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Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Tia loves music. But as a young African-American girl living in the deep South in the early 1900s, she has neither the opportunity nor the means to pursue her dream of creating it. One day, as she passes a house in the “white” part of town, she hears a lovely new kind of music, different from the blues guitar she’s grown up with the sweet notes of a piano. “It made Tia think of castles, mountains, and deep snow. The music took her away from the hot, dry town.” Tia so longs to hear more of it that she takes a job as a maid for the kind, elderly Miss Hartwell who lives in that music-filled house. William Miller’s wise and gentle words convey to the reader the power of music to soothe the human soul and transport us from our mundane lives to the land of our dreams. While listening to the piano’s melodies, Tia forgets her lot in life and escapes from her dreary, work-weary world. Music treats everyone the same and cannot distinguish between colors or ages. It treats everyone who embraces it like royalty.

Susan Keeter’s wonderful illustrations in mostly cool pastel colors seem to blend and soften the contrast between the “white world” and the “black world.” The most memorable image is that of Miss Hartwell’s white hands and Tia’s black ones resting together, in harmony, on the white and black piano keys. The illustrations truly bring this charming story to life.

Miller has given us a touching tale of how music transcends all social barriers and forms connections between very different people. Tia and Miss Hartwell have little else in common besides a love for music, yet somehow that’s enough to form a true friendship.

Carolyn Cates lives and writes in Nashville.

Tia loves music. But as a young African-American girl living in the deep South in the early 1900s, she has neither the opportunity nor the means to pursue her dream of creating it. One day, as she passes a house in the "white" part of…
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

These middle grade novels cast spells of storytelling

Feature by Linda Castellitto

Stories have the power to change the world, especially in these captivating fantasy tales. The heroes of these books will enthrall and inspire as they battle dark forces and find their paths. 

The Legend of Brightblade by Ethan M. Aldridge book cover

The Legend of Brightblade

Prince Alto lives in a castle perched on a cliff above the seaside village of Dawn’s Bay. His mother is Lady Brightblade, ruler of the land of Skald, a setting splendidly depicted on a map at the beginning of The Legend of Brightblade, a standalone graphic novel by Ethan M. Aldridge.

Skald is enjoying an era of harmony thanks to victories immortalized in song by Master Eluvian, a gifted magical bard, but Lady Brightblade knows that conflict simmers beneath the surface. She’s determined to reach an agreement with Chief Dagda, leader of the trolls, to ensure that their peoples can safely work together toward continued peace and greater prosperity.

Alto, however, finds all of this boring. He just wants to play his mandolin and refine his magical musicianship abilities so he can be a hero someday, too. He’s fortunate to have Master Eluvian as his teacher, but he’s grown impatient with all the practicing. Alto feels ready to make his mark on the world now! After a frustrating conversation with his mother about his princely duties, Alto sneaks out of the castle, a wide grin on his face as he runs headlong into the life he’s been dreaming of.

At a bustling marketplace, Alto is delighted to meet Ebbe, a troll who also creates magic with her music. He’s less delighted when he crosses paths with an angry bard named Fell, who seems to have malevolent intentions. Soon, Alto feels torn between fulfilling his dream of forming a troupe with Ebbe and another bard, Clarabel, and following his instincts about Fell’s sinister plans alone. 

As Ebbe, Clarabel and Alto embark on a cross-country journey, questions mount: Just how angry will Lady Brightblade be at Alto for shirking his royal responsibilities? Will he, Ebbe and Clarabel work well as a trio? And can they stop Fell together before he destroys Skald’s fragile peace? 

Aldridge’s detailed watercolor and ink illustrations bring his tale’s magical jam sessions to life in scenes that burst with color. Each musician’s magic has its own shape and hue. When Alto and Ebbe perform together for the first time, their joy is tangible as the swirling green flames of Alto’s magic swoop and dive around the diamond-shaped notes that flow from Ebbe’s cello. It’s just as affecting when Alto witnesses the purple coils of Fell’s magic surround the objects of his wrath.

