Neckers Book Nook: August 2023

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Picture Books

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Recommended Age Level: ages 4 - 8

Lexile: AD510L

Awards: Caldecott Medal, 2019; ALA Notable Children's Book, 2019

Starred Reviews: Booklist (02/01/18), Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (04/01/18), Kirkus Reviews (02/15/18), Publishers Weekly (01/22/18), School Library Journal (01/01/18)

Summary: This story begins with the arrival of a new lighthouse keeper and follows him and his family through the years until the lighthouse becomes automated and there is no longer a need for a light keeper to stay on the island. One might think it is lonely being on a small island living in a lighthouse, but there are many things that say "hello" to the lighthouse keeper and his family.

Categories/Genre: Picture book, fiction. I chose to add this book to my list because of the beautiful illustrations and because it is a topic that is not often found in picture books, but many people are fascinated by lighthouses. I also appreciate the author's note giving more information about lighthouses and what life was like for a lighthouse keeper.

Title: Drawn Together

Author: Minh Le

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Audience: Ages 4 - 8

Lexile: AD310L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book (2019), Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (2019), Red Clover Book nominee (2019 - 2020)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (06/01/18), Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (06/01/18), Kirkus Reviews (05/01/18), Publishers Weekly (03/26/18), School Library Journal (06/01/18)

Summary: When a grandson is dropped off at his grandfather's house for the afternoon, things are awkward and uncomfortable because of a language barrier. The boy speaks English while his grandfather speaks Vietnamese. When the grandson gets out his drawing notebook and markers, the grandfather gets out his sketchbook with brushes and ink. The two find common language through their drawing and learn how to connect to each other without words.

Catergories/Genre: Fiction picture book. I chose this picture book because of the beautiful illustrations by Dan Santat. There are portions of the book where there are no words and the illustrations carry the story. I also chose the book because it is an #Ownvoices book.

Easy Readers

Title: See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog

Author: David LaRochelle

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Audience: ages 4 - 8

Lexile: AD260L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books (2021), Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (2021)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (09/01/20), Kirkus Reviews (08/01/20), Publishers Weekly Annex (10/19/20), School Library Journal (01/01/21)

Summary: In this humorous fantasy book that adult readers will enjoy for the satire on early easy reader books, a dog named Max interacts with the book. Told in three stories, the first story, "See the Cat" has Max the dog insisting to the book that it is telling the wrong story since Max the dog can only be seen. In the second story, "See the Snake", the book has Max being confronted by an angry snake and Max needs to figure out how to solve his problem quickly. Max is finally happen with the third story, "See the Dog". But once again, the book tries to tell the story in a way that Max does not want the story to be told. Kids will enjoy the humor in the book and the outside the box thinking Max does to outsmart the book.

Categories/Genre: This book is an easy reader book because it uses its illustrations to support the text in the book. It also won the Geisel Award which is an award given to Beginning Readers (Easy Readers). I included this book because of the humor. It is funny how the dog and the book interact with each other and they each try to best the other.

Teaching Guide

Title: Fox the Tiger

Author: Corey R. Tabor

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Audience: ages 4 - 8

Lexile: 240L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books (2019), Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (2019)

Reviews: Kirkus Reviews (06/15/18), School Library Journal (08/01/18), Horn Book Guide (Spring 2019)

Summary: After Fox reads a book about tigers, fox decides he wants to become a tiger. So he paints stripes on himself. When he meets his friend Turtle, Turtle decides he wants to be a race car. When Rabbit joins them, he wants to be a robot. Then rain spoils their fun and play. Fox becomes happy when Squirrel wants to be a fox.

Categories/Genre: This book is an easy reader because of the use of pictures to help with the understanding of the text. It also won a Geisel Award which is for beginning readers and it is part of the "I Can Read!"series. It can also be an animal story/fiction since the animals talk and act like humans. This book I included because to the message of being who you are. But it also has a positive take on accepting others when they tell you they are different than what you perceive them to be.

Middle Grade

Title: Attack of the Black Rectangles

Author: Amy Sarig King

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Audience: ages 9 - 12

Lexile: 710L

Awards: Golden Dome Book Award nominee 2023 - 2024

Starred reviews: Booklist (08/01/22), Horn Book Magazine (09/01/22), Kirkus Reviews (09/01/22), School Library Connection (11/01/22), School Library Journal (09/01/22)

Summary: When sixth-grader Mac Delaney is put into his new literature circle, he discovers that some of the words in Jane Yolen's book The Devil's Arithmetic are blacked out. Mac and his friends Denis and Marci go on a quest to find out who blacked out the words and why. However the school and the teacher who did it are non-apologetic for the censorship. While Mac is dealing with censorship at school, he has the added stress of his father who is struggling with mental health issues.

