Make Way for Ducklings written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have decided to start a family and are flying around, looking for just the right place in which to raise their ducklings. The woods just might be full of foxes and turtles, and that wouldn't do for raising ducklings.

The prospective parents flew into Boston, circling the Public Garden. This looked like just the right spot to build a nest, even though there wasn't full in the way of food to be found in the pond. Well, at least, not until the Swan Boat sailed by and everyone began to feed Mr. and Mrs. Mallard peanuts. But as soon as they leave the pond, they are almost hit by kids on bikes, and change their minds about the Public Garden.

Flying over Boston, they spot an island in the Charles River, and ultimately decide to give that a go. They build a nice nest, just right for their eight eggs. Things go well, but when the couple swim across the river and try to cross a street, there is too much traffic. Luckily, a kind policeman, Michael, comes to their rescue and the three become friends.

When the eight eggs hatch, and Mrs. Mallard is very busy with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Quack, Pack, and Quack, Mr. Mallard decides he wants to explore the rest of the river. He tells Mrs. Mallard to meet him in a week at the Public Garden.

Mrs. Mallard teaches her ducklings what they need to know about swimming, diving, walking in a line and what to watch out for. After a week has passed, the family sets off to meet up with Mr. Mallard in the Public Garden.

The little family runs into heavy traffic, but luckily Michael, their old policemen friend, is there to help them on their way. Eventually, they get to the Public Garden, find Mr. Mallard and decide that the park is a jolly spot to live in and raise Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Quack, Pack, and Quack.

Make Way for Ducklings was written in 1941, and after 76 years, it is still a loved by kids and adults alike. It is one of my personal favorites from childhood and I still have my copy. It is just such a feel good, comfort read and it is a wonderful read aloud that kids never seem to get tired of.

The sepia illustrations really capture the movement of the ducks, as they navigate Boston. There is lots of while space on each page, allowing for kids to speculate and make predictions. I love the expressions on the little duckling faces, which are so varied, giving each one its own personality. Perhaps that is because McCloskey studied them so closely while working on Make Way for Ducklings, and small wonder that McCloskey won the Caldecott Medal in 1942 it.

A few years ago, I took a children's literature walking tour of Greenwich Village led by Leonard Marcus. When we got to the corner of Greenwich Avenue and West 4th Street, he pointed out McCloskey's building (which is actually on West 12th Street, but it's the Village, the streets are a mish-mash). We were told that McCloskey lived there with a roommate, fellow artist, Marc Simont, at the time he was writing Make Way for Ducklings, and was studying the behavior of ducks for this book. Eventually, he bought some ducklings, and kept them in the bathtub, studying them.

Make Way for Ducklings has a very old-fashioned feeling to it, yet the story retains all the enjoyment today as it did in 1941. It is playful enough that the old look to cars, the people, even to the police only add to the pleasure of the story.

This book recommended for readers age 3+
This book was bought for my personal library

If you go to Boston, be sure to visit the Public Garden, where there is a statue of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings. People love to dress the ducks up for various reasons. They can be seen wearing Easter bonnets, Red Sox jerseys, Christmas hats, and last week, Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings were sporting little pink hats.

The Year of the Rooster: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Juan Calle

This year, Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival and Lunar New Year, begins today, January 28, 2017 and ends on February 11th with the Lantern Festival. This year, it is the Year of the Rooster, the 10th sign in the Chinese zodiac, and so, it is time for a new tale from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin.

It's a new year and the egg Mama has been keeping warm and safe has finally started to crack. Sure enough, a new rooster is born and his name is Ray. When young Ying arrives to help clean the coop, she and Ray become instant friends, playing in the yard.

One night, Papa wakes Ray up and takes him to his job - waking the town up with his loud, confident "Cock-a-doodle-doo." It is an important job that Ray will one day inherit. But, for now, Ray "Cock-a-doodle-do" is just too weak. On their way home that morning, Papa and Ray meet a pig who claims he has just seen the legendary phoenix and has a feather to prove it. Back home, Ying and Ray are fascinated with the gleaming feather and decide they want to see the phoenix, as well.

Ying and Ray immediately run in a rat, who directs them to a farmers market for the latest news. If you look at the zodiac below, you will easily be able to predict the next animal Ying and Ray meet, and each one after that. As they encounter each animal, they get closer and closer to finding the phoenix, until finally a monkey points to a high mountain and tells them that what they seek lies up there. That night, the two friends climb up the mountain, stopping often and admiring the view, until finally reaching the top. There, Ray gave his first bold "Cock-a-doodle-doo." The phoenix, with blazing eyes and shimmering colorful feathers, tells Ray "You've displayed a fiery spirit and have a bright future ahead."

Ray returns home to the roost with Ying, excited to tell his parents about their adventure on this once in a lifetime trip, and about the nine animals he met along the way, and how he has learned to always respect his place in the pecking order of life. This turns out to be a very Happy Year of the Rooster.

Oliver Chin has a real knack for retelling the ancient Chinese zodiac stories for today's modern reader, and making them fun, energetic and understandable to anyone not already familiar with the tales, as well as those who are. And once again, the tales are totally supported by artist Juan Calle's dynamic, colorful illustrations.

