Lion Dancers

Tse, Cai. Lion Dancers

August 13, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Wei attends Bird's Beak Middle School and is on the basketball team, but none of his teammates ever chose him, and he gets no time on the court. His best friend, Jun, is much better at basketball, and she encourages him to become more involved with the people on the team. When he is walking home, he runs into a man with a Lion Dancer t shirt; his father was a very good lion dancer with a competitive team before he died in a car accident, leaving Wei to be raised by his grandmother. The man tells Wei to come to the training center for the Southern Phoneix team. Having trained a  bit with his father, and danced before, Wei still does a good job, but is surprised when he is yelled at by Hung and told to go away. The adults at the center tell Hung that he should not treat others like that. They don't know about the history that the two have; Hung used to be the "tail" of the lion to Wei's "head", and the two were a good team until they fought with each other. The other dancers welcome Wei, and he participates in the Lunar New Year Lion Dances. The team is hired by businesses to come and do the dances, which culminate in the lion reaching for the "cheng" (cabbage). If the cheng is successfully retrieved, it means that the business will be successful. Hung is angry when he once again has to be the tail for Wei, and the two don't work well together. There is a very bad performance at a local mall that is barely salvaged. Wei eventually talks to Hung, and tells him that the people who are tails are the strongest people on the dance team, and that Wei himself is not strong enough to be the tail. At the end of the season, there is a big celebration. The mysterious captain of the team is revealed, and a competition team is announced. Wei and Hung are able to work together and be successful. 

Strengths: I didn't know anything at all about lion dancing, but this had a lot of good information about the sport! The beginnings of the chapters in this graphic novel have information about steps, costumes, and different parts of the dance that were very interesting. Wei's trouble fitting in to school is realistic; he really wants to get back to lion dancing, but is conflicted because of his father's death, as well as his interactions with Hung. I really enjoyed all of the discussion about teamwork, and found it intriguing that the lion dancers all had to try to place the drums and cymbals, since they are so important to keeping the dancers on their marks. There is some action and suspense with the dances, especially when one business has hung their cheng very high, and Wei has to really work with his partner to reach it. Having worked in a giant chicken costume in high school for a fast food restaurant, I can't imagine how hard it is to do these lion dances! 
Weaknesses: I am not entirely sure where this is set; the author is from Australia, but there are some of the store fronts that have names in Chinese characters on them in the illustrations. It's not all that important to the story, but would have been interesting to know. 
What I really think: There are so few graphic novels about sports, and this is an excellent look into what activities are available for children in other parts of the world. I love that this is based on the author's own experiences with the Chinese Youth Lion Dance Team! This was a very unusual and engaging story. 

Project Mercury and Comet vs. Asteroid

 Smith, Ronald L. Project Mercury.
August 6, 2024 by Clarion Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ike Pressure knows the drill. His family has moved often, since his mother is an army specialist and his father is a recruiter. Their new posting is the Mercury Army Base in Nevada. There's not a lot to do there, but Ike is okay with that; he's rather be playing video games, and he does occasionally get outside. When he finds out that one of his mother's friends is also moving to Mercury, he's not all that happy, because it means he will once again have to deal with the loud and bossy Eesha Webb, who was born on the same day he was. The Webbs, who also have six year old twins named Jack and Jill, are a very athletic and competitive family. Eesha often refers to Ike as a nerd,  but when she mentions that Area 51 is very close to them and that she thinks Mercury has some ties to aliens, both are able to geek out on all things space and UFO related. They both think that their parents are probably involved, which mades it even more intriguing. When Ike finds an odd, old radio in the basement, and he hears things that sound like code, he is sure that something is up. Eesha and Ike investigate in the woods, and Jill finds something that looks like "alien tech". When Mixie shows up, they are astonished to find that she is from the year 2300! Should she have been time traveling? Of course not, but she was fooling around and traveled back in time. Life in 2300 is pretty good, but she knows better than to tell Ike and Eesha that. The three figure out that the army is involved in a project, and when Ike's mother's phone rings in her purse with the very same tune that has played through the radio, they suspect she is set to time travel. Mixie takes the children with her to the future, and as they are exploring New Glades, there is an emergency announcement; alien ships have been detected and they have to go to Mixie's home. Mixie's parents are NOT thrilled that she has not only traveled to the past but brought children home with her. They manage to contact the Peacekeeper so that Ms. Pressure isn't attacked. Ms. Pressure has traveled to the future to try to get help with the problems plaguing Earth, like climate change and global warming, and the future is glad to help out and send her back to the army with some solutions. Not only that, but the higher ups are so pleased that they offer the children an opportunity to be hired on as Undercover Kids. Will they get to have more adventures in a sequel?
Strengths: Smith gets a HUGE number of bonus points for his optimistic view of 2300 as a time when there have been no wars for over 500 years, society has not collapsed, they haven't had a pandemic in a long time, and they are willing to help the past out with practical solutions to climate change! There's a good sense of mystery about the army project, some tension with Eesha and Ike working together, and some comic relief from the twins. The depiction of life on an army base was very informative. I know that Smith usually writes fantasy, but I would absolutely LOVE him to write a realistic middle grade book about a tween army brat; I believe this was his upbringing, and I think he would write an excellent, funny novel about that life. There are so few (Benedis-Grab's Army Brats and Lesage's AWOL are the only two that come to mind) that this would be a great addition to middle grade books. 
Weaknesses: This could have used a bit more action earlier in the story, and fewer descriptions of tofu lasagna! The only thing worse than eating cardboardy cereal is reading about it! 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Murray and Smith's Alien Summer or Buxbaum and Naidu's Area 51. I couldn't help but think of Fleming's nonfiction Crash from Outer Space when the kids are talking about Area 51; I know that Eesha wants to believe in extraterrestrials, but I'm going to side with Fleming's research on this topic! 

Kuchner, Marc J. and Schu, Matt. Asteroid vs. Comet 

April 23, 2024 by MIT Kids Press

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Can we live on Mars? Is Pluto a planet? Star Wars vs. Star Trek? There's no shortage of geeky, space related questions that tweens readers can ponder, and Asteroid vs. Comet offers new opportunities for scientific thinking. In order to really calculate things properly, we first meet both an asteroid, in the Asteroid Belt, and a comet, in the Oort Cloud. We find out that while asteroids are hot, comets are cold, and learn the speeds, weights, and composition of the competing bodies. The two rarely collide, but this is a fun speculation. 

This is not quite a comic book (although it is a comet book!), but a nicely sized nonfiction book with lots of illustrations. Each topic is approached with a page from both the asteroid and the comet point of view, and the text is very readable. Words and ideas are nicely explained, and I was able to understand the scientific concepts. There is definitely an air of suspense in this, which is hard to create in a science related nonfiction book, and I won't ruing the ending and tell you who survived the hypothetical collision!

While some young readers love nonfiction and don't want to read anything else, it can be a challenge to get some readers to pick up books with facts. This is a perfect length, and is highly engaging. The pictures help, and I can see this being a book that I can recommend to my students who need to include some science themed nonfiction books in the mix, even if they aren't wanting to pick them up. 

I love when young readers have specific interests, and space is a topic that frequently sparks readers to search for information. Regas' 1,000 Facts About Space Aldrin and Dyson's Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet, Lowery's Everything Awesome About Space and Other Galactic Facts!,  McAnulty's Where Are the Aliens, and Drimmer's Can't Get Enough Space Stuff. 

