Christmas Pick: The Magic of a Small Town Christmas

 

The Magic of a Small Town Christmas

by Megan Alexander

Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

Aladdin e 

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2022

32 pages

ISBN: 9781665929806

In a small town named Heartbeat Falls, neighbors celebrate the season by choosing the right Christmas tree, visiting the town's bakery, ice skating on the pond, decorating their houses, and baking cookies. There are fun arts and crafts projects for little hands, making s'mores and a pot luck dinner the neighbors----their joy and happiness visible in  Hiroe Nakata's beautiful illustrations. 

Heartbeat Falls could be any town where people gather and care for each other. The last line is lovely, "For the beauty of a small town isn't based upon its size. It's the love shared by its people shining brightly in their eyes." 

This  charming book is a great gift for new parents and young readers. Heartfelt and appealing, The Magic of a Small Town Christmas will be a favorite read for the season. 

Highly, highly recommended for Christmas! 

Nursery Rhyme Pick: The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose

 

The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose

Selected by Arnold Lobel

Illustrated by Arnold Lobel

A Paula Wiseman Book

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Originally published in 1986 by Random House, Inc.

2022

176 pages

ISBN: 9781534474352

This book is considered the most concise and best collection of nursery rhymes with over 300 entries with brilliant  illustrattions by Arnold Lobel.  Lobel has little known rhymes like "Hector Protector" and "This Is the Key to the Kingdom" alongside more common ones like "London Bridge" and "Jack and Jill." You may think you know "London Bridge" and "Jack and Jill," but Lobel includes the entire rhyme and you'll be surprised to learn you've been missing entire pieces of the stories. 

There is so much to see and learn in this lovely compendium of rhymes that young readers will beg, "Just one more! Read one more!" Don't read this as a goodnight book unless you want to be up all night! 

Complete with an index of first lines and their corresponding page numbers, readers can easily find a rhyme they're searching for. 

Highly, highly recommended for all collections of poetry and rhyme and this treasure, The Arthur Lobel Book of Mother Goose, should be on every child's bookshelf! All ages but start this book early with toddlers. Early readers will love the rhymes and learn a whole new vocabulary. 

 

Spooky pick: Stories To Keep You Alive Despite Vampires

 

Stories To Keep You Alive Despite Vampires

by Ben Aker

Illusatrations by Scott Buonchistiano

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

2022 

197 pages

ISBN: 9781665917001

A collection of spooky stories that is accessible for both young and reluctant readers. 

Vampires, hitchhikers, witches, a creepy ventriloquist's dummy, ghosts, and werewolves--author Ben Aker offers all the beasties that readers could want. The stories can be read in order or the reader has the choice to skip around as each story is its own tale. 

Reluctant readers will find easy, short stories that will entertain them and give them a sense of accomplishment for reading an entire book (as they are likely to do in the case of this book).

Spooky illustrations by Scott Buonchistiano appear at the beginning of each chapter and chapter titles make it easy for the reader to determine what the story is likely about. Highly recommended for reluctant readers and anyone who loves spooky stories told around the campfire or spooky stories told in the dark. 

Grades 4 and up. 

Non-Fiction Picture Book Pick: The Tower of LIfe

 

The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs 

by Chana Stiefel

Illustrated by Susan Gal

Scholastic Press

2022

40 pages

 ISBN; 9781338225891

From School Library Journal: "A beautiful tribute...highly recommended." 

Yaffa Eliach grew up in what is now Lithuania (at the time it was a town called Eishyshok) before it fell to the Germans during WWII (It was then Poland). When the Germans invaded, they rounded up the town's people, but Yaffa and her family escaped through the woods with only the clothes on their backs, but Yaffa grabbed some family photos and hid them in her shoe. Her family was able to hide out during the war.  After the Russians freed her town, Yaffa's family left Europe and settled in Jerusalem. 

In Jerusalem, Yaffa goes to school and she meets her husband. They immigrate to the United States in 1954. Yaffa continues her education eventually earning her doctorate in history and establishes the Center for Holocaust Studies, Documentation and Research in Brooklyn, New York. President Jimmy Carter reaches out to Yaffa, known as Dr. Yaffa Eliach to help in building a memorial in the National Holocaust Museum. Yaffa remembers the photos she put in her shoe which reminded her of the happy times before the war. She thought of her little village and its people. What had happened to the friendly faces she knew? She decided to find as many survivors as she could and tell their story through photographs. 

Yaffa did radio interviews, took out ads in newspapers, and traveled to Israel to find anyone who remembered Eishyshok. She knocked on doors and found some old friends who shared their photographs. It took seventeen years for her to travel the globe, seeking people who knew Eishyshok, and collecting over 6,000 photos and stories.