One of the nice things about Chin's zodiac tales is that they are all written in English and Chinese using simplified characters. When my Kiddo visited this month, she read the story in Chinese aloud to me and we both enjoyed it very much (even though I only understood a few words). But it is nice to know that the tales match in both languages.

This is Oliver Chin's 12th book retelling tales from the Chinese Zodiac, even though The Year of the Rooster is the 10th animal on the zodiac. My young readers found this a little confusing, so we printed out the zodiac chart below to keep track of the animals that Ying and Ray meet, and to understand the "pecking order" better, with the Rat being the first sign:

Reading The Year of the Rooster made me curious to know how the dates of the Spring Festival determined. I knew it was based on the lunar calendar, but what determines the exact fifteen days. Turns out to be pretty simple: the first day of the Lunar New Year begins with the new moon that falls between January 21st and February 20th and ends on the full moon 15 days later.

Were you born in a year of the rooster? People born in the year of the rooster are independent, bright, and ambitious. But, alas, they are also selfish, narrow-minded, and critical.

The Year of the Rooster is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was provided to me by the publisher, Immedium

祝好运、健康、佳肴伴你度过一个快乐新年

Good Luck, Good Health, Good Cheer and Pass a Happy New Year

Multicultural Children's Book Day has finally arrived! Read Your World!

Welcome to our 4th Multicultural Children's Book Day! Here's how to celebrate:

1. Link up your diversity book reviews
 
2. Win diversity book bundles at our Twitter Party tonight! We're giving away 100+ children's books from 9pm to 10pm EST. RSVP here. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld.
 
3. Get your a copy of Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children's Books for Parents and Educators. It's FREE today through January 31st!

Book Reviewers: Please link up your book reviews here. We have set up FOUR linkys so you can add your blog review based whether your review is on a BLOG, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, or YOUTUBE.

Diverse Picture Book Reviews

It's coming! 

That's right, on Friday, January 27, 2017 we will once again celebrate Multicultural Children's Book Day, a day to share the many wonderful diverse children's books available to young readers. As a co-host, I will be here with a linkup for participants to post their diverse book posts. As part of this tremendous day, I received some books from one of our platinum-level sponsors:

First up:

The Granddaughter Necklace by Sharon Dennis Wyeth,

illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic, 2013, 32 pages, age 6+

As she is being tucked in for the night, Sharon admires her mother's shiny bead necklace. Her mother, Evon, begins telling her the story of the necklace, a precious heirloom that had been handed down from one generation of daughters to another at important moments in their lives. 

Each granddaughter's story is succinctly told, including the day she received the necklace. They begin with Sharon's mother Evon and her grandmother Mildred, back to her great (Cordelia), great (Sallie), great (Frances) grandmother, who came from Ireland to America. Unfortunately, Frances' mother is the only woman whose name is not known. 

What makes this story unique is that there is no mention of the family being bi-racial until you read the Author's Note, in which Wyeth gives a much more detailed explanation. It is based in part on the history of her how family. Within the narrative, readers are only aware that Sharon's family is bi-racial in the illustrations. But if you really pay attention to the illustrations, you will notice that Ibatoulline extends that part of the narrative with his wonderfully detailed acryl-gouache paintings.   

This is a wonderfully positive book about a diverse family that is so nicely connected to their past and proud of who they are. 

Kids are always asked to do a family tree as a class project in elementary school, and this is an ideal text to accompany that lesson. The book not only connects the young Sharon to her past but also to the future, when she gives the necklace to her own daughter. 

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage

by Selina Alko, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic, 2015, 40 pages, 6+

Part of the fight for civil rights that often gets overlooked is the right of people from different races to marry whomever they fall in love with. Alko addresses this important part of the civil rights movement in this picture book about the Loving family. It all began when Richard Loving, a white man, met, fell in love with, and married Mildred Jeter, who was part African American, part Cherokee, in Central Point, Virginia in 1958. They were immediately arrested and imprisoned for "unlawful cohabitation." While they had married in Washington, DC, where interracial marriage was permitted, Virginia was still segregated. But, in the 1960s, things were changing and though it was a long fight for the Lovings and their three children, in 1967, the Supreme Court struck down the state laws the outlawed interracial marriage, and, hopefully, changed things forever.

Alko did an exception job at narrating this difficult but important topic for young readers. Without talking down to them, she makes it clear what happened in age appropriate language, without have to resort to any of the uglier, darker aspects of the Lovings fight. The pencil, paint and collage illustrations done by Alko and her husband Sean Qualls add a warm, light note to the story as well, helping to emphasize that the Loving case was about their love first, and that changing the marriage laws was second.   

Be sure to read the Author's Note, as well as the note about the book's art. Alko has also included Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading for young readers who would like to explore more aspects about the Civil Rights Movement. 

