Review of Nearing a Far God, by Leslie Leyland Fields

Christian, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Nearing a Far God

Praying the Psalms with Our Whole Selves

by Leslie Leyland Fields

NavPress, 2024. 195 pages.
Review written April 18, 2024, from my own copy, purchased via amazon.com
Starred Review

Okay, confession up front: I purchased this book in a bit of a panic after a writer friend alerted me that she had heard about its publication. You see, I am currently trying to find a publisher for my book, Praying with the Psalmists: Open your Heart in Prayer Using Patterns from Psalms — and the descriptions of the books sound remarkably similar. (While I’m doing blatant self-promotion, you can learn a bit more about my book on my Sonderjourneys blog.)

But friends talked me down. Of course our books aren’t going to be exactly the same, they will find different audiences, and by the time I find a publisher and get my book published, this book won’t be brand-new anymore. Instead of panicking, I shifted my thinking to realize it’s a wonderful thing that I’m not the only one encouraging Christians to use the Psalms in their own prayers. What’s more, now I have a comparable title for my Book Proposal that’s much closer than anything else I’ve found. Both of us want people to know he richness of emotion found in the Psalms, and are encouraging people to use Psalms as a way to get closer to God.

My one quibble is that I don’t like the subtitle, because I think the Psalms show God is not far off. But this book is all about drawing near to God through Psalms, and I feel like we are fellow workers in this endeavor, and I’m happy this message is getting out there!

The books are truly similar, but Psalms are personal, and each of us tells our own story along with talking about the types of Psalms. Leslie Fields tells about coming to Christ, studying in grad school, starting a family. I talk about when my world fell apart when my husband left me and all that followed as I put my life back together. But in any life, there are so many places where the Psalms show us how to cry out to God, and that’s what we have in common.

We both approach the topic by type of Psalm. Leslie Fields covers seven types of Psalms, looking at a few examples of the type covered by each chapter. My book is a little more in-depth, dividing all 150 Psalms into ten types, and presenting a Reading Plan so you can read all the Psalms in a twelve-week study, reading each type along with a matching chapter.

Both of us want our readers to soak in Psalms to get them into their hearts. As exercises after each chapter, Leslie Fields suggests writing out the Psalm you’re going over, with the act of writing helping the words sink in. She also has suggestions for embodying the Psalm by reading aloud with gestures. On my part, I’ve got a chapter about memorizing Scripture, having memorized the entire book of Psalms myself. But both of us are after the same thing — putting those words in the readers’ hearts beyond casual reading.

Her approach to praying through Psalms is a little simpler than mine — she suggests writing out the Psalm, but adding your reactions and prayers after each verse. My approach is to start off by talking about Hebrew poetry and parallelism and encouraging the reader to try that. And with each type of Psalm, I show that specific type’s form or key concepts. So you can write your own (small letter p) psalm, matching each different type.

So it’s a slightly different approach, but both of us are urging the reader to try it themselves. Read the Psalms, yes! Pray the Psalms, yes! Let the Psalms soak into your heart, yes! But also use them as a pattern of crying out to God when in trouble, of thanking God after deliverance, and of praising God’s glory.

And I can only be happy that this message is getting out!

leslieleylandfields.com
navpress.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 Drawing on Walls, by Matthew Burgess, pictures by Josh Cochran

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Drawing on Walls

A Story of Keith Haring

by Matthew Burgess

pictures by Josh Cochran

Enchanted Lion Books, 2020. 60 pages.
Review written October 3, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

This extra-large picture book biography of Keith Haring is exuberant and joyful – like the subject’s work.

It emphasizes how much Keith related to children and how much he valued the reactions of people to his work. The book begins with action:

Here is Keith Haring painting a mural with hundreds of children in Tama City, Japan.

Keith draws the outlines and the kids fill them in with their own designs.

It goes on to tell about his childhood and drawing together with his dad. Even when he was young, his art spilled out and all over the place.

Different phases of his life are told about with bright and colorful pictures. We see him ignoring boundaries and following his dreams. The book nicely communicates what was important to Keith in a few sentences and episodes like these:

Keith especially liked painting on the floor by the open door where the sunlight poured in.
People passing on the street would stop to watch or talk with him about what he was making. Keith loved it!…

One day in the subway, Keith noticed blank panels where advertisements used to be.
Suddenly, he zipped up to the street, bought a box of white chalk, dashed back downstairs…
and began drawing on the walls.

