Young Reader Pick: Bloom

Bloom
by Doreen Cronin
Illustrations by David Small
A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
2016
32 pages
ISBN:9781442406209


"A mud fairy, an extraordinary girl, and a castle in peril." (from the front cover)

Bloom is not your ordinary fairy. Gone is the fairy dust, the twinkling wings, the sparkling wand. Bloom has heavy feet and leaves mud wherever she goes. The king and queen are appalled. Their kingdom is made of glass; they don't want all that mud dirtying things up. Bloom can make flowers bloom where weeds used to grow and she can make glass out of sand. All this magic isn't enough to gain the favor of the royals. They tell Bloom that she must leave. Off she goes to the forest where she makes flowers grow everywhere.

After a few years, the kingdom is in disrepair. The king and queen don't know what to do! The king ventures into the forest to ask for Bloom's help. When he declines, he sends the queen hoping for better luck. The queen also turns away Bloom's "dirty" answer to their problem. They decide to send a young servant girl who is a "nobody" hoping she will get the secret to saving their kingdom.

Genevieve finds Bloom and asks for her magic. Bloom gives her a shovel and tells her, " I will show you the magic that can save your kingdom." Genevieve is amazed! She can make bricks! She can get dirty and build things! She is worried that the king and queen will never believe her because she's just a commoner, "an ordinary girl." Bloom's answer is the mantra that all girls should hear, "Tell them there is no such thing as an ordinary girl..."With her newfound sense of power and self-esteem, Genevieve returns to her kingdom and saves it!

I LOVE the message! I love the HEART! This is a must read for every single girl on the planet (no matter what age)! Even the boys! Doreen Cronin, you have done it again! Thank you for your genius, insight, and heart. You have created a truly marvelous picture book that readers will treasure.

Illustrations by David Small and smart placement of font size and lettering carry the story across each spread. When we see Genevieve return to her kingdom, she shatters the palace door and bits and shards fly across the page.

What a treasure! What a gem of a story! Well done, you two!

So highly recommended that everyone should own this book! It's message is that great! This is a wonderful book for new readers and its mantra of, "There is no such thing as an ordinary girl," should be over the hallowed halls of every place of learning and over every crib.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Not Just For Children Pick: Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld
Scholastic
2013
56 pages

Available March 1, 2013

Exclamation Mark is an empowering little book that should be read and loved by all ages.

The exclamation mark feels left out. He's weird looking. He stands out among all the periods, but one day, he sees someone different like him. He runs into a question mark.

The question mark greets him asking him a load of rapid fire questions: "Do you like frogs? ...Know any good jokes?...Is there an echo in here? Is there an echo in here?...Why do you look so surprised?" The exclamation mark can't take any more questions, so he yells, "STOP!"and suddently  realizes his own power. The exclamation mark is powerful--he is powerful! He shows off his newfound courage and power to the average periods and they are happy for him. He goes off into the world, "...to make his mark."

This clever quick read is surprising in its integrity and strength. Every individual wants to stand out; every human has the need to "be somebody" and be good at something. Every child and  teen struggles with an identity crisis. Every adult who goes through life changing struggles needs to find her strength again.  The exclamation mark learns that it's okay to be different; that sometimes different is better!

Exclamation Mark is a great gift for that young adult who is beginning high school or leaving high school or for that college grad going off to make her/his mark in life.

Highly, highly recommended for every book shelf or desk.  Amazon reviewers gave this book 5 star reviews and liked it to teach punctuation to second grade students, but the book is so much deeper than just the obvious punctuation marks.

Kirkus starred review, School Library Journal starred review, Booklist starred review

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F&G  from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Dystopian Pick: Drought

Drought
by Pam Bachorz
Egmont, 2011
400 pages

Following on the heels of her success with Candor, Bachorz enters a new and frightening world--a world that time forgot, or at least appears to have forgotten. Ruby and her mother live with a small group of Congregants who have settled in the woods. Here they are able to practice their religion without interference; however, their day-to-day existence is decided by Darwin West, an evil man who beats them into subservience and forces them to work and live in conditions few could survive. The Congregants have a secret weapon--when Ruby realizes her blood has the power to save, she begins putting drops of her own blood in the community's water supply. Not only does her blood have the power to sustain them, it has the power to make them have long lives--some of the Congregants have been in the woods over 200 years.

When a young overseer appears to have feelings of sympathy for her group, Ruby dreams of escape. Will she be able to leave her mother and all that she has ever known for the unknown? Will she be able to leave the Congregants without her life-saving blood?

Deeply moving and greatly disturbing, this novel will leave an impression. Like Lowrey's The Giver, Drought brings up ethical and moral questions and skirts religious beliefs held by the community of followers. Readers will be talking about Drought for days, maybe even months after reading it. Unlike her first novel, Drought is not just a young adult novel--it is one that may make it into the "Required Reading Lists" at the high school level.

I read Drought and thought about it for two weeks before reviewing it. I had to let the story sink in and think about its complexity. While appearing to be a ya novel, it is so much more.

Highly recommended grades 9-12. Mature readers at grade 8 may attempt this book, but they may not realize the provocative theme and symbolism. Violence.


Available January 25, 2011.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.