The Day I Became A Bird

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Day I became a bird

Originally published in Spain: El dia en que me converti un pajaro
A simple but sophisticated international title for your collection.

The first day of school a little boy falls in love with Sylvia, the girl that sits in front of him. The story is told as the picture show another story – the construction of the bird taking place. Our protagonist has learned that Sylvia is wildly into birds, so he has decided to become one to get her to notice him. He wants to stand out, as a bird, even though it is hard to climb trees, to keep his balance playing soccer and to even walk. He doesn’t care that others are giggling at him.  Matter of fact, nothing else seems important. All that he cares about is Sylvia.

A sweet, innocent tale of first love. Guridi is clever in use of minimalist drawings and sparse use of color set against a beige background. This allows the reader to really focus in on the story. thedayibecameabird5

Wearing the bird costume constantly has caused it to breakdown to the point where we see the boy’s face. This is the moment when Sylvia notices the boy. This is a great scene to open the discussion of loving others for who they really are and about just being thedayibecameabird0ourselves.

 

 

 

 

A good read aloud for older grade levels too.

Snail & Worm

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Tina Kugler has credownloadated an engaging beginning reader book. This book contains three short story that feature Snail and Worm.  Snail is a happy, likable guy that is sometimes misguided in his understandings. Worm is more astute and is friends with Snail.

The repetitive words and phrases are enhanced by the colorful, simple drawings.  The page layout is a mix of traditional full page with minimal text and multiple images with in-line text.  Younger readers will laugh at the absurdity of Snail playing tag with a stick and a stone, but may miss the secondary joke concerning Snail’s speed. They will giggle as Snail climbs a flower that bends under his weight, leaving him 1/2 inch from the ground. Worm cheers him on as he makes the climb. “Wow, I can see so much from up here!” Snail exclaims. Worm responds, “I’m so proud of you.” What a supportive friend!

Snail & Worm will provide the beginning reader a sense of maturity as this book is a bit different than the traditional beginning readers in shape, layout and content. It will also offer the struggling older student a good choice without embarrassment.

 

Bull

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In the hip-hop spirit of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, Hamilton, David Elliot has crafted a reimagining of the myth of the Minotaur voiced in poetic forms by those that influenced the tragic life of Asterion, a gentle intelligent boy born with the head of a bull and the body of a man, whom his mother calls Ruler of the Stars.

He is destroyed by Poseidon, King of the Sea, whose fury at Minos, King of Crete leads him to manipulate Daedalus, The Royal Engineer; Pasiphae, Asterion’s mother the Queen of Crete; and Ariadne, Asterion’s half-sister, into the cruelty and abandonment that drives Asterion into final madness as he becomes the beast of myth, ultimately destroyed by Theseus.

This format makes Bull a fast but deeply memorable read, forever casting new light upon the making of a monster and the culpability of gods and humans in so doing.  Elliot gives an elucidating description of the poetic forms chosen for each character and delves into the origins of Asterion’s birth, something previous tellings of the myth do not include.  It’s also noteworthy to say that there is strong language and imagery at times, thus the target audience is probably the upper grades in high school and into college.  Recommended.

Understanding Suicide: A National Epidemic

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Understanding Suicide: A National Epidemic is a source book for those seeking to understand more about the global epidemic of suicide. Written by Connie Goldsmith, a registered nurse who also holds an Masters of Public Administration who has written sixteen non-fiction books for middle and high school readers, this text looks at true stories of families dealing with the death of a child, presents the risk factors for suicide, discusses suicide in children and teens, examines the escalating tragedy of suicide in the military, looks at suicide among the non-military adult population, and highlights how intervention and treatment can save lives.

The text includes source notes, a glossary, a selected bibliography,  photos and side bars, an index, and sources where readers can find additional resources, including books, video and audio, and websites.

This is not recreational reading, and is a bit dry. But with the epidemic of suicide, this new text (2017) will be a good addition to a school library.

In-Between Days

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In-between Days, by Australian young adult author Vikki Wakefield, gives a real look into the lives of people in a small, rural town. Known for its “Suicide Forest”, Mobius feels like a dead-end town, and Jacklin, a 17 year old girl, feels trapped there. Jack’s life is filled with sibling conflict, an overbearing mother, a dad who has left the family,  a miserable job, and a tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend, who breaks her heart.

