Review of A Comb of Wishes, by Lisa Stringfellow

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

A Comb of Wishes

by Lisa Stringfellow
read by Bahni Turpin

Quill Tree Books, February 2022. 5 hours, 32 minutes.
Review written July 23, 2022, based on a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Oh, this story was wonderful, and the audiobook version adds the perfect touch of atmosphere to pull me into its spell.

Set on the Caribbean island of St. Rita, Bahni Turpin used appropriate accents for the characters, but my favorite was hearing her say “Crick! Crack!” at the start and end of the chapters about the Sea Woman, as a storyteller on the island would do.

In the chapters set in our world, we see a girl named Kela whose mother died three months earlier in a car accident, whom Kela is still deeply grieving.

So when a magical comb seems to call to her in a sea cave, and Kela learns she can use it to get a wish, it’s no surprise what she would wish for. Of course there are consequences. Especially when adults get wind of the comb, and she can’t give it back to the sea as she had promised.

I loved the way this story is woven. Normally, I’d see all the drawbacks of magic messing with something so major — but the story itself brought those to the front, and I could believe the way it played out. The depiction of the island and the sea people added to the beauty of the story.

I loved the way Kela made jewelry with sea glass — something humans had thrown into the sea so she was allowed to remove — and the common name for them of mermaid’s tears.

This tale features a Black girl in the starring role, and people of all backgrounds will be enchanted.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/comb_of_wishes.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of The Chupacabras of the Río Grande

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy 0

The Unicorn Rescue Society

The Chupacabras of the Río Grande

by Adam Gidwitz and David Bowles
illustrated by Hatem Aly

Dutton Children’s Books, 2019. 202 pages.
Review written November 13, 2019, from a library book

This is the fourth book in The Unicorn Rescue Society series about some kids and a very eccentric professor helping out mythical creatures. I have read the first book, but not any others before this one, and I don’t think that hurt my understanding of this one any, so it is the sort of series that you can jump in where you are.

In this case, there’s a chupacabras on the loose – a mythical creature that sucks blood from goats. Usually, they don’t kill their victims, simply taking a drink while the victim sleeps, but a small calf has been killed, with all its blood drained, and Professor Fauna wants to take a look, bringing Uchenna and Elliot along, of course.

The adventure is light-hearted and has some silly jokes, with the inevitable bad guy trying to beat them to the magical creature adding some tension. It’s not designed to be a child’s first chapter book, but neither is it far advanced, and has short chapters and plenty of pictures.

I did like the way this light-hearted fantasy adventure ended up overlapping with a serious political issue. The creation of a border wall and border fences disrupt territories for wildlife – and that turns out to be a problem for mythical wildlife, too.

I also like that the publisher took the issue seriously and treated the people of the region so respectfully that they put David Bowles on the authorial team. I loved what David Bowles said at the back of the book about that, so I’m going to include it here:

Writing about the border brings me a lot of joy, but also some worry. This is my community, full of my people – relatives and friends on both sides of the river. Our lives overflow with two cultures, two languages, two national identities. Trust me. You’d love it here.

But it’s easy for people to misunderstand what they’re not familiar with, so this book had to be not just about an amazing adventure in South Texas, but also about how easy it is for outsiders to get the wrong impression of my community. Heck, even those of us living down here don’t always agree about how this side of the border and that one fit together.

We couldn’t just pretend that some people aren’t nervous about the border. We also couldn’t ignore the fact that many border folks don’t like the choices the government is making.

So Adam and I decided to include that disagreement in the book. We know people who feel both ways about the barrier that’s been going up along the border in bits and pieces for years now. It was important to get a good look at those two sides without assuming that either group wants to hurt anyone.

As a Mexican American, I also wanted to make sure that the bilingual and bicultural nature of my people came through loud and clear. I am proud of my heritage, my roots along either bank of the Río Grande. And that also meant taking the chupacabras — pretty recent cryptids in the long history of creepy creatures in South Texas – and finding where they fit into the larger indigenous mythology of our ancestors.

