BookPage Children’s Top Pick, April 2017

Poor Princess Cora. Her anxious parents are determined to fix all of the things that might be wrong with her. Their solution is to keep her overscheduled. Cue excessive hygiene (three baths a day) with the nanny, studies over dull books with the Queen and intensive exercise sessions with the King.

Cora, who just wants to play, so deeply resents her tightly scheduled life that she writes a letter to her fairy godmother. Wishing for a dog, she ends up with a crocodile, who promises to chew on people Cora doesn’t like. She strikes a deal with the reptile—“I want a day off,” she tells him—and he takes her place, dressing like her and telling her to head out and have fun. The look on Princess Cora’s face here is spectacular, as she’s never once had the opportunity to see what leisure is like.

This ruse works long enough for Cora to get dirty and have a blast outside. The adults back at the castle are too preoccupied (only at first) to notice that Cora’s place has been taken by a crocodile, one who essentially imprisons everyone, simulating Cora’s own daily experiences. On the castle grounds, Cora engages all her senses in moments of exploration and wonder, all the while putting her problem-solving skills to work. Through all this, Princess Cora finds peace. She also rescues herself on her own terms, speaking up in the end for what she wants, having found her courage in her play.

Newbery winner Laura Amy Schlitz, in seven well-paced chapters, has a lot to say about the modern phenomenon of rigorous educational standards and children’s lack of free time for play. As the crocodile wisely asks Cora, what kind of life is one with no trouble? There’s also a lot of humor here: The crocodile’s get-up as a little girl is delightfully absurd, and Brian Floca brings it all to vivid life in his playful illustrations.

Timely and incisive, this one’s a keeper.

Julie Danielson features authors and illustrators at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children’s literature blog.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With her debut novel, Maria D. Laso (who died in 2015) offers a rich story populated with colorful characters, a setting so vivid you feel as if you could step right into the pages, and heaping doses of humor and heart.

Possum Porter has had to endure a change that no young child should: the loss of her beloved Mama. Now that it’s just her and Daddy, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that no more change comes their way. But when a new teacher, Ms. Arthington, comes to their small town, it looks like Daddy might have different plans. He wants to send Possum to school for the first time, which is an atrocity considering that Mama already taught her everything she needed to know during their lessons at home. Worst of all, Ms. Arthington seems to be eyeing a new suitor—Possum’s very own daddy. To prevent more change from uprooting her life, Possum must find a way to prove that she already knows everything she needs to, all while keeping Daddy out of her new teacher’s clutches.

Laso’s writing shines with all the charm of a small Southern town, and each character, from nosy and meddlesome Miss Nagy to Possum’s cherished canine companion, Traveler, has a personality as genuine as it is distinct. At the heart of it all lies an unforgettable heroine with all the grit, spunk and charm fit to share the ranks of such treasured predecessors as Scout Finch and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sussy introduces readers to her best friend, Guy, as he valiantly runs to her house to retrieve her jacket on a cool fall morning, even if it means missing the bus. Four years later, when they are both 10 years old, their friendship still endures. They decide to adopt a leopard gecko and name her Matylda. It’s Guy who knows all about lizards and how to feed them live crickets. It’s Guy who is kind, inquisitive and thoughtful and by whom Matylda feels most understood. And so, when a freak bicycle accident takes his life, the readers, as much as Sussy, are devastated by the loss. Guy always put Sussy first, and now Sussy is trying her best to take care of Matylda while grieving the one person she cared for most —an incredible task for any child.

Matylda, Bright & Tender is a heartbreaking story about loss and grief narrated by Sussy with childlike honesty and openness. Sussy’s response to her grief is to funnel her anger and guilt over Guy’s death into the care of this lizard, which consumes her. Although Guy’s accident is neither graphic nor drawn-out, parents will want to read this book along with their child to aid discussion and to respond to questions about life and death.

