Roller Girl

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Image Credit: Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), Victoria Jamieson

Image Credit: Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), Victoria Jamieson

Okay! Are you ready?? One thing I learned from being a children’s bookseller is that graphic novels are HOT! Kids are eating them up. Maybe it’s because they think it “isn’t really reading.” Maybe it’s because of the success of comic-like books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid but young people are rushing to the bookstores and libraries to find fun graphic novels to read. One of the best new graphic novels for kids is Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. All you need to know about this book is ROLLER DERBY and DRAMA…are you sold yet?? 😉

Jamieson’s spunky main character Astrid is transfixed by her fist roller derby bout and assumes her best friend Nicole will join her for roller derby camp in the summer. Little does she know that Nicole has other ideas. Their friendship is tested and Astrid realizes her strength and determination as she strives to be like her idol Rainbow Brite, the coolest jammer (scorer) on her city’s adult team, The Rose City Rollers.

This is a great tweeny (is that a word??) graphic novel because tweens will relate to the struggles Astrid goes through. She matures, becomes more confident, gains friends, has angsty moments with her mom and finds her passion for roller derby. Jamieson’s art style is fresh and relatable and she creates a great book about growing up. This is one of my favorite graphic novels at the moment and roller derby fans of all ages will definitely love this one.

Recommended for: Ages 11 and up
Great for: Girl Power, Tween Life, Sports, Roller Derby, Friendship
Book Info: Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, 2015 Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), ISBN: 9780803740167

Supertruck

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Image Credit: Roaring Brook Press, Stephen Savage

Image Credit: Roaring Brook Press, Stephen Savage

I really love a clean line and an image that “pops.” Maybe that’s why I love illustrators like Bob Staake and Dan Yaccarino. Well, now I’m adding Stephen Savage to my exclusive “list” because I love his book Supertruck. I already loved this book and then I read it for story time and let me tell you, the kids (boys especially) stopped playing with their toy cars and gravitated towards me in Zombie Mode. ^__^  They were totally enthralled by this book, and for good reason. It is awesome.

Garbage truck has (duh duh duh) a secret identity and during a massive snow storm, he takes off his glasses and becomes…Supertruck! This book is clever and simple and is great for young readers because it is short, as I mentioned earlier the illustrations are clean and vibrant and the beginning of the book talks about different kinds of trucks! I know some of you parents out there have three year olds who know already know what front loaders are and love a whirring fire truck. They’ll really love this one. How can you resist a good super hero/truck combo book? Check it out.

Recommended for: Toddlers
Great for: Storytime, Super Heroes, Trucks, Read-Aloud, Colors
Book Info: Supertruck by Stephen Savage, 2015 Roaring Brook Press, ISBN: 9781596438217

Maddi’s Fridge

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Maddi's Fridge

Image Credit: Flashlight Press, Lois Brandt/Vin Vogel

Childhood hunger is a huge problem in the U.S. In 2014, 15.3 million kids lived in food insecure households; read more about it here. This is why books like Maddi’s Fridge are important. They are conversation starters and get kids thinking about how they can be more informed and how they can help those they care about. Diversity in children’s books, in my opinion, also includes books that “expand minds” and teach children about social issues. In many classrooms around the country, there are children like Maddi and close friends like Sophia. Brandt addresses these issues and includes helpful information at the end of the book about childhood hunger and how to help.

In Maddi’s Fridge, Maddi and Sophia are best friends but one day Sophia notices Maddi only has a bottle of milk in her fridge and a loaf of bread. Maddi is embarrassed and makes her promise not to tell anyone. When Sophia gets home, she can’t help but look at the abundance of food in her fridge and think about her friend’s situation. Sophia keeps trying to bring food to school for her friend but…some foods aren’t meant to be kept in a backpack all day! Maddi also helps Sophia in the best way a friend can; through encouragement and support. This is one of my favorite books about friendship because it is quietly powerful and memorable. Vogel’s bright comic-style digital art illustrations add a charm to the book. Teachers and parents, keep an eye on this book for your little ones.

