RA, RA, Read: Rick Riordan and mythic fantasy

Since I originally wrote this post, in 2017, Rick Riordan's fantasy series has grown exponentially, expanding to an imprint as well as Riordan's own books.

Riordan's series start with the original five Percy Jackson books, expand that world into multiple series, break out into Norse mythology (Magnus Chase), and there is also a trilogy based on Egyptian mythology. Copious companion volumes, collections of mythology, etc. are also included. Riordan draws kids in with an emphasis on Greek mythology reinterpreted with lots of fantasy, adventure, and strong characters as well as a strong sense of humor.

More Mythological Fantasy

• Rick Riordan Presents is Riordan's imprint to showcase a diverse range of mythologies by #ownvoices authors, written in similar style as Riordan's books but unique to each author.
• Aru Shah and the end of time by Roshani Chokshi
• Storm runner by J. C. Cervantes
• Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
• Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez (2019)
• Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
• Celtic mythology. This is the first book in an older series and I've found circulation varies.
• Loki's Wolves by Kelley Armstrong
• Norse mythology.
• Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda
• Indian mythology - more violent than Percy Jackson and includes demons, which makes some parents uncomfortable
• Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
• The first book is technically Over Sea, Under Stone but it's a more old-fashioned fantasy quest. You can start with Dark is Rising. Tell kids to ignore the awful movie; this series brings together aspects of Celtic and Arthurian legend with some truly chilling moments and lovely language.
• Serpent's secret by Sayantani Dasgupta
• Bengali mythology
• Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers
• Egyptian magic and myth. Theodosia is a snarky young Victorian girl who finds she can use ancient Egyptian magic.
• Flame of Olympus by Kate O'Hearn
• Greek/Roman mythology. First in a series.
• The gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
• Middle Eastern - a group of friends find themselves in a deadly board game.
• Chronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu
• Greek mythology, but a heavier emphasis on fantasy than the mythic aspects.

Mythology

• Anubis Speaks; Hades Speaks; Thor Speaks by Vicky Alvear Schecter
• Funny and informative, told in first-person by the god and discussing culture, religion, and mythology
• Olympians by George O'Connor
• Series of graphic novels; each features a different Greek god. O'Connor does an excellent job of retaining the sense of the myth while giving readers points to think about and not emphasizing the more inappropriate aspects.

More Fantasy Adventure Titles (featuring contemporary protagonists)

• Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz
• Grey Griffins trilogy. Monster-fighting.
• Lightning Catcher by Anne Cameron
• More a Harry Potter read-alike; a group of children discover the ability to control the weather. First in a series.
• Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
• Yes, the author of Hunger Games. This is her series for younger readers. Gregory travels underground to save his sister and encounters a strange and sometimes frightening world.
• Ingo by Helen Dunmore
• Harry Potter with Mermaids. First in a series.
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• This is a longer, more dense series. It features book characters and worlds come to life.
• Secret of the sirens by Julia Golding

• The Companions' Quartet is a gentler read, featuring protectors of magical/mythical creatures.
• Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis
• The Seven Wonders series. A bit like a cross between 39 Clues and Percy Jackson.
• Keeper of the lost cities by Shannon Messenger
• This massive series is a bit of a hard sell, but my high-level readers are crazy about it. The protagonists find themselves in an adventure that involves protecting lost cities (Atlantis, Shangri-La, etc.)
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
• This series is of a fairly hefty size, but is a quick read. It features a reservation for magical creatures and keepers protecting them.
• Spellbinder by Helen Stringer (out of print)
• There is some Celtic mythology and a lot of humor in this duo of books about a girl whose parents are ghosts and who goes on a quest.
• City of Fire by Laurence Yep
• This trilogy features various aspects of Asian and Hawai'ian mythology.

This week at the library; or, Back to work

I helped her do her first sewing! I did point out to her mom
that she's a nurse, and it's no different than stitching up skin,
but she did not believe me lol. She got the hang of it
quickly and sewed most of the outside edges and stuffed it!

Happening at the library this week

• Monday
• Paws to Read
• Managers Meeting
• Tuesday
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions)
• Library on the Go: OPtions
• Library on the Go: After school
• Wednesday
• Programs cancelled
• Thursday
• Programs cancelled
• Bookaneers
• Friday
• Owl Diaries: Warm Hearts Day
• Anime Club
• Saturday
• A Valentine For You
• Worked 37.5 hours (plus approx. 4 hours at home);  16 hours on desk; 3 programs

Projects and misc.