MMGM- The Everybody Experiment and What Is Color

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Ramée, Lisa Moore. The Everybody Experiment.

August 27, 2024 by Balzer + Bray

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

At the end of 6th grade, all of Kylie's friends are excited to make the transition from elementary school to middle school, but she's not thrilled. She worries that she isn't as "mature" as her friends, especially since she has a reputation of being quick to cry. She's even done a science project on the physiological reason for tears, and that causes some of her classmates to make even more fun of her. She's also worried about her father's traveling for his new job, and devastated that he can't be at her promotion. Her mother is studying for her PhD, and her younger sister Brianna requires a lot of time, but the two get along well. Approaching the problem of a new school year scientifically, Kylie hypothesizes that if she tries all of the activities that her friends do over the summer, she will be as "mature" as they are. Her mother reluctantly agrees to this plan, as long as there is a disclaimer that Kylie won't do anything dangerous or harmful. Even though she is out of her comfort zone, Kylie manages to go to a restaurant with her friends, go shopping at the mall, attend a boy-girl party and navigate how to say no to ziplining when she is wearing a skirt. Her friends are fearless in their pursuits and also want to watch scary movies and shave their legs, neither of which are successful endeavors, although Kylie does enjoy it when everyone dances. There is some friend drama when Kylie sees Cory and Naomi kissing, and Naomi denies it. This, combined with other situations, has Kylie thinking philosophically about the whole process of lying. There's a trip to a theme park that is rife with problems, as well as drama with birthday parties, Kylie's karate classes, and of course, Brianna deciding to copy her sister and shave her arm! Will Kylie be able to feel comfortable with her classmates and their level of maturity as she starts seventh grade?
Strengths: Middle grade books are full of trauma and drama, but adults think that this needs to consist of death and other terrible things. For tweens, it's your friends talking about you behind your back, crying in awkward situations, failing a test, or just trying to figure out life. Seeing others work through problems like these is just as valuable as seeing young people dealing with grief, which is not quite as universal. Kylie takes a measured and scientific approach to her problem, loops in her parents, and tries to keep a brave face in front of her friends. Ramée does a great job of capturing little, but critical moments; haven't we all worn just the wrong thing, like Kylie and her lack of bike shorts when she wants to zip line? (I wore shorts to freshman schedule pick up when everyone else wore jeans; thinking about it still makes me cringe.) I wouldn't mind a follow up volume about Kylie, focusing on how well she balances her schoolwork, karate, and babysitting Briann during her 7th grade year. If we could avoid school elections and newspapers, all the better! 
Weaknesses: Brian Crane's Pickles just has a strip that proclaimed "Old folks know more about being young than young people know about being old". In middle school, I was often anxious and prone to tears, but my mother was NOT having that. As a member of Gen X, with Boomer leanings, it's very, very true that people my age want everyone to just "suck it up" or "slap some dirt on it" and move on. This is how we were raised. Today's young people will sympathize with Kylie's tendency toward tears, but I was just a little irritated with her at first. It was good to see that she was resilient and kept going; I'd love to see more of these positive role models for tweens. 
What I really think: Despite, or perhaps because of, my personal feelings, I know this is a book we need in elementary and middle school libraries. If the only middle grade novels published next year involved tweens dealing with school and family problems, with a little sports thrown in, 85% of my students would be perfectly happy, and the remaining 15% would have plenty of fantasy books to read. Readers who enjoyed delle Donne's Hoops: Belle of the Ball series, Hurwitz' How I Saved the World in 65 Days, and Lakritz's Things That Shimmer will enjoy this insightful look at the ordinary stress of middle school. 

Weinberg, Steven. What Is Color?: The Global and Sometimes Gross Story of Pigments, Paint, and the Wondrous World of Art 

August 20, 2024 by Roaring Brook Press

Copy provided by the Publisher

This colorful and frenetic look at the history of color and art is sort of like a printed version of falling down an internet rabbit hole looking for information about painting supplies. It's broken up into chapters that cover different colors, but has all sorts of additional information. It's not just a chapter about green; it's information about verdigris and Scheele's green (which may have poisoned Napoleon), but also how to make different colors, artists who used them, and other tangents. Orange? There's a little history of the robes that Buddhist monks wear. Brown? There's information about henna and how the dye is used for personal ornamentation. Pink? How to make a dye out of avocado pits, but also the history of how it became linked to gender, and also the history involving the pink triangle symbol as well as the LGBTQIA+ flag. A discussion of black leads into Vantablack, which is somehow a series of nanotubes that can only be used by one artist. 

It was sort of like being dropped into a Spin Art machine, both visually and from an information standpoint. I think for the full effect, I should have read this while listening to my 1961 record album, Professor Ludwig von Drake's Wonderful World of Color. (Which I'm a little surprised Weinberg didn't mention. The Green with Envy Blues is one rockin' song.)

The end of the book has a lot of interesting appendices, like a color toolbox, maps of where certain colors originated, how to plant a color garden, links to art in the public domain, and a great glossary and index. 

I can't think of any other  middle grade nonfiction book that so totally discusses color, and how it is used in art. From outlining the differences between pigment, vehicle, and medium to talking about what art can be, this really has it all. If you have young artist who want to immerse themselves into art history, hand them What is Color?, along with Chip Kidd's Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design (2013) or

Pitamic and Laidlaw's Modern Art Adventures: 36 Creative, Hands-On Projects Inspired by Artists from Monet to Banksy (2015).

Death at Morning House

Johnson, Maureen. Death at Morning House
August 6, 2024 by Katherine Tegen Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Marlowe Wexler has a decent summer planned, working at a local ice cream parlor alongside her crush, Akilah. Things go well, until they don't. An excellent date at the Cheesecake Factory ends with some light arson (due to a defective candle), and before she knows it, Akilah has taken another job, and Marlowe is shuttled off to Ralston Island in the St. Lawrence River. A friend of her parents' is doing research on the property, which was owned by a Dr. Phillip Ralston and his wife, former actress Faye, in the 1930s, but has been derelict ever since two of their children died on the same day. The book goes back and forth, telling the story of the Ralstons as well as Marlowe's experiences as a docent at the house. In 1932, there were six children the doctor had adopted in England from mothers who couldn't care for the children and whose fathers had been killed in the Great War. Clara, William, Unity, Victory, Edward, and Benjamin all are fed the Kellogg's sanitarium diet, with whole foods, are expected to swim twice a day, and are encouraged in their academic and creative pursuits. Clara is a swimmer and dancer, and is a favorite of the father, but is having a bad summer and drinking a lot of bootleg hooch that can be found abandoned along the river due to bootleggers. There is also young Max, the couple's son, who is four, and a difficult child given to tantrums. Phillip's sister, Dagmar, has been involved in the children's care. Marlowe knows that Max drowned, Clara found him, and subsequently threw herself off the house in grief, but there are things about the story that don't seem right. Dr. Henson, the family friend, works alone in her office while a variety of local teens and Marlowe run tours of the house. April is super friendly, Ricki is an enigmatic Goth type, and the others were all involved in their own tragedy when one of their friends drowned after prom. Marlowe, who is missing Akilah but afraid to text her, throws herself into work and also investigates the mysteries. When Dr. Henson goes missing, things become dire. As the tensions ramp up, and adult supervision is minimal, a storm and subsequent fire bring hidden secrets from the past and the present to light. (I don't want to ruin either mystery!)