Categories/Genre: This book is a middle grade realistic fiction book. The main character, Mac is in sixth grade. He is dealing with censorship and the mental health of his father, which are realistic problems. This book is included because it is timely with all of the censorship, soft and otherwise, that is happening in schools across the country right now.

Title: A Rover's Story

Author: Jasmine Warga

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Audience: ages 9 - 13

Awards: Golden Dome Book Award nominee 2023 - 2024

Starred Reviews: Booklist (09/15/22), Kirkus Reviews (08/01/22), Publishers Weekly (08/15/22)

Summary: Told through alternating views points of Resilience, a Mars rover, and Sophie, the daughter of one of the programers of Resilience, the reader follows them over a span of years as Resilience is built, tested, and ultimately launched into outer space. Resilience not only explores Mars, but explores what it means to be human. Sophie's journey takes her from jealousy, to hope, to connections to those around her.

Catergories/Genre: This is a middle grade science fiction novel. It would appeal to those who are interested in space and rovers/robots. I appreciated how the story was told through the rover's point of view and through the letters of Sophie.

YA

Title: Furia

Author: Camille Saied Mendez

Publisher: Algonquin

Audience: ages 14 and up

Awards: Pura Belpre Author Award (2021)

Starred Reviews: Kirkus Reviews (08/01/20), Publishers Weekly Annex (10/26/20), School Library Journal Press (08/28/20)

Summary: Set in Argentina, all 17 year old Camila wants to do is play soccer. However, her family sees soccer as a male sport. So Camila lies to her family and joins a female soccer team. When the team has a chance to play in a South American tournament, which will have scouts from the United States who can help Camila secure a chance to play professionally, Camila has to find a way to play without letting her family know. To complicate matters, her love interest, Diego, has returned from Italy where he is playing professional soccer. He want to sweep her away from her abusive father and take her to Italy while he plays soccer. Camila must decide between her family, her boyfriend, and her love of soccer.

Categories/Genre: This is a YA realistic fiction book. It is also a #OwnVoices book. I included this book on my list because it was recommend to me by my local librarian. It was a great window into a culture that I don't know much about.

Teaching Guide

Title: Me (Moth)

Author: Amber McBride

Publisher: Square Fish, Fewer, and Friends

Publishing Date: 2023, Copyright Date: 2021

Audience: ages 12 and up

Lexile: HL750L

Awards: John Steptoe Award - Author (2022), William C. Morris YA Debut nominee (2022)

Starred reviews: Booklist (07/01/21), School Library Journal (08/01/21)

Summary: Moth has been struggling since her entire family was killed in a car crash. When she meets Sani, she finds someone who she feels like can see who she really is. They begin a cross-country journey back to Sani's father house on Navajo land in New Mexico when Sani's new stepfather becomes abusive and his mother does nothing to stop it. Along the way they share their stories and their family traditions while stopping at different landmarks along the way.

Categories/Genre: YA fiction book. The genre could be realistic fiction or ghost stories. It is also a novel in verse. This book was on the list for the Green Mountain Book award. I included it here because it is a novel in verse which I love. It also has some surprises which were unexpected while I was reading the book.

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Nonfiction

Title: Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration

Author: Elizabeth Partridge

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Audience: Ages 10 - 14

Lexile: 990L

Awards: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal (2023), Golden Dome Book Award nominee (2023 - 2024)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (10/15/22), Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (11/01/22), Kirkus Reviews (08/01/22), Publishers Weekly Annex (10/24/22), School Library Journal Press (10/28/22).

Summary: This nonfiction book is about three photographers who took pictures at the same Japanese internment camp. The first photographer, Dorothea Lange was against the internment of Japanese Americans and wanted to show what was really happening at the camps. However, since she was paid by the federal government to take the photos, the government had final say over which photos would be published and which photos would be filed away. The second photographer, Toyo Miyatake, was a Japanese American who was held at Manzanar. A professional photographer by trade, Miyatake was able to get a friend to build him a camera so he could take pictures of what was really happening at the camp. The third photographer, Ansel Adams, agreed with the internment of Japanese Americans, wanted to show how hard-working and happy the prisoners were at camp.

Categories/Genre: This is a middle grade nonfiction book. It has back matter that helps the reader learn more about the subject, civil liberties, and why the author and illustrator chose to make the book. The book has many of the photographs taken by the three photographers interwoven into the illustrations by Lauren Tamaki. I included this book because the narrative of the story was engaging and I had never heard of Toyo Miyatake. It was interesting to learn about him and see photographs from Manzanar.