This is a beautiful story told with hope and light exploring how life endures despite loss.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

Maybe Flora and her younger brother, Julian, came from the ocean or the television or even the horizon. The multiracial 11-year-old girl doesn’t remember much before being adopted two years ago, but when her classroom pet mouse has babies, she begins to wonder about her own birth. With no early memories and no record of a birth mother, Flora is certain she never was a baby. So how did she begin?

In Forever, or a Long, Long Time, Caela Carter examines the aftermath of foster care and adoption through the lens of Flora, who is repeating the fourth grade, can’t talk when her words get “stuck” and has trouble always believing Person (her secret name for her white adoptive mother) is her forever mom. Additional layers of this untraditional family are revealed through Julian, with his fake smiles and food hoarding, and their black adoptive father and his daughter from his first marriage.

The siblings’ memories become even more critical when Flora and Julian discover postcards sent from a former foster placement. In an effort to find out more about their past and prove to Flora and Julian that they really were babies, their adoptive mom takes them on a road trip to previous foster homes. Sometimes the answers just lead to more questions; there’s no saccharine ending here. But in learning about herself, Flora begins to make sense of her life now and what it means to be a family. Her story is heartbreakingly realistic and hopeful.

Cao Wenxuan, bestselling Chinese author and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, presents a timeless, emotional tale of loss, heartache and the ultimate power of friendship and connection to overcome any hardship.

Sunflower is a city girl with a country girl’s name, and her arrival with her father at the rural Cadre School that sits across the river from the tight-knit village of Damaidi certainly causes a stir. While her father spends his days at the school and his nights in meetings, Sunflower explores the countryside in solitude. With no other children on her side of the river with whom to share her daily adventures, she spends her time observing the villagers and wondering about their ways of life. But when tragedy strikes, Sunflower finds herself living among the villagers, taken in by the poorest family. It is here that she meets Bronze. Rendered mute by the trauma of his own tragic experience, Bronze nonetheless connects with Sunflower through a mutual understanding all their own, and the two become inseparable, existing within the realm of simple understanding that only pure, beautiful childhood friendships can offer.

Told in spare yet glimmering prose, this story is a testament to all that love and loyalty are able to overcome, be it cultural divisions, unthinkable losses or the crushing weight of loneliness. These two children serve as an example for kids and adults alike of the power of genuine love and loyalty to traverse boundaries and reach across divides, both those that are created by society and those that are self-imposed. In a time when our divisions seem to be drawn more forcefully than ever, Bronze and Sunflower’s unlikely bond serves as a beacon of hope.

This coming-of-age story opens with a lightning-bolt moment—literally the moment a young mother is struck by lightning and taken from her two toddlers. The narrative then flashes ahead 10 years—to 10-year-old Claire and 13-year-old Abigail, enjoying their usual summer at their lake house. But this year, everything is different: Dad and his new wife are expecting a baby.

This novel-in-verse alternates between Claire and Abigail’s voices while incorporating the perspective of the lake itself. Throughout these stanzas, Claire tries to come to terms with Abigail growing up: She’s calling herself “Abi” now, has taken a definite interest in boys and is distancing herself from her little sister. With nothing but change at every turn, Claire feels the seams of her family loosening. Growing up is hard; growing apart is even harder. 

Novels-in-verse must work double duty: The story must be compelling and the verse accessible and worthy of the story. Helen Frost, a Printz Honor-winning author, has done so seamlessly. Her mastery extends to her use of varied poetic forms, including acrostics, which incorporate lines from some of Frost’s favorite poems. 

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Charlie Ross is not looking forward to starting sixth grade, since his best friends will be attending different schools. His dad says new kids from a black housing development will be coming to Charlie’s all-white Wonderland Avenue School. Armstrong Le Rois is not looking forward to starting sixth grade either. Waking up at 5:30 every morning to take a bus to attend an integrated program at Wonderland is not his idea of fun. Charlie and Armstrong butt heads more often than not, but a weeklong class camping trip gives the boys an opportunity to build a friendship. 

