Picture This: Look Up!

Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate

Who knew bird-watching could be interesting! Cate starts by explaining her own interest in bird-watching and how it started. She became interested in bird-watching as she spent time outdoors to sketch scenery. Soon she noticed the many birds "flitting around the edges of [her] drawings." She was hooked.

Cate tells readers where they can start, how to watch, and how to record what they see. Each spread is jam-packed with information and full-color illustrations. The pages detail the many identifying features of birds--colors, shapes, the way a bird flies, body types, beaks, feet, decorative feathers, tails, and more! She also discusses observing bird behavior, seasonal changes in appearance, sounds, habitats, geography, and field guides. She explains what a bird-watcher can learn from these features and characteristics and why they have them. She even teaches a mini-lesson on classification. Birds, characters, and Cate herself make comments in little speech bubbles throughout for a little extra liveliness. There's as much to look at on the page as there is outside.

It's an engaging and fun introduction to bird-watching, and I think it might inspire some kids to take up a new hobby.

Picture This: The Watermelon Seed

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Crocodile loves watermelon. He eats it for every meal. But disaster strikes when he swallows a seed. He knows it will grow--he can feel it. But he doesn't want a watermelon growing in him. "I don't want to be in a fruit salad!"

Kids will love this silly book about a crocodile and his hysteria over swallowing a seed from his very favorite food. It's told through bold, funny illustrations in a watermelon-colored palette. Pizzoli knows how to communicate a lot with a few words and simple illustrations. The pacing and layout maximize the humor and fun.

ALA Youth Media Awards 2014

hm, not as exciting this year.

CALDECOTT
Locomotive by Brian Floca
Journey by Aaron Becker
Mr Wuffles by David Wiesner
Flora & the Flamingo by Molly Idle

Well, I've read all of them, but two of them haven't been featured on my blog because I wasn't particularly excited about them. Locomotive I found well illustrated, but BORING. And Mr Wuffles was good, but in the end not as memorable or special. At least Journey got something, and Flora and the Flamingo was quite good. I think the choices are okay. I'm not outraged over any of them, but I'm most disappointed about Locomotive's win.

NEWBERY
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake 
Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Yet another Newbery for Kate DiCamillo. I started Flora and Ulysses (it's a big year for Floras, isn't it?), thought it was pretty funny, and then had to return it before I could get past chapter 4.

PRINTZ
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susan Cokall
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

How bout that? I read very few 2013 YA books, but I've read two of the winners. If you want to know my thoughts on Midwinterblood, see my GoodReads review. In short, I liked it, I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I couldn't tell you that it's excellent. It's so very literary, therefore a typical and unsurprising choice for the Printz. Eleanor & Park, everybody loved. I started Maggot Moon, took an immediate disliking to it, and returned it. Navigating Early wasn't on my radar for the Printz at all because her last book won the Newbery. I really want to read the Kingdom of Little Wounds. Sometimes I don't know if a Printz win is a recommendation or the opposite since pretentiousness and literariness often seem to be the bread and butter of the Printz. I was really hoping to see Boxers and Saints somewhere in there, but I guess it was a long shot, considering the companion book format.

GEISEL
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
Ball by Mary Sullivan
A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems
Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

I was very pleased with this category. All of them are well done and so much fun. I wrote a draft of The Watermelon Seed that I should probably publish. It's silly and funny. I don't even bother to review Elephant and Piggie books (Mo Willems) anymore because it's a given that they're all excellent and hilarious. A Big Guy Took My Ball is very funny, and introduces a hilarious whale into the mix. You know how I feel about Penny and Her Marble. Ball is a humorous book about a funny-looking dog and his all-consuming love for his ball. What I don't understand, is how it's an easy reader? There's only one word in the entire book.

I thought the Sibert was somewhat disappointing when I think about what could have won. I was happy to see Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard got a Sibert honor, and A Splash of Red was good, too. But Parrots Over Puerto Rico? eh.

My Vote: ALA Youth Media Awards 2014

Tomorrow's the big day!

I don't feel as legit this year beacuse I didn't read as much. Of the books I read that were published in 2013, there were
130+ picture books
9 young adult books (counting Boxers & Saints as one)
2 middle grade/crossover
2 children's

So I definitely don't feel as qualified as last year, but I loved Boxers & Saints so much, I'm going to name it as my pick anyway.

