How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye?

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye?How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye? by Jane Yolen
Published by Scholastic Incorporated on December 7, 2021
ISBN: 9781338363357
Pages: 40
Genres: Fiction in Verse/Poetry
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

An addition to the popular How Do Dinosaurs…? series. It is hard to say goodbye, whether to a beloved grandparent or to a parent dropping you off at school. Even though you might want to cry or hide, this books gives ideas about how a preschooler can face the situation with honesty and courage. Teague’s colorful larger-than-life illustrations are comical and the final page of a tarbosaurus holding a heart that has “goodbye!” written on it is heartwarming. This is a book to share at story time along with others in the series.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Hooky

HookyHooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on September 7, 2021
ISBN: 9780358468295
Pages: 384
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
three-stars

Apparently this is based on the Webtoon series of the same name. A fantastical story about twin witches Dani and Dorian who have missed the bus to magic school and scramble to find a mentor to teach them before their parents find out. A fast-paced plot will keep upper elementary readers enthralled. Manga-style art matches the atmospheric characters and setting. The ending is a cliffhanger so there are sure to be more books to follow. Longer than many graphic novels at 384 pages.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

 

 

three-stars

Besties: Work It Out

Besties: Work It OutBesties: Work It Out by Jeffrey Canino, Kayla Miller
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on October 19, 2021
ISBN: 9780358633228
Pages: 216
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
four-stars

Series spin-off of the popular Click books, featuring aspiring entrepreneurs Beth and Chanda. The girls land a lucrative dogsitting job, but it quickly turns into a disaster after an accident leaves one of Ms. Langford’s prized lamps broken. The girls scramble to come up with the funds to purchase a replacement, putting a strain on their friendship. The book is primarily about the friendship of tweens  – the good, the bad, and the ugly. The typical graphic novel colorful illustrations bring the characters to life. Middle schoolers who like the other Kayla Miller and Raina Telgemeier books will enjoy it.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

four-stars

See the Dog: Three Stories About a Cat

See the Dog: Three Stories About a CatSee the Dog: Three Stories about a Cat by David LaRochelle
Published by Candlewick Press on September 14, 2021
ISBN: 9781536216295
Pages: 64
Genres: Humor
Format: Early Reader
Goodreads
five-stars

Sequel to See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog,  winner of Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. This one may be even better! Beginning readers will enjoy the three vignettes of Cat subbing for Dog.  This is the perfect easy reader with simple, repetitive phrases, clever plot line, and humor. Mike Wohnoutka’s cartoonish illustrations are a fabulous contribution to the story. This book will appeal to Elephant and Piggie fans. (And who isn’t?!)

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Pony

PonyPony by R. J. Palacio
Published by Random House Children's Books on September 28, 2021
ISBN: 9780553508116
Pages: 304
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Historical Fiction
Format: Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

A rip-roaring adventure, western, historical fiction with paranormal elements. Then there is the mystery about his beloved father’s dark past. Twelve-year-old Silas is awoken in the night by three menacing horsemen who take his father away. Silas is left alone except for the presence of his companion, Mittenwool, who happens to be a ghost. Then a pony shows up and Silas decides to go find his father. Good character development and a strong setting throughout. History, literature, and science of the day are essential to the story so probably best suited for middle school.  Also violence and gore are plentiful, with gunplay, hand-to-hand-combat, grievous wounds, and lost limbs. Multiple characters die. Palacio provides extensive references for further reading in the afterword. Atmospheric daguerreotypes front each chapter.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

There’s A Dodo On The Wedding Cake

There’s A Dodo On The Wedding CakeThere's a Dodo on the Wedding Cake by Kevin Hawkes, Wade Bradford
Published by Candlewick Press on September 8, 2021
ISBN: 1536208841
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals, Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Mr. Snore’s hijinks at the Sharemore Hotel continue in this beautifully illustrated picture book. Hired to play the violin at a wedding, Mr. Snore takes it upon himself to protect the delicious cake from various hungry animals after one particular dodo sneaks away with some frosting. Mr. Snore may, however, take his duties a bit too seriously as he unintentionally bats away actual wedding guests, and maybe even some wedding party members in the process of protecting the cake. All is well in the end, except of course for one final mishap, courtesy of Mr. Snore, but the overall day is still so lovely no one really minds!

A lovely addition to the Sharemore Hotel story, the illustrations in this picture book are dynamic and expressive, while the animals that Mr. Snore interacts with are unique and silly. Expectations are subverted as to who would be a wedding guest, and kids will get a kick out of the reveals at the end. 

This book would be a good choice for ages 0-5. The illustrations are strong and the text is entertaining and engaging. 

