A Walk in the Woods: a Loving Collaboration

Lynn: In 2019 old friends, Nikki Grimes and Jerry Pinkney asked each other why they hadn’t done a book together? They embarked on the work for A Walk in the Woods (Holiday/Neal Porter, 2023) choosing the rare theme of an African American child interacting with nature. Sadly, Jerry died before finishing the artwork. The collaborative work had brought them both joy and it was an even harder blow for Grimes to learn of Jerry’s death on her birthday.

Fortunately for all of us, Jerry’s son Brian decided to finish the manuscript using his father’s watercolor techniques. The result is this sensitive, beautiful, and moving book.

After the death of his father, a grief-stricken boy finds an envelope from his father, revealing a map of the woods they had walked together and a red X marking a spot. At first, the boy’s heart aches, revisiting the places he and his father explored. But the farther he walks the more his grief is soothed. “Can you smile and cry and the same time?” he wonders and the answer of course is yes. Grimes’ verses capture the sights and sounds of the woods and the inner hurt of the grieving boy. Readers walk with the boy as nature does its healing work. Deeply evocative, beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a gem! It is a celebration of a creative life and a remarkable depiction of the healing power of nature and love. Wonderful back matter includes notes from Nikki Grimes and Brian Pinkney.

It was a special treat me to read this book at the American Library Association’s recent conference in Chicago and even more of a treat to have it signed by Nikki and Brian. The book means so much to adults who have read and loved the work of these three talented people. But more importantly, this book will speak to and move the children it is intended for. This is must purchase for every collection serving children.

The Mona Lisa Vanishes – the REAL Story for Kids about the Theft of the Lady with the Mysterious Smile

Lynn: Did you know that the Mona Lisa is painted on wood and that it weighs over 200 pounds and that the thief could barely carry it down the stairs? Or that a locked and jammed door knob nearly stymied the thief—until a helpful Louvre plumber came along and opened it? Or that Da Vinci carried the Mona Lisa with him on the back of a mule on his journey over the Alps into France?

All this and much much more await readers of The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity (Random Studio/Sept. 2023) by Nicholas Day. This nonfiction book for middle graders is as fascinating as its enticing cover suggests. Readers will love the flip and breezy style while inhaling a vast amount of history, science, biography and art information along the way. Day does an outstanding job of working so much important historical background into what may seem on the surface to be simply a caper/art theft plot.

The culture of Renaissance Italy, the history of policing, painting techniques, biographies of Da Vinci, Lisa Gherardini (as much as possible), Paris detectives, and even Pablo Picasso are woven into this fascinating tale. Told in thoroughly engaging text, the story is utterly compelling and kids will absorb information on every page. This is a “listen to this!” book, packed with facts to be shared.

Brett Helquist illustrates the book with black and white, slightly comedic drawings that perfectly match the tone of the text and they are as irresistible as the story.

Conspiracy theories and the ongoing belief in the most sensational theories (despite any facts to the contrary) and the issue of celebrity are serious and important threads that run through the entire book. These are timely themes in our world of social media gullibility and instant fame and hopefully ones that will have young readers thinking.

All the stars and more for this must-purchase!

Cindy: This is my first encounter with author Nicholas Day, but any author recommended by Mary Roach is going to get an audience with me. Roach is right, this book is “perfect” for its audience and funny to boot. I learned so much about Leonardo da Vinci, including the fact that he and I are kindred spirits—we much prefer learning something new and starting the adventure of a new project rather than finishing said projects! I don’t have his talent, but I resemble his method. Day handles the switches between the heist’s time period and Leonardo’s with aplomb and teens will be able to follow along easily. Who doesn’t love a heist caper and learning about the development of criminal ID from body measurements to fingerprints was fascinating. Lynn is so right about the “listen to this” moments in the book. I was reading it on a car trip and my husband heard half of the book! If I were an art teacher. Or a history teacher. Or a science teacher….I’d be reading this aloud to my students.