MY PICKS

Caldecott
Journey by Aaron Becker
(honestly, it's hard for me to conceive of why this wouldn't win)

Geisel
Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

Printz
Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Best Picture Books of 2013

I've read 130+ books from 2013 so far, but I haven't been able to get my hands on every last book I want to read, so the honorable mentions could change, but I highly doubt the top ten will. 

1. Journey by Aaron Becker

2. Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

3. The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins

4. Again! by Emily Gravett

5. Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

6. The Mighty Lalouche by Matthew Olshan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

7. Mary Wrightly So Politely by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by Maria Monescillo

8. The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

9. Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin

10. Take Me to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon

Honorable Mention:

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
This is the Rope by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by James Ransom
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell 
The Bear's Song by Benjamin Chaud
Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate

Recent Read: Eat, Brains, Love

 

Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart

Jake is a low-key stoner who likes to play video games in his basement, until he morphs into a flesh-eating zombie during lunch in the school cafeteria and devours a large number of his classmates. Soon he’s on the run from the government with the hottest girl—now zombie—in school.

Well, turns out it takes a clever title & cover spoofing Eat, Pray, Love and a funny first few pages to get me to pick up a zombie book. I was always repelled by the idea of zombies, but I actually enjoyed this book. Though I know next to nothing about zombie mythology, I thought this one had an interesting take. The story is told from two perspectives. First there’s Jake: he and Amanda both contract a zombie virus (STD, if you must know), which causes them to launch into a “necrotic” (aka zombie) state when overcome by hunger. But the rest of the time, they’re normal kids with consciences and awareness and unusual healing abilities, struggling to survive in a country where the government wants to hunt them down and destroy them. The story is also told from the perspective of Cass, a young psychic who works for the government helping track down the people-eating monsters by following their one-track necrotic minds. Only she starts to question the morality of the projects within her department. So, you can see that it’s the human story that makes it an enjoyable book.

The book is a great combination of humor, action, suspense, with a touch of romance. But I warn you—though it looks like a stand alone, it is not. 

A lot of fun.

Recent Read: Boxers & Saints

Boxers &  Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Having watched as Christian Westerners abuse his family and village, young Bao learns martial arts and recruits others to go with him to fight the “foreign devils” of the West. He forms the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist, a group who take on the identities of the gods of Chinese Opera as they seek to destroy Christianity in China and kill its followers.

 Young Four-Girl joins Christianity after being rejected by her family because she was born on the wrong day (of the wrong month of the wrong year). But it’s a dangerous time to be Christian in China, and soon she faces the fearsome violence of Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist.

In this incredibly thought-provoking pair of graphic novels, Yang tells the intertwined stories of two young people on opposite sides of a volatile conflict. In Boxers, Bao takes on the superhero-like identity of a god of the Opera as he endeavors to defeat the villainous Christians, while in Saints, an abused and rejected Four-Girl finds acceptance and belonging (and a real name) with those that her family calls devils. Both receive spiritual visitations: Bao, from the domineering first emperor of China, Chin Shi Huang; Four-Girl/Vibiana, from the earnest Joan of Arc. Yang throws the reader into the middle of the action—in all its shocking violence—bringing to life a time of upheaval and high emotions. By writing two novels from different perspectives, Yang provides a more full understanding and well-rounded view of the events. I read all the overlapping scenes side by side after I finished the books, and I found new insights in every one.

Each volume works as a satisfying stand-alone graphic novel. Both stories are interesting, nuanced, and bring up the kind of questions of character, morality and motivation that make a story interesting. But together, they are not only a story of the Boxer Rebellion, but an examination of the idea of sides and war. Is there a good side and a bad side at all? Who are the heroes—or are there any? Who were the protagonists of the Boxer Rebellion?

 This is a fascinating question that Yang asks, but I think my love for the books is more about the characters—Bao and Vibiana—than anything else. Their journeys, their imperfections, their youth and immaturity (because many Boxers were just teenagers), their character, and perhaps most powerfully, their deaths had a profound effect on me.

I also appreciated the artistry of the books. Just look at the covers. Each works individually without the other, but together we see parallels and symmetry, completion of halves, ampersands we didn’t even notice were there. That’s how the content of the books is.

 

Picture This: The Animal Book

The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins

This book is phenomenal. Subtitled "A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest--and Most Surprising--Animals on Earth," this book is a sort of animal almanac featuring Jenkins's fantastic cut and torn paper collage illustrations. He includes chapters on various aspects of animal life, like family (mating, birth, parental roles, siblings, and animal upbringings) and defenses (how animals protect themselves in the wild, by hiding, with armor, by fighting back, etc.).  The information is interesting, and oftentimes kooky or gross or weird. (Did you know the Surinam toad eggs are embedded in pockets on the mother's back, from which the tadpoles emerge? Or that horned lizards shoot blood from their eyes at predators for protection?!!) Kids will eat this stuff up!

