Month: February 2023

Beaky Barnes: Egg on the Loose by David Ezra Stein

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Penguin Workshop

Summary:  When uptight Town Inspector Cobb loses the egg out of his sandwich, he goes off on what seems like a simple search for a replacement.  The quest starts at a restaurant with a chef who has a secret to hide, a fish in search of something more to life than being eaten, and two customers–a woman and a chicken–who set off a chaotic chase through town.  By the end of the story, Inspector Cobb is wearing a barrel and a lovestruck rooster is wearing his uniform.  The whole story is presented as a movie, with several commercial breaks advertising products that turn out to be useful for the characters.  The final few pages fast forward six months, wrapping everyone’s story up with a happy ending.  128 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  David Ezra Stein of Interrupting Chicken fame has created his first graphic novel that is sure to be a hit with the Dog Man crowd with plenty of slapstick humor and a fun, offbeat cast of characters.

Cons:  I would have liked to have seen the “which came first” chicken and egg issue more fully addressed.

To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights by Angela Dalton, illustrated by Lauren Semmer

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  The story begins with the author recounting how her family loved watching the original Star Trek, particularly because of Lieutenant Uhuru, acted by Nichelle Nichols, a Black woman who played the communications officer on the Enterprise.  The narrative then goes back to Nichelle’s childhood where she was encouraged by her parents to do whatever she wanted.  She loved performing, first as a ballet dancer and later as a singer and actress.  This gave her confidence when she got the part on Star Trek, but that confidence began to wane when she experienced racism on the show.  She told Gene Rodenberry that she was quitting, but changed her mind when she met a fan–Martin Luther King, Jr. who told her Star Trek was the only show he and his wife let the kids stay up late to watch.  He convinced her to stay on the show and serve as a role model to Black children.  Includes information on Nichelle’s role with NASA helping to recruit a more diverse workforce, including Mae Jemison and Guion Bluford; also an author’s note.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  I’m excited to read this book to several of my classes beginning today.  The subject matter, the engaging writing style, and the colorful illustrations make it an excellent choice for sharing Black history…and the cameo by MLK was a fun surprise!

Cons:  No additional resources listed.

Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: A True Story About an Amazing Swimmer by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Richard Jones

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Anne Schwartz Books

Summary:  Yoshi the sea turtle gets another picture book about her record-breaking swim from South Africa to Australia.  After getting entangled in a fishing net, she was rescued and sent to Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa, where she lived for the next twenty years.  She spent 18 months training to swim in the ocean before being released with a tracker attached to her shell.  The tracker showed when she left Africa and began heading to her native Australia.  Over the next twenty-six months, Yoshi swam 22,998 miles, the longest recorded swim of any animal.  She found her way back to where she had started her life, laying eggs on the very same beach.  Includes a note from the author, who is also a long-distance swimmer, with additional information about Yoshi and sea turtles.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  Like Yoshi and the Ocean, this picture book will appeal to animal lovers, telling Yoshi’s story with a sense of awe that is reflected in the gorgeous underwater illustrations.

Cons:  I wouldn’t have objected to a larger font.

The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Balzer + Bray

Summary:  Oliver’s surprised when his new homeroom teacher Mr. Aidact intercepts his spitball on their first day of school.  Before long, Mr. Aidact shows other surprising traits that are annoying at first but soon become endearing.  He has an almost endless knowledge of trivia and proves himself a surprisingly adept girls’ field hockey coach.  When there’s an accident on a field trip, Mr. Aidact turns out to be a skillful bus driver.  Oliver and his best friend Nathan do some sleuthing and make a shocking discovery–Mr. Aidact is actually a robot, a form of artificial intelligence being tested by the government in a project all the adults at school know about.  Try as they might, they find it impossible to keep this information a secret, and when parents get wind of it, an angry mob demands that Mr. Aidact must go.  When Oliver and Nathan intercept the Department of Education’s plans to dismantle their teacher, they hatch a daring plot to rescue him.  If they succeed, their beloved teacher will be gone for good.  But as Mr. Aidact tells them, “I’ll never forget you.  Unless I stand too close to a strong magnet.”  304 pages; grade 4-7.

Pros:  Gordon Korman’s latest book is a timely tale of artificial intelligence, told in his trademark style of multiple narrators, including memos to the Department of Education on the status of their project.  Kids will enjoy the humor and the realistic middle school characters and situations and will also be challenged to think about the line between human and machine.

Cons:  The human teachers were for the most part portrayed as boring and/or slackers.

