Picture Book Pick: Gaga Mistake Day

Gaga Mistake Day 

by Emma & Susan Straub

Illustrated by Jessica Love

Rocky Pond Books

an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC

2024

32 pages

When quirky grandmother Gaga comes to visit, life gets more fun! Gaga makes a lot of "mistakes," but it's always a great time for the child and Gaga. Making up new games is Gaga's greatest gift. She claims in order to walk to the park, the rule is: you can only walk backwards. 

Dress up and dance party are the child and Gaga's shared activities, and when lunchtime rolls around, there's no more "eat all your vegetables" or "just try one bite." Gaga makes the plates silly and fantastic; for example, the entire food pyramid, Gaga style, is featured, "The plate has 1 lollipop, 2 pieces of cheese, 3 pretzel rods, 4 slices of cucumbers..." and more whimsical additions climbing up to the count of ten. 

Gaga makes so many "mistakes," and ends up having to apologize to the parents, but grandchild and Gaga both know the mistakes are made on purpose and their purpose is to infuse their day with fun. 

Gaga Mistake Day is a winner! The story is full of love and family, laughter and joy, and memories that will be worth remembering. Everyone needs a Gaga in their life. The last line of the book says it all: "I love Gaga days."

Highly, highly recommended and likely to be in the mix for book of the year, this book treasure is the perfect gift for any new grandparent and/or grandchild. 

Coping and Cool: How To Stop Freaking Out: The Ultimate Guide To Keeping Cool When Life Feels Chaotic

 

How To Stop Freaking Out: The Ultimate Guide To Keeping Cooll When Life Feels Chaotic

by Carla Naumburg, PhD, LICSW

Illustrated by Letizia Rizzo 

Workman Kids

Workman Publishing

2024

144 pages 

ISBN: 9781523518241

Publication Date: September 10, 2024

Written by a clinical social worker/author of parenting books, this comprehensive guide discusses feelings, emotions, actions, reactions and how to navigate tough situations while maintaining a cool head. 

Quick quizzes, text boxes, highlighted texts, lists and clever acronyms like BuRPing which stands for Button Reaction Practices, will help the reader learn to manage stress and tension. There are techniques for each letter of the alphabet; for instance, W is for Walk, take a walk and M is for move your body. These suggestions apply not only to young readers, but make sense for any person any age. 

Truth Bombs appear throughout set off in highlighted boxes and offer wisdom and guidance for the reader. Suggestions like taking a nap when worn out seems so logical, but few stressed out people will think of it let alone do it. 

Complete with a list of resources, How To Stop Freaking Out is the ultimate self-help book needed by every child ages eight and up (and of course, adults can learn a thing or two as well). Naumburg handles the topic without becoming preachy or condescending. The book, although serious, sets a tone of helpful, enthusiastic and hopeful. 

 

Origin Story: Boy 2.0

 

Boy 2.0 

by Tracey Baptiste

Algonquin Books for Young Readers

Workman Publishing

2024

304 pages

ISBN: 9781643753812

Book available October 1, 2024

Tracey Baptiste has created her own super-hero--dare I say--series? 

Being a foster kid isn't that bad, and Win (Coal) has seen everything and been placed in several homes, but when he has a run-in with an armed neighbor and somehow turns invisible, that's a whole other level of crazy. How did the armed man and later the police not see Coal? He "changed" his skin like a chameleon.

Sure, there's some glitches in turning invisible--like his clothes are still visible so he must be naked to be truly invisible, but it's a small price to pay for being a super-hero. Or is he a super-hero? And how can he learn to use his new-found power and control it? And how did he get this superpower? He knows so little about his birth mother or the man who adopted him. 

When Coal tells his best friend Door about his invisible run-in, Door doesn't believe him at first and refers to Coal's new power as, "a stupid naked superpower." The boys need to figure out how Coal is able to turn invisible and what causes it in order to keep themselves safe, so they turn to where else? The trusty library. Researching humans and chameleons brings up the name of a company: Mirror Tech. Coal is determined to travel to Newark to find out is he is a mutant or an orphan or both. 

The author weaves Coal's story masterfully, and a reader will have much to ponder about how skin color affects people's first impressions and society's treatment of a person based on their appearance. 

Boy 2.0 is a read that will stick with you long after the last page is turned. The novel has huge potential as an extended series and is a stellar win for the author and the publisher. Kudos Tracey Baptiste and Algonquin Books for Young Readers for not only an important story but one packed with excitement, bad guys, evil stealthy doctors, military secrets and a few normal kids who use their friendships and wiles to best a gigantic corporation and expose dark conspiracies. 

Highly, highly recommended grades 5 and up. If you read one superhero book, make it Boy 2.0 which is destined to become a bestseller, the next big thing and perhaps an entire franchise. This book is likely to win Every. Single. Book. Award. This. Year. 

LGBTQIA Dictionary: The Queens' English

 

The Queens' English

The Young Readers' LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Lingo and Phrases

by Chloe O. Davis

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Adapted from The Queens' English  published in 2021

by Clarkson Potter 

2024

336 pages

ISBN: 9781665926867

The Queens' English (Young Readers version) is adapted from a 2021 book also written by Chloe O. Davis. This version is aimed at much younger readers (not YA nor adults) who are interested in the language used by the  LGBTQIA+ and drag community. 

This concise compendium is a great asset for any library shelf and also a great gift for teens and/or families of teens. 

From homophobia to deadname (a word with particularly negative connotations for those who have changed their birth names) to the idea of a gingerbread person (used to help all ages understand sexuality and gender), this dictionary covers it all. Simply put, this is a book all of us (every human) needs to read. 

Understanding and accepting are the goals, and Chloe O. Davis has succeeded in making this a teachable moment! Kudos to the author! 

Highly, highly recommended for every library. The ideas and terms are presented in a straight forward way in language easy to understand. This is NOT a book about sex or acting promiscuously. An extensive list of resources offers readers more information and guidance. Full color illustrations, Did You Know? boxes which offer even the most reluctant readers quick, interesting facts and the terms used in sentences for better understanding are highlights. 

Grades 4 and up/ages 10 and up.