People paused as they rushed from here to there.
For Keith, this was what art was all about – the moment when people see it and respond.

Maybe it makes them smile,
maybe it makes them think,
maybe it inspires them to draw
or dance or write or sing.

This is a lovely celebration of an artist who painted with joy.

enchantedlion.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 Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham

Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Lunar New Year Love Story

written by Gene Luen Yang
art by LeUyen Pham

First Second, 2024. 350 pages.
Review written March 27, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

This graphic novel is sweet and wonderful. Last night, I intended to just dip into it for a few minutes — and came up for air about an hour later, when I’d finished it.

It’s the story of Valentina, a junior in high school. She loved Valentine’s Day when she was a kid and made elaborate valentines with the spirit only she can see, Saint V. But back when she was a freshman, she had a disastrous Valentine’s Day. After that horrible and memorable day, she changed her feelings about Valentine’s Day, and Saint V stopped appearing to her as a sweet cherub, and more like a frightening ghost.

Now Saint V has given her one year to find true love – until next Valentine’s Day. He’s asking for her heart — if she gives her heart only to the old spirit, she can escape her family’s curse of suffering with love.

She finds a wonderful boy when she joins a group of Lion Dancers. But why won’t he call her his girlfriend? There’s a lot going on as she looks for love, and it’s tied together with her own family history, with lion dancing, with friends who have different attitudes toward love, with spirits, and with Val choosing her own path.

I really enjoyed seeing LeUyen Pham draw older characters than what I’m used to. I can still recognize her basic style, but it’s softened, and the result is truly beautiful images. In graphic novels, I like to be able to tell the characters apart, and she achieved that well.

I did not at all begrudge my unplanned hour reading this book, and closed it with a smile. A truly lovely graphic novel.

geneluenyang.com
leuyenpham.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/lunar_new_year_love_story.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 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 Catch That Chicken! by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Readalouds, Starred Review 0

Catch That Chicken!

by Atinuke
illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

Candlewick Press, 2020. 32 pages.
Review written October 3, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

I hope I will get a chance to read this book in a storytime some day. It’s set in a compound in Africa where Lami lives. The compound has lots of chickens, and Lami is the better than anyone at catching chickens.

The language is lyrical and has drama and will engage kids’ attention.

Lami leans!
Lami lunges!
Lami leaps!
And Lami catches her!
Lami is the best chicken catcher in the village.

But one day, Lami is going a little too fast and a little too recklessly. She chases a chicken up a baobab tree. Then she slips and falls and sprains her ankle. So she can’t chase after the chickens.

But there’s a nice little twist at the end when Lami thinks of another way to catch chickens, so she’s still the best chicken catcher in the village.

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.

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 Butt or Face? Revenge of the Butts, by Kari Lavelle

Children's Nonfiction Review, Science, Starred Review 0

Butt or Face?

Revenge of the Butts

Can You Tell Which End You’re Looking At?

by Kari Lavelle

Sourcebooks eXplore, 2024. 48 pages.
Review written April 19, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

They’re back! The wildly popular kid-pleaser Butt or Face? has a sequel!

Kari Lavelle didn’t change the winning format. You’ve got close-up photographs of an unusual creature’s front end or back end. And the question is posed:

Is it a BUTT or a FACE?

Turn the page for the reveal, where you see the full animal, including how the part you’ve already seen fits into the whole. Pertinent facts are displayed about the animal and how it’s particular butt or face helps it live its life (if this is known).

The animals featured in this book include such goodies as a warty frogfish, a dugong, an axolotl, and an alien butt spider.

I like the Author’s Note at the back that tells us the author got the idea when she read about farmers in Botswana painting eyes on the behinds of cattle to scare away lions.

These books are a fantastic way for your child to pick up trivia about wild animals and have giggling fun while they’re doing it. Who could ask for anything more?

karilavelle.com
sourcebookskids.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/revenge_of_the_butts.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 Big Bad Wolf’s Yom Kippur, by David Sherrin, illustrated by Martin Morón

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Big Bad Wolf’s Yom Kippur

by David Sherrin
illustrated by Martin Morón

Apples & Honey Press, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written January 5, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Oh, this book is too much fun! Thanks to Betsy Bird’s end-of-year lists at her Fuse #8 blog for alerting me to this gem.

Now I always love a little fracturing with my fairy tales, so I’m delighted with this book about Yom Kippur even though I’m not Jewish. And what’s not to like about a holiday that encourages you to ask forgiveness and change in good ways?

