Review of Beto’s Berry Treasure, by Jenny Lacika, illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda

Contemporary, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Beto’s Berry Treasure

by Jenny Lacika
illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda

Storytelling Math (Charlesbridge), October 8, 2024. 32 pages.
Review written July 19, 2024, from my own copy given to me at ALA Annual Conference.
Starred Review

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series. In fact, I went up to their booth and gushed about them on the last day of this year’s ALA Annual Conference – and they gave me one of their copies of this newest entry in the series!

All the books have a cultural element, in this case two Mexican American kids who speak some Spanish. They also present in very simple terms an early math concept, with tips for parents to extend the ideas at the back. And it’s always found in a picture book story that will engage kids even if it weren’t teaching math concepts.

Beto’s Berry Treasure is about spatial relationships and making and following maps.

Beto wants his big sister Cora to play tea party with him, but she only wants to play pirate. So Beto decides to make a pirate map of hidden treasure – the treasure being berries for the tea party.

But Beto’s first tries don’t lead Cora to the treasure! How can he fix it?

And will there be any berries left by the time Cora finds the treasure?

This simple story is a fantastic conversation – and play – starter. And believe it or not, spatial relationships and being able to give step-by-step instructions (or a map) are early math concepts.

Another brilliant entry in the series.

jennylacika.com
astound.us/addy-rivera-sonda
charlesbridge.com/storytellingmath

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J. Maas
read by Elizabeth Evans

Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. 13 hours, 4 minutes.
Review written August 19, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

Sarah J. Maas’s books are wildly popular at our library, so that we’ve hit the cap on some of the ebooks and can’t keep up with the holds list. I decided to see what all the fuss is about and started in on the Throne of Glass series. I followed the order I found online and read the prequel novellas, collected in The Assassin’s Blade first, which may have taken a little bit of mystery from the main character, Celaena Sardothien, in this book. But I don’t think it was a bad thing to already know her and be impressed with her skills. I also know her history and the people she reasonably holds grudges against – though she doesn’t know who betrayed her and sent her into slavery in the mines, and I do.

At the start of this book, the prince of the empire has taken 18-year-old Celaena out of the mines, where she’s been slaving for a year, surviving despite the high odds against that. The prince tells her she has a chance to win her freedom. He is sponsoring her in a contest to determine the king’s champion. If she loses, she’ll have to go back to the mines. If she wins, she’ll have to serve the brutal king – responsible for killing her parents when his army destroyed her people – for four years as champion.

So the stakes are high. I already knew about Celaena’s incredible skills, so her confidence didn’t feel misplaced to me, but she’s up against some powerful opponents, and she has plenty of work to do to prepare. On top of that, contestants begin dying – killed brutally with their insides ripped out.

Celaena does have allies in the palace. The prince chose her because he knew it would anger his father. He has put his captain of the guard in charge of monitoring her progress. And Celaena befriends a visiting princess, whose language she learned in the mines, where so many of those who spoke it were also enslaved.

The story is absorbing with its high-stakes contest. I’d heard that Sarah Maas’s books have explicit sex, but not this series, or at least not this book. There is some kissing, but not a lot. In fact, the book seems to be setting up a love triangle, but that kind of fizzles out at the end, and I’m expecting more to develop in one side of that triangle in the next book.

Although I did enjoy the book, it hit a number of my pet peeves. Not badly enough that I stopped listening (as I have been known to do), but enough that I’m withholding a star. The first was the terrible king with a noble prince for a son trope. Yes, the king is awful, responsible for the deaths of thousands – but the prince is different. Really!

The second pet peeve this book hit was the Noble Thief trope. Someone was forced into living a life of crime, but they’re good at heart and when good things happen we all cheer. Disney’s Aladdin popularized this one. In this book, our main character isn’t a thief – she’s an assassin. An incredibly skilled assassin, the best in the kingdom, at seventeen years old. She knows multiple ways to kill people with her bare hands – and yet it’s not her fault. She was taken in by an assassin and forced to learn the trade. And she learned it well, so that despite her small size, she can kill almost anyone. And she’s good at heart. Really!

The third one was about writing style. The point of view didn’t stick with the main character, but dipped into other heads here and there. It wasn’t often enough to really make them viewpoint characters, and it felt a little undisciplined. Tied in with that, the writing felt a little overdramatic. Yeah, sure, she’s the best assassin ever. A little more telling than showing. Though it’s possible that was from the way the narrator read it – but I think it was in the words themselves.