9 Kilometers by Claudio Aguilera, illustrated by Gabriela Lyon, translated by Lawrence Schimel

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Summary:  It’s still dark when the boy leaves to walk the nine kilometers (5.5 miles, 15,000 steps) to school.  His walk takes him through the forest, across a stream, and under a barbed wire fence that he props up with a forked stick.  Some days the walk feels like “a stone inside a worn-out shoe” while other days it is “as sweet as a handful of blackberries or a ripe apple.”  He meets up with friends as he approaches the school, a small building in the middle of acres of farmland.  The last several pages tell about kids in other countries who walk as much as 30 kilometers round-trip to get to school.  There are also descriptions of all the birds the narrator sees on his trek.  56 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  This book, originally published in Chile in 2021, reminded me of My First Day, with its beautifully illustrated description of a child in another country traveling to school.  The back matter showing other kids’ journeys is an important part of the book: “We hope that their steps guide us toward the construction of a society in which education is a right and not a privilege, and we hope that their footprints serve as a reminder of one of the greatest inequalities of our world.”

Cons:  Imagine all the reasons–disability, illness, fatigue, bad weather–that would make this journey to school impossible.

Black Swans by Laurel van de Linde, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Sunbird Books

Summary:  Six Black dancers, three men and three women, are profiled, each one given a few pages describing his or her career and the racism each one encountered and overcame to achieve groundbreaking success.  The six are listed in chronological order, beginning with Essie Marie Dorsey, who lived from 1893-1967, and finishing with Michaela DePrince, born in 1995 and currently dancing with the Boston Ballet.  The author’s note at the end lists eight other Black ballet dancers, with the years they lived and the companies they danced with.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  Dancers will find plenty to inspire them in these stories, timed perfectly to celebrate Black History Month.  The illustrations capture the grace, strength, and beauty of the ballerinas.

Cons:  I wish there was more historical context for the biographies.

Milloo’s Mind: The Story of Maryam Faruqi, Trailblazer for Women’s Education by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  The author of Unsettled tells the story of her grandmother, Milloo, who grew up in India in the early 20th century.  Milloo loved school, but her parents told her at the end of fifth grade that she was done with education.  Milloo launched a campaign all summer long and finally got her parents’ permission to enter sixth grade.  She went on to finish high school and college at the top of her class, then became a teacher herself.  After getting married, she tried staying at home as her husband wanted, but found that cooking and sewing were not her thing.  She started a girls’ school in her home, and when classes outgrew that space, she founded a series of schools.  The author’s note tells that the Happy Home Schools in Karachi, Pakistan are still thriving.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  Both the text and the collage illustrations exude a bright energy that reflects Milloo’s enthusiasm and passion for education.  File this away to read for Women’s History Month next month.

Cons:  I was a bit confused by Milloo being referred to as Maryam in the subtitle, which was not explained until the author’s note (Milloo was her father’s nickname for her, and she’s referred to by that name throughout the story).

Supporting this blog through Patreon

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

I’ve recently set up a Patreon account where you can support my work by signing up to donate $3 or $5 a month. It kind of goes against my grain to do this, as I’ve always thought of this blog as a labor of love, but the truth is I spend 7-10 hours each week reading and reviewing books, and it would be nice to be compensated for that time.

This is completely optional. At this time, I’m not offering additional perks for contributors, and this blog will continue to be freely available to all.

If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link to my Patreon. You can also visit my blog and click on How to support this blog near the top of the page.

I truly appreciate your support in all forms, whether it is financial, positive feedback in the comments, or “likes” on my posts. Thank you!

Dim Sum, Here We Come! By Maple Lam

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  A girl is excited to be heading out for a weekly dim sum family gathering.  She and her parents and sister head to the restaurant where they meet up with extended family: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Everyone sits at a big round table with a lazy Susan in the middle that is soon filled with baskets of yummy food.  It’s hard to wait for her favorite dishes to make their way to her, but Grandma reminds her that waiting shows respect.  Finally, the basket with the last char siu bun makes its way to her, and she peels off the paper, blows off the steam, breaks it in half, and shares it with her sister.  Dim sum means everyone gets to share, and sharing dim sum means “I love you.”  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Another great story featuring food and family.  Anyone who has enjoyed dim sum will get to savor some happy memories, and anyone who has not (like me) will want to find a place to give it a try soon.  The cute illustrations extend to the endpapers, where various dishes are shown in the front and empty plates and baskets are pictured in the back.

Cons:  Having a little more information about what dim sum is would have been helpful to those of us who have never experienced it.