2016 Picture Book Summer Reading Roundup

"Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August"

                                                                                            Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty  

Beach Baby by Laurie Elmquist, illustrated by Elly MacKay

Orca Books, 2016, 24 pages, Age 3 months+

A day of playing at the beach makes for a tired baby.  Baby drifts off to sleep in mother' arms, whose sings a lullaby perfect for the day, reminding baby that all those wonders that were there today will be there tomorrow.  There's not real story here, just loving reassurances.  The illustrations, created with paper, ink, light and photography are as soft and gentle as the lullaby.  A perfect board book for baby's first days at the seashore - whether the visit is real or imagined.

At the Beach by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Harlow Rockwell

Aladdin Books, 2016, 24 pages, age 4+

A young girl goes to the beach with her family and describes everything she sees and does.  There seashells to collect, sand castles to build, a wonderful picnic lunch, other kids to play with, sandpipers to follow and of course, sunscreen to put on.  This is a nice beach book for slightly older kids who might already have some beach experience.  The text is done in simple, declarative sentences, matched by the simple but colorful lines of the illustrations.  This book really reminded me of summers at the beach when my Kiddo was young.

Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley, illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Amazon Publishing, 2016, 32 pages, age 4+

After a very long day at the beach playing and have fun with her mom and dad, Lucy and her parents sure are tired, yawning and yawning.  When mom falls asleep reading to Lucy, Lucy is suddenly wide awake.  And in the dark, everything looks different.  Getting out of bed, she discovers her dad is asleep in a chair.  Umm...what to do?  Before she knows it, Lucy is in bed with all her stuffed animals, yawning and falling asleep.  Yes, you can count 20 yawns throughout this book, but its real strength for me is that Lucy is a biracial child from a happy, intact home who knows how to self-soothe when she gets scared,    The digitally rendered illustrations with painted textures are bold, but soft and simple at the same time, and may remind you of some of Kevin Henkes illustrations.

Are We There Yet? written and illustrated by Dan Santat

Little, Brown BFYR, 2016, 40 pages, age 4+

Planning a road trip with the kids this summer?  You might want to share a copy of this book with them.  A young boy and his parents are off to grandma's house for her birthday party, but no sooner are they in the car, when the boy in the back seat asks "are we there yet?"  Bored, he suddenly finds the car transported page by page back in time because this trip is taking a million years.  The trip back in time is cleverly done by following a path that turns the book upside down.  But time can also pass too quickly and the path leads to the future, 2059  to be exact.  Finally, the car returns to the present and the family arrives at grandma's just in time for her party.  The message is loud and clear: Be patient, and enjoy the moment you are living in.  Santat's whimsical  pencil, crayon, watercolor ink and photoshopped illustrations add much to the humor of the story.

The Airport Book written and illustrated by Lisa Brown

Roaring Brook Press, 2016, 40 pages, age 5+ 

If your young readers are going to be flying somewhere this summer for the first time, or even if they have some flying experience, this is the book for them.   A young boy traveling with his family describes every step of the way from packing to getting to the airport, to check-in, all the way to arriving at his grandparents house as only a young kid can - that is to say, concrete factual details in simple declarative sentences.  Take time to pay attention to the background details on each page to really appreciate the variety of people and things you run into while traveling.  This story of a happy, intact,  biracial family traveling together on an airplane is sure to become a family favorite.

The Storm written and illustrated by Akiko Miyakoshi

Kids Can Press, 2016, 32 pages, age 5+

A young boy can't wait for Saturday.  His parents promised to take him to the beach, but on Friday, his teacher warns that there is a storm coming.  As the sky gets darker, his parents bring in potted plants, and close the shutters.  As the storms rages outside, the boy jumps into bed and pulls the covers over his head.  He dreams he's on a ship, sailing through the storm right into clear skies.  Will the skies be clear Saturday morning so the anticipated trip to the beach can happen?  This is a charming story by the author of The Tea Party in the Woods.  Miyakoshi uses the same technique here of detailed, variously shaded charcoal illustrations with touches of color.  The story moves along illustration by illustration, with just enough text to carry it.  This was originally published in Japan and very popular over there, as I'm sure it will be here as well.

The Whale story and illustrations by Vita Murrow and Ethan Murrow

Templar Books, 2016, 32 pages, age 6+

The Whale is a wordless picture book that will take a little more effort on the part of the reader, but is so worth it.  It is the 50th anniversary of the supposed spotting of a Great Spotted Whale in a seaside town.  Now the newspaper has issued a challenge - prove the whales exists and that it wasn't just a whale of a hoax.  A young boy and a young girl separately take up the challenge, outfitting their small boats for the task - he with sound equipment, she with camera equipment.  But when their boats collide, they decide to join forces.  The two clever children do indeed spot the Great Spotted Whale, and when they get back to shore with their proof, they are in for a real surprise.  See if you can spot it in the newspaper at the end of the book.  I loved this book.  The illustrations are done in graphite and there is so much detail from the first page to the last, that I spent a great deal of time going over each beautifully rendered page, and I am sure your young readers will be as captivated as I was by this whale of a tale (OK, I done with the whale idioms now).

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

Sylvie Sherman, 12, was a fast runner.  In fact, she was the fastest runner in Hobbsnon School, so fast she needed to grab hold of something to slow herself down.  So one frosty morning, after building a snow family that included a fox Sylvie took off running, but not before sister Jules, 11, grabbed hold of blue mitten, accidentally pulling it off.  Jules never sees her sister again.  Sylvie seems to just vanish.  Though she has most probably fallen into the river and drowned, no body is recovered.

Just as Sylvie disappears, a fox gives birth to three kits, two males and one female.  The female, called Senna, is born kennen.  Kennen links an animal to a spirit, to help them or to finish something left unfinished, to settled the unsettled.

Devastated by her sister's death, Jules stays home from school for weeks, unable to face the empty space on the school bus next to their best friend Sam, comforting herself by organizing and reorganizing her rock collection, and afraid she will loose the connection to the mother she never really knew except through Sylvie and her dad's memories of her.  And of course, there is the guilt that what happened to Sylvie is somehow her fault for not stopping her.

Jules and Sylvie, along with Sam, had always defied their father's Do Not rules - do not get out of earshot of the house, do not mess with wild animals, do not miss the bus, do not, under any circumstances, go near the Slip, where the rushing water would suck a body down.  But the three kids liked to toss "wish rocks," rocks upon which they wrote their burning wishes, into that part of the river.   Sam had two wishes - that his older brother Elk would come home from Afghanistan and that he would see the catamount rumored to be in the area.  Elk came home but a changed man, a veteran who has lost his best friend Zeke in combat, is probably suffering from PTSD, and who now roams the Vermont woods that surrounds their homes.  Elk seems to understand who Jules is and what she is going through.  Can he help her? And can she help him?

Jules has never had a burning wish until Sylvie's disappearance.  Sylvie's wish is always to run faster, but why is a mystery that Jules would like to solve and has become her burning wish.

When Senna hears the crying of an unknown creature, she leaves her sleeping family lair, lured by the cry to where she and Jules come face to face, wondering why the smell of the crier is so familiar to her.

Are Jules and Senna linked?  Can Senna help Jules solve the mystery of her sister's death?

Maybe a Fox is an amazing book, not just amazingly sad, but it is also a multilayered, richly textured story about love, family (human and fox), loss, mourning, and courage...and hope.  The characters are all well realized and the setting, the beautiful rural Vermont woods in early spring, is easy to visualize based on the descriptions the authors use.  At first, I did have a little trouble picturing the Slip but as I read, it became a better image in my mind.

The book is divided into three parts.  Part One focuses primarily on Jules's story; Part Two concentrates on Senna and Part Three brings them together, yet the third person point of view alternates between that of Jules and that of the fox throughout.  And there are elements of magical realism, which takes the story out of realistic fiction and helps to disperse the overwhelming grief, guilt, and loneliness that Jules carries within.    

