Category: Cream of the Crop Nominees

Secret Soldiers

Secret SoldiersSecret Soldiers by Keely Hutton
on June 11th 2019
ISBN: 0374309035
Pages: 320
Goodreads
five-stars

This historical fiction novel takes place during WW1. Thomas lies about his age because he is desperate to find his older brother who is missing in the war. Thomas and other underage boys end up working in the tunnels beneath the battlefield on a dangerous secret mission on the Western Front. These young soldiers form a lasting bond in spite of their different social classes and reasons for enlisting. The character development of the four main characters is excellent. It is a gripping story that vividly describes the horrors of life and death in the tunnels and trenches. The author’s note reveals that more than a quarter of a million underage British boys served in this war. I highly recommend this novel for readers age 12 and up. Kris Zuidema, retired school librarian, Standish

five-stars

The Survival List

The Survival ListThe Survival List by Courtney Sheinmel
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on September 17th 2019
ISBN: 0062655000
Pages: 320
Goodreads
five-stars

The Survival List

 

Sloane is still alive, but her sister Talley is dead by suicide.  The guilt Sloane feels is almost unbearable, since on Talley’s last day of life she had begged Sloane to stay home from school with her, but Sloane had left because she had a test and orchestra practice and her best friend’s boyfriend had just broken up with her.  Talley had been depressed at home for weeks, not leaving her bed or showering.  But neither Sloane nor her father had realized how bad things had become.  After Talley’s death Sloane finds a note in Talley’s jeans pocket with a seemingly unrelated list of words.  Sloane knew how Talley had loved puzzles so she begins to follow the clues, traveling to California from Minnesota, reconnecting with an aunt she hadn’t seen in years, meeting Adam who joined in her search on a trip to the Big Sur area, and finally finding out the truth of her mother’s death, also by suicide.

This book gives a realistic picture of depression and the guilt of those relatives and friends who are left behind after a suicide.  The descriptions of California were awesome, and the closeness of Sloane and her best friend Juno was great to see. This book was hard to put down as Sloane discovers how the pieces of the puzzle fit together in Talley’s last gift to her.  This book is recommended for grades 9-12 and for the Cream of the Crop list.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

five-stars

Wildfire: A Novel

Wildfire: A NovelWildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Published by The Blue Sky Press on September 3rd 2019
ISBN: 133826690X
Pages: 208
Goodreads
five-stars

Philbrick — Maine author, Lupine award winner, Maine Student Book Award nominee, and Newbery honor book writer — has done it again. A wildfire in Maine — inspired by the Great Fire of 1947 — sweeps through Sam’s summer camp.  As Sam is about to board an evacuation bus, he remembers he left his cell phone in his cabin. In an all-too-believable scene, Sam runs back to his cabin for his phone and in an instant is cut off from the buses when the fire flares up. Suddenly, he is in survival mode. Along the way, he meets up with Delphy who got separated from her summer camp and together they race to escape the fast-moving flames. This short chapter book is a fast read — chapters are short and the action never lets up. Philbrick includes brief sections on the recent increase in wildfires and survival tips at the end of the book. Talk about a page-turner!

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

five-stars

Flippers & Fins

five-stars

Do youngsters understand the invention process? Or that many tools we use are inspired by nature?  “Flippers & Fins” is one book in the ‘Animal Tech’ series which includes “Fur & Claws,”

“Creepy & Crawly,” and “Wings & Beaks” all by this author published in 2019.

Clear photos, insets, colorful layouts, fact boxes, labels, and activities invite the reader to read the text to find out exactly how scientists use these animal concepts. The text is detailed enough to cover how each example of biomimicry works, yet is easy to understand for middle aged elementary youngsters. Readers will also be drawn by the seemingly odd connections. For example, Otto Schmitt studied squid axons in his work to develop the ‘Schmitt trigger’ which is a critical part for electrical switches. Other examples include sharks and swimsuits, cephalopods and camouflage, and whales and wind turbines. 

This book would be a great introduction to science projects, and would make a good partner book to Dora Lee’s “Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature” (2011). 

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town

five-stars

Get Me Out of This Book!

Get Me Out of This Book!Get Me Out of This Book!: Rules & Tools for Being Brave by Kalli Dakos, Deborah Cholette, Sara Infante
Published by Holiday House on June 11th 2019
ISBN: 0823438627
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

What are the three basic rules for being brave? Ask any Navy SEAL, or any child who has read this book!

Max, a bookmark, used to be scared of images in books, like snakes. He went back to school to learn “rules and tools for looking right at scary.” After that, he used these to face down the scariest images, like sharks, cockroaches, and skeletons.

What are these rules & tools?

  1. Breathe deeply
  2. Make a plan
  3. Think good thoughts

Anyone can employ these for any situation – this book is entertaining and a great teaching tool!

Plenty of white space separates the images and text. Simple black font in several sizes emphasize emotions, like SHOOK and SCREAMED.

