Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type

That Swingin’ Sound: The Musical Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong by Rekha S. Rajan

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A story of two musical greats, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, told through rhythmic text and vibrant pictures. As a young girl growing up in Harlem, Ella loved to dance. She dreamed of dancing onstage at the Apollo Theater. Louis Armstrong grew up in the south singing along with jazz music. A teacher asked if he could make a brass instrument sing too. Ella and Louis knew of each other but they had not met until one night they took the stage together.

The illustrations are vibrant and fill the two page spread. There is an author’s note and illustrator note at the end as well as other recommended reading for kids. Jazz music and jazz musicians may not be familiar to most young readers, but this would give them an great introduction.

Himalayan Nights by Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal

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Good night, Himalayas! The sun begins to set over the mountain crest.

Explore the Himalayan mountains with this bedtime story. Travel by bike or by boat. Swim in a lake or have a picnic. Each page explores a different feature of the Himalayan mountains with a text box that includes a pronunciation guide and facts about the area that will introduce readers to an area they may not be familiar with. The illustrations are vibrant, inviting, and fill the 2 page spread.

Greatest Moments in Sports Series

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This graphic novel series highlights memorable sports accomplishments from the past. From boxing to tennis, horse racing to rowing the series highlights the achievements of 20th century athletes.

  • Series includes:
    • The Miracle on Ice
    • Rumble in the Jungle: Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman
    • Billie Jean King and the Battle of the Sexes
    • Going for Gold: Wilma Rudolph and the 1960 Olympics
    • Off to the Races!: Secretariat and the Triple Crown
    • A Winning Crew: The 1936 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team

The stories are factually accurate and told through illustration, text boxes, and speech bubbles. The speech bubbles with red font are direct historical quotes. Speech bubbles with black font are recreated dialog for the sake of the narrative story.

A Friend for Fox

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Fox loves sharing a cup of cocoa around the fire with his friends. But as the sun sets, all his friends head off to bed. Feeling lonely, Fox sets out to find someone awake with whom to share a cup of cocoa. He helps turtle, bear, rabbit, and duckling, but as soon as they can, they head off to bed. Finally in frustration, fox yells, “Doesn’t anyone want to have cocoa with me?” All the animals grumpily rouse to “Shhh!” fox. Fox starts to cry. Owl, bat, frog, and raccoon gather around to comfort him and are thrilled with the idea of having a cup of cocoa with him. As dawn arrives, they all head to sleep…until fox is awakened by all of his daytime friends arrive to share a cup a cocoa.

A fun and engaging title to include when studying nocturnal and diurnal animals.


Una nueva ciudad, un nuevo hogar / A New City, a New Home 

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A young boy’s parents tell him at dinner that the family will be moving to a new city in a new country for a new job. His parents try to get him excited by explaining all the neat things about their new home. The whole idea is so scary, the young boy wakes at night with scary dreams. The long drive to their new city is both tiring and fun. Their new home in their new city feels so different to the boy. A good sleep, a stuffie hug, and the next morning looks brighter. Standing on the balcony, the boy is ready for new adventures and greets the world with, “Hello Houston”.

Many titles about immigration focus on movement due to economic, social, or political hardship. This is a lighter story that highlights the decision to move for a new job. Highly recommended for all libraries, especially those that serve immigrant communities.

The text is in both Spanish and English.

Tíos and Primos

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A young girl and her father arrive in his country of origin. She has grown up speaking English and is not confident in her Spanish. This makes her nervous to meet her large extended family. At the same time, the sights of her father’s birth country and the Spanish language fascinate her as she meets her tíos, tías, and primos. And finally she gets to meet her abuela and they share the biggest hug. She learns that differences in language don’t keep her from feeling the closeness of family. As she leaves her extended family at the end of their trip, she has a sense of connection and the confidence that they will see each other again.

This book has a place in multicultural lessons especially when focused on celebrating students’ diverse origins. Pair with Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh to highlight the continued connection of extended families across borders.

Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the text, particularly in the dialog with family.

A Scrub in the Tub by Jan Thomas

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Who needs a scrub in the tub? Rabbit and Weasel are trying to convince pig that he needs a scrub in the tub. Pig thinks a splash of water, a mud bath or a scrub with a shrub will do. Will a bubble bath convince Pig to get into the tub? Or will Rabbit and Weasel end up in the tub? With rhymes and expressive characters, this is a fun read.

Family of Friends by Varsha Bajaj

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Isha’s birthday is coming and her grandmother is coming from India to visit. Isha can’t wait for her Nani to come. She tells her neighbor Mrs. Garcia all about Nani and she invites Mrs. Garcia and others to the party. As she gets things ready for her Nani, her Nani says she is sick and can’t come. Isha is so sad, but soon realizes that her friends are like her family and Nani will visit when she is feeling better.

A heartfelt story of dealing with disappointment and discovering the value of friendship.

Last Chance Live!

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Helena Hawoode Henry is brilliant in her choice of character names, words, and the book’s title, Last Chance Live!. She masterfully threads together the story of Eternity, a death row teenager waiting… Waiting in an interrogation room only to be “hoodwinked ‘ into confessions. Waiting for the opportunity to participate in the reality show that could save her life if, for once in her life, she wins. If only to visit what, Disneyland, a place that Eternity longed for—a place of belonging, happiness, and community.

Haywood Henry’s storytelling is both poetic and more like nonfiction. Inner-city dialogue and vivid descriptions make the characters real. One could almost shudder to taste the institutionalized prison food described. Because the writing wraps the reader into the story, when Eternity admits to committing a horrible crime, her humanity challenges the reader to examine oneself and ask the question, ‘Does my life have enough value to be forgiven?’

Spoiler alert: Last Chance Live! will leave readers longing for ‘the happy ending’. But true to the author’s style. And be sure to read the Author’s Note, which provides hope and a challenge to take part in change.

Review written by Sidney Frazier-Barker, edited by Kristi Bonds

Will Eisner: A Comic Biography

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Will Eisner: A Comics Biography, written by Stephen Weiner and Dan Mazur is about the man, the myth, the legend who created the genre of graphic novels devoured by millions today. The book begins with “Billy’s” immigrant parents meeting in New York City early in the 20th century. Racism, constantly moving to new homes, and financial struggles shaped his childhood. According to our authors, it was during Eisner’s childhood that literature diverged on two paths: respectable and the “pulps”. Eisner was introduced to the pulps by a neighbor. More fast-paced and perhaps more lurid, Eisner’s imagination took off in the form of sketching. To help his family during the Depression, he began selling newspapers, and in newspapers, he discovered the comics. A high school art class gave him the confidence to ask to work for his high school newspaper. This also led to a new friend who introduced him to the concept of selling his talents, putting out daily comic strips, and inventing comic books sold at newsstands. This was the beginning of Eisner’s fame.

Authors Weiner and Mazur enrich the story in unique ways. They detail exactly how comics were physically put onto a newspaper back in the day with printing plates. They display how Eisner and his fellow business partner shift from creating pulps to jumbo comics, including hiring more people and building a drawing system to keep production smooth, and knowing when to say no to a deal that took away the creator’s copyright of the work.

People recognized Eisner as a pioneer after he came back to his art in the early 1970s. Entire books with full-length drawn stories that bookstores didn’t have a name for were given the name “Graphic Novels”. Weiner and Mazur weave their words and drawings into a detailed biography of Eisner, using the ‘illustrated novel’ style that Eisner himself invented. Perhaps without realizing the irony, students who pick this up will realize that they are learning the ‘origin story’ of the genre. And if they make it to the end, they will see that Eisner’s success is because he chose to do what he loved.