Month: February 2020

Unicorns 101

Unicorns 101Unicorns 101 by Cale Atkinson
Published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers on September 3, 2019
ISBN: 1984830368
Pages: 26
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Are any of your patrons interested in learning EVERYTHING about unicorns? This is a silly take on a course about everything you need to know about unicorns. It’s divided into sections, with each section focusing a bit on some part of a unicorn. Colorful illustrations with hidden jokes cover each page. The book ends with a unicorn scientist certification, and the author’s biography on the back flap also talks about his studies in hornology. The cover has glitter on it, giving it that extra-special touch. For your unicorn-obsessed patrons who can’t get enough.

Reviewed by Samantha Cote, Windham Public Library, Windham

four-stars

Look Again: Secrets of Animal Camouflage

Look Again: Secrets of Animal CamouflageLook Again: Secrets of Animal Camouflage by Robin Page, Steve Jenkins
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on July 2, 2019
ISBN: 1328850943
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Steven Jenkins and Robin Page hit it out of the park again in this book about animal camouflage. There will be a two-page spread describing the type of environment some animals might hide in, with cut-paper illustrations of a hidden animal. The following two-page spread will show the animal, identify where it is in the picture, and give a little bit of information. There is also usually a scale illustration, but there isn’t an indication of whether it is to scale of an adult or child. Full body shots appear to be adults, but the hand shots seem to be ambiguous. The end of the book gives more information about each animal.

Patrons who love animal books or cut-paper illustrations will love this title. Best for ages 6-10.

Reviewed by Samantha Cote, Windham Public Library, Windham

four-stars

A is for Audra: Broadway’s Leading Ladies from A to Z

A is for Audra: Broadway’s Leading Ladies from A to ZA is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A to Z by John Robert Allman, Peter Emmerich
Published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers on November 12, 2019
ISBN: 0525645403
Pages: 48
Genres: Biography/Autobiography
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Hello, Dolly! Is this a great collection of some of the most talented leading ladies to hit Broadway over the years. Sometimes the actress’s first name is used for the alphabet letter, sometimes the last name, and sometimes it’s a character that multiple women have played. (such as Dolly in Hello, Dolly!) One instance (Z), does take a letter from the middle of a name so we end with Liza Minnelli. I love Emmerich’s illustrations, which often use props and the most famous costumes from stage productions. There are two men mentioned, Bob Fosse and Stephen Sondheim. Part of me wishes they had stuck to only women, but I also appreciated the roles highlighted, so that’s a bit of a mixed bag.

This is likely not a book you will read during storytime to teach the alphabet, but would be better with older children who are interested in musical theater or by parents who want to share their love with their children. Short biographies of each featured performer are included at the end. The target audience is likely ages 7-12.

Reviewed by Samantha Cote, Windham Public Library, Windham

four-stars

Blood Heir

Blood HeirBlood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy, #1) by Amélie Wen Zhao
Published by Delacorte Press on November 19, 2019
ISBN: 0525707794
Pages: 455
Genres: Fantasy, Folklore, Horror, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

A YA fantasy set in a world that reminds me of historical Russia. The main characters are a princess and a con man who are both trying to hide from their pasts and their feeling towards each other. I would recommend this book to teens 14-19 who don’t mind a little bit of gore mixed in with their romance. If gore isn’t their kind of thing then I would steer them away from this choice.  Also, I would like to take a second to address the controversy surrounding this book. Before this book was published some reviewers found this book to be racists and posted online reviews saying as much. This led to people boycotting the book and partaking in online bullying of the author. I read this book and did not find it to be racist or offensive. This of course is just my opinion but I will definitely be adding it to the library’s collection.

Reviewed by Sophie Gagnon, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta

four-stars

Tito the Bonecrusher

Tito the BonecrusherTito the Bonecrusher by Melissa Thomson
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on March 5, 2019
ISBN: 0374303533
Pages: 240
Genres: Humor
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

“Tito the Bonecrusher” is a standalone novel by Melissa Thomson. Oliver’s father is sent to jail and Oliver’s sister is very upset that he is breaking his promise to come to her graduation (since he’s incarcerated). Oliver and his friends come up with a wacky plan to get the attention of his favorite former wrestler/now action movie star, Tito the Bonecrusher, so that he can help Oliver break his father out of jail.

