and stunning watercolor and gouache art make this a worthy successor to the team’s I TALK LIKE A RIVER.

In CITY UNDER THE CITY, by Dan Yaccarino, “the Eyes help everyone.” Bix, who lives with her family, hates it—she wants to brush her own teeth, thank you! The Eyes even choose what kids read at school. And they watch. One day, a cute rat leads Bix “down, down, down,” to “a very interesting place.” There’s plenty to discover, including books and a library, and Bix learns many new things. When it’s time to go home, Bix brings a book with her. The Eyes are not pleased. They take away her sister Taff. But Bix distributes books to all the people in her city, and they learn to fight back. With the Eyes gone, life changes for the better. Illustrated with ink on vellum and rendered digitally, this picture book/graphic novel/easy reader is a most excellent dystopian homage to books, free-thinking, and family engagement.

HELLO, MEADOW! written by Terry Pierce and illustrated by Nadja Sarell, is a sweet, easy-to-understand board book that cheerfully advocates for enjoying nature with respect. A diverse cast of humans and wildlife demonstrate how hikers can help meadows thrive by staying on trails, artists can help by drawing flowers rather than picking them, and families can help by using binoculars rather than getting too close to wildlife. Gentle text and appealing illustrations show little ones how “every grown-up, every child,/can help keep meadows strong and wild.” Share this board book with the youngest hikers in the family!

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--The Chaos Monster

MG Review: The Chaos Monster

The Chaos Monster by Sayantani DasGupta (Scholastic, 240p., ages 8-12, 9781338766738, July 18, 2023)

In the witty, fantastical The Chaos Monster, book one of Sayantani Dasgupta's Secrets of the Sky series, fraternal twins find that magic can happen to anyone, especially if they live in that "state where a lot of strange things happen"--New Jersey!

Fourth-graders Kinjal and Kiya Rajkumar seem like "regular, normal brother-sister twins" who live in a "regular, normal town," until the night they sneak into their basement to find Baba's old folktale book hidden in a locked trunk. Suddenly, "a pair of foggy gray hands coming out of a shapeless tornado-like, whirling mass" appears and grabs their pet, Thums-Up--she has been "dognapped by a chaos monster." Two flying pakkhiraj horses, Snowy and Raat, land in the twins' yard and agree to fly them to their home, the Sky Kingdom, to find Thums-Up.

The pakkhiraj, though, also need help. Bees are dying off in the Sky Kingdom, and they believe Kiya and Kinjal can fix the problem. Princess Pakkhiraj shows them how the new chief minister of a nearby kingdom is distributing dangerous pesticides with badly rhymed slogans such as "GREEN YOUR TREES AND STAY BUG FREE(S)!" As Kinjal sums it up, "he stinks at rhyming, so he's definitely up to no good." Kinjal and Kiya will have to stop the use of PEST-B-GONE or the "entire ecosystem of this dimension" will fail. At the same time, the siblings also have a personal stake in the quest: if they don't put an end to the destruction, "something frightening and unspeakable" will happen to their family. Kiya and Kinjal commence their "heroic call to adventure" accompanied by Thums-Up, Snowy, and Raat. Along the way, their burgeoning magical abilities suggest the twins are not as "ordinary" as they think.

Sayantani Dasgupta (Debating Darcy; The Serpent's Secret) has penned an imaginative tale in which creatures from traditional Bengali folktales and children's stories spring to life, and magic is a treasure "buried deep inside each of us." Her twins, wonderfully adept at humorous banter in the face of danger, grow from bickering siblings into heroes who make a difference. Sandra Tang's grayscale spot and full-page illustrations add a layer of storytelling and break up blocks of text, making the book more approachable for young readers. As literary-minded Kinjal learns to face his fears, and science-minded Kiya figures out that sometimes her instincts are as important as facts, readers should be held captive by their out-of-this-world adventures. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Talker: In this imaginative series opener filled with creatures from Bengali folktales and children's stories, a pair of "normal" twins must save a fantastical realm by figuring out what is killing its bees.

May's Book of the Month--Twenty Questions

May’s Book of the Month is TWENTY QUESTIONS, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Christian Robinson, and it’s a pretty-darn-perfect picture book read-aloud.

Twenty questions and no answers. That’s what makes up this fresh-feeling picture book that’s both stimulating and contemplative at the same time. Every time I open it, I can imagine all the kids at all the storytimes chiming in with their wildly different answers!

From a rather basic introductory “How many animals can you see in this picture?” (quickly followed by the less expected “How many animals can you not see in this one, because they’re hiding from the tiger?”) to “Which of these ladies just robbed a bank?” to “Why is the elephant so upset?” and so on, this book is made up of twenty speculative questions—deftly, stylishly, and playfully illustrated—that will prompt kids to make up any number of elaborate stories to answer them. No wrong answers here.