So this is a story of Yom Kippur — as experienced by the Big Bad Wolf, of fairy tale fame.

At the start, his neighbor Raccoon asks forgiveness for rummaging through his trash and invites him to the synagogue for Yom Kippur.

Seeing all his neighbors in one place wasn’t a terrible idea. It would be like a lunch buffet for a big hungry wolf.

But Big Bad Wolf gets some surprises at the synagogue, including a bear hug from the rabbi (who’s a bear) and having to remind himself that he’s a Big Bad Wolf, so he shouldn’t enjoy it all too much.

But later encounters that day… with Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, and then Three Little Pigs, get the wolf acting much differently than the reader expects… with nice results. I won’t spoil it for you, but this book is delightful fun with a sweet message about being kind.

If your family celebrates Yom Kippur, this is a perfect book to introduce the holiday to your kids. If your family doesn’t celebrate Yom Kippur, this is a perfect book to introduce the holiday to both you and your kids. And silly fractured fairy tale fun, too!

davidsherrin.net
applesandhoneypress.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/big_bad_wolfs_yom_kippur.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 Our Subway Baby, by Peter Mercurio, illustrated by Leo Espinosa

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Our Subway Baby

The True Story of How One Baby Found His Home

by Peter Mercurio
illustrated by Leo Espinosa

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020. 36 pages.
Review written October 7, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

This true picture book story makes me a little teary. It tells about how the author’s partner found a baby in a subway in 2002. The book is addressed to the child, and is a sweet story without being cloying.

It was a cool August night in New York, and Danny was riding the subway home. On his way out of the station, he saw something tucked away in the corner. At first it looked like a doll. But it wasn’t.

It was you.

You were only a few hours old, wrapped up in a sweatshirt. Danny brushed your cheek. You wiggled your arms and legs.

For a moment time stopped. But then Danny jumped to action. He called the police. And then he called me.

The story tells how the two of them fell for the baby instantly and worried about him. With the help of a friendly judge, despite difficulties at that time for two dads to adopt, Danny and Peter got to adopt the subway baby.

The book shows their worries about so suddenly becoming parents, but how the baby captivated them, and how the new family of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. helped them get everything they needed.

The Author’s Note at the back has photos and tells us that in 2012, it was Kevin’s idea to ask the same judge who facilitated his adoption to perform his dads’ marriage.

Just a lovely and sweet story, simply told. I like the way the text doesn’t make a big deal of two dads adopting but focuses on the love between the three of them that made a family. The pictures of the baby are adorably cute, too!

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.

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 Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss, by Amy Noelle Parks

Contemporary, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss

by Amy Noelle Parks

Amulet Books, 2020. 361 pages.
Review written August 27, 2021, from a book purchased via Amazon.com
Starred Review
2022 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 9-12

An adorable teen romance about a girl who’s a math genius, which always scores points for me.

Caleb has almost kissed his best friend Evie Beckham fourteen times. One of those times, when they were thirteen, he told her what he wanted to do, and she was not onboard. So he has been careful ever since not to let her know.

Almost four years ago, Evie talked him into applying to Newton Academy, a selective math and science boarding school. Caleb was surprised when he was accepted, but knew it was the right place for Evie. At Newton, he has watched guys try to ask Evie out, while she has shown no interest whatsoever.

But in their senior year, a new kid named Leo has come to Newton Academy. He gets Evie’s attention by being nearly as good at physics as she is, and Caleb is horrified when they start dating.

Caleb is still Evie’s best friend, though, and he knows how to help when she has an attack of social anxiety. Last year, Evie wasn’t able to cope with giving a presentation when her paper was accepted to the Frontier awards. So this year, she plans to do a project with Caleb. She’ll do the math, and he’ll do the coding.

This book maintains a wonderful balance of describing their high-level project while keeping the reader interested in the relationships. We alternate between Evie’s and Caleb’s perspectives and wonder if she’ll ever wake up to how her best friend feels about her.

The author is an associate professor of mathematics and I love that she can write such a relatable teen romance. I also appreciate that it’s the heroine who’s the star math student. The book does show many underestimating her because she’s female. There’s also some stereotyping of the mentally ill math genius, but since Evie is fighting against that stereotype – even coming from her own mother, it adds to the story instead of detracting. Evie takes her mental health into her own hands and throughout the book, we see her coping with her social anxiety in positive and helpful ways.

