Borrowing and paying back

THE RUNAWAY HUG by Nick Bland with illustrations by Freya Blackwood. Wendy Lamb Books, 2013.


Mama loans her hug
Now Lucy must pay it back
And pay it forward.

I love you

HOW DO LIONS SAY I LOVE YOU? by Diane Muldrow with illustrations by David Walker. Little Golden Books, 2013.

How do animals
Let their young know they love them?
The answer is here.

Hard to say

THE MIXED-UP MESSAGE by Heather and Ethan Long. Aladdin, 2013.

Max has some trouble
Expressing his feelings. But
Milo helps him out.

life throws us curves

Jordan Sonnenblick's new novel, CURVEBALL: THE YEAR I LOST MY GRIP (Scholastic, March 2012) is the story of two best friends who had their lives planned out on the baseball field. But Peter has been ignoring the pain in his elbow too long and as he releases a pitch, he knows his plans are going to have to change. Peter Friedman, pitcher, becomes Peter Friedman, the photographer. He has learned from the best: his own grandfather. Perhaps Peter can put a new life plan together. All it will take is dealing with telling the truth to his best friend (there will be no more pitching), his parents (his grandfather seems to be sinking into Alzheimer's complications faster and faster without letting anyone know), and himself. Sonnenblick's books work because readers are drawn into the lives of the characters he so carefully crafts. <650>

Woman of Steel

Elisa has been promised in marriage to a man she has not met. Her father is trying to form alliances that will save his kingdom from the threat of invasion from a neighboring region. Elisa is nervous about meeting Alejandro. Her discomfort is made deeper by the fact that he intends not to tell his subjects about the marriage. After a perilous journey from her home to Alejandro's kingdom, Elisa is ensconced in a room. She is treated with some deference due to her status as a princess. Should others at the court learn she is also the bearer of a Godstone, attitudes could change quickly. As a bearer, Elisa is destined for something. But what? As she searches for an answer to her purpose, Elisa suddenly finds herself kidnapped and placed square in the middle of a raging war that will affect not only her own country but her new kingdom as well. Can a pampered princess perform the heroics expected of her? <528>

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson (Greenwillow 2011) has echoes of GRACELING, FIRE, and FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK and yet it is not in the least derivative of these excellent books. Instead, Elisa and her world, subtly but completely built by Carson, are unique and unforgettable. Romance, mystery, intrigue and espionage: there is much here for readers who enjoy action and adventure with a soupcon of religion and myth.

Lyrical Art

THE MASTERWORK OF A PAINTING ELEPHANT by Michelle Cuevas with pictures by Ed Young (FSG 2011) can be deceptive at first glance. It appears to be a slim, small book for young readers. However, open the book and read Chapter One, and it is readily apparent that the intended audience is a tad older and more rich in literary experience. For what follows is a lyrical allegory about family, about friends, about art, about love, and more. Birch, a white elephant, works in a car wash doomed to a life of spraying water to rinse the cars as they pass along. What he wants to do is to paint, to create art. He also secretly longs to reconnect with the graceful acrobat who once danced on his back. Into his life comes Pigeon, a young boy whose parent abandon him at an orphanage. Pigeon, though, crawls away. Somehow Pigeon and Birch connect. Now Pigeon lives on Birch's back. The two are inseparable, the bond that connects them as strong as Birch's trunk and Pigeon's belief that one day he will find his parents. To tell more would deprive you of the rare reading experience in store for you. This book begs to be read aloud (and even studied, though please not so deeply that it loses its charm for the reader). Tie this one to THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT, THE DREAMER, PETER NIMBLE AND HIS FANTASTIC EYES, THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING, and so many more titles that connect the heart of this story. <524>

mostly true

Jack's world has never been terribly wonderful, but it seems as though now it is coming apart at the seams. His parents are divorcing, and Jack is being sent to live with an aunt and uncle he barely knows. It is almost as if he has ceased to exist for his own parents. His new home of Hazelwood has some dark things lurking too near the surface for Jack's comfort. There are mysteries hinted at, ocrrupt leaders and businessmen, and a house that seems almost alive. <373>

Kelly Barnhill's THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK (Little Brown 2011) reveals the mystery of Hazelwood's darn secrets one miniscule piece at a time, rather like an intricate puzzle. While there are vibes of other works ( BREADCRUMBS, WHERE THINGS COME BACK, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and NOAH BARLEYWATER RUNS AWAY), it is a unique take that combines folklore, magic, and most of all LOVE to convey a story that is riveting, driving the reader ever forward to see what will happen to Jack and those he grows to love.

Stories about love and romance

I had blogged this book over at my LiveJournal account, but it sort of got lost in the hiccup. So, I am posting it again here as I do not want this book to get lost. It needs to find readers, maybe even YOU!

No cover for this anthology coming from Chronicle Books and edited by Kelly Milner Halls, GIRL MEETS BOY. The stories are in pairs from a male and a female author. Each pair tells the same story but from the other person's point of view. Kelly Milner Halls and Chris Crutcher each provide a story about a romance between an average guy and a dangerous girl. Rita Williams Garcia and Terry Truman's stories follow the budding relationship between an African American girl and a white boy. A girl setting up her brother's first date with another guy is tackled by Ellen Wittlinger and James Howe. This is a masterful collection (I love anthologies) that explores some new territory. Pair this collection up with the Nye and Janeczko poetry collection: I FEEL A LITTLE JUMPY AROUND YOU. Or show students how differing points of view can work with TWICE TOLD, a collection of pairs of stories about the same work of art. And remember that short stories are often the gateway for kids to longer works by authors. So, be sure to have novels by Crutcher, WIlliams-Garcia, Trueman, and the others on hand for readers who liked the stories these authors wrote. <304>