Colleen SC Reads - LIS 721

  Day, Christine. I Can Make This Promise. Harper Collins, 2019. $18.99. 9780062871992 Gr 3-7. This book is unique in that the main character Edie is not solving a present-day mystery, but rather trying to unearth the truth about the past. Christine Day uses the mystery of Edie’s family history to teach readers about the Native experience in the U.S., especially before the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. There are two main points of tension for Edie in this book. First, in the attic she finds photos of a woman, Edith, who looks like her and realizes that her parents are hiding information about this woman. She and her friends spend time looking through the attic for more clues about who Edith was, and towards the end of the novel, her parents finally come clean about Edith. The other main point of tension is Edie’s relationship with her friend Amelia and their disagreements on what their film should be about. Edie slowly realizes that their friendship has changed, and Amelia i...

  Lowe, Mari. Aviva vs. the Dybbuk. Levine Querido, 2022. $17.99. 9781646141258 Gr 3-7. This book explores grief in a unique way and gives insight into Orthodox Jewish culture and folklore. The glossary in the back is helpful because a lot of repeatedly used words will be unfamiliar to many readers. The tone is mostly dark and sad, with Aviva dealing with her grief, her mother’s grief, and ill-treatment from her peers. I’m not sure if many 8-year-olds have the patience to sit with that kind of sadness for a whole book, but the element of the dybbuk, a mischievous ghost from Jewish folklore, adds an element of something different. Aviva’s world of the mikvah and her school feels real, and readers will quickly find themselves swept up in her problems. What makes this an important book is its honest depiction of loss and the struggle to continuing engaging in the world when you’ve hit your lowest point, as well as its depiction of a Jewish community that unapologetically brings rea...

  Elliott, Zetta and Miller-Lachmann, Lyn. Moonwalking. New York: Farrar Straux Giroux, 2022. $19.99, 9780374314378 Gr 5-8. This novel in verse, set in 1980s New York City, tackles many topics in a powerful manner. We get the dual perspectives of two middle-school boys dealing with family and school issues while also yearning to make art. The verse format, which uses beautiful and striking poetic language and sometimes uniquely formed poems, puts emotion and feelings at the forefront of the reading experience. Both Pie and J.J. are compelling and lovable characters, and the reader’s heart will ache for them. The authors don’t shy away from the difficulties of interracial friendships, racism in the educational and judicial systems, and the tolls that poverty and mental illness can take on families. While some details are specific to the 1980s period, such as the specific artists and musicians the boys admire and Reagan’s firing of the PATCO strikers, most aspects of the boys’ sto...

  Alexander, Kwame. The Door of No Return. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022. $17.99. 9780316441865 Gr 5 & up. Kwame Alexander creates a powerful work of historical fiction in verse. He tells the story of Kofi, a boy living in 1860s Africa, specifically in the Asante Kingdom in what is now Southern Ghana. At first, the narrative is focused on classic coming-of-age issues such as bullies, family relationships, a first crush, and concerns about growing up. These themes can be seen in any time period or culture, thus helping children to relate to the main character. A quarter of the way through the book, the plot takes a more serious turn with a tragedy involving Kofi’s brother at a festival and dire consequences for the brothers as a result. Readers will be moved as Kofi finds himself an unknowing victim of the violent slave trade on the Cape Coast. Dramatic irony is used to devastating effect since Kofi doesn’t know what’s happening, but readers know the truth about...

  Benton, Jim. Jop and Blip Wanna Know: Can You Hear a Penguin Fart on Mars? And Other Excellent Questions. Illustrated by the author. Harper Alley, 2021. $8.99. 9780062972934 Gr 1-5. In this book, two silly-looking robots ponder some excellent questions and share random historical and scientific knowledge. The large cartoon panels include bright, beady-eyed illustrations. The all-caps print adds to the cartoon-feel of the book; the style will most likely appeal to children who enjoy DogMan and other similar works. The book is divided into three sections, with each section mostly focusing on one main question, but throughout we also get information on other topics. The many unrelated facts do support the book’s main idea about asking questions, but the randomness created a lack of cohesion. It might be difficult for some children to follow. I also felt the lack of focus on one topic made me less invested in the information I was being given. Overall, the information is certainly...

  This book has some aspects of a transitional reader but based on the grades for which it is recommended, it may fit better in the juvenile fiction section. Indeed, at my public library, the book is shelved in Juvenile Chapter Books, with a Poetry label on its spine since the novel is in verse. The book’s Transitional aspects include large typeface, 15-25 lines per page, extensive white space on each page, short-ish chapters, and fairly simple vocabulary and sentence structure. However, because the novel is in verse, it actually has fewer words per line than the average Transitional book. Most lines have 4-6 words. Additionally, sentences are broken into shorter lines, separated in a poetic way, with stanzas of varying length, not paragraphs. Another major aspect that makes the book for older readers is the lack of any illustrations beyond the cover and a tiny little dog symbol at the beginning of each chapter. Additionally, the chapters, while short, are connected together and te...