There is so much to look at and read. In addition to the illustrations and animal facts, Jenkins features actual size illustrations of animals and eggs and represents information in graphs, charts, and other graphics. Everything is laid out artistically and his artistic and graphic eye is apparent on every page. An incredible amount of work must have been put into this and it paid off. Excellent in every way.

Just look at the artistic depiction of these animals! Such an eye

Picture This: Dream Animals

Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin

In this enchanting bedtime story, Emily Winfield Martin asks and answers the question, How do we get to Dreamland?

"Dreamland is too far to run and sleepy feet, too slow," she explains, so Dream Animals take us to our dreams.

After introducing this concept that Dream Animals transport children to their dreams, Martin describes and illustrates possible dreams. For example, she posits that a bear could take you to meet friends and shows a boy on the back of a bear, followed by a full page spread of the those friends "set[ting] their misfit table for a feast that never ends." A fox takes a girl to an elfin hollow; a narwhal takes another girl to an underwater tea party with mermaids. The magical dreamscapes she creates will appeal to children and awaken their own imaginations. I love the soft, dreamy illustrations. They remind me of the style of the 40s and 50s. Even the endpages are great: they show children getting ready for bed at the beginning, and children asleep at the end. (and the hardcover of the book features constellations of dream animals). She has composed the story using a nice rhythm and rhyme which gives the story a sort of musical flow. Everything about the text and illustrations complements the story and its dreamlike tone. I would get this to read to my own children. Love.

Recent Read: The Killing Woods

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

Emily's dad emerges from the woods one night carrying what she thinks is the body of a deer, but it's not; it's the body of a girl--one of her classmates. Her dad is charged with manslaughter--accused of killing the Ashlee during a PTSD flashback. But Emily doesn't believe it. What really happened that night?

Emily’s not the only one wanting to know what happened that night. Ashlee’s boyfriend Damon woke up wondering why his girlfriend wasn’t next to him, his memories of the previous night foggy, at best.

Told from the alternating voices of Emily and Damon, the reader is very much inside each of their distinct heads, and neither one of them shares everything with the other, making for very different perspectives and interpretation of events and evidence. Christopher unfolds this riveting mystery piece by piece, always giving the reader significant information, without ever being predictable. As Emily and Damon both investigate and analyze the events, they find themselves awash in doubts and also drawn together in ways they never expected. Though at its heart this is a mystery, The Killing Woods explores deeper themes, like guilt, character, and trust, and tells more personal stories, like that of Emily coming to grips with her father’s PTSD. The Killing Woods is one gripping, psychologically intense, and emotionally charged murder mystery. Loved it.

Picture This: Battle Bunny

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett, illustrated by Matthew Myers

Alex's Grandma gives him a sweet easy reader about a bunny for his birthday: "To my little birthday bunny." But Alex decides to turn the book into something awesome: Battle Bunny.

Laugh-out-loud hysterical. The original book, Birthday Bunny, is about a bunny excited about his birthday is disappointed to the point of tears when no one remembers (only to be surprised with a party in the end). However, Alex's revised book is about Battle Bunny and his efforts to enact an evil plan. When the president's special agents can't stop Battle Bunny, Alex must save the day. While Birthday Bunny's story is in oil paints, Battle Bunny's is drawn in with pencil. As you can see, Bunny is given a scar, a helmet, an eye-patch, and an ammo belt. He eats brain juice instead of carrot juice and goes chopping through the trees instead of hopping. Illustrated pebbles become grenades, and a acorns become attacking bees.

One of my favorite moments is this scene on the stump/throne. In the original text, Bunny is sad because no one remembered his birthday, but in Alex's version Battle Bunny's feeling strong and laughing, "ha ha."  So while he sits on his throne (which reads "Power is good. Power is mine"), he also has a tear streaming down his face. This is one of the remarkable things about the book they've constructed: there are two complete stories, one layered on top of the other that both contribute to the humor and joy of the book. The illustrations have the same effect: the original Birthday Bunny illustrations are soft and pretty, and of course the added pencil drawings are messy, chaotic and hilarious. There are so many funny things to discover in this book. Fantastic.