I can only hope that the low whistling I hear drifting over the water as I write these words is a sign of their approval.

I, for one, approve of the care taken in a light-hearted fantasy chapter book. All the more reason for me to recommend this series.

UnicornRescueSociety.com
penguinrandomhouse.com

Buy from Amazon.com

This review is only on the blog.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Hooray for Lolo, by Niki Daly

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Cross Cultural 0

Hooray for Lolo

by Niki Daly

Catalyst Press, 2020. 86 pages.
Review written July 23, 2020, from a library book

Hooray for Lolo is a beginning chapter book set in South Africa with four stories about a little girl and her family, doing life.

There’s a story about a show-off friend and her birthday party, a really fun story about a library book that all Lolo’s friends love, a story about Lolo dealing with appendicitis, and finally a story of Lolo and her family taking care of a baby.

This is a joyful book about simple things important to a child’s world with plenty of pictures and simple sentences. I like the window into another culture, which also shows that day-to-day life is much the same.

catalystpress.org

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/hooray_for_lolo.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of The Boys in the Back Row, by Mike Jung

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

The Boys in the Back Row

by Mike Jung
read by Koong Sim

Dreamscape Media, 2020. 5 hours, 13 minutes, on 5 CDs.
Review written June 17, 2022, from a library audiobook
Starred Review

I missed this book when it came out because I was judging for the Cybils Awards in a different category, but I’m glad I finally caught up. The reader is excellent, making you believe you’re hearing the voices of middle school boys.

This is a book about deep and lasting friendship between two comic-book-and-band geeks. They’re bullied because of the friendship and because they’re geeks, but the friendship just shines.

Matt and Eric are starting another year of middle school. This time, instead of flute, where he was the only boy, Matt is playing bass drum, so he’s in the back row with his best friend, Eric. But there are some bullies in the back row, too.

Early in the year, the band learns that they’re going to compete in a band competition at World of Amazement at the end of the year. (I love the names Mike Jung invents for amusement parks and comic book characters!) But then they learn that Eric’s family is moving away after the year is done. So the final piece that sets their planning in motion is when they also learn that on the last day the band will be at World of Amazement, there’s going to be a DefenderCon where their favorite comic book creator is signing comics — just a mile away from the amusement park. Of course they have to go, in a final adventure together as best friends.

The catch is that they also realize they won’t be able to get permission. But if they can manage to keep things quiet, they might be able to pull this off. But then a back row bully finds out what they’re up to….

Naturally, I didn’t expect all to go smoothly with their plans, but I still was completely surprised by what happened. And the tenderness at the end almost brought tears to my eyes.

This all sounds serious, but the book is full of humor throughout, fun nerdy humor, the best kind.

Let’s hear it for nerdy middle school boys who care deeply about their friends!

dreamscapepublishing.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/boys_in_the_back_row.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Different Kinds of Fruit, by Kyle Lukoff

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Different Kinds of Fruit

by Kyle Lukoff

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022. 313 pages.
Review written June 10, 2022, from my own copy, sent by the publisher
Starred Review

Kyle Lukoff won the Stonewall Award and Newbery Honor with his last book, Too Bright to See. Different Kinds of Fruit is another book exploring issues about gender in the lives of kids, and it does it with a happy and engaging story.

Annabelle has gone to school at the Lab all her life, so when they get a new teacher and a new student on the first day of sixth grade, she knows it’s going to be a different year than what she expected.

The new kid is named Bailey and explains that they are nonbinary and use they/them pronouns. But when Annabelle tells her parents, she’s surprised by her father’s reaction. Making friends with Bailey opens up discussion in her family and she learns family secrets that had been hidden from her.

Meanwhile, the new teacher gets the class excited about the topics they can explore — until one parent reports them and the principal squelches their plans. Can the kids find a way to stand up for what they want to learn?

The story doesn’t feel like an issue book, even though issues, very timely ones, do come up. I like the portrayal of Annabelle’s growing friendship with Bailey and Annabelle’s questions about herself when she realizes she’s got a crush on Bailey.