• After all the Weather Drama and time off last week.... we had more weather drama. Ice and more ice and then melting snow that froze into yet MORE ice! School was cancelled, programs and outreach were cancelled, but I finally managed to clean off my desk and mostly catch up, although I still have a lot of bills and other stuff to do. And I just feel really... off. I need to set aside some time when I'm not interrupted with questions, running a program, answering questions, supervising volunteers (or doing all four simultaneously) and get things planned and organized.

Little Red Rodent Hood by Ursula Vernon

I would just like to pause here to address something I've noticed over the past few years. Kids have shorter attention spans, struggle to read, and fewer kids read for pleasure. This has been shown in various studies. More and more young adult books, massive fantasy tomes, and lengthy books are being published. This is just my observation. When you try to offer a shorter book to a middle grade student (remember middle grade is ages 9-12 or 3rd to 6th grade) the response I almost always get is "that's a baby book" or "that's too easy for her" or "he needs to read something challenging". Even if the kid hates to read, struggles to read, or would rather do pretty much anything else. Basically, why does it have to be 400 pages long to be a "real" middle grade book? Where are the short books? Where?

Well, here's one of them! In Princess Harriet Hamsterbone's latest adventure, she meets a sweet, helpless little hamster in a red cloak who is being menaced by horrible weasel-wolves! Naturally, Harriet is ready to help, even though she finds the little girl (Red is her name? Really?) to be rather annoying. But there's something funny going on with the weasel-wolves, the "helpless" little girl, and her mysterious grandmother. Harriet is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery - after all, she only attacks bad people (except for that one time with the really realistic dragon costume and everyone apologized so it was ok). But just who is the bad person?

With a blend of art, comics, and wit, Vernon presents a story that, on the surface, is about a princess who does her duty (especially when it involves sword-work), and enjoys a good fraction or three-fifths. Underneath, there's a repetition of the themes in the previous books; not judging by appearances, realizing that people all have different strengths and interests, and taking time to understand different people. However, this book adds some interesting notes about acknowledging and accepting your own identity. This has never been a problem for Harriet (naturally, she's awesome and she knows it!) but there's a whole thing about if you've been turned into a were-wolf-weasel, you have to accept it and move on, or at least get some tactful therapy from Prince Wilbur, who is good at that kind of thing.

Verdict: I think Whiskerella might still be my favorite, but this is a strong addition to an excellent series. Buy them!

ISBN: 9780399186585; Published September by Dial; Review copy provided by the publisher and donated to the library (I also bought a library copy and another copy for myself!)

Wild Fairies: Daisy's Decorating Dilemma by Brandi Dougherty, illustrated by Renee Kurilla

Incidentally, this is actually a cheery, bright
orange-red and the title text is glittery
yellow. This isn't the best picture.

Finally! I was so excited about Rodale's new imprint for children's books but I've been disappointed by every book I've read so far. They look so cute, but the writing quality is just not very good. However, this beginning chapter book was delightful!

Daisy and the other wild fairies are going to host the Blossom Bash this year! Daisy is very excited to be in charge of the decorations, but she's also worried - how will she come up with a theme to make everyone happy? What if it rains? As she checks in with all the other fairies, she gets more and more worried - they are all ready with entertainment, food, and more but she's not ready at all. Fortunately, in the end she realizes it's not about being perfect, it's about friends being together and celebrating nature. They all work together to make the decorations and have a wonderful festival, even if it's not exactly as they envisioned.

Kurilla's colorful art is plentiful throughout the book. All the fairies are female, except Thistle. They are mostly flowers (Poppy, Daisy, Dahlia) but some are more general (Lily is a mermaid, Indigo has blue hair). Daisy has light-brown skin to go with her curly yellow hair, Indigo is all shades of blue and purple and likes to build and tinker with things, Thistle has spiky pink hair and light pink skin. There are cute birds, bugs, and flowers throughout the book.

There is also a lot of back matter included; There's a section on honey (which builds on the storyline in the book where Daisy suggests Thistle eat honey to cure his allergies. Spoiler: I've tried this and it didn't work. But honey is still tasty!) and a recipe for honey cakes. Another section describes each wild fairy and their critter companion, and there are drawing guides and games included as well. There is more text in the book than, say, a beginning Branches chapter book, but it's broken up with frequent illustrations and the text itself is fairly simple, perfect for a beginning chapter book. It's also under 100 pages, including the back matter.

