Review of Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

Splinter & Ash

by Marieke Nijkamp

Greenwillow Books, September 2024. 345 pages.
Review written July 7, 2024, from an Advance Reader Copy.
Starred Review

Oh, this book is a delightful start to a middle grade fantasy trilogy. The title characters are both twelve years old. Princess Ash has just come back to her kingdom after years learning with her aunt. And the court doesn’t seem to think that she measures up. She has joints that always want to pop out, her health is fragile, and she walks with a cane and wears braces. In our world, I think we’d say she has Ehler-Danlos syndrome, but in her world she’s called a cripple, and not good enough to be a princess by the unkind. Even her own brother is disappointed in her.

Splinter wants to be a squire more than anything. But everyone says that girls can’t be squires. Splinter doesn’t feel like a girl, and the word “boy” isn’t quite right for them either – but Splinter does know that being a squire feels absolutely right and they want to protect the princess.

There is a war going on, and some nobles may be taking the side of the empire against the queen. When Ash becomes a pawn in intrigues against the crown, both Ash and Splinter get a chance to prove themselves – but it’s not going to be easy.

Not only did this book give us a great story about characters we’re rooting for, it also set up situations for the rest of the trilogy with the kingdom possibly in the balance.

The only trouble with starting a trilogy with an Advance Reader Copy is I’m going to have to wait far too long to hear more about these characters.

mariekenijkamp.com

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Review of The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti

Children's Fiction Review, Mystery, Starred Review 0

The Sherlock Society

by James Ponti

Aladdin, September 2024. 336 pages.
Review written June 29, 2024, from an Advance Reader Copy sent by the publisher.
Starred Review

James Ponti has a series called City Spies that is wildly popular at our library – I have to keep ordering more copies. So when I saw that he’s starting a new series, I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

The Sherlock Society is a fun four-children-working-together middle grade mystery. I can understand the wide appeal. Brother and sister Alex and Zoe Sherlock decide to make money during the summer by solving mysteries, with the help of two friends and their grandpa – who used to be an investigative reporter, and has lots of tips – and a car.

The making money part may not work out so well for them, but while trying to unearth Al Capone’s treasure, they find a more pressing mystery – who is dumping chemicals in the Everglades? Is it their fault that following the clues leads them into danger? And can they find the evidence to actually land the crooks in jail?

The mystery has lots of action, good tips from their grandpa, and a believable story even with kid detectives. Four children on an adventure is classic middle grade fare, and I love the way this author pulls it off. I’m sure he’s got another hit on his hands.

JamesPonti.com
simonandschuster.com/kids

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Review of Illuminations, by T. Kingfisher

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

Illuminations

by T. Kingfisher

Argyll Productions, 2022. 260 pages.
Review written April 17, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I need to read more books by T. Kingfisher! I checked this one out because of how thoroughly I enjoyed A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, and then picked it up and got it read after a librarian mentioned T. Kingfisher as one of her favorite authors. I wasn’t quite as big a fan of this one, but it’s got the same flavor of a whole lot of fun in a magical kingdom.

Rosa Mandolini is almost eleven years old, a member of Studio Mandolini, surrounded by artist family members who do the important magical work of illumination.

The Mandolinis painted pictures of radishes with wings to ward off sickness, and they painted great droopy-faced hounds with halos to protect against burglars. They painted flaming swords on shingles to keep storms from blowing the roofs off houses, and they painted very strange pictures of men with hummingbird heads to keep venomous snakes out of people’s gardens.

And every one of these paintings worked, although they would wear out over time. Sometimes the illumination had to be very large. It was no good getting a tiny painting of a blue-eyed cat to keep mice away if you had a barn that was already full of rats. The tiny painting would keep mice out of your pantry, but to keep them out of a barn, you needed a painting six feet high with a blue-eyed cat the size of a tiger.

But one day, when Rosa is bored, she goes searching for a stuffed armadillo model for her uncle in their disorganized storeroom — and discovers a box with an illumination that makes her walk away and forget about it. When she manages to overcome the forgetting about it part, her next challenge is to figure out how to get the box open. When she does, the crow illumination on the box cover comes alive — and something inside the box escapes. The crow informs her that she’s just let loose an evil creature that’s been imprisoned for two hundred years and will proceed to suck the magic out of all of their illuminations.

The crow is absolutely right. And hijinks ensue. Eventually her whole family needs to get in on the act of stopping the evil mandrake root running around the corners of their studio.

