Waiting for Snow by Marsha Diane Arnold

January 9, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Waiting for Snow by Marsha Diane Arnold
Publisher: Clarion Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Badger cannot wait one more minute for it to snow. When his friend Hedgehog explains that everything comes in its time, Badger is as unconvinced and impatient as ever. But Badger’s friends have a few tricks up their sleeve to try to get the snow’s attention and distract their pal in the meantime. In the end, Badger sees there’s no trick—only waiting—until at last, it’s time.

Wanting something doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen.

Remaining patient can be difficult for people of all ages, and it’s often even harder for kids (and hedgehogs) who haven’t had as many chances to practice it yet. There were some subtle and thought-provoking messages in this tale about how someone should act when they really want something but can’t have it. Ms. Arnold’s decision to trust her audience to understand what she was saying worked nicely for these characters and this setting. Not everything needs to be spelled out directly, and sometimes a message can be even stronger if it isn’t.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to why Hedgehog was yearning for snow so much. Other than the fact that he thought it was an essential part of winter, what did he hope to do with snow? There were so many fun answers he could have given to this question, and I would have gone with a higher rating if he’d explained his plans at some point.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed the zany things Hedgehog and his friends did to encourage a snowstorm to come their way. They had some pretty creative tricks up their sleeves, and I chuckled as they cycled through them in an attempt to find something that worked.

Waiting for Snow made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams by T. James Logan

January 5, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams by T. James Logan
Publisher: Bear Paw Publishing
Genre: YA, Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

A guitar, a box of junk, and a pile of trouble…

Fifteen-year-old Otter is in a dark place.

Child Services wants to put him in foster care, or even a home for troubled youth.

Living on his own, he’s one bad decision away from the street. His band’s first gig is only two weeks away, but his crush on their new lead singer has him tied in knots.

Then he inherits a box of random junk from a dead grandfather he barely knew, only to discover that the junk is infused with his grandfather’s memories. Can this “junk” help Otter win the girl of his dreams, reconnect with his family, and keep him out of juvenile detention…maybe even become a rock star?

You’ll love this touching, contemporary fantasy because it will play power chords on your heart strings.

Get it now.

Otter is a kid just orphaned and emancipated at the age of fifteen. He lives in a trailer park and helped his mother as she was dying of cancer. Now he must take care of himself. A woman from child services wants to put him in foster care, but Otter is dead set against this. He wants to take care of himself. He gets a job and misses school.

He has some things in his favor though: some good friends and neighbors and music. He plays bass guitar in a band, and music is a driving force for him. His grandfather leaves him an interesting box of junk, but it’s not just any junk. While going through it, Otter relieves the memories of his grandfather. He comes to understand him and learns some important things. This is an interesting aspect of the story, to see how Otter uses this knowledge in his life.

Otter has a nefarious neighbor, and in dealing with him, one sees how naïve Otter really is. He gets sucked into some bad things without realizing the truth, and this escalates. His best friend warns him, but he blows off the advice. Things get worse when someone steals his bass guitar when his band has an important gig coming up. Otter is already living on starvation wages. Then when Otter is with this troubled neighbor, the neighbor and his cohorts do something terrible in Otter’s presence. What will Otter do? If he calls the police, his life could be in danger, but he wants to do the right thing. This truly is a dark hour for him.

The story is underlined with his romantic interest, friendship, and other themes of family, racism, poverty, dreams, music, immigration, and other important issues. The characters are realistic, and one’s heart will surely be moved by the circumstances the kids find themselves in. The music aspects are done well. Vintage music comes to life here, and the descriptions of musicianship are perfect.

For an entertaining YA story with some depth, why not give this one a try?

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

That Morning by Toño Malpica

January 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment


That Morning by Toño Malpica
Publisher: Windmill Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Mangrufo and Leuklaya don’t feel like themselves. Mangrufo can’t enjoy playing with toys or reading, like he usually does. Neither can Leuklaya. They hurt each other the day before, and both feel ashamed and lonely. However, neither one of them knows what to do with their feelings. It’s not until they come together once again that all feels right with the world. This book boasts a subtle monster theme within a real-world, relatable situation. Through powerful language and fantastical illustrations, That Morning is a guidebook through the difficult feelings of conflict and the power of forgiveness.

Everyone has conflicts with the people they love sometimes, but figuring out how to behave after a fight takes a completely different set of skills.

