Review of Hidden Systems, by Dan Nott

Graphic Novel, History, Science, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Hidden Systems

Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day

by Dan Nott

RH Graphic, 2023. 264 pages.
Review written September 29, 2023, from a book sent by the publisher.
Starred Review
2023 National Book Award Longlist

Hidden Systems is graphic novel format nonfiction about some essentially important – but hidden things. In three sections, the author explains, with diagrams and drawings, how the Internet works, how electricity works, and how our water systems work.

It’s interesting that the topics are approached in the opposite order from the subtitle, which is also the opposite order from how they were developed in the real world. But taking a present to the past approach does get the information across.

At the front of the book, the author talks about what hidden systems are and how he learned about them by trying to draw them. Because so much is invisible, the metaphors we use to describe them are important. Here’s a bit from that introduction, which has a small picture accompanying each line.

A hidden system is something we don’t notice
until it breaks.

But when these systems are doing what they’re supposed to,
they become so commonplace
that we hardly see them.

Hidden systems are in the news all the time.
Usually when something dramatic happens.
(especially if something explodes)
But by overlooking hidden systems the rest of the time,
we take for granted the benefits they provide for some of us,
and disregard the harm they cause others.
These systems structure our society,
and even when they’re working,
are a source of inequality and environmental harm.

Something I appreciated about this look at the Internet, Electricity, and Water Systems is that he showed the big picture, too – how these things are physically hooked up and connected around the world.

There was a lot I didn’t know about each system: The importance of data centers for the internet, almost all the physical aspects of the electricity grid, and our frequent use of dams to run the water system.

Okay, this summary doesn’t do the book justice. Let me urge you to read it – and look at it – for yourself. (So much is communicated by the drawings!) The story of how humans have built these systems helps us think about what ways we could modify them to better work with our earth.

As he finishes up (accompanied by pictures):

We often just see the surface of our surroundings,
but by understanding these systems more deeply,
we can form our own questions about their past and future.
The answers to these questions can help us not only fix these systems
but also reimagine them –
creating a world that’s more in balance with the Earth
and that provides equitably for all people.

dannott.com
RHKidsGraphic.com

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Review of The Labors of Hercules Beal, by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Fred Berman

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

The Labors of Hercules Beal

by Gary D. Schmidt
read by Fred Berman

Clarion Books, 2023. 8 hours, 17 minutes.
Review written December 13, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I already knew I love Gary Schmidt’s writing. Even knowing that, this one blew me away, touching me to the point of tears in several spots.

This story is told in the voice of a 12-year-old boy. He’s the smallest kid in his class, but insists he’s begun with the “Beal growth spurt.” His name is Hercules Beal. And yes, he’s heard all the jokes about a small kid being named Hercules. He lives in Truro, Maine, which he is convinced is the most beautiful place in the world.

Herc’s parents died in a car accident earlier this year, and his big brother Achilles has come back from his adventuring to care for Herc — and run the Beal Brothers Nursery, which has been in their family since Herc’s great-grandfather and his brother started it. But the school bus route has changed, and they’re not on it, and Achilles isn’t interested in driving Herc to Truro Middle School every day. So Herc will now be walking 22 minutes each day to attend Truro Academy for the Environmental Sciences.

His new home room teacher is a retired marine who insists on being addressed as Lieutenant-Colonel Hupfer. In studying Greek mythology, he has individualized project assignments for the class that are going to take the whole year, with regular progress reports. Herc’s project is to study the Labors of Hercules, figure out how they apply to his life — and find a way to perform them himself.

So this book is about Hercules Beal performing the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Like Lieutenant-Colonel Hupfer says, when you really look for parallels, you’ll find them. It starts out simple — instead of catching the Nemean Lion, Herc clears an abandoned house of feral cats. Many of the feats feel truly Herculean — and Herc learns along the way that he can ask for help.

My only complaint about the book is that the assignment was too big and the labors fit too well — how could the teacher ever have predicted that some of these labors would come to him? And a lot of them seemed like way too big a thing to put on a 12-year-old kid. Though Herc did learn that he was not alone — and some of the touching things about the book were his reflections on what he learned from each labor.