The photos became the "Tower of Life" at  the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. This memorial includes1,000 plus photos and soars from the floor up three stories to the ceiling. Dr. Yaffa Eliach remembered the people,  sharing their faces, their hearts and their stories for all Americans and visitors to see and remember this time in history. The last survivors of the Holocaust will soon be gone, but the museum and Yaffa's tower teach us about the Holocaust and its survivors. 

The BEST book about the Holocaust. This easy picture book makes information accessible and the watercolor art captures Yaffa and the people. 

Highly, highly recommended for everyone. This is the ONE Holocaust book that should be in every library and on every bookshelf. 

Picture Book Pick: Holding On

 

Holding On 

by Sophia N. Lee

Illustrated by Isabel Roxas

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2022

32 pages

ISBN: 9781534494459

A smart pick for diverse collections and teaching. 

A young girl visits her Lola (grandmother) every summer, and Lola tells her, "If you want to hold on, you have to sing your songs." She shares her love of Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis, Jr. and especially her Tagalong songs from her favorite singers Nora Aurnor and Basil Valdez, 

Summers and Lola's house is always filled with music and joy.  The little girl loves visiting and dancing with Lola. They make their favorite foods together and Lola tells her stories of how she met her grandfather and how they danced in the street. The girl waits all year for summer to come, so she can be filled with songs again. Heartfelt illustrations by Isabel Roxas make you feel and hear the music escaping the pages of the book. 

When Lola begins not to remember things so well, the girl holds on for her. She holds on to their favorite songs, singing them for Lola who then sings along. She repeats Lola's stories from the past, so Lola can remember them. She tells Lola it's okay to not remember sometimes. She'll remember for her. They sing and dance keeping music alive and "holding on" to each other. 

Holding On is an important book about the love between a child and her grandmother. Dealing with age, the elderly, Alzheimers, love, acceptance and joy, Holding On should win awards this year. 

Highly, highly recommended age 4 and up. 

Easy Reader Pick: Frank and the Bad Surprise

 Frank and the Bad Surprise 

by Martha Brockenbrough

Illustrated by Jon Lau 

Arthur A Levine Book

Levine Querido

Chronicle Books, LLC

2022 

64 pages

ISBN: 987164640886

Illustrations by Jon Lau capture the personality and mannerisms of Frank the cat who has the life. He has a warm ray of sun to nap in, humans who love him, quiet times and plenty of Whiskies to eat, that is, until one day, his dear humans bring home a box. At first Frank is excited. A box! He can play in the box, crawling in and out as he pleases. 

The box is a good thing indeed until a little, yappy puppy--a puppy who invades his naps, eats his Whiskies, and steals his dear humans' hearts. His humans put Frank in a cage after Frank swats at the puppy. Frank is appalled. How dare they lock him up? This is his home. That was his food. Frank decides to make his dear humans pay. He will run away! 

Frank uses the computer keyboard to reason with his dear humans writing them several heartfelt letters begging for them to take away the puppy. He leaves a farewell  note and sets off on his own. He soon discovers the big, wide world is not as safe and wonderful as he had imagined. People are mean to him, shooing him away from their doorsteps. He has no Whiskies to eat and no warm place to nap and then when things are beginning to look dark, it starts raining. 

Maybe the puppy isn't so bad. His dear humans are excited to see a sopping wet Frank at their front door. Alerted by the puppy's barks, they open the door and let Frank back inside. Later, warm and dry, Frank realizes the puppy has warm fur. Maybe they can sleep side by side. Frank names his puppy Sunny and they sleep throughout the night. 

Lovely early chapter book about fitting in, acceptance, being open to change, embracing found family and love. Frank and the Bad Surprise answers the question: Is the grass always greener on the other side? 

Highly recommended ages 3 and up. 

Board Book Pick: Moo, Baa, Falalalala!

 

Moo, Baa, Fa La La La La!

by Sandra Boynton 

 Boynton Bookworks

Simon & Schuster

2022

16 pages (board book) 

ISBN: 9781665914352

Festive farm animals including pigs, cows, sheep, ducks, dogs and chicken celebrate the season. They sing and decorate the tree and the barn. They dance and go wild with jubilation. 

Toddlers will love the animal voices, "Bock, bock, book," "Baa, baa,  baa," and "Bow wow wow."

Pages have holly, Christmas lights and musical notes. A cute read aloud and the perfect size for toddler hands. 

The board book is fun and festive. Highly, highly recommended ages 18 months and older. 

Early Reader Pick: Super Gross: What's That Smell?

Super Gross: What's That Smell?

Ready-To-Read Level Two

by Ximena Hastings

Illustrated by Alison Hawkins

Simon Spotlight

2022

32 pages

9781665920766

Complete with a glossary, What's That Smell is a colorful, entertaining and fact-filled book easily accessible for early and reluctant readers. Kids who love gross stuff and kids who love stinky stuff will be especially excited to read this book. 

Short chapters cover the difference between a human's sense of smell and a dog's, super stinky animals and plants, stinky odors caused by bacteria on/in the human body, and of course farts (gas). There's even a Stinky Sock Experiment for young scientists to try. 

Illlustrations, color pictures, speech and thought bubbles are well-thought out and help deliver the content for struggling readers. Super Gross: What's That Smell is a solid non-fiction read. The Super Gross series consists of three books thus far. 

Recommended grade 1 and up. This book would be a solid and fun book in beginning science and health classes. 

Picture Book Pick: King Kong's Cousin

 King Kong's Cousin

by Mark Teague

Illustrations by the author 

Beach Lane Books

Simon & Schuster

2022

40 pages

ISBN: 9781665912303

Kong is the most gigantic gorilla in the world: when he takes a bath, it's in the NY harbor. He wrestles dinosaurs. He's as big as a huge apartment building. Junior looks up (literally) to his cousin Kong. Junior does exercises and eats his bamboo, but he doesn't get any bigger. 

Junior's mother tells him not to worry; someday he'll be big and strong too, Junior sees his cousin Kong become famous: he's on broadway, in movies and even the marshal of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

One day Bernice the cat cries out from the top of a tree. Junior must save his friend! He goes into action and pulls Bernice to safety. Back on the ground, Junior realizes he rescued Bernice and he feels a little bit bigger. 

Classic Teague humor and fantastic illustrations of each character capture the heart of this picture book. It would be hard to compare Mark Teague to any other author/illustrator. Teague is simply the BEST. 

Highly, highly recommended for all young readers. A heartfelt book! 

Early Reader Graphic Novel Pick: Figgy & Boone: Best Brother Ever!

 

Figgy & Boone: Best Brother Ever

by Janee Trasler 

Illustrations by the author

Ready-To-Read Graphics

Simon Spotlight

2022

64 pages

ISBN: 9781665914499

On sale date September 27, 2022 

The opening page uses Figgy the mouse to teach parents and young readers how to read a graphic novel including what speech bubbles and panels are with instructions to read top to bottom. 

Figgy and Boone are lovable characters; Figgy has convinced himself that Boone is his brother. Boone points out Figgy is a mouse and Boone is a rat, so they cannot be brothers. Figgy argues that they both have big ears and pointy noses, but Boone says they are more like cousins. Soon, Figgy goes in search of his new brother finding a hamster, a turtle, a stink bug and even a doll. 

Next, things get wild when Figgy brings home a kitten. He's convinced the little cat is his brother until Boone tells him that cats are not their friends. Boone saves the day when he outsmarts the adult cat who grabs Figgy, and Boone accepts Figgy as his brother. 

A cute story about found family and fitting in, Figgy & Boone will be a childhood favorite for many young readers. 

Highly recommended for beginning readers. 

Picture Book Pick: Bessie the Motorcycle Queen (Non-fiction biography)

 

Bessie the Motorcycle Queen

by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Illustrated by Charlot Kristenson 

Orchard Books

An Imprint of Scholastic

2022 

40 pages

ISBN: 9781338752472

On sale date: September 20, 2022

Bessie the Motorcycle Queen is a non-fiction biography of one of the most amazing women in American history, yet little is written about her and most people have never heard of Bessie Stringfield,  Her childhood years aren't well documented. Some sources say she was born in Jamaica, others sources say the American South. Her birth year is also in question. But once she got her first motorcycle, she left her mark. 

Bessie crisscrossed America in the 1920s and 1930s alone on a motorcycle. Traveling as a black woman in the segregated South with Jim Crow laws was an even bigger feat. She toured the countryside, often sleeping on her bike as she could not stay in hotels or inns. 

Bessie loved her bike and entered races across the country. People always wanted to know her story: how she got started, where'd she learn to ride like that, where she was going next. Bessie loved performing and traveling. In WWII, Bessie rode her motorcycle for the Army as a dispatch rider carrying documents to military bases. 

Later, Bessie moved to Florida and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club. Bessie died in 1993 leaving her mark in history as a spirited, independent woman way ahead of her own time. 

Highly, highly recommended for any picture book collection and biography section. Bessie's story should be shared and well documented. 

Book includes a bibliography, a list of sources and a page of "Bessie's Story." 

Grades 1-5 and reluctant readers of any age. 

Board Book Pick: The Thank You Book

 

The Thank You Book 

by Dana Smith

Illustrated by Juliana Perdomo 

Little Simon

an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

2022 

24 pages

ISBN: 9781665902922

The Thank You Book is the perfect board book for little hands and hearts. There are so many ways to say "thank you" that go beyond the words. 

The author includes people we see every day that we may not think to say thank you to: police officers, crossing guards, mail carriers, teachers and even the people who pick up our refuse (intentionally using a term more polite than garbage collector here). 