I was intrigued by how little time was spent on the only grown-up in this story. Mangrufo and Leuklaya’s relationship took center stage, and their frustration with each other was shared in ways that felt completely appropriate for their young ages. Normally, I’d expect their mother to swoop in and make things right between them fairly early on. The fact that she didn’t show up until much later gave these two characters all of the space they needed to explore their feelings and try to figure out what to do with them.

It would have been helpful to have more plot development. As important as the message was, the little ones in my life would struggle to understand it without a discussion about what happened afterwards because of how both of the monsters changed abruptly at such a late point in the storyline. I’m saying this as someone who loved the creativity of it and wished I could justify choosing a higher rating.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that compared Mangrufo and Leuklaya’s feelings. We weren’t told who started the quarrel between them the day before or what they argued about, but it was clear that they both felt guilty for their behavior and weren’t exactly sure how to talk to each other after what appeared to be a pretty big fight. There is definitely something to be said for encouraging this sort of reflective thinking in this age group. Empathy is something that can take years to fully develop, but the faintest glimmers of it could be found here.

That Morning was a creative tale.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

The Night Before New Year’s by Natasha Wing

December 23, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Night Before New Year’s by Natasha Wing
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Another title in Natasha Wing’s bestselling Night Before series! It’s the night before New Year’s, and the whole family is determined to stay up until midnight! Everyone’s stocked up on sparkly streamers and festive party hats, but after a night filled with card games and too many cupcakes, the little ones are getting sleepy. . . Can they make it until the clock strikes twelve?

Some parties are worth staying up late for.

New Year’s Eve tends to be an adult-oriented holiday, so I was curious to see how certain traditions from it would be reimagined for preschoolers. Ms. Wing did a wonderful job of explaining what grown-ups do to ring in the new year and how kids can join in on the festivities by drinking sparkling juice or playing with noisemakers. One of my favorite scenes happened early on when the entire family went to a party supply store to buy festive hats, horns, and other stuff for their party. It was such an exciting moment for the main character as he continued to figure out this holiday.

It would have been nice to have a little more plot development. For example, I would have liked to know if this family follows any of the superstitions about what one should or shouldn’t do on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day like ensuring their home was clean and their fridge was filled with food to bring them good luck for the next year. There was a lot of space to include little things like this, and I would have gone with a full five-star rating if they had been.

I adored the warm relationships between the parents and kids in this picture book. Both of the parents were tuned into the needs of their children and did everything they could to ensure their entire family had a wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration at home together. The kids’ excitement for this tradition was adorable and contagious. They were just barely old enough to understand why it’s a special day, so their occasional misunderstandings of what one usually does to ring in the new year were as amusing for readers as they were for their patient parents.

The Night Before New Year’s was a sweet and heartwarming read.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

The Mystery Hat by Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen

December 21, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Mystery Hat by Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Crow, Pig, and Beaver are taking a nice stroll in the woods when they come across a red hat sitting in a puddle. Whose hat is it? What mysterious circumstances could have brought it to this very puddle? Crow thinks that Bear lost the hat when he fell into a giant hole. Perhaps Bear is holding his breath underground, waiting to be saved! Beaver thinks he’s got a better idea. Maybe Turtle, who was wearing the hat, was snatched up and made into yummy turtle soup by a crazed snowman! Can Pig come up with a logical explanation so that the friends can be rid of all these hogwash ideas?

Imaginations run wild in this hilarious picture book from Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen. The Mystery Hat is sure to get a chuckle from all during the cold winter months.

Who wouldn’t want to solve a mystery in a peaceful winter forest?

It was amusing to see how Pig’s calm and rational personality reacted to the creative and sometimes dramatic things his friends said. He was nothing like them in many ways, and yet their friendships were strong and kind ones. This was one of the things that first drew me into the storyline given how warmly the narrator described every character no matter who they were or how they behaved. I was curious to see how characters with such wildly different personalities would get along.

There was a scene involving a snowman who wanted to add one of these characters’ friends to a pot of soup he was making that I thought was a little too scary for the younger portion of this audience. Some kids might find it amusing, but I would have been frightened by that idea as a preschooler. This is one of those situations where grown-ups should know their audience well and be prepared to tailor that plot twist to something gentler if needed. As much as I liked the storyline in general, I would need to think carefully before reading this to younger kids who are sensitive to things like mistreating animals.

I enjoyed seeing how Pig used logic and reason to figure out what really happened to the missing hat. He was a smart animal who clearly took his time to consider all of the explanations before offering his own opinion about what happened. Critical thinking also isn’t something I’ve seen addressed in many picture books, but it’s an important skill for everyone to learn.