Verdict: Not a necessary purchase, but sure to be a popular addition. Hand to your fairy and graphic novel fans, since they will enjoy the illustrations.

ISBN: 9781635651324; Published 2018 by Rodale Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Animal Opposites by Jane Cabrera

Cabrera has created many excellent books for toddlers and this board book fits nicely into that oevre. The book cover has a square window; turn the page and you will see a swashy blue background with a cat and a bird in a cage. The window is labeled "out" and the cat is labeled "in". Other spreads show a curly grey dog and, behind a lift-the-flap bone, a small dog for "tall" and "short," a tortoise and hare in the desert, red fox in the night and hedgehog in a tent for "dark" and "light," and so on. The final spread shows a black cat against a green background labeled "in front." On the opposite page, a yellow bush lifts to reveal the word "behind" and an orange bush, which lifts to reveal a blue bush, and finally a small black cat who says "boo!"

The flaps are not ideal - they are thin cardboard and you have to hook a finger into a little half-moon cut-out to get them open. However, the rest of the book is very sturdy and with some additional reinforcement (and a fair amount of luck) it should be ok. The night-time picture, showing the hedgehog in a tent, might actually be a tipi, but the dark picture makes it possible to assume tent which is what I'm going with. It's not uncommon to see things like that in books originally created in Britain. I'm trying to be more relaxed about buying more board books with moving parts and I think this is a good choice.

Verdict: If you are expanding your lift-the-flap and concept collections, this is a fun addition that toddlers are sure to enjoy.

ISBN: 9781499806304; This edition published August 2017 by little bee; Purchased for the library

If Wendell had a walrus by Lori Mortensen, illustrated by Matt Phelan

This imaginative picture book morphs from daydreaming into a solid friendship story.

Wendell, a white boy with a bright orange cowlick, happens upon a cloud one day that looks like a walrus and he starts thinking... what if he had a walrus? He's soon deep in his fantasy, asking his pet-store owning uncle to sell him a walrus and imagining all the things the two could do together. But he doesn't notice another boy in the background who seems to be having a similarly disappointing time. When the two inadvertently connect, throwing invites into the ocean, they decide to wait together. Curly-haired Morrell is waiting for a whale, but in the meantime... they become best friends, doing all the things they had imagined. A final picture shows gives readers a last giggle - maybe that whale and walrus aren't imaginary after all?

Phelan's watercolors show a lonely beachfront town with two boys gradually connecting and exploring their small town together. Expanses of blue sea and green turf are interspersed with pictures of small, cheery houses and a vaguely nineteenth century vibe - Wendell's uncle has a handlebar mustache and vest, and their neighbor Mrs. Quimby is wearing a hat, apron, and full-skirted dress.

Verdict: This attractive book is both a fun look at imagination and also a gentle exploration of how friendships can form and grow. A nice addition to a picture book collection.

ISBN: 9781627796026; Published April 2018 by Henry Holt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Prickly Hedgehogs by Jane McGuinness

Hedgehogs are not native to the United States, but they are an increasingly popular pet and are undoubtedly adorable, so this nonfiction picture book is very timely.

A long-nosed hedgehog with bristly yellow-brown spines and shy black eyes trundles through pages of this informative story. Readers will learn about hedgehog's spines and what they're made of, what they eat, their habitat, baby hoglets, and more. Additional information is included in smaller type throughout the pages. There are cute pictures of gardens at night, snails and slugs, and hedgehogs, hedgehogs, everywhere!

I was pleased to find that this story focused on the life of the female and her young, transitioning to a male hoglet growing up and going out on his own, so readers get a full picture of the different lives of the male and female hedgehog. Throughout the story a dark-haired girl in a pink dress or coat appears, watching the hedgehogs from a distance.

Back matter includes a few additional facts about hedgehogs, including a warning about keeping them as pets - they require careful care and are wild animals. There is also a brief index, two (British) websites, and a recommended book (not available in the US).

Verdict: If you have hedgehog aficionados, this is sure to charm and inform them.

ISBN: 9780763698805; This edition published 2018 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

ALA Award Winners

I think we will have an Award Amaryllis

I'm not an "every library must have every award" kind of person. I just think it's fun to look at them and see which might good for your community. Note that I skip most of the young adult stuff and if it won multiple things I only listed it the first time it came up on my list.

