Review of Kaleidoscope, by Brian Selznick

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

Kaleidoscope

by Brian Selznick

Scholastic Press, 2021. 192 pages.
Review written January 13, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This is something new for Brian Selznick, but like the rest it contains his detailed and beautiful artwork done in pencil. This is a series of very short stories, and each one has a picture at the front. But before that picture, we see the picture viewed through a kaleidoscope.

And the stories themselves are kaleidoscopic. They all involve the first-person narrator and his friend, a boy named James. But they couldn’t all happen in the same universe. There are many fantasy elements in the stories with trips to the moon and magic apples and meaningful dreams and giants and dragons. I think of them as stories of the same people happening in parallel magical universes.

At the back, he tells that he was working on a book on and off for five years:

… but when I finally was ready to think about the story again, I found myself ripping apart everything I’d already written. It was like the narrative was shattering along with everything else, and out of the shards a new book began to take shape. As I worked, certain themes and images kept reappearing: gardens and butterflies, apples, angels, fires, trees, friendship, islands, keys, shipwrecks, grief, and love. That’s why I decided to call this new version of the book Kaleidoscope, because each of these elements, like bits of colored glass, turn and transform and rearrange themselves into something new. And like looking into a kaleidoscope, the view is always changing and only you can see it.

This book is very reminiscent of works by Chris Van Allsburg and Shaun Tan with a lot of surreal elements and haunting pictures.

I’m not sure the book completely worked for me, but I very much suspect that’s because my logical mind likes to understand a bit better how everything fits together. And I do find many of the stories sticking in my head after I shut the book. I highly recommend giving this book a try and seeing if it works for you.

thebrianselznick.com
scholastic.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 J. D. and the Great Barber Battle, by J. Dillard, illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts

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

J. D. and the Great Barber Battle

by J. Dillard
illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts

Kokila (Penguin Random House), 2021. 126 pages.
Review written January 11, 2022, from a library book

Third grade is starting for J. D., and it’s time for his mom to cut the Afro he’s had all his life. She does a terrible job. He gets teased mercilessly by everyone at school. He tries using her relaxer on it, but that just makes things worse.

So J. D., who’s an excellent artist, decides to cut his own hair. He practices on his little brother first, and does a great job. Turns out, he’s a really great barber! His friends start coming to him for haircuts instead of the only barber in town, who takes a long time and doesn’t know the latest styles.

But the other barber — a father and son operation — isn’t happy with the competition from a kid. So that’s when J. D. decides to challenge him to a competition.

This is a fun story. My grown-up mind gets hung up on details like child labor laws and business regulations and if a kid would really want to spend that much time on Saturdays cutting hair. But there’s even some math involved as J. D. starts calculating his earnings and what he can buy. Of course, the best part is seeing a kid take something on and thrive.

This is the first of a new chapter book series.

penguin.com/kids

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Review of The Boy Who Grew Dragons, by Andy Shepherd, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Boy Who Grew Dragons

by Andy Shepherd
illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Yellow Jacket (Little Bee), 2020. First published in Great Britain in 2018. 212 pages.
Review written March 21, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a gentle and amusing fantasy story that reminds me of books I loved when I was a kid. There’s no agonizing over realistic consequences, no deep dark inner turmoil – we’ve got a kid who grew a dragon in his grandpa’s garden and now is trying to hide his little fire-breathing pet from his parents and the class bully.

The note from the main character nicely gives you an idea of what you’re in for if you read it:

When people ask me what we grow in Grandad’s garden, I think they expect the answer to be cucumbers, tomatoes, or green beans. I don’t think they expect the answer to be dragons. But there it is. We grow dragons. And I can tell you this – they’re a lot more trouble than cucumbers.

Things cucumbers do not do: Poop in your dad’s oatmeal.

Singe your eyebrows.

Make a really cozy nest by shredding all your mom’s alphabetically ordered recipes.

Leave your underwear (the embarrassing ones covered in backhoes) hanging from the TV antenna.

Chase your cat.

Drop cabbages on your cat.

Try to ride your cat like a rodeo bull.

Wake you up at 4 a.m. every morning by digging razor-sharp claws into your forehead.

