Nicole Maxwell & Carolyn Angus In memory of beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary (1916-2021), who was born on April 12, April is Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Month, an annual celebration inspiring teachers and students in their classrooms and families at home to take 30 minutes a day to read for pleasure. Join in the celebration by reading some of the books reviewed below this month and keep it going throughout the year by enjoying reading together recently published books as well as old favorites. Brave Baby Hummingbird. Sy Montgomery. Illus. by Tiffany Bozic. (2024). Paula Wiseman. “I am one of the lightest birds in the sky.” In naturalist Sy Montgomery’s latest picture book, a hummingbird tells the story of his early life, hatching from a tiny egg in a nest no bigger than a quarter two days after his sister and being fed every twenty minutes by their mother. One day, however, he does not feel the breeze of his mother’s hovering wings that signals her return to them with food. By nighttime, the baby birds are scared, cold, and hungry. The next day, the two are rescued. Montgomery’s informative story of these orphaned baby birds and their development under the care of trained hummingbird rehabilitators until they are ready to be released into the wild is enhanced by Tiffany Bozic’s stunning acrylic artwork featuring the male hummingbird and his sister, as well as other species of hummingbirds. Back matter includes an author’s note, a “Hummingbird Highlights” section on the characteristics and behavior of the amazing hummingbird, and suggestions on how readers can help hummingbirds in their own backyards. (PreK Up) —CA Bunny and Clyde. Megan McDonald. Illus. by Scott Nash. (2024). Candlewick. Tired of being good, best friends Bunny Elizabeth Parker (a rabbit) and Clyde Chestnut Wheelbarrow (a chipmunk) decide to become baddies. Knowing nothing about how to be bad, they head to the library and check out books about characters who are good at being bad, including Interrupting Chicken, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, and Bad Kitty. Their first attempts at doing bad stuff in the neighborhood, such as pulling up all the pretty little yellow flowers (actually dandelions) in Darby the squirrel’s yard and toilet papering all of the rose bushes in Thorton the possum’s garden on a frosty night, end up being good deeds. Thinking bigger and “badder,” Bunny and Clyde make their own Wanted Dead or Alive poster and do the “biggest, baddest” thing they can think of, rob a bank (the librarian Rowena’s piggy bank). The heist doesn’t go as planned but leaves them enjoying a tasty penny candy reward and thinking about what to do the next day. Readers will be eager to discover what the duo will be up to in the sequel. (PreK Up) —CA Don’t Trust Cats (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog #2). Dev Petty. Illus. by Mike Boldt. (2024). Doubleday. In this hilarious picture book, Chip the Dog from Don’t Trust Bees (2022) is back with more life lessons. His primary lesson this time, of course, is not to trust cats. While Chip specifically references the family cat, Mittens, he also cautions against trusting cats that are “fluffy,” “stripy,” or have “big eyes.” Still, he assures the reader that there are plenty of other things you can trust, like your people, even though they lied that one time about going to the park and you ended up at the vet. The squirrels and birds you always chase that laugh “with you, not at you” are trustworthy, along with the skunk who looks like he wants to be friends. Mike Boldt’s vivid comic illustrations pair well with the text to portray an energetic, entertaining, and trusting (maybe too trusting at times) dog with a big, shiny nose and perfect puppy eyes. (PreK-Gr 2) —NM Finally Heard. Kelly Yang. (2024). Simon & Schuster. In the sequel to Kelly Yang’s middle grade novel Finally Seen (2023) in which Lina Gao was reunited with her family, who left her behind with her grandmother in Beijing when they immigrated to the United States, is navigating new challenges in fifth grade. She is taller than her classmates, uncomfortable in her own skin, and one of the only two students in the class without a phone. Even her mom has discovered the potential of going viral on social media to grow her bath bomb business. When she finally gets a phone, Lina thinks that being seen and heard online is just what she needs to build her confidence until she finds there is more to the world of social media and group chats than she ever expected. There is so much to see and process it is confusing and overwhelming. At least her two best friends, Carla and Finn, are by Lina’s side to help her manage this new set of challenges. Back matter includes an author’s note and an informative “Essential Research on Social Media and Kids.” (Gr 3 Up) —NM Fox versus Fox (Fox #6). Corey R. Tabor. (2024). Balzer + Bray. When Fox, the red fox first introduced in Fox the Tiger (2018), meets a white fox also named Fox, he is determined to show that they both can’t be foxes by pointing out his foxy skills of doing tricks, being sneaky, and jumping, all of which the white fox can do as well, although in a different way. However, when the competition accelerates to jumping higher and takes them soaring up into the sky, they both realize that foxes cannot fly. Bravely facing disaster, they cling together as they fall, plunging into a lake and finding out the foxes can swim—and can be friends. Corey R. Tabor’s humorous illustrations and use of short sentences and repetition of words in his latest Fox tale makes this “My First I Can Read!” book prefect for shared reading between an