April Books of the Month

Two of my longtime critique buddies, Dianne White and Karen Jameson, have three inspiring, wonder-filled books newly out in the world: FINDING GRATEFUL, IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, and WAKE UP, WOODLANDS!

“Mama says you don’t need a map to find grateful.” In Dianne White and Faith Pray’s FINDING GRATEFUL, after their car breaks down, a child relates how her mama encourages her to notice "this thing/that thing/anything, really.” The child realizes she can find grateful in a smile, or “a cold spray on a hot day.” She pays attention to wiggling toes, and the smell of honeysuckle, indeed, to all the wonder of the here and now. The uplifting, lyrical prose will sweep readers along, and it’s deftly illustrated in an appealing, fully-rendered yet sketchy style that conveys movement and enthusiasm. This child’s eye view of mindfulness is a lovely and comforting read.

IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, also written by Dianne White and this time illustrated by Nanette Regan, is an inspirational, board book take on growing up and becoming your best self. Opening verses (“There’s a time to begin/and a time you will wait./A time when you're early./A time when you're late.”) are accompanied by an infant in a crib and a toddler learning to walk, followed by the child aging up and growing her life experiences. “There’s a time for inside/and a time to go out./Small moments of quiet./Big moments of SHOUT!” The text is smooth and song-like and begs to be read aloud, while illustrations, loose and evocative, are active or contemplative in turn. IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE, with its gentle push for this child to “show the world who you are: confident, courageous, a bright rising star!” is sweet and lovely. This book would be a terrific gift for new parents, or graduates of any age!

WAKE UP, WOODLANDS, written by Karen Jameson and illustrated by Marc Boutavant, is the rhyming, beautifully illustrated follow up to 2020’s WOODLAND DREAMS, created by the same talented team. As a group of kids emerges from a cabin to celebrate the end of winter, the text calls out to a succession of sweetly nicknamed critters to do the same:

Wake up, Tiny Whiskers.
No more storming
Woods are warming
Sweep your sleepy dreams away.
Scamper out to meet the day.

Smoothly written stanzas “croon a song” of spring, and bright, bucolic illustrations showcase children and animals alike, as they make their way across these colorful pages. WAKE UP, WOODLANDS works as a lovely companion to WOODLAND DREAMS, a story about bedding down for winter, or on its own as a paean to spring.

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--Being Home

PB Review: Being Home

Being Home by Traci Sorell, illus. by Michaela Goade (Kokila, 32p., ages 4-8, 9781984816030, May 7, 2024)

Family and finding one's own rhythms lie at the heart of this striking new picture book by two-time Sibert Medal honoree Traci Sorell (Mascot) and Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade (We Are Water Protectors). The collaboration, much like its dynamic characters, moves with a compelling, powerful beat.

A Cherokee child lives with their etsi (mother) in a city where "cars rush" and "crowds collect." Etsi says this is not their rhythm, so they are moving to the Cherokee Nation Reservation. The pair are excited to be leaving a place where, as more houses are built, "fewer animal relatives visit" and "family is too far away." With a "see you later, house" and a "gotta go, swing," the exuberant child and Etsi pack up the car and head home. The drive is long ("Are we there yet?") but the destination promises to be sweet--"singing,/ shell shaking,/ storytelling,/ stickball playing,/ all offer different beats" than the ones in the city they leave behind.

Indeed, when the child and Etsi arrive, family surrounds them, hugging and helping them to unpack. The child finds animal relatives, a new swing, and plenty of wonders to explore on ancestral land, including "room to run, ride, or roll along" and the "cool and constant" creek. Now, there are "no more busy streets" and "no more faraway family." The child and Etsi are "close enough to gather, eat,/ laugh, dance, and share" with their people--the wonderful "rhythm of being home."

Sorell's poetic text focuses on the deeply felt reasons that drive the child and their etsi's move from city to reservation. The author beautifully expresses core themes of family and the importance of full self-realization on ancestral land; in doing so, she echoes the oh-so-important rhythms which animate her characters. Goade's mixed-media art is at once delicate and strong, with spirited, sparkling colors and a keen sense of motion that reinforces the text's rhythm and energy. A jaunty pink is prominently featured while deep greens, blues, and browns ground the images. Well-placed spreads from the child's perspective help keep this picture book focused on its young protagonist, and the child's naïve-style art adornments and handwritten words are sprinkled throughout, providing even more variety and vigor to the scenario. Alive with movement, Being Home is an exceptional offering, emphasizing the inherent rhythms and motions of life. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Awareness--Tiny Wonders

PB Review: Tiny Wonders

Tiny Wonders by Sally Soweol Han (Bloomsbury, 40p., ages 4-8, 9781547614561)

Tiny Wonders is the inspirational story of how one girl, channeling her grandmother's wisdom, teaches her fellow citizens to stop and smell the dandelions.

April thinks the people in her town are too busy and she wonders how she might "help them all slow down." Her grandmother used to say that, in the secret language of flowers, "dandelions mean happiness." But the gardener says that "dandelions are a weed," the bus driver says they make him sneeze, and the shopkeeper says she hasn't "seen a dandelion in years." April thinks that dandelions might be exactly the "magic" her town needs and, after she wishes extra hard, seeds float down to her from the sky. April secretly sows all her seeds and tries to be patient. She remembers Grandma telling her that "good things take time" and, sure enough, "bit by bit," the seeds grow. Happiness blooms as the gardener, the bus driver, the shopkeeper, indeed "everyone" now cheerfully cast wishes "for more tiny wonders to grow."

Sally Soweol Han has created an enchanting, lasting story which shows small acts having a big impact. Her sweet, uncluttered text feels energetic and endlessly optimistic, while gouache, colored pencil, and soft pastel illustrations are dynamic, bright, and sprinkled with whimsy. Backmatter provides illustrations of a wide variety of flowers and what they mean, such as the daffodil ("I'm proud"), lavender ("let's never forget"), and the yellow rose ("let's be friends"). Tiny Wonders is a delightful peek into the magic and language of flowers. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

March Recommendations

CALL YOUR MOTHER, written by Tracy Gold and illustrated by Vivian Mineker, is a lilting, heartfelt story of the strong bond between a girl and her mother throughout the years. Beginning with a baby crying, readers see her grow through potty training, first days of school, soccer games, and dating, until the girl has a crying infant of her own. Told in smooth, rhyming text—“when you’re hungry, when you’re sad,/when you don’t know why you’re mad”—embellished with distinctive calls for help, this is a sweet read. Illos are dominated by soft greens, golds, and oranges that give off a comforting vibe. It’s a tender circular tale of multigenerational love that should inspire hugs all around.

In SEA SMILES, by Bonnie Kelso, a child losing a tooth serves as a springboard to learning when they open a book called “Sea Smiles.” Out pops a perky, young wolffish, followed by, among others, a baby penguin, a narwhal, and a sea snake. Together, this quirky group finds out many of “the good the bad and the ugly” things about their teeth—the different kinds they have, how they lose them, number of teeth, and other kid-friendly science facts about their important choppers. Conversational text and cartoony digital art help make learning fun!

In OLD TO JOY, written and illustrated by Anita Crawford Clark, Joy’s Grandmama is old. So is her street, with its trees that “shimmy and shake,” and so is her house, with its “rickety-rockety” chairs on the “crikety-crockety” porch. Even the way Grandmama says words like “mosey” feels old to Joy. But bubbles dance in the air when Joy and Grandmama do dishes the old-fashioned way, Grandmama’s garden is glorious, and, when they mosey up to the attic, the old-fashioned hats Joy finds there are amazing! Both text and art are buoyant and expressive, and the ending is satisfyingly sentimental.

and coming soon is MONARCH BUTTERFLIES, UP, UP, AND AWAY, written by Marta Magellan, illustrated by Mauro Magellan, and with photos by James Gersing, delves into the migration of this “most studied, tracked, and recognized of all butterflies.” Every year, millions of monarchs fly south to escape cold winters. They use “the position of the sun and the earth’s magnetic fields to find their way.” But, in a fascinating twist, it takes “three or four generations” or “several life cycles” to make it back. Confused? All is clearly explained in the informative text, in concert with vibrant charts, illustrations, and photographs. Extensive back matter points out actionable steps we all can take to help these wonders of nature survive. This is a smart and beautiful science book!

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--The Bad Ones

YA Review: The Bad Ones

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert (Flatiron, 400p., ages 13-up, 9781250894892 )

The Bad Ones, a stand-alone title by Melissa Albert, author of the Hazel Wood series, seductively conjures a haunting, wintry world where the darker side of make-believe becomes real.

Palmetto High School junior Nora Powell is concerned when she gets a weird text from her estranged "soul mate," the "heather-eyed and autumn-haired" Becca Cross. Nora rushes to Becca's house in the "snow-dusted" night but finds no trace of the girl. She does, however, find cryptic messages from Becca about the goddess game, a "fucked-up" rite of passage based on local legend. According to the story, a girl died at the high school and her friends invented "a ritual that would bring her back to life." And it's not only Becca who has disappeared--three other town residents have also mysteriously gone missing. Nora investigates by traveling into the forest where she and Becca played as children, imagining their own powerful deities; looking around the darkroom where Becca spent so much time on her art; and questioning their teachers and not-so-innocent classmates. Becca's voice and a "back-of-the-neck feeling of dread" spur Nora on. As the teen probes further, she discovers multiple similar "spooky" disappearances from the past, all with the goddess game at their heart.

Albert's silky prose transports readers in and out of time and possibility by including enigmatic remembrances of important moments from the past that relate to Nora's first-person narrative. Each memory gives more information and context, helping lead to the explosive climax and aftermath. In The Bad Ones, the author has created a menacing, mythic place with an intoxicating, "off-kilter, Wonderland vibe." --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Awareness--Sheine Lende

YA Review: Sheine Lende

Sheine Lende Darcie Little Badger, illus. by Rovina Cai (Levine Querido, 400p., ages 12-up, 9781646143795, April 16, 2024)

The gritty, luminous Sheine Lende, a prequel to Darcie Little Badger's acclaimed first novel, Elatsoe, features stouthearted Shane (grandmother to Elatsoe's Ellie) who uses the family's ability to raise ghosts to find three people, one of whom is her own mother.