Set fire to your toothbrush WHILE IT’S STILL IN YOUR MOUTH.

Of course, they also don’t have scales that ripple and shimmer like sunlight on the sea. Or have glittering eyes that can see right into your heart. Or settle on your shoulder with their tail curled around, warming your neck, and their hot breath tickling your ear.

Nope, none of these are things you can expect from a cucumber. Well, not any cucumbers I’ve ever come across. Maybe a mutant radioactive space cucumber, but not your average garden variety. But dragons? Well, they’re a whole other story.

So, who wants to grow dragons? Dumb question, right? I mean seriously, who in their right mind would say no? Not me, that’s for sure. And not you by the looks of it.

But if you want to grow dragons, you need to know what you’re getting into. Sure, they’re fiery, fantastical, and dazzling, but dragons are not all fun and games. Not by a long shot. And it’s not just the fire and the flammable poop I’m talking about. Oh, no!

Which is why, my dragon-seeking desperados, I’m writing this all down, so at least you can go into it with your eyes open. Because, believe me, you’ll need them to stay wide, wide open.

This book is full of light-hearted fun. It doesn’t delve into a lot of questions about why this would happen or how the whole world wouldn’t know if it did – it simply has fun looking at one boy it happened to. Sure, there’s a classroom bully he has to deal with, and a mean neighbor next door, but Tomas is just an ordinary kid who’s delighted to now have the coolest pet in the world. Grandad is an especially lovable character who sees the best in everyone, Tomas’ parents are busy and distracted, and Tomas’ little sister Lolly is young enough that no one understands she’s talking about an actual dragon.

Tomas’ friends notice something’s up right away. Can he keep the secret from them? Does he want to? But would they believe him if he tried to tell them? The only way would be he’d have to show them….

I’m delighted to learn this is the start of a series. It’s a light-hearted and short book with lots of illustrations and plenty of magic and fun.

andyshepherdwriter.co.uk
saraogilvie.com
yellowjacketreads.com

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Review of The Legend of Auntie Po, by Shing Yin Khor

Children's Fiction Review, Graphic Novel, Historical 0

The Legend of Auntie Po

by Shing Yin Khor

Kokila (Penguin Random House), 2021. 290 pages.
Review written November 4, 2021, from a library book
National Book Award Finalist

The Legend of Auntie Po is a graphic novel set in 1885 in a logging camp in the California mountains. Mei is thirteen, and her father is the cook for the camp. The owner of the operation treats them as friends, and Mei’s best friend is the owner’s daughter, but overall the Chinese workers aren’t treated as well as everyone else.

However, Mei makes the best pies and tells the best stories. She makes up stories about Auntie Po, a giant Chinese matriarch who looks out for her people, with the help of Pei Pei, her blue water buffalo.

But when trouble comes to the logging camp, Mei actually sees Auntie Po helping them.

The historical detail in this graphic novel makes you feel like it could have really happened. Mei’s a lovable character, and it’s lovely as her horizons open up as she and her father get through some tough things with friendship and determination.

penguin.com/kids

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Review of The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn, by Sally J. Pla, read by Gail Shalan

Audiobooks, Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 1

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

by Sally J. Pla
read by Gail Shalan

Quill Tree Books, 2023. 6 hours, 36 minutes.
Review written May 20, 2024, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review
2024 Schneider Family Book Award Winner, Middle Grades

Oh, I love this one! I’m so glad I finally got around to listening to this award winner — the Schneider Family Award is given annually to books with the best portrayal of a disability. Awards are given for three age levels, along with Honor books, and this one won the award for Middle Grades.

The featured character in this book is Maudie McGinn, a 13-year-old girl with autism. She’s supposed to spend the summer with her Dad in his cabin in northern California. But while they are out to dinner, a wildfire sweeps in, and they have to evacuate. They find a place to stay in the coastal town near San Diego where her Dad grew up, so they’re staying in a trailer in a campground on the beach.