It’s all told in a light-hearted way with eccentric characters, a creative magic system, and a kid who wants to not get in trouble — but also contribute to the family.

redwombatstudio.com

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Review of And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

And Then, Boom!

by Lisa Fipps

Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2024. 244 pages.
Review written August 7, 2024, from an Advance Reader Copy sent by the publisher.
Starred Review

Lisa Fipps knows how to wrench your heart! She’s the author of Starfish, the Printz Honor-winning novel of a young girl who’s relentlessly bullied – even by adults – about her weight, as she learns to take up space. This book, And Then, Boom! is another novel in verse, this time about a boy dealing with poverty and hunger.

There’s a bit of foreshadowing at the beginning when our hero Joe explains that he’s not a superhero, even though he flew like Superman once. But like superheroes, he does have an origin story, and this book gives it.

At the beginning, he also explains why the world needs comic books – to give you hope and remind you that even when horrible things happen, it can all work out in the end. This statement is important to this book, because, honestly, I was angry at all the author put this kid through.

But yes! It works out in the end. All the same, this is the second book I’ve read this year where the grandma – the person who was the lifeline to the neglected child – dies and leaves him pretty much alone. Stop killing off Grandma, authors! I can’t take it any more!

And okay, I should probably give a spoiler alert – but it’s only about a third of the way into the book and maybe if you brace yourself, you can handle it better.

Joe has a mother who gets the Itch and leaves, so Joe’s been living with his grandma. And ever since they sold their house to pay his mother’s bail, they’ve been stretching to make ends meet. This is about that struggle.

Fortunately, Joe has some good friends looking out for him, a kind teacher who makes food available, and caring people in the community. But one thing after another happens to Joe, and let’s just say that I was tremendously relieved by the happy ending. But before the happy ending, he flies like Superman!

Now, it’s fair that Lisa Fipps put such hard things into a book, because I know full well that there are kids out there dealing with problems like this. May I take the story to heart and look for ways to make life better for kids in such situations. May this book give us all a little more empathy.

authorlisafipps.com

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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.

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Review of Aviva vs. the Dybbuk, by Mari Lowe

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Aviva vs. the Dybbuk

by Mari Lowe

Levine Querido, 2022, 172 pages.
Review written August 5, 2022, from a library book

This book tells about an girl named Aviva who lives with her mother in an apartment over a mikvah next to the shul in their Orthodox Jewish community. They’ve lived there since Aviva’s father died, and it’s all her mother can manage to take care of the mikvah.

But there’s a dybbuk, a mischievous spirit, in the mikvah, and only Aviva can see him. She can’t control him, but she can clean up after him.

Meanwhile, at school Aviva and her former best friend get in trouble and assigned to do a project together. Maybe that will build some bridges. But why is the dybbuk getting even worse in the trouble he’s causing?

There’s a lot of sadness in this book. But ultimately a hopeful ending as events in the book help both Aviva and her mother start to go beyond their sad loss with the help of their loving community.

levinequerido.com

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Apple Crush, by Lucy Knisley

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Starred Review 0

Apple Crush

by Lucy Knisley

RH Graphic, 2022. 202 pages.
Review written June 16, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Graphic novels are the perfect format for middle school contemporary stories. Picturing all the roller coaster emotions of middle school helps show the humor and humanity in them.

Apple Crush is a sequel to Stepping Stones, though it’s easy to catch up if you haven’t read the first book.

Jen from the city is still adjusting to life on the farm, as she and her mother are living on a farm with her mother’s boyfriend — and his daughter, who’s Jen’s age, and is there on the weekends.

In this book, Autumn is coming and they’re helping with the Haunted Hayride and Pumpkin Festival at a neighboring farm. And Jen has to start a new school, far from the city and her old friends.

Much to Jen’s annoyance, it seems everyone around her is falling in love. And they tease her about the one friend she makes who loves the same series of books about dragons — but Jen insists they’re just friends, and it’s not about romance.

And that all sounds simple when summarized, but the execution is delightful. We’ve got Autumn on a farm. And love is in the air, whether Jen likes it or not.

lucyknisley.com
RHKidsGraphic.com

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Review of Miss Quinces, by Kat Fajardo

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Starred Review 0

Miss Quinces

by Kat Fajardo
color by Mariana Azzi

Graphix (Scholastic), 2022. 252 pages.
Review written June 28, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

The trials and tribulations of middle school and early high school are perfect material for graphic novels, and this one will delight young graphic novel fans.

All Sue wants to do the summer she turns fifteen is hang out with her comic creator nerdy friends, but her family is going to Honduras to see her abuela and various aunts, uncles, and cousins. Once there, to Sue’s horror, she learns that her mother has planned to throw her a quinceañera.

Sue protests, because she doesn’t want all the attention, doesn’t know how to dance, doesn’t speak Spanish well, and doesn’t like pink. But her abuela tells her about family traditions and she works out a deal with her mother that might make even having a quinces party worth it.

The plans all get thrown off in various ways, but the result is a graphic novel full of humor and heart with a big family learning how much they love each other despite lots of foibles.

