March Recommendations

Novels:

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, by Sabaa Tahir, is a terrific fantasy inspired by ancient Roman culture. Life in the Martial Empire is tough and uncompromising. Laia and her family subsist as they can, until her grandparents are killed and her brother gets arrested for treason. Laia seeks out the Resistance for help in setting him free. In return, she agrees to go undercover as a slave in the Empire’s brutal Military Academy. Told in the alternating points of view of Laia and Elias, an unwilling student at the Academy, this is top-notch, if rather violent, fantasy. (YA)

THE BEAST OF CRETACEA, by Todd Strasser, is an interplanetary adventure based on that classic story of revenge and madness, Moby Dick. Gone are descriptive passages about whale species and shades of white. Instead, Strasser focuses on the action. Ishmael wakes up aboard a rusty old ship called the Pequod, and he’s amazed by the clean, beautiful planet on which he now finds himself. The Earth he has left behind is a filthy, coal-burning, oxygen depleted mess with very little water. His job is to hunt sea creatures to send back to feed Earth, but the real quarry on this ship is the Great Terrafin. Aye, there be pirates, too! (YA)

ALL AMERICAN BOYS, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, is a provocative look at race relations, specifically how one white policeman reacts when a woman trips over a black kid in a convenience store. It’s narrated alternately by the black kid, Rashad, along with a witness, Quinn, who is white, a close friend of the policeman, and a classmate of Rashad. Pair it with Kekla Magoon’s fascinating How it Went Down, and you will have plenty to think about, guaranteed. (YA)


Picture Books:

I love Jessixa Bagley's (Boats for Papa) new book, BEFORE I LEAVE, a tenderhearted look at moving away and leaving a best friend behind. From the opening endpapers to the closing ones, the delicate watercolor illustrations tell at least half of the story. It’s charming.

In THE RED HAT, written by David Teague and illustrated by Antoinette Portis, young Billy Hightower lives on top of the world’s tallest building. It’s only the wind and Billy Hightower, until one day there’s a new building across the way, and living on top is a girl with a red hat. The strong illustrations use only a limited palette of blue and black, white and red, to deliver a strong and unique tale.

And, finally, Laura Vaccaro Seeger tackles some common kid fears in I USED TO BE AFRAID. She cleverly uses dye cuts to make turning the pages fun, as readers see how being afraid of shadows cleverly turns into shadow play against the wall, how being afraid of the dark turns into sitting with a pet looking at the moon, etc. Her illustrations are always bright and engaging, too.

--Lynn

The Girl in the Blue Coat--Shelf Awareness Pro

I had a new book review in Shelf Awareness Pro!

YA Review: Girl in the Blue Coat

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse (Little, Brown, $17.99 hardcover, 320p., ages 12-up, 9780316260602, April 5, 2016)

Girl in the Blue Coat by Washington Postjournalist Monica Hesse (Stray; Burn) is not only an intriguing missing persons case, it's a poignant, wonderfully crafted story of love and loss, courage and redemption. In 1943 Amsterdam, 18-year-old Hanneke Bakker--so blonde and green-eyed someone said she's "the girl Hitler is dreaming of to put on his Aryan posters"--trades in the Dutch black market to support her family.

Making deliveries on her secondhand bicycle, Hanneke finds and sells goods such as tea and cigarettes that are hard to come by now that the German Green Police occupy the city. Hanneke's heart has hardened since her boyfriend, Bas, died at the hands of the Nazis she encouraged him to fight, and she is missing her best friend, Elsbeth, who married into the Gestapo. So when elderly Mrs. Janssen begs her to find a missing Jewish girl named Mirjam Roodveldt, a 15-year-old she had been hiding in her pantry, Hanneke surprises herself by reluctantly agreeing to help: "That action is soft; I am practical. That action is hopeful; I am not," she thinks.

Once she commits to helping Mrs. Janssen, however, Hanneke becomes obsessed with finding clues about the girl in a blue coat "the color of the sky," who apparently disappeared into thin air. When she goes to the Jewish Lyceum to investigate where Mirjam went to school, Hanneke is confronted by memories of her own carefree days at school, a life which has since been "demolished, brick by brick." With that one dangerously high-profile act, she becomes an accidental member of the "huge and sprawling" world of the Dutch resistance, and slowly her worldview broadens. There's Judith who smuggles food to Jewish prisoners; Mina who finds homes for Jewish babies and secretly photographs the German occupation; and a surprising number of Hanneke's neighbors who harbor Jews in hidden rooms, all forming an intricate web of underground activity that becomes apparent the deeper Hanneke digs.