This book really hit home for me. I lost a sister that I played with all the time when I was 6 years old, and I think that Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee did a spot on job of capturing that pervasive sense of emptiness that you never stop feeling once someone close to you has died.  I think sibling loss is something that lots of kids must deal with nowadays and, despite all the heartbreak and the pervasive sadness of Jules's story, it ends on a note of hope and the sense of the future.

The publisher has provided a discussion guide for Maybe a Fox your use.  You can find it HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

A Truly Eclectic Picture Book Round-Up

"Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all it's flavour"

                                                                      William Cowper

It's summertime and what better time to catch up on your reading.  Relaxing in the evening or at bedtime with a good picture book after a busy day at camp, or the beach, or doing whatever summertime activity your young readers might like to do is just the best.  Here are a bunch of picture books we have been reading over and over again, and so far, it looks like that is going to be a trend for the rest of summer here.

Flora and the Peacocks written and illustrated by Mollie Idle

Chronicle Books, 2016, 40 pages, age 3+

Flora is back in her third book and this time she is dancing with a pair of peacocks.  As first, Flora and her new friends do the fan and feather dancing together, but when one peacock begins dancing with just Flora, the other gets rather put out.  Can these three dancers find a way to dance as a trio, or will one or the other always be left out?  This is a wonderful wordless picture book about friendships. The illustrations are sparse but powerful.  Idle is able to make the reader know exactly how everyone is feeling through posture and facial expression.  The peacocks feathers are flaps that extend the story and there is a wonderful surprise pop-up ending that shows how the friendship conflict is resolved. This is a great book for kids about to go out into the world of pre-school or kindergarten where there will be new friends to be made. 

Roy's House by written Susan Goldman Rubin, 

art by Roy Lichtenstein

Chronicle Books, 2016, 40 pages, age 3+ 

I love that so many authors are writing picture books that introduce young readers to artists and musicians, especially since these topics are so often eliminated from school curriculums. Taking Lichtenstein's House 1 sculpture as her starting point, (a picture of which is hanging in the room on the front cover), Rubin has created a welcoming house tour that leads the reader through all the different rooms.  Each room is based on an iconic pop-art painting by Lichtenstein, so recognizable by the primary colors, the bold black outlines, and lots of dots and lines that he always used.  At the back of the book, there is an Author's Note that explains who Roy Lichtenstein is, and his particular style of art. There is also a list of the paintings used in the book and the museums where they can be viewed.

D is for Dress-Up: The ABC's of What We Wear

written and illustrated by Maria Carluccio

Chronicle Books, 2016, 36 pages, age 3+

The ABC genre has lots of books to its credit, and to stand out, a book needs a new way of presenting the alphabet for young readers.   In D is for Dress-Up, Maria Carluccio has found a new way using things that are worn and that a reader would be familiar with - A apron, G glasses, Z zippers.  The digitally rendered illustrations are lively and nicely diverse.  While most kids will probably already know their ABCs, this will still be a fun book for them since most of the nouns are not the usual suspects in alphabet books.

Jack's Worry written and illustrated by Sam Zuppardi

Candlewick Press, 2016, 32 pages, age 4+

Anyone who has ever suffered stage fright knows that it does indeed feel like a big black cloud following you around.  And that is exactly how Jack experiences it.  At first, looking forward to playing his trumpet in his first concert, Jack wakes up with a big worry on concert day.  And the worry just gets bigger and bigger as the morning go by, but Jack simply can't find the right words to describe what his worry is about.  Though Jack has quite a surprise in store once he does find the words he needs, will he be able to play?  

Come Home, Angus written by Patrick Downes, 

illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Orchard Books, 2016, 32 pages, age 4+

When Angus wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning, everything irritates him - his dog Clive, his canary Pennycake, and his cat Arthur, even his mother when she tells him to apologize.  So Angus packs his backpack, grabs his plushy gorilla and runs away.  Finding himself blocks from home, in a unfamiliar busy area of his town, Angus becomes hungry and afraid of the strangers around him.  Will mom save the day?  And will Angus apologize for his bad behavior?  The mixed-media illustrations capture Angus's moods beautifully.  The town center is scary, but not too much, same with the strangers Angus encounters.  Kids may think twice before wandering too far from home after reading about Angus's adventure.