Tales of Motherhood – Leopard Variety in Photographs

Lynn: Most of us think of gathering information for a book as a pretty safe activity. But not if you are nature photographer and author Suzi Eszterhas! In her recent book for young readers, A Leopard Diary: My Journey into the Hidden World of a Mother and her Cubs, (Owlkids, 2022), Eszterhas shares some really hair-raising adventures! Imagine sitting frozen in an open-sided vehicle with a snarling mother leopard just inches away after her playful cubs run under the vehicle. This was a leopard comfortable around humans but who became ferocious at a potential threat to her babies. Gulp! Or walking into the camp bathroom to discover a tiny leopard cub who had been hidden there by his mom—and who could appear any moment! These are just a few of the fascinating moments in this outstanding nonfiction book by acclaimed photographer Suzi Eszterhas (who is also a personal favorite of mine).

Eszterhas has always loved leopards so when she heard that a female leopard in the Jao Reserve in Botswana’s vast Okavango Delta had given birth to two cubs, she hurried there to photograph the family. Aided by a skilled guide she located the mother and cubs and over the next 15 months took pictures and wrote about the events.

This female dubbed Mom was quite relaxed around humans and allowed them to get close although they always remained vigilant and in the jeep. Leopards move their dens frequently to protect the babies from lions, baboons and other predators so Eszterhas and Kam often had to relocate the family, which sometimes took many hours in the hot sun. But the result is a wonderful chronicle of a leopard family illustrated by rare and breathtaking photographs.

The text is clear and packed with interesting facts and the entire effort was a true adventure and makes an extremely compelling story. The photographs alone make this a worthy read as they are a beautiful look at a rarely-seen event. The entire package is a must purchase and the cover alone will attract readers. Backmatter includes an interview with the guide, Kampongo, a glossary and additional information.

Standing Tall – New Graphic Novels about Girls and Sports

Lynn: Having grown up in a pre-Title IX world, I am continually awed at the number of sports opportunities for girls today. Yes, I know we still have a long way to go but compared with times before the 1970s, there is so much to celebrate. In this post, I am happy to review two recent graphic novels that feature girls and sports. An added bonus is that one of them is about the history of girls’ sports during the early days of Title IX.

Hoops (Candlewick, 2023) by Matt Tavares is based on a true event. It chronicles the struggles of a start-up girls high school basketball team that overcame so much to claim the 1976 girls basketball championship in Indiana.

Judi’s friends all want to be cheerleaders and assume Judi wants that just as much. But Judi has another dream and that is playing on a basketball team. When the Lady Bears are formed, Judi joyfully signs up but the struggle is just beginning. The team has to practice in an elementary school gym, make their own uniforms and find their own transportation to the games. The athletic director tells them that when they fill a gym, they can share the high school gym with the boys. Tavares tells an engaging and compelling story absolutely rooted in fact, revealing the struggles, inequality, sexism and discrimination they faced. His wonderfully drawn characters come fully to life and I loved the many period details such as Judi’s iconic 70’s haircut, the uniform shorts and the RV they used to travel to games. The games are exciting and suspenseful and readers will be rooting for Judi and her team all the way.

An Author’s Note provides important history of Title IX, girls basketball and the background history of Title IX, and the Warsaw, Indiana girls’ basketball team.

Fox Point's own Gemma Hopper Fox Point’s Own Gemma Hopper (Random House Graphic, 2023) by Brie Spangler is set in the present and tells a story about the impact of sports participation on a shy and self-conscious teen.

Gemma Hopper is having a horrible year. Her mother has gone, leaving her father to work two jobs and Gemma to do the cooking, cleaning, laundry and care for her younger twin brothers on top of school. Her handsome older brother is a baseball superstar, about to leave for a traveling All-Star team and talented pitcher Gemma feels always in his shadow. 6ft tall and built like a bean pole, Gemma also feels increasingly out of step at school and with her best friend who longs to be part of the popular crowd. When a family tree assignment pushes Gemma to the brink, things really begin to spiral and her anger and sadness cause her to lash out at the people around her.

