The World’s Longest Licorice Rope by Matt Myers

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Random House Studio

Summary:  Through luck and an assortment of odd jobs, Ben collects a bagful of nickels.  Deciding what to spend them on takes some consideration, but he finally succumbs to a salesgirl with what she claims is the world’s longest licorice rope (costing just one nickel).  “How long is it?” asks Ben.  “How long is the world?” the girl replies.  Determined to find out, Ben starts chewing.  Everywhere he goes, the girl is there to sell him (for a nickel) whatever he needs to continue the journey: a boat, snowshoes, even a carrot suit to outsmart a hungry lion.  Finally, just as he is getting tired, Ben runs into Jimmy, a boy on the other end of the licorice rope who also paid a nickel.  The girl tells them that for one more nickel, they can become friends.  The two boys burst out laughing, because, they say, “Friends are free!”.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This quirky and unpredictable book would make a great writing prompt to share where you might go with the world’s longest licorice rope.  The end makes a great case for exploring the world with a friend or two.

Cons:  The very tiny font.

This Is a School by John Schu, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  “This is a school.  This is a kid.  This is a kid in a class.  This is a class in a hall.  This is a hall in a school – WELCOME!”  As school starts, kids learn that school is a place to learn and discover, to make mistakes, and to find out what they’re good at.  The school becomes a community that grows, transforms, and cares about each other.  The school community is made up of all sorts of people: teachers, students, principals, and staff, and each one of them is an important part of that community.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A wonderful back-to-school book that celebrates many different aspects of school through both the text and the illustrations.  A good companion to Alexandra Penfold’s All Are Welcome and a perfect springboard for discussing classroom and school communities.

Cons:  I should have reviewed this before school started. 

Passionate About Penguins by Owen Davey

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Published by Flying Eye Books

Summary:  Each two-page spread covers an aspect of penguins: different species, how they eat, their feathers, self-defense, temperature control, and more.  The format reminded me of the Eyewitness books of old, with several illustrations and paragraphs of text on each spread.  The page “To Scale” shows a human surrounded by every species of penguin, drawn to size so kids can see how they compare to each other and to a person.  Includes information on penguin conservation and what kids can do to help, as well as index.  There are eight other books in this series. The series title, About Animals, is nowhere near as creative as the book titles which include Obsessive About Octopuses and Bonkers About Beetles.  40 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  There’s a ton of information packed into this book in a very appealing presentation, with beautiful illustrations, clever headings (Born This Way; Ice, Ice Baby), and easily digestible bits of information.

Cons:  Some additional resources would have been useful.

Out of Range by Heidi Lang

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Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Summary:  Sisters Abby (14), Emma (12), and Ollie (9) have been sent to Camp Unplugged for two weeks by parents who are frustrated by the girls’ constant fighting.  The story opens with the three on a disciplinary hike with camp counselor Dana.  When Dana leaves them briefly to scout the area, Abby decides to turn around and head back to camp.  Soon the girls are lost and have to survive a series of life-threatening events, including Emma’s near-drowning, Abby’s bear attack, and Ollie’s ankle injury that makes walking nearly impossible.  The story alternates among the three girls’ perspectives and switches between the past and present to gradually show the reader the difficulties a move to a new home has caused them and the ensuing cruel prank war that has driven them apart.  Forced to work together to survive, the girls begin to realize that their differences are petty compared to the love they have for each other.  Includes an author’s note about her own wilderness survival story that inspired this book.  320 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Part survival adventure, part family story, this is a book that’s sure to appeal to a wide audience.  Heidi Lang does a masterful job of weaving together the different points of view and slowly revealing how events and insecurities in the past have led the girls to their current dire situation.

Cons:  I had to occasionally suspend my disbelief a bit, particularly in the miraculous rescue of Mr. Snuffles.

Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrate the Power of You by Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond, illustrated by Ken Daley

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Published by Sourcebooks Explore

Summary:  A Black man and boy walk together on a colorful path that takes them past Black heroes from the present and past, like Colin Kaepernick (football player), Elijah McCoy (inventor), and William Goines (first Black Navy Seal).  Famous men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama are also on the path, which ends with the man encouraging the boy to believe in himself and work hard so that he can have his own adventurous journey.  The final page shows the boy off and running down the path on his own, with the men from the book watching him and cheering him on.  Includes brief information of the nine men mentioned in the book.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  An empowering book for Black boys that would make an excellent choice for a Black History Month read-aloud and belongs in all libraries for any time of year.  Here’s hoping there will be a Black Girl companion book.

Cons:  The rhyming felt a little forced, making me wonder if rhyming text was the best choice for this book.