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+

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 villagers enter Ahmad's dark barn trying to guess what the creature is. Since they can't see, each one bases their guess on the one small section of the great animal that they can feel. They spend the rest of the night and early morning arguing, each insisting their guess was the correct one, and missing 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 and all being wrong. 
Javaherbin's retelling of this tale is spot on. I have read other versions, and this is ideal for young readers. There is just the right amount of humor and lightness to not obscure the moral. 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.
Elephant in the Dark is one of my favorite Rumi parables, and it is my hope that we will see more and more of his folktales and poems retold for children.

Zen Socks written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth

Scholastic Press, 2015, 40 pages, age 4+

Stillwater is back in this book that introduces young readers to more Zen philosophical principles. Here, the big furry Zen master teaches his new neighbors, Leo and Molly and their cat Moss, all about kindness, patience and selflessness. When Molly tells Stillwater that she thinks she will be as good a ballerina as her aunt in a day or two, he reminds her that it will take longer and lots of patience and practice. He follows this with the story of a young sword fighter who must also discover the value of practice and patience. Leo wants to play good guy/bad guy robots with Stillwater teaches him sometimes good guys can also be bad when they behave selfishly. Later, the three new friends go to the beach and Stillwater teaches them the value of kindness by saving the starfish that have become stranded on the beach. 

Zen Socks is a book that teaches its lessons as gently as the lovely ink and watercolor illustrations that accompany them. The three behaviors that are highlighted here are important for living a fulfilling, happy life that embraces the good and not so good in all people and for successfully becoming part of the community in which one lives, just as the quiet, wise Stillwater has.

What are some of your favorite diverse books? I invite you to share them with us on Friday, January 27, 2017 on the linkup at will be posted at Multicultural Children's Book Day, as well as on the websites of all the Co-Hosts, including here. 

SEE YOU FRIDAY!

My Favorite Books about Resistance in World War II

When I was writing my dissertation, I spent a lot of time reading books about National Socialism, everything from Hitler's Mein Kampf to the 8 volumes of Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression covering the Nuremberg Trials.  I learned a lot from all that reading, but what it all boiled down to for me is that

Silence is Acceptance 

So, this past Saturday, I put on my walking shoes and my pink hat and joined a few of my fellow New Yorkers for the Women's March. It was called the Women's March, but there were men, women and children, there were people from all walks of life, all economic brackets, all education levels, all races and religions and there was a true feeling of solidarity among the people. It was the first time I have felt any real hope since November.

Still feeling energized when I got home, I went back to a post I had published right after the election on The Children's War and I decided to expand it and repost it here. The post was all the books I have read and reviewed with the theme of resistance in World War II. I have always said that resistance books are one of my favorite kind of stories and I truly believe that resistance can make a difference, that it can bring about real change. I hope you will find these useful. With the exception of two novels, the links included are to my reviews.

1-  Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood
2-  Women Heroes of World War II - The Pacific Theater: 15 Stories of Resistance, Rescue, Sabotage, and Survival by Kathryn J. Atwood
3-  Irena's Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. Mazzeo, adapted by Mary Cronk Farrell
4-  Sky:A True Story of Courage during World War II by Hanneke Ippisch
5-  The Plot to Kill Hitler - Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero by Patricia McCormick
6-  We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
7-  Hidden Like Anne Frank: Fourteen True Stories of Survival by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis
8-  Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent by Pearl Witherington Cornioley
9-  The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with Elizabeth & John Sherrill
10- His Name was Raoul Wallenberg: Courage, Rescue, and Mystery During World War II by Louise Borden
11- Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark by Deborah Hopkinson
12- Women of Valor: Polish Resisters to the Third Reich by Joanne D. Glibert
13- The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose
14- Essie: The True Story of a Teenage Fighter in the Bielski Partisans by Essie Shor and Andrea Zakin

1-   Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

2-   Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin 

3-   The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

4-   The Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova 

5-   Becoming Clementine by Jennifer Niven

6-   Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

7-   Resistance (Book 1); Defiance (Book 2); Victory (Book 3) by Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis

8-   Black Radishes by Susan Lynn Meyer

9-   The Safest Lie by Angela Cerrito

10- The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

11- My Mother's Secret by J.L. Witterick

12- The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

13- Finding Zasha by Randi Barrow

14- Odin's Promise by Sandy Brehl

15- Bjorn's Gift by Sandy Brehl

16- Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw

17- Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig

18- My Brother's Secret by Dan Smith

19- A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson

20- Uncle Misha's Partisans by Yuri Suhl

21- On the Edge of the Fjord by Alta Halverson

22- Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang

23- The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone

Multicultural Children's Book Day - Twitter Party and Book Bundle Giveaways

Please join us for our Multicultural Children's Book Day

Win 1 of 12 Book Bundles! Giving away Book Bundles every 6 minutes!

Twitter Party

Friday, January 27th

9 pm to 10 pm EST

Hashtag: #ReadYourWorld

We will be discussing the state of children's book publishing and giving away diversity book bundles every six minutes! We invite EVERYONE to join us: authors, publishers, parents, caregivers, librarians, KidLit lovers. You don't have to be an author or publisher sponsor to join us! Let's talk about our favorite multicultural and diverse children's books, authors, and illustrators!

