The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn

August 21, 2024August 21, 2024

The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn by Shawn Harris
Published by Random House Children's Books on 2024
ISBN: 0593571886
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General, Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Horses
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Shawn Harris’ newest picture book is, The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn, with his renowned illustration style using heavily textured, and colorful oil pastels. Our main character is an uncharacteristically small unicorn who lives in a large palace with his large unicorn brother and sister. Because our (unnamed) teeny-weeny unicorn is so small, he is often the target of criticism from his family members. He runs off into the palace lawn in despair and accidentally damages a tiny gnome’s car. The gnome is furious and demands compensation. Luckily, the palace has loads of gold and the gnome is content. It ends with a hopeful quote saying, “We are all teeny-weeny. We are all giant. And we are all just the right size.”

This story started off unique and enchanting, but quickly lost charm and had remarks that set a harsh tone towards the middle of the story. Fans of Harris’ dry humor might really enjoy this type of dialogue, but it feels geared towards ages 5 and older. I give the story 3 stars, particularly for Harris’ illustrations and creativity with language, but this one leans a little too far into the bizarre.

Reviewed By Argia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities

August 19, 2024

Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities (Extraordinary Animals) by Jaclyn Sinquett, Stephanie Gibeault
Published by MIT Kids Press on 5/7/24
ISBN: 1536230014
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Young scientists and mathematicians will love this nonfiction selection. Each chapter focuses on a different animal, like the guppy, hyena, and the honeybee and the impressive math skills each animal utilizes. Readers will learn about the experiments that scientists conducted in order to determine the animals’ mathematical skills. The sections end with a transcript of an interview with that scientist and then a kid-friendly experiment readers can try with a friend, similar to the experiments done with the animals. Colorful photographs and graphics break up the text and add interest to this book. Labels for new terminology are introduced in bold and readers who love math will enjoy learning the terms for concepts they are familiar with. This book would be ideal for 4th-6th graders and would be great for any library, but especially for school libraries. Teachers could use this book while teaching about nonfiction text features such as captions, table of contents, index, and bibliography.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

The Secret Language of Birds

August 14, 2024August 14, 2024

The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly
Published by Delacorte Press on April 9, 2024
ISBN: 1524770272
Pages: 232
Genres: Animals, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Lynne Kelly’s follow up to Song for a Whale is another beautiful coming of age story about a girl and her efforts to help an animal in need. Nina is one of five in her family, right in the middle, who often feels like the odd one out, preferring birds to people. She agrees to go to her aunt’s summer camp with the caveat that she can go home any time. During an initiation exercise to an off-limits cabin that is supposed to be haunted, Nina does think that she sees a ghost. Turns out to be a whooping crane, which seems impossible since these endangered birds haven’t nested in Texas, where camp is located, for a hundred years. Nina eventually confides in her bunkmates, three lovely, feisty campers who have labeled themselves the Oddballs, and together they monitor the bird and his mate (spoiler: Nina stays at camp).

Nina tells wildlife authorities about the birds, but not her aunt or any other campers. The secrecy of the bird monitoring makes this feel more thrilling than a book about bird-watching might usually be. And there is a mystery too: the female whooping crane does not have any trackers nor does she appear in any of the databases as a known, live crane. Nina is determined to solve who she is. With a fantastic nod to Kelly’s first novel, Nina reaches out to Iris, her Deaf neighbor, and protagonist of Song for a Whale. Iris is able to manipulate the sound technology that she used to create a whale song to help Nina with the crane identification.

Many kids dread the idea of long-term summer camp, especially if they attend as older campers. This book uses that relatable worry along with fascinating information about an awe-inspiring bird to craft a story about friendship, acceptance, conservation, and finding one’s voice. Recommend for all upper elementary and middle school collections.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Elementary School

One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them

August 14, 2024

One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them by Loree Griffin Burns, Jamie Green
Published by MIT Kids Press on May 14, 2024
ISBN: 1536228680
Pages: 56
Genres: Animals
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