On the Farm, At the Market written and 

illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Henry Holt, 2016, 32 pages, age 5+

When my  Kiddo was young, she loved going to the farmer's market and this would have been an ideal picture book for her, a city girl who had no idea how the fruits, vegetable and cheeses got to the market.  Readers are introduced to three different farms as they prepare for the next day's market: a vegetable farm, a mushroom farm and a dairy farm specializing in making cheese.  The second part of the book covers the farmer from early morning set up at the market to dinner at the Busy Bee Cafe made with the day's farm fresh purchases.  Along the way, there's a lot to be learned (I had not idea how mushrooms could be farmed until I read this book).  The gouache and acrylic illustrations are colorful and nicely detailed.  This is a really nice how-things-work book for young readers.

Safe in a Storm written by Stephen R. Swinburne,

illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

Scholastic Press, 2016, 32 pages, age 3+ 

Here is a book designed to reassure kids who might be scared of stormy weather or any other kind of disaster.  Told in rhyming text, each two page spread features different animals babies being protected by an adult (mother? father? teacher?). The illustrations of the different animals are sweetly appealing despite the storms howling around them.  The book opens and closes with an adult collie and a pup giving the sense of going full circle.  I have to admit that part of the dedication through me for a loop:  "...in memory of the 20 Sandy Hook Elementary schoolchildren."  You may have noticed the Sandy Hook Promise link on my sidebar, dedicated to my cousin's son Daniel Barden, a loss we are all still grappling with (my post So much tragedy, so much kindness).  Thank you for remembering Sandy Hook, Stephen R. Swinburne.  

Cat in the Night written by Madeleine Dunphy,

illustrated by Joshua S. Brunet

Web of Life Books, 2016, 32 pages, age 5+

Rusty the cat may be OK with staying on young Gwen's bed until she's asleep, but then it's time to go out and prowl the neighborhood,  But Rusty instantly smells a strange cat and sets out looking for the intruder.  Stealthy stalking, Rusty discovers a lurking skunk, two raccoons in a play pool, an opossum, and a mouse, before finding the intruding cat and chasing it away, then returning to Gwen's bed in time for her to wake up.  This is an interesting cat's eye view of his world, but sensitive readers may find his mouse meal disturbing. The mixed media illustrations perfectly capture Rusty's cat-nature and slinky stalking as he hunts for the strange cat.

Lionheart written and illustrated by Richard Collingbridge

Scholastic Press, 2016, 32 pages, age 5+

All ready for bed in his lion pajamas, young Richard hears a scary sound, and tightly hugging his stuffed lion toy Lionheart, he decides to run from whatever is making the noise.  Richard runs and runs, dropping Lionheart as he goes, until he finds himself in a magical jungle, where there are all kinds of animals, but the monster is still coming.  Richard keeps running until he runs into Lionheart, who is not longer a toy.  Can Lionheart show Richard how to be brave now?  Collingbridge's beautifully painted illustrations carrying all of Richard's emotions, going from dark to light, from scary to safe, from realistic to fantasy.  This book comes with a warning that it will make you ROAR, a warning that is echoed at the end of the story.

Mother Bruce written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins

Disney Press, 2015, 48 pages, age 3+

Bruce is one grumpy bear.  He doesn't like animals, but he loves to cook, so one day, he raids a bird nest for some yummy eggs.  But when Bruce returns from getting wood for the fire to cook his eggs, what a surprise - he finds four little goslings crying Mama when they see Bruce.  No matter what he tries, Bruce cannot get rid of his goslings, they are everywhere under foot.  As they grow, Bruce points out the geese flying south, but the his geese just aren't interested.  Will Bruce find a way to get his geese south for the winter?  A very humorous story depicting what becomes an unconventional family,   The illustrations have so many witty bits in them, that they will keep young readers entertained, and most likely will generate lots of conversation about this book.  After all, who could resist teenaged geese in headphones.  