Jack struggles to truly find herself after losing everything.   She makes a new friends in a man named Pope, a wanderer camping in the woods behind her house, and begins a new relationship with Jeremiah, the boy next door.  Jack’s internal struggle between sexual desire and true intimacy puts this book right on the edge of adult fiction. Readers who likes books with female main characters, teen angst, family conflict, and other realities of  life will enjoy this book.

My Brilliant Idea (And How It Caused My Downfall)

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My Brilliant Idea is about a fifteen-year-old schemer, Jack Dawson, who daydreams in class and ironically gets the brilliant idea to invent an app that stops you from daydreaming in class. This leads to him developing a series of complicated events with other characters that eventually build up to his initial plan.  But Jack runs into some trouble, and suddenly his idea that will lead him to fame and fortune doesn’t seem quite so sure.

It was hard to like Jack, as he was so annoying. And other characters, the weird girl, an even weirder boy, the stupid dad, the evil teacher, and the busy mom, just stayed stereotypes and did not develop.

Too predictable of a plot with non-engaging characters.

The Beast is an Animal

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The Beast is an Animal is a fantasy novel with a theme that felt fantastically dark like most fairy-tales. Here is a quote from the book: “Alys, in fact, had never been afraid. Her favorite nursery rhymes were the scary ones. The ones about The Beast sucking out your soul and leaving behind nothing but gristle and skin. Those were the ones Alys liked best.”

The story was engaging, suspenseful, creepy, scary, unfair, with a setting that felt very historical.  The book opens with a scenario that is reminiscent of the best classic fairy tales: twin sisters, born in a small suspicious village, are abandoned by their father in the woods.  They grow into something not quite human that need to feed on souls to survive.  Alys and the other children in the village are spared by the twins and taken in by a nearby village. Fear of the soul eaters and of the Beast rules village life, but the Beast is not what they think he is and neither is Alys.

This young adult novel will appeal to readers who enjoy dark fantasy, fairy tales, and historical settings.

 

A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human

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A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human combines history, paleontology, biology and medical science to  paints a picture of how man and wolves co-evolve together like no other animals on Earth.   The fossilized discovery, in 1997, of the prints of a boy and his dog walking through the Chauvet cave in southern France revealed carbon-dating much earlier than previously thought about the domestication of dogs from wolves. The author also details differences between wolves and dogs, what we’ve learned about how dogs think through MRI exams, how law enforcement, search/rescue and therapy dogs are trained, and more.  It is a wonderful science book that is so “readable” and touching I forgot it was a “science” book.  Anyone who loves reading about dogs will love this real-life dog story.

In Over Their Heads

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In book two of this series, the war continues with between the robots. Erin and Nick are two human children raised by robot parents. Erin and Nick, with Ava and Jackson, the illegal robot children in which the parents made, take their robot parents on the run to escape from the killer robots. The family arrives in the forest near a maze of caves where they meet Lida Mae.

The robot father connects to the internet which allows the killer robots to track their location. When the robots come for the family, the parents shut down so they can’t be tracked which leaves the kids on the run through the caves. They discover a cavern that is for robots only. Ava connects and learns there are baby robots in the cave that have the ability to grow as humans do. Eventually the killer robots surround the kids within the cave and prepare to kill everyone, human and robot. However, Erin comes up with a plan to connect her robot sister, Ava, to a killer robot and reprogram the killer robot with kindness. Because the killer robots are all internet connected, they all reprogram to see the good in the world.

The Year of the Garden

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When eight-year-old Anna Wang is given several packets of seeds and a copy of The Secret Garden by an elderly neighbor, she becomes intent on growing a garden of her own in the yard of her family’s new home. She meets Laura, also a new girl in the neighborhood, and together they start the work of plotting the land and turning the soil.  In this prequel to The Year of the Book, you can join Anna in a year of discovery, new beginnings, friendships, and growth.  Patrice Barton’s softly blended monochromatic illustrations match the delicacy of the text. Fans of Anna and Laura’s adventures will enjoy seeing the beginning of the girls’ friendship.