(there are tree stumps and saws all over the book, because Battle Bunny doesn't hop, he chops.)

Books of 2013

Books read: 33

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller ✦ The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais ✦ Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys* ✦ Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers ✦ City of Bones by Cassandra Clare ✦ The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett ✦ Smile by Raine Telgemeier ✦ The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh ✦ The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds ✦ An Abundance of Katherines by John Green ✦ The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen ✦ The Symptoms of My Insanity  by Mindy Raf* ✦ Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain ✦ Sabriel by Garth Nix ✦ Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins ✦ Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo ✦ The Queen of Water by Laura Resau ✦ Far Far Away by Tom McNeal* ✦ Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell* ✦ Jinx by Sage Blackwell* ✦ Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins ✦ Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ✦ The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black* ✦ Red by Alison Cherry* ✦The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan* ✦ A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff* ✦ Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan* ✦ Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi ✦ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly ✦ Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick* ✦  Peanut by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe* ✦ Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

*published in 2013

Even fewer books this year. I s'pose that's what happens when you get a real job.

Favorite Books read in 2013:

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
I think I've said it all before--validating, eye-opening.

2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
This was a reread, but it still makes the list because I fully appreciated it this time around (as opposed to when I was 13). Absolutely brilliant.

3. The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
Beautiful story, beautifully told. And i love the question it asks: What role do we play in our own destinies? It's the perfect combination of meaningful, enjoyable, and skillful.

4. Eleanor & Park  by Rainbow Rowell*
Besides the fact that I was 100% engrossed in this book for the 2 days it took me to read, I especially loved two things about this romance: 1. Both kids are imperfect and kinda average 2. The romance (or at least the beginning) happens slowly and realistically: small gestures leading to conversation and friendship and later, passion.

5. Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black*
Delectable. It felt like a guilty pleasure because it was vampires, but the truth is it was good and original and had some depth.

6. Smile by Raina Telgemeier
I so related to this tale of dental and orthodontic disaster. Funny, well-illustrated.

7. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
Good plotting, characters, political intrigue, and page-turning. A great read, plain and simple.

8. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Sepetys has written another inspiring and character-rich story. I loved the setting and the substance of it: character and decisions.

9. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Touching and funny. It sounded awfully politically correct when I read the description, but it turns out it was all about story and characters, and that's what matters most in a book. Tragic, but hopeful and inspiring.

10. The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
Because this is thrilling mystery writing at its best.










Honorable Mention:
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Queen of Water by Laura Resau
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Recent Read: Grave Mercy

Ismae is rescued from a horrifying arranged marriage and delivered to the Convent of St Mortain, where she learns she is a daughter of Death himself. She is trained in the arts of deception and assassination so she can carry out His will, that is, end the lives of traitors. When she leaves on a mission to the high court of Brittany, she becomes embroiled in the politics and dangerous treachery of the nobles there. Will she be able to carry out the orders of the convent when what they see conflicts with what she herself sees?

In Grave Mercy, Robin LaFevers has written some top notch young adult fantasy. The plot and mythology were well-developed. I really liked the pagan-catholic mythology--it was interesting and unique. There was a lot of intrigue and mystery, some action, and a rather romantic romance (it hits a lot of buttons and avoids insta-love). It was an exciting page-turner. And though it’s part of a series, it is a self-contained story that works just fine as a stand alone. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Picture This: Sophie's Squash

Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow, illustrated Anne Wilsdorf

"One bright fall day, Sophie chose a squash the farmers' market. Her parents planned to serve it for supper, but Sophie had other ideas." Sophie names her squash Bernice and plays with her and sings her to sleep. It becomes apparent that no one will be having squash for dinner anytime soon. But what happens when Bernice starts getting blotchy and soft?

I love this one! This story and humor really tickled me. When Sophie's mother suggests they bake Bernice into a casserole before she goes soft and molds, Sophie exclaims, "Don't listen, Bernice!" Her parents try to get Sophie toys, but none is as good as Bernice the squash. After some time, her peers ask, "what's that spotty thing?" She defensively replies, "Her name is Bernice and she's a SQUASH...with FRECKLES." She asks the farmer's market man what keeps a squash healthy. His reply: "Fresh air. Good, clean dirt. A little love." She buries Bernice in the ground, but the snow falls, and Sophie can't find her. I think you might be able to guess what comes next. The illustrations burst with the same emotion and energy that Sophie herself has.

This is a funny, sweet story, expertly told and illustrated.