Brie Spangler’s story and clear graphic art are compelling and deeply sympathetic. She reveals so much about the characters through her illustrations. A particular highlight for me was the change in Gemma’s posture as she slumped through the school hallways, hiding her height and then standing tall and proud as she joins the team and finds her strength and confidence. The sports element is wonderfully conveyed as well as the drama of the games. But, it is Gemma herself, her insecurities, resentment and unhappiness that is the focus and as she confronts those emotions and begins to value herself, all readers will be cheering.

The Hospital Book – Tears and Fears Explained

Lynn: Children do go to the hospital despite all we do to protect them. And that can be a truly scary experience! Lisa Brown’s new picture book, The Hospital Book (Holiday/Neal Porter, 2023) does an outstanding job of taking the mystery out of the experience. It is at once encouraging while also acknowledging the fears and reactions that are normal for a child in this situation. “I cried nine times when I went to the hospital,” says the little girl about her appendicitis attack and surgery. “The first time was when my stomach hurt.”

The story progresses step by step through the experience from the emergency room, to the testing, admissions, surgical prep, and recovery. Illustrations clearly show an IV needle being inserted, an X-Ray being done, and counting down from 10 during anesthesia being administered. These are all scary processes for any child and they are well explained. The text is straightforward and honest with explanations that are perfectly suited to a child’s understanding. As someone who has had multiple surgeries, I applaud this forthright and helpful book, having experienced these same fears and tears as an adult! This book helps take some of the mystery and scariness out of what is unavoidably a scary experience.

Lisa Brown’s busy appealing illustrations add to the interest as well as adding additional information. This is a must-purchase for libraries and a great choice for sharing with children healthy AND experiencing hospitalization. Half the fear of any experience like this is the unknown and Hospital Book takes a big step by taking away at least some of the tears.

The Joy of Curiosity – New Nature Picture Books

Lynn: One of the great traits of humanity is curiosity. It blossoms in childhood as we absorb and wonder about the world around us. Encouraging and nurturing that ability is a focus of two new and outstanding picture books that I am reviewing today.

How Birds Sleep (Astra/Mineeditionsus, 2023) by Sally Pedry and David Obuchowski.
How DO birds sleep? It’s a question I’ve often thought about myself as the night settles in and the world quiets. Obuchowski was also curious about this question, later stumbling on a book in a used book store that examined the science around the question. Like most things about birds, it varies from species to species. This is a fascinating exploration of a question that many children ask too and done in a lovely bed-time book style. Sarah Pedry’s illustrations are beautiful and soothing. Using familiar and unfamiliar birds labeled on each page, the book takes readers through the world of sleeping birds and their fascinating ways of sleeping. Some sleep in huddles, some hanging upside down and some even fly in their sleep.

Back matter includes much more information about the subject, how the book came to be and suggestions of how to help birds being affected by climate change.

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish: What Magic Lies Beneath? (Candlewick, 2023) by Chloe Savage. This charming picture book celebrates the magic of following your curiosity.

Dr. Morley has always yearned to discover the truth about the fable of the Giant Arctic Jellyfish. Is it real or just a lovely sailor’s yarn? While this scientific journey is an imaginary tale, much about such a research effort is true. As Dr. Morley and her crew search the Arctic seas they encounter Narwhals, a pod of Belugas, freezing temperatures, monotony, frustration and even a Polar Bear. And, of course, there is something under the water all the time that trails the scientists.

Chloe Savage’s intricate whimsical illustrations reveal a cutaway view of the research vessel from top to bottom. The scientists and crew, clad in matching red and white sweaters, go about their tasks in labs, engine rooms, kitchens and bathrooms or out on ice flows and scuba diving into the icy seas. Each page is a delight, filled with small touches of humor that reward careful perusing. The book is one of those delightful gems that provides more each time it is read.

Elf Dog and Owl Head

Lynn: Forgive me for the radio silence! I’ve been traveling and then re-grouping from traveling but I have some fun books queued up to write about. I’m starting with a completely delightful book that is perfect for classroom and bedtime read-alouds. As an aside, I’ve been eager to see what creative work came out of the COVID shutdowns and the isolation experienced by the world. M.T. Anderson’s Elf Dog and Owl Head (Candlewick, 2023) for middle-grade readers is a wonderful reflection on how many younger readers experienced that event. A lot of kids are going to be nodding their heads in total agreement.