Although Judith is initially scornful of Hanneke for being concerned only about the welfare of Mirjam and not the greater cause, it is by following the trail of "a scared girl, one of many" that Hanneke is slowly able to make sense of the horror, and the heroism, abundant in this war. As she says, "But maybe because, in a country that has come to make no sense, in a world I cannot solve, this is a small piece that I can." Hanneke does solve this mystery, and finds a way to heal. And she will touch readers' hearts, too. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI. Printed 3/8/16.

Shelf Talker: In this fine YA novel, the search for one missing Jewish girl in German-occupied Amsterdam makes 18-year-old Hanneke an accidental member of the Dutch resistance.

March's Book of the Month--The Thing About Jellyfish

March’s Book of the Month is a heartfelt middle grade novel, THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH, by Ali Benjamin.

Suzy Swanson is devastated when her ex-best friend Franny drowns the summer before seventh grade. Suzy cannot believe there is no rational, scientific explanation, that "sometimes things just happen.” It’s a terrible answer. On a class field trip to the aquarium, Suzy learns about the lethal Australian Irukandji jellyfish, is convinced that a sting from one caused Franny’s death, and becomes obsessed with proving this is the case.

Woven into Suze’s present day trials in middle school is a portrait of her friendship with Franny, how it grew and changed over the years as the girls themselves grew and changed. Though very different, they are inseparable from the time they meet at the pool when they are five, until the day in fifth grade that Franny admits to liking Dylan—it’s all downhill from there, and we see how the relationship unravels.

Shortly after Franny dies, Suzy decides to stop talking, and the story is very much about the importance of communication. It’s also about science and jellyfish (obliviously), about being different and finding your place, and it’s about Diana Nyad.

It’s also warm and sweet and prickly and well-crafted.

And brave and awful and I’ll stop now!

--Lynn

February Recommendations

It’s time for Recommendations, and a few thoughts about book awards:

There’s a definite downside to them, in that many amazing books don’t win the big awards, and maybe because of that they don't ever get the readership they deserve. Which is sad, considering how subjective awards are.

Conversely, I am very, very grateful to this year's awards for helping me get to some wonderful books I might not otherwise have read.

Here are my favorite recent post-award picks:

Novels:

BONE GAP, by Laura Ruby, is both lyrical love story and chilling mystery. Finn is a moony kind of dude, and when beautiful Roza disappears, Finn has trouble identifying her kidnapper even though he was with her at the time it happened. Without any clues, people stop believing him, including the police and brother Sean, who has lost more than any brother deserves to lose. Yet the town of Bone Gap is full of secrets and magic, including talking corn, a huge black horse that appears out of nowhere, and the terrifying man lurking at the fringes of Finn’s vision. Mythic yet pragmatic, and wholly original. (YA)

THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, is a wonderfully moving novel reminiscent of Michele Magorian’s classic, Goodnight, Mr. Tom. Ten-year-old Ada, born with a club foot, is kept prisoner in her cruel mam’s tiny apartment. When brother Jamie is evacuated from London to avoid Hitler’s bombs, Ada makes sure she’s on that train, too. Reluctantly taken in by Susan Smith, in a small village in the Kent countryside, Ada’s world begins to expand in unimaginable ways. But trust is hard to learn, especially since Ada knows what awaits her when the war ends. Yes, I cried. (MG)

WINTER, by Marissa Meyer, is a satisfying conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles, which began with the groundbreaking cyborg Cinderella story, Cinder. In this one, Princess Winter is breathtakingly beautiful, and beloved by the people of Luna. Is it any wonder that her evil stepmother, Queen Levana, wants her dead? But, instead, Princess Winter finds herself swept up in a revolution in which she herself will play no small part. Reuniting in this volume are Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Emperor Kaito, and all of the cast of memorable characters who populate this series. (YA) 

Picture books:

LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, with words by Matt De La Peña and pictures by Christian Robinson, surprisingly won the Newbery Medal this year, as well as a Caldecott Honor. Young CJ and his Grandmother travel across town by bus, recognizing the beauty in their lives. and celebrating the small things which might otherwise go unnoticed. It’s a stunning combination of text and image.

FINDING WINNIE: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. A charming story about the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, the illustrations are terrific, and the layouts particularly caught my eye. I’ll be spending some time studying them.

PEPPER AND POE, by Frann Preston-Gannon, is an adorable tale of one happy cat whose life turns upside down when a new kitten shows up. Distinctive illustrations and spare prose make this new sibling story completely accessible.