Today is the Day written by Eric Walters,

illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Tundra Press, 2015, 32 pages, age 6+

It's an exciting day for Mutanu, a young girl living in an orphanage in Kenya.  It is the day when relatives of the children visit, and that includes Mutanu's elderly grandmother.  Mutanu's parents had never registered their daughter's birth before they both passed away.  This wasn't unusual and it is what made this visiting day so special - it is the day unregistered children are given a birth day and have a party to celebrate.  Mutanu's grandmother has come all the way from her village to celebrate her granddaughter's new day and her new place in the world.  Today is the Day is similar to Walters other books about children in the Creation of Hope orphanage he runs on Kenya (see My Name is Blessing and Hope Springs).  The colorful earth-toned illustrations, done in acrylics and which echo the Kenyan countryside, are sweet without being saccharine.  

Elephant in the Dark, based on a poem by Rumi

retold by Mina Javaherbin, pictures by Eugene Yelchin

Scholastic Press, 2015, 40 pages, age 4+

I end with a beautifully illustrated retelling of a poem by Rumi.  When Ahmad, a merchant, brings a very large mysterious creature home from India, naturally all the villagers were curious and go to Ahmad's house to see it.  But Ahmad is tired and wants to sleep, so that night, one by one the villages enter Ahmad's dark barn trying to guess what the creature is.  But each one bases their guess on the one small section of the great animal that they feel.  They spend the rest of the night and early morning arguing, each insisting their guess was the correct one, and miss the beautiful elephant Merchant Ahmad leads to the river.  If only they had put all their information together, they would have see the whole truth of Ahmad's creature instead of quarreling over who was right.  Yelchin's gouache, acrylic and ink and somewhat witty illustrations really carry the feeling of ancient Persia, with bright but matted yellows, greens, and blues.

What are some of your favorite picture books this summer?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is the original weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, but is now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.  It's Monday! What are you reading? - from Picture Books to YA is a kidlit focused meme just like the original and is hosted weekly by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers .  The purpose is the same: to recap what you have read and/or reviewed and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. Twitter for #IMWAYR

Books I Read Last Week:

I was kind of busy last week with work related things and didn't think I had read very much, but when I sat down to write this, I was very surprised by how much reading I had actually done.  As much as I love picture books, I really just can't resist a good middle grade novel:

More on these later: Watch this Space

What I Plan to Read This Week:

And yes, there will be picture books this week, too.

What are you reading this week?

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox

This review was originally posted on my other blog, The Children's War, but I thought I would share it here as well.

It's 1940 and it's time for the three Bateson children, Katherine, 12, Robbie and Amelie to be evacuated to Rookskill Castle in Scotland.  Their father had already left for Europe, on a secret mission for MI6,  but not before he makes arrangements for a new school to be set up for them and other evacuees at the castle.

Before they leave, Kat's Great-Aunt Margaret takes her aside and gives her a gift - a silver chatelaine with its three hanging charms, a scissor, a thimble and a pen.  This chatelaine was a precious family heirloom that Great-Aunt Margaret always wore pinned to her belt.  But with the gift came a warming - the chatelaine can keep them safe because it is magical, but there is always a price to pay for the use of magic.  Logical Kat is skeptical about magic, but reluctantly accepts the chatelaine anyway.

Arriving at the castle, the children meet Lady Eleanor., who Kat notices also wears a chatelaine laden with charms and hidden from view.  She tells them that Gregor, Lord Craig, who is distantly related to the Batesons, is quite ill and must be left completely along. The children are forbidden to wander the castle and the castle grounds and are to stay either in the hallway where their rooms are located or in their rooms, which will be locked every night.   Eventually, they also meet the other students - Peter, an American slightly older than Kat, Isabella, Colin and Jorry. 

It doesn't take long for Kat to begin to think the castle and the cold, aloof Lady Eleanor are very strange, as are the maid Marie, Cook, Hugo the driver who also helps around the castle, and Mr. Storm, their history instructor.  Storm is way overly interested in historical artifacts, especially chatelaines.  But when Kat begins to notices some strange goings on about the castle, and discovers a wireless in the cellar, she begins to suspect that the castle is harboring a German spy.  And who are the children that seem to mysteriously come and go, and then there's Jorry's sudden disappearance, even after his parents come looking for him.

