2021 turned out to be a remarkably strong year for Nonfiction in general and science/nature in particular. From biologists to topography to the life cycles of clouds and smoke, there’s a little of someone for everyone here.
Review of the Day: While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown
November 19, 2021 by
Waka T. Brown fills her latest book with all the pathos, yearning, frustrations, and humor you might find in a middle grade novel. The important difference? It’s all true. It’s all real. It’s all enthralling.
Review of the Day: Little Witch Hazel, A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl
November 11, 2021 by
A throwback. A sign of picture books to come. In the end, it’s just one of the best books of the year. Here’s hoping there’s more Little Witch Hazel in our future.
Review of the Day – Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon by Sarah Dvojack
November 4, 2021 by
How do you write a bio of someone who was never actually alive? An impressive bio of a symbol that retains her importance even today.
Review of the Day: Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters selected by Dan Sasuweh Jones (Ponca Nation), ill. Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva Nation)
October 21, 2021 by
Got a fear of living dolls, skin-sucking babies, or otters? Don’t worry. You will now.
Review of the Day: Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown
October 17, 2021 by
Today we look at a book about choice. Children’s choices and the choices adults make when faced with their own kids’ curiosity about their bodies and the clothing that goes onto it. I review Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown.
Review of the Day: Chunky by Yehudi Mercado
October 8, 2021 by
Chunky doesn’t really look or act like any of the other comics out there today. It’s good-natured, peppy, dealing with some serious issues but with a light hand.
Review of the Day: Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca
October 1, 2021 by
It is truly rare to find a book like Much Ado About Baseball where math not only propels the plot forward, but also contains perfectly normal, sportsy characters for whom loving math is just one aspect of their personality. Add in baseball, Shakespeare, magic AND snacks and you’ve got yourself a unicorn of a book.
Review of the Day: Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, ill. Loren Long
September 23, 2021 by
Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long have given us a title that is filled up to the brim with dignity. Dignity for the people who actually put their blood, sweat, and tears into making the places and objects we so desperately need to live.
Review of the Day: Race Against Time by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace
September 17, 2021 by
A thoroughly rousing story, deserving of wider acclaim. The package may be lacking but the contents are gold.
Review of the Day: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, ill. Sophie Blackall
September 10, 2021 by
Pairing with the utterly lovely Sophie Blackall, Kate DiCamillo presents us with a story that has all the trappings of a fable, and all the reality of a thoroughly thrilling tale.
Review of the Day: New In Town by Kevin Cornell
September 2, 2021 by
Folks, we live in an era of scam artists so if New in Town is just one of a million tiny answers to the question of how we create a new savvier generation, that’s good enough for me. An exceedingly clever, funny, eye-popping story about not falling for the words of silver tongued devils.
Review of the Day – The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renée Watson, ill. Nikkolas Smith
August 27, 2021 by
“Their story does not begin with whips and chains”. Today I review a marvelous testament to not just the power of reclaiming your own story, but the story of your ancestors as well.
Review of the Day: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
August 20, 2021 by
For the kid that likes their science fiction dark with marvelous villains and a strong core message about individuality, storytelling, and hope, I can’t think of a better book to hand over. A dystopia you’ll be happy to dive into deeply.
Review of the Day: A Tree for Mr. Fish by Peter Stein
August 12, 2021 by
Exceedingly simple with an equally simple message (message: Don’t be rude and loud) you wouldn’t expect A Tree for Mr. Fish to be as wackadoodle as it is. And yet, here we are.
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