Strengths: This was an interesting mix, sort of like The Durrells in Corfu meets Downtown Abbey. I loved, loved, loved Morning House and was super intrigued by the Ralstons and their lifestyle. The children's "playhouse" that is made of stone and has a turret? Oh, yes, please!!! There could have been a whole book about them, even with the father's disturbing adherance to eugenics. Marlowe's story is a good summer adventure with a little romance thrown in, and I love the idea of teens spending time away from home, even if they haven't burned down a cottage! Both stories work well together, the mysteries are suspenseful, with satisfying conclusions, and the ending is as happy as it can be considering there are several murders. The cover is nicely historic AND creepy. 
Weaknesses: This was more of a Young Adult Novel, with several f-words as well as a complicated, interwoven mystery that my students might find hard to follow. I loved it, since Johnson's writing is always compelling, but will pass on purchase for my school. 
What I really think: I would definitely buy this for a high school library, where it would be very popular with fans of Barnes' The Inheritance Games series.

Also, I'm added the St. Lawrence River area as another place I don't want to live. I always thought the Florida Keys would be the most terrifying place to live, but along the river in New York, if there were flooding, it would be a COLD drowning death. No, thank you! 

Cartoon Saturday

Scott, Bob and Scott, Vicki. An Unlikely Pair (Molly and the Bear #1)
August 6, 2024 by Aladdin

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

When 11 year old Molly's leave her home alone briefly to go crusing in their classic car, she is glad to be home alone. She texts with her best friend, but eventually has a big surprise-- a bear has come in through the kitchen window and eaten all of her mother's cookies! The bear is more frightened of Molly than Molly is of the bear, so Molly talks to Bear and gets him to calm down. She's always wanted a pet, and what better pet than an 800 pound bear? She spends a delightful summer with her new friend, hiding him from her parents. Eventually, it's time to go back to school. Everyone loves the new addition to the school, and even her teacher and the principal don't mind having the bear around. Someone who does mind is Max, a good friend of Molly's, who yells at her for breaking the rules. Molly is hurt and confused, since the school year had been going so well. Eventually, she lets her parents know about Bear, and even makes peace with Max.

This book is based on the comic strip by Bob Scott, and has a lot of good information about dealing with anxiety and fears. I  loved the style of the illustrations; very mid century, and the father has a sort of George Jetson vibe. It's a bit goofy, but fun. If Perma-Bound has a prebind, I will probably purchase. 

Smith, Sherri L. The Pearl

August 6, 2024 by Graphix

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Amy lives in Hawaii in the early 1940s. Her father came to the islands from Japan, and his parents and grandmother still live there. When the grandmother, who worked as a pearl diver when she was young, becomes very ill, the family can't travel to help with her care because there is a new baby, so Amy is sent. She spends a lot of time with the woman, hearing her stories, but when Pearl Harbor is bombed, Amy is in a bad situation. She can't leave, but can't get news home. At one point, the government takes her from the family farm to the city so that she can translate news releases into Japanese. At first, she doesn't want to betray the US, but when she finds out that her parents were sent to a camp and her baby brother died, she is willing to help the Japanese cause. Her family doesn't live far from Hiroshima, and when the atomic bomb is dropped, she is badly injured. Eventually, she is able to go back to the US and reunite with her family. 

This was an interesting look at an unusal event-- getting stuck in a country not one's own during a war. I've read a few others, but none about a US citizen in Japan, although Napoli's In a Flash has Italian sisters in Japan at that time. This would be interesting to read along with  A Place to Belong by Kadohata, which has a family that moves from the US back to Japan after World War II, or Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies. The graphic novel is well done, and colored primarily in blues and grays, which gives a vintage, black and white feel to everything. 

Fox, Coco. Let's Go, Coco!

August 13, 2024 by HarperAlley

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Coco lives in Indiana, but her best friend Blair is moving to Boston. Coco doesn't know how she will be able to survive the school year at Orchard Middle School, but the other students are nice to her, especially Tami. Even though she is worried about a lot of things, she fights through her anxiety and tries out for the basketball team. She makes the Lady Owls along with Zander, who is nonbinary. The team approaches the coach to remove the "Lady" from the team names, and this is done without too many problems. When Coco breaks her arm during practice, she is a little concerned, but continues to work with the team and even learns to shoot with her left hand. There were a couple of plays that she blew, and teammate Maddie, who calls people unflattering nicknames "as a joke", gives her a hard time. Coco has a crush on Tami, but Tami confides in Coco that she has a crush on Adam. Coco realizes that Maddie is mean because of the way her parents treat her, but after she tells Maddie to stop with the nicknames and Maddie doesn't, Coco tells her that she doesn't want to be friends with her. The Owls win the semifinal, and there could be more graphic novels with this character. 

The color palette is an interesting yellow, orange, and purple, and the illustrations are different from many graphic novels I've seen. They remind me of something, but I can't quite think what. There's plenty of drama, and I can see this being popular with students. 

Buckle Up

Lindell, Lawrence. Buckle Up
August 27, 2024 by Random House Graphic
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Lonnie 's parents have recently divorced, and he is struggling with the transition. He and his sister Nicole fight quite a bit, but do try to listen to their mother when she tells them to knock it off. One of the particularly difficult things about the divorce is after school pick up. Lonnie wants to be dropped off and picked up at a corner a bit away from school, because he feels like the other students have too many questions about why his parents no longer pick him up together. He tells his father that he is the only child in his class whose parents are divorced. At the beginning of the book, he doesn't speak to his father a lot as they shuttle back and forth; we see a lot of Lonnie's internal monologue with himself. As he and his father spend more time together, sometimes getting food or visiting the comic book store together, Lonnie shares more with his father about what is going on in his life. In addition to the divorce and the emotional difficulties this has caused for Lonnie, they discuss detentions that Lonnie has assigned for teasing a boy who was bullying him and the trouble he is in for forging his mother's signature. We see an exploration of how Lonnie and his father feel about the fact that one of the boys in his class, Ray, has two mothers. The father thinks this is not "the norm", which makes Lonnie worry, since he thinks he might be bisexual. The father prints out a pamphlet to share with his son, and they can discuss the issue. The topic of family therapy comes up as well. And the end of the book, Lonnie is comfortable enough with his family's situation to be picked up at the front of the school building. 

Strengths: There are not as many books about tweens navigating life with divorced parents as you would think, so this fills a definite need. Urban's Weekends with Max and His Dad works for slightly younger readers, and Levy's The Jake Show for slightly older ones. Lonnie's internal dialogue is nicely show in outlines of the character or in monochrome drawings, and contrasts nicely with what he actually says to his father. The examples of acting out are intriguing, and the discussion of family therapy helpful to young readers who might be in a similar circumstance. 
Weaknesses: At my school, it seems like more students live in single parent families than two parent ones, so it seemed unusual that Lonnie would be so ashamed that his parents were divorced. Also, since most of the book deals with emotional issues being discussed during car rides, this is a rather slow moving story. 
What I really think: The most obvious read alike for Buckle Up is Reynold's Stuntboy books or Sharp's Just Pretend, but since this is a graphic novel, there is a built in audience for it no matter what the content. 

