Review of Up High, by Matt Hunt

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Up High

by Matt Hunt

Nosy Crow, 2024. First published in the United Kingdom in 2024. 40 pages.
Review written July 31, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I love this simple, but bright and colorful picture book. It’s the story of a little boy going for a walk through the city to the park with his father, a big man with sleeve tattoos. When the city seems so crowded and busy, the boy asks to go “up high,” and his father let’s him ride on his shoulders.

Suddenly, I don’t feel so small any more.

There’s not a lot of text on each page, and it really gives us the kid’s perspective, from looking up at all the giant people standing around him to looking down from above the whole crowd. I love the spread where his dad stops to talk with a friend for a long time:

His hair feels tickly in my hands.
I pull it.

There are also pages of all the things the boy notices once he gets to the park.

It definitely brings to mind family walks when my own kids were small. And that happy trust on my kids’ faces when they went up high.

Just a happy and joyful slice of life.

matthuntillustration.com
nosycrow.us

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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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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 Royal Scandal, by Aimée Carter

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Royal Scandal

by Aimée Carter
read by Kristen Sieh

Listening Library, 2024. 11 hours, 21 minutes.
Review written July 16, 2024, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Royal Scandal is a sequel to Royal Blood, but left me frustrated because I’m going to have to wait to get a finish to the story.

In the first book, we learned about the alternate reality world of this book where King Edward VIII did not abdicate his throne to marry Wallis Simpson, and the history of the British monarchy has been completely different since then. Our protagonist is Evangeline Bright, known to her friends as Evan, the illegitimate daughter of the reigning King of England. She grew up in America, living with her grandmother and then in boarding schools. But at 18, she was brought to England and King Alexander acknowledged her as his daughter. And the furor that ensued was the topic of Royal Blood.

In this book, the scandal and chaos only deepens. Someone’s leaking information to the tabloids about the long failed marriage of the king and queen, and they don’t know where the leak lies.

But then things get deadly. The day after the assassination attempt against former President Trump, I listened to an episode in this book where someone shoots at Evangeline. Somehow that made it seem very real. And things escalate horribly even from there, with signs that a terrorist group is responsible. And someone seems to be trying to pin it on Evan.

But how can Evan fight the weight of public opinion? How can she possibly clear her name? And how can anyone get proof that it’s not her?

By the end of this tension-packed book, they’ve figured out who is responsible, but they don’t have details as to how, and they don’t have any proof. But Evan has a plan….

All I have to say is this author better hurry up and write the next book!

aimeecarter.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 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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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 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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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 Home in a Lunchbox, by Cherry Mo

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Home in a Lunchbox

by Cherry Mo

Penguin Workshop, 2024. 40 pages.
Review written July 19, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

The more I look at this beautiful picture book, the more charmed I am.

It’s a story of a young girl moving with her family from Hong Kong to America, and it’s told mostly in pictures, with color showing emotion.

On the endpapers, we see a moving truck leaving behind the lights of Hong Kong and moving to a suburban street in America. On the title page, the sweet little girl’s mother gives her a loving good-by kiss, while good food is giving off smells on the table beside them. The girl is wearing a backpack and holding a lunchbox.

Right away at the bus stop, a friendly girl says Hello to our hero. She answers “Hel…lo!” When the girl asks, “What’s your name,” she consults writing on her hand, which gives her translations for the words Hello, Thank you, and I don’t know. So she answers, “Th…ank you…”

Riding the bus and getting school, the pictures show us how alone the little girl feels. She’s in color, but all around her the kids are drawn in gray. She’s given a worksheet and fills in “I don’t know” in all the blanks.

But when lunchtime comes and she opens her lunchbox, all is color and sparkles. There’s a full spread where we can see that her food gives her memories of happy times with family and friends back home.

As the week goes on, more mortifying times happen – especially when she asks for a “Toilet.” But in panels as days go by, she still gets color and sparkles and happiness when she opens her lunchbox.

And finally, it’s the lunchbox that helps her make friends. The original girl from the bus stop has been watching her. An exchange of food happens, they see her nametag on her lunch (Jun) and a new small group of friends comes together — now all full of color and happiness.

There’s a spread at the back explaining the food in Jun’s lunchbox, and the words she’s written on her hand, in English and Cantonese. It also explains that most people in Hong Kong learn the British way of asking for a restroom – asking for a “toilet.”

The back flap tells us the author based the book on her own experiences moving to the United States from Hong Kong when she was 10 years old. She’s communicated the whole thing so beautifully, in a picture book that transcends language.

cherrymo.com
penguin.com/kids

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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 The Seagull and the Sea Captain, by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

The Seagull and the Sea Captain

by Sy Montgomery
illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022. 36 pages.
Review written June 8, 2022, from a library book

Science writer Sy Montgomery has taken a true story of a friendship between a herring gull and a sea captain and turned it into a sweet picture book.

The sea captain takes his family’s schooner out of Gloucester Harbor during the summer season. One day in 2013, a gull got some food from him, and he noticed that gull had a toe missing. The same gull has been visiting his boat ever since.

We’ve got details in the back and lots of interesting facts about gulls. Meanwhile, the picture book story imagines the perspectives of both the man and the gull. The story is quiet but lovely, telling of a connection between a man and a bird.

Here’s how the story part ends:

And now every summer, from May to October, Polly Five Toes joins the captain on his schooner almost every day. Often he even sits on the captain’s head! “That’s the best view,” explains the captain. Polly Five Toes enjoys the crackers, and also enjoys the view. But the best part, he agrees with the captain, is the journey together — because everything’s more fun with a friend.

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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 Gather, by Kenneth M. Cadow

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Gather

by Kenneth M. Cadow

Candlewick Press, 2023. 325 pages.
Review written June 26, 2024, from a library book.
2023 National Book Award Finalist
2024 Printz Honor Book
2024 Capitol Choices Selection
Starred Review

I finally got this book read a few days before I get to go to the Printz Award Ceremony and get to hear the author give his speech. I only wish I’d gotten around to it sooner.

In many ways this book reminded me of Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, as it is also about a poor kid living in rural America with a lot going against him. This book features a giant, lovable dog — a dog named Gather. Here’s how Ian, the sixteen-year-old narrator, explains his name:

I thought I’d name him Hunter at first, since he knew how to take care of himself. But since he was eating mostly vegetables he found on his own, well, that’s how I came to name him Gather.

Everyone who sees Gather offers up speculation as to what breed he might be, and it gets to be comical how few suggest the same thing. Gather’s a lovable dog who stays with Ian through everything.

The book opens in November with Ian’s mother’s friend bringing her back from the hospital. His mom has had trouble with drugs ever since she hurt her back and lost her job at the nursing home. Ian’s family has lived on this land for hundreds of years, and he used to go over it all with his Gramps. But Gram left after Gramps died, and then his dad left, and now it’s just Ian and his mother, who doesn’t have as much connection to the land as Ian does.

As they figure out ways to keep going, we learn that Ian can fix just about anything mechanical and has all kinds of savvy about things that aren’t taught in school. He goes to school, but has to drop off the basketball team to try to find a job. And while Ian goes around with Gather, helping people out, making money here and there, we learn about Ian and about his rural community. And when trouble comes, we understand how they all come together to help Ian, and we understand his heart.

Ian – whose name is short for Dorian Gray Henry – is one of those kids in literature that I just want to give a big hug. You come to appreciate what a great kid he is, but also how much is stacked against him. Reading this book, and spending time with Ian and Gather, is a treat.

candlewick.com

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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.

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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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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 Thirsty, by Jas Hammonds

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Thirsty

by Jas Hammonds
read by Alaska Jackson

Macmillan Young Listeners, 2024. 8 hours, 10 minutes.
Review written June 25, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

You love to see it when a debut author wins an award for their first novel (in this case, the John Steptoe Award for New Talent for We Deserve Monuments) and then goes on to write a second book that’s even better. For both books, Jas Hammonds has shown great skill in creating characters, but this one found its way deeper into my heart.

In the summer after high school, Blake and her beautiful girlfriend Ella want nothing more than to get into the secret Serena Society for accomplished Black women. Ella’s mother is even still the advisor for undergraduates in the society, so she’s a sure thing. But Blake doesn’t have the connections, the clout, or the money of Ella’s family.

But Blake finds that she can be the life of the party – and impress the president of the Serena Society – when she drinks. She transforms into Big, Bad Bee, and she’s not afraid to be somebody.

When her best friend expresses concern about Blake’s drinking, her reaction is anger and defensiveness. But as the pledging process gets more intense, Blake ends up having a lot to grapple with.

I didn’t see myself in Blake. I went to a Christian high school and college and, believe it or not, we didn’t drink at parties. But Jas Hammonds skillfully pulls us into Blake’s perspective and we’re completely with her, understanding her pull to alcohol and her need to impress the richer kids around her. The author paints a picture of addiction that is sympathetic to Blake’s plight rather than condemning her. And not to give anything away, but I do like the way it resolves, both realistic and hopeful.

jashammonds.com

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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?