Title: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Adapted for Young Adults)

Author: Isabel Wilkerson

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Audience: Ages 12 - 18

Lexile: 1330L

Reviews: Booklist (12/01/22), Kirkus Reviews (09/15/22)

Summary: When most people think about a caste system, they tend to think of the system in place in India. In this book, which is the young adult adapted version, Wilkerson argues that America has its own caste system as well which started back in 1619 when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the Virginia colony. She goes on to explain the difference between race, class and caste. Through comparisons to the Nazi Germany caste system and the Indian caste system, she explains the eight pillars that make up a caste system. Wilkerson leaves the reader with ways to challenge the caste system so we can have a more equitable society.

Categories/Genre: Nonfiction YA. I would categorize this book as expository YA nonfiction. It gives information and facts, but it also includes narratives as examples to make the point the author is trying to convey. This book is included because I think it gives a new lens of looking at our society and thinking about systematic racism and how we can make things better in our society.

Teaching Guide

Traditional Literature

Title: The Princess and the Warrior

Author: Duncan Tonatiuh

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers

Audience: Ages 6 - 9

Lexile: 770L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book (2017), Pure Belpre Illustrator Honor (2017), Red Clover Book nominee (2017-2018)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (09/01/16), Horn Book Guide (04/01/17), Horn Book Magazine (09/01/16), Kirkus Reviews (07/15/16), Publisher Weekly (08/15/16), School Library Journal (09/01/16)

Summary: In this retelling of a Mexican folktale, Tonatiuh tells the story of how two volcanoes, Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl, came to be. Princess Izta does not want to marry the rich suitors that come to woo her. The warrior Poppoca see the princess for who she is and they fall in love. The emperor does not think Poppoca is a proper suitor for his daughter so he makes a deal with the warrior. If he can defeat the rival Jaguar Claw who the emperor as been at war with, then Popoca can marry Princess Izta. Jaguar Claw, sensing his defeat in battle, tricks the Princess by having her believe Popoca was slain in battle. Princess Izat is heartbroken and takes a potion that puts her in a deep sleep. When Popoca returns, he finds he is unable to awaken the princess. He loyally stays by her side while the two of them eventually turn into the two volcanoes.

Categories/Genre: Picture book, traditional literature. This book is a retelling of a Mexican tale. It could be considered a pourquoi tale or a nature myth because they both tell how things in nature came to be. I included this book because it is a tale I had not heard before reading this book. The illustrations were also engaging and added to the story.

Title: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Author: Mac Barnett

Publisher: Orchard Books

Audience: Ages 4 - 8

Lexile: 560L

Starred Reviews: Booklist (09/01/22), Horn Book Magazine (01/01/23)

Summary: In this humorous retelling of a traditional Norwegian folktale, Mac Barnett uses humor and rhyme to make the familiar story new again. The troll who lives under the bridge is a disgusting troll who hears the first goat on his bridge. After the troll tells the many ways he likes to eat goat, the first goat pleads for his life and tells the troll to wait for his bigger and fatter brother. The troll lets the first goat cross. When the second goat comes on the bridge, the troll tells of new ways that he likes to eat goat. The second goat also pleads for his life and tells the troll to wait for his even bigger brother. The troll agrees. There is a surprise waiting for the reader when the third goat arrives.

Categories/Genre: Traditional Literature, Picture Book. The illustrations by Jon Klassen go hand in hand with the words in this retelling and at times convey the story. It is traditional literature because of trolls and it was told through generations before being written down. I included this book because of the humor. Children and adults will be entertained by this version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Series

Title: Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

Author: Judd Winick

Publisher: Random House

Audience: Ages 8 - 12

Lexile: GN460L

Starred Reviews: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (11/01/15), Kirkus Reviews (07/15/15), School Library Journal (08/01/15)

Summary: Ten year old DJ is just an ordinary boy who believes he is not good at anything when something extraordinary happens to him. Hilo crash lands on Earth without knowing what he is doing on on this planet. DJ befriends Hilo and DJ's adventure begins. Hilo begins to realize he is on Earth to fight dangerous bug robots and protect the planet from the evil robot Razorwark. Thus begins DJ's and Hilo's adventure.

Categories/Genre: Series, Middle Grade fiction, science fiction, graphic novel. The book, which is the first in a series of 9 books, is geared to elementary students. DJ is ten years old. It is a science fiction book because of the robots, space travel, and parallel dimensions. I included this book on the list because the series was read a lot by my students and my own children, but I never read the book before. Now I understand the popularity of the books with third graders.

