Category: Book Reviews

JUNO VALENTINE AND THE FANTASTIC FASHION ADVENTURE

JUNO VALENTINE AND THE FANTASTIC FASHION ADVENTUREJuno Valentine and the Fantastic Fashion Adventure by Derek Desierto, Eva Chen
Published by Feiwel & Friends on October 29, 2019
ISBN: 1250297303
Pages: 32
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
one-star

Advertised for grades pre-1

This colorful picture book explores a little girl’s dilemma in choosing an outfit for picture day at school.  The theme of the book is that she will eventually gain the self-confidence to express herself in a way she feels comfortable.

Juno travels through time and meets 10 female icons who share their fashion tips with her.  The book has a section in the back that briefly highlights each woman and their role in history.

Even though the premise of the book is that Juno will find her own vision of fashion, each role model she encounters gives her a piece of their wardrobe for Juno to layer on, items that they felt helped with “their” self-confidence.  They don’t give Juno a chance to choose, it is just passed on to her.   I shared this book with a young girl in my library, who loves everything princess and girly.  She liked the artwork (the hair pictures are snippets of real hair photographs), but she was lost at the references to the women.

I would not recommend this book.  The addition of iconic women doesn’t overshadow the value placed on fashion, and the lack of individuality that Juno is allowed.

Reviewed By Irene Hall, Witherle Memorial Public Library, Castine

one-star

Splish, Splash, Ducky!

Splish, Splash, Ducky!Splish, Splash, Ducky! by Lucy Cousins
Published by Candlewick Press on February 5, 2019
ISBN: 1536200042
Pages: 28
Genres: Animals, Realistic Fiction
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
four-stars

Advertised for ages 2-3

This board book is very cute and fun to read.  Explore with baby ducky as he ventures out in the rain to visit all his pond friends.

This book is very sweet for parents to read to their youngsters, and the children will quickly begin to repeat the “Quack, quack, quack” after each page.  Drawings are very bright, colorful and simple.

Reviewed By Irene Hall, Witherle Memorial Public Library, Castine

four-stars

Skyjacked

SkyjackedSkyjacked by Paul Griffin
Published by Scholastic Press on July 30, 2019
ISBN: 1338047418
Pages: 240
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Advertised for grades 7-9

This exciting, easy to read thriller tells the tale of 5 teens on a private charter jet that is hijacked and the teen intern at the National Air Traffic Investigation Center who helps solve the mystery.

This story draws on current history, reflecting on the 9-11 catastrophes and the possibility that this plane could be headed for a similar fate.  Each chapter is told from a different person’s voice, with a primer at the beginning of the book identifying the main characters.  The book flows easily, with suspense to the very end to solve the explanation for the skyjacking, and the possible scenarios that might be necessary to “end” the flight.

I enjoyed that the young intern on the ground uses her knowledge of social media to explore each character as they are trying to come up with possible motives. The teens on the plane use their ingenuity and “Macgyver” skills to fashion weapons and methods of escape. Be forewarned though, not all the teens and characters survive the ordeal.

Reviewed By Irene Hall, Witherle Memorial Public Library, Castine

four-stars

Where’s the Duck

Where’s the DuckWhere's the Duck? by Ingela P. Arrhenius
Published by Nosy Crow on March 12, 2019
ISBN: 153620577X
Pages: 10
Genres: Animals, Humor
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
four-stars

A series of park animals are hiding behind brightly colored flaps made of felt. A mirror on the final page makes for a fun ending as it asks “Where Are You too? there you are!”. A fun book that little ones will surely enjoy and the cloth flaps have lasted longer with children.

Reviewed by Ginni Nichols, Gardiner Public Library, Gardiner

four-stars

Superman: Dawnbreaker

Superman: DawnbreakerSuperman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons, #4) by Matt de la Pena
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on March 5, 2019
ISBN: 039954965X
Pages: 336
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

The fourth installment in the DC Icons series of origin story tales, Dawnbreaker tells us of young Clark Kent’s discovery of his powers and struggles with how to use or not use them.  In Smallville, townsfolk have started to disappear. Clark and Lana are noticing a disturbing trend in that all the missing seem to be minorities. With the help of some familiar (paging Lex Luthor) and new characters, Clark and Lana go about trying to solve the mystery and set things in Smallville right again.  While perhaps not as exciting a tale as the other Icons stories, de la Peña does an excellent job of bringing Smallville into current times. Issues included are immigration, discrimination in the form of a potential stop and search law, genetic engineering, and small farmer hardships. Direct correlations between this story and current events are easily made.  De la Peña’s Luthor is given a unique role in this story as a side character who, while we’re waiting for him to show his true evil side, is actually helpful at times, and only slightly questionable. He’s more of a privileged rich kid than a mastermind. His introduction to Clark screams for a sequel. While not the strongest in the series, Dawnbreaker is eminently readable and will be of great interest to DC/Superman fans.  Recommended for grades 6-12.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library

four-stars

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