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Ferris, by Kate DiCamillo

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Ferris

by Kate DiCamillo
read by Cherry Jones

Listening Library, 2024. 4 hours, 6 minutes.
Review written May 22, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

You can’t go wrong with a Kate DiCamillo book. This one didn’t charm me as much as her recently published beginning chapter book, Orris and Timble, but it would be a wonderful book for a younger kid who’s ready for a true children’s novel.

In classic Kate DiCamillo fashion, we’ve got a set of quirky characters interacting in fun ways, where a small detail from the beginning of the story becomes crucial later in the story, and all the threads weave together by the end.

Of course the featured character is Ferris, a girl who’s just finished fourth grade and who was born under the Ferris wheel at the county fair. Her beloved grandmother is ailing and sees a ghost who wants them to light for the first time the chandelier in the dining room of their old house. Ferris’s uncle Ted lives in the basement, having separated from his wife Shirley, and endeavoring to paint the history of the world without much progress. Ferris’s father reads the encyclopedia for fun and insists there are raccoons in their attic. And Ferris’s sister dreams of getting her picture on a Wanted poster and takes steps to make that happen. Then there’s Ferris’s best friend, a piano player, and their teacher Mrs. Milk, who taught them wonderful vocabulary words, but is now bereft.

All of this adds up to a sweet story with lots of character and lots of heart, proving the wise saying that all good stories are love stories.

katedicamillo.com

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Review of Wingbearer, by Marjorie Liu and Teny Issakhanian

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

Wingbearer

by Marjorie Liu
illustrated by Teny Issakhanian

Quill Tree Books, 2022. 204 pages.
Review written May 23, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This is the first volume in a new graphic novel series. I was captivated, my only disappointment being that the story only begins in this volume, finishing with new questions and no resolution at all.

The book pulls you into a magical world right from the outset. The beautiful paintings are like looking at a skillfully animated movie. (I was not surprised to learn at the back that the illustrator indeed has a background with Disney and Dreamworks.)

Here’s the text on the first page, highlighted to indicate a kind of voiceover effect:

I don’t know how it began. That’s the truth, I promise.

The wings tell me that birds have always been immortal. That their spirits live forever, returning to this tree to be reborn. And I ask them, “Well, what about the rest of us?”

They have no answer.

But I think that if birds have a tree, then so must every other creature. And when we die, our souls travel to that place where we rest, just like birds, until we are reborn.

Unless of course, someone — or something — gets in the way.

Zuli is a little girl who lives in the Great Tree — a tree with roots down to the heart of the earth, where souls of birds come when they die and are soon reborn and sent on. Zuli doesn’t know how she got there.

But then the souls stop coming to the tree, and Zuli decides to go out in the world to find out what’s wrong and save them, accompanied by an owl companion.

The journey out in the big world is perilous. Zuli meets some companions and also seems to be hunted by a witch queen. She does learn that something is happening to the birds in the north, so that’s the direction she wants to travel. She also learns things about herself and that some beings were watching for her. Can she learn who her people are and why she was left as a baby in the Great Tree? And of course, can she save the souls of the birds from whatever is stopping them from being reborn?

None of these questions are answered in this volume, but I love the lavish art and Zuli’s kind spirit. I also love that even though this is some other world not at all like earth with goblins and dragons and griffins, Zuli is portrayed as a beautiful girl with black skin. Why shouldn’t she represent a generic human in this fantasy world?

The book takes less than an hour to read and the story isn’t finished, but the art is so lavish, I can forgive them for not waiting until the entire story is complete to publish part of it. I’m looking forward to reading more.

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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.

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Rainbow the Koala, by Remy Lai

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Graphic Novel 0

Surviving the Wild

Rainbow the Koala

by Remy Lai

Henry Holt and Company, 2022. 108 pages.
Review written May 4, 2022, from a library book

This is part of a new graphic novel series fictionalizing the lives of baby animals in actual situations of environmental danger.

Rainbow the Koala is, no surprise, almost unbearably cute. It features a tiny baby koala still living in his mother’s pouch. (Did you know koalas are marsupials like kangaroos?) As Rainbow grows up, he learns from his mother to always climb trees when in danger.

Before long, she sends him out on his own. He has trouble finding water because the forest is drier than ever. He has some encounters with humans in his efforts to survive.

But then a terrible wildfire strikes. Rainbow does what he was taught and climbs as high as he can. Amazingly, he survives — and this story is based on the story of a little koala found high in a eucalyptus tree after the fires of 2019-20 in Australia.

There’s another book in this series, Star the Elephant that tells about a little elephant whose home is threatened by deforestation. The graphic novels are easy for young readers to understand, and oh my goodness, these books are cute.

remylai.com
mackids.com

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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?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.