November Recommendations

THE BRIDGE, written and illustrated by Eva Lindström, is currently a huge favorite of mine. A wolf stops a pig who’s driving north by relating that the bridge ahead is closed. The pig has places to be, but accompanies the wolf home to wait out the inconvenience. Coffee is served and conversation is enjoyed, until the wolf informs the pig that “the bridge should be ready now.” The wolf wishes the pig “safe travels," and the pig drives off. But where is the bridge? Text is quirky and enigmatic, as are the gouache and watercolor illustrations, and the overall effect is vaguely unsettling and absolutely wonderful.

NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON A GRAY DAY, written and illustrated by Grant Snider (One Boy Watching), describes how a kid might spend a day when “even the rain is too bored to fall.” A girl rides her “rickety bike” across town to the “lonely seesaws” and “sad merry-go-round” of the playground. But, “beyond the fence… a winding path”… and a private adventure turn this gray day into a more colorful one, where “anything can happen!” This lovely paean to exploration, observation, and imagination sings with a lyrical text and fluid colored pencil and marker illustrations that become more vibrantly yellow, blue, and red/pink as the day comes alive.

365: HOW TO COUNT A YEAR, written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Julien Chung, is a creative look at how to measure the time it takes for Earth to make one revolution around the sun. A year can be “365 ‘Good mornings,’ 365 ‘Good nights,’ and, hopefully, 365 clean pairs of underwear.” If that seems like a lot, the days can be grouped into “52 Friday night movie popcorn spills, 52 sleep-in Saturdays, or 52 get-naked-and-SPLASH Sunday baths.” Readers will see that 52 weeks can also be 12 months, or 1 year, or 8,760 hours, or 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds. The exuberant text is clear, informative, and humorous, and the bold, colorful digital illustrations cleverly make use of a lion for continuity. It’s a playful and fun way to learn about time.

BEING A CAT: A TAIL OF CURIOSITY, written by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Pete Oswald, invites readers to “be like a cat,” which includes “watching, wondering, wandering,” as well as perching, lurking, trilling, and preening, preening, preening. Cats explore, discover, and “stop and smell the flowers—nip, flip, tip!” The spare, poetic text does a nice job of getting to the heart of catness, while back matter defines felines a bit more scientifically. (A companion book, BEING A DOG, gets to the heart of dogness.)

HOW TO WRITE A POEM, written by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is a poem about writing a poem that’s inspiring and beautifully illustrated and begins “with a question, like an acorn waiting for spring.” What follows is inspirational, and also oddly, whimsically practical, such as suggesting that the poet “listen to the grass, the flowers, the trees—anything that’s friends with the sun.” Sounds, ideas, words all “twist and turn” to become a poem that’s waiting to be shared. Just named a NY Times Best Illustrated Book of 2023.

JACKIE AND THE BOOKS SHE LOVED, written by Ronnie Diamondstein and illustrated by Bats Langly, nicely showcases former First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy’s lifelong love of books, beginning with how she “learned to read at an early age” and “filled the shelves” her own small library as a child. She was also a writer, creating stories and poems, submitting essays to magazines, and taking a job as a journalist when she was an adult. She helped JFK write his award-winning book and introduced him to voters thorough her newspaper work. After JFK died, Jackie “made her mark as an editor.” This charming picture book adds welcome depth to popular perception of this iconic First Lady, who let “a love of literature [guide] her life.” Appealing illustrations and the author’s note, timeline, and bibliography further expand the view.

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--Her Dark Wings

YA Review: Her Dark Wings

Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury (Delacorte Press, 336p., ages 13-up, 9780593705582, December 12, 2023)

Her Dark Wings is a fierce and fanciful tale wherein a spurned young woman's accidental interaction with Hades causes a mythically sized shift in her life as well as massive changes in the Underworld.

Corey Allaway has been betrayed. It's always been "Bree-and-Corey, Corey-and-Bree," but the summer they're 17, Bree cuts Corey out of the picture and takes up with Corey's ex-boyfriend, Ali. Corey, hurt, humiliated, and extremely angry, kisses a "random" boy at a bacchanal to honor Demeter while wishing with her "whole heart" that Bree would be "dragged to the Underworld and left there to rot." When shortly thereafter, Bree's body is found in the lake "flirting with the weeds," Corey feels confused, outraged, and completely without closure.