Fans of fantasy graphic novels, including Aldridge’s Estranged duology, will revel in The Legend of Brightblade’s gentle humor and spirit of adventure. It’s thrilling to watch these young bards compose their own magical destinies.

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill book cover

The Ogress and the Orphans

Newbery Medalist Kelly Barnhill’s The Ogress and the Orphans is at once a lovely fairy tale and a striking allegory, a fantastical story imbued with wonder and warmth that pointedly holds a mirror up to societal dysfunction.

The tale unfolds in the little town of Stone-in-the-Glen, which was a wonderful place to live until its library mysteriously burned down. That devastation proved to be a turning point in the town’s history: After the library, other buildings burned, too. Trees died, floods came, and eventually, the omniscient narrator says, “The whole town seemed to scowl.”

When a dashing newcomer arrived and slayed multiple dragons in short order, the beleaguered townspeople of Stone-in-the-Glen were so relieved that they elected him Mayor. Yet he did not rebuild the town nor foster connections among neighbors, and so the residents of Stone-in-the-Glen became entrenched in their isolation and ennui. 

At the Orphan House, however, things are very different. Thanks to Matron, Myron and the 15 children they care for, love still flows through all of its rooms. At the Ogress’ farm on the edge of town, things are different, too. After roaming the world for many human lifetimes, the Ogress has settled down in the hopes of someday feeling that she has found a place to belong. Her best pals, a murder of hilariously self-impressed crows, accompany her on her nighttime trips to anonymously deliver gifts to residents’ doorsteps, a gesture in keeping with her guiding principle, “the more you give, the more you have.” 

The orphans’ and the Ogress’ lives collide when young Cass runs away from the Orphan House and is returned safely by the Ogress. To the orphans’ shock, the Ogress is accused of kidnapping, and the townspeople, led by their devious Mayor, are determined to drive her away. They seem immune to facts and evidence, not to mention completely unwilling to listen to children. Barnhill’s solution to this pernicious problem is an exercise in creativity, strategy, kindness and the power of storytelling that is magnificent to behold.

The Ogress and the Orphans is a delight from start to finish. Barnhill writes at a steady, measured pace, and her magic-infused narrative thoughtfully invites readers to ponder the nature of truth, generosity and community.

Two fantastical books for young readers, Kelly Barnhill's The Ogress and the Orphans and Ethan M. Aldridge's The Legend of Brightblade are captivating enchantments.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

The Aquanaut

Review by Hannah Lamb

The Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend brings his whimsical and fun-filled storytelling style to a longer format in The Aquanaut, a graphic novel for middle grade readers.

Sophia Revoy’s family has always been involved in marine biology. Her father and uncle regularly go out to sea on long research expeditions, and they also opened a marine reserve and theme park called Aqualand in their hometown of San Diego. But five years ago, Sophia’s father was lost at sea during an expedition, and neither Sophia nor Aqualand has been the same since.

One afternoon, Sophia heads to the park to convince her uncle to help with her science fair project, her final hope of salvaging her failing grade in science class. On her way through the park to Aqualand’s labs, she bumps into someone in an aquanaut suit. She quickly discovers that the suit isn’t being worn by a person. Instead, it’s an animatronic device being piloted by a quartet of sea creatures: Captain Sodapop, a hermit crab; Carlos, a dumbo octopus; Jobim, a sea turtle; and Antonio, a tiny blanket octopus. Sophia is swept up in a series of mishaps and escapades with these unlikely friends. Along the way, she uncovers long-buried secrets about her father’s disappearance—and about Aqualand itself.

Dan Santat’s signature visual style lends itself beautifully to the lighthearted, adventurous tone of the story and its many moments of slapstick comedy. His panels are colorful and bright, and his characters are cartoonish in the best way. Santat excels in drawing human and sea creature facial expressions that drive home the emotions each character feels. The Aquanaut is a humorous and heartwarming tale about the lengths to which we’ll go to protect and care for our families.

A quartet of sea creatures may hold the key to Sophia’s father’s disappearance in The Aquanaut, a humorous, heartwarming graphic novel.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Some children’s books are written to entertain. Others are written to educate in an entertaining manner. Rainy Day falls in the latter category.