“What kind of beast lives in this bathtub? And what does it eat? Who is on the other side of this door?” These are all story prompts! I love the creative fun that Barnett and Robinson are stoking with this book!

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--That Self-Same Metal

YA Review: That Self-Same Metal

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams (Amulet, 352p., ages 12-up, 9781419758645)

Secret magical abilities, rebellious Fae, and Shakespearean England commingle in this imaginative YA novel featuring a strong, swashbuckling Black heroine fighting to keep the human world safe from murderous immortals.

Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is the sword handler for Shakespeare's acting company, based in London and patronized by King James. Her future holds few options beyond marrying her father's inept apprentice and assisting in his shop. But Joan and her godfather are the "only living children of Ogun," the Orisha of iron, who gifted Joan her special talent with metal. When Baba Ben is imprisoned, he cannot renew the London peace pact Ogun helped mediate between His Majesty and the Fae. The responsibility falls to Joan. Worse, after she saves the son of the powerful Earl of Salisbury, he insists she kill Auberon, king of the Fae. As a Black woman, Joan has little power to refuse, but she hasn't been trained for any of this. Luckily, she can count on twin brother James and Shakespeare's entire company, both human and Fae. A couple of romantic crushes along the way ensure that Joan is one busy, magic-blessed teen.

That Self-Same Metal is a richly woven fantasy that takes place in an alternate 1605 London populated with bloodthirsty Fae, versions of which Shakespeare has "watered-down" to use as characters in his plays. Williams's leading lady, Joan, struggles convincingly to find her place amid the unfair gender and racial norms of her day. This story has all the elements necessary for a clever, entertaining, thoughtful read. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Awareness--Don't Trust the Cat

MG Review: Don't Trust the Cat

Don't Trust the Cat by Kristen Tracy, illus. by Celia Krampien (Chronicle, $16.99 hardcover, 336p., ages 10-14, 9781797215068)

Kristen Tracy, author of books for teens and tweens, and poetry for adults (Half-Hazard: Poems), dishes up plenty of frisky fun in Don't Trust the Cat, in which a "scaredy-cat" fifth-grader and her pet feline trade places. Mischief and drama ensue!

Eleven-year-old Poppy McBean and her "friendship clump," consisting of Heni, Rosario, and Kit, want to be dancing ponies in the school play. Poppy, who isn't very coordinated, is certain her "power dance move" will ensure the clump gets their desired roles. So, she brings her "double kick, cross stomp, swisher arms, shuffle jump" to practice. When she accidentally trips over the school "puke bucket" mid-move, her "best and only friends in the whole world" leave her in a heap. Poppy agonizes about the betrayal and, at home with her cat, Mitten Man, blurts out that she wishes she had Mitten Man's "easy life." In a "tornado of fur," Poppy and Mitten Man switch places!

Somehow, Mitten Man--now Big Poppy--convinces the real Poppy to let Big Poppy use her feline grace and flexibility at play tryouts before they switch back. But Big Poppy can't manage to be a "normal" fifth-grader. She screams at the sound of the morning bell, sniffs random backpacks and puffy stickers, and ditches the clump to try out for the part of Runaway Clown. Worse, Big Poppy refuses to accept Heni's apology for leaving the real Poppy on the floor.

Meanwhile, Aunt Blanche comes to visit. Since Aunt Blanche believes cats belong outdoors, she ejects Poppy from the house, right into the waiting claws of Death Tiger, a stray about whom Big Poppy warned Poppy. Yet Death Tiger, "a dusk dweller and total beast," seems to think he and Poppy are friends. Before Poppy can even think of switching back to her real body, the two cats are off on a rescue mission, evading weasels and bullies as they search for "genius" turtle Raul. While roaming the "wilds" as a cat, Poppy learns to have confidence in herself; likewise, navigating the "emotional needs of eleven-year-olds" teaches Big Poppy/Mitten Man the value of life as a beloved indoor house cat.

Humor and plenty of misadventure make this an enjoyable read, with the Poppy-Mitten Man transformation allowing for plenty of fish-out-of-water hijinks. Spot illustrations in the chapter headings and upper-right page corners by Celia Krampien (My Family Four Floors Up) help readers identify which character is narrating each chapter. Humans and cats alike demonstrate, through comedy and angst, that worthwhile relationships aren't necessarily easy. By novel's end, Poppy, Big Poppy, and even Aunt Blanche have learned some very valuable lessons. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Talker: The amusing antics of Don't Trust the Cat offer plenty of humorous misadventure as a "scaredy-cat" fifth-grader and her pet feline trade places.