Author’s Note includes critical information about the influence of the Navy SEALS training methods.

Includes an actual bookmark in the image of Max attached to the back endpaper. 

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town

five-stars

Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration

Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of ImmigrationOpen Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration by Bryan Caplan, Zach Weinersmith
Published by First Second on October 29th 2019
ISBN: 1250316960
Pages: 256
Goodreads
five-stars

In this graphic non-fiction book, economics professor Bryan Caplan teams up with cartoonist Zach Weinersmith to demonstrate why open borders are the best way to handle immigration, both scientifically and ethically.  With a clear cartoon style and a wealth of graphs, Caplan walks the reader through objections to immigration, ultimately showing how open borders benefit the United States specifically and the world as a whole, while walking the line between political sides that can often be highly contentious.

Fantastic for middle school, high school, and even adult patrons, Open Borders will be in high demand wherever graphic non-fiction is popular.

Reviewed by Sarah Cropley, Scarborough Public Library.

five-stars

Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden
Published by First Second on September 10th 2019
ISBN: 1250207568
Pages: 320
Goodreads
five-stars

Bea is a runaway and happens to run into Lou, a friend of her mother’s, at a gas station in Texas. Both are running from truths in their lives that seem to be haunting them — grief and abuse. In their travels, Bea and Lou find a lost cat and  set intentions of returning it to its rightful home in a town that doesn’t seem to exist.

Detailed illustrations depict subtleties in the story along with adding an air of paranoia, friendship and healing. Colors are in dark hues and tones that change with the scenes. Well developed characters and plot with LGBTQIA diversity in the story line. Fans of Tillie Walden will thoroughly enjoy this latest edition.

Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

five-stars

Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos

Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentosSembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos by Anika Aldamuy Denise
Published by HarperCollins Espanol on January 15th 2019
ISBN: 1400212642
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

This enchanting and beautiful Spanish language picture book tells the story of Pura Belpré, librarian, puppeteer, and storyteller. After emigrating from Puerto Rico to her new island home of Manhattan, Pura was hired as a bilingual library aid at her local public library. She loved story time, but realized she wanted to pass on the special Puerto Rican folktales her grandfather had told her with New York’s children. Initially, she simply told the stories orally. Then, she decided she would sew puppets to embellish story time. Of course, a pioneer like Pura was still not satisfied. She wanted to plant the seeds for these stories to live on beyond her time at the library. So Pura kept going until the stories were written down and published. This picture biography is poetically written, elucidating Pura’s captivating and industrious nature. Sembrando historias is a love letter to libraries and librarians everywhere who sew and nurture the seeds of storytelling, a love of reading, and carrying on tradition. Readers who love adventure or who appreciate elegant illustrations will love this book. Recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Savannah Sessions, SAD 17 Elementary Librarian, Oxford Hills.

five-stars

Home Is a Window

Home Is a WindowHome Is a Window by Stephanie Ledyard, Chris Sasaki
Published by Neal Porter Books on April 23rd 2019
ISBN: 0823441563
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

A family learns what home really means, as they leave one beloved residence and make a new home in another.
Home can be many things—a window, a doorway, a rug…or a hug. At home, everything always feels the same: comfortable and safe.
But sometimes things change, and a home must be left behind.
Follow a family as they move out of their beloved, familiar house and learn that they can bring everything they love about their old home to the new one, because they still have each other. This heartfelt picture book by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard is richly illustrated by former Pixar animator Chris Sasaki.

An ode to home and the comfort and feelings of safety it produces, Home is a Window is beautiful in its simplicity. The patterned, warm illustrations are relaxing and the prose is sparse but kind. The first half of the book embraces home while the second half explores the emotions involved in moving to a new one. As someone who moved several times as a kid I appreciated how the book validates the sadness and anxiety about moving but then reassures the reader that home is, in fact, more about  where your loved ones are than a particular building. A good read aloud book for pre-k through second grade or anyone who might be facing either a move or a big family change.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

five-stars

Field Trip to the Moon

Field Trip to the MoonField Trip to the Moon by John L. Hare
Published by Margaret Ferguson Books on May 14th 2019
ISBN: 0823442535
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

A picture book that truly needs no words, Field Trip to the Moon provides young readers with the opportunity to make this their own story.   Nearly all the illustrations of the children and teacher share feeling and mood without facial expressions.  It is the emotional response registering on the faces of moon beings that makes this book outstanding.  And I love that a crayon box is the implement of friendship, our lost child returns home having left behind an appreciated gift.

Hare’s first picture book is clever, artistic and imaginative.   From the yellow spaceship to the craters of the moon young readers will be able to identify objects as they narrate the storyline.  Parents and grands will be attracted to the lone student who experiences the field trip in a unique way achieving the bonanza interaction.

Recommended for Cream

Submitted by Jan Hamilton, retired youth services librarian in Scarborough, ME

five-stars