A sickness is keeping Clay and his family at home and they have gotten on each other’s last nerve! While rambling in the woods behind his house trying to play solo frisbee, Clay encounters a beautiful white dog with startling red ears. She is, of course, magical, and in adopting her, Clay discovers the unseen magical world and secret ways that she reveals to him. It is a glorious secret and one that changes Clay’s and his family’s lives as well as that of some very unusual woodland inhabitants.

This is a wryly witty romp through fairy tale tropes including a wily wyrm, sleeping misanthropic giants, cruel fey, and owl-headed people. The character portrayals are affectionate and spot-on, particularly 14-year-old DiRossi who is treasuring her new adolescent disdain for all things familiar, especially her family. Clay, who yearns for normal and his friends, is the main protagonist, learning how to truly be a friend to someone who is not yourself and how to look beyond the expected.

Black and white pencil sketch illustrations by Junyi Wu pepper the pages, adding to the enchantment.

Dancing in my Kitchen – a Re-issue of Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse!

Lynn: I have long been cheering for the work of the New York Review Children’s Collection, re-issuing classic children’s books that have gone out of print. But when I opened one of their latest deliveries, I was dancing around my kitchen! Yes! Inside was their publication of George Mendoza’s Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse (NYRB, 2023)! Originally published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1981 the book was one of my sons’ ALL TIME favorite books and we nearly wore out the pages reading it over and over. When my grandsons came along, of course, I hauled out the book for them and they were mesmerized. I am so delighted to see this book reach a new generation of readers!

Ms. Henrietta Mouse is world famous architect, designing the perfect house for each of her woodland clients. She know just what features each creature needs, building a house that is perfectly suited for each one’s unique needs. Doris Susan Smith’s exquisitely detailed illustrations are the true highlight of the book. After introducing Ms. Mouse, shown working in her awesome office and home, each bright 2-page spread features a Ms. Mouse-designed home of a particular creature. We see Squirrel’s space-ship style airy treehouse, Frog’s tri-level lily pad, lizard’s special beach house and many more. My boys of both generations would study each design carefully, critiquing the features and marveling at the ideas. Each time we read it we would chose a favorite design, dreaming of what living in such a house would be like! Each intricate cutaway design took time to pour over as there is so much to absorb! What was better, Rabbit’s root cellar at the top of his burrow, Owl’s eyrie at the peak of a tower, complete with telescope and library or maybe Bear’s cozy den with plenty of honey storage space?

Doris Smith’s bright and imaginative illustrations are just the same but Mendoza’s text has been updated a bit. I’m not sure it was necessary. After all Ms. Mouse was already setting an example as a brilliant professional female with a successful business of her own! The changes are slight happily and this is a gem of a book deserving a new audience of young architects, designers, nature lovers and all young readers who love masterful illustrations! Thank you New York Review for this treasure!

Do Images Tell the Truth? Seen and Unseen Takes on that Question for Kids

Lynn: Do photographs always tell the truth about history? I believe most students will answer yes to that question but Elizabeth Partridge’s brilliant book Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyakaki, and Ansel Adams’ Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration (Chronicle, 2022) explores just how misleading photographs can be. Partridge presents a shameful part of American history as seen through the lenses of 3 outstanding photographers, each seeing those historic moments in a different way. Are any of them wrong? It is an extraordinarily effective way to help students look with a critical eye at images—historic and current—and one of the most necessary skills young people need to develop today.

Partridge chose three period photographers: Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams. All three took photographs at Japanese American Incarceration camps during WWII. Each brought a different focus to their work. Lange despised the whole concept of the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Famous for her Depression-era photos, the U.S. Government hired Lange to show that the program was being carried out in a “humane and orderly” way. Lange saw it differently, believing that what was happening was unfair and undemocratic. But the officials in charge disapproved of most of Lange’s photographs and from early in the project a soldier trailed her and she had to work within strict parameters. When she turned in her photographs, many of them were impounded and disappeared into archives for 50 years.