How do you join the Twitter party? Just use hashtag #ReadYourWorld to find us. When you tweet, use the hashtag so everyone can find you!

Register below to be able to win!!

Heroes and Heroines

The Book of Heroes: Tales of History's Most Daring Guys

by Crispin Boyer

National Geographic Kids, 2016, 176 pages, age 8+

I've been thinking a lot about heroes and heroines these days. After all, these are the people we look up to, people who have accomplished great thing, led great events, or are or were great leaders, folks who inspire us for one reason or another to be better than we are. Just look at our 44th president. As his term comes to an end, he leaves with the same grace, integrity, intelligence, and class with which he began his presidency back in 2009. Small wonder it is his picture that introduces all the heroes in this book:

Obama isn't your hero? Not to worry, this book is packed with real life heroes in all walks of life. Men who have done the right thing, who are courageous and have even risked everything to do what they did. From Sitting Bull, who fought for the rights and freedom of native peoples, to Nelson Mandala, who spent 27 years in prison for challenging South Africa's discriminatory laws and then, when freed, became it's president, to the firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center attacks, to Captain Sully Sullenberger, who saved the lives of a plane full of passengers when he has to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River after two birds crashed into the plane's engines. After exploring the idea of what makes a hero, the book is divided into eight chapters as follows:
1- Leading Men
2- Legendary Lads
3- Game Changers
4- Heroes for Hire
5- Peace Heroes
6- Action Heroes
7- Inspiring Minds
8- Outstanding Animals
There are copious color and black and white photographs, as well as drawings and other illustrations to accompany each hero. And the variety of heroes included in this book range from world leaders, to sports figures, to literary characters (yes, Harry Potter in included, after all, he fought the evil Voldemort), people who spent their lives working for equality and human rights, scientists who have made our lives better and healthier, spies, warriors, and even some very heroic animals. And it isn't just about men. There are inserts entitled Gutsy Gals that introduce some of the women who are every bit as heroic as the men. The Book of Heroes is an excellent beginning guide for young readers to discover interesting information about people they admire as well as those they are not familiar with. The heroic figures covered in this book are sure to inspire, and to that end, there is a section about how even young readers can be everyday heroes.

The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals

By Stephanie Warren Drimmer

National Geographic Kids, 2016, 176 pages, age 8+

Here is a very relevant book for today's world. As we have learned with the release of the book and movie Hidden Figures, there are a lot of heroic women out there that we just don't know anything about. Well, here is a book that can help remedy that. Following the same format as it's companion book about, this one introduces the reader to a variety of brave women who managed to accomplish so much despite the gender, race, and religious constraints they had to deal with and who were so often erased from history. One of my favorites heroines is Billy Jean King, who not only played and won the famous Battle of the Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs in 1973, but ultimately did so much for women's sports. Malala Yousafzai, who despite being shot by the Taliban for her outspoken opinions about women's right to an education at age 15, has continued to champion for this right. Inspiring people are so important for kids to learn about.  I was also happy to see that two of my heroines that have been so since I was a girl and first read about them are included in this book:

Each person entry is accompanied by either a color or black and while photograph or other form of illustration and drawing, and there is an abundance of them. After an Introduction covering the seven most common traits that make a heroine, the book is divided

into eight chapters as follows:

1- Leading Ladies

2- Gritty Girls

3- Heroines on the Job

4- Legendary Ladies

5- Daring Dames

6- Peace Heroines

7- Ladies in Lab Coats

8- Outstanding Animals

There are a wide variety of women included in this book - reporters who worked on the front lines, women who worked helped break codes in WWII at Bletchley Park, others who helped the poor, the sick and animals who need champions to save them. I liked that Emma Watson was included not because she played Hermione Granger, the smartest student at Hogwarts, but for her work as Global Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. And there is a nice two page spread about Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave, escaped and spent her life helping other slaves escape to freedom. This book is a nice starting point for kids who want to discover inspiring women. This book also ends with a section on how young readers can also become everyday heroines and the very first suggestion is to find more heroines. Let me suggest three women who were not in the book, but who certainly deserve the title inspiring heroines:

Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, the three African American female NASA mathematicians, hidden and segregated despite their contributions.

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge is a weekly celebration of 

nonfiction books hosted by Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

CONGRATULATIONS, KELLY BARNHILL. THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON IS THE WINNER OF  THE 2017 NEWBERY AWARD!

On Sacrifice Day every year, the elders of the Protectorate visits the home of the newest newborn baby, takes it from its willing parents, and leaves it as an offering in the same spot in the forest. It is a ritual that, the Protectorate and all the townspeople believe will keep them safe from the witch who lives in the forest.

Meantime, the witch who lives in the forest prepares to go to the same spot she goes to every year to rescue the baby that has been left there. Not fully understanding why the babies has been left, she nevertheless find a new home for them away from the Protectorate. Then, one year, the ritual is interrupted. First, the mother of the sacrifice baby has a fierce love for her new daughter, and doesn't want to relinquish it to the elders. When they take it anyway, she is so distraught, she went mad wand was locked away in a high tower, living under the perhaps too watchful eye of Sister Ignatia.

Meanwhile, the witch, Xan, found the baby in the usual spot. But this baby was different, she had a crescent moon on her forehead, just like her mother had, and it was that such people were special. Xan finds herself rather enchanted by this baby and delays returning to her home so long she runs out of food and is forced to feed her gossamer threads of starlight. But when the moon rose, Xan didn't notice she has feed the baby moonlight and had enmagicked her. Xan names the baby Luna, and decides to her her grandmother.

Luna and Xan lived happily in the witch's home along with Glerk, the ancient bog monster and Fryrian, a tiny dragon, until Luna approached age 13. The witch had already started to feel her age and her magic was weakening, but Luna, who didn't know she had been enmagicked, had magical abilities that were totally out of control.

Back in the Protectorate, a young Protectorate-in-training and nephew of the Grand Elder, Antain, has decided to put an end to the Day of Sacrifice. He has been haunted by what happened when Luna was taken from her mother, and since his baby is the next sacrifice, he makes a plan to hide in the forest on Sacrifice Day to kill the witch. Luna's-grief stricken mother has remained locked up in a tower, but now she manages to escape, convinced that her daughter is alive somewhere in the forest. Luna, afraid something has happened to Xan, who has gone to pick up that years baby, decides to follow her through the forest. How this all plays out is the stuff of great middle grade fantasy.

I began reading The Girl Who Drank the Moon and simply could not put it down. It was just that good.  There are all kinds of twists and turns, secrets and truths, questions and delayed answers, but it all plays out so well. Luna is a charming preadolescent going through all the usual changes but complicated by her being enmagicked and not knowing it.

Xan is a wonderful grandmotherly character, so misunderstood by the people in the Protectorate. But now she is getting on in years, more than 500 hundred years old now, and her memory isn't what it used to be, which leads so some to the plot twists in the story, and she just hasn't much gotten around to dealing with Luna's magic, a big complication.

While all the right fantasy tropes are here, right down to the seven league boots, and the tale as a whole has the feel of a favorite old classic. The story of Luna and Xan is framed by a narrator telling it to a child, and seamlessly interrupting the flow of the story to make a point or two for the benefit of the readers (and her young listener). It is somewhat of a dark, sinister story, particularly the part about Luna's birth mother, but the darkness is tempered by light moment and humor, particularly from Glerk and Fryian, and Luna's uneducated moments of magic.

I do think that the book could have used a little more editing, some parts are too long, other times there is repetition, but those are minor points. On the other hand, the story is original, the writing is energetically intimate, and yet conversational at the same time, and the narrator is so very very wonderfully unreliable. Primary and secondary characters form an intriguing cast of characters, and the themes of family and love never gets lost.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon proves to be wonderful book for fantasy fans, or anyone else looking for a darn good read.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Algonquin Books

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay

***Contains Spoilers***

Set in a small English town, Conor O'Malley, 13, is a boy with a recurring nightmare. Each night, he dreams of trying to save his mother, he loses his grip and she slips away from him. The dream is a reflection of his waking life - his mother is ill with terminal cancer, and she is slipping away from Conor day by day. But Conor refuses to believe that she won't get better, no matter what is said to him or what he sees happening to his mum.

And it doesn't help that at school, ever since his mother's illness began, former friends avoid Conor, teachers overlook him and the school bully isolates him, leaving Conor to feel alienated, invisible and abandoned by everyone.

One night, as Conor wakes from his nightmare, at precisely 12:07, he hears someone calling his name outside. Getting up, Conor sees the giant Yew tree that has been overlooking the graves in the churchyard for hundreds of years, outside his window. Once outside, the monster-sized tree is surprised that Conor isn't afraid of him, but assures him that he will be. But how could this monster possibly scare a boy who knows worse monsters already?

The next day, convinced it was all a dream, Conor is surprised to find leaves and twigs on his bedroom floor. But that night, at exactly 12:07, the monster is once again outside Conor's window. Insisting that it was Conor calling him that made him go walking again, the monster also tells Conor that he will tell him three parables, and when he is finished, Conor will tell a fourth story, his own story, and that it must be the truth or he will eat Conor alive.

The very next day, Conor's cold, disagreeable, overbearing grandmother arrives at the house to take care of his mum. That night the monster returns, and tells Conor the first parable about a prince, the prince's love and the queen, his stepmother. Not liking the way the parable end, Conor discounts it. The next day, when he is bullied again, Conor turns on the girl who tries to help him, and lets her take the fall for trying to help him.

As his mother's cancer gets worse, and it becomes clear that the new round of chemotherapy isn't helping, she is hospitalized and Conor's grandmother insists he come live with her, since Conor's parents are divorced and his father is living in the United States with his new family.

Not happy at his grandmother's, Conor arrives home from school angry and destroys his grandmother's clock, a family heirloom, and everything else in the room. That night at 12:07, the monster appears in his grandmother's backyard and tells Conor his second parable about an apothecary who refuses to help save a parson's daughters who are ill. Not liking the ending, Conor again discounts the parable. When his grandmother sees the ruined room, instead of punishing him, she stops speaking to Conor, rendering him invisible.

