A Newbery Honor poet partners with a Caldecott artist to produce an illustrated poem written as an invocation – this is truly a powerful combination.
This is a book that needs to be examined and studied several times through. Each time, new details are discovered that further illustrate the short, but dramatic, poem and add depth to the simple and effective words.
The tone is quiet and contemplative. The illustrations are very well-done and can lead to a conversation about the method of scratchboard art, with its intricate details and mostly black and white colors.
This is a quiet, flowing book which should be savored and enjoyed fully – don’t hurry through it!

Fuddles has a perfect life until Puddles (you can guess the reason for his name), the puppy, enters his life. Fuddles is no longer the king of his domain – there is a messy, loud canine there to ruin his day. But, Fuddles changes his opinion of Puddles after a near-disaster with the neighbor dog.

Pictures convey the absolute disgust and disdain that Fuddles has for Puddles. The text is accessible and children will laugh out loud at the cat’s inability to escape the puppy’s slobbery kisses and adoration!

This is an extremely well thought out and organized book directed at kids and teenagers who tend to be quiet or introverted.  This reviewer tends to be quiet, but always in the middle of introversion versus extroversion, since I love crowds and lots of activity.  I wish I had had this book when I was a very quiet teenager, afraid to speak up in class.  One example of this advice is in Chapter 14, The Restorative Niche, which describes people who need to have alone time and how to create a space where they can go to recharge their batteries.  This was helpful for me as a parent, especially since I don’t need this as much as some of my children.

Each chapter presents different characters in everyday scenarios with their varying personalities and needs.  The author then goes on to show how these characters were able to overcome difficulties and be powerful.  At the end of every chapter, there is practical advice on how to deal with these situations. Most chapters also have a cartoonish infograph to make it light in its topics, such as finding a way to leave a party when uncomfortable.  

This is a book that one can read only a few chapters, picking and choosing, and still get a lot out of this book; although I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover.  My favorite chapter was Chapter 12, Changing the World the Quiet Way as it is helpful for Girl Scouts who are looking for Gold Award projects or Boy Scouts looking for Eagle Scout projects.  I highly recommend this book for students, introverts, parents, and teachers.

-Sherrie Barrett for Capital High School Library

We Know It Was You‘s intensity right at the beginning hooked this reader.  Someone was definitely  a psychopath!  We’re not talking blood and guts– this killer in this  works on an emotional level. Formatted as a detective’s log book with dates and times rather than chapters, this is a murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns.  As part of  the initial shock of an opening, readers meet Benny Flax, a nerd who attends the private Winship Academy in Atlanta.  Benny had started a club years prior where he investigates unusual events in the school.  The only other member of his club is Virginia.  While he wants to solve mysteries, she just wants to be part of them.  Throughout the story, these two will work as foils for each other until the mystery is solved.  While Benny and Virginia are as innocent as can be, readers need to be aware that there are definitely upper high school/adult content to the point where there were times this reader felt uncomfortable and wondered the purpose of the talk about sex and body parts.  It did not help the plot at all.  Because of this, a novel that could have been a starred recommendation dropped significantly to just an additional purchase and not really recommended.

A double homicide upsets the quiet Swedish village of Blackwater. The residents are left dealing with finding the murderer while dealing with their own personal issues. The two main characters, Annie Raft and Johann Brandberg, face communes and cults while coping with their issues of isolation and fear which is the main theme of the novel.

In this adult book, while the writing is very pretty, the plot is very confusing; the point-of-view was messy. The novel is translated from Swedish. There was character development, but it was lost in the flip-flopping of the characters’ stories. The reader’s full attention is required and multiple readings might be necessary in order to fully understand the plot development.
Final verdict: It is an interesting book, but, will leave the reader more confused than satisfied.

— Faith E.

This dystopian novel takes place after the Seventeen Days of destruction. Eliza, the second princess of England, must find her captured brother and sister and stop the man who killed her mother. Eliza, pretending to be one of “the evil people” sees how they evil people fight and rule. Thus, educating her to become more passionate for the people and the crown.

If you are looking for a literary read, this is not the book. However, if you are looking for an engaging, fun, fast-paced read, this is your book. Teens will be able to relate to the characters especially Eliza, who depicts a strong heroine, and her younger brother, who is a symbol for freedom and growing up. There are some very fun plot twists. The romance between Eliza and Wesley seems a bit unnecessary. The end is very powerful, but some of the impact of the ending is lost when the reader realizes that there will be a second book. This book is smartly-written and readers will enjoy the wild ride.

— Faith E.

An active boy named Scribble and his imaginary friend, a bird named Buttonhole share many things. As they talk and ask questions about the world around them, some of the answers Buttonhole shares are thoughtless stereotypes. “Elephants bang into things and are rude and loud.  They trumpet,” says Buttonhole.  Scribble greets the arrival of Dash, a quiet polite elephant who likes ballet with a smile, but Buttonhole is not so welcoming.  Only when Buttonhole and Dash realize that dancing is like flying do they join together in play.  Scribble and his friends then happily dance through the house on adventures;  The bath is a sea, the legs of a table a forest, and the couch becomes a mountain.

The quirky illustrations give the story a feeling of motion.  Grump the cat appears on each page with grouchy commentary distracting at times from the story line while in others focusing attention on the feelings of the characters.

An Australian import.

Cricket Song is an invitation to listen to the world around us.  A child falls asleep to the song of crickets.  The cricket’s song mingles with the “kreck” of frogs and leads to the poorwill and the fox.  The sounds of one creature leads to another until the story spans the water to another land where another child also dozes to the song of crickets.  The lyrical text flows smoothly from page to page, filled with examples of onomatopoeia.

Beautiful pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations lend the story a soothing feel.  The picture at the bottom of each page shows the two children’s’ houses on either side of the water.  Minute changes in the image from page to page shows the progress of the day yet at the same time unifying the characters and events in the story.

Together the text and images portray the diversity of the world around us as well as the sameness of our human experience.

Mr Pip, a monkey and Frederick, the famous actor are best friends.  On his birthday, Frederick receives numerous outrageous gifts from people all over the world, but is unable to enjoy any of them because Mr. Pip is clearly unhappy. Worried about Mr. Pip, Frederick takes him to vets all over the city.  When none of them can help Mr. Pip, Frederick leaves Mr. Pip with the Guild of Geniuses to determine why he isn’t happy.  After a week and many unsuccessful quirky solutions, Frederick returns to find Mr. Pip is still unhappy.  It turns out all Mr. Pip needed was a chance to present Frederick with his birthday present and the chance to spend some time together.  A rather awkward story, though amusing at times.

Nukappia lives with his adoptive parents in Ottawa, but spends his summers with his biological family in an Arctic Inuit village in northern Nunavut.   The story begins as Nukappia rises from a sleepless night at his Uncle’s house in town.  His uncle Angu will walk him to his grandparent’s annual camp along the shoreline.  As they walk, the reader experiences the Arctic through the eyes of the Inuit.  The dried seaweed can be a delicious soup or used in medicine, catching fish using a weir with kakivaks (traditional fishing spears) and digging for clams and jigging for sculpin through the ice.  As Uncle Angu shares his knowledge that “almost everything that can be found on the shoreline is useful as either a medicine, food, or helpful tool,” Nukappia’s excitement grows for their arrival in the camp.  His greeting with his entire northern family fills him with happiness.

Glossary of Arctic Plants and Animals includes Inuit, English and scientific names, photograph, description, and Inuit traditional uses.  Glossary of Landforms and Tools Used on the Shoreline include illustrations and descriptions.