The Mystery Hat made me smile.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

December 21, 2022 By Leave a Comment


A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Every year Tortoise sleeps through winter. He assumes he isn’t missing much. However, his friends are determined to prove otherwise! Will Tortoise sleep through another winter, or will his friends convince him to stay awake and experience the frosty fun of winter? Best-selling author Katy Hudson’s charming picture book, now in a board book format, will convince even the biggest winter grouch that winter can be magical if you have friends by your side.

Hibernation isn’t supposed to be this difficult.

Tortoise was such a patient little guy. No matter how many times he was woken up or prevented from falling asleep, he calmly explained his needs yet again to the friends who were being noisy. That can be a tricky thing for people of all ages to master, so it was nice to see such a good example of how to do it here.

While many of the interruptions were creative and adorable, I found myself wishing that this picture book would have included a discussion about the importance of respecting other people’s boundaries even if you don’t necessarily understand them. Tortoise made it clear that he needed to sleep through the winter and didn’t want to be disturbed, but his friends refused to listen to him. It’s one thing when this occasionally happens between friends or relatives who feel guilty and learn from their mistakes. Deliberate and repetitive refusals to respect boundaries are quite another. This was something I’d read to the little ones in my life after discussing what healthy relationships look like and why it’s wrong to try to push past people’s limits. If not for that caveat, I would have loved to go for a higher rating as the plot itself was a great deal of fun to read.

I did enjoy all of the sound effects included in this story. They made the dialogue come alive in my imagination and were a great deal of fun to say out loud. It was also interesting to see how including words like tap or thud added a layer of humor to something that was otherwise pretty serious.

A Loud Winter’s Nap was a humorous look at winter life in the forest.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Little Yellow Bus by Erin Guendelsberger

December 13, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Little Yellow Bus by Erin Guendelsberger
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ride along in this heartwarming picture book about bravery and facing your fears, a wonderful Christmas gift!

The Little Yellow Bus had prepared for this day for a long time and how great it would be to pick up children and drive them to their school building―all by himself! Yellow wanted to feel excited, but instead, he was filled with first day worries. With a little help and encouragement from Mom and Dad, Little Yellow takes a deep breath, starts his engine, and decides that it’s time to prove to himself that he can be brave.

Little Yellow Bus is the heartwarming reminder that sometimes even the days when we are scared and anxious can become the most wonderful adventure, if we only believe in ourselves. Filled with beautiful full-color illustrations and an inspiring message for kids, this timeless story about courage is one you will want to come back to again and again.

Worrying doesn’t solve anything, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stop doing.

Even though the word anxiety was never used, this was such a detailed and accurate description of that condition. I found myself nodding along as Yellow described all of his symptoms and explained to the readers why he was so afraid to begin driving children to school. His fears were all realistic ones which made his predicament even more relatable.

I did find myself wishing that Yellow’s parents had been more supportive of him when he shared his fears with them. They were quick to tell him that everything was going to be okay without listening to the unspoken messages he was trying to share with them. This is still something I’d read to the little ones in my life, but I’d do so after talking to them about how anxiety can warp the way you think and how I’d always be there for them to help them tangle out legitimate concerns from ones that might be a little overblown.

With that being said, this was still a heartwarming look at a common mental health problem. I appreciated its good intentions and enjoyed the fact that Yellow’s first day as a school bus was nothing like what he worried it might be. The message in it is a timeless one that works for all age groups.

Little Yellow Bus was a thought-provoking read.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Little Mole Finds Hope by Glenys Nellist

December 6, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Little Mole Finds Hope by Glenys Nellist
Publisher: Beaming Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Little Mole is feeling sad in his dark, underground home, his mother shows him how to look for hope. He finds that signs of spring are everywhere, from the daffodil bulbs under the soil to the tiny buds on the branches above. Hope can be found–even in the darkest places.

In Little Mole Finds Hope, best-selling children’s author Glenys Nellist and illustrator Sally Garland tell an endearing story sure to lift the spirits of people emerging from the cold of winter or a challenging season of life and inspire them to look for signs that spring will come again.

A little kindness can go a long way.

Little Mole was such a sweet and relatable main character. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed how sad he was on that chilly winter afternoon and how far away spring felt to him. Not only was this a good representation of the difficult days everyone goes through at times, it would also be a great jumping off point to describe specific illnesses like seasonal or non-seasonal depression to kids who might be experiencing them or know someone who is. I appreciated the versatility here as it meant that a wider range of people could find something to connect to as Little Mole learned his lesson.

