Review of Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero, by Saadia Faruqi

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero

by Saadia Faruqi

Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins), 2021. 362 pages.
Review written December 17, 2021, from a library book

Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero tells about a Muslim boy who lives in the small town of Frey, Texas. He’s lived there all his life. Now he’s starting middle school, and on the first day gets hateful notes left in his locker, apparently targeting him because he’s Muslim.

His family and his Muslim neighbors are building a mosque in town, working together on weekends. But a new group has moved into town calling themselves the Patriot Sons, and they bring a legal challenge to the construction.

Meanwhile, Yusuf and his friend Danial are excited to be in middle school and old enough to compete in the annual Texas Robotics Competition. The catch is that they need enough people interested in robotics in order to be able to compete.

And all of this is happening in the Fall of 2021 – the twentieth anniversary of when the Twin Towers fell. The town of Frey is planning a big commemoration. Meanwhile, Yusuf’s uncle gives him the diary he wrote when he was in middle school and the towers fell. His uncle’s best friend stopped speaking to him, and back then there was also anti-Muslim hate to contend with.

I love that this book exists, and I hope it will get many kids thinking about the perspective of American kids who are also Muslim. Yusuf is a character you can’t help but root for, trying to do what’s right, but unfairly getting picked on.

It was perhaps unfortunate that the author set it so specifically in 2021 – and assumed the pandemic would be over. I wish! (Though maybe in small-town Texas, they would still do a parade on September 11th?) The book was a little slow-moving and a little on the long side, and the plot seemed a little bit contrived — but it was all with a good heart, and I was definitely rooting for Yusuf before it was over. I do hope a lot of kids will find this book.

saadiafaruqi.com
harpercollinschildrens.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.

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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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 Little Witch Hazel, by Phoebe Wahl

Fantasy, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Little Witch Hazel

A Year in the Forest

by Phoebe Wahl

Tundra Books, 2021. 92 pages.
Review written December 4, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

Little Witch Hazel is a lavishly illustrated picture book for young elementary school readers, telling four stories about a tiny witch who lives in the forest along with fairies and gnomes and animal friends.

There’s a story for each season. In Spring, Hazel finds an orphaned egg and cares for what hatches. In Summer, Hazel has a lot of things she needs to do and all her friends are enjoying the wonderful weather, being lazy. In Autumn, Hazel helps the small animals of the forest investigate the frightening sound coming from a hollow stump. And in Winter, Hazel is tending to animal friends and doesn’t notice that a blizzard is coming. There ends up being a nice connection at the end that ties back to the beginning.

That simple description doesn’t communicate how charming this book is. Hazel is not a sweet or delicate little fairy. She’s a little chubby and matter-of-fact, wearing practical clothes instead of gauzy dresses. She gets grumpy when all her friends are taking the day off. But she’s also friendly and helpful and kind.

Here’s the start of the Summer story, “The Lazy Day”:

It was the most beautiful day of the summer, and Little Witch Hazel was busy. She had a million things to do, and it didn’t help that everyone else in the forest seemed to be out enjoying the day.

“Some of us have errands to run!” she muttered as she went to return her library books.

And here’s the beginning of “The Haunted Stump”:

Little Witch Hazel was working in her garden when she first heard the noise.

It was the kind of noise that sent prickles through your whiskers and chilled you right down to your boots.

Towering toadstools! thought Little Witch Hazel, a shiver running down her spine. Whatever could that be?

Little Witch Hazel is someone I would love to have for a friend.

phoebewahl.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?

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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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.

Sonderling Sunday – A Plan of Escape

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

Guten Abend! It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when we find silly phrases translated into German from the texts of children’s books.

Tonight, I”m back to The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy, with the German text Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.. Last time, we had almost finished the twenty-sixth chapter (out of twenty-eight).

So tonight we start on page 370 in the English edition, Seite 469 auf Deutsch. We’re getting near the dramatic climax of the book, so I’ll try to only give teasers, not spoilers. The first sentence of the next section is:

“An hour later Audrey came back.”
[Side note: Yay! I’ve been doing Pimsleur German CDs in preparation for my trip, and I translated that sentence correctly!]
= Eine Stunde später kam Audren zurück.

I like the rhyme here:
“It’s getting worse out there.”
=Hier draußen wird es immer schlimmer.
(“Here outside becomes it always worse.”)

“escaped from the asylum”
= ist aus der Irrenanstalt ausgebrochen.

“lose their mind”
= verliert entweder den Verstand

“faint”
= wird ohnmächtig
[“become without-strength”]

“top of the mountain”
= Berggipfel

“a plan for you to escape”
= einen Fluchtplan für dich

“peephole”
= kleinen Spalt
[“little gap”]

“poked her eye”
= sie ins Auge gepikst

“waving torches”
= schwenkte Fackeln

“peephole” [again]
= Guckloch
[“look-hole”]

“veiled palanquin”
= verschleierte Sänfte

“elaborately draped”
= kostbar verzierten

“burly”
= stämmiger

“shaggy”
= zerzaustem

“angry chants”
= wütenden Sprechchören
[“angry Speak-chorus”]

I like this in German:
“Your plan isn’t working.”
= Dein Plan funktioniert nicht.

“stunned”
= verblüfft

“trapdoor”
= Falltür

“sagged” = sackte

“enterprise” = Schwung

Long words are always fun:
“jeweled drapery”
= juwelengeschmückter Überwürfe

“incense”
= Weihrauch
[“Consecration-smoke”]

Nice and dramatic in English, a bit more explanation in German, here’s the last sentence of the chapter:
“They had her.”
= Jetzt hatten die Stummen Schwestern sie.”