Reviewed by Mary Randall, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

four-stars

Weird Kid

Weird KidWeird Kid by Greg Van Eekhout
Published by HarperCollins on July 20, 2021
ISBN: 0062970607
Pages: 208
Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Mystery
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This humorous, slightly eye-rolling, Sci-fi chapter book for readers in grades 4-6 will inspire both a love of goo and detective work in readers.  Jake is an alien, the green goo variety, that has been living with his human Dutch-Indonesian parents in human form with relatively few accidental shape-shifting incidents until this past July.  Now that he has pushed to attend public middle school, he feels the pressure to keep his shifting under control.  Right after Agnes agrees to be his new friend, as they both are into the comic Night Kite, a huge sinkhole complete with goo that Jake feels very reminiscent about, opens up before them.  Jake must overcome his own desire for an origin story to help Agnes find out the reasons behind the hum in his head, the sinkholes and the newly appearing goo entities in various places in town, including his closet. Although the sci-fi theme is strong with silly goo and butt joke inferences due to Jake’s father being a proctologist, the relationship between Jake and Agnes is endearing and the writing is a fast paced mystery that clearly answers questions and entertains at the same time.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

 

five-stars

Mambo Mucho Mambo! the Dance that crossed color lines

Mambo Mucho Mambo! the Dance that crossed color lines¡Mambo Mucho Mambo! the Dance That Crossed Color Lines by Dean Robbins, Eric Velásquez
Published by Candlewick Press on November 2, 2021
ISBN: 1536206083
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Recommending for Cream of the Crop Consideration.  This non-fiction picture book hits all the right beats and rhythms for an introduction to the historical significance of the Mambo for young readers in grades 1-3.  Set in Spanish Harlem in the 1940’s, Robbins provides an overview of the birth of Latin Jazz and how dancing mambo at the Palladium Ballroom broke the race rules of the 40’s.  Millie loved to dance to jazz music in her Italian neighborhood and Pedro snapped and jiggled to the Latin songs in his Puerto Rican Neighborhood.  When they meet at the Palladium and dance to Machito and the Afro-Cuban’s in 1948, they find their future as the United States’ best Mambo dance team as a mixed-race couple.  Velasquez’s oil paint illustrations show movement, expression, energy and will inspire readers to yell “Mambo!”.  Robbins provides the minimal amount of text to explain the difficult race relations of that time period which marries well with the energy of the full page spreads.  An author’s note and resource list is provided in the back.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

 

five-stars

The Triple Play Twins

The Triple Play TwinsBallpark Mysteries #17: The Triple Play Twins by David A. Kelly, Mark Meyers
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on February 2, 2021
ISBN: 0593126246
Pages: 112
Goodreads

Another solid entry into the Ballpark Mysteries series by Lynch aimed at readers in grades 2-5. Mike and Kate are in Minnesota for this 17th adventure centered around a team and ballpark in Major League Baseball, in this case the Minnesota Twins and the Metrodome. The cousins get caught up in a mystery involving megastar twin infielders Marco and Pedro and an errant water balloon;  someone is trying to mess with the Twins’ chances to make the playoffs and the answer involves a lot of seeing double. The plot offers some glimpses into Minnesota history and landmarks and, as always, gives the reader a good sense of the ballpark of the team. The mystery is well-developed and Kelly brings his readers along with hints and clues. The one flaw of this mystery is that the title of the last chapter offers the answer to the mystery before the readers gets there, so for any kids who like to look at the table of contents or to flip ahead to chapter titles, they will know where the book is going. Kids don’t have to love baseball to appreciate this series; they just have to like kid-led mysteries. As in all of Kelly’s books, the end includes “Dugout Notes” with additional information that highlights some of the famous players or landmarks in or around the ballpark.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library

Dogs Love Cars

Dogs Love CarsDogs Love Cars by Leda Schubert, Paul Meisel
Published by Candlewick Press on October 26, 2021
ISBN: 1536203092
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This is a picture book ode to the love of all things dog.  Perfect for preschool listeners or early readers.  A three dog family takes their excited crew to the dog park, a farmer’s market, home to a sudsy car wash and a quiet reading time on the couch.  Each two-page spread presents in large text a statement about dogs such as “Dogs love walks” followed by a listing in prose form describing the statement in more detail.  Meisel’s colorful, happy dog illustrations show action and lots of white space for new readers to navigate the text.  The community pictures show multi-able and diverse cultured owners keeping their happy dogs on leashes in the park and at dog school. Dog lovers will enjoy this story which ends with the promise that dogs love us all the time. 

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

four-stars