The next night the monster returns at 12:07 and tells Conor his third parable, about a man who was invisible because people refused to see him. At school the next day, Conor confronts to boy who has been bullying him and beats him up.

In fact, each time the monster tells a parable, Conor disagrees with the ending, and yet, he acts them out the next day. And it is only after he has caused pain and destruction, that he realizes what he has done. And true to his promise, the monster returns for the fourth story, Conor's truth. And, as difficult as his truth is for Conor to speak, it will no doubt surprise you.

Patrick Ness has done something really different in A Monster Calls; in the parables, he has the monster tell them in such a way, that the characters aren't either good or bad, but a combination of both, just as what Conor is struggling with in his nightmare is a combination of grief and guilt.

A Monster Calls is one of the most honest books I have ever read. It is difficult to recognize Conor's pain, but it soon becomes obvious that no one, not even his mother, wants Conor to know how bad things are. What is really sad, is that the well-intentioned people around Conor are the ones who created the nightmare but not addressing his mother's illness honestly. Only his assertive grandmother is willing to address what will happen to him when his mother is gone (not a spoiler, it's clear from the start mom is dying). And it is the job of the monster to help Conor find and admit his truth, so that the business of healing can begin, allowing the story to end on a hopeful note.

A word about the exquisitely rendered illustrations by Jim Kay. They are as dark as any nightmare, yet if you look at the closely and carefully they reveal more that you might realize. If ever there were illustrations that perfectly supported the text and themes of a story, this is definitely it. Though they were digitally rendered, the final illustrations were sketched over and over again before they were done.

My favorite

A Monster Calls is a powerful story about guilt, love, loss, and grief as only Patrick Ness could write.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Candlewick Press

The yew tree/monster plays a big roll in A Monster Calls. A yew tree can live as long as 1,000 years and really are often found in church graveyards.  If you would like to know something more about them, including their mythological connections, you can find information on the website of the Ancient Yew Organization

Now that the movie is out, I was tempted to include the trailer for it, but instead I decided to include the original book trailer, after all, that's what I reviewed here:

It's Monday! What are you reading? A Snow Day Picture Book Roundup

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

What to do on a snow day?  Read snow books, of course.

Snowballs written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR, 1995, 40 pages, age 4+

A family has been waiting for snow for a while now, collecting all kinds of odds and ends for when the big snowfall arrives. And finally - snow, enough snow for all kinds of snowballs. First up is a snow dad, then a snow mom, a cool snow boy, a snow girl, a round snow baby, and finally, a snow cat and a spotted snow dog. But these are ordinary snow people and pets - they are decorated with all those colorful, carefully collected odds and ends. Dad wears a Bolivian hat, mom sports a Guatemalan purse, and there's a felt heart, toy wheel ears, button spots of the dog. In fact, there is a two page spread to show young readers just what and how everything was used. But, uh-oh, the sun has come out and you know what happens to snow people and pets when it warms up - the same fate as Frosty. 

But what is snow, and what makes it snow, anyway? Turn the page and find out. And don't forget the recipe for some really yummy looking popcorn balls on the jacket flap decorated to look like - what else? A snowman. Each collaged snow person and pet gets its own two page spread. They are from cut paper shapes, and decorated. Besides the odds and ends, there are raisins, sunflower seeds, corn kernels, twigs and all kinds of fun thing found in nature. This is a fun book to read, whether it's snowing outside or not, and it's chockablock with great ideas for your next snow person - whether made of paper or snow.

Before Morning written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR, 2016, 48 pages, age 4+

An ordinary cold winter's day, a walk through the park and along the street with mom and the dog, eating dinner as a family with mom and dad, mom reading a bedtime story, then folding the laundry before she leaves for work as an airplane pilot...But maybe, just this once, if it is said just the right way and using just the right words, a wished for snowstorm might just bring mom back home. Written in rhyme, Sidman employed the literary device of invocation for expressing the young girl's wish for snow and her mom's return: "Let the air turn to feathers/the earth turn to sugar/and all that is heavy/be light." What is invocation? Sidman includes a note On Wishes and Invocations. How powerful are words? she asks, and what would you wish for? I loved that it is the mom who is the pilot, and the dad who stays home with their daughter. Beth Krommes watercolor illustrations done on scratchboard in a palette of wintery browns, golds, and blues with touches of other color (like winter itself). Using the scratchboard technique really gives each illustration so much depth and texture. This is a charming story where the art and the rhyme really come together so beautifully in this heartwarming family story.

Snow by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman

Random House BFYR, 1962, 2014, 61 pages, age 4+

Snow is an oldie, but a goodie. It has been a favorite of beginning readers in my house since I began reading, and served my Kiddo well, too. In between, it was passed around from cousin to cousin until the original fell apart and a new one was needed. Written in a simple rhyme, two children and their dog play in the snow - sledding, throwing snowballs, making a snow house and having a snowy picnic in it, and finally building a great big snowman. But when the snow melts, the kids and their dog aren't ready to say good-bye to it. What to do? Why, save some in the refrigerator for another day. (This book inspired me to make a mini snowman who lived in our freezer for a few years, until my mom forgot abut him spring cleaning one year.) If this books rhyme reminds you of Dr. Seuss, it may be because he did have a hand in the editing of Snow. 