Then Corey looks "over [her] left shoulder, out to the west." This, legend says, is a way to catch a glimpse of the Underworld. Not only does Corey see into that forbidden place, but she also observes Bree's shade with "impossible, awful" Hades himself. The king of the Underworld sends messenger-god Hermes to warn Corey to forget she's seen the afterlife but, when Corey learns the "random" boy she kissed is Hades himself, she realizes her desperate wishing may have caused Bree's death. Though Corey would like nothing more than to be left alone to process her feelings, she is dragged to the Underworld, where three winged Furies want her to join them in their "inhumane" punishment of "guilty" shades. Corey, who is still furious with Bree, must fight to keep her anger in check, as she struggles to keep from becoming a monster.

Her Dark Wings is a feisty, compelling modern-day retelling of the Persephone myth. Melinda Salisbury's riveting plot may serve as an excellent entry point for readers not overly familiar with the Greek pantheon: Hades, Hermes, the Furies, the Boatman, and Hecate all populate these pages and stealthily impact the humans they encounter. Salisbury (The Sin Eater's Daughter series) smoothly shifts between Corey's unlikely, god-filled present and her recollections of the lies and betrayals she suffered at the hands of her two exes. These deceptions continue to shape her future as she navigates harsh and unforgiving landscapes in the Underworld. There are gods and magic, yes, but above all looms the question of what it means to be human. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Awareness--Big

PB Review: Big

Big by Vashti Harrison (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 60p., ages 4-8, 9780316353229)

The inspiring and deeply moving picture book Big tells the story of a Black child "with a big laugh and a big heart and very big dreams." She is praised by caring adults for being "a big girl," and this is good--until it's not. Suddenly, big means getting stuck in a swing, being teased by other kids, and finding herself belittled by adults. It means feeling "out of place, exposed, [and] judged." Until, finally, powerfully, this wonderful girl begins to "shake off" the words of others, to "see things more clearly," and to "make more space for herself." Little Leaders series creator Vashti Harrison's succinct text is emotionally resonant and gracefully executed, as are her beautifully rendered digital and chalk pastel illustrations, both of which keep the focus clearly on the child and her rewarding journey to self-love. The gatefold at the heart of the book is stunning, as the child remembers who she is... and it's good! --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

November's Book of the Month--The Scariest Kitten in the World

Once upon a time, on one of those infamous dark and scary nights, you’ll read THE SCARIEST KITTEN IN THE WORLD, by Terrifying Kitten (with help from Kate Messner) and illustrated by Mackenzie Haley, and you’ll howl with laughter!

In a “TERRIFYING HAUNTED HOUSE,” behind a “ragged old door—all splintery and creaky,” our narrator strongly warns readers NOT to turn the page because, if they do, they'll find “the fiercest, most horrifying creature.” And “SNARL! GROWL! ROARRRRRR!” it’s… a cute little kitty, who spends the rest of the book trying to keep us from turning any more pages because surely we will be scared silly. Helped—sort of—by a houseful of adorable critters, the kitten exposes us to one—ahem—terror after another.

The short text is narrated by this most fearsome kitty, with conversational asides by animal cohorts which include a chick, a sloth, and a hedgehog. Spooky! The cartoony art, with its strong yellows, blues, pinks, strikes just the right tone—scary and sweet, as the text commands. Perfect for wee scares and humongous giggles all year long.

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--Rock Your Mocs

PB Review: Rock Your Mocs

Rock Your Mocs by Laurel Goodluck, illus. by Madelyn Goodnight (Heartdrum, $19.99, hardcover, 32p., ages 4-8, 9780063099890)

Rock Your Mocs joyfully invites readers to take part in a "wonderful celebration of Native and First Nations cultures" as Indigenous children show their Native pride on November 15--and perhaps every day--by "stepping out" with "beauty on [their] feet."