Inspired by his own childhood experiences, debut author Steven B. Frank spins a tale that goes beyond racial issues. In first-person juxtaposed narratives, Armstrong and Charlie captures the viewpoints of two preteens caught in the shifting tide of school integration. While sprinkling his tale with popular vintage games, music and food of the 1970s as well as uproarious humor, Frank weaves in a poignant “out of every conflict comes an opportunity” theme based on Charlie and Armstrong’s relationship. Replete with unforgettable moments, young love and unexpected plot turns, this is a hilarious, heartwarming and timely read.

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Calling all Alfred Hitchcock fans: In her debut novel, British writer Lisa Thompson has brilliantly borrowed the director’s Rear Window plot, adapting it into a middle grade novel called The Goldfish Boy. Not only is this a riveting mystery filled with twists, turns and red herrings, it’s an emotionally complex tale centered on a 12-year-old narrator suffering from severe OCD.

Matthew Corbin feels safest in his home, where he constantly worries about germs and feels responsible for the death of his baby brother. He wears latex gloves and refuses to go to school, so his parents are in the process of lining up therapy. Meanwhile, Matthew watches his neighbors, taking notes about their comings and goings.

When a toddler goes missing, Matthew is the last to see him, and he knows what all the neighbors were doing at the time of the disappearance. He works diligently to solve the case, eventually joining forces with a lonely neighborhood girl, Melody, and a former friend, Jake, who’s been bullied so much that he’s become a bully himself.

Despite the severity of his problems, Matthew is an energetic, likable character whose adolescent voice and increasing self-awareness ring true. Rare is the book that manages to be an entertaining page-turner while also offering meaningful insight into a serious disorder. The Goldfish Boy manages to do both in a masterful way.

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Chet is a big, mean bully who likes to spend his time harassing Virgil. Virgil is shy—painfully shy—but desperately wants to catch the attention of Valencia. Valencia is deaf, overprotective and plagued by a recurring nightmare, which she hopes to interpret with help from Kaori. Kaori is psychic and, along with her little sister Gen, knows that something is terribly, terribly wrong. In Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, these four tweens—some friends, some enemies, some strangers—come together under unexpected circumstances.

On his way to visit Kaori for a psychic reading, Virgil has an unpleasant run-in with Chet, which results in his backpack, complete with guinea pig Gulliver, being thrown to the bottom of an abandoned well. After climbing down to reach Gulliver, Virgil realizes that he is trapped, and no one knows where he is. Through a series of coincidences, some new friendships and just a bit of luck, things in the universe come together to bring hope to the boy trapped in the well.

Folklore, fairy tales, astrology, mysticism and dreams all mingle together to create a wonderful, fantastical and unique world. It’s impossible to identify the perfect reader for this story, because there is so much for every reader contained within.

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children’s Top Pick, February 2017

Paul Mosier’s debut middle grade venture is luminous and heartrending, populated by poetry, sharp wit and wonderfully original characters with voices that sing from the pages and pierce your very bones.

Twelve-year-old Rydr boards an Amtrak train in California, the start of a three-day journey that will take her to her new home in Chicago, where she will live with a distant relative she’s never met. Rydr hopes this journey will help her forget about her past and erase the pain that comes with those memories. Little does she know that this trip will have the exact opposite effect, forcing her to confront those scars head-on. But she doesn’t have to brave this experience alone. Accompanied by a cast of eccentric, lovable characters, Rydr will learn how to come to terms with the events that have brought her to this point, how to let her guard down and let people in and, perhaps the most important lesson of all, how to let herself feel, whether those feelings are good or bad.

Though this book may be marketed for middle school readers, Train I Ride is steeped in such genuine feeling and depth that it can be enjoyed and related to by anyone, of any age. Mosier strikes the perfect key, never straying into territory too verbose or too spare, but finding the right balance between the two. This is an extremely well-written and thoughtful story from a stellar voice in middle grade literature and beyond.