The characters in this book are interesting people, with lots more depth than the way they might be categorized by gender or whom they’re attracted to.

For example, when Annabelle goes over to Bailey’s house, she’s interested in some posters on her walls.

I was curious about the plant poster, and walked over to examine it more closely. “What is this?” I asked. “A flowchart or something?”

“Oh! There’s a whole series of these. Each poster is about a different taxonomy. Taxonomy is, like, groups of things, and how they’re organized. This one is about different kinds of fruit.”

I peered at it. Cucumbers and pumpkins and eggplants and avocados, all connected by lines and arrows. “Uh, no it’s not?” I said. “I mean, yeah, those are fruit up there” — I pointed to the top, where there were apples and oranges and bananas — “but the rest of these are vegetables! And those helicopter seeds aren’t fruits either.”

Bailey grinned wickedly. “I have news for you, my binary friend!” They dropped teir voice like they were about to utter a revealing truth of the universe. “There is no. Such. Thing. As a vegetable.”

I squinted at the chart, and then at them, and then back at the chart. “Yes there is! What are carrots, then? I don’t see those here.”

“Carrots are roots.”

“Okay, kale?”

“Leaves.”

“Artichokes? I mean, they’re gross, but those are definitely vegetables.”

“Wrong on both counts! Artichokes are delicious and flowers.”

“Flowers??”

“Yup. Broccoli and cauliflower and figs are all flowers too. ‘Vegetable’ is a made-up category.”

That didn’t make any sense. “If vegetables are made up, then why aren’t fruits?”

“Because they’re not!” Bailey looked triumphant, like this was a hill they would gladly die on. “‘Fruit’ is a job. It describes the part of the plant that distributes the seeds. Apples and oranges are fruits because they have seeds. So are pumpkins and cucumbers! And tomatoes. And those helicopter seeds. And berries. As a matter of fact, everything I named is a type of berry.”

“But ‘vegetable’ isn’t a job?” I wracked my brain to come up with something that all vegetables had in common, but I couldn’t. Except that they’re good for you.

“Nope! Leaves are a job and roots are a job and flowers are a job. ‘Vegetable’ is something people made up to sell salad mix.'”

This story has so much heart and is so much fun. On top of that, it gets you thinking about different kinds of people and what they all have in common. A joyful story that explores gender roles and the fakeness of vegetables.

penguin.com/kids

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/different_kinds_of_fruit.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of The Last Cuentista, by Donna Barba Higuera

Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Science Fiction 2

The Last Cuentista

by Donna Barba Higuera

Levine Querido, 2021. 320 pages.
Review written April 6, 2022, from my own copy, purchased via amazon.com
2022 Newbery Medal Winner

The Last Cuentista won the Newbery Medal. Everyone should read it. The writing is lyrical, lush, and gorgeous. It talks about the power of Story, greater than anything.

As the story begins, Petra and her family are getting ready to leave earth. She misses her grandmother Lita, who told her a story about Halley’s Comet as a fire snake with bad eyesight that accidentally hit its mother, earth, and destroyed it.

It feels wrong to be sneaking off Earth while so many are left behind. They don’t even inform my parents of our destination until the day before. Dad says Pleiades had been storing their ships in a massive underground facility at the old Denver airport — they weren’t supposed to leave Earth on their first official trip for another two years. The maiden test flights into nearby space a few months earlier had been successful, but because we’re now leaving so suddenly, this will be the first interstellar journey.

If a solar flare hadn’t shifted the comet off course a week earlier, we’d be watching Fire Snake harmlessly pass Earth in a few days like it had since the beginning of time.

Petra and her brother Javier are prepared to go into a stasis pod. They will sleep for three hundred and eighty years and wake up ready to go to a new planet, named Sagan, where another ship has already gone to terraform. Scientists like Petra’s parents will help set up life on the new settlement — and Petra and Javier have custom programming that will go into their brains while in stasis, so they will wake up scientific experts as well.

As they go into stasis, Petra learns that her desired elective — storytelling — was overridden by her parents. She doesn’t want to be a scientist. She wants to be a Cuentista like her grandmother.