Written by a journalist who specializes in children’s books, Rainy Day has a simple theme: Children can have meaningful relationships with fathers who no longer live in the home. The book describes the experiences of a young boy visiting with his father on a rainy day. They romp together in the rain, explore a wooded park, then visit a seashore, where giant waves pound in all about them. Toward the end of their visit, the rain stops and the sun breaks through the clouds, allowing sea gulls to fill the air. The message is simple: Rainy days aren’t so bad. And they don’t last forever. Incredibly, the father and son depicted in the book bear a remarkable resemblance to Cuban Juan Miguel Gonzalez and his son Elian. That is a coincidence, of course, since the artwork was completed long before the Gonzalez family made news around the world as a symbol of paternal rights, but it does get your attention.

Illustrator Angelo Rinaldi does an excellent job with the artwork, although its grainy, soft-focus images seem to target adults more than children. Where Rinaldi truly excels is in his depictions of the physical interactions between father and son. There is lots of hugging and hand holding and playful roughhousing. Obviously, Rinaldi understands that young children are far better able to remember their parents’ physical gestures toward them than their spoken words. With children, a single loving gesture is worth a thousand words or any number of expensive toys. Children who read the book will probably pick up on this message faster than their parents.

Written for children ages five to eight, this book is highly recommended for households experiencing divorce or separation.

Before becoming an author of books for adults, James L. Dickerson worked for seven years as a social worker in a child protection agency. He is a divorced father of a son.

Some children's books are written to entertain. Others are written to educate in an entertaining manner. Rainy Day falls in the latter category.

Written by a journalist who specializes in children's books, Rainy Day has a simple theme: Children can have meaningful relationships…
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Review

Review by bookpagedev

At dusk, when he couldn’t draw anymore, Max used to sing . . . . His songs were wordless. I’d snuggle into the cozy red easy chair and listen. With these vivid images, German illustrator and author Quint Buchholz begins his gorgeous new children’s book, The Collector of Moments.

The narrator of this charming and beautifully illustrated story visits daily an old painter named Max. Max paints constantly, but turns the pictures to face the wall. He explains that an artist can’t show a picture too soon. He also tells stories of things he has seen a floating circus wagon, snow elephants in Canada.

Then one day Max leaves town for awhile and asks the boy to care for his studio. When he enters, the boy finds that the pictures are now turned outward, creating a private exhibition for him, with brief cryptic notes by Max. The paintings show many of the outrageous scenes Max described in his stories. As he thinks about the pictures, the boy reflects, Max always captured a precise moment. But I understood that there was always a story attached to this moment which had begun long before and would continue long afterward. He remembers that Max had once said, I’m merely the collector. I collect moments. Penguins walking down a city street, a giant flute being air-lifted in the dusk by balloons these are some of Max’s moments. A king, a little girl, and a lion head out to sea in a small boat with an outboard motor. A boy and his six-inch-high companion stare out to sea together. The pictures are saturated in both subtle color and subtle emotion.

Finally the boy realizes why Max wanted him to see the pictures while he was away so that he would decipher them on his own. The answers to all my questions, the boy thinks to himself, were revealed in the long spells which I spent in front of the pictures. Children who read and look at The Collector of Moments will have the same response as the narrator long spells of becoming lost in the pictures, slowly finding the answers for themselves. And then they will understand the lovely moment on the last page, when the boy receives a final gift from Max.

Michael Sims is the author of two children’s science books that will be published next year.

At dusk, when he couldn't draw anymore, Max used to sing . . . . His songs were wordless. I'd snuggle into the cozy red easy chair and listen. With these vivid images, German illustrator and author Quint Buchholz begins his gorgeous new children's book,…
Children's & YAPicture Book

John’s Turn

Review by Julie Danielson

The opening of Mac Barnett and Kate Berube’s John’s Turn ushers readers into an elementary school. Every Friday at this particular school, students gather in the cafeteria for what’s called assembly. Best of all, if everyone behaves, one student “gets to do something for the whole school.” The school dubs this tradition “Sharing Gifts.” (In one of many instances in the book that proves Barnett is no stranger to how children think, we read: “A lot of us think that’s a kind of dumb name, but we also think Sharing Gifts is the best.”)

John is reticent and uneasy on the day of his turn for Sharing Gifts. While Mr. Ross makes announcements, John prepares behind the curtain. In a series of vignettes, we see him change into a leotard, pants and slippers. John has decided to perform ballet.

Berube’s warmly colored illustrations capture how John’s apprehension turns to confidence and even elation as he dances; his facial expressions and body language are spot-on. Much of this perfectly paced book is devoted to John’s performance, including five elegantly and economically composed, almost wordless spreads. In one, John gracefully lifts himself in an arc across the page. In the next, he moves across and down the spread in a series of steps, Berube’s sure lines showcasing his strength and skill. Near the end, a blur of movement ends in John’s beaming face as he is suspended mid-air in a leap.

Barnett wisely avoids heavy-handed commentary about ballet and gender stereotypes. There is no need for it. In John’s accomplished, nuanced and athletic performance, readers can see for themselves that boys, too, do ballet.

And anyway, at its heart, John’s Turn is about much more: It’s about the abundant and everyday courage of children, and it is also about “sharing gifts.” John faces down his fear to share his gift with determination, beauty and a style that is all his own. A true gift, indeed.

It’s John’s turn to perform at assembly, and he’s feeling nervous. Will he find the courage to share his gifts with his classmates?
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday most visible to non-Jews. Usually occurring near Christmas, it gets quite a lot of attention simply because of a coincidence of the calendar. One positive result of Hanukkah’s increasing commercialism is a feast of new books fiction and nonfiction for all ages. The publishing industry gives adults no excuse not to give at least one new book to children during the eight-day holiday.

Festival of Lights is a particularly valuable offering. It’s the story of Hanukkah, plain and simple its origins and significance told in concise, action-filled language. Colorful, detailed, and spirited pictures are balanced with just the right amount of text on each page, which sustains the interest of readers and listeners. The main story, of course, is the Maccabee victory over Greek oppressors, and the miracle of the cruse of oil that burned for eight days instead of one. Following this are explanations of the menorah and dreidel legends, simple instructions for making and playing with dreidels, and music for one of the traditional holiday songs: a Rock of Ages (Ma-oz Tzur).

Such merits make the book an ideal introduction to the holiday for non-readers and readers up to age eight. It can form the cornerstone of a family holiday library, re-focus a burgeoning Hanukkah collection, or serve as the festival’s literary representative for schools and churches. First published in 1987, the re-issue of Festival of Lights happily makes it available to new audiences. Making history and legend entertaining and memorable, it is a pleasant reminder of the real reason for the season.

Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday most visible to non-Jews. Usually occurring near Christmas, it gets quite a lot of attention simply because of a coincidence of the calendar. One positive result of Hanukkah's increasing commercialism is a feast of new books fiction and nonfiction for…
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

ÊWhen you shop for fruits and vegetables for your Thanksgiving dinner, beware! As you carefully examine the produce in your favorite market, don’t be surprised to find the produce examining you. Is it possible that fruits and vegetables mirror feelings and moods we humans have? Should you doubt my warning, just leaf through How Are You Peeling? Whether happy, sad, bored, worried, grumpy, or shy, fruits and vegetables have their own special way of expressing these and many more feelings. Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, the creative minds and artistic hands behind such popular books as Play with Your Food and Play with Your Pumpkin, have captured the natural smiles, frowns, grimaces, and snarls found on fruits and vegetables to produce another delightful book for all ages. The produce sculptures are carved using an Exacto knife. Features are added to enhance natural contours, folds, and indentions by using natural materials such as black-eyed peas for eyes and beet juice coloring for mouths. Once the sculptures are complete, they are photographed against colored backgrounds to achieve the effect and mood of each model. The result is an amazing art form, chock full of humor. A variety of peppers, oranges, onions, apples, melons, tomatoes, strawberries, turnips, pears, lemons, kiwis, and radishes cleverly depict the many human feelings and emotions we experience each day.

The book is easy enough for young readers to enjoy independently. Younger children will identify with the feelings expressed in the clever produce sculptures. The text asks many questions; regardless of what the answers may be, readers of all ages (and picture-lookers, too) will chuckle while turning each page. This book is a very good choice to have on hand when children need help dealing with emotions. Placed on a coffee table, the book will become a humorous conversation piece. After reading How Are You Peeling? you will never again look at produce the same old way.

Cynthia Drennan is a retired university administrator and grandmother of four.

ÊWhen you shop for fruits and vegetables for your Thanksgiving dinner, beware! As you carefully examine the produce in your favorite market, don't be surprised to find the produce examining you. Is it possible that fruits and vegetables mirror feelings and moods we humans have?…
Children's & YAPicture Book

Nigel and the Moon

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

In his debut picture book, Nigel and the Moon, author Antwan Eady introduces a young boy named Nigel Strong. Every night, Nigel travels to the moon to share his hopes and aspirations. Nigel wants to go to space as an astronaut or leap like a ballet dancer, but most of all, he’d love to become a superhero.

During career week at school, Nigel is beset by doubts. As he pages through books about occupations at the library, he doesn’t find any dancers with brown skin who look like him. While his classmates eagerly announce what they want to be when they grow up, Nigel holds back. It’s one thing to share his secret dream of being a superhero with the moon, but quite another to say it out loud in his classroom. And when his classmates discuss their parents’ occupations, Nigel asks to be excused, worried that everyone will laugh because his parents don’t have “fancy jobs.”

But when Nigel’s mom, a postal carrier, and his dad, a truck driver, visit his class on the final day of career week, their enthusiasm for their work lights up the room. Nigel, too, beams with pride after his dad declares, “Raising Nigel’s been the best job we’ve ever had.” His parents’ support gives Nigel the courage he needs to share his dreams with his peers.

Illustrator Gracey Zhang’s ink, gouache and watercolor illustrations vividly capture the lush green trees and brightly colored houses over which Nigel soars each night on his way to the moon. Zhang’s images expertly convey Nigel’s emotions. The deep blue of the night sky and the large, luminous moon complement his nightly musings. In one spread, while his classmates share what their parents do for a living, Nigel sits at his desk on the opposite page, isolated and alone, surrounded by white space.

Eady’s spare text tells a simple but powerful story about believing in yourself and being proud of your family. A final, wordless image shows Nigel peering out his bedroom window at the moon once more, inviting readers to wonder what he might be dreaming of—and to consider their own hopes and dreams, too.

Nigel and the Moon tells a simple but imaginative story about believing in your dreams and finding the courage to share them with others.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Golden Girl

Review by Alice Cary

Life takes an unexpected turn for the worse for seventh grader Aafiyah Qamar, the Pakistani American protagonist of Reem Faruqi’s novel in verse, Golden Girl.

Until recently, Aafiyah’s life was golden. She’s close with her best friend, Zaina. She’s earned a spot on the school tennis team, and her family has plenty of money. She adores compiling facts from Weird But True! books published by National Geographic such as, “Most people hide their valuables in their sock drawers”—information that Aafiyah would be better off not knowing.

Aafiyah begins taking things that don’t belong to her by accident, but then she is lured by the thrill: “I borrow things, / sort of like a library book. / I usually bring them back, / except sometimes / I don’t.” The stakes with her “itchy fingers” get higher. First, she swipes Zaina’s pineapple-scented pink lip gloss, and later, her teacher Ms. Sullivan’s cherished rainbow catcher.

While Aafiyah struggles to manage her compulsion and her feelings of shame, a disgruntled employee falsely accuses her father of embezzlement, and he is detained in Dubai on the way home from a family trip. Meanwhile, Aafiyah’s grandfather has traveled from Pakistan to Atlanta to receive chemotherapy. Suddenly, both Aafiyah’s father’s and grandfather’s welfare are on the line, and her family’s finances are strained. Everything seems on the brink of spiraling out of control when Aafiyah hatches a harebrained scheme to help, but it leads to devastating consequences.

This skillfully imagined novel is immediately absorbing. Faruqi’s lilting lines have plenty to savor, but her pages turn quickly, drawing readers easily into Aafiyah’s story. In spare but carefully chosen words, Faruqi builds a complex drama. All of the relationships, from Aafiyah’s friendship with Zaina to her relationships with her parents, her grandfather and her fellow tennis players, ring with authenticity and emotion.

Faruqi portrays Aafiyah’s struggle with kleptomania exceptionally well, including her mother’s firm but supportive response, but Golden Girl also treats other subjects with nuance and care. When Aafiyah accompanies her grandfather to his chemotherapy infusions, Faruqi offers a realistic but sensitive and hopeful depiction of a serious illness, and her incorporation of the Qamars’ Muslim faith and Pakistani heritage is just as skilled. A helpful glossary and a recipe for Aafiyah’s aloo gosht, a goat curry, add sparkle to a book that’s already solid gold.

Faruqi is the author of several picture books, including Amira’s Picture Day and I Can Help, as well as a middle grade novel in verse, Unsettled. Golden Girl cements her place as one of the brightest rising stars in children’s literature.

In Golden Girl, an absorbing novel in verse anchored in authentic, emotional relationships, Aafiyah can’t stop taking things that don’t belong to her.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Turn the Tide

Review by Lily Goldman

When 12-year-old Demetra “Mimi” Laskaris moves from Massachusetts to Wilford Island, a small island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, she hopes to continue her two favorite hobbies: Mimi competes as a competitive concert pianist and also loves gardening. Although her family’s new single-family home means that she can practice piano any hour of the day or night, the soil in Mimi’s new yard is different from the dirt in the community garden plot she and her dad planted in Massachusetts—and her dad has been so busy getting their family’s new restaurant up and running that he hasn’t had time to help set up their new planting beds.

With more free time than usual, Mimi begins exploring the beaches near her house. Along with seashells, she discovers trash—plastic bags and bottles, scraps of Styrofoam and more. When Mimi’s science class learns about environmental activists their own age, the lesson immediately resonates. Soon, Mimi is noticing single-use plastics everywhere and launches a campaign to ask residents of Wilford Island to commit to using only paper or reusable bags. Carmen, the most popular girl in school, becomes an early ally but a complicated new friend. Mimi also finds support from the owners of local bookstore the Dusty Jacket, who tell her about a monthly beach cleanup group and offer her advice and encouragement.  

Author Elaine Dimopoulos’ respect for young people shines on every page of Turn the Tide. Mimi’s concerns about the climate crisis and the impact it will have on her future are grounded and relatable, as are her feelings of frustration at the slow pace of progress and her despair that she’ll ever make a real difference in a global problem. But Mimi finds hope by learning more about real-life young role models, including Melati and Isabel Wijsen, who successfully campaigned to ban plastic bags from their home of Bali, Indonesia; Isra Hirsi, who co-founded the U.S. Youth Climate Strike; and Autumn Peltier, an Anishinaabe water activist in Canada.

Although Mimi’s story is fictional, Turn the Tide includes a notable amount of resources for readers inspired to take action, beginning with Melati Wijsen’s rousing foreword. Dimopoulos contributes more than 20 pages of back matter, including a fascinating timeline of plastic bag activism, a directory of youth-oriented environmental organizations, an explanation of how to conduct a weeklong personal waste audit and more. 

Written in lyrical and accessible free verse, Turn the Tide is an encouraging and stirring reminder that change is possible when we work together.

Mimi mounts a campaign against single-use plastic bags on her new island home in Florida in Elaine Dimopoulos’ Turn the Tide, a stirring novel in verse.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Lost and Found

Review by Jill Lorenzini

For readers in search of a soft spot to land, look no further than Kate Banks and Galia Bernstein’s Lost and Found.

When a mouse and a rabbit find a rag doll left behind in the forest, more furry creatures soon arrive one by one to investigate. Inquisitive but unafraid, the friends follow their curiosity to find where the doll came from so they can return it home. They journey together through the woods, tracking their only clue: footsteps left in the dirt, leading to a new and unfamiliar place . . .

Lost and Found feels both freshly original and like a cherished, well-worn tale. Many scenes juxtapose the familiar and the unfamiliar, as when the animals come to a “wide stretch of gray.” “The animals knew the forest trails thickly carpeted with leaves,” Banks writes. “But they’d never seen a road.” Readers will hear echoes of Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit and Don Freeman’s Corduroy in Banks’ text, and the band of talking animals on a mission feels warmly reminiscent of A.A. Milne’s beloved characters. Although sincere forest creatures are a children’s literature standard, it’s this same familiarity that makes Lost and Found an easy book to adore.

Bernstein’s critters’ soft fur and big eyes convey a sweet naivete and gentleness that’s instantly lovable. A forest of serene green grass and trees makes the reader feel welcome and at ease in this warm, thriving world. Bernstein leaves enough white space in her double-page spreads to ensure that her artwork is not overly cluttered. Although every page is beautifully drawn, one particular image, in which the animals are backlit by a sunset, stands out. You’ll know it when you get there, and it’s worth pausing to admire.  

Earnest and peaceful, Lost and Found is as safe and lovely as they come. It’s perfect for the quiet hush of bedtime or any situation in need of a cozy touch and a soft snuggle. Banks and Bernstein have created a wonderful tribute to the power of love and the home we carry within ourselves. Their sweet, not-so-dangerous adventure story ends like all the best adventures do: as we find our way home.

Earnest and peaceful, Kate Banks and Galia Bernstein’s Lost and Found is perfect for the quiet hush of bedtime or any situation in need of a cozy touch and a soft snuggle.
Picture Book

I’m Not Sydney!

Review by Julie Danielson

A boy named Sydney plays outside, his hands and ankles wrapped around a tree branch. When his friend Sami calls for him, he responds, “Here,” then adds, “But I’m not Sydney. I am a sloth.” It is a day of imaginative play for Sydney, and it proves to be contagious. 

As she scampers up a tree, Sami declares she’d rather be a spider monkey. Next, Edward appears and decides to transform into an elephant. “I’M THE KING OF THE SAVANNA!” he trumpets. Anamaria wants to join in the fun, becoming an anteater. And when everyone looks up after hearing a squeaked “Be quiet!” they realize Brigitte is a bat with “velvety, dusty wings wrapped around her tiny furry body” and is trying to take a nap while hanging upside down from a tree limb above them. 

The soft-toned, full-bleed spreads in I’m Not Sydney! sparkle with color; some pages nearly glow with sunny, translucent yellows. Employing delicate, nimble linework, author-illustrator Marie-Louise Gay depicts each child as the creature they imagine themselves to be. They hang from trees, leap from branch to branch, run in the grass, roar with laughter and splash in the water. (When Edward transforms from an elephant to boy again, readers see him spraying his friends with a hose.) 

The book’s dialogue flows seamlessly. Subtle descriptive moments flesh out the story (“Startled hummingbirds flew every which way.”) while the lively text engages readers’ senses (“The yellow grass smelled of burnt toast and red earth.”). Gay infuses I’m Not Sydney! with ebullient, fanciful humor. For instance, when Anamaria decides she’s an anteater, she gets down on all fours and sticks out her tongue. On the next spread, we see her (in anteater form) slurping up ants. “Yuck!” exclaims Sami the spider monkey. When their parents call the children in for supper, they return home “like a herd of small wet animals,” and their creative reveries carry them through to bedtime. 

I’m Not Sydney! is a playful tribute to the deeply inventive inner world of children that will encourage young readers to amp up their own imaginations. Animal noises are sure to follow. Rrrrooooaaaarrrr!  

Marie-Louise Gay’s I’m Not Sydney! is a creative tribute to the inventive inner world of children in which a group of friends use their imaginations to transform into various animals and play together.

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