This book is deeply sad, because of Herc’s missing parents. But it’s also funny, quirky, inspiring, and beautiful. Gary Schmidt is great at writing characters who are so distinctive and unique, you don’t doubt for a second they’re fully alive. This book is one to treasure up in your heart.

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Review of Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws, by Alan Hamilton

Christian, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Luke

Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws

by Alan Hamilton

Abingdon Press, 2022. 155 pages.
Review written April 5, 2023, from my own copy.
Starred Review

My church went through this book in our small groups (including the one I co-lead) as an all-church Lenten study. There are six chapters, one for each week of Lent, and there is a leader’s guide and videos to go along with it, as well as the sermons from our pastors on the same topics.

I’ve grown up in church and know the Bible well, so it’s always a challenge to set aside what I think I already know and gain new insights. That wasn’t a problem at all with this book. Although I think I’m very familiar with the book of Luke, I had never noticed the theme that Alan Hamilton brings out again and again — of Jesus lifting up the lowly.

Indeed, there’s a chapter on Jesus’ interactions with women, and I’d never noticed how very much Luke includes women in his gospel — much more than the other gospel writers.

Since there are 24 chapters of Luke, but only 6 weeks of Lent, the study is only loosely chronological. We start with a firm foundation of Jesus seeing and paying attention to outsiders, outcasts, and outlaws all through the book before traveling with Jesus to Jerusalem, looking at his final week, and then covering the crucifixion.

Even with the crucifixion, Adam Hamilton points out that the words on the cross that Luke chose to report fit with his theme of lifting up the lowly. This is where we read about Jesus’ forgiveness, his promise to the thief, and ultimately committing himself into his Father’s hands.

This paragraph is from the first chapter, looking at the Mary’s Magnificat:

It is on the lips of Mary that Luke lays out the theme of his Gospel, the theme of this book: God looks with favor on those of low status. God brings down the powerful from their thrones. God lifts up the lowly. God chooses the people others think are washed up or have no value. God values and uses those who have been pushed down, oppressed, or disdained. This one line captures Luke’s theme.

And here’s a paragraph from the chapter about Jesus’ crucifixion:

Regardless of what Luke was seeking to convey about Jesus’s death, he clearly sees this as the climax of the story he has been telling. Here, too, Jesus is lifting up the lowly. In Jesus’s death, we see his obedience to God (“not my will but thy will be done”), his innocent suffering, and, once again, his ministry with and for the outsiders, outcasts, and outlaws. We see his mercy and grace as he prays for his Father to forgive even those who tortured him. We see him reaching out to “seek and save the lost,” even from the cross. We see him as a King suffering for his people — a picture of selfless love. And we see Jesus absorbing evil, hate, sin, and death. As we will see in the postscript, Jesus ultimately triumphs over those things, and in the process brings salvation to the world.

Studying along with this book gave me a whole new appreciation for the gospel of Luke.

AdamHamilton.com
AbingdonPress.com

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Review of Bonesmith, by Nicki Pau Preto, read by Molly Hanson

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

Bonesmith

by Nicki Pau Preto
read by Molly Hanson

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2023. 14 hours, 43 minutes.
Review written December 5, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.

Bonesmith is an epic fantasy tale in a world where smiths are born with magic and affinity for working with certain materials, and Wren is a Bonesmith, able to sense and manipulate the bones of the dead. (The living have too much flesh around their bones, protecting them.) As the book opens, she is ready for her trial in the Bonewood, and successful navigation of its obstacles will win her an official position as a valkyr, who fights the undead with weapons made of bone.

But Wren’s cockiness leads to her downfall — and a position at the outskirts of the Dominions next to the border wall. On the other side of the border are the Haunted Lands and the Breach which was caused when the ironsmiths dug too far. Before Wren was born, they orchestrated the Uprising because they didn’t like being left on the other side of the wall. Fighting in that was how Wren’s war hero uncle was killed. With his death, her father became heir to the House of Bone, but he (and Wren) can never please her grandmother like the fallen hero did.