The Owl Prowl Mystery

Renn, Diane. The Owl Prowl Mystery (Backyard Rangers #2)
August 13, 2024 by Fitzroy Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Miles and his friends in the Backyard Rangers are back after their adventures in Trouble at Turtle Pond. It's October, and Miles is excited for Halloween, but his friend Pia points out that his decorations could be dangerous for the owls. He's found several owl pellets near his house, and a local birder who shows up at a festival at Turtle Pond mentions that he has taken an owl who was hit by a car to a rehab center. Malik is impressed by the group's attempts to raise money for various wildlife causes. Miles is very interested in trying to see different birds because his teacher, Ms. Rivera, has given the students a scavenger hunt, and whichever group sees the most birds get a homework coupon. Since he is struggling in school in part because of his ADHD, he wants the coupon enough that he lies about seeing an owl, and even draws a picture at the pond. Celeste Frost has a picture of the owl on her phone. Locals are calling the owl "Bella" and notice that it doesn't seem to be scared of humans. Pia, Luke, and Delaney really want to go on a night hike, an "owl prowl", but it's being held on Halloween, and Celeste is having a party. The group conspires to get dropped off at Celeste's house, but then walk to the owl prowl. The organizer requires permission slips, but lets the children come on the tour since their teacher is there. Mile goes off the path and finds a strange net in the woods that he suspects is being used to catch owls, but he doesn't know what to do about it. When he goes back during the day, the net is gone, but Celeste's parents have closed off one of the walking trails on their property. Malik, who has taken a job working landscaping in the area, says the net is probably a "mist net", and combined with the fact that some of the owl pellets have white mouse fur in them, Miles thinks there is an owl baiter in the area. The Backyard Scouts start an investigation, and have a list of suspects which includes Miles' neighbor Mr. Panek, Malik, and others. Bella mania has gripped the town, and there are even people trying to sell Bella merchandise in town. When Miles' parents find out that he was in the woods near the Frost house, they take him to apologize to her family, especially since Malik is being suspected of being the trespasser. The group thinks that they have found the baiter, but have they? Will they be able to help keeps the owls near Turtle Pond safe?

Strengths: The best part of this book, for me, was the fact that it was very realistic and addressed issues that other books just ignore. Miles' ADHD comes into the story in interesting ways, and there is mention of him taking medication and having help at school. His parents limit his screen time! When the children run off and go on the owl prowl, they are eventually found out. These types of issues are a HUGE deal in elementary and middle school, but are usually never shown. There's a little bit of friend drama when Miles tells the others that Delaney is going to the doctor for treatment of her scoliosis when she wanted it to be kept secret, and Miles thinks that Celeste is stuck up before he gets to know her. There is an especially funny scene with Miles' father making cookies for his mother's book group, and he tries to bake owl pellets at the same time to disinfect them! The mystery is strong as well, and environmental issues speak to a lot of young readers. I enjoyed Renn's Young Adult 2012 Tokyo Heist and 2015 Blue Voyage, but has somehow missed the first book in this series. 
Weaknesses: This seems to be available only in paperback or e book, and the cover art is not strong. 
What I really think: I'm waiting for students to ask me for books with characters who are interested in birding, because there are a growing bumber of them, like McCullough's Across the Pond, King's The Drake Equation, Miller's Rare Birds! This will also appeal to readers who like environmentally themed books like  Hurwitz's  Hello from at Renn Lake, McDunn's When Sea Becomes Sky,  or Johnson's Rescue at Lake Wild. 

Mama's Chicken and Dumplings

Mann, Dionna. L. Mama's Chicken and Dumplings
August 6, 2024 by Margaret Ferguson Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ten-year-old Allie Lewis lives with her mother in Charlottesville, Virginia in the 1930s. She's angry that her mother has to take care of the two of them all alone, since her father left the family and then was killed when she was young. She resents their landlord, who doesn't keep up the property, and is jealous of Gwen Turner, whose father not only provides for his family but seems to genuinely enjoy being with his daughters. Allie decides that her mother should get married, and sets about finding a suitable man in the uptown business district. She and her best friend Jewel have a plan; they will identify five candidates (by visiting their stores and showing the men her mother's picture while assessing if the men have kind smiles, the ability to fix things, and an absence of wedding rings), sell cookies to make money, buy the ingredients for chicken and dumplings, then deliver jars of the dinner to the men, who will of course be besotted and want to marry the mother. These plans go well for a while, and the men are identified. Allie particularly likes Mr. Johnson, who runs the local antique store, and it bodes well that he knew her mother in high school, even if he claims to be a "confirmed bachelor". She is NOT happy when her mother seems interested in her school band director, who happens to be Gwen's uncle. When Jewel's grandfather has a stroke, however, Allie is devastated that her friend has to move to Chicago to be near family. She writes to her friend, and tries to figure out a way to put her plan into action without having access to Jewel's kitchen. She is watched frequently by Miss Greta while her mother works at the McIntire's house, but manages to put up several jars of chicken and dumplings. She takes one to Mr. Johnson, but trips and falls with it. He helps her home, where of course her mother invites him to dinner. He offers to sell the premade dinners at his store, splitting the profit with Allie. School doesn't start on time because a local boy has come down with polio, so Allie tries to work on her plan, even delivering an extra spicy jar of dumplings to Mr. Coles, who is not dissuaded. When school starts, Allie gets in trouble for staring at Gwen; the two fight over Allie's doll, Mitzy, whom she has brought to school, and have to work together on a duet. Being in such close quarters helps the girls resolve their differences, and the two are suprised to find that the other envies them. Eventually, Allie's mother decides on a man to date, and Allie has a new appreciation for the people in her life. 

Strengths: This was a fascinating look at life in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Charlottesville, and talks about the Jefferson School as well. The author has a great note at the end about how there could easily be three books about this neighborhood and all of the history it contained before being razed in the 1960s for urban redevelopment. There's a nice sense of community, and modern readers will be jealous that Allie is able to walk around the business district and talk to strangers! There is some menion of the racism at the time, and period appropriate language is used, but this is more interested in Allie's quest to find her mother a husband. 

Weaknesses: Allie is a bit sassy; look at that face on the cover! She is fairly obedient, but I wonder how sassy children in the 1930s were allowed to be. Also, this was on the young side, with Allie carrying her doll to school. Young readers of today, who probably gave up dolls at the age of five, might not understand that dolls played a major role in childhood until much later than they do today. 
What I really think: This reminded me of Langton's The Majesty of Grace (1961). I would have adored this book as a child, and loved all of the details about daily life. We could use a lot more books about children in the Great Depression; there are not that many, especially with children of color. Curtis' The Mighty Miss Malone , Daley's If the Fire Comes: A Story of Segregation During the Great Depression, and Draper's Stella By Starlight are the only ones I can think of. 

A book about Greenwood, Oklahome BEFORE the massacre would be something I would love to see. 

The Treasure Chest

Hood, Ann. Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield (The Treasure Chest #1)
August 6, 2024 by Penguin Workshop

Copy provided by the publisher
 

Maisie and Felix Robbins' lives are upturned in an instant when their parents announce they are divorcing. Before they know it, they are whisked from New York City to Newport, Rhode Island while their father packs himself off to work at a museum in Qatar! Because an ancestor built Elm Medona, one of the Gilded Age "cottages", and the children's great aunt Maisie can no longer stay in the apartment she is renting for $1 a year from the historical society, the children move in with their mother. They joke that they are being held captive in the attic, but it's quite a nice place to live, and they do get taken on a tour of their opulent new surroundings. While Maisie is not particularly happy about the move, she is intrigued, and when a pricelss Ming vase shatters, she surreptitiously picks up a shard. Things get strange when the vase appears later, fully mended! Felix doesn't think much of it until the two get a chance to see the Treasure Chest, a room full of all sorts of wonderful gifts that had been given to the owners of the home. When the two pick up a piece of paper, reality flickers, and they wonder what secrets the room might hold. Of course, their mother takes the day off, and wants them to visit their great aunt, but they are impatient to get back. When they sneak into the room at night, they manage to time travel! They end up in the country, and assume that the girl they meet in her family's barn, Clara Barton, must be Amish, and think they have traveled to Pennsylvania. When Clara tells them that they are in Massachusetts, and that it's 1836, they are amazed. They spend an interesting day hearing about Clara's brother David, who was sick and had to be nursed for three years, overhear stories that Clara's father tells, and have a hearty country breakfast. It's tricky to get back, and they realize that they have a letter that needs to be delivered to Clara. Once that is done, they head back to modern day Newport to start their new school, and to spend more time listening to their great aunt! 

Strengths: If you have not been to Newport to see the mansions there, you should go if you get the chance. They are absolutely fascinating. There's so much history, and the thought of being able to live in an apartment in one of them... wow. I don't know why Maisie complains at all! The reasons for the family's move were solid, and I was glad that both Maisie and Felix saw some value in visiting their aunt and hearing her stories by the end of the book. The historical details about 1836 are good, and meeting a young Clara Barton and hearing about her formative years was interesting. I could use a good historical novel about Barton, now that I think about it. The new covers (this series first was published in 2011) are much better than the old ones. 
Weaknesses: Since Clara hasn't done her famous battlefield nursing work yet, this felt more like a Childhood of Famous Americans book than a time travel adventure where children have to rectify some anomaly in the past. Perhaps there will be more reason for the children to travel in the next book. I have to say that I liked Hood's She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah a little better, but that was an especially good book. 
What I really think: Asselin and Malone's Art of the Swap also takes place in a Newport mansion and involves time travel, but this has more historic significance. It will be popular with readers of Gutman's Flashback Four, Messner's Ranger in Time, or O'Brien's White House Clubhouse. 

 

Hood, Ann. Alexander Hamilton: Little Lion (The Treasure Chest #2)

August 6, 2024 by Penguin Workshop
Copy provided by the publisher

Even though Maisie and Felix get to live in a fabulous Newport, Rhode Island mansion, what the really want is to return home to New York, specifically to a time when their parents were still together and their father wasn't living in Qatar. Since their first foray into the Treasure Chest took them to see a very young Clara Barton, the two somehow think that they can use the time travel to return to their previous life. After some failed attempts, the visit their great Aunt Maisie, who gives them some clues, as well as a Faberge egg that was made for her. Her brother Thorne had one as well, but something is missing from her egg, and she thinks perhaps Thorne stole it... before he moved to London in 1941. This gives Maisie the idea that she needs to have the shard from the Ming vase with her when she tries to time travel. The siblings look for items that have a New York provenance, but when a coin is knocked off the table and the two accidentally touch it, they find themselves whisked away to St. Croix. After trying to buy food with a coin from 1794, they find that they are in 1772, and meet a seventeen-year-old Alexander Hamilton. They figure he is the person they need to help, and follow him around. While Maisie has a crush on the future statesman, he views the two as "water rats" since they keep following him around. We do find out a lot about what Hamilton did at a young age, including his extensive writing, and find out that he has a job with a slave trader, Cruger, that angers Maisie but which he claims to really need even though he doesn't agree with it. When local businessmen, including Cruger, offer to pay for Hamilton to study in New York along with his friend Ned, he has to get on the last ship sailing there for a while. Maisie and Felix, feeling their job isn't done, beg to go along. The journey is a long one, and when the group lands in Boston, the place is crawling with Red Coats. Eventually, Maisie talks to Hamilton about what is going on in her life, and she sees from his example that she needs to move past the divorce and relocation. Once she has this epiphany, she and Felix are able to return to the present day, although they will remain in Rhode Island. 

Strengths: While I enjoyed the first book in this series, it felt a bit lacking in information about Clara Barton's early years. This did a nice job at painting a portrait of Hamilton's time before he came to the colonies. There are lots of good details, and some of the historical events are given a new look with modern eyes, like Cruger's involvement in the slave trade. Maisie and Felix's presence is better explained as being "hurricane children", so their odd clothes and foreign ways are understandable. There are ten books in all in The Treasure Chest series, including a title where they visit Pearl Buck, if you are looking to go to other places and times, and find out how the children get on in Newport! 
Weaknesses: I'm still a little confused about why the siblings are time traveling. They spent a lot of time on the process, but they aren't fixing any history. It seems like they are traveling to fix things in their own lives, which would be innovative. Also, since this originally came out in 2012, the time frames don't quite work; if Thorne is alive, he's over 100 years old. 
What I really think: I'm a huge fan of time travel series, and Gutman's Baseball Card Adventures is the best because it also involves sports. Gibbs' also has The Last Musketeer Trilogy. I was glad that this went to St. Croix in 1772, since there aren't as many books about Alexander Hamilton as you would have thought; Hamilton! has been out for a decade, and is still fairly popular. Keep this in mind if you want more information about Hamilton's early like and have enjoyed Fritz's Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider (2011) or Elliott's Hamilton and Peggy. 

MMGM- Wild Wave

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Philbrick, Rodman. Wild Wave (Wild Adventures #3)
August 6, 2024 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nick Chase, who struggles in school, is spending his Saturday at the Cape Courage, New Jersey shore on a Friends of the Wild Tour so that he can put together a podcast for school. The docent is a girl his age, Jess, who wants to be a big animal vet when she grows up. The tour has just covered some of the rescue animals, like bobcats, that are being rehabilitated when the animals become extremely agitated and all of the water empties out of the bay. Jess and Nick know this is a bad sign and run for higher ground as quickly as they can. They get a decent distance away, but when they see water coming for them, they manage to get hold of an uprooted tree, on which one of the bobcats is also riding! They travel further from shore across the ruined pines trees, but get sucked back towards the shore as the water recedes. It starts to rain, and they assess their supplies and injuries. Nick's mother was at the store, but his father was out on the Finn Chaser, his fishing boat. Jess' mom and stepfather were both at their house, which is on higher ground, and the kids hope that their parents are all alive. As they are trying to figure out where to go, they hear an air horn and find a small boat. On it is Mrs. Bumper, their science teacher who is nearing retirement, and her husband Bill, a popular soccer coach. Mrs. Bumper tells them that the ruined pine forest is a danger because of the threat of fire, but Bill has sprained his ankle, so they can't leave. Because Mrs. Bumper is diabetic, she wants to send Jess and Nick back to the town to get help. To get their GPS location, they have to get high enough to catch a signal, and it's a harrowing experience as both Bill and Nick, who is afraid of heights, try to climb trees. Once they have the location, the couple get the kids supplied with food and equipment and send them on their way. Nick slides into a sinkhole, but Jess saves him with rope. There's a timber snake that is a bit of a threat, but it's eaten by the bobcat that is following them, hoping that humans will lead it to food. They thwart an army of rats by distracting them with a peanut butter sandwich, and deal with aftershocks, rain, and blocked paths. When they finally make it near to the town, they find the abandoned Finn Chaser, and encounter looters who are trying to claim it and try to lock the kids in the cabin. Luckily, their bobcat companion attacks the looters, and Jess and Nick are able to get help from the National Guard. The town suffered devastating losses, with 300 people dying, but all of the parents are okay, with Nick's mother being gravely injured but being well on the road to recovery a year later.
Strengths: Like the other (unrelated) books in this series, Wildfire and Wild River, this is an excellent and exciting outdoor survival adventure. There is plenty of good information about survival techniques, and I now want to have a survival backpack firmly attached to me at all time. You just never know. Jess and Nick are different people, but work well together as they face daunting challenges. The Bumpers (who must be my age!) are great characters; upbeat, prepared, comforting, and resilient. They add a level of comfort to an otherwise bleak and scary book. There's plenty of action and suspense, as well as a happy ending. This is a perfect lenghth and will be very popular with my students.
Weaknesses: There is a nice note at the end of the book about tsunamis, but I would have liked to see more information about whether a tsunami has ever hit New Jersey. Young readers will think that this book is like Tarshis' I Survived series and based on real events, but I suspect it is not. 

What I really think: Outdoor survival books continue to be popular in my library; I even dusted off both copies of George's 1959 My Side of the Mountain and checked them out recently! Philbrick's The Big Dark has a dystopian feel to it, but I love this whole series of "Wild" adventures. This is a must purchase for elementary and middle school libraries where Johnson's Survival Diaries  or other outdoor survival books are popular.

 

Buckley, James Jr., Labrecque, Ellen, and Walthall, Steffi (illustrator)
Fearless Firsts: Athletes Who Changed the Game: 50+ Athletes Who Overcame the Odds
August 6, 2024 by Sourcebooks Explore
Copy provided by the publisher

While there are a lot of collective sports biographies, like Sourcebooks 100 Athletes Who Shaped Sports, and 100 Baseball Legends, Allen's Girls Race!, 

and Stabler's Kid Athletes, I haven't seen one that focused on athletes from a wide variety of backgrounds and sports that were firsts. This is a great idea, because it allows for a lot of inclusion, but also is a reminded of how recently some of these athletes were "first", because the playing field is still not even. 

There were some athletes with whom I was familiar, like tennis player Althea Gibson, athletic polymath Babe Didrickson Zaharias, and baseball player Toni Stone (who is the subject of the fantastic new picture book by Karen L. Swanson, Swinging into History: Toni Stone: Big-League Baseball's First Woman Player, this covered some that I hadn't heard of. I'd heard of Olympic swimmer Sammy Lee, for example, but not his friend Vicki Manolo Draves. Since I don't follow car racing, I didn't realize how groundbreaking Indy 500 driver Janet Guthrie or drag racer Shirley Muldowney were. I should have known about Marla Runyon, the first legally blind Olympic runner, and now might pick up her book No Finish Line. That's the reason I love to see books like this; my students and I might not be interested in every single person, but there's always one or two entries that encourage us to get more information. 

Each athlete is given a two page spread, with a brief biography and career overview on the right. It's helpful that the entry starts with the person's name, sport, and years. The entries are arranged alphabetically by last name, which is fine, but I always enjoy seeing these sorts of books about pioneers arranged chronologically. On the left, there is a great portrait with lots of details about the sport or person's background. There are also some articles that are not biographies, but add information about the state of sports in general, like a good discussion about Title IX. 

There is a colorful timeline in the back, with the athletes arranged in chronological order, as well as an alphabetical list of the sports included, with the pages where the athletes can be found. I loved the list of other books to read, which includes one of my favorites, Karen Blumenthal's Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law that Changed the Future of Girls. I highly recommend picking up the revised 2022 edition instead of the original 2005 one, even though I liked the original cover better!

Books about sports of any kind are always in demand in my library for pleasure reading, and this has the added appeal of featuring pioneers from a variety of backgrounds, making it useful for biographical presentations as well and a gold medal winner of a middle grade nonfiction title!

Crushing It and Mia Hamm

Becker, Erin. Crushing It

August 6, 2024 by Penguin Workshop

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Mel is an avid soccer player who lives with her supportive parents and her older sister, Emily, who has become distant since she is in high school and dedicated to writing poetry. Tory lives with her mother, who has recently married Eddison, as well as her new stepbrother, Terrance, who is 18. The two both play on the same soccer team in Crooked Creek, Iowa, and used to be best friends. They were in the "Fearsome Foursome" with Rima, who has remained friends with Mel, and Chloe, who still talks to Tory, but after Tory made unforgiveable remarks about Mel, the two don't speak. In the days leading up to the 8th grade City Championship, there's a lot of drama going on. Mel has taken to writing poetry, but doesn't want her sister to find out. She has been communicating with BTtoYou and exchanging poetry, as well as talking about life challenges that she can't share with anyone else. Rima is running for student body president, and after the school paper endorses the boy she is running against, she asks Mel to give a speech on her behalf. The only problem is that Mel is terrified of giving speeches. This comes up when she is paired with Tory on a science project. Tory is very meticulous in everything she does, and tries to control the chaos in her family life by being very organized and focused. She doesn't want Mel to blow their chance at an A. Tory likes her step brother, and wants to impress him, since he is more involved in her life than her own mother is most of the time. Tory has also been chatting with someone online, and since the book is written in a dual perspective, we know that the girls are texting each other. It turns out that Tory made a mean comment about Mel because she had a crush on her friend, and was afraid to let anyone find out. Mel also has a crush on Tory, and the two have to find a way to overcome their past history and explore this new relationship. 

Strengths: There are some good details about soccer, as well as the drama involved with team dynamics. Tory's relationship with her mother is interesting, and I like that we even get a glimpse of Mel and Emily's connection. Middle grade novels really should include a lot more descriptions of families, because they do affect tweens very strongly. There's a good balance between school, home, and soccer. Readers who want romance will enjoy the happy ending. 
Weaknesses: There may be some middle schools with student body presidential elections and newspapers, but my school hasn't had either since the early 1990s. The practice of letting students work unsupervised in the halls has also been stopped. This could be different at other schools. It's always hard for me to believe the coincidence of two people who know each other in real life connecting on line, but it is a frequent occurrence in middle grade novels. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Dee's Star-Crossed but would rather read about soccer than theater. 

