A dog on a rug is quite understandably aggravated by the narrative narrator through three very short stories for beginning readers. Brilliant, clever, and hilarious. See the Cat: Three stories about a dog by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. Candlewick, 64 pages. Reading Level: Easy readers, ages 4-8 Recommended For: Ages 4-8 Last August, I invested in a good phonics-based reading curriculum to help my six-year-old son learn to read. His three older brothers had developed their skills naturally, but my fourth son needed a bit more help and encouragement. So we used tiles, cards, worksheets, and M&Ms for incentives, but the joy wasn’t there. His 4yo brother was…

An excellent new graphic novel translated into English, Catherine’s War tells the story of one Jewish girl’s life in occupied France, often through the lens of her rolodex. *Catherine’s War by Julia Billet. HarperAlley, 2020. 176 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-12 Recommended For: Ages 8 – 15 Sophie Cohen loves life at her new school —it’s a modern one, finding and encouraging the students’ interests.  Sophie has discovered photography and loves taking pictures and teaching the other students. But nothing is certain in France in 1942.  Soon Sophie and the other Jewish students are sent away and so begins Sophie’s journey through France, with a new name and identity.  The…

Into the Clouds is the grueling saga of three expeditions that failed to summit the second-highest–but most dangerous–mountain in the world. Into the Clouds: The Race to Climb the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain by Tod Olson. Scholastic Focus, 2020, 227 pages plus bibliography, notes, etc. Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-up “The world’s most dangerous mountain” is the second highest mountain in the Himalayan chain. It has indigenous names, but is more conveniently called K-2. Though not higher than Everest, K-2 is more dangerous because it’s remote, subject to the elements, and strewn with sharp black boulders: “All rock and ice and storm and abyss.” As the…

The 1952 rescue of over twenty stranded seamen on a halved oil tanker ranks as one of the Coast Guard’s’ “finest hours.” The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman. Henry Holt, 2014, 153 pages plus appendix. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12-up Every New England sailor and fisherman knows what a nor-easter is—a fearsome winter storm that rakes the coast and roils the sea. February 18, 1952 saw one of the worst nor-easters in history, with blinding icy winds and 60-foot waves. On that night, not one but two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the…

Creative God Colorful Us invites students to enjoy God’s diverse family by loving God and their neighbor and celebrating God’s human creation. *Creative God Colorful Us by Trillia Newbell. Moody, 2021. 128 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-12 Recommended For: Middle grades, ages 8-12, especially in groups (families, Sunday school classes, school groups, etc.) Every person is made by God and in the image of God and therefore is equal in value and worth. Writing directly to young readers, Newbell opens with a letter that immediately invites connection with her readers. She then dives into the beautiful story of the Bible: God’s magnificent creation, the fall, our rescue, and…

Fans of Victorian fantasy will enjoy The Clockwork Crow, a series opener with fairies, automatons, and mystery. The Clockwork Crow by Catherine Fisher. Walker Books, 2020, 208 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Seren Rys was born in India but orphaned at an early age. For most of her life she’s lived at St. Mary’s Home in England. But when she turns 12, fairy-tale news comes from Wales: godparents she’s never known are inviting her to live with them at an estate called Plas-y-Fran. Even better, they have a young son close to her own age. Dreams of this ready-made family receive a jolt at…

Perhaps you have watched the stunning new Mulan movie (available for free streaming now on Disney+). The gorgeous cinematography would have been lovely on the big screen. My teens loved the animated film and were eager to see the update. My husband and I enjoy movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, so we were also eager to see it. Mulan did not disappoint. Hayley also saw it, and we discussed the movie over Christmas break. In a sea of feminist plots and pro-woman narratives, we felt that Mulan handled itself well. Chinese actresses played key roles (as opposed to white American actresses), the film mirrored other Chinese films stylistically (such…

The “prequel” to the new Disney Mulan movie, this middle grades story weaves together Chinese legend with Mulan’s own tale to great effect. Mulan: Before the Sword (Disney Mulan) by Grace Lin. Disney Press, 2020. 384 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, age 10-12 Recommended For: Ages 8 and up Mulan is a well-recognized figure in modern American culture. After all, in the animated film, she (along with her trusty dragon sidekick) saves the emperor! Cue the funny one-liners and fantastic soundtrack. Mulan was actually based on a real Chinese legend and is similar, in some ways, to the Western character of Joan of Arc. In Mulan: Before the Sword, Grace…

Raw, funny, and honest, Dancing at the Pity Party is a close look at grief after the loss of a mother. Dancing at the Pity Party: a Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder. Dial, 2020, 201 pages. Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-up Our culture has a bizarre relationship with death. We don’t like to talk about it except in bland platitudes and over-the-top horror movies. Death is sad and sometimes really scary, but oscillating between euphemisms and torture porn does not a healthy relationship with mortality make!Dancing at the Pity Party Tyler Feder was only 19 when she lost her mother to cancer. She had…

After an hour of listening and scribbling madly as announcements were read, I can now pass on what we learned from this year’s ALA Youth Media Awards (including Newbery & Caldecott). The reason we pay so much attention to this is not that we’re simpatico with the American Library Association. But the ALA exerts tremendous influence on children’s literature. If we factor out huge bestsellers like The Wimpy Kid, librarians are the chief gatekeeper of what appears in the children’s section of bookstores and libraries. Award-winning books with shiny stickers will appear in displays and on recommended titles and purchase lists. Newbery and Caldecott winners stay in print forever. I’ll…