Newbery

• Medal: Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
• Owned by 8 libraries; 6 on hold or checked out
• In February order cart for purchase
• Honor: Night diary by Veera Hiranandani
• Owned by 11 libraries; 4 on hold or checked out
• Honor: The book of boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
• Owned by 9 libraries; 6 on hold or checked out

Caldecott

• Medal: Hello, lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
• Owned by 14 libraries; 6 on hold or checked out
• In February order cart for purchase
• Honor: Alma and how she got her name by Juana Medina
• Owned by 13 libraries; 7 on hold or checked out
• Currently on my to read shelf
• Honor: A big mooncake for little star by Grace Lin
• Owned by 18 libraries; 10 on hold or checked out
• In my picture book backlist for possible purchase
• Honor: The rough patch by Brian Lies
• Owned by 14 libraries; 9 copies on hold or checked out
• Donated to the library (in parenting collection under dealing with death)
• Honor: Thank you, Omu by Oge Mora
• Owned by 13 libraries; 7 copies on hold or checked out
• Currently on my to read list

Coretta Scott King

• Winner (author): A few red drops by Claire Hartfield
• Owned by 8 libraries; 3 on hold or checked out
• Purchased for the library
• Honor (author): Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Owned by 8 libraries; 1 on hold
• Honor (author): The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
• Owned by 12 libraries; 3 checked out
• Honor (author): The season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
• Owned by 12 libraries; 3 checked out
• Winner (illustrator): The stuff of stars by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
• Owned by 10 libraries; 7 on hold or checked out
• In February order cart for purchase
• Honor (illustrator): Hidden figures by Margot Shetterly, illustrated by Laura Freeman
• Owned by 8 libraries (one has multiple copies); 5 copies on hold or checked out
• Honor (illustrator): Let the children march by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison
• Owned by 6 libraries; 3 copies on hold or checked out
• Honor (illustrator): Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
• Owned by 6 libraries; 4 copies on hold or checked out

Schneider Family Book Award

• Winner (young children): Rescue and Jessica by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
• Owned by 14 libraries; 4 copies checked out or on hold
• Purchased for the library per patron request
• Honor (young children): Remember balloons by Jessie Oliveras
• Owned by 4 libraries; 4 copies checked out or on hold
• Added to my to read list
• Winner (middle grade): Truth as told by Mason Butte by Leslie Connor
• Owned by 10 libraries
• Honor (middle grade): Collectors by Jacqueline West
• Owned by 4 libraries
• Added to my to read list
• Winner (teen): Anger is a gift by Mark Oshiro
• Owned by 3 libraries; 1 copy on hold
• Honor (teen): (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen
• Owned by 8 libraries
• Added to February order cart for purchase

Pura Belpre Awards

• Winner (illustrator): Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
• Owned by 15 libraries; 6 copies checked out
• In picture book backlist for possible purchase
• Honor (illustrator): Islandborn by Junot Diaz, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
• Owned by 16 libraries; 4 copies on hold or checked out
• Review copy donated to the library
• Honor (illustrator): When angels sing by Michael Mahin, illustrated by Jose Ramirez
• Owned by 2 libraries; 2 copies on hold (in use by staff)
• Winner (author): The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Owned by 10 libraries; 6 copies on hold or checked out
• Honor (author): They call me Guerro by David Bowles
• Owned by 8 libraries; 3 checked out (2 in cataloging)

Robert F. Sibert Awards

• Winner: The girl who drew butterflies by Joyce Sidman
• Owned by 6 libraries; 2 copies being transferred between libraries
• Added to February order cart for purchase
• Honor: Camp Panda by Catherine Thimmesh
• Owned by 11 libraries; 7 copies on hold or checked out
• Purchased for the library
• Honor: Spooked by Gail Jarrow
• Owned by 9 libraries; 1 checked out, 3 being transferred within libraries
• On my to read list
• Honor: Unwanted by Don Brown
• Owned by 7 libraries; 1 checked out
• Honor: We are grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorrell, illustrated by Frane Lessac
• Owned by 10 libraries; 2 copies checked out
• Added to February order cart for purchase

Stonewall Book Award

• Winner: Julian is a mermaid by Jessica Love
• Owned by 10 libraries; 3 on hold or checked out
• Added to February order cart for purchase
• Honor: Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world by Ashley Herring Blake
• Owned by 11 libraries; 2 copies checked out