Humorous events occur while trying to bring his family back together. Themes of family, forgiveness, and grief follow throughout the novel. Oliver and his friends go through several unsuccessful schemes while trying to get Tito’s attention. By the end, Oliver and his family are closer and there is a satisfying and somewhat realistic ending.

Aimed at kids aged 8 to 11, “Tito the Bonecrusher” is a good purchase for large middle grade collections where humorous books are popular.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.

four-stars

All in a drop

All in a dropAll in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World by Lori Alexander, Vivien Mildenberger
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on August 6, 2019
ISBN: 1328884201
Pages: 96
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This is a well written and very accessible biography of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, the “grandfather of microbiology.” An uneducated man with a strong curiosity of the world around him, van Leeuwenhoek crafted the most sophisticated microscopes of his time. He was the first to observe many things in the microscopic world, including the presence of life in water. This book does a good job of providing important information without overloading the reader. The illustrations are colorful, provide additional context, and help break things up and make this book more accessible to younger readers. There are also actual photos of microscopic organisms, though it would have been better to have only photos of microbes rather than artist renderings. Interspersed throughout the text about van Leeuwenhoek’s life are pages with relevant historical information about things such as disease, the role of women in daily life, etc. Overall, this biography is very well done and written appropriately for the audience. Hand this book to curious kids and budding scientists, 3rd grade and up. They won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

Mulan

MulanMulan: The Legend of the Woman Warrior by Faye-Lynn Wu, Joy Ang
Published by HarperCollins on September 10, 2019
ISBN: 0062803417
Pages: 32
Genres: Folklore
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This is a retelling of the classic Chinese folktale, The Ballad of Mulan. Mulan pretends to be a boy so she can fight in the army in place of her ailing father. The illustrations are colorful and well done, but there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about this book. It’s not bad, it just didn’t wow me. The story is a classic, and children will relate to hearing the familiar tale. This book would be good for Pre-K – 2nd grade and perhaps older kids too. It’s best shared one-on-one, or it could be a read aloud with an older crowd. It would be fun to pair with a showing of the movie.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

three-stars

The Seekers

The SeekersThe Seekers by Deepti Nair, Hari Panicker
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on August 6, 2019
ISBN: 1524701521
Pages: 40
Genres: Folklore
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This book is simply gorgeous. The handmade cut paper diorama illustrations really make it. They’re bright, bold, detailed, magical, and just beautiful. The story is the legend of the Silver Fox and the Fire Wolf: dueling forces in the natural world that balance each other out to promote harmony. When villagers become greedy, this balance is upset, and the Fire Wolf is given the upper hand. If it weren’t for overly wordy text, this book would get 5 stars from me. The story has a great message about respecting nature and the environment. This is probably best suited for kindergarteners and older, and because it’s longer, is best shared one-on-one. The illustrations could be a bit scary for littler readers, and the story would likely be lost on them.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

Mighty Moe

Mighty MoeMighty Moe: The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women's Running Revolutionary by Kit Fox, Rachel Swaby
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on October 15, 2019
ISBN: 0374311609
Pages: 320
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This book is couched as a biography of Canadian running phenom Maureen Wilton, better known as Mighty Moe. While the book does chronicle her very short running career as a young girl, it is really more of a history of women’s running in general. The entire first half of the book does more talking about other women runners and the restrictive rules about women running long distances. It has a lot of great information about the history of running and will be enjoyed by those already running or those who just love to learn more about the history of the sport. Best for 5th grade and up, it’s a pretty dense book.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

three-stars

River

RiverRiver by Elisha Cooper
Published by Orchard Books on October 1, 2019
ISBN: 133831226X
Pages: 42
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

From Henderson Lake in the Adirondacks, we follow an intrepid canoeist as she traverses the more than 300 miles of the Hudson River all the way to New York City. This book is beautifully illustrated with watercolors that enhance the story and the bring life to the journey. The text takes us through the many adventures of this journey — rapids, camping, town stops, capsizing, etc. This is a fairly long and very detailed picture book so it’s probably best for kids no younger than 1st or 2nd grade, depending on attention spans. The vocabulary is pretty advanced for a picture book as well. It would be best shared as a one-on-one read aloud so you can easily explain vocab words while simultaneously dreaming about a long canoe trip together.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars