One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Summary:  Poet Nikki Grimes combines her own works with those of various poets from the Harlem Renaissance.  She uses the “Golden Shovel” method, in which she takes a line from another poet’s work, and uses each word from that line as the final word in every line of her own poem.  Her works focus on kids, particularly those of color, and have inspirational messages about hard work, hope, and being yourself.  The poems are illustrated by a variety of artists, including many children’s book illustrators such as Christopher Myers, Sean Qualls, and Javaka Steptoe.  An introduction gives a brief history of the Harlem Renaissance; back matter includes biographies of the poets and artists, sources, and an index.  128 pages; grades 5-9.

Pros:  Nikki Grimes was just given the Laura Ingalls Wilder award for making a lasting contribution to children’s literature, and this book continues in that vein.  Her own poetry is beautiful and inspiring, and placing it side-by-side with the Harlem Renaissance poets adds historical depth and richness.  The beautiful artwork completes the poetry.

Cons: Additional resources to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance would have been useful.

Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart

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Published by Scholastic

Summary:  When we first meet Jonathan, he is being transported to Slabhenge Reformatory School to serve a sentence for an unknown crime.  The “school” is built on an island, run by the cruel Admiral, who lives the good life while the boys toil all day with little food and cruel punishments for the slightest infractions.  On Jonathan’s first morning, however, everything changes.  The Admiral, sword held high in the air, is struck by lightning, and the entire staff, standing in a nearby puddle, is wiped out.  The boys are on their own.  At first, they treat each other as equals, but before long, one of the boys, Sebastian, starts wearing the Admiral’s hat, carrying his sword, and giving orders.  Colin, one of the smallest boys but also one of the smartest, rebels, and the boys’ world starts to revert back to the cruel place it was before.  Jonathan finds himself in the middle of it all, gradually coming to terms with his past as he desperately tries to help himself and the others survive.  256 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Short chapters and page-turning adventure will keep readers engaged right up to the last page.

Cons:  A little too derivative of Lord of the Flies.

A Perfect View (Cici: A Fairy’s Tale) by Cori Doerrfeld and Tyler Page

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Published by Graphic Universe

Summary:  When Cici turned 10, she found out from her abuela that she is really a fairy, just like her grandmother.  Cici has recently weathered her parents’ divorce, enjoyed finding a new best friend (Kendra), and is in the process of learning how to use her magic powers.  She, Kendra, and her little sister Sophie go on a camping trip with Cici’s dad, and, right from the start, everything goes wrong–there’s no record of their reservation, the marshmallows are missing, and the first day is rainy.  Cici keeps seeing a little creature in the woods who tries to befriend her.  She rejects his offers of friendship, focusing instead on all that is going wrong, until she has a meltdown.  Her friend and family help her to see all the good things that have happened on the trip, and she finally makes friends with the creature.  When she returns, her abuela tells her it was a wood sprite, and that she is a very lucky fairy to have seen one.  48 pages; grades 1-3.

Pros:  A fun graphic novel for the younger set, with a nice blend of realism and fantasy, and featuring a Latina protagonist.

Cons:  The $20+ price tag certainly gives me pause about purchasing this series for my library.

A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Appelhans

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Schwartz and Wade

Image result for groundhog greyhound goodreads

Summary:  A greyhound and groundhog chase each other and play, with the text mirroring the increasingly frantic pace of the illustrations.  It starts with “A hound. A round hound.  A greyhound.”, then moves on to “A hog. A round hog.  A groundhog.”  The two start chasing each other, and pretty soon, there are six sets of action pictures on a two-page spread with the words twisting around the illustrations, “A round hound, a grey dog, a round little hound dog.  A greyhog, a ground dog, a hog little hound dog.”  The two chase butterflies through a bog and a hollow log before finally collapsing together on the ground.  32 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A playful book that would be loads of fun to read out loud.

Cons:  The plot is pretty thin.

Agnes and Clarabelle Celebrate! By Adele Griffin and Courtney Sheinmel, illustrated by Sara Palacios

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Published by Bloomsbury

Summary: Agnes Pig and Clarabelle Chicken are best friends who help each other celebrate holidays.  When Clarabelle struggles with the Maypole dance, Agnes makes her feel better.  When Agnes gets stage fright at the Fourth of July parade, Clarabelle helps her out.  They also enjoy Halloween trick-or-treating and trying to stay up on New Year’s Eve together.  Each of the four chapters highlights their holiday adventures.  80 pages; grades 1-3.

Pros:  A perfect first chapter book, full of cheerful illustrations.  Part of Bloomsbury’s new Read and Bloom series for newly independent readers.

Cons:  I somehow got the second book in the series instead of the first one.  Fortunately,  I was able to pick up the storyline pretty quickly.  In the interest of full disclosure, the pages shown above are from the first book.

Egg by Kevin Henkes

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Greenwillow Books

Summary:  The first four pages have four panels showing eggs in yellow, pink, blue, and green.  Yellow, pink, and blue birds hatch out of their eggs and fly away, but the green egg remains an egg.  After a wait, the three birds return, listening to the egg, then pecking to try to release the animal within.  Finally, a baby crocodile emerges.  Frightened, the birds fly away, leaving a sad, lonely crocodile behind.  They slowly return to his back, and the four become friends, enjoying a variety of adventures.  The setting sun morphs into a pink egg, with the words “The End”, then on the final page, “maybe”, as a pink bird flies off.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A simple gem, with many of the pages containing 4 (or occasionally, 16) panels, like a graphic novel.  The pastel color palette is perfect for the story, and the entire tale is told with pictures and just 15 words.  The three animals befriending a newly-hatched crocodile reminded me of Leo Lionni’s The Extraordinary Egg.