The novel occasionally flashes back to 1745 and the story of Leonora, a young girl who was married to the lord of Rookskill Castle, for the purpose producing a child.  When she fails to do that, she goes to a person only referred to as the magister, who magically helps her get a child, but, of course, there is always a price to pay for using magic and she must pay the magister, a payment that brings us right back to 1940s Scotland.

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle is a dark and sinister tale about the forces of good and evil, and I have to confess I  really loved reading it.  Their are the typical tropes of creepy fantasy - weird nighttime noises, ghostlike children appearing and disappearing, a creepy, evil woman, secret passages and spells cast to confuse.  To me, it felt very Gaimanesque and I mean that as compliment. 

Kat is a wonderful character whose logical mind has a hard time accepting that magic might just be real.  On the other hand, her logical mind also mean that she has a real talent for decoding encrypted messages, something that really comes in handy in this novel. 

All the ends relating to this story are tied up by the end of the novel, but there is the hint of a possible sequel because the denouement just isn't a neat and clean as it could be and leaves room for a lot of speculation about Kat's future.

Let me just mention here, for those who may not know this, but Adolf Hitler and the men he surrounded himself with had a serious interest in the occult.

I found this to be an original, spine tingly story, even though at times, I know I figured out things before a young readers might.  Readers who have already zipped through the Harry Potter books and want more of the same will probably also enjoy The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle.  I know I did.  

A Discussion and Project Guide is now available to download thanks to author Janet Fox.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS

Colt Jenson, 12, and his younger brother Bas, 10, had everything they could want until one night when a knock on the door changed their lives completely.  Forced to suddenly move, they now find themselves living in a working class neighborhood even though their dentist father Rex makes a good living.  As he has always done, and to make sure his sons meet the new neighborhood kids, he buys them all kinds of new toys, games, skateboards and his latest purchase - a very expensive BMX bike. 

Sure enough , the bike attracts some neighborhood boys, including brothers Declan Kiley, 11, and younger brother Syd, as well as the neglected street wise Avery Price, 11, and thug-like bully Garrick Green, 12,  Freya Kiley, 12, finds herself attracted to Rex Jenson, thinking he is the father substitute who will rescue her from a overworked mother with little time for her and a violently abusive alcoholic father.  

When Rex has an above ground pool installed in his backyard, the attraction to hang out at the Jenson's play with all though those otherwise unobtainable toys is just too irresistible, particularly for Garrick.  But, Colt has already begun to suspect his father's real motivations for buying all those things: the gifts Rex gives his children are not gifts from the heart, but really nothing more than bait, a way to attract kids to the house, but not so much to be friends with his sons as much as for himself.  In fact, it doesn't take long before a creepy feeling begins to take hold of some of the boys who flock to the Jenson's to play. 

Even the Kiley's father Joe senses something odd at a backyard barbecue that Rex has one evening, but can't quite put his finger on.  But the boys have noticed things, though only Garrick seems really bothered by it and wants to exact some kind of angry revenge, especially after he realizes that Avery is on to the secret he is hiding. 

Meanwhile, Freya Kiley has begun to suspect her mother might be pregnant again, the family just doesn't need a 7th child.  Wondering why her parents got married in the first place, she soon discovers it was because of her.  Now, feeling guilty that she is the cause of so much unhappiness for her parents, and subsequently for her siblings, she has become more aware of her parent's troubled marriage and has come up with a plan to make her father pay for it all.  But, it requires the help of Rex Jenson.

Golden Boys is told mainly from the perspective of Colt and Freya.  It is a character driven story, with each character playing her or his part to perfection to move the story along.  As with all of Sonya Hartnett's novels, it is well written, well plotted and there is not a superfluous word on any of its 256 pages.

The novel is set in a time before cell phones and computers, so that the sense of isolation increased the tension that builds up over the course of novel.  It is also set in Australia, beginning a few weeks before Christmas when it is summertime there.  The setting makes no difference as far as the story is concerned, however.  Golden Boys was marketed as an adult novel there, but as a YA novel in the US.  I have to wonder why.  The title, Golden Boys, has nothing to do with the bike on the American cover.  The title refers to the athletic trophies Colt won at this old school and is a wonderful metaphor for how kids may sometimes feel when caught in the same situation as the boys in this novel.

