Cicada by Shaun Tan - OPTIONAL

Cicada by Shaun Tan. PICTURE BOOK. Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), 2019. $20. 9781338298390

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

A cicada wears a suit and goes to work every day with very little monetary compensation and no respect. He makes no mistakes and works late until his work his done, but the humans around him still abuse him. On the day of his retirement he gets no party or words of appreciate, and heads to the roof of the building and stands on the edge. There he sheds his skin and flies away. 

Honestly, I wish I had something smart to say about this book. I can see that there is a powerful commentary here on the way we treat others that are different than ourselves, but I am having a hard time imagining who the audience for this book is. The art is powerful and realistic, although grey-toned and depressing. It also looks like the cicada will commit suicide at one point, making this a potentially triggering read. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Dad by my Side by Soosh - ESSENTIAL

Dad by my Side by Soosh. PICTURE BOOK. Little Brown and Company, 2018. $17. 9780316438087

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

The illustrations in this book are watercolor depictions of a tiny girl and her large father. Together they make each other smile and help each other. One particularly charming illustration shows the dad sewing with the daughter and another shows them cuddling in bed with the daughter taking up the bulk of the space. 

I am completely enchanted by the illustrations and the daddy daughter relationship in this book. The illustrator explains in a note in the back that she wanted to create a figure that felt safe and encouraging, and she is entirely successful in that. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Paul Writes (a letter) by Chris Raschka - OPTIONAL

Paul Writes (a letter) by Chris Raschka. PICTURE BOOK. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2018. 9780802854940

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This books is full of mini letters from Paul, the apostle of Christ. He writes to several different populations and each letter contains mini pleadings and messages about how they audience of the letter should live their life. There aren't a lot of illustrations in this book other than Paul writing and the words he writes. 

I liked this book personally because my own kids hear a lot of the same bible stories repeated, and this was a new element of the bible they were unfamiliar with. That said, I don’t know exactly what role this book serves in a school library; it will depend tremendously on your school’s audience.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Sometimes Rain by Meg Fleming - ADVISABLE

Sometimes Rain by Meg Fleming, illustrated by Diana Sudyka. PICTURE BOOK. Beach Lane Books (Simon & Schuster), 2018. $18. 9781481459181

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Almost every sentence in this books starts with the word “sometimes” and describes some sort of event that happens in nature, either as a force of nature or an activity that happens in nature. The poetic descriptions and illustrations move through the four seasons starting with winter. Ultimately the book is a message about being home in nature. 

You can tell immediately from the cover that the art in this book is magical and it truly is. It is the transporting kid of art - to another place and another mood. Many of the illustrations have two layers, one realistic and then doodles on top of that that look like they are coming as breath or wind. This book is a slowly paced meditation on nature, but will still be engaging because of the beautiful art. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher 

Little Owls Snow by Divya Srinivasan–ADVISABLE

Little Owls Snow by Divya Srinivasan. PICTURE BOOK. Viking (Penguin) 2018. $18.00. 9780670016518

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3)  –ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Little Owl notices that the season is changing, leaves are falling and his animal friends are going to hibernate. He starts to get really lonely, except for his friend raccoon. When he talks to his mother, she helps him to appreciate the winter season for what it is and enjoy the time. Filled with bright simple large illustrations.

This story is fun accompaniment to a winter fact book. I think many children will relate to the loneliness of winter, as they aren’t out with their friends as much and the days are shorter and darker. The illustrations are so darling and simple enough to ask large groups questions about.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.

Hello Winter! By Shelley Rotner –OPTIONAL

Hello Winter! by Shelley Rotner.  PICTURE BOOK. Holiday House. 2018. $17.00. 9780823439768

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3)  – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This book presents simple facts about what happens during this winter along with large color photographs.

This book does a great job pointing out things that children will relate to, like snow forts, snowboarding, hot chocolate as well as some interesting things I haven’t seen in other winter fact books like tracks in freshly fallen snow, winter celebrations, and long shadows.

It could be shared with a large group and be easily understood by kindergarten students.

I must admit though, I prefer Wonderful Winter by Bruce Goldstone, it has more cover appeal and is laid out to look more fun and modern.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.