Creepy Crayon! By Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown

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Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Jasper Rabbit of Creepy Carrots and Creepy Pair of Underwear fame is back with a new reason to be scared: a purple crayon that seems to have all the answers.  Jasper’s been struggling with school (he’s failing all his subjects except art) but he discovers that when he writes his assignments with his new crayon friend, he gets straight A’s.  Jasper seems to feel like he’s losing his identity when his work is not his own and decides the crayon must be destroyed.  That’s not as easy as it looks, as the crayon turns out to have the ability to regenerate itself after being broken, melted, and thrown into the trash.  Flushing it down the toilet winds up being the most effective solution, and Jasper can enjoy whatever grades he gets, knowing that they’re the result of his own efforts.  (Creepy epilogue: the crayon travels through the sewer system and washes up on a beach where it’s discovered by Elliot Pelican.)  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Jasper’s many fans will welcome him back (and enjoy glimpses from the other two books) just in time for the spooky fall season.  With literal bathroom humor and just the right touches of creepiness, this is sure to be another hit with young readers.

Cons:  I wasn’t so clear on what made the crayon creepy. Wouldn’t most kids like having a crayon that gave them all the right answers?

Some Bodies by Sophie Kennen, illustrated by Airin O’Callaghan

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Sleeping Bear Press

Summary:  “Our bodies can get us from here to there/When we have big feelings, it’s our bodies that share.  So bodies are useful, you’ll surely find/but they’re also unique–one of a kind!”  The rhyming text and illustrations explore all sorts of different bodies.  Size, color, wheelchairs, prosthetics, glasses, tattoos, top surgery, hair, and the amount covered by clothing are all touched upon in a light-hearted body-positive way.  The author is an elementary school teacher who based the book on questions and comments she’s heard in the classroom, and she includes some sample scripts for answering children’s questions, encouraging adults to have those conversations in a positive manner.  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  Both the text and the illustrations celebrate all kinds of bodies in a way that will both engage young children and encourage them to talk about what they notice about their own bodies and others’.  

Cons:  Although one of the sample questions is “Why is that man fat?” fat people are not represented in the illustrations.

Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe by Shauna J. Grant

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Published by Scholastic Graphix

Summary:  Mimi loves pink and purple, dressing up, and playing with her magical stuffie, Penelope.  An unfortunate consequence of this is that she often gets called “cute”.  To counter this, she tries on different personalities that Penelope is able to create for her: a superhero, a smart teacher, and a cool kid.  Each one fails for one reason or another, and by the end she’s decided to be herself and to speak up for what she wants.  To her happy surprise, those around her see her as strong, smart, and cool.  80 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  Kids will relate to Mimi’s wish to be seen as more grown up, and the repeating structure of the story makes this a good choice for beginning readers.

Cons:   The girly-girl cuteness was a little thick, as per usual with Scholastic series marketed to girls.

Pip and Zip by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Doug Salati

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  Bored by the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders, a family of four goes for a walk around the lake.  They’re surprised to find an egg floating in the water, and even more surprised when they find a second one half-buried in the mud.  They take them to their neighbor, Ted, who seems to be some sort of wildlife rehabilitator.  He explains that ducks sometimes don’t know what to do with their first eggs, and he lends them an incubator to see if they will hatch.  After a long month of waiting, both eggs hatch, and the family names the ducklings Pip and Zip for the sounds the eggs make when they open.  Ted helps them raise Pip and Zip until they learn to fly, then accompanies them to the lake to release them back into the wild.  On the last page, the family and their neighbors are out and about again, unmasked, sharing stories about their adventures.  Includes an author’s note about her family’s experiences on which she based this book and information about what to do if you find a duck egg, including several websites.  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fun family story that shows that joy and adventure can be found even during a dark time and includes a good environmental message.  I had never heard of Doug Salati before this year, but he seems to be launching a promising career.

Cons:  The real pandemic lasted a lot longer than this fictional one seemed to.

Twin Cities by Jose Pimienta

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Random House Graphic

Summary:  Luisa Teresa and Luis Fernando are twins collectively known as the Lu-Lu’s.  When they get to sixth grade, though, they are eager to seek their own identities.  They start going by Teresa and Fernando, but more importantly, Teresa heads to school across the border in Calexico, California, while Fernando continues on in Mexicali, Mexico, where the family lives.  Each finds sixth grade to have its struggles.  Teresa’s workload is tough, and she has to get up early to make it to her carpool in time.  Fernando’s friends are at Teresa’s school, and he feels lonely until he befriends eighth-grader Alex who tries to recruit him to sell weed.  This activity leads to a showdown between the twins, but it also finally gets them talking about what they’ve been going through.  By the last few pages, Teresa finally has gotten her own room to work in, and Fernando is starting to make some friends his own age.  256 pages; grade 4-7.

Pros:  This fascinating look about life at the border is richly illustrated with many pictures that show what is going on in each twin’s life simultaneously.  Kids will relate to Teresa and Fernando’s struggles and learn about life in an area that may be unfamiliar to them.

Cons:  The sixth-grade protagonists make this a great elementary read, but the weed storyline may raise a few eyebrows.