Colorful illustrations by Juliana Perdomo show caring and happy children sharing toys, freshly baked cookies, a flower and their own artwork. It's nice to wave at workers who help keep our cities clean and roads safe. This sweet book shows little ones that there are many ways to say thank you besides the words alone. 

The Thank You Book is perfect to instill gratitude and teach the lesson of giving back to others. 

Highly recommended as a first reader. 

Graphic Novel Pick: Creepover: Truth or Dare...

 

Creepover: The Graphic Novel

Truth or Dare...

by P.J. Night

Illustrations by Ornofio Orlando

At Glass House Graphics

Simon Spotlight 

Simon & Schuster Children's Pubishing Division 

2022 

160 pages

ISBN: 9781665915649

Available September 27, 2022

Fans of Goosebumps, Stranger Things and Are You Afraid of the Dark? will love this new series of graphic novels. Truth or Dare is the first in the series and delivers brilliant cover design, spooky themed  end papers and decorated book spine complete with the number '1" in a splotch of what could be blood tell young readers this is the first book.

Full color vibrant illustrations  by Ornofio Orlando are brilliant! If the publisher uses this artist for the entire series, it's a guaranteed win for everyone, including lucky readers. 

Truth or Dare is a game played by a group of four friends at a sleepover.When it's her turn, Abby chooses Truth and confesses she likes Jake. Leah sends Jake a text on behalf of Abby. When that text causes an anonymous threat text, Abby is terrified. She can't believe it's a text sent by a ghost, but who else would be mad if Jake has a new girlfriend?

When Jake asks Abby to the school dance, the threat level ramps up. Abby enlists BFF Leah to help her contact the ghost of Sara, Jake's old girlfriend who died the previous year. If it is Sara, there must be some way of allowing her closure to complete whatever is holding her spirit in Riverdale. 

Age appropriate spookiness with twists and turns will keep younger readers guessing. Creepover may be the next BIG graphic book series for upper elementary and middle school. 

Recommended grade 4 and up. 

Graphic Pick: Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel

 

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel

by James Howe and Andrew Donkin

based on the novel by Deborah and James Howe

Illustated by Stephen Gilpin

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster

2022

128 pages

ISBN: 9781534421615

Graphic novel readers will love Bunnicula! 

The Monroe family finds a little bunny on a seat in a darkened movie theater when they go see "Dracula."  Toby and Pete beg their parents to let them take the bunny home. The parents agree and introduce Harold the dog and Chester the cat to their new roommate. 

Harold is less than thrilled to see the new bunny. Told from Harold's point of view, Bunnicula is that rare graphic novel that will resonate with dog lovers and any kid with a funny bone. Chester the cat is quite the literary reader. Once the family goes to bed for the night Chester reads their books. His favorites are mystery and horror which help fuel his imagination. 

Chester is convinced the new bunny is indeed a vampire! He has all the traits that vampires do: he sleeps all day, he hates garlic and he avoids sunlight. Chester stays up all night to catch Bunnicula in the act of doing something vampire-y, but all it does is make him sleep deprived. Harold continues to tell the story of Chester's attempt to unmask the true identity of the new bunny. 

Cute premise, silly banter, an educated cat and a dog who writes stories add to the whimsical tale. 

A must read for any comic buff and graphic novel lover. Grade 4 and up. Bunnicula should be in every library collection: elementary, middle school and high school. Excellent for reluctant readers! 

Highly, highly recommended. 

YA Pick: Our Shadows Have Claws

 Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories 

Edited by Yamile Saled Mendez and Amparo Ortiz

Illustrations by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz 

Algonquin 

2022 

448 pages

ISBN: 9781643751832

On sale September 6, 2022 

Kirkus Review called Our Shadows Have Claws "bloodcurdling." 

Stunning, lush in detail, and filled with things that go bump in the night, Our Shadows Have Claws will scare the heck out of you! 

Our Shadows Have Claws is a fantastic collection of stories from Latin America. From zombies to shape shifters, YA authors Julia Alvarez, Caribel A. Ortega, Lilliam Rivera and others explore the myths, folk tales and stories that YA readers will devour (pun intended). Stories are fast-paced and creepy keeping readers on the edge of their seats. 

Cover art make this book pop on the shelf. This is the best YA anthology I've read this year. Sure to have wide appeal with the horror fans and excellent for reluctant readers, Our Shadows Have Claws will likely be one of the most loved books in any YA library collection. If you're a librarian, be warned. Our Shadows Have Claws will be checked out constantly. Place one copy in your story collection, but make sure you feature the book on the circulation desk, in book talks and have multiple copies on hand. 

Algonquin has done it again: published the best of the absolute best! Our Shadows Have Claws is a real winner. This anthology is a heavy favorite for all book prizes this year. You MUST HAVE, MUST READ Our Shadows Have Claws. 

Highly, highly recommended and my favorite for Book of the Year!