I confess – this book kept me reading into the small hours of the morning. Too much fun to stop!

amynoelleparks.com
piquebeyond.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 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 The Spirit of Springer, by Amanda Abler, illustrated by Levi Hastings

Children's Nonfiction Review, Science, Starred Review 0

The Spirit of Springer

the Real-Life Rescue of an Orphaned Orca

by Amanda Abler
illustrated by Levi Hastings

Little Bigfoot (Sasquatch Books), 2020. 52 pages.
Review written July 27, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

The Spirit of Springer is in picture-book format, but it tells a sophisticated story of an orphaned baby orca who had traveled hundreds of miles from her pod and was rescued by scientists.

In 2002, a little orca on her own was discovered in Puget Sound, near Seattle. First, it took scientists to figure out where she belonged and which pod she had come from. Using her calls as well as other data, they determined that she was three hundred miles away from her family and that she was an orca who had been named Springer.

She was also in poor health and was not doing well on her own. The scientists also established that her mother was dead, but they needed to figure out how to get her back to her family.

This book tells about that endeavor, which was ultimately successful. It uses the perspective of two scientists who worked on the project, with notes in the back about many more people who were involved, along with more details about the pod where Springer belonged.

I expected a light-hearted, shallow story about saving an orca when I saw the cover. What I got was a detailed and inspiring story of the best efforts of humans to bring a little creature back to her family.

I thought it was especially fascinating how much is known about orca sounds and dialects. They know enough to be able to determine this when Springer was brought back to the waters of her family (in a holding pen until scientists were sure she was ready for release).

For a moment, Springer fell silent. This was the first time she had heard another orca calling in her dialect in over a year. She was so excited she could only make nonsense whale sounds, just like someone might scream, “Ahhh!” when surprised at a birthday party.

Besides giving so many scientific details, this book also is written with heart. You come to love Springer and cheer at the happy outcome.

SasquatchBooks.com

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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?

*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 Louder than Hunger, by John Schu

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

Louder than Hunger

by John Schu
read by Jeff Ebner

Listening Library, 2024. 3 hours, 43 minutes.
Review written April 5, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

John Schu is a librarian whom a lot of us other librarians know and love. He’s a Mr. Rogers-like person whose big, kind heart shines. Once a school librarian, then he started working for I think it was Scholastic, going to schools around the country, pushing books. He’s written The Gift of Story about using books in schools, as well as two picture books, This Is a School, and This Is a Story. And now he’s written a middle grade novel in verse that will wring your heart.

The story is of Jake, a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression, who gets put in an inpatient program. The author says at the back that Jake is a different person from him with different details, but their lives are parallel, and he spent time being treated for the same disorders Jake has.

The book is written in verse from Jake’s perspective. I started reading the book in print, before my eaudio hold came in. I like the print version, because the poems use type size and positioning of the words on the page. I finished by listening, because that was convenient when I was doing other things, but looked through the print book after I was done to again get the feel for Jake’s voice.

And Jake’s voice in print tells us about the Voice that haunts him. It tells him not to eat. It tells him he doesn’t deserve to take up space, to even exist. It tells him not to trust the doctors at Whispering Pines. It tells him it is all he needs.

The one place Jake truly feels loved is with his Grandma, and he has wonderful memories of watching musicals with her. But Grandma isn’t doing well….

However, that link to the things Jake truly loves is ultimately going to be the key to healing.

Jake’s journey feels completely genuine. He starts out trusting no one, feeling betrayed that his mother tricked him into going to Whispering Pines. He does better, then has setbacks. And all along, the Voice is working against him, saying he doesn’t need help.

When we find out about the relentless bullying in middle school that started his trouble, it just made me so sad, imagining the wonderful human being Jake is (like his creator) being beaten down so brutally.

This entire book rings true, because it’s based on the author’s own experiences and emotions. It’s heartbreaking, yet hope-filled, because little by little, Jake begins to allow others to help him learn how to tell the Voice to be quiet and actually believe that he is worthy of taking up space in the world.

John Schu has spent years talking up other people’s books. Now so many children’s authors are excited to talk up John Schu’s book. There’s a foreword from Kate DiCamillo. And of course every librarian who’s ever met him is excited about reading it. This book fully deserves all that attention, and I’m so happy that kids across the country are going to be reading it. For kids who can relate at all to Jake, may it bring them hope and healing. And for kids who might ever be tempted to bully someone like Jake, may it help them stop and think and learn a little empathy.

A beautiful book by a person with a big, kind heart.

johnschu.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/louder_than_hunger.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 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?