"There's a celebration beginning," and it's time for children of Indigenous Nations to be "kicking it up" wearing traditional footwear. These "vibrant expression[s] of tribal pride and individual style" are created with deer, elk, moose, or seal, as well as with "love, stories, and laughter." Beaded and fringed, shimmering and shining in a "blend of colors and shapes," moccasins are crafted with "skilled hands and knowledge passed down." The mocs themselves can be passed down, too, or they can be new ones that are "traced to fit," thereby honoring "deep-rooted traditions, while adapting to [the] sacred present." Children of all clans--Yurok, Osage, Seminole, and many more--boldly rock their mocs with pride and style, because these exuberant creations are precious gifts, works of art, and symbols of community.

Author Laurel Goodluck's graceful, buoyant text beautifully honors the proud connection between moccasins and "history and identity," as well as how they can be a meaningful way of "stepping into the future." Madelyn Goodnight's energetic, festively colored digital illustrations likewise take care to focus as much on the lifestyles, passions, and communities of the children as they do on their moccasins, further communicating how integral the footwear is to linking Indigenous children with the best version of themselves. Indeed, Rock Your Mocs encourages readers to celebrate their very best selves, each and every day. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

October Recommendations

BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE MUSIC OF JOHN CAGE, written by Lisa Rogers and illustrated by Il Sung Na, delves into what’s behind the music of this avant-garde artist who tried to use “all the sounds” in his compositions, as well as “curlicues and dots and more curlicues and squiggles” rather than musical notes, and “stuck erasers and bolts and screws” inside a piano, and “composed a piece of piano music without any notes,” and set his pants on fire during a concert, and… By framing this book as a series of “what if” questions, the text encourages readers to think, explore, and listen. Art uses “shapes and colors to represent each sound,” and back matter provides more context. It’s an excellent, kid-friendly intro to Cage and to nurturing your own unique vision.

A BUCKET OF QUESTIONS almost answered by Tim Fite (the “wiki-wonky, giggly-googly, jingly-janky, and 100% pooky-pooky” person who wrote and illustrated this picture book) resists following the usual rules and instead creates something new. We begin with a bucket full of questions, and proceed to answer and/or evade them completely. “Why do seals clap?” “Why do kids lose their teeth?” “What are hot dogs (actually) made of?” It’s random unless it’s not. It’s also fun, so give it a try!

LAST FLIGHT, written by Kristen Mai Giang and illustrated by Dow Phumiruk, vividly describes the tension-filled experience of living in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and rushing to get out on the last American plane to leave the city before the North Vietnamese marched in. “As the war close[s] in” around one young girl and her family,” they navigate all kinds of difficulties until ultimately “the plane race[s] for [their] lives down that runway.” This highly personal account is an evocative recollection of the author’s escape from Saigon, with illustrations that perfectly communicate both the drama and hope in the situation.

In THE WELCOME HOME, by Amy June Bates, Mr. and Ms. Gargleson-Bittle are “missing something.” They want a “soft,” “waggy,” and “lick-your-face-play-fetch-roll-over-rub-its-belly-and-chase-its-tail” sort of thing, so they get… a snail. Which they love, but they want “something more.” And more. And more, until their house fills up, with a whale and a cat and some goldfish and “a tiny armadillo named Cauliflower,” and on and on until one more something shows up on their doorstep and everything is perfect. This is a warm, fuzzy, inclusive kind of a book that’s sweet and silly and feels just right.

In THE PET STORE WINDOW, written by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado, a girl finds a puppy and brings him to the pet store where she works. Every evening, Ana goes home, and the now-grown-and-unsold dog wonders why he’s not “walking down the street” with her. Until the uncaring owner of this “very small store” tells Ana the store will be sold, and even though Ana and her grandmother can’t afford it, they take in the leftover pets: the dog, a rat, and a hedgehog—because “it’s good to be together.” This creative duo has produced some noteworthy books (including Afterward, Everything was Different, and Drawing Outdoors) and this one should satisfy, as well.

CHINA, written by Songju Ma Daemicke and illustrated by Jam Dong, is a delightful board book (in the Barefoot Books Our World series) which welcomes the youngest of readers to spend a day in China. From “a fluffy kiss on my cheek,” through dumplings for breakfast, kite-flying, paddle-boating and fruity treats, then on to ink-grinding, dinner, and a sweet bedtime, CHINA is a lovely treat for little ones. The text is bright and cheery, and so is the art!

--Lynn