Golden Boys is an emotionally-packed psychological novel for mature teens who have a better understanding of the themes Hartnett explores - how children inadvertently become complicit with their parent's behavior, accepting their shortcomings even as they realize them; how other adults can look the other way when another adult is behaving badly, i.e., Joe's physically violent behavior towards his family in a drunken rage and never calling the authorities, or Mrs. Jenson's obvious acceptance of her husband's pedophiliac behavior and looking the other way.

This is an excellently done novel and I would highly recommend it to mature readers, but it is definitely not for everyone.

This book is recommended for age 14+

This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai

When the Taliban first started to change things in Afghanistan, people welcomed them.  At the time, Fadi Nurzai and his family - father Habib, mother Zafoona, older sister Noor and young sister Mariam - were living in the United States.  Fadi's father had an American PhD and spoke English, and believing he could help rebuild Afghanistan with the Taliban, he moved his family back to Kabul.  But it didn't take long for the Taliban to begin suppressing the Afghan people and when they approached Habib, asking to join them, he knew it was time to leave.

One night, the family finds themselves waiting for a truck that will take then across the border into Pakistan, then on to the United States.  11 year-old Fadi's job is to hold on to Mariam, now 6, and make sure she gets on the truck safely. Suddenly, there is a swarm of other people trying to get on the truck, too, and Mariam drops her precious Gulmina, an old Barbie doll wearing a bright pink burka. When she tries to retrieve it, she lets go of Fadi's hand just as Habib pulls him onto the truck, which speeds away as the Taliban chases it, leaving Mariam behind.

Consumed with guilt, Fadi soon finds himself in a Fremont, CA middle school.  His mother, who had been ill in Kabul, has gotten worse because of losing Mariam; to help the family out, Noor has taken a job at a McDonald's until high school starts, and Habib, despite that American PhD, is driving a cab. And there are many people in Afghanistan are looking Mariam, but so far, no luck.

Fadi, who loved to take photographs with his dad in Kabul before it was banned, finds his way into a photo club and a new friend named Ahn Hong.  When it is announced that there is to be a photography contest in which first prize is a photo safari and one of the places the winner can choose to go is India, it is like a dream come true for Fadi.   He immediately makes plans to win, get to India, then Pakistan and find Mariam., who the family now knows has made it to Peshawar.

But then, on September 11, 2001, terrorists from al-Qaeda fly two planes into the World Trade Center, and one into the Pentagon and everything suddenly changes.  Now, Fadi finds himself the target of school bullies who think he is Muslim (he is actually Pukhtun) and decide he needs to pay for what was done.  And pay he does.

Between bullies, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the guilt he feels about losing Mariam, Fadi knows he need to talk to someone and take responsibility for his sister before he is eaten up by guilt.  He knows it the honorable thing to do, but somehow Fadi just can't talk about what happened that night in Afghanistan yet.  Meanwhile, they are still looking for Mariam and Fadi desperately needs to win that photography contest so he and his father can rescue her.

Shooting Kabul was, to say the least, a page-turner.  I found Fadi to be a very likable character and thought his relationship with his father was wonderfully touching.  Noor is a typical teenager who usually wants nothing to do with her brother, but still comes through for him when he needs it.  In fact, the theme of family is strong throughout the story, as important as their religion is to them, and family members are very connected to each other, and that includes their very supportive extended family.

The other dominate theme is racism and the spike in race-related incidents after 9/11 towards anyone who looks like they might be Muslim.  Because of that, here is name calling and some violence in the novel.  I thought the example of Mr. Singh, the ice-cream man who is a Sikh, being beaten up by people who assume if you wear a turban, you must be Muslim was very telling  I remember riding the bus to school in the Bronx and everyday there was a man, a Sikh, on it going to work.  After 9/11, I didn't see him for about a week, then he was back, black and blue and wearing a button that said he was a Sikh.  I can't tell you how sad that made me.