First Snow written and illustrated by Bomi Park

Chronicle Books, 2016, 40 pages, age 2+

While the world is sleeping, it begins to snow. A small girl hears it, sees it and puts on her snowsuit, hat and red scarf. In the yard, she makes a snowball and starts to roll it, followed behind by a small white puppy. The girl rolls and rolls her snowball, which grows and grows, going past some houses, and into the county, then, alongside a speeding train, through the woods and all the animals living there, finally arriving at a field full of other children building snowmen. But in the morning, outside the girl's house, stands a long snowman wearing a familiar red scarf. Was this all a dream? a wish? real? Young readers are left to decide for themselves. There is spare, simple text, making it ideal for the beginning reader, and the soft illustrations offer much to talk about. The illustrations were done on textured paper, with a variety of mediums, including acrylic paint and ink pastels, Park has really captured the beauty and gentleness of snow falling at night and the wonder of waking up to see it. This is such a magical story about the first snowfall of the winter. 

The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear, pictures by Chris Turnham

Chronicle Books, 2016, 40 pages, 3+

Even though his older brother and sister told Charles there was no such thing as a wish tree, he was still determined to find it. With the whole day ahead of him and armed with his trusty sled, Boggan, Charles goes off to the woods to find the wish tree. Along the way, he meets a squirrel who needs help getting his hazelnuts to his home, a beaver who needs help getting wood his lodge, a fox who needs to get berries to her burrow, and a whole bunch of other woodland creatures needing help. Charles and his Boggan help them all and before he knows it, the day is gone, and it begins to snow. When a very tired Charles falls asleep on Boggan, the animals gather to pull them to the wish tree. After hanging his wish on the tree, Charles sits down to a celebration feast with the animals until it is time to go home. Yes, this story is a fantasy, which is good cause we don't want our kids going into the woods alone, or walking on the frozen pond (but these two things offer a good opportunity to discuss with kids why they should NOT imitate Charles). Whimsical digitally created illustrations, repetition, and onomatopoeia makes this a fun book for young readers.

Bunny Slopes written and illustrated by Claudia Rueda

Chronicle Books, 2016, 60 pages, age 4+

Bunny really wants to go skiing, but needs some help from his young readers in this interactive story. First of all, there is no snow, so Bunny asks his readers to shake the book to make it snow. Then, he needs the book tilted so he can ski downhill. Finally, everything is perfect, that is, Bunny even manages to avoid a hole in the ground, well, the first one, anyway. The second hole catches Bunny by surprise, but there's an even bigger surprise when he lands in his own bunny hole and his mom has a nice cup of hot cocoa waiting for him - all's well that ends well. Kids will enjoy helping Bunny with his ski day, shaking, tilting, and turning the book around and around. The simple digital and charcoal illustrations in a palette of snow white and icy blue with a touch of red add charm to the story, especially give Bunny's sweet face.

What are your favorite snow day books to read while staying warm and cozy?

Why didn't I include the iconic The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats? Check out my first day of winter post that includes more that wonderful book and other fun Snow Day books:

Happy First Day of Winter

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This Is Where It Ends is, quite simply, about a mass school shooting that happens on the first day of the new semester, a day that begins just like every new semester begins. There is an assembly with most of the school present, where Principal Trenton is giving her usual speech to students who basically aren't listening. It is only when the students try to leave the auditorium and discover they can't open the doors that this ordinary school day takes a tragic turn.

Opportunity High School is located in a remote part of the town by the same name, reached by one two-lane road, and surrounded by a forest and some fields. The grounds are patrolled by one security guard name Jonah. Near the school building is a track where students Claire Morgan and her friend Chris are practicing on this particular morning. Two other students, Tomás Morales and his friend Fareed have just broken into Principal Trenton's office to look at another student's file when they hear footsteps approaching the office door, then leaving. Tomás' twin sister Sylv Morales and her girlfriend Autumn Browne are about to leave the auditorium when they see Autumn's brother Tyler standing in the shadow by one of the exits. As the word 'gun' floats towards them, the first shot is fired directly at Principal Trenton.  Opportunity High School is under siege by a well-armed Tyler.

The story, which covers only 54 minutes, is told from four different points of view - Claire, Autumn, Sylv, and Tomás. Each one has had a relationship with Tyler and each has a reason to fear him now, including his sister. Their past relationships with Tyler are recounted in flashbacks that reveal a young man on a downward spiral after the sudden death of his mother, resulting in anger, verbal cruelty, betrayal and physical abuse. These four narrators also provide an intimate narrative of what was going on both inside and outside the auditorium and why the police didn't respond sooner, including why no cell phones were used to call them as is usual in school shootings these days.

This Is Where It Ends must surely have been a difficult kind of book to write, and on the whole, I thought it was done well. You can't pigeon-hole the type of person who commits this kind of terrible act, nor how the victims of a school shooting will react. And I think Marieke Nijkamp did a great job capturing the fear the students felt, the carnage that these shooting result in and the shooter's motivation.