Despite all this, I think I’m going to continue with the series (though I may have to wait until after this year’s Cybils Awards to read on). Celaena is growing on me. I think there are six more books in the series, and I’m hoping eventually the brutal king will get his comeuppance. Also, Celaena’s been through a lot. I’d already love to see her find love and friendship. And have her loved one not die horribly right away. Though I do have a feeling she’s in for a lot more trouble first.

sarahjmaas.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Illuminations, by T. Kingfisher

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

Illuminations

by T. Kingfisher

Argyll Productions, 2022. 260 pages.
Review written April 17, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I need to read more books by T. Kingfisher! I checked this one out because of how thoroughly I enjoyed A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, and then picked it up and got it read after a librarian mentioned T. Kingfisher as one of her favorite authors. I wasn’t quite as big a fan of this one, but it’s got the same flavor of a whole lot of fun in a magical kingdom.

Rosa Mandolini is almost eleven years old, a member of Studio Mandolini, surrounded by artist family members who do the important magical work of illumination.

The Mandolinis painted pictures of radishes with wings to ward off sickness, and they painted great droopy-faced hounds with halos to protect against burglars. They painted flaming swords on shingles to keep storms from blowing the roofs off houses, and they painted very strange pictures of men with hummingbird heads to keep venomous snakes out of people’s gardens.

And every one of these paintings worked, although they would wear out over time. Sometimes the illumination had to be very large. It was no good getting a tiny painting of a blue-eyed cat to keep mice away if you had a barn that was already full of rats. The tiny painting would keep mice out of your pantry, but to keep them out of a barn, you needed a painting six feet high with a blue-eyed cat the size of a tiger.

But one day, when Rosa is bored, she goes searching for a stuffed armadillo model for her uncle in their disorganized storeroom — and discovers a box with an illumination that makes her walk away and forget about it. When she manages to overcome the forgetting about it part, her next challenge is to figure out how to get the box open. When she does, the crow illumination on the box cover comes alive — and something inside the box escapes. The crow informs her that she’s just let loose an evil creature that’s been imprisoned for two hundred years and will proceed to suck the magic out of all of their illuminations.

The crow is absolutely right. And hijinks ensue. Eventually her whole family needs to get in on the act of stopping the evil mandrake root running around the corners of their studio.

It’s all told in a light-hearted way with eccentric characters, a creative magic system, and a kid who wants to not get in trouble — but also contribute to the family.

redwombatstudio.com

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Review of The Woman They Could Not Silence, by Kate Moore

Audiobooks, History, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

The Woman They Could Not Silence

One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear

by Kate Moore
read by the Author

Blackstone Publishing, 2021. 14 hours, 37 minutes.
Review written August 1, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

This book is both fascinating and horrifying. It’s the story of Elizabeth Packard, whose husband had her locked up in an insane asylum for three years beginning in 1860. It’s about her fight for her freedom, for custody of her children, and ultimately to reform laws and the treatment of the “insane.”

The story was hard to listen to, because Elizabeth was locked up basically because she developed religious views that disagreed with her pastor husband. And she was too vocal about them. Everything he did was completely legal, and he was able to have her committed to an asylum on his say-so. Even more horrifying was the later corroboration from the superintendent of the facility that he was convinced she was insane, because he based that assurance completely on her opinions, which he did not agree with.

Or another example of her obvious insanity was that she was angry with her husband – the same man who’d put her in the insane asylum when she was completely sane. Because it’s not “womanly” to hate your husband.

The book also told about the horrors of the asylum. At first, Elizabeth was in the best ward, but as punishment for speaking up, she got moved to a much worse situation and witnessed much abuse and many horrible things. Any letters she received or sent were confiscated. And she never had any idea how long she would be incarcerated.

Eventually, she was able to get a trial. The way the doctors used her ideas as proof that she was insane was chilling to me. It reminded me of present-day people telling transgender folks they are “confused” – indeed the book included a postscript about modern women being called insane or crazy for their political views.

After she was free, Elizabeth Packard went on to work to change the laws – so that women couldn’t be incarcerated on the word of their husbands, so that insane asylums had to be independently inspected, and many other issues. She was free, but she used her powerful voice to help the many others she’d seen who had been victims of the current system.