--Lynn

February's Book of the Month--Echo

February’s Book of the Month is the luminous ECHO, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, which recently won a Newbery Honor. When Otto gets lost in the forest, he meets three otherworldly sisters who infuse his harmonica with magic, and the tale begins.

We follow as this harmonica touches the lives of three children who could all use a little magic: First there is Friedrich, who must save his father from one of Hitler’s concentration camps, then orphaned Mike in depression-era Philadelphia, and finally Ivy, daughter of Mexican American farmworkers in World War II California. All three children build better lives through their love of, and talent for, music.

Structurally, this novel comes full circle, with the different narrative segments held together by the same magical harmonica. As each owner passes the instrument along, so do readers follow the path of this story.

The writing is lovely, and while the vehicle is music, this novel celebrates art and artists of all kinds, as did the author’s previous work, THE DREAMER.

Read ECHO and prepare to be inspired, energized, and enriched.

--Lynn

Bonus Recommendation!

Here’s a book that’s already changed how I think about picture books:

In READING PICTURE BOOKS WITH KIDS, Megan Dowd Lambert brings us new ways to think about the visual aspect of picture books. She begins with trim size and orientation, then goes on to identify (and explain) book covers and jackets, endpapers, title pages, gutters, and more. Most interestingly, she’s got me thinking about what’s taking place beyond the art that's depicted on the page. Even though her main focus is to help librarians and teachers share picture books more successfully with kids, writers and illustrators will also be able to use this knowledge to better understand the elements in the picture books we are reading and making.

It’s a thought-provoking discussion, with plenty of art to illustrate points being made. And a pretty quick read, as well.

--Lynn

January Recommendations

Read anything really good lately?

Some of my recent favorites:

Novels:

SIX OF CROWS, by Leigh Bardugo, is a new story set in the same icy world as her fabulous Grisha trilogy. A motley crew of thugs and thieves from the city of Ketterdam agrees to take on the impossible task of breaking a prisoner out of the Fjerdan Ice Court. If they succeed, they’ll have enough money to make all of their dreams come true, along with saving the world from Grisha made insane (and insanely powerful) by the drug jurda parem. But success is not at all likely. Plenty of action, compelling characters, and a unique fantasy setting make this author’s work so good. (YA)

Another fantasy that’s worth reading is FAIREST, by Marissa Meyer. It’s the backstory of how Princess Levana becomes the powerful Lunar Queen who goes on to invade Earth in the novels CINDER (a cyborg Cinderella story!), SCARLET, CRESS, and the newly released WINTER. While those other novels, each based on a classic fairy tale, are hefty tomes, FAIREST is a quick and easy read, thoroughly entertaining, and the three chapters of WINTER which are included will send you racing to find that one, too. (YA)

And on a completely different note, the 2015 National Book Award winner, CHALLENGER DEEP, by Neal Shusterman, is the narrative for a fifteen year old’s descent into mental illness, his hospitalization, and fight to return to mental health. Obviously, this is no quick and easy story: readers will need to work their way through some confusing visions, interspersed with the more grounded parts of the story. There is a rich payoff, though, for readers who persevere. Shusterman’s son provided art and inspiration for this cautiously optimistic story. (YA)

Picture Books:

WAIT, by Antoinette Portis, uses only two repeated words  “hurry” and “wait,” to convey the clearly different viewpoints of its main characters. Walking across town, the boy, not surprisingly, finds any number of things worth dawdling over along the way, while the mom has important places to go. The art is strong and accomplished.

In A DOG WEARING SHOES, by Sangmi Ko, young Mini finds an adorable

dog in the middle of a crowded street. Even though the dog wears four yellow shoes and a collar, there is no owner in sight. Mini takes the dog home, but is it really hers to love? In a terrific design twist, the story begins right away, with the title page not showing up until page five. Detailed black and white drawings, with small touches of yellow and red, convey humor and sadness, love and longing, and an entire range of emotions as Mini dashes through this adventure.

THE OCTOPUPPY, by Martin McKenna, belongs to the group of picture books about a kid who gets the wrong pet (like Sparky! by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans). In THE OCTOPUPPY, Edgar wants a dog, but instead he gets Jarvis. Jarvis is  very clever, but he can’t do all the things that a dog can do. When Jarvis embarrasses Edgar at the dog show, it’s the last straw! The detailed art is full of sight gags and does a great job moving this humorous story along.

--Lynn