Okay, the author does a much, much better job of explaining all this and smoothly building the world than I just did here. Let me say this: Wren ends up traveling with her supposed enemy, an Ironsmith, straight through the heart of the Haunted Territories and trying to cross the Breach itself, all while trying to fight off undead revenants and rescue a prince of the Dominions, but revealing more plots as they go.

I loved listening to every minute of this. The narrator has a British accent, and her voice is delightful to listen to. I wasn’t completely sure why Wren and her father have what I think is a Scottish accent, but maybe it was to show that even though they are nobility, they’re not as posh as the prince or even the Ironsmith.

The plotting was a little clunky in places. There was a big reveal toward the end that I saw coming a mile away, but still felt somewhat coincidental. Even worse was a climactic scene that Wren witnessed that I really had trouble believing she could have watched without getting spotted herself. And in that climactic scene, all of the big reveal was conveniently spoken for her to hear. (Kind of like the bad guy in the old Batman series always explaining how he did it when he thinks he has Batman trapped.) And then she conveniently had time to grab something that helped her escape. And I should stop, because I don’t actually want to give a spoiler.

So, I wasn’t crazy about the plotting — but I loved the characters. Wren’s a delight, and so are the two companions on her journey. The sexual/romantic tension is well-done. The whole enemies-to-lovers trope doesn’t yet come to fruition in this volume, but it’s off to a perfect start with legit misunderstandings and lack of trust between them.

And yes, that reminds me that the story is only beginning. The book stops at a good stopping point, but we definitely need to find out what happens next. I will make it clear that my reservations are only minor reservations when I say that I am going to make sure I read the next volume when it comes out next August.

nickipaupreto.com

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Review of Tomfoolery! by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Tomfoolery!

Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books

written by Michelle Markel
illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Chronicle Books, 2023. 40 pages.
Review written December 6, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book biography of Randolph Caldecott begins like this:

Come on in.

A whole world lives and breathes inside these pages. You’ll find frisky animals, sprightly characters, and a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper.

But in the 1850s, there are no children’s books like this one. Many are published, but their pictures look stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery. No one has yet imagined how much fun an illustrated book could be.

No one, until…

Quick!

If you don’t move fast, you’re going to miss him — Randolph Caldecott, future famous illustrator. A fever has weakened his heart and left him frail, but he loves to be outdoors . . .

This amazing book shows us what made Randolph Caldecott different. We do see examples of picture books before Caldecott on that first page, and then the rest of the book is done in Caldecott’s style — with movement on every single page. There’s only one exception — the page where Randolph is sitting alone on a chair in his flat in London, sad and wishing to be back in the countryside. Even in that page, your eye is drawn out the window to the rooftops of London. Barbara McClintock expertly incorporates Caldecott’s own work in the illustrations — also full of movement — with even a grand full-color spread of Mr. Gilpin’s ride taken straight from Caldecott’s work — the same scene used for one face of the Caldecott Medal.

The page talking about Caldecott’s international success and how he transformed children’s picture books is especially wonderful, as it shows many Caldecott Medalists looking at their own books — I recognize several, including Maurice Sendak, Jerry Pinkney, and Dan Santat. My one complaint about the book is that they did not include a list of authors pictured in the back matter. They did include a list of Randolph Caldecott’s books and told which illustrations include reproductions of Caldecott’s own art and which of his books they came from.

I liked this even better than the author’s book Balderdash! about John Newbery, I think because the topic is so visual, and the artist could incorporate Randolph Caldecott’s own illustrations to show us how good he was at bringing characters to life.

Ha! And that’s interesting: In Balderdash! she mentioned that John Newbery used the story of Goody Two-Shoes to show that children could learn from stories better than sermons. But in this book, Goody Two-Shoes is one of the books shown as an example of picture books with stiff poses and little movement. So essentially, John Newbery helped publishers get started on making books for children, and Randolph Caldecott helped them make books with dynamic illustrations that captured kids’ attention.

michellemarkel.com
barbaramcclintockbooks.com
chroniclekids.com

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Selection Adventures – The William C. Morris Award

Award Winners, Selection Adventures 0

This year, I’ve had the privilege of serving on the committee to select the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. This award is given to the best YA debut book of the year, published between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023.