Shooting Kabul is an excellent companion book to read while studying contemporary American history since it manages to make a very complicated period of time understandable for young readers. Habib's explanation to Mariam about what is going on in Afghanistan and why they must leave requires no prior knowledge of the situation to understand what he tells her.  And as the story unfolds, things become clearer for today's middle grader who might not completely understand why there is still so much animosity towards Muslims and anyone who looks like one in this country.

A Reading Group Guide is available from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library

What I learned....

Back in February, I read an blog post by Ellen Oh called Dear White Writers, in which she talks about the need for and importance of POC authors writing and publishing their diverse stories in their own voices. When I decided to look at books for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I took the first passage of Ellen's letter to heart, when she wrote:

"Yes, We Need Diverse Books.  But that doesn't always mean that we want YOU [white writers] to write them.  No, it means we want you to support them.  We want you to read them.  We want you to promote them, talk about them, buy them, love them.  We want you to recognize that these stories told by Authors in their own voices has as much importance as all the white one the are published year after year."

Support, read, promote, talk, buy love - that what #WeNeedDiverseBooks meant to me from the start and still does.  I'm not a writer, but I am white.  So, this year, when Asian Pacific American Heritage Month came round, I decided to focus on books written by authors who are are either Asian American or Pacific Islanders.  It didn't really go the way I thought it would.

I read a total of 9 novels, 1 graphic novel, and 9 picture books.  What I discovered is this:

1- Asia and the Pacific Islands covers a lot of ground and a lot of countries, including Hawaii.  And yet, given the criteria I set for myself, I still didn’t find as wide a variety of books as I thought there would be, although, for the most part, what’s out there is pretty good stuff. 

2- Much of what I did find is not longer easily or readily available.  Yes, I found lots of lists with excellent recommendations, but many of the books I wanted to read were no longer in print or the author was not Asian American or a Pacific Islander.  One of my goals on Randomly Reading is to always use as many library books as possible.  Not everyone can or wants to buy books, and all libraries can do inter-library loans.  If the library doesn’t have a book and I think it is a particularly worthwhile story, I generally check the availability and cost and comment on that.  I am hoping that some of those hard to find books will at least be made into ebooks someday, if not simply reissued.  

3- You are probably wondering why you don’t see any books written about the Asian experience of Asian Americans including Japanese American during WWII.  In fact, I’ve read and reviewed a lot of books on that subject on my other blog, The Children's War, but again, after going through my posts, I’ve discovered that most of the books I read and reviewed where not written by Asian Americans.  

4- One of the things I love about the United States is that there are so many people from so many different countries, and they all bring with them aspects of their culture that widens our horizons. Yet, I can't imagine what it must feel like to arrive in a new country, completely different than the one you just left, not always being able to speak or understand English, not knowing the rules and mores of the school you must be sent to, finding yourself in a place where you might not be particularly welcomed, and being expected make a life for yourself.  I'm tired just thinking about it, imagine living it day by day.  Besides celebrating accomplishments and culture, I think that reading about the experience that diverse authors write about not only educates, but it is also a way for kids to develop empathy for the struggles of others.

5- This has been a real eye-opening experience.  Unfortunately, I had some asthma issues at the beginning of May that set me way behind as far as posting about the books I read.  I still have to write about American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, Ticket to India and Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai, which will come later.

FYI:  Other books I have read and posted that are by authors who are are either Asian American or Pacific Islanders about include:

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai  

Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly   

The Name Jar written by Yangsook Choi   

My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits 

Juna's Jar by Jane Bahk

Paper Son: Lee's Journey to America by Helen Foster James and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh,

Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn

Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look 

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin 

Maggie’s Chopsticks by Alan Woo 

Chinatown by William Low 

Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions by Lenore Look 

The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord

Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Aswani  

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman 
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidler
Bombay Blues by Tanuja Desai Hidier 

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed 

The Thing about Luck by Cynthia Kadohata 

Dust of Eden by Mariko Nagai

Citizen 13660 by Miné Okubo