Geisel Award

• Winner: Fox the tiger by Corey Tabor
• Owned by 14 libraries; 6 copies checked out
• Purchased for the library
• Honor: See pip flap by David Milgrim
• Owned by 7 libraries; 3 checked out
• Purchased for the library
• Honor: Fox + Chick by Sergio Ruzzier
• Owned by 8 libraries; 2 checked out
• Added to February order cart for purchase
• Honor: King and Kayla and the case of the lost tooth by Dori Butler
• Owned by 9 libraries; 5 copies checked out
• Purchased 2 copies for the library
• Honor: Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri
• Owned by 6 libraries; 3 copies checked out
• Added to February order cart for purchase

YALSA award for excellence in nonfiction for young adults

• Winner: Unwanted by Don Brown (see above)
• Honor: Beloved world of Sonia Sotomayor
• Owned by 5 libraries
• Added to February order cart for purchase
• Honor: Boots on the ground by Elisabeth Partridge
• Owned by 4 libraries; 2 checked out (1 being cataloged)
• Purchased for the library
• Honor: Faithful spy by John Hendrix
• Owned by 10 libraries; 4 checked out, 2 being transferred
• Added to February order cart for purchase
• Hey Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka
• Owned by 15 libraries; 7 copies on hold or checked out
• Added to February order cart for purchase

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

• Picture book winner: Drawn together by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat
• Owned by 13 libraries; 10 copies on hold or checked out
• On my to read list
• Children's literature winner: Front Desk by Kelly Yang
• Owned by 14 libraries; All copies checked out or being transferred (that's me - I picked it for one of our schools' social issues unit)
• Added to February order cart for purchase

This week at the library; or, It never snows but it snows

This might be the new award flower...

Happening this week

• Monday
• Paws to Read
• Tuesday
• Snow Fun
• Wednesday
• Winter Wigglers: Yoga
• Thursday
• Books 'n' Babies
• Friday
• Free Lego Build
• Worked 15 hours; 24 hours PTO; 3 hours on desk; 1 program

Notes

• Polar vortex! We opened late on Monday, I canceled the afternoon session of Snow Fun on Tuesday (we closed early at 6:30 and it wasn't enough time to clean up, although there were about 10? people in the library who might have come) and we closed early Wednesday-Thursday. No school Monday and Wednesday - I don't know if they ended up calling school for Thursday or not, but as I told my colleague, it's too cold for babies, we are not Finland!
• I resumed weeding in the picture books and did a lot of random stuff. I still have a sinus infection.
• Vacation! I was expecting a massive program on Tuesday (I had over 100 people last year) so I scheduled some time off. It didn't turn out to be that crazy, but I'm still sick so it's just as well. Three whole days! To catch up on my reading and reviewing, clean the kitchen, do my taxes...

Envenomators: Deadly Snake Bite by Kevin Blake

Is envenomaters a word? I suspect it is not. However, it's certainly the title of another hi-lo nonfiction series from Bearport that's sure to get plenty of use. This title focuses on snake bites and, appropriately, pictures a king cobra on the cover (I happen to be very fond of king cobras and always visit the one at the zoo - I love the way they look at you as if they are thinking about you and how smoothly they coil and the way they stand up...)

The book begins with the dramatic story of Karl Schmidt, a herpetologist at the Chicago Field Museum in the 1950s who was bitten by a boomslang and died. After describing his death, the book explains the different types of venom, how snakes use it, a few more gruesome snake bite stories, and how antivenom is made. Three of the deadly snakes in the book are profiled at the end - boomslangs, king cobras, and western diamondback rattlesnakes. There is a glossary, index, brief bibliography (two titles), two more titles about snakes to read, and a sentence about the author.

There were a couple things that disappointed me about this book - I would have liked more emphasis on how snakes generally only bite people who bother them - everyone in the book who was bitten was playing with, teasing, or otherwise carelessly handling snakes. I was also disappointed that not all the snakes pictured were identified. The background of the cover is fuschia scales, which I think are just for show, but there's a picture of sort of purple/indigo snake with black and white markings eating some kind of lizard and I want to know what it is! I've never seen anything like that before! From some searching I think it might be a species of cobra? Anyways, I need more information!

Other titles in the series include frogs, lizards, scorpions, spiders, and mammals (all venomous in some way).

Verdict: While I wouldn't make this your only or primary resource on snakes and other venomous creatures, it's a fun supplemental resource and the gruesome stories will get kids interested in reading more about these cool reptiles.

ISBN: 9781684026555; Published 2018 by Bearport; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library