I’m happy to say that at least two committee members read (or read the beginning of) every one of the over two hundred eligible books. When I say “read the beginning of” — we were allowed to stop when we were sure the book would not be a finalist, usually at least fifty pages in. We have chosen our five Finalists, and they will be announced soon. The one winner will be chosen from among those and announced at the Youth Media Awards on January 22, 2024.

One note: When we say “debut book,” it has to be the author’s (and illustrator’s, if there is one) very first book published. If it’s their “YA debut” but not their actual debut, it’s not eligible. So that eliminated some books we got sent.

When I was on the 2019 Newbery Committee, I blogged a lot about the process. I haven’t done that as much for the Morris Award. Maybe I’m getting used to award committees?

It was a different experience from the Newbery. That year, I had really set aside much of my life to focus on the Newbery reading. This year, not as much. But although the Newbery books were shorter, about three times as many books were eligible, so that was necessary.

My stats for the Morris year:
Publishers sent me 136 books.
I read 126 books (or parts of books).
That added up to 20,843 pages read plus 150 hours of listening.

Of course, I can never tell how close some books came that ended up not getting chosen as Finalists. After our Finalists get announced, I plan to start posting reviews of many of the other lovely debut books I got to read this year. As always, I want to commend the authors, whether they won an award or not. And start spreading the word about these great books!

And when you find out which ones are our Finalists, get your hands on them and read them — you’re in for a treat!

Review of A Christmas Deliverance, by Anne Perry

Christmas, Fiction Review, Mystery 0

A Christmas Deliverance

by Anne Perry

Ballantine Books, 2022. 204 pages.
Review written December 11, 2023, from a library book.

Years ago, I got in the habit of reading an Anne Perry mystery novella at Christmas time. But now most years, I’m reading for the Cybils Awards at this time. This year, though, I was reading for the Morris Award instead, and we’ve chosen our Finalists (to be announced soon), so I have a little time to read what I want before getting serious about reading for the Mathical Book Prize — and I picked up last year’s Anne Perry Christmas mystery, with this year’s on hold. Unfortunately, Anne Perry passed away in April of 2023, so this year’s may be the last Christmas mystery to be published.

I always realize that I really should get started reading the author’s main mystery series to enjoy these more, but so far haven’t gotten around to it. This book features a side character from her series about William Monk of the Thames River Police. Dr. Crowe works as a doctor down near the river, helping poor people with whatever medical care they need. His assistant is William and Hester Monk’s foster son Scuff, who was once a mudlark.

The mystery here, happening just as Christmas approaches is about a young lady that Dr. Crowe cared for after she was in a carriage accident near his practice. Now she is engaged to a man who is abusive to her in public. Dr. Crowe is convinced the young man’s father is holding something over the young lady’s father, because why else would she agree to marry him?

And so he investigates a fire in a warehouse, where the two men ended up with a considerable insurance settlement — and the night watchman died.

The story was a little repetitive, and was more about watching Dr. Crowe find things out than it was about solving a puzzle. But there’s a touch of romance, heart-warming characters helping the poor (even a little girl and a kitten!), and evildoers facing justice, with a happy ending on Christmas Day. So it does make for nice holiday reading.

randomhousebooks.com

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Review of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! by Brian Pinkney

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Hey Otter! Hey Beaver!

by Brian Pinkney

Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins), 2023. 36 pages.
Review written March 20, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book with swirly-twirly art joins the tradition of friendship stories in books for young children.

“Hey, Beaver!” said Otter.
“The water is flowing. Let’s play!”

“Hey, Otter,” said Beaver.
“Look, flowing water! Let’s get to work.”

This beginning sums up the approach of the two friends. They find sticks, branches, and twigs. Otter wants to play with them, and Beaver wants to build with them.

