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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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 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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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 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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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/thirsty.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.

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Review of Abdul’s Story, by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Tiffany Rose

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

Abdul’s Story

by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

illustrated by Tiffany Rose

Salaam Reads (Simon & Schuster), 2022. 36 pages.
Review written April 20, 2022, from a library book

I usually don’t choose to review picture books that were clearly written to tell a message, but this one came with a story that warmed my heart.

Abdul is a kid who loves to tell stories. But he has trouble trying to write them down. His letters don’t like to stay in straight lines, and sometimes they get turned around. He ends up erasing so much, his pages look like a big smudge. Plus, the stories he reads in books don’t sound much like the stories he tells. He decided his stories aren’t meant to be written down.

But then an author came to his school named Mr. Muhammad. He looked a lot like Abdul. And he read a story about a community that sounds a lot like Abdul’s.

But when Mr. Muhammad encouraged the children to write, Abdul erased so much, trying to make it look right, that he tore a hole in the paper with his eraser.

A moment of truth comes when Mr. Muhammad shows Abdul his own notebook — messy as can be, with nothing in straight lines.

Mr. Mohammed encourages Abdul to fill a messy page without erasing and then look for a story inside it. I like this description of the process:

Over the next few days, Abdul rewrote a less messy mess, then an even less messy mess. He smiled when he read his story to himself.

Abdul still has lots of doubt when it’s time to turn the story in, because he knows there are still mistakes.

But when the writer comes back, he likes Abdul’s story so much, he reads it to the class.

I love the way the book ends, as this is where it won my heart:

When they returned to their writing, Abdul whispered to Mr. Muhammad, “What about my mistakes?”

“Writers make mistakes. We’ll work on them.”

As they worked, Abdul thought:
Some people are writers, and I am one of them.

Yes, it’s a message book. But what a great message to give to kids!

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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?

*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 Eyes that Speak to the Stars, by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Eyes that Speak to the Stars

by Joanna Ho
illustrated by Dung Ho

Harper, 2022. 36 pages.
Review written April 6, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Eyes that Speak to the Stars is a companion picture book to Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, by the same pair of creators, published last year. Both books are lyrical, beautiful, and poetic, and both affirm children of Asian descent and how proud they can be of how they look and who they are. Eyes that Kiss in the Corners features an Asian American girl, and this book features an Asian American boy.

Eyes that Speak to the Stars begins as a boy’s Baba notices that he is feeling sad. He explains that his friend drew a picture of their group of friends — and the picture of the boy had slanted eyes and didn’t look like him at all.

When we got home,
Baba stood with me in front of a mirror and said,
“Your eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars.
The comets and constellations
show you their secrets,
and your eyes can
foresee the future.
Just like mine.”

The boy’s eyes are just like Baba’s and just like Agong’s. And they are also just like his baby brother Di-Di’s eyes.

When Di-Di’s dyelids finally flutter open,
I orbit his crib,
making funny faces and singing silly songs
until his laugh grows so big
it spreads up his cheeks
and makes his eyes squeeze shut again.

And all four have “eyes that rise to the skies and speak to the stars.” They are powerful and visionary

There’s a lot of lofty symbolism in this book, but the author pulls it off along with the beautiful paintings. This book is about a child celebrating who they are and their own proud heritage. It’s lovely.

And for someone reading this book whose eyes don’t have the same shape, we’ve got a lovely window into a wonderful loving family.

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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?

*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 When You Look Like Us, by Pamela N. Harris

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

When You Look Like Us

by Pamela N. Harris
read by Preston Butler III

Quill Tree Books, 2021. 8 hours, 54 minutes.
Review written March 22, 2022, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2022 Odyssey Award Winner for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults

This audiobook takes the perspective of Jay Murphy, a young Black teen who is tired of covering for his sister. When he gets a call from her late at night, he thinks she’s been sampling the wares of her drug dealer boyfriend and hangs up on her. He covers for her with their grandma in the morning, but then she doesn’t turn up that day or the day after that.

When Jay finally goes to the police, they seem to think a Black teen brought whatever trouble she got into on herself. So Jay’s going to have to track her down himself. He gets some help from the pastor’s daughter — the one he used to tolerate because his grandma made him teach little kids’ Sunday school with her. But when lead after lead turns into a dead end, Jay is afraid his sister has met her end.

And why do people assume he’s trouble just because of how he looks?

This mystery will pull at your heart while drawing you into Jay’s world. Since it’s an Odyssey winner, I wasn’t surprised that the narrator did an excellent job bringing the book to life.

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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?

*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 The Shape of Thunder, by Jasmine Warga

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

The Shape of Thunder

by Jasmine Warga
performed by Reena Dutt and Jennifer Jill Araya

HarperAudio, 2021. 7.25 hours on 6 discs.
Review written November 29, 2021, from a library audiobook
Starred Review

The Shape of Thunder is about two best friends, Cora and Quinn, who have been torn apart by grief and horror.

Almost a year ago, Cora’s sister Mabel was killed in a school shooting. Quinn’s brother Parker was the one who did the shooting.

Neither girl’s family is coping well with what happened. They still live next door to one another, but Cora refuses to even speak to Quinn.

Then Quinn gives Cora some articles – articles about time travel. The girls get caught up in the idea that they can find a wormhole and put back time and fix all that was broken.

Cora approaches the effort as a scientist, reading interviews from scientists at MIT, clinging to any thread that time travel might be possible.

I’ll be honest, at risk of spoiling the story – if two twelve-year-old girls had managed to discover a wormhole and go back in time, I would have been disgusted with the book and the false hopes it might give to other girls.

So maybe I’m giving something away when I say that this book is a beautiful look at hard things – grief, friendship, family, life itself. A heart-wrenching story that is ultimately hopeful.

jasminewarga.com
harperaudio.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?

*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.