Gray, Karlin and Hess, Micheline (Illustrator)

Mia and Friends: Mia Hamm and the Soccer Sisterhood that Changed History

August 27, 2024 by First Second 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This graphic novel gives a brief overview of Hamm's life and career, with a concentration on her involvement on various teams, and the other women with whom she played. Born in 1972, Hamm wore corrective shoes for a foot problem, but loved to hang out with her older brother, Garrett, who played soccer. Soon, it was clear that she was a big help when he picked her for his team. The family moved a lot because her father was in the Air Force, and this made it harder for Mia to make friends. When she was just 15, she was picked to join the Women's National Team along with Brani Chastain and others. She played in the Women's World Championship in 1991, and the first women's Olympic soccer tournament in 1996. Her older brother died of a rare bone marrow disease in 1997, and today she works with the Mia Hamm Foundation to help raise funds and awareness for bone marrow/cord blood transplants. The book also talks about the 1999 World Cup victory, what the various players have been doing since, and also the legacy of equal pay, which wasn't settled until February of 2022. There is also a brief discussion of how younger soccer players have been inspired by Hamm's career. 

While this doesn't have a lot of details about Hamm's personal life, the focus on her teammates and her career will make this a popular book with young soccer fans who would like to follow in her cleats. The artwork is brightly colored, and there's a good balance of pictures to text. My favorite part is that other teammates who were not as well known are at least mentioned, some in more detail than others. This is a great purchase for any elementary or middle school library. 

 

How It All Ends

Hunsinger, Emma. How It All Ends
August 6, 2024 by Greenwillow Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Tara Gimmel and her older sister Isla are best friends, so when Tara's middle school advises her and two classmates to skip 8th grade and go right to high school, she consults her about what the change will entail. Isla downplays the differences, but Tara is petrified and has all manner of nightmares about this new experience. She handles the new school better than Jessup, who clings to her for the first few days, but not as well as another girl, who already seems to have older friends with whom she can wear matching outfits! The classes are all low-level horrible, and Tara gets home at the end of the day ready to collapse on her bed and think about worst case scenarios instead of playing imaginative games with her young brother Pete, although she does manage to rouse herself to do this. The worst class is language arts, with an impassioned but misguided Mr. Tims, who seems to lack control of the largely male students who do things like stripping off their shirts in the middle of class. When a group project is assigned, Tara's anxiety level skyrockets until she is paired with Libby, who seems nice. Tara hangs out with Isla and her friends in the park occasionally, but talking to them about the odd, depressing music they prefer over her favorite pop star and the racy television program they all enjoy leave her feeling even more like a baby. She still worries about high school and remembers middle school fondly; the realistic scenes are rendered in greens and blues, and the day dreaming sequences in reds and yellow, making them easy to tell apart. Her daydreaming increasinly focuses on her friendship with Libby, and she is thrilled when she is invited to Libby's house. The two have their differences, but like each other and get along. As her obsession with her friend deepens, Isla, who has a boyfriend she is hiding from their parents, mentions that maybe Tara feels the same way about Libby that Isla feels about her boyfriend. Tara recoils from the idea, even though it is true, but starts to slowly accept this. Her friend Jessup seems to be adjusting to high school better than she is; Isla's male friends think he is cute and want to date him, and he is enjoying being in the band. As the school year progresses and she becomes closer to Libby, will Tara finally feel like she belongs in high school?
Strengths: Hunsinger seems to be a popular author among adult readers, and apparently creates cartoons for The New Yorker. She also seems fairly young, so her high school experience is still fresh in her mind. Tara's feelings about dreading new experiences seems in line with the current cultural zeitgeist, and there are a fair number of graphic novels about girls having crushes on other girls, like Ostow's The Girl From the Sea, Aldridge's The Pale Queen, Gros' Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of), Weir and Haynes' Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables, and Stevenson's Lumberjanes, so there must be an audience.
Weaknesses: There must also be a market for graphic novels about emotional upheaval, but they are not my personal favorite. I did like that the issue of skipping a grade is addressed. Even though my children were placed in some classes ahead of their grade, I was never a huge fan of skipping children ahead, for all of the emotional reasons evidenced by Tara's experience. I let my children choose what they wanted to do and supported their choices, and I spent much of the book wishing that Tara's parents would have listened to her, and that the school would have taken her emotional immaturity into consideration.
What I really think: Young readers who liked Vivat's Frazzled or Libenson's Invisible Emmie will sympathize with Tara's anxiety and enjoy both her reality and her daydreams.

Professional Development- 100 Great New Books!

Every August and November I give a presentation to staff in my district. It's not quite the same without the pell mell commentary (100  books in 70 minutes! Wooo!), but at least you can see the books. 

I'll be giving this presentation while sitting down, with my foot elevated, which will be new and exciting! 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TxYii44-kvCpjAq8wxoIxqPuZ3E5TdcNr676dT_ImfE/edit?usp=sharing

Guy Friday- Daydreamer

Cameron, Rob. Daydreamer

August 6, 2024 by Labyrinth Road

E ARC provided by Netgalley

 

Charles lives in the Beatrix building in New York City in 1986 with his mother, who is studying to be a nurse. Since his father is not around, he is frequently babysat by either Mrs. Hwang, an older Korean woman, or the building superintendent, Mr. Miles. Charles often thinks of the building as the Sanctuary, and pretends that the residents are "dream folk"who have moved there to get the protection of Mr. Miles in his dragon form, sometimes referred to as Glory. Charles has two imaginary best friends, Ruby, who is based on a real friend hw had who moved away, and Fig, who is a dwarf. These thoughts sometimes spill over into school, where he imagines that the twins who bully him are "ogres". School is difficult for Charles, who can't read and frequently gets in trouble. When a father and son move into the building, there's a lot more trouble to be had as evil magical characters start to infiltrate the building. Mr. Calixte and his son, Junior, are identified as being trolls by Mr. Miles, and he tells Charles to steer clear of them. Junior tells Chalres that he doesn't like his father, and would rather be called Will. The two become good friends. Charles starts to be attacked by a large variety of dream folk who cause all sorts of problems. Mr. Miles gives him a "magic pen", and Charles tries to control what is going on through his drawings, but he can't stop a Tokoloshe from possessing him, doppelgangers from running wild, or creatures from the Place Between from getting loose. He works with Mr. Miles and even Mrs. Hwang to fight against the creatures, but it's a constant battle, in the same way it's a battle for people in New York City at this period in history to battle rolling blackouts, the crack epidemic, and fires  in apartment buildings like the nearby Riley Towers. Children from Charles' school are going missing, and he and Mr. Miles believe that the Calixtes are behind it. Will they be able to fighting against these forces to make their apartment building safe?
Strengths: This combined a New York setting with a wide variety of culturally connected fantasy creatures and even quoted Carroll's The Jabberwock frequently. The writing was lyrical and descriptive. There's a great found family in the Beatrix, and the descriptions of the prewar apartment building as well as the residents. Charles and his mom have a great relationship, since it's "just you and me" (the mother's code for "I love you"). There is nonstop action for most of the book, and readers who want fantasy battles will be quite happy with the level of conflict, as well as Charles' ability to be triumphant. The author has quite an impressive list of speculative fiction writing credits and is a teacher. (http://www.rob-cameron.com/)
Weaknesses: Since this was set in 1986, I felt like there was some history behind a lot of the action that I didn't understand, and that maybe the fires were similar to the ones in Woodson's Remember Us. I also felt like the missing children might have a basis in reality, but I couldn't find information about specifics like Riley Towers online. I was in college at this time and had limited access to the news, so feel like I was missing a lot of history. Also, if the book description hadn't said that Charles was neurdivergent, I wouldn't have picked it up from the text. 
What I really think: This is a very long fantasy book that will be popular with fans of Eggers' The Eyes and the Impossible or other allegorical fantasy books like Malinenko's This Appearing House or Reynolds' Izzy at the End of the World. There are some similarities in place and time with Zoboi's My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich. It will probably win several awards, so I would definitely take a look at this one. 

