Set in contemporary Seattle with a Suquamish/Duwamish protagonist, Day (Upper Skagit) highlights a historical injustice by writing a book a kid might actually enjoy reading. No mean task. I think I may have devoured it entirely in one sitting.
Review of the Day: Mr. Nogginbody Gets a Hammer by David Shannon
September 6, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I don’t know what it took to make Mr. Nogginbody come into the world, but whatever confluence of the planets allowed this madcap exercise in increasing hijinks to happen, I say let’s have more of it! In a sea of picture books that remain unmemorable five minutes after you’ve read them, Mr. Nogginbody hits the nail on the head. Hard.
In Translation: The Marvelous Translated Picture Books of 2019 (So Far)
September 4, 2019 by 6 Comments
I believe I’ve noticed a significant uptick in translations recently. To what do I owe this marked increase? Whatever the case, I like what I’m seeing. I particularly like what I’m seeing on today’s list of titles so sit back and enjoy some international fare that’s truly worth locating.
Happy Book Birthday, Great Santa Stakeout!
September 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Folks, I like self-promotion just about as much as I like yanking hanks of hair out of my head. But look, I can promote a book a lot better when I have someone as magnificent as Dan Santat in my corner. Today, I am pleased as punch to announce the publication of my brand spanking new picture book THE GREAT SANTA STAKEOUT! Is it too early for Christmas?
Review of the Day: Up Verses Down by Calef Brown
August 29, 2019 by Leave a Comment
By my thinking you can never have enough nonsense taking up residence in a human brain. Calef Brown’s latest just proves it.
Review of the Day: Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
August 15, 2019 by
Good news. I know exactly what to do with this particular middle school book. You need to weigh it down with awards, so many that it can no longer stand under its own weight and is forced to stagger to the display unit that stands front and center in the library where all the best books go. Then, and only then, will it have found its true home.
Review of the Day: Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe
August 9, 2019 by
There’s something going on in this book. A wry, whipsmart, funny tale that actually may have a thing or two to say about female empowerment. Or not? It’s easy to read too much into this book, but I’d say it’s also just as easy to read into it everything that you need it to be. Intelligent writing for kids that will not just appeal but engage and entice.
The Best So Far: 2019 Picture Book Biographies Done Exceedingly Well
August 7, 2019 by
How have I not done this round-up yet?!? It’s baffling that I’ve waited this long, particularly when you take into account the sheer overwhelming number of picture book bios of exceeding beauty and charm we’ve been privy to in 2019. Here then, are some of the titles that have caught my eye (so far) this year.
Review of the Day: Magic Ramen by Andrea Wang, ill. Kana Urbanowicz
August 1, 2019 by
Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando looks like a simple tale about the man who invented instant ramen, but look closer and you’ll see that what the book truly is is a paean to the necessity of failure, the beauty of persistence, and the pleasure that comes after messing up 99 times only to get it right on the 100th.
Review of the Day: Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women retold by Kate Forsyth, ill. Lorena Carrington
July 25, 2019 by
Why not crank things up a notch and hand a kid a collection of fairy tales full of strong, clever, wily female characters that have to use their brains? If you’ve waited for such a collection, brimming over with strange stories and illustrated with even stranger art, this is the book you didn’t know you deserved until it arrived. Fairytale feminism, old school style.
Review of the Day: Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis
July 12, 2019 by
There are kids out there that like comics and like realism and have long been starved for illustrated stories of the past. Hand them this book, and then hand it to all the science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts too, because this is a book for everyone. Impossible to forget, undeniable in its delights.
Review of the Day: A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
July 5, 2019 by
Lisa Moore Ramée has taken the complexity of the real world, with all its police shootings and racism and destructive tendencies and made it personal for young readers. I don’t care what kid you hand this book to. Every single one of them will understand what’s going on here and, maybe, what’s going on in the wider world. The new required reading.
Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books: Some of the Best of 2019
July 2, 2019 by
Meet the most necessary and least loved age range of children’s books.I have been carefully combing through every last easy book and early chapter book I could get my grubby little hands on and, with the help of my co-workers, I’ve come up with a good, if imperfect, list.
Review of the Day: My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, ill. Zeke Peña
June 29, 2019 by
Children are forever being picked up and taken to new locations without their input or consent. In today’s book review, you can see a kid taking the initiative. A father/daughter tale unlike any other out there today.
Review of the Day: Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis
June 20, 2019 by
Appealing to older and younger readers alike, Portis has outdone herself with the book’s design and art. A book for everybody. After all, who doesn’t like water? Hey, Portis! You made a really good book.
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