Children's Graphic Novel

Title: Swim Team

Author: Johnnie Christmas

Publisher: HarperAlley

Audience: 8 - 13

Awards: Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor (2023), National Book Award Longlist (2023), Golden Dome Book Award nominee (2023 - 2024)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (04/15/22), Kirkus Reviews (03/15/22), Publishers Weekly (04/18/22), School Library Journal (04/01/22)

Summary: Bree moves to Florida from Brooklyn when her dad lands a new job there. Bree is dismayed when her only elective choice to take is swimming. Bree can't swim and is to afraid to tell her swimming teacher. After almost drowning in her neighborhood pool and being rescued by her neighbor, Ms. Etta, Bree convinces Ms. Etta to give her private swimming lessons. With Ms. Etta's help, Bree becomes a swimmer and even joins her new school's swim team. Included in the story is the history around segregation and seeing Black people away from pools, lakes, and the ocean.

Categories/Genre: Graphic Novel, middle grade, realistic fiction. This book is for upper elementary/middle grade school kids since the main character is just entering middle school, although it is never said how old she is or what grade middle school begins in her school. It is realistic fiction because the problems that Bree faces (bullying, fears, absent father, starting over) are realistic problems. I enjoyed learning about the history around segregation and swimming.

Title: The Witch Boy

Author: Molly Knox Ostertag

Publisher: Graphix

Audience: Ages 8 -12

Lexile: GN490L

Starred Reviews: Kirkus Reviews (08/15/17), School Library Journal (10/01/17)

Summary: In Aster's community, girls become witches and boys become shape-shifters. But Aster doesn't want to shape-shift, he wants to practice witch craft. He even hides and watches the girls learn witch-craft. Aster is caught and learns of what happened the last time boy did witchcraft, the result was not good. Aster continues to practice witch craft alone in the forest which is where he ends up meeting Charlotte from the non magical community. Charlotte and Aster work together to figure out what happened to the boys that suddenly go missing. Aster will have to use witch craft, although it is forbidden for him to do it, to help defeat this new evil.

Catergories/Genre: Graphic novel, fantasy, series. This book is a children's graphic novel because the main character, Aster is thirteen years old. Since the book deals with shape-sifting and witch craft, it is a fantasy book. This is also the first book in a trilogy so it could be considered a series. I included this book because of the examination of gender roles.

YA Graphic Novels

Title: Hey, Kiddo

Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Publisher: Graphix

Audience: Ages 14 and up

Lexile: HL510L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books (2019), YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Your Adults nominee (2019), National Book Award Finalist (2019)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (09/15/18), Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (11/01/18), Horn Book Magazine (09/01/18), Kirkus Reviews (07/15/18), Publishers Weekly (07/30/18), School Library Journal (08/01/18), Voice of Youth Advocates (12/01/18)

Summary: In this graphic novel memoir, author Jarrett J. Krosoczka tells about growing up with his grandparents because his mom, who was in and out of his life, was a heroin-addict. Art was something that Jarrett turned toward during his youth and his grandparents were very supportive of him pursuing his art. Krosoczka uses drawings that he made as a child in this book and also photo and letters from his mom to help add more to the story.

Catergories/Genre: YA, graphic novel, memoir. This is a YA book because of the mature themes of the book with the drug addiction of his mother. There is also language that is more for the mature audience than for elementary students. It is a memoir because Jarrett J. Krosoczka is telling about his early life through teenage years. This book was a great way to have a window into what it is like to live with a family member who struggles with addiction. I am sure it will be a mirror to many who read it.

Teaching Resources from CBLDF

Title: The Prince and the Dressmaker

Author: Jen Wang

Publisher: First Second

Audience: Ages 12 and up

Lexile: GN360L

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book (2019)

Starred Reviews: Booklist (01/01/18), Horn Book Guide (11/01/18), Horn Book Magazine (03/01/18), Publishers Weekly (12/11/17), School Library Connection (05/01/18), School Library Journal (12/01/17)

Summary: Set in 19th century Paris, Frances is a seamstress who dreams of making it big in the fashion scene. When she is almost fired from her job for making a risqué dress for Prince Sebastian's 16th birthday party. But that dress catches the eye of a mysterious client who wants Frances to design gowns for them exclusively. It turns out that the client is Prince Sebastian who has a secret alias as Lady Crystallia. When Lady Crystallia becomes the talk of high society, it becomes harder for the secret of who Lady Crystallia is to be kept and the growing friendship between Frances and Prince Sebastian becomes strained.

Catergories/Genre: YA, graphic novel, historial fiction. This book is considered Young Adult because the two main characters of the book are both sixteen. It could be considered historical fiction because it takes place in Paris at the turn of the century. I included this book because the illustrations are beautiful and the positive portrayal of LGBTQ characters.

Teaching Guide from CBLDF

Neckers Book Nook

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Picture Books

Easy Readers

Middle Grade

YA

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Nonfiction

Traditional Literature

Series

Children's Graphic Novel

YA Graphic Novels

Picture Books

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