This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The Someday Birds is a raw, funny road trip story that reminds us that even the most literal-minded people can occasionally be sucker-punched by a miracle.

Autistic 12-year-old Charlie struggles to connect with his older sister and younger twin brothers; facial cues never tell him enough to go on. His grandmother is caring for the children while their dad recovers from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Afghanistan. But when their grandmother must travel to Virginia with their father for treatment, the kids organize a cross-country road trip. On this trip, Charlie is inspired to seek out birds he and his dad hoped to see together.

Author Sally Pla puts readers directly inside Charlie’s mind: His inability to understand jokes that rely on wordplay, his tendency to jump and flap his arms when he’s nervous and his need for ritualized hand-washing lose their strangeness as readers recognize his good heart. If Charlie’s siblings roll their eyes at his need to stop and look for birds, they also love him and share in the victories when Charlie steps outside his comfort zone. He bonds easily with animals, for instance, and his low-key demeanor may help Ludmila, their road-trip chaperone, open up about her past and why she was visiting his dad in the hospital.

Moments that border on magic realism and the emotional toll of two different wars would seem to indicate heavy reading, but The Someday Birds leavens things with a three-legged dog who’s along for the ride, as well as Charlie’s Zagat-like reviews of the chicken nuggets at every stop across the United States. Hop in the RV with this ragtag group and enjoy the ride.

All it took was one terrible moment, and 12-year-old Ethan’s life was irrevocably split into a Before and an After. In the Before, he lived in Boston, just a few doors away from his best friend, Kacey. In the After, Kacey is gone forever. To keep Ethan from bolting out at night to stare obsessively at Kacey’s bedroom window, his family moves to the tiny town of Palm Knot, Georgia. But life in the After is unbearable. Ethan, his parents and his older brother are crammed into a house with an unwelcoming grandfather, so tension at home is high. At school, Ethan makes a tentative friendship with a girl named Coralee, who shares his penchant for adventure. But the sorrow of his past will not be vanquished.

Debut author Ali Standish creates a convincing world of menace surrounding Ethan by introducing a mysterious stranger in an abandoned house, inexplicable phone calls from Kacey’s father, suspicions about Coralee’s truthfulness and secrets surrounding Ethan’s grandfather. Through the development of these plotlines, Ethan gradually becomes more involved in the present than the past. Observing some of the adults around him, Ethan begins to understand the ultimate futility of a life destroyed by grief.

This novel compares well with other middle grade novels that deal with guilt in the aftermath of tragedy, such as Lisa Graff’s Lost in the Sun or Elana K. Arnold’s The Question of Miracles.

Diane Colson is the Library Director at City College in Gainesville, Florida.

Three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin’s Undefeated charts the rise of Jim Thorpe, Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon and All-American fullback for the Carlisle Indians, one of the most innovative football teams ever to take the field. Despite its focus, readers need not be sports fans to enjoy this book.

As a Native American man born in 1888, racism was a constant in Thorpe’s life, but it’s because of this daily prejudice that Thorpe first set foot on a football field. At the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a boarding school that was created to “kill the Indian, and save the man,” Thorpe encountered the game that he and his Carlisle teammates would come to redefine.

In those days, football was a hybrid of rugby and bare-knuckle boxing. Guided by Coach Pop Warner—inventor of the reverse, the single wing and a multitude of other plays and formations—Carlisle did more than any team to move football away from its brutal origins. Warner ran a “whirlwind offense” that pitted the Carlisle players’ speed and agility against the bone-crushing brawn of America’s sporting elites: Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale.

Along with redefining how the game was played, Carlisle’s emergence as a football powerhouse forced the nation to face what was then an uncomfortable and controversial truth: Given a level playing field, Native Americans could compete with anyone—America’s most privileged sons included.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a Q&A with Steve Sheinkin about Undefeated.

This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.