Not everyone on the spaceship will be in stasis. The Monitors will spend their lives in space making sure that those in the pods are safe.

But something goes wrong from the very start when Petra is supposed to go to sleep. And when she wakes up, near the planet, she discovers the Collective has taken over. They expect her to answer to the name Zeta-1 and serve the Collective.

The story is compelling and beautifully written. But I had problems with it that I’ve had with other dystopian fiction. I couldn’t get around my questions of why? Why would the Collective want to ban memories of earth and ban stories? The explanation given was that earth was a place of war and they were starting over, but I didn’t buy it. I didn’t think people leaving their home planet would want to forget everything.

I also couldn’t really bring myself to believe in the magic technology that could reprogram brains — and somehow didn’t work on Petra. And Petra could make people remember despite that. So although I see the amazing craft in the book, I could never quite suspend my disbelief and really believe it would happen that way.

But it won the Newbery. So there are many people who didn’t have any problem with those things. Try it yourself! Read this beautiful story and then tell me what you think: Were you pulled into this tale of the last survivors of humankind?

levinequerido.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/last_cuentista.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of The Ogress and the Orphans, by Kelly Barnhill

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Ogress and the Orphans

by Kelly Barnhill

Algonquin Young Readers, 2022. 392 pages.
Review written May 3, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This book is by the Newbery-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I think I actually liked The Ogress and the Orphans even better.

This is an old-fashioned fantasy tale, with just a touch of magic here and there and fantasy characters like an ogress and a dragon. We learn about the village of Stone-in-the-Glen, which used to be a lovely place. But since the library burned down, things haven’t been the same. After that the school burned down, and a sinkhole opened up at the park, and people started to keep to themselves. An ogress lives on the edge of town, an ogress who likes to make delicious treats for the townsfolk to leave on their doorsteps at night. There’s also an Orphan House in the village, where fifteen orphans live. The town used to provide money for the Orphan House, but it’s been a while since anything has come in. Another important person in the story is the mayor.

The town of Stone-in-the-Glen had a mayor, and everyone loved him very much. How could they not? He cut a fine figure and had a blinding shock of blond hair and a smile so bright they had to shade their eyes. He glittered when he spoke. He was well mannered and seemed so sensible. When people went to him with their problems, well, they came away feeling so fine that they completely forgot what had vexed them in the first place. And isn’t that, really, what a mayor is for?

The fifteen orphans are delightful characters. Their names are alphabetical, with the oldest being Anthea, then Bartleby, then Cass, so you can keep them straight. The Orphan House is run by Matron and her husband Myron, and the children all help look after one another. Some of the books from the old library got transferred to the Reading Room of the Orphan House, and some of the orphans have learned surprising things, such as how to speak Crow.

There’s a lot of setting the stage, but tension builds when the people in town decide the ogress must be at fault for a recent problem. It’s up to the orphans to save the day and set things to rights while they’re at it.

When I finished this book, I had a big smile on my face. My only complaint was that it took a very long time to actually finish it. It seems long for a simple story suitable for young readers.

However, I think this book would be truly perfect for a read-aloud. It would be wonderful for classroom after-lunch reading sessions or nightly bedtime stories. And it would work for a wide range of ages. In that case, the length would be a feature — all the more reading sessions! The chapters are short, so you could decide how many to cover each night with lots of flexibility. The voice of the narrator is a storyteller’s voice, and I find myself wishing I had a child to read it to myself.

kellybarnhill.com
AlgonquinYoungReaders.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/ogress_and_the_orphans.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Jo Jo Makoons, The Used-To-Be Best Friend, by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Tara Audibert

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Jo Jo Makoons

The Used-To-Be Best Friend

by Dawn Quigley
illustrated by Tara Audibert

Heartdrum (HarperCollins), 2021. 72 pages.
Review written March 12, 2022, from a library book
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Honor Book

This book begins a series about Jo Jo Makoons, who is an outgoing first grade girl who lives on an Ojibwe Native American reservation. Like so many wonderful beginning chapter books, it deals with things that will appeal to other first graders, including school issues and friends. Do Jo Jo’s friends still want to be friends?