Recommended for: All ages especially 1st grade and up
Great for: Social issues, Discussion, Diversity, Classroom, Volunteering, Friendship, Poverty, Homelessness, Sharing
Book Info: Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt/Illustrated by Vin Vogel, 2014 Flashlight Press, ISBN: 9781936261291

Remembering Through Books

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A small but mighty collection of books

Back in August, we took time to reflect on ten years since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. So many lives were lost and many communities are still coping with the aftermath of the hurricane. Hearing about the tenth anniversary made me think about how I can connect the people of my community to this important anniversary, as a bookseller. I gathered these books and made a simple display. In this way, a casual bookstore-browser, especially children, can be exposed and introduced to important social events. My table also got a seal of approval by author Renee Watson (A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, Harlem’s Little Blackbird, This Side of Home)!! 🙂 The titles I used are listed below and click here for information about Hurricane Katrina.

Scholastic Discover More Reader Level 2: Hurricane Katrina (9780545829540)

Scholastic Discover More: Hurricane Katrina (9780545829564)

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews (9781419714658)

Giada de Laurentiis’s Recipe for Adventure: New Orleans (9780448462592)

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by Rodman Philbrick (9780545342391)

Another Kind of Hurricane by Tamara Ellis Smith (9780553511932)

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes (9780316043083)

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson (9780385376686)

What Was Hurricane Katrina? by Robin Koontz (9780448486628)

I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Lauren Tarshis (9780545206969)

Finding Someplace by Denise Lewis Patrick (9780805047165)

National Geographic Kids, Extreme Weather: Surviving Tornadoes, Sandstorms, Hailstorms, Blizzards, Hurricanes and More (9781426318115)

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

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Funny Bones

Image Credit: Abrams, Duncan Tonatiuh

Author/illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh is one of my current favorites. I love not only the abundance of cultural and historical information in his picture books but his art style is simply amazing. It’s so smooth and modern while being unique and a throwback to his indigenous Mexican heritage. Does it get better than that? Not really and that’s why I’m loving his books so much.

Because Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is coming up soon, I’m discussing his newest book Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras. I’ve had an interest in Dia de Los Muertos ever since I taught a lesson about it to my Korean students. I wanted to expose them to a cultural tradition that was different but similar to one of their own. Koreans celebrate a holiday called Chuseok where they honor and pray for their dead ancestors. Since there are some similarities to Dia de Los Muertos, I thought the kids might really get something out of it!

Tonatiuh does an excellent job of making culture, art critique and history accessible to kids. Some kids really enjoy the bio books and I think they’ll love this one. We learn about the life and art of Mexican artist Posada who is responsible for making the crazy and vibrant Calavera (bone people) illustrations popular. He also documented important political events like the Mexican Revolution.

What I enjoyed most about this picture book is how Tonatiuh encourages children to do art critique. He reproduces Posada’s art, blends it with his own and poses questions about the meaning of the art all while telling Posada’s story. This is awesome! Because the book is partially about Dia de Los Muertos, it encourages you to think about life and death. This may seem heavy but like the holiday, it is about the celebration of life as well as the celebration of a great Mexican artist!

Recommended for: Ages 7 and up
Great for: History, Art History, Diversity, We Need Diverse Books, Holiday, Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, Artist Bio, Biography, Non-Fiction, Mexico
Book Info: Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh, 2015 Abrams, ISBN: 9781419716478

All the Picture Books!

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happy cat

When I see all the lovely picture books!

A little about me: I’m definitely a picture book girl but I’ll be highlighting great middle grade and YA as well. What is it about picture books?? Well it takes skill and finesse to match a great story with great illustrations. The picture book industry is BOOMING right now but does that mean every book is quality? Oh no, it doesn’t. As a former children’s bookseller, I can assure you that every New Book Tuesday was full of hits and misses. But nevertheless, you could never pull me away from the picture books…

Happy Reading

Welcome! Sit back, relax and read

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Image Credit: Tina Kugler

Image Credit: Tina Kugler

Hello!

This blog will be my platform to not only discuss my favorite children’s books (and to spread the love) but it will also be about diversity in children’s literature. You may or may not already know about the We Need Diverse Books movement by now. If you don’t, it’s something you should definitely check out. Why? Because all types of children should be able to see positive role models in the books they read. They should be able to walk into any bookstore or library and pick up a book that has a kid on the cover who reminds them of themselves. As far as diversity in race/ethnicity goes, the stories of people of color are not limited to historical non-fiction/fiction. Let’s share these diverse stories and celebrate them because we all benefit from them. 🙂

Welcome to Read It Real Good! Do-do do do do do-do do do do do…

Alia