Not realizing the narrator was the author, I wondered why they picked a narrator with a British accent, but as usual I very much enjoyed listening to that accent. With the one bothersome detail that she didn’t pronounce “Packard” the way Americans do, putting more of an emphasis on the second syllable. But that was easily overlooked, as I enjoyed everything else about her reading. The book was obviously scrupulously researched – using Elizabeth’s own writings and other contemporary writings and reports to put together the whole story.

It was wonderful to learn about this true American hero, as well as sobering to learn the situation women could find themselves in only 160 years ago.

kate-moore.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson

Contemporary, Mystery, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Box in the Woods

by Maureen Johnson
read by Kate Rudd

Katherine Tegen Books, 2021. 9 hours, 13 minutes.
Review written June 27, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I’ve been meaning to read this book for ages, probably since it came out in 2021. Not sure why I never did, but I’m not going to make the same mistake with the next book in the series.

The Box in the Woods features Stevie Bell, the teen detective of the Truly Devious trilogy. Because of her success with that case, Stevie is given an opportunity to look into another cold case – The Box in the Woods. In 1978, four teenagers were in the woods outside summer camp at night smoking pot, and they got stabbed to death. Three of their bodies were stashed in a box in the woods. It sounds like a teenage slasher film, but it’s real to the family members and the people of the town.

The new owner of the camp offers Stevie a summer case to solve, and she can bring her friends. What could be better than friends and murder?

Now, the folks in the nearby town aren’t thrilled about that old case getting dredged up. And sure enough, before long there’s a modern-day death of someone important to the case. The reader will not be surprised that investigating further puts Stevie and her friends in danger.

This book is a wonderful teen mystery/thriller. I liked listening to it, as the reader gave personality to the characters, including Stevie’s obsession with murder. The solution was one of those oh-yes-it-all-makes-sense revelations. We also got more insight into the relationships of Stevie and her friends.

You can read this as a stand-alone mystery without having read the first trilogy, but having the background makes it that much more fun.

maureenjohnsonbooks.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Look for the Math Around You, by Alice Aspinall

Children's Nonfiction Review, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

Look for the Math Around You

Arrays
Estimation
Fractions
Geometry
Math Chats
Patterns

by Alice Aspinall

Code Breaker, 2020. Each volume 56 pages.
Review written December 13, 2022, from library books.
Starred Review

I’m reviewing a series of six books with this post. I’m super proud that I found these for the library and just got a chance to read them myself. They’re even better than I’d hoped!

What these books present is a wonderful opportunity for mathematical conversations for adults to have with kids as young as Kindergarten through 4th or 5th grades. They’ve got questions that made me think, and they model mathematical thinking.

Every book begins with a page that says this:

This book features photos taken from everyday, real-life moments. Use the photos as prompts to start a math conversation with children. Each photo is accompanied by optional question prompts. In some cases, there are many correct answers. The thinking process and mathematical discussion are more important than the correct answers. Have fun!

I read that in the first book, and right away my heart responded with a “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I’ll include some example questions from the different books:

From Arrays, next to a photo of a garage door:

How many rectangles are in this photo? Look closely.
Explain how you counted them.

From Estimation, next to a photo of popcorn in a bowl:

There are two kinds of popcorn in the bowl. How would you describe how much of each kind is in the bowl? Think about using:
–Numbers
–Fractions
–Percentages
–Words

From Fractions, next to a photo of an uncut pan of brownies:

The brownie needs to be shared with 8 people.
Show the different ways you can cut the brownie so that all 8 people get the same amount of brownie to eat.

From Geometry, next to a photo of an orange slice, first in a circle and then pulled into a line:

The orange slice shows the parts of a circle. The circumference is the peel, wrapping all the way around the outside of the circle. The area is the flesh of the orange. Point to each part of the circle.

When we pull apart the orange slice, we can see the parts of the circle in a different way. How many segments can you count?

What do you think is the length of the circumference of this orange slice? How do you know?

From Math Chats, next to a photo of a fire pit with marshmallows toasting:

How far away should the marshmallow be from the fire for the best roast?
In what direction do you rotate your skewer to toast the marshmallow?
How much of the marshmallow do you like covered in char?
What ratio of cracker to chocolate to marshmallow makes the best s’more?
How many pieces of chocolate do you like in a s’more?
What pattern do you use to assemble a s’more?

From Patterns, next to a photo of a pie with a lattice top:

How is the pie crust arranged? Use words to explain how all the pieces are weaved together.
What other patterns can you find on the pie? Look for shapes.

That should give you the idea. The books are loaded with interesting photographs accompanied by open-ended questions that encourage mathematical thinking. And because the questions are open-ended, your child may surprise you!

You can find all these books in the Fairfax County Public Library catalog if you search for “Look for the Math Around You.”

everyonecanlearnmath.com
codebreakeredu.com

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Arrays
Estimation
Fractions
Geometry
Math Chats
Patterns

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/look_for_the_math_around_you.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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Sonderling Sunday – The Penultimate Chapter of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! Time to play with language by looking at the German translations of children’s books. Tonight I’m going back to the book that started it all, many years ago now, The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy, known in German as Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

We are so close to the end! Last time, we finished up Chapter Twenty-Six, so now I’m on the next-to-last chapter, which begins on page 374 in the English edition and Seite 474 auf Deutsch.

I have fond hopes that the phrases chosen, besides giving you interesting and pithy things to say in German, will inspire and intrigue you enough to pick up the books they are selected from, in whichever language you prefer.

I’ve realized I should give credit to the translators. Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge was translated by Wolfgang Thon.

I like to begin with the first sentence of the next section:

“The tent bounced and jiggled as the Silent Sisters carried it up the mountain.”
= Die Sänfte hüpfte und schaukelte, als die Stummen Schwestern sie den Berg hinauftrugen.

“cut off from the world” = von der Welt abgeschnitten

“dizzying patterns” = verwirrenden Mustern

“muddled by the incense” = benommen von dem Weihrach

“maddening jewels” = aufdringlichen Juwelen

“everything was slipping away”
= irgendwie entglitt ihr die Kontrolle
[“somehow slipped away from her the control”]

“a nauseous chill” = eine ekelhafte Kälte

“crooked” = krummen

“weak and delicate”
= schlaff und zerbrechlich

“blur” = Schleier

“bony fingers” = knorrigen Fingern

“jelly” = Wackelpudding [“wobble-pudding”!]

“shrouds” = Stofffetzen [“fabric-scraps”]

“chalices” = Kelche

“flickering match” = flackerndes Streichholz

“whispered chant” = flüsternd vorgetragener Gesang

“emeralds” = Smaragde

Here’s a rhyme!
“a slow thump in her bones”
= ein bedächtiges Pochen in ihren Knochen

Here’s something I hope you’ll never need to use:
“shockingly enormous, a looming blob of sagging, scabbed, sewn gray flesh”
= ein furchtbar riesiger gewaltiger Haufen von schlaffem, schuppigem, zusammengeflicktem grauem Fleisch
[Google translate: “a horribly huge heap of flabby, scaly, patched-together grey flesh”]

“bubbling” = blubbernd

“snuffling and groaning” = sabberte und stöhnte

“wrapping around her” = umschlangen sie

“scabs” = Schuppen

“flung” = geschleudert

“spit” = Speichel

“saliva” = Spucke

“gnashing teeth” = zermalmenden Zähnen

“flushed down” = hinabgespült

“a dense stew” = ein Mischmasch

“quivering funnel” = bebenden Trichter

And the last sentence for tonight:
“She kept sliding toward the frothing acid.”
= Sie rutschte immer weiter auf diese schäumende Säure zu.

That’s all for tonight! I hope you won’t have much use for most of these phrases, but now you’re prepared if you ever experience a Pochen in your Knochen. And I may start calling jelly “Wobble-pudding” myself.

Bis bald!

Review of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

by Heather Fawcett
read by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds

Random House Audio, 2023. 12 hours, 6 minutes.
Review written July 23, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

This one is wonderful! Our main character is Emily Wilde, a young academic living in an alternate reality to ours where the main difference is that the faeries exist and can be studied. And Emily is writing the authoritative guide on the subject.

As the book opens, she is beginning her field work in the Arctic village of Hrafnsvik. She’s got a shack to stay in – if she can figure out how to chop the wood. But Emily’s not much of a people person, planning to spend her time out in the field, not socializing with the villagers. So she’s dismayed when she gets a letter at this remote place from Wendell Bambleby, her colleague at Cambridge whose work gets far more notice than hers, and she thinks it’s more than his annoying good looks that make this happen.

Emily has a breadth of knowledge of faeries and faerie stories that is unsurpassed, but no one has done field work among the Hidden Ones of this area before. She starts simply, by befriending a brownie but making mistakes with the people of the village. When Wendell Bambleby does show up at her door, he takes care of some problems, but adds new ones.

In spite of herself, Emily finds herself caring about the villagers. Can she use her knowledge of faerie to help some from the village who have recently been taken by the fae? But before the book is over, her actions get her into more and more trouble and she gets pulled ever more deeply into the faerie world.

The characters here are marvelous. I can relate all too well to Emily, more interested in her studies than the people around her. But then her vast knowledge of her subject serves her well. And could it be love sneaking up on her? The book felt a little dry at the start – because Emily introduced herself as an academic making field notes, but I got more and more absorbed until I was finding excuses to keep listening at the end. My next step is to put Book 2 on hold.

heatherfawcettbookscom

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, by Amy Hest, illustrated by Erin Stead

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing

by Amy Hest
illustrated by Erin Stead

Neal Porter Books (Holiday House), 2024. 40 pages.
Review written July 18, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Ahh. This picture book gives me a happy sense of peace.

It’s a quiet story of a grown-up bear and a young bear going fishing. The story is simple, the pictures are charming, and the nice repetition makes it delightful for beginning readers or young listeners.

Here’s how the book begins:

One day Big Bear says to Little Bear, I’m just in the mood for fishing.

Me too, says Little Bear. Just in the mood.

Big Bear and Little Bear pull on baggy blue pants for fishing. And boots. They stuff their feet into tal black boots. Their coats are yellow with pockets and hoods.

Now they are ready for fishing.

That all sounds good. But the first word on the next page is:

Almost.

Three times they think of something more they need — poles; nice, warm blueberry scones; and a book with stories.

When they are finally really, truly ready to go fishing, they make their way to their fishing boat, pulling the wagon with supplies, get into the boat, and row out into the lake.

I love the page once they get there:

Big Bear and Little Bear dip their poles in the lake.

Fishermen sit very still, whispers Big Bear.

Oh yes, Little Bear whispers back. Very still.

Sunshine sparkles up the lake.

Fishermen are patient, whispers Big Bear.

Oh yes, Little Bear whispers back. Patient.

And so they wait. And wait. And of course they need a break for nice, warm blueberry scones, as well as for reading from their big book of stories.

Okay, my repeating good lines simply doesn’t do the job without Erin Stead’s cozy illustrations. If you have a young child in your home, you need to check out this book and read it together yourselves! I guarantee, you’ll be charmed.

amyhest.com
erinstead.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Folding Tech, by Karen Latchana Kenney

Mathematical, Science, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Folding Tech

Using Origami and Nature to Revolutionize Technology

by Karen Latchana Kenney

Twenty-First Century Books (Lerner), 2021. 104 pages.
Review written September 20, 2022, from a library book
2023 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Ages 11 to 18
Starred Review

Here’s a fascinating look at something I didn’t even realize was mathematical — origami. And the book explains how engineers and mathematicians studying origami have created some amazing and helpful technology.

The beginning talks about how there’s not much room in a spacecraft, but a large area is what’s needed for solar panels to power them. So in 1985, Koryo Miura proposed using an ancient folding pattern he’d studied to fit a solar array into a spacecraft. Japan launched such a craft in 1995.

Then the book talks about the long history of origami, particularly in Japan. But it’s been revived in modern times, and studying it mathematically has helped create intricate and beautiful patterns. And then when stiff materials are used instead of paper, engineers can create foldable structures easy to assemble and inexpensive to create.

Engineers also find folding in nature. I was fascinated by the way they studied how ladybugs fold their wings under their elytra (the red and black shell on top). In order to get a good look, they 3D printed a clear plastic elytra and replaced the ladybug’s own. Then they could see how the wings fold and unfold so quickly and neatly.

And there are so many uses for this technology! Besides outer space, there are even uses for tiny folds, including a foldable heart stent to go inside human arteries. There are also many uses in architecture and robots, and, really, the human imagination is the limit.

This book includes some origami designs the reader can try out. My one quibble is that I would have liked many more pictures. Some structures created using principles of origami were described in detail, and a picture would have helped visualize it. I read about a crushable beverage can with a diamond-shaped folding pattern and the Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi that have a folding facade that changes shape in response to the sun. I would have liked to see pictures. Also, the James Webb telescope that made news recently as it began sending back photos of space did get a picture, but the only discussion of the folding that made that telescope possible was in the picture caption.

However, besides my little quibble (I just wanted more), this book is packed with fascinating information. My eyes are opened now, and I know I’m going to notice more folds, both in nature and in technology. A section at the end tells kids how they can pursue the path toward becoming an origami professional.

latchanakenney.wordpress.com
lernerbooks.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?