There are eight chapters and plenty of illustrations. Jo Jo teaches the reader some Native American words, and I like the way she is delighted with her family, her friends, and her community.

There’s some kid-level humor when she sneaks her cat Mimi in her backpack and Mimi hides in a model tipi. And of course a school story is going to have some friend drama — it all comes out happy in the end.

Here’s a fun scene that shows Jo Jo’s way of thinking:

I like to do math thinking about my Ojibwe community. Like last week Teacher asked us to think about a math problem: Five people want to eat a bunch of four bananas. Each person can have only one. How many people don’t get a banana?

I answered, “Everyone gets some bananas.”

Teacher shook his head no. He said that one person would not get any bananas.

“But we all share what we have,” I said. “That’s what Native people do.”

Teacher didn’t say anything after that. See? I’m good at math.

This is a fun new series for kids ready for chapter books, and I love that Jo Jo’s pride in her people and her home comes through. There’s a blurb at the back for the organization We Need Diverse Books, which has a goal “to create a world where every child can see themselves in the pages of a book.”

dawnquigley.com
moxyfox.ca
cynthialeitichsmith.com
diversebooks.org

Buy from Amazon.com

This review is only on the blog.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Otto: A Palindrama, Jon Agee

Children's Fiction Review, Delightfully Silly, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Starred Review 0

Otto

A Palindrama

by Jon Agee

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2021. 144 pages.
Review written April 23, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This book is just so silly. But it’s irresistible if you like palindromes at all. I was sitting and chuckling over it in my office, and had to bring it out and share, which got my coworkers laughing, too.

This is a kid’s full-length graphic novel — in which the only printed text that appears are entirely palindromes. The result is very silly — but it all actually makes sense!

Here are some of the 200 palindromes that appear:

Was it a rat I saw?

No, Son.

Nate Bittnagel, elegant Tibetan.

[In a museum] Gustav Klimt milk vats? Ug!

[On a tombstone] Evil, atonal, racy Carla. Not alive.

Eva, can I stab bats in a cave?

No, Don.

I’m Al, a slob. My symbol: Salami!

Too hot to hoot.

This all happens while Otto is looking for his dog, Pip. And of course it’s the pictures that make it all make sense. It’s all extremely silly, but a whole lot of fun.

We’ll have some more Palindrome Days in March 2023, so this may be the perfect book to pull out for a program.

JonAgee.com
penguinrandomhouse.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/otto.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

Review of The Lion of Mars, by Jennifer L. Holm

Children's Fiction Review, Science Fiction 0

The Lion of Mars

by Jennifer L. Holm

Random House, 2021. 259 pages.
Review written January 8, 2022, from a library book

This is a book about a kid who has grown up on Mars, who needs to draw on inner resources when he’s the only one who can save the colony.

Now, that description fits a few books I’ve read recently. This one features Bell, an 11-year-old boy who can’t remember ever going beyond the American compound, which is underground on Mars in an empty lava tube. Sure, he’s ridden on rovers and been to the communication station that pokes up above ground, but this is home to him.

There was a time when the Americans cooperated and communicated with the humans from other countries living on Mars. They even built an underground network of trains together — trains that now sit idle. Earth is at war, and Bell has been told he can’t trust people from other nations.

So when all the adults in their compound get sick, the kids are going to have to break some rules.

This is a fun story, though when the real reason for the Americans cutting off from the other nations was revealed, I didn’t buy it. (Won’t say more than that, because I don’t want to give anything away.)

Other books about living on Mars make a lot more of the fact that going outside can easily kill you and the technical details about staying alive. This one was more about a kid growing up not knowing anything different than the small compound where they eat food made from algae and are cared for by the entire compound. (The children growing up on Mars were brought there as orphaned babies, and their family is everyone together.)

This is a fun story about growing up in unusual circumstances, with a message that we all need each other.

jenniferholm.com
rhcbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

This review is only on the blog.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?