Toyo Miyatake was a professional photographer and after being incarcerated at Manzanar, he built his own camouflaged camera and took secret photos of the conditions of the camp. His photos showed much that Lange had been forbidden to photograph but those photos were rarely seen at the time and are still held in a private collection.

Ansel Adams, known for his incredibly beautiful landscape photography, was also hired to reassure the public. He came into the project not particularly opposed to the incarceration. Now close to the end of the war, there was great concern about how the Japanese Americans would be treated on release. Adams was asked to record images of hard-working, loyal, and cheerful people, which was how he saw them. Posing his subjects, Adams’ photographs concentrated on smiling people against a stunningly beautiful desert setting.

The work of all three photographers is used throughout the book but the book is also beautifully illustrated by the work of Lauren Tamaki, who is of Japanese descent. I wished strongly for more photographs to have been used but the book is nevertheless deeply effective and thought-provoking. It is the rare reader who won’t come away thinking about this book and the many issues it raises.

There is extensive and important back matter included too, with essays on issues such as the violation of rights of the Japanese Americans incarcerated, the issue of the official language used and its impact on the public, information on what happened to those incarcerated after the war, and biographies of the 3 photographers.

While understanding and evaluating images is the major focus of the book, Partridge also takes on other important issues such as the incarceration of Japanese Americans and the issues surrounding that action and its long impact. Seen and Unseen received many well-deserved accolades including the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal for 2023.

Dealing with Trauma – Erin Bow’s New MG Book about Life After the Tragedy

Lynn: Students and teachers across our country have seen active shooter drills become a regular event. All of us have reeled with the reality of school shootings in our nation and most of us cannot understand the senseless deaths of the innocents who have fallen to this epidemic. Why the issue of guns cannot be dealt with is a gaping wound. But here’s another important question to ponder. What happens AFTER the tragedy to the children who somehow survive it? Erin Bow addresses this tragically relevant question in her newest book, Simon (Sort of) Says (Disney/Hyperion, 2023).

Twelve-year-old Simon is the lone survivor of a horrific school shooting and after a year of therapy and home-schooling, is returning to school. But this school is in the town of Grin and Bear It, Nebraska where Simon and his family are making a fresh start. Simon wants to put the shooting behind him and he also wants to put the incessant media focus behind him with the looks, the whispers, and the sympathy. He just wants to fly under the radar and be a normal kid.

Grin and Bear It is the ideal place because it is a National Quiet Zone where internet, cell phones, TV, and all media are banned in order to not interfere with the Radio Telescope arrays and the astrophysicists listening for signals from space. It couldn’t be more perfect. He makes friends, acquires a service dog puppy to socialize and things are looking good. Simon is a bit concerned about his friend Agate’s intentions of providing an alien message to encourage the scientists whose funding may be in jeopardy and he suspects his teacher may know about his past from the sorrowful looks she gives him. Mostly life seems to be going as he hoped. But Simon should know from experience that life seldom does what you expect.

This is an extraordinary character-driven story with moments of hilarity and a cast of characters so richly developed that they feel like family. The humor is perfectly dialed in for tween readers and some of the action is rather manic—also perfect for the tastes of young readers. But the core of this story is a subject tragically timely and handled with masterful sensitivity and ringing with truth. What is it like to live with such terrifying trauma and what is it like to be the object of overwhelming pity? What does it feel like to be reminded every minute of the past by the reactions of strangers to your very presence? Through Bow’s skillful and sensitive prose, readers experience what Simon feels and the experience is shattering. I know I will never think about trauma and the reactions to trauma in the same way.

On a lighter note—I loved the portrayal of the adults in the story—particularly Simon’s parents who have also suffered trauma and are recovering in their own ways. Simon’s coffee-loving mortician mother and deacon/sackbut playing father are worthy of a book by themselves as are his friends, Agate and Kevin. The cover of this book picks up on the humor in the story but I think it misses the deeply empathetic focus of the book.

This is an early-in-the-year publication but I think it will reside firmly at the top of my best list this year. Brilliantly written and immensely entertaining as well as perception-changing, this incredible story deserves awards.