adult and emergent reader. Consider sharing earlier books about this tricky fox while waiting for the next book in the series, Fox Plays Ball, to be released in October. (PreS Up) —CA Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf (Gina Kaminski #2). Craig Barr-Green. Illus. by Francis Martin. (2024). Kane Miller. Meet Gina Kaminski, a creative, spirited, neurodivergent little girl who thinks in threes. She begins by telling readers three reasons why school is “rubbish” on that particular day because her classroom is “too hot,” “smelly,” and “loud,” referencing her chart with emojis she uses to describe her feelings. When she has the opportunity to go to the more “sensory-friendly” reading room where Anya reads Little Red Riding Hood to her, Gina proclaims that Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf made three big mistakes. She decides to visit fairy-tale land so that she can fix the mistakes in the story—and perhaps also her feelings about her day at school. Through sketch-like, animated illustrations, Francis Martin artfully captures Gina’s feisty nature and determination to make things right for the wolf. Watch for Gina’s next adventure, Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant, out in August. (PreK-Gr 2) —NM Is This a House for Hermit Crab? Megan McDonald. Illus. by Katherine Tillston. (2024). Neal Porter. When Hermit Crab grows too big for the shell on his back, he crawls out of the water and searches along the sandy beach for a new house that will hide him from predators. “He stepped along the shore. / by the sea, in the sand . . . / scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch . . .” He finds various things including a rock, a tin can, a small plastic pail, and a fishing net, none of which are suitable to be his new house. When a big wave washes Hermit Crab back out to sea, he finally finds the perfect house, the empty shell of a sea snail, just in time to avoid being devoured by a prickly porcupine fish. This new edition of Megan McDonald’s classic picture book (originally published in 1990 with illustrations by S. D. Schindler) is complemented by Katherine Tillotson’s colorful mixed-media artwork. Back matter includes an author’s note and a new informative “More About Hermit Crabs” section. (PreK Up) —CA Menus for Meerkats and Other Hungry Animals. Ben Hoare. Illus. by Hui Skipp. (2024). Kane Miller. In this informational companion to Maps for Penguins and Other Traveling Animals (2023), young readers learn about the eating habits of ten hungry animals from around the world: meerkats, scarlet macaws, grizzly bears, great white sharks, koalas, dung beetles, orangutans, Indian cobras, blue whales, and lions. For each animal, Ben Hoare presents a “menu” broken down into main course, sides, and drinks. For example, the scarlet macaw enjoys nuts, fruits, and leaves for its main course while having sap and clay as sides and drinking water from rivers, streams, and pools in the rain forest. An additional “dinner with …” double spread provides facts about the animal’s size, habitat, and where they fit in the food chain. Hui Skipp’s brightly colored and richly detailed illustrations invite readers to look closely at what they reveal. A glossary and an index are included. (PreK Up) —NM My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified Seals, Space Robots, and So Much More. G. Neri. Illus. by Corban Wilkin. (2024) Candlewick. G. Neri tells the true story of how his childhood dream of being an explorer came true in this memoir of his epic seven-week journey to “the most extreme place on Earth” made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Program. Neri’s chatty field guide to Antarctica is a record of his adventures while based at McMurdo Station with scientists and support staff in the form of a scrapbook filled with captioned color photographs (many taken by Neri), cartoon illustrations with dialogue balloons created digitally by Corban Wilkins, maps, diagrams, and numerous interest-catching lists, such as “Things You Won’t Find in Antarctica” versus “Things You Will Find,” and “Critters of Antarctica, Neri kept in a notebook. Back matter includes an author’s note, miscellaneous “facts and stuff” about the continent, a ‘”Big Questions About Antarctica” section, recommended source material (books, films/TV, and websites), acknowledgments, photo credits, and an index. (Gr 3-5) —CA Wake Up, Woodlands. Karen Jameson. Illus. by March Boutavant. (2024). Chronicle. “Wake up, Little Whiskers. / No more storming / Woods are warming / Sweep your sleepy dreams away. / Scamper out to meet the day.” Author Karen Jameson and illustrator Mac Boutavant’s follow-up to Woodland Dreams (2020) paints a picture of spring awakening in the forest through a lively rhyming text and double-page spreads of digital artwork with rich detail. They offer vignettes that provide glimpses of baby animals, including bunnies, a honey bee, and a bear cub, being awaken and encouraged to greet the new day as a mother, father, child, and dog hurry on their way through the woodlands in a spring celebration of their own. Together, the text and illustrations create a feeling of hope and anticipation for a joyful start to a new day in spring. (PreK-Gr 2) —NM Nicole Maxwell is an associate professor specializing in literacy instruction in the Elementary and Special Education Program at the University of North Georgia. Carolyn Angus is former Director of the George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
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AuthorsThese reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG). Archives
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