But Maudie’s Dad has friends there, and Maudie begins to make friends there — something she didn’t do in Texas, where she lives during the school year with her mother and stepfather. Maudie has two terrible secrets, but everything with Dad and the ocean helps her relax and begin to understand her own value. Her father has many neurodivergent traits, like Maudie, and he never puts her down for them or scolds her for them. The fact that Maudie thinks this is of note makes us wonder about her life with her mother, and plenty of flashbacks round out the picture of how much better and safer she feels with her father.

But the ocean helps Maudie put all that out of her mind. She even starts learning to surf! And she decides to surprise her father by entering the beginners’ surf competition at the town’s big end-of-summer Surf Bash. Yes, I know that might sound unrealistic in a book summary, but it builds gradually, and yes, we’re with Maudie all the way. (Though as the reader, I did have reservations about her idea of surprising her Dad.)

Maudie’s neurodivergence is sensitively and beautifully portrayed from the inside. And the flashbacks about how her mother responds to her are viscerally painful. The narrator does a wonderful job with the audiobook, giving each person a voice that fits how they’re described in words.

The ending feels almost a little too tidy — but goodness, I would have been so angry if Maudie didn’t have happy times ahead to look forward to. And it wasn’t *every* single thing that worked out for them. I fell in love with this kid while I listened to her story, and I love how she learned that keeping secrets isn’t the road to happiness.

sallyjpla.com

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Review of Borders, by Thomas King and Natasha Donovan

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

Borders

story by Thomas King
illustrations by Natasha Donovan

Little, Brown and Company, 2021. 184 pages.
Review written October 22, 2021, from a library book

This short graphic novel is presented as a boy remembering what happened when he was twelve. He and his mother set out from their home in Canada to visit his sister in Salt Lake City, who had moved away some years before.

But when they cross the border and get to the United States entry point, the guard asks their citizenship. His mother answers, “Blackfoot.”

No matter what the guard asks and how they explain, his mother doesn’t claim any nationality except Blackfoot. Finally they’re turned back.

But when they try to get through the guard station to go back to Canada, the same thing happens.

And so they’re stuck in the small area between the borders with the food they brought with them plus what they can find at the duty-free shop.

The story is simple, but thought-provoking. It was adapted from a short story published in 1993, and I think the graphic novel format makes it even more engaging, especially for kids.

lbyr.com

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Review of The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, by Ashley Herring Blake

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James

by Ashley Herring Blake

Little, Brown and Company, 2019. 370 pages.
Review written January 22, 2020, from a library book
Honor Selection of the City of Fairfax Regional Library 2020 Newbery Book Club

I read this book in January 2020 because one of the girls in my Newbery Book Club nominated it as a contender. I was sorry I hadn’t read it sooner.

The book begins as Sunny St. James is ready to have her heart transplant. She has plans for her new life with a new heart: Do awesome amazing things she could never do before; find a new best friend; and find a boy and kiss him.

Well, the first two things are easy enough. Though Kate, her guardian since her mother gave her up when she was four, is very cautious about what she will allow Sunny to do. She’s so used to being worried about Sunny’s heart.

Then Sunny meets Quinn, a girl on the beach who’s visiting for the summer. She will make a wonderful new best friend. She doesn’t know that Sunny’s old best friend told the whole swim team that Sunny sometimes wondered about what it would be like to kiss a girl. Quinn doesn’t know about that, and Sunny makes it clear she’s looking for a boy to kiss. It doesn’t help that the first time Sunny gets near a boy that summer, she accidentally breaks his nose.

But Sunny’s mother also comes around for the first time in eight years when she learns about Sunny’s heart transplant. She wants to get to know Sunny, and Sunny’s not sure about that. But it turns out that her mother isn’t nearly as cautious about what she’ll allow Sunny to do as Kate is.

In tone this book reminded me very much of the author’s recent book, Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, so I wasn’t at all surprised that Sunny might rethink her plan to kiss a boy. So I didn’t get a surprise, but I did like the way the story was carried out with some realistic ups and downs among fallible people trying to love each other well.

This book is the story of a middle school girl trying to figure out life with a new heart. Like Sunny, the book shines.

lbyr.com

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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.

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Review of Orris and Timble: The Beginning, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen Mok

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

Orris and Timble

The Beginning

by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Carmen Mok

Candlewick, 2024. 80 pages.
Review written May 8, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review

This is the start of a new beginning chapter book series by Kate DiCamillo, and it’s tender and sweet and brilliant.

Orris the rat lives in an old abandoned barn. We see his treasures: A red velvet slipper, a yellow marble, and a sardine can. The sardine can is for “Imperial Sardines” and has the picture of a fish wearing a crown and saying, “Make the good and noble choice!!”

That phrase haunts Orris when he discovers a young owl with his claws caught in a mousetrap nailed to the floor, crying for help. Owls eat rats, so at first Orris leaves the owl struggling and goes back to his own home. But in spite of himself, he wants to make the good and noble choice.

I like the way when Orris decides to save the owl, whose name is Timble, Orris is obviously frustrated with himself and says, “For the love of Pete!”

And this book tells, in simple but evocative language, how Orris rescues Timble, and how this becomes the beginning of their friendship.

This book is lovely – beautifully illustrated and with a warmly relatable story as we see Orris make the good and noble choice despite great fear – and then reap the consequences.

katedicamillo.com
carmenmokstudio.com
candlewick.com

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Review of A Place to Belong, by Cynthia Kadohata

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Historical 0

A Place to Belong

by Cynthia Kadohata
read by Jennifer Ikeda

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2019. 9 hours on 7 discs.
Review written January 31, 2020, from a library audiobook

A Place to Belong opens at the end of World War II, with Hanako, her little brother Akira, and her parents on a ship going to Japan. Her family was imprisoned in camps during the war because of their Japanese heritage, and after the war, her parents were pressured to give up their American citizenship. Now they are headed to a village outside of Hiroshima, where Papa’s parents still live. On the way there, Hanako sees people and places devastated beyond her wildest imaginings.

Adjusting to Japan is difficult. And she is torn by the people – even children – begging for food. If she gives them rice, what if there’s not enough to feed her own brother? In school, she’s different from the other girls. Can she ever get them to accept her? Woven throughout the stories are memories from their family’s time in the camps and her resultant mixed feelings about America.

This was a part of the story of Japanese Americans that I hadn’t heard before, so I was fascinated by the details. I have to admit that the book felt long and didn’t have a driving plot – they were simply trying to survive, taking each day as it came. The love coming from Hanako’s grandparents toward the grandchildren they just met was a continuing warm bright spot, and did make me glad I stuck it out and listened to the entire book.

cynthiakadohata.com

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Review of Coyote Lost and Found, by Dan Gemeinhart

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Coyote Lost and Found

by Dan Gemeinhart

Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 275 pages.
Review written April 29, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

This book is a follow-up to the amazing and wonderful book The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and the sequel is equally amazing and wonderful. I think you can enjoy the second book without reading the first, but why would you? If you have not read the book that introduces us to Coyote and her dad Rodeo, please do so as soon as possible!

As this book opens, Coyote and Rodeo have been settled down in a small town in Oregon for about a year. Coyote hasn’t exactly fit in well at her new school. And in her spare time, she likes to hang out in their old bus, Yager.

Then, one day, Coyote makes a momentous discovery. Fallen behind a bookcase, she finds a special box. And that box has her mother’s ashes in it. Coyote’s mother and her big sister and little sister all died in a car accident before the events of the first book, and those deaths were what prompted Rodeo to hit the road with Coyote. When Coyote confronts Rodeo with her discovery, he said that yes, they buried her sisters, but her mother had wanted to be cremated, and she had told Rodeo the location where he should bury her ashes in one of her favorite books.

But when Coyote goes to find the book — it isn’t there. She’s sure it was one of the books she dropped off at a thrift store somewhere on their journey last summer. But she doesn’t have the heart to tell Rodeo. One thing leads to another, and they set out again in Yager. Rodeo thinks that Coyote’s mom set them a journey, but Coyote is going back to the thrift shops from last summer, particularly the four she wasn’t able to reach by phone.

And the journey is much like the first one. Again, they pick up fellow travelers along the way. Again, they get into adventures both humorous and poignant. And again, they’re dealing with the past, but learning to look forward to the future.

This book wrenched my heart in all the best ways. You can’t find better travel companions anywhere than Coyote and Rodeo.

dangemeinhart.com
mackids.com

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