Cons:  What’s really up with that pink egg?

I’m Back!

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Happy new year!  I’ve enjoyed having the month of January off, but am ready to get back to work!  I’ve started reading 2017 books, and will start reviewing them tomorrow morning.

Thank you for all your messages!  I got many emails and comments, and it was gratifying to hear how many people out there are using the reviews on this blog to choose books for kids, whether it’s for a library, classroom, or family.

As many suggested, I may slow down the pace, possibly taking a day or two off each week, and going on an occasional vacation.

What did I read in January?  I finished up some 2016 books, like Slacker by Gordon Korman, I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings, and Life in Motion by Misty Copeland.  I was planning on posting reviews of these, but I spilled water on my laptop, and am pretty sure the reviews I wrote are gone.  I recommend all three, although read I Am Jazz first if you’re planning to put it in a school library.

While I was gone, ALA announced all its award winners.  What did you think?  I was pretty happy overall, although I was disappointed The Wild Robot and Some Writer! didn’t get any recognition.

Well, onto 2017!  I do enjoy hearing from you, so feel free to comment or email me (jkdhamilton@gmail.com) any time.

 

 

January Hiatus

~ Janet Dawson ~ 26 Comments

I’ve been posting daily book reviews since February 20, 2015, and I’m ready for a break.  I love doing this blog, but as you can imagine, it’s time-consuming to read and review a book every day.  For the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about shutting down, but I’m not ready to call it quits for good.

I’ve decided to take the month of January off.  It’s a good time, since I’ve read and reviewed most of the 2016 books I want to, and it will be a few weeks until I can start getting my hands on 2017 books.  I’ll use the time off to decide whether or not I’ll continue reviewing in 2017, and get back to you no later than February 1.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear feedback about the blog, so please feel free to leave a comment or email me at jkdhamilton@gmail.com.  Thank you so much for reading my reviews, and I will be back in a few weeks!

Seven Favorite Graphic Novels

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Teachers, parents, and librarians may have mixed feelings about graphic novels, but they’re the most popular books in my libraries, by far.  I couldn’t get my list down to five, so here are seven from 2016 that raised the bar on both art and storylines:

I Am Pan! by Mordicai Gerstein.  Published by Roaring Brook Press.

Caldecott winner Mordicai Gerstein may have entered his ninth decade, but he’s still creating masterpieces.  This fun introduction to mythology focuses on fun-loving Pan.  We can only hope for some follow-ups.

Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke.  Published by First Second.

Jack and the Beanstalk with a lot of modern twists, from the author of the Zita the Spacegirl series.  A sequel is in the works.

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Jordie Bellaire.  Published by First Second.

I haven’t had a chance to review this, since I just finished reading it about 20 minutes ago, but trust me when I say upper elementary and middle school students will love the action, political intrigue, and courageous, likeable kid characters in this first installment of a new series.

The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson.  Published by Henry Holt.

Victoria Jamieson followed up her Newbery-honor Roller Girl with this hilarious tale about three classroom pets who make a break for the wilderness.  It’s billed as part of the “Pets on the Loose!” series, so we can hope for a sequel in 2017.

Snow White by Matt Phelan.  Published by Candlewick Press.

There’s got to be at least one award in store for this dark, highly original version of Snow White that takes place in Depression-era New York City.

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey.  Published by Graphix.

I’m a tiny bit embarrassed to include this on my list, but I did love it…millions of 8-year-old boys can’t be wrong, can they?  Good news, Dog Man Unleashed was released last Tuesday.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier.  Published by Graphix.

Fans of Smile, Sisters, and Drama will not be disappointed by Raina Telgemeier’s slightly darker story about two sisters exploring life and death in their new haunted hometown.

5 Favorite Poetry Books

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

I’m neither an expert in nor a huge fan of poetry, but there was a pretty good selection in 2016.  Here were five that I really liked:

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams brought to life by Ashley Bryan.  Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Ashley Bryan really did bring these men and women to life, using historical documents as a springboard for his imagination to create lives for each of these eleven through art and poetry.

Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko by David Jacobson, Sally Ito, and Michiko Tsuboi, illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri.  Published by Chin Music Press.

A beautifully illustrated retelling of the brilliant, tragic life of Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko, complete with translations of many of her deceptively simple poems.

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxanne Orgill, illustrated by Francis Vallejo.  Published by Candlewick.

The history of Art Kane’s 1958 photograph of 57 jazz musicians against the backdrop of a Harlem brownstone, told with poems in the voices of the subjects and the bystanders watching them.

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary School by Laura Shodd.  Published by Wendy Lamb Books.

Eighteen fifth graders share their hopes, dreams, and fears, as they prepare for the closing of their school in June; they use a variety of prompts and poetic forms that are explained at the end of the book.

Echo, Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer illustrated by Josee Masie.  Published by Dial Books for Young Readers.

Second verse same as the first…only backwards to completely change the meaning.  Super cool poems in two voices for Percy Jackson fans.