Their conversation and rivalry is fun and begs to be read aloud. Otter gets to the things first and plays with them. And Beaver says things like:

“Hey Otter,” said Beaver.
“Give me those branches. I need those branches.
Please give me give me give me
those branches right now!”

Yes, there’s some rivalry and taking things back and forth, but it’s all in good fun, with a nice big crash at the end, and the two friends ready for more play and work together.

brianpinkney.net
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Review of The Other Pandemic, by Lynn Curlee

Biography, History, Teen Nonfiction 0

The Other Pandemic

An AIDS Memoir

by Lynn Curlee

Charlesbridge Teen, 2023. 164 pages.
Review written December 4, 2023, from a library book.

In The Other Pandemic, Lynn Curlee tells his own story, as a young gay man in the 1980s — when his friends and his community started dying.

He begins by setting the stage with what it was like for him to grow up as gay in the 1960s, then talks about starting his career as an artist in New York City. He talks about the connections he made and the friendships he built — and then his friends started getting sick. After several years, his own life partner passed away from AIDS.

At the back of the book, after the main story, he’s got photographs and loving tributes to eleven friends who died of AIDS. This book helps the reader understand the pain and fear of that time for gay men. He highlights the non-response of the government for many years and hopes we’ve learned something about dealing with pandemics.

Here’s an excerpt from the Epilogue:

An entire generation of gay men was decimated by AIDS, and the survivors were forever changed. We came from every walk of life: businessmen, architects, teachers, doctors, bartenders, lawyers, plumbers, actors, contractors, musicians, salesmen, designers, factory workers, composers, deliverymen, artists, athletes, and more. There had always been outspoken homosexual individuals who lived their lives openly, and throughout the entire twentieth century there was a thriving underground gay subculture, particularly in the big cities. But before Gay Pride, the vast majority of gay people were invisible. They lived their daily lives in the closet because of homophobia. While there were activists before, it was an entire generation that came of age in the late 1960s and early ’70s that asserted and then openly lived the idea that gay people should be proud of who we are, and not ashamed of our natural orientation. We were the generation that refused to hide in the shadows and insisted upon equality….

If only Americans could learn from the experience of the gay community and stop wasting time floundering in denial and wallowing in hatred. Throughout the AIDS crisis, the movement for equality and acceptance continued, but it was temporarily overshadowed by the challenge of coming to terms with the horrific carnage. Out of this struggle the AIDS generation of gay people made a community forged in pain and sorrow, tempered by compassion, and eventually resulting in a newfound strength and purpose.

This book was eye-opening for me because I was a college student in the early 1980s and had no idea this was going on. Lynn Curlee telling his own story gives a window into the lives of people who didn’t have the luxury of ignorance.

curleeart.com
charlesbridge.com

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Review of Wildoak, by C. C. Harrington

Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

Wildoak

by C. C. Harrington

Scholastic Press, 2022. 324 pages.
Review written February 21, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 Schneider Family Award Winner, Middle Grades

Wildoak is set in 1963 in England, featuring Maggie, a girl who stutters. Maggie goes to drastic measures to avoid speaking aloud in class, and three schools have told her parents her disruption isn’t welcome. Her father seems ashamed of her. But in a last-ditch effort before sending her to an institution, her mother sends Maggie to her grandfather in Cornwall for two weeks.

Maggie has always been able to talk to animals without stuttering and has a small menagerie of animals she loves, but the only ones she can bring with her are two snails. Her grandfather encourages her to explore the woods, though the local landowner is planning to bulldoze one of the oldest forests remaining in England. But meanwhile, a wealthy society lady has released into that very forest a snow leopard cub she was given as an exotic pet.

Maggie sees the snow leopard, and later rescues him from a cruel trap. But her grandfather doesn’t believe her, because of course there aren’t leopards in Cornwall. It’s up to Maggie to help the cub recover from his wound and then defend him when the townsfolk start sighting a “monster” in the woods.

The book tells a gentle story about the small standing up to the powerful and about Maggie learning to use her voice, even if it won’t always do what she wants it to.

ccharrington.com

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