That’s it for tonight! And next week is the eve of my trip to Germany, so whether I do a post depends on how I’m feeling about the state of my packing! I will see how many of these phrases I can use on my trip, but I hope it will be more along the lines of juwelengeschmückter Überwürfe and Berggipfel than einen Fluchtplan für dich and Dein Plan funktioniert nicht.

Review of Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates, by Cheryl B. Klein, illustrated by Abhi Alwar

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates

by Cheryl B. Klein
illustrated by Abhi Alwar

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2021. 36 pages.
Review written December 11, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a funny picture book that teaches great things about conflict resolution and seeing another perspective.

We begin with a picture of two hamsters, one running in a wheel. The dark brown hamster introduces himself:

I’m Henry.

That’s Marvin.

We’re roommates. We’ve been roommates for two hundred and five days.

Henry is not happy about being Marvin’s roommate. Marvin talks all the time, and always wants attention. When Henry tries to hide in the bedding, Marvin finds him.

Henry’s perspective:

He’s ALWAYS TALKING,
while I’m NICE.

I don’t bother HIM.

Why won’t he do the same for ME?

Hamsters make TERRIBLE roommates.

On the two hundred and sixth day, Henry has had enough. He blows his top. He pours out his anger and tells Marvin to leave him alone.

Henry thinks it’s wonderful. Then Marvin very sadly apologizes:

I’m sorry.
I wish I knew you wanted quiet.
I talked to you because I like talking and I wanted you to talk to me.

Henry has a lot to think about. He realizes that different hamsters like different things. The two roommates are able to work out when it’s good to talk and when they should have quiet.

And they actually have fun together! I like when Henry tells Marvin he really is fast on that wheel.

It’s a child-size story on an important topic, infused with lots of humor. It’s a good story, but it will also give kids plenty to discuss.

cherylklein.com
abhialwar.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.

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 Kill Her Twice, by Stacey Lee

Historical, Mystery, Teen Fiction Review 0

Kill Her Twice

by Stacey Lee

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024. 393 pages.
Review written May 29, 2024, from a library book.

Kill Her Twice is a murder mystery set in 1932 Los Angeles Chinatown as the powers that be are contemplating knocking down all the homes and businesses in Chinatown to make room for a Union station.

The perspective alternates between two main characters, sisters Gemma and May, who are keeping their family’s florist business open while their father is in an asylum being treated for tuberculosis. One morning Gemma and May find the body of May’s friend Lily Wong in a lot where they stopped to prepare their flowers for the market. Lily had been the first Chinese American movie star, and all of Chinatown was proud of her. In the past, she’d always been cast as the villain, but was now working on a film where she was the romantic star.

When the police arrest a kind but eccentric old man for the murder, the girls are sure they are just trying to pin it on someone Chinese to get the murder “solved” – and give one more excuse to level Chinatown. So the sisters take on the job of trying to solve the murder themselves.

Now, I thought the mystery unfolded rather slowly, and I was skeptical of some of the ideas Gemma had for unearthing clues, but I did enjoy the time with these young ladies. Their personalities are distinctly different, but both are likable, and reading even a slow-moving book was fun once I started enjoying their company.

I also enjoyed the look at 1930s Los Angeles. I spent a few years living in downtown Los Angeles in the 1980s, and didn’t recognize much. In fact, I thought I might have caught the author in a couple of errors, but looked them up and it turns out at that time, LA may have been exactly as she described it.

I also enjoyed how she pointed out that public perception of Chinese Americans could be translated into policy which would then affect thousands of lives. “Kill her twice” refers to Lily Wong’s first death followed by her reputation being destroyed in the press so that officials could justify tearing down Chinatown to make room for the railroads.

If you’re in the mood for a leisurely and atmospheric historical mystery, this book will fill the bill.

StaceyHLee.com
PenguinTeen.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/kill_her_twice.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 Latinitas, by Juliet Menéndez

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review 0

Latinitas

Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers

by Juliet Menéndez

Godwin Books (Henry Holt), 2021. 102 pages
Review written December 11, 2021, from a library book

I’m not a big fan of collective biographies. When there are page after page of short bios, the details start to run together. But this book is something special.

Latinitas has forty one-page biographies of Latinas who accomplished great things, with about half of each bio focusing on the subject’s childhood. There’s a folk-art style illustration of each subject as a girl, with a banner giving her name and what she’s known for. She’s holding things that symbolize her accomplishments.

Something I liked about this collection is that I hadn’t heard of a large proportion of these truly amazing woman. I am so glad their stories will become more well-known. They come from countries all over Latin America. The first woman featured, a military leader, was born in 1651 in Mexico, and the last one, an Olympic gymnast, was born in 2000 in the United States.

I hope many young Latinas find this book and are inspired!

julietmenendez.com
mackids.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 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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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/boy_who_grew_dragons.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 Between Perfect and Real, by Ray Stoeve

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Between Perfect and Real

by Ray Stoeve
read by MW Cartozian Wilson

Recorded Books, 2021. 7 hours, 24 minutes.
Review written from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Between Perfect and Real gives us the coming-out journey of Dean Foster, who has recently figured out he’s a transgender guy, but doesn’t quite know how to tell people. His classmates and even his girlfriend think he’s a lesbian, and coming out as a lesbian to his mother was hard enough.

But then the drama teacher casts Dean as Romeo in their school production of Romeo and Juliet, thinking to play it as a lesbian romance. But Dean quickly discovers he wants to play Romeo as a guy — which means coming out.

The journey isn’t easy. Some people are supportive, some are hostile, and some are “trying.” This audiobook takes us with Dean on that journey, with all the ups and downs.

I had recently read another young adult book where a senior in high school had their heart set on getting into Tish, the drama program at NYU, so that sounded almost too familiar. However, once the book got going, it was a very different story, and a story I wanted to hear, a story told with compassion, helping the listener understand a little better how it feels to be transgender.

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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.