The multiple layers of meaning in this tale made it one of those rare picture books that I’d be just as eager to recommend to older kids and adults as I would to the preschoolers and early elementary students it was originally written for. I love it when writers speak to so many different audiences at once while still remaining true to their characters and plot. This isn’t easy to pull off, but it has convinced me to keep an eye out for everything else Ms. Nellis has already written or will write in the future.

I was also impressed by Little Mole’s warm relationship with his mother. She affirmed his sadness while also encouraging him to take a second look at the assumptions he was making about the world around him. Scary thoughts don’t always tell the truth, after all, and there is something to be said for challenging them when there’s evidence that contradicts them. Her love and compassion for him made me wish for a sequel all about her. I adored her!

Little Mole Finds Hope was perfect.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Deep, Deep, Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench by Lydia Lukidis

December 5, 2022 By 1 Comment


Deep, Deep, Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench by Lydia Lukidis
Publisher: Capstone
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Deep, deep down, at the very bottom of the ocean, lies a secret world. Through lyrical narration, this spare-text STEM picture book takes readers on a journey to a place very few humans have ever been–the Mariana Trench. The imagined voyage debunks scary myths about this mysterious place with surprising and beautiful truths about life at Earth’s deepest point. Deep, Deep Down shows a vibrant world far below, and teaches readers how interconnected our lives are to every place on the planet.

Let some of the mysteries of the ocean be revealed!

Surviving in such an extreme environment isn’t easy. I was intrigued by the many different adaptations the fish and other animals in the Mariana Trench had evolved in order to withstand things like limited food supplies and heavy underwater pressure. These were some of the most educational and descriptive lines of the tale. I could easily imagine exactly what the author was talking about, and it made me want to dive even deeper into this subject.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this picture book was the deep respect it held for nature and other living beings. Whether it was describing specific creatures who live in the Mariana Trench or discussing how dark and freezing cold it is there, the narrator always spoke gently of the topics at hand and gave them the attention they deserved. There was no need to sensationalize what’s down there because the truth was more than incredible enough on its own.

What happens on the surface or in shallower waters trickles down to life at the bottom of the ocean. I should leave the specifics of that up to other readers to discover for themselves, but I can say that I learned a few new things about how connected we all are on this fragile planet. It’s amazing to think that one decision or event can echo so far through the food chain, yet that is exactly what happens every single day.

Deep, Deep, Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench was a lyrical read that I’d heartily recommend to kids and adults alike.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Obsidian by Rebecca Henry

November 22, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Obsidian by Rebecca Henry
Publisher: Finch Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sometimes the truth has to be revealed in order to recieve love.

Ninth grade is everything Zinnia didn’ t want it to be at St. Hopes. Her life back in the city feels empty and Liv’ s groupies of popular girls are suffocating Zinnia with their daily taunts. As Halloween approaches, Zinnia craves the comfort and security of Ambrosia Hill and desperately wishes to be back with her aunts but especially Billie, the girl with the green eyes, who Zinnia can’t get out of her mind. Right when Zinnia thinks she won’ t be able to wait until the summer to see Billie, her mom shocks her with a spontaneous announcement. They are leaving for Ambrosia Hill to visit the aunts. But can Zinnia surrender her truth to accept love?

Everyone needs a place that makes them feel like they belong there.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored the many different options that were available to a witch. Not only did young witches decide whether they wanted to be on the side of good or of evil, the powers they had could vary quite a bit from one individual to the next. This meant that it wasn’t easy to predict in advance what someone in this group was like even in small ways like whether it would be safe to walk through their garden. I was fascinated by the diversity here and gobbled up every last description. It made me think of all of the Halloween stories I’ve read and watched about witches and wonder what a film based on this world might be like!

My review of Amethyst mentioned wanting to see more character development for Zinnia and the people closest to her. While it still happened much more slowly than I would have preferred to see, I was pleased to take note of the subtle but important ways in which all of the main characters had evolved since I’d first met them. I hope that any possible sequels in the works will speed up this progress as this was the only thing holding me back from giving a full five-star rating.

Once again, I was thrilled with the world building in this series. The first instalment did an excellent job of showing how magic worked in this universe and what it meant to be a witch. It was wonderful to see all of that hard work not only acknowledged in the sequel but used as a foundation to explore these topics in even greater detail here. I highly recommend beginning with book one in order to fully appreciate just how much effort the author put into this. She couldn’t have done a better job at it.

Obsidian was a satisfying read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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