The first book in a new nonfiction series called Discovery Chronicles. This title follows the pine processionary caterpillar and focuses on two scientists who studied it. Jean-Henri Fabre researched and wrote about this fascinating creature in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and then, a half century later, Terrence Fitzgerald picked up on Fabre’s work and refined it. The two scientists wondered why processionary caterpillars followed a leader, if they will follow a particular leader, if they use silk to make a trail, among other questions. Fitzgerald used Fabre’s earlier work to make a hypothesis and then conducted experiments to prove it. The thesis of the book is that science is a “long line of learning” and that scientists are curious people who have a wonder and then use the scientific method to test a theory (or two) and record their work for others to read and build upon. Burns does an excellent job laying out this method and provides the reader with plenty of information about the caterpillars who are the star of this title; illustrator Jamie Green adds enough visual detail to help the reader understand what it looked like to study this captivating species. Hand this to budding scientists in grades 2-5.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Elementary School

Snowglobe

August 13, 2024

Snowglobe by Joungmin Lee Comfort, Soyoung Park
ISBN: 0593484975
Genres: Psychological thriller, Science Fiction, Suspense
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

In this ambitious young adult Korean sci-fi thriller the entire world is a frozen wasteland with the exception of the Snowglobe, a domed climate-controlled area where the elite live. Chobahm is a teen who lives in a frozen settlement outside of Snowglobe and works with everyone else in the settlement at a power plant where they produce electricity by running on treadmills. The people who live in the frozen lands all live for their favorite television shows starring the residents of Snowglobe. Chobahm, who looks identical to the biggest star in Snowglobe, Goh Haeri, is offered the opportunity to secretly take the her place before the public discovers Haeri committed suicide. Believing this could be her chance at achieving her dream of being a director, Chobahm eagerly takes over Haeri’s life in Snowglobe. Soon she discovers the dangers of investigating what was really going on before Haeri’s death and the dark secrets hidden behind the glamor of Snowglobe.

Quick paced and full of intrigue, Soyoung Park’s Snow Globe has all the appeal of a K-drama infused with mystery, class struggles, and the allure of fame and fortune. Many plot points are left unresolved in this novel, leaving plenty of room for further development in the second book of this duology.

Reviewed by Sarah Hartje, Lewiston Public Library, Lewiston

Under This Red Rock

August 13, 2024

Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on March 19, 2024
ISBN: 0063230410
Genres: Mental Health, Mystery, Psychological thriller, Realistic Fiction
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

In this suspenseful young adult novel, sixteen year old Neely does her best to hide her audio and visual hallucinations because her father and brother cautioned her never to let people know about their shared symptoms of mental illness. Neely is under constant pressure not to reveal the severity of her hallucinations while trying to fit in with her peers and not worry her grandparents. Desperate to find some meaning in life after her brother’s suicide, Neely starts working in the local caves, the only place she doesn’t experience hallucinations. Neely quickly develops a crush on her coworker, Mina, but doubts anyone could care about her in return if she told them about her hallucinations. When Mina goes missing, Neely realizes she’s missing chunks of time and her hallucinations are getting worse. Fearing a complete mental break and desperate to find out what really happened to Mina, Neely works to put the pieces together even if she can’t trust her memory.

A long list of heavy subjects such as depression, untreated mental illness, suicide and suicidal ideation, torture, rape, murder, drug use, and gaslighting all contribute to the somber and at times, bleak tone of this young adult novel. Vulnerable and dealing with unprocessed trauma and untreated mental illness, Neely is a tragic character in desperate need of something positive in her life. Under This Red Rock is recommended for readers who enjoy unreliable narrators, mysteries, and realistic fiction.

Reviewed by Sarah Hartje, Lewiston Public Library, Lewiston

Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There

August 9, 2024

Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There (Willa and Wade, 1) by Judith Henderson, Sara Sarhangpour
Published by Kids Can Press on 2024
ISBN: 1525308424
Genres: Animals, Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Two best friends, an ostrich and a penguin, cheerfully attempt to fly in an increasingly dangerous, and always amusing series of stunts, starting with pogo sticks and ending with catapulting themselves off a cliff. Miraculously, they somehow avoid hurting themselves. However, the book ends with the two friends in mid-air after the catapult launch, looking thoroughly blissful… but it never shows them landing.