Everybody’s Favorite Book by Mike Allegra - ESSENTIAL

Everybody’s Favorite Book by Mike Allegra, illustrated by Claire Almon. PICTURE BOOK. Macmillan, 2018. $18. 9781250132765

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

The narrator explains that this book is everyone’s favorite because it has everything you could possibly want. A brave hero: a space ninja cow, a terrible villain: a robo-dragon pie, and a battle. But that isn’t all, it also has some pink for those that don’t like the fighting and soft cuddly animals and of course spy kids. It has so many great elements that it turns into chaos. 

This is a cute book to talk about what make a good story. I could easily see this used in a creative writing unit. The book is independently enjoyable because it plays on all the things kids really do like in a good story. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Little Bear Dreams by Paul Schmid - ADVISABLE

Little Bear Dreams by Paul Schmid. PICTURE BOOK. Phaidon, 2018. $18. 9780714877242

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

This book ponders the questions of what bears could possibly be dreaming about. Big snowflakes possibly, but also maybe hot chocolate? Or cold pizza? Straight horizons and curly mustaches? All this is accompanied by simplistic illustrations of a polar bear and her cub. 

This book is so delightful because it has such a soothing tone, but with an edge of silly. We all loved the illustrations - especially the final one in which the bear and her cub are curled up to mirror the full moon above.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Drawn Together by Minh Lê - ESSENTIAL

Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat 

PICTURE BOOK Disney Hyperion, 2018 $17.99. 1484767608

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3,) MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

When a young boy is dropped off at his grandfathers house, he quickly realizes that the language barrier is insurmountable, so he gets out his paper and markers and starts to draw - that's when grandfather gets out his brushes and ink, and the two spend the afternoon communicating through their artwork. 

Such beautiful illustrations, the mixed styles blend so well together and the art makes the story take on a life of its own. A great idea, well executed. A great art lesson as well.

 Lisa Librarian

Gillbert the Little Merman by Art Baltazar - OPTIONAL

Gillbert the Little Merman by Art Baltazar, 82 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Papercutz, 2018 $10

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL –OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Gillbert is an undersea prince. He meets a little mermaid girl and she takes him on an amazing adventure to meet some new friends. In the meantime his parents hatch a new little sea creature (from space) and discover that other, not so friendly creatures from space are on their way.

This story is overly long for the plot elements, and I found myself fairly bored. Its plot was very linear and would be easy for a young reader to follow. The artwork is simply and vivid. I must say that I probably wouldn’t pick this up for my school library, it just reminds me of a cranked out cartoon, loud and busy. I tend to gravitate spending limited funds on higher quality graphic novels.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.

The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast by Samantha M. Clark - ADVISABLE

The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast by Samantha M. Clark, 245 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2018. $18

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

A boy wakes up alone on a beach and feelings of fear immediately begin to grip at him. He argues with a voice inside of him that insists he isn’t brave enough to get off the island, but the boy resists those taunts and starts exploring. He faces a lot of scary things, but eventually realizes he is a ghost and has a decision to make about returning to his body or giving up. 

This book is interesting. It has a beautiful magical realism quality about it mixed with an adventure/survival story. But it also has a harsh psychological quality too. The voice in the boy’s head is often very critical and mean and it is always present. Also, the reason the boy is between life and death is because he was too scared to go sailing and his dad pushed him into it. That is a lot to grapple with for young readers, but if they can successfully hold all of those elements, I think this book will provided a valuable experience. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

Epic Fails: The Race to Space Countdown to Liftoff by Erik Slader - ESSENTIAL

Epic Fails: The Race to Space Countdown to Liftoff by Erik Slader and Ben Thompson, 152 pages. NON-FICTION. Roaring Brook Press, 2018. $16

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This book begins by going over some of the basic technology behind how rockets and spaceships work, but quickly moves on to the storied history of space exploration. A lot of the chapters chronicle the race between Russia and America to make it to space. The book includes details about several Apollo missions and the failures that were sometimes tragic.

I learned an embarrassing amount from this book. Not having grown up watching the space race unfold, but hearing bits a pieces through the years, it was good to put it all in order and organize the information in my brain. I was a little disappointed the book didn’t really follow through with the failures by explaining how they were used to learn something new, for example. One of the points that they kept emphasizing in the book was that they were working with such limited technology - often less computing power than a calculator. I thought that was so interesting and I think young readers will too.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher