Category: Cream of the Crop Nominees

Cosmic Collisions: Asteroid vs. Comet

Cosmic Collisions: Asteroid vs. CometGenres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
five-stars

First in a series with a similar setup as the wildly popular “Who Would Win” series. What happens when two massive hunks of hurtling space debris slam into each other? This is a smackdown between the veteran asteroid fighter and the dazzling comet. Asteroid vs. Comet starts by comparing the two opponents, then encourage readers to use science to form a hypothesis. The head-to-head premise keeps readers entertained as they learn about comets and asteroids. Action-packed full-color illustrations with a comic book feel will attract kids, especially budding astronomers ages 7-9. Back matter addresses fact versus fiction, how to become a citizen scientist, and comets and asteroids in the news. Highly recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Everyone Loves Career Day but Zia

Everyone Loves Career Day but ZiaEveryone Loves Career Day but Zia: A Zia Story by Dream Chen, Jenny Liao
ISBN: 0593425456
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

It’s Career Day at school, and all of the parents are invited to come teach the class about their jobs! Zia wishes that her mom could come teach the other students about her job as a seamstress. But her mom is not comfortable speaking English (her native tongue is Cantonese), and besides – she never misses work. With the help of her teacher, Zia is able to video call into the factory where her mom works. Her mother demonstrates to the class how to make a beautiful dress while Zia translates her words into English. This heartwarming story would be a great addition to any picture book collection, and is cream-of-the-crop worthy. It demonstrates diversity in the classroom, showcases different and unique families and professions (such as a stay-at-home Dad who also comes to school for Career Day), and provides a window into the day-to-day lives of immigrant families. The words and illustrations perfectly celebrate the story, by bringing to life and intermingling the English and Cantonese words onto each page. The back of the book includes an Author’s Note describing her experience growing up as a translator for her parents, as well as a glossary of English to Cantonese words. Recommended for ages 6-7 (1st to 2nd Grade).

Reviewed by: Jenn Mead, Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, Lovell

five-stars

Quill the Forest Keeper

Quill the Forest KeeperQuill the Forest Keeper by Marije Tolman
Published by Levine Querido on September 8, 2022
ISBN: 164614452X
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

It’s impossible not to enjoy a book that begins “Outside it’s cold and quiet. Inside it smells of hot blueberry pie.” While basking in the delicious aroma, Grandpa hedgehog is asked to tell a story of a prior, less relaxing time. He regales his family with a tale of the Terrible Rush Era, when everybody rushed around and had no time to pick up their environment. Everybody, that is, but Quill the Forest Keeper, a dedicated forest-cleaning hedgehog who worked so incessantly to clean up everyone’s mess he eventually collapsed, ushering in a new era of animals banding together to keep the forest clean and reprioritize their values.

In a time of political uncertainty and eco-anxiety, books like Quill the Forest Keeper become treasures. There is no virtue signaling involved on Quill’s part; he just does what he can to help out and ends up inspiring others to do the same. The illustrations are unique and bold, yet charming and effective. It’s pure hygge for the picture book set; a simple message full of comfort and warmth.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

five-stars

Safiyyah’s War

Safiyyah’s WarSafiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Published by Andersen Press on July 6, 2023
ISBN: 1839133139
Pages: 336
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: Middle Grade Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

During WWII, the brave leaders at the Grand Mosque of Paris protected Jewish people with forged religious documents and risked their lives transporting over a thousand Jewish people to safety using catacombs under the mosque. Though there are countless options when it comes to stories about this time period, this history has been largely forgotten and Hiba Noor Khan is hoping to change that with her debut novel, Safiyyah’s War.

Safiyyah is an adventurous, spirited, and thoughtful young Muslim girl living above the mosque when Nazis invade Paris. It is clear throughout the novel that war is not a children’s game, but without many options Safiyyah’s family cautiously allows her to aid the Resistance movement. Khan’s prose is often poetic, but doesn’t shy away from intensely emotional moments. Families are separated, people are hungry, and Safiyyah herself survives the initial bombing of Paris. Despite the horrific circumstances, Safiyyah never stops fighting and side plots about kittens, plants, libraries, and religion offer respite for the characters and readers. This story’s honest depiction of children traumatized by war and the realities of life under occupation may be difficult for sensitive readers, but the overall message of perseverance, bravery, love, and hope will resonate with readers drawn to strong female leads and novels about war.

Safiyyah’s War has the perfect combination of forgotten history, dynamic characters, and beautiful prose that make it a fresh classic in an oversaturated genre. Nominated for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Ivy Burns, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story

Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos StoryAbuelita's Gift: A Día de Muertos Story by Mariana Ríos Ramírez, Sara Palacios
Published by Alfred A. Knopf on 9/10/24
ISBN: 0593568362
Genres: Holiday
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

In this beautifully illustrated picture book, Julieta is trying to figure out how to honor and celebrate her grandmother on Día de Muertos.  None of her ideas are working and on November 1, she still doesn’t have the perfect gift for her family’s ofrenda.  Finally, after looking through boxes of old photos, Julieta comes up with a special way to capture her grandmother’s joyful spirit.  Julieta dances like she did with her grandmother and feels her presence, realizing the bond they share will always be there when she dances.  The author’s note explains a little bit about the traditions of Día de Muertos and how they might differ family by family.  The text of the story incorporates Spanish words and the glossary at the end gives the meanings for these words. There is also a colorful illustration of an ofrenda and an explanation on the adjacent page of all of the different elements of the ofrenda.  This book would be an excellent addition to any children’s collection.  The story shows how families can remember loved ones who have died, with joy instead of sadness.  The illustrations are vibrant and really capture this festive time of year in Mexican culture. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

five-stars

This Baby. That Baby.

This Baby. That Baby.This Baby. That Baby. by Cari Best, Rashin Kheiriyeh
Published by Anne Schwartz Books on 2024
ISBN: 0593564634
Genres: Babies/Infants, Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Two charming babies are growing up in urban apartments that face each other. In this adorable book, illustrated with acrylic & oil on paper, This Baby and That Baby experience similar but sometimes opposite activities in their daily schedules. They both eat, play, nap, and go out to the park with their parents. However, where This Baby goes to sleep easily and wakes up sad, That Baby is reluctant to nap and wakes up grumpy. Throughout the book, the boy’s mother and the girl’s father, each caregiving alone, are portrayed as loving, joyful parents. When they meet at the park at the end of the story, the babies recognize each other and play peekaboo together while the exhausted parents collapse on a park bench in the amusing final picture. With its gentle humor and positive attitude towards a range of emotions, this book would be a fun read-aloud for pre-school to first-graders.

Reviewed by Crystal Wilder, University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus Library

five-stars

Piper Chen Sings

Piper Chen SingsGenres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
five-stars

Phillipa Soo, star of Hamilton, writes about a young girl who loves to sing but is confronted with stage fright. Piper Chen sings and twirls through her days. When Mr. Harris, her music teacher, asks Piper if she’d like to sing a solo in the Spring Sing, she is excited at first, but later, she fears she’ll fail. Piper’s grandmother, Nai Nai notices that something is wrong. Piper explains and Nai Nai understands. She explains that she experienced “húdié” (Chinese for butterflies) at her first piano recital. “Now, when they greet me, I greet them back. ‘Hello, húdié. Ni hao.’” The night of the show, Piper feels the butterflies flapping their wings. She hums to herself, “Hello, húdié” and sings.

Soo and Pasquale Doran sensitively capture the joy of singing and the anxiety of performing. Parallels are drawn with other life challenges. Leng’s delicate, expressive illustrations capture Piper’s enthusiasm and uncertainty. Chinese words and culture are seamlessly woven into the story. Grandmother is central to the story but we are not really sure about her parents. The butterfly lesson gives readers a concrete way for addressing their own “butterflies.” Piper Chen and Nai Nai are Chinese American. Mr. Harris has brown skin. Share this book with everyone, but especially anxious children.

Nominated for Cream of the Crop

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

My Mother’s Tongues: A Weaving of Languages

My Mother’s Tongues: A Weaving of LanguagesMy Mother's Tongues: A Weaving of Languages by Rahele Jomepour Bell, Uma Menon
Published by Candlewick Press on February 13, 2024
ISBN: 1536222518
Pages: 32
Genres: Languages, Immigrants, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Mixed-media illustrations give this book a textured appearance, as though every page should have the feel of woven fabric. The young girl who tells the story is very proud of her mother’s two languages. Malayalam from Kerala, India, was her native tongue, while English was the language the mother started learning when she was twelve years old. The family migrated to America, where the daughter was born and she, in turn, grew up speaking two languages like her mother: Malayalam at home and English in her American neighborhood. One of the girl’s aunts speaks four languages, so the girl reasons that she can talk to four times as many people. By the end of the book, the girl says she wants to learn “dozens of languages” and thinks “[h]aving a tapestry of tongues will be [her] superpower”.

This book is a beautiful ode to the immigrants’ experience of languages in the United States. Suggested reading age is 4-8 years old.

Reviewed by Crystal Wilder, University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus Library

five-stars

Brownstone

BrownstoneBrownstone by Mar Julia, Samuel Teer
on June 11, 2024
ISBN: 0358394740
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
five-stars

Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia is a coming of age graphic novel about a girl named Almudena who is forced to live with a father she’s never met for the summer as her mother heads off on a trip. Almundena’s hesitancy about this summer only increases when she discovers that not only is her father renovating his entire apartment building—and expects her to help—but he doesn’t speak any English. Almudena discovers she has a lot to learn about her heritage—she’s actually Guatemalan when she’s always thought she’s Mexican—and the world her father lives in. As she gets to know the people in her new neighborhood  she learns why her father is so focused on the renovation and that there’s more to family than she thinks. Readers will easily empathize with Almudena as she tries to navigate living in a construction zone, developing a relationship with an estranged father, and discovering her cultural identity. Many readers will find themselves in the characters from those who are biracial, LGBTQIA+, latino-American, or part of a blended family; representation is definitely a stand out feature of this book. Readers will also be drawn to the graphic novel format and especially how it compliments the characters’ struggle with communication due to language barriers, cultural differences, misunderstandings, and complicated feelings. Though the book explores complex ideas of gentrification, homophobia, cultural identity, and blended families, the authors are thoughtfully present these topics in an accessible way. This is a must read for teens and adults!*Recommending for cream — five stars!*Reviewed by Katy Jones, Gardiner Area High School Library, Gardiner

five-stars

The Elephant and the Sea

The Elephant and the SeaThe Elephant and the Sea by Ed Vere
ISBN: 0525580905
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

The Elephant and the Sea by Ed Vere is a simple, but beautiful, story about overcoming barriers and making room for those who are different. We start the story with Gabriel the Elephant who is now old and wrinkled, reminiscing about his time when he was a young elephant by the sea. He would run down to the beach and watch the lifeboat crew practice their rescues. Gabriel wanted to join in, but, “You’re a bit young, my boy. Come back when you’re older. Come back when you’re stronger.”

After dedicating himself to practicing, he comes back to the lifeboat crew where he discovers that he’s grown too large for their lifeboat. Gabriel knows that there’s only one thing he wants to do, so he collects driftwood and makes a plan to make his own boat. When the fishing boats and the lifeboat crew are caught in one of the biggest storms, there is a strong Elephant who comes to rescue them all. It’s Gabriel! And now Gabriel sits by the sea, an old elephant. “Not everyone knows how brave he’s been, but we do.”

With beautiful illustrations, and simple, but poetic, prose, Gabriel’s story is a lovely lesson on grit and gumption and going for what you desire in life. The author’s note at the back describes a memory on the shore of Cornwall where Vere lived for a bit that inspired the setting, Gabriel’s character, and his story on the wild waves. A five star bedtime story for ages 3-6.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

five-stars