I don't have the readers for this type of fantasy, so will probably pass on purchase. 

Happy International CAT Day

Evans, Frances and Heaton, Kelsey (illus.) Atlas of Cats

August 6, 2024 by Lonely Planet

Copy provided by the publisher

The team of Evans and Heaton that brought us Atlas of Dogs (2022) returns with a similar treatment of the world of felines! This is important, since there are a lot of very ardent cat fans out there, many of whom read Hunter's Warriors books and have insatiable curiosity about all things cat related. 

Since I am more of a dog person (although I have five grandcats!), I learned a lot from this book. It was particularly interesting that there is a full discussion about the major types of big cats (pantherinae) after a run down of domestic cats (felinae) from around the world. It also helps that there is a great picture of a cat with an explanation about critical parts, like the coat, paws, tail, tongue, and claws. Now I know why cats feel so boneless when you pick them up, and thanks to the pages on "super senses", am aware that cats have a second "nose" on the roof of their mouths!

Most of the book is dedicated to describing different types of cats, and I love that there are maps showing where the breeds originated. I was somehow surprised that most domestic types were developed in the last 150 years, and there were many, like the Selkirk Rex, that were bred in the 1980s! It somehow seems like it should take a LOT more time to develop cats with very distinctive characteristics! These maps, which cover the globe, have a lot of stray facts, like the mention that the earliest known remains of a domestic cat date back 9500 years and were discovered on Cyprus in the early 2000s!

In between the pages of breeds are all sorts of extra information. From the development of kittens to how to "speak" cat, there are a lot of practical topics that add more excitement to the pages. I'm still a little leery about cat shows, but enthralled by the pages of "cat culture" which includes dark magic, ship's cats, and even the worship of cats in different cultures!

Complete with thumbnails of record-breaking cats as well as a glossary and a lengthy index, Atlas of Cats is an excellent resource for all things feline related. The bright illustrations accompanying the information will draw in reluctant readers, and this would be a great book to take on a long car ride... as long as your young fan doesn't get car sick and you can stand to have the entire book read to you! It would also make a great gift, combined with a graphic novel like Burgos' Bodega Cats, Bradshaw and Elsom's A First Guide to Cats: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend, or maybe even a kitten! Just make sure, as Atlas of Cats suggests, that it's from a rescue or a reputable breeder! 

Nightmare in the Backyard

Strand, Jeff. Nightmare in the Backyard

August 6, 2024 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Avery is super excited to have a sleepover at Chloe's house; the two are inseperable and looking forward to sleeping in a tent, eating lots of s'mores, and talking through the night. It helps distract Chloe, who has been struggling since the disappearance of her father. The girls aren't happy when Chloe's mom announces that her Aunt Sandy and cousin Madison will be coming over; Madison only cares about boys and clothes and can be rather annoying. The group is telling ghost stories when next door neighbor Elijah scares them; Avery and Chloe are just irritated, but Madison thinks he's cute. These problems pale in comparison when the girls settle down to sleep for the night and realizes that the lumps that have been moving under their sleeping bags are probably snakes... and all their phones are mysteriously dead! When Chloe and Avery's moms pop their head out, but don't seem to hear the girls, they decide to make a run for it, and giant, murderous tentacles burst from the lawn and attack the girls. Beating the tentacles with Madison's cot and the tent spikes seems to make the creature scream, and the girls make a panicked retreat to the tent. This doesn't last long, because soon the tentacles are tearing through the nylon and grabbing the frightened campers. They manage to escape to Chloe's weather beaten treehouse. Elijah emerges from his house, but it isn't until he is on Chloe's yard that he sees the monsters. They attack him, and soon he is fleeing for the safety of the treehouse as well. He tells the girls that from his yard, it looked like the tent was still standing, and was illuminated by a glow that seemed like the girls were on their cell phones. When the mothers pop their heads out the next time, Aunt Sandy is dragged down into the year by tentacles and disappears! Avery manages to make it to Elijah's house, but when the others overhear her talking to Mrs. Duncan, it's clear that she has no memory of the monsters. THEN THE TREEHOUSE EXPLODES! Elijah tries to run but is dragged under! Chloe's mom comes out of the house and gets dragged underground! Chloe has had it! She thinks about the disappearance of her dad, and channels her anger into smashing the tentacles with the boards from the treehouse. She and Madison write notes to themselves about what is going on and tuck them in their mouths in case they forget what's going on. Avery comes back, and the girls try to use an axe to chop away at the tentacles, but AVERY AND MADISON GET DRAGGED TO THE DEPTHS! Exhausted and terrified, Chloe realizes that she is alone. When she also drops into the lair of the tentacled monsters, she is resigned, but will she be able to gather her strength and save the world? (Don't want to spoil the ending!)
Strengths: Who doesn't like a sleepover where entire bags of marshmallows are eaten, neighbor boys are dismissed, and GIANT TENTACLES EMERGE FROM THE GROUND AND TRY TO KILL EVERYONE!!! You will notice that I am not usually given to using all caps, but boy, does this book need them to adequately describe the action! It's nonstop and pell mell, with the tiniest amount of breathing room before we are flung right back into the action. The biggest complaint I hear from readers is that "nothing happens" in books, so I am always surprised that there aren't more books like this one where the characters meet one horrifyingly exciting challenge after another. For the adults in the room, we do get some backstory of Chloe and her father's disappearance, as well as good examples of the kids working well together, but the whole point of this book is TO SMASH THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THE TENTACLES!!! There is a satisfying ending, with the kids saving the day in a way that tweens will really enjoy, and everyone is happy. It doesn't get any better than that in an exciting and vaguely terrifying middle grade novel.
Weaknesses: The ending is a bit deus ex machina, but this means that we don't have to wait for a second novel to resolve everything. It does have a tween getting to drive a car! I had some questions about the state of the backyard. I grew up in an area where there were sinkholes caused by old mines, so I'd be super careful of Chloe's backyard going forward. Also, why are these girls not playing lacrosse? Clearly, they've got some excess energy that could be productively channeled!
What I really think: I'm afraid that this is a book that adult will read and dismiss out of hand because it is so unlikely. This is really too bad, because actual middle grade readers will LOVE this one. Part of me wishes that the main characters had been boys, because they tend to like the smash-and-grab writing style a little more, but the cover is neutral, and my readers have gotten much better about focusing on content rather than worrying about being seen with "girl books". There are just not enough books with NONSTOP ACTION. Klavan's If We Survive (2012), Cole's Z-Rex (2010), and Mbalia, and Makonnen's Last Gate of the Emperor (2022) are some of the few I can think of. This reminded me a tiny bit of Ockler's The Smashed Man of Dread End, and this goes well with the other Eek! book by Strand, It Watches in the Dark. I had never heard the term "implacable horror" until I read another review of this title, but it's a trope I've definitely going to look for now!

John Wilson's 2004 essay in Quill and Quire, "Eviscerating Noddy" (which I always wrongly remember as "Exploding Noddy"), explains why Strand's style in this book will make it so popular with readers!