This book is adorable and definitely illustrates a strong and joyful friendship. Willa and Wade’s attempts to achieve the impossible do lean toward a Wile E. Coyote kind of story. (Maybe it should come with a “Do Not Attempt” kind of warning?) They do look like they are having a wonderful time! As someone who watched all of the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons as a kid, I can definitely see the appeal of this book.

This is listed as the first book in a series starring the two friends and is recommended for 5-7 year-olds (K-2nd grade).

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

Cat Out of Water

August 9, 2024

Dr. Seuss Graphic Novel: Cat Out of Water: A Cat in the Hat Story (Dr. Seuss Graphic Novels) by Art Baltazar
Published by Random House Graphic on 2024
ISBN: 0593703030
Genres: Animals, Children's Beginning Readers, Humor
Format: Graphic Novel
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

The Cat in the Hat is back in this early reader graphic novel. The full-color illustrations are more cartoonish and the simple text does not rhyme as in the original story, but the cast of characters include the same Brother and Sister, and the troublemaking Thing 1 and Thing 2, the stressed-out Fish, and the Cat, of course. The Cat thinks it would be fun to turn the whole house into a huge fishbowl so the Fish will be able to have fun with everyone else. He brings in Thing 1 and Thing 2 to help make this happen and they flood the first floor of the house. Even the Fish starts to have fun, but then he realizes that the house is waterlogged and starts to protest. The Cat had promised not to make a mess when he first arrived, so he spends the second half of the book cleaning up the house and drying everything off, so the siblings won’t end up in trouble. (Who keeps leaving these kids home alone??)

As an added bonus, the book ends with instructions for drawing the characters in the story.
This is a fanciful, fun read that would appeal to new readers who might prefer a graphic novel layout to a traditional beginning reader format. It is recommended for 5-8 year-olds.

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

If You Get Lost

August 9, 2024

If You Get Lost by Deborah Marcero, Nikki Loftin
Published by Anne Schwartz Books on 2023
ISBN: 0593375319
Genres: Animals, Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Slightly abstract watercolor and ink illustrations accompany very simple text to tell the tale of a stuffed bunny who comes to life after it is dropped out a car window and gets lost in a forest. The book suggests to stop, look around, and listen, then the reader might make a friend and have an adventure. In this case, the bunny is befriended by a fox and they travel with other forest animals to return the bunny to the girl who lost it. She and her parents were headed to this forest to go camping. The final picture shows the girl seated by a campfire holding the once-again stuffed bunny, while the fox sleeps nearby.

I am not certain how I feel about the closing text, “… let go of lost and grab hold of one thing, one place, two smiles, new friends.” I know the author is trying to be gently reassuring to any child who might get lost, but I question the wisdom of urging a child to approach any stranger who smiles at them.

I do want to give a special mention about the end papers of this book. They are maps of the forest where the bunny’s adventure occurs. The front map is bright, as in daylight, while the back map is of the same area in nighttime darkness. They are very well done and add a nice touch to the book, as a whole.

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

Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine

August 9, 2024

Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine by Grasya Oliyko, Linda Elovitz Marshall
Published by Quill Tree Books on 2023
ISBN: 0063294141
Genres: Biography/Autobiography
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

With a gentle sense of humor and large-eyed digital illustrations, Linda Elovitz Marshall and Grasya Oliyko simply and clearly intertwine the modern history of Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky’s life story. The author does an excellent job of showing the influences on young Volodymyr’s life that shaped his world view. He was an only child in a Jewish family who spent his first thirteen years in a Ukraine under Soviet rule. Then, while a young man attending university to become a lawyer, he met his future wife and eventually decided to become an entertainer in order to make people laugh. His television show about an honest high school teacher who gets fed-up with the political corruption within his country, runs for president, and actually wins, was prophetic. The author explains that in 2019, Zelensky realized making people laugh wasn’t enough and ran for president in real life. As the Ukrainian President, he has not only refused to leave his country, but has led his people in an extended effort to repel the Russian invasion that began in Feb. 2022 and continues to this day (Aug. 9, 2024).

This colorful, positive book ends with an author’s note, timeline, and a brief bibliography. It is recommended for 4-8 year-olds. I think it would make an excellent introduction to both Zelensky and Ukrainian current events.

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