I know a lot of people were disappointed by the book, especially because Nijkamp is a founding member of the We Need Diverse Book movement. Schools all over the country are more diverse than they were years ago, and the characters in this novel do reflect that diversity. Autimn and Sylv are a leabian couple, Tomás and Sylv are Hispanic, and Fareed is an Afghan Muslim. Some readers seem to think that Fareed was a surface character, merely there as a token for the sake of diversity. I felt that after the shooting began, he was the one who kept the most level head, and I thought that perhaps his rationality came from his experience living in war-torn Afghanistan before moving to the US. But that is just speculation on my part.

This was a difficult book for me to read, which is why it took me a year to read after getting the book from NetGalley. We suffered a great loss in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting when my cousin's 7 year old son was killed there. I really believe that as school and other mass shootings become more frequent, the need to understand and talk about them becomes greater. Book like This Is Where It Ends will hopefully go far in helping to start those difficult conversations.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

If you would like to find out more about about some of the things that can be done to prevent school shootings, be sure to visit Sandy Hook Promise.

Amanda on the Danube: The Sounds of Music by Darlene Foster

When Amanda Ross, 12, and her family are invited to join her friend Leah Anderson and Leah's family on a cruise down the Danube River as it wanders through Germany, Austria, and Hungary, she jumps at the chance. Amanda is quite the traveler, having already visited Arabia, Spain, England, where Leah lives, and Alberta, Canada, where Amanda lives.

The cruise ship, called The Sound of Music, begins the Danube tour in Nuremberg, Germany. The two friends are sharing a cabin, and there is a cute cruise director, Michael, to help them get oriented. After a morning tour, packed with information about Nuremberg, Amanda and Leah go off on their own to visit the stalls in the market.

No sooner are they alone, when Amanda is summoned between two stalls by what she thinks is the same young boy with curly blond hair she had just seen playing his violin in from of one of the city's famous sights. Except now he looks rather shabby and has a badly bleeding thumb. He begs Amanda to take his violin back to the ship for safe keeping, promising to meet up with her in Vienna.

No sooner do the two girls walk away, when a familiar looking young boy with curly blond hair tries to pull the violin out of Amanda's hand. The girls make it back to the ship with it, but it soon becomes clear that someone wants the violin very badly. But who and why is a mystery. And why does the boy with curly blond hair keep showing up?

Back on the ship, the girls meet Claus Schmidt, who could be a Santa look alike with his big bushy white beard and rather large stomach, and his wife Enid. On their next stop, Regensburg, after the morning tour, Amanda and Leah stop into a shop where they run into Klaus and his nephew, Sebastian, a familiar looking boy with curly blond hair. No sooner are they gone, when the boy who gave Amanda the violin shows up with his thumb bandaged and asks if she still has his violin. And then Leah is hit by a boy on a skateboard who looks suspiciously like Sebastian.

It doesn't take long for Amanda to figure out everyone, perhaps even Klaus and his wife, is interested in the violin she is hiding. But why? It is a mystery Amanda is determined to solve, especially after the boy who gave it to her disappears.

This is the 5th book in the Amanda Travels series, a series that is new to me. Amanda seems to find a mystery to solve in each country she visits, and Germany is no different. Mixed in with the mystery, however, is a whole lot of information about the country visited, along with some wonderful descriptions of the landscape along the Danube River.

Amanda is a very likable, realistic contemporary character, curious about her surroundings and the places she visits. Leah was somewhat annoying in this book, and I can't speak for the four previous stories since I haven't read them yet, but she is always texting, even finagling her father out of his phone on the pretense of taking pictures after he took hers away so she could continue texting her friends back in London.

This is such a well-written, well researched book for middle grade fans of mysteries. It is a fast-paced adventure, with lots of action and believable secondary characters. And it is just dark and sinister enough to satisfy any young reader. After reading Amanda on the Danube, I bought another book in this series, Amanda in London, which I am looking forward to reading soon, and I am also curious to see where Amanda and Leah are off to in the next book in the Amanda Travels series.

Amanda's previous adventures

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was provided to my by the publisher, Central Avenue Publishing

2016 Cybils Finalists

The 2016 Cybils finalists were announced on January 1, 2017. Each year, the Cybils awards are given to books for children and teens in a number of different categories, all of which have been read and discussed by first and second round judges. You will find a list of all the finalists here.

Once again, I am a Middle-Grade Fiction round two judge and my reading assignment includes these finalists and I can't wait to begin:

Full of Beans 
Jennifer L. Holms
Random House BFYR

Ghost 
Jason Reynolds
Atheneum BFYR

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
Joseph Marshall
Amulet

Ms. Bixby's Last Day
John David Anderson
Walden Pond Press

Save Me a Seat
Sarah Weeks and
Gita Varadarajan
Scholastic

Slacker
Gordon Korman
Scholastic

Some Kind of Happiness
Claire Legrand
Simon & Schuster



The winners of the Cybils awards will be announced on February 14, 2017. My reviews of all these books will follow that announcement.