The women in 17-year-old Shane Solé's Lipan Apache family line know how to reach deep into "the world Below" to "raise the ghosts of animals." Shane and her mother, Lorenza, are known for their tracking abilities; they and their two living bloodhounds, along with a single shimmering ghost dog, are often called upon to find missing people. Although Shane knows her small family would benefit from being paid for these services--just a few short years ago, they lost their home, father, and grandparents in quick succession--Lorenza "never charge[s] people money for rescue jobs."

When 16-year-old Donnie and 10-year-old Bobby go missing, Lorenza is called to help. Then Lorenza herself disappears. Shane, her younger brother, Marcos, and her grandpa Louis rush to help locate what has become three missing people. The unconventional band of trackers find an abandoned cabin with a "circle of ash-gray ground" outside. Grandpa Louis identifies it as a "mimic" fairy ring, a hazardous phenomenon that is capable of transporting humans to undisclosed locations using "extradimensional magic."

Shane is too late to realize she is standing inside a "well-hidden, hula-hoop-sized circle." She's whisked several hundred miles away, where she finds a bedraggled and grateful Donnie. Shane sends up a flare, whereby the girls are rescued, and while they wait for Grandpa Louis to come for them, Shane and Donnie suspect that Bobby may have been transported to the underworld. Shane determines to solve the linked mysteries of the mimic rings, where Bobby has gone, and her mother's disappearance.

Little Badger's beguiling novel includes stories within stories that enrich the main narrative, telling tales whose monumental purposes are "to be shared and remembered." She entices readers by creating a world where monsters and "powerful magics" exist alongside actual history. Rovina Cai once again gracefully illustrates Little Badger's work with delicate line drawings that act as chapter headings. Intergenerational relationships (with relatives both alive and Below) form the basis of this wonderful novel, as does Shane's sense that her family--and their ghost animals--are looking out for her. Here's hoping readers will receive more sequels, prequels, or spin-offs that take place in this fresh, compelling world. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

March Books of the Month

PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: ANNIE LONDONDERRY, THE FIRST WOMAN TO CYCLE AROUND THE WORLD, written by Vivian Kirkfeld and illustrated by Alison Jay, is a bright and engaging biography of a strong woman who vows “to do something no other woman had done before.”

Annie isn’t afraid of hard work. She bustles here and there, caring for her family and selling ad space to newspapers. She’s never ridden a bicycle, but when she learns that “two rich businessmen” will pay ten thousand dollars to “the first woman who pedal[s] around the world,” she knows she will try. She has no end of hardships, including learning how to ride, leaving behind her three children, and sleeping on “stony ground” some nights with little to eat.

But, PEDAL! BALANCE! STEER! Annie perseveres! She battles time, injuries, and bandits. She lectures, sells photos, and cuts wood. And when Annie finishes her race fourteen days early, she proves that “a woman ha[s] the right to determine her own path in life.”

Vivian Kirkfeld’s lively, well-researched storytelling is a joy to read, and Alison Jay’s signature illustrations, rendered with oil paint on paper, impart the perfect, old-fashioned flavor to dynamic, attention-grabbing layouts. This picture book of a woman who “stepped up” to a challenge, and “stepped out of the role society envisioned for her” is an inspiration.

ACCIDENTAL HERO: A MOSTLY TRUE WOMBAT STORY, written by Laura Roettiger and illustrated by Debbie Palen, is an entertaining, kid-friendly account of the way “animals ranging from wallabies to skinks to echidnas” survived the 2020 bushfires in Australia “by sheltering in wombat borrows.”

“G’day, Australia!” As bushfires rage through New South Wales, caused by “the driest year on record,” animals “that can’t be found anywhere else on earth” are in danger, report Koala and Emu in their live newscast on WMBT. Scenes of animals fleeing make way for an interview with Wombat, who has “become something of a real hero to the locals.” It seems that when Wombat headed out from her burrow, she was overcome by wind, fire, and smoke. She heard cries for help from those animals whose homes were already lost and who needed “shelter from the heat and smoke.” What’s a kind-hearted wombat to do? Echidnas, skinks, “a mama rabbit and her fluffle,” and wallabies all learn “what real friendship is all about,” as the animals cuddle in Wombat’s cozy underground home, safe and sound. Back matter includes information about animals of Australia, facts about forest fires, and tips to help prevent them.

Cleverly formatting her story as a television newscast, Laura Roettiger takes a frightening event and makes it completely accessible to younger readers. She underscores her work with themes of kindness and hope in the face of tragedy. Debbie Palen’s illustrations are a treat, with endearing, expressive, cartoony animals imparting just the right amounts of drama and cheerfulness to match their situations. This imaginative offering should inspire kids to create their own newscasts or might be readily adapted into classrooms as reader’s theater.

--Lynn