The rescuer of tiny creatures by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

 Curtis Manley has written several awesome books, including The summer Nick Taught his cats to read and Just right: The search for the Goldilocks planet so I was thrilled to see him team up with Lucy Ruth Cummins, creator of one of my favorite books, A hungry lion. Together, they have created a sweet, funny, and just-right book for storytime, classroom read-alouds, and one-on-one browsing.

Roberta, a white girl with an explosion of curly orange hair, is the narrator of this story. We first meet her on the playground, crouching down to rescue a "tiny creature" while her racially diverse classmates explore and play around her. Against white and bold green backgrounds, Roberta helps beetles, caterpillars, and worms, despite the ridicule of her classmates and thinly-disguised disgust of her teacher. Despite setbacks, Roberta continues her mission, and when a cloud of baby spiders invade her classroom, she reaches out to her classmates with some surprising results.

It takes all of Roberta's courage to speak up when her classmates and teacher think spiders are scary, yucky, and gross, but in doing so she not only saves the spiders, she inspires respect and curiosity in her classmates and makes a new friend, Maria. Together, the two are prepared to not only rescue even bigger creatures, but to find new friends who are interested in the wonderful small creatures all around them.

There is a page of Roberta's rescued creatures, with adorable illustrations and interesting facts, and instructions to make Maria's origami box for rescuing tiny creatures.

Verdict: While a little wordy for the average storytime, this sweet and humorous story is just perfect for reading to kids before they absorb the phobias and prejudice of many adults about the tiny creatures that surround us. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781250246714; Published June 2021 by Roaring Brook; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

All the water in the world by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson

 [Originally published in 2011]

Like Swirl by Swirl, This is another beautifully illustrated, lyrically written title about an aspect of nature. This time, it’s the water cycle. George Ella Lyon’s beautiful poem about the amazing beauty of water and the water cycle is perfectly spread out over Katherine Tillotson’s digital illustrations on handmade paper. The poem has a warm, friendly feel, “Everything waits/for an open gate/in a wall of clouds/for rain sweet and loud/to fill the well/and start the stream/Honey/living things dream/of water/for all to drink/use in tub or sink/wash in, splash in.” 

Tillotson’s illustrations show the progression of water through the water cycle as well as droughts, but her illustrations also explode with the life that comes from water, with a spray of droplets and waves hiding animals and people in its splashes. The book ends with an exhortation to conserve water and keep earth green for everyone.

Verdict: This is a great way to introduce very young children to the water cycle as well as being a fun and lovely read-aloud. I successfully used it with my pre-kindergarten classes last summer and they loved the exuberant language and details in the pictures. The text is integrated into the illustrations, so you’ll need to practice reading this aloud as it’s not always easy to follow the words. Highly recommended.

Revisited: Still in print and still an excellent choice.

ISBN: 978-1416971306; Published March 2011 by Atheneum; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library

This week at the library

A short week and yet so long... we lost all internet all day Monday, closed early on Wednesday for the holiday, and then were closed Thursday - Friday. No programs, other than opening the Storyroom and giving away gingerbread house kits provided by my school colleague. I did get another chunk of weeding done and a whole series of recordings, all the hard work of which was done by my associate in the editing. An anonymous donor gave us SIX brand-new sewing machines! Time to start planning sewing programs!

Another Kind by Cait May and Trevor Bream

Bream’s comic art looked really familiar to me, but I must have seen it in a webcomic somewhere since it looks like this is her first book.

The story opens with a frightening villain, hidden behind a chair, threatening an ordinary man to get a group of children called “irregularities.” Cut to the kids, who are just your ordinary group of friends - but with a few little differences. They live in a government facility, their lives heavily monitored and controlled, and they’re all just a little different. A yeti, will-o-the-wisp, selkie, nandi bear, lizard boy, and whatever Maggie is. They all have stories, which will be hinted at or told throughout the book, and most are sad and dark. But here and now they have each other and a safe place.

Or do they? When they are betrayed and stranded, they set off an a desperate adventure, first to find safety and discover who is hunting them, and then to rescue their friends, old and new. Along the way they will meet cruelty and prejudice, but also kindness and love, and they will realize that the most powerful thing they have is their family.

This is blurbed by Ethan Aldridge, Kat Leyh, and Carey Pietsch. It’s full of fantastic characters but also real feelings and self-discovery. The kids make discoveries about themselves as they travel, both about their powers, their old and new families, and several take a step towards figuring out who they are inside, regardless of the labels, either of gender or of monster, that society puts on them. Comic relief shows up in the form of a Scooby-Doo type band of cryptid hunters and although the story can be intense, there’s always a feeling that all will end well - as it does.

Verdict: This is absolutely a feel-good graphic novel for kids who love fantasy adventures and want something exciting but not too dark. Personally, I read it twice and then ordered a copy for myself, I loved it that much.

ISBN: 9780063043541; Published October 2021 by Harper Alley; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for my personal collection

Frankie Sparks and the class pet by Megan Frazer Blakemore, illustrated by Nadja Sarell

[Originally published June 2019]

Frankie loves science and research and she's always got lots of ideas! So why won't her teacher and friends listen to her when she decides the best pet for their classroom is a rat?

The story begins with Frankie barely able to contain her excitement to share what she did over the weekend - visit her aunt, a rodentologist at a nearby university. She learned so many exciting and interesting things about rodents and especially about rats, that she just can't wait to tell everyone!

When their teacher, Ms. Cupid, tells them her exciting news - they are getting a class pet - Frankie knows the perfect pet would be a rat! She hardly listens to their teacher tell them the rules and limitations and the next day she's ready to get that rat, but Ms. Cupid just won't let her go ahead.

With the gentle guidance of adults, from her teacher to her parents to her aunt, Frankie slows down, does her research correctly, and even figures out a clever way to feed the rat over the weekend. But can Frankie figure out a way to convince her best friend, Maya, that a rat makes a good pet? And can Frankie get her rat and be a good friend too?

It's easy to see that Blakemore has actual school experience; one of my perennial complaints is books that show unrealistically small class sizes and this once clearly states there are 20+ kids in Frankie's class. I also appreciated that Frankie is good at making things and doing research, but struggles with actual reading and writing and readers can see how her teacher and parents help her work on those skills. Frankie's enthusiasm, which leads her to hurt her friends' feelings and sometimes overpower her, and other students, is dealt with kindly but firmly by adults and on top of this being a funny, interesting story it would make a great classroom read to talk about empathy and listening to other people.

Verdict: At just over 120 pages, this is perfect for chapter readers who can't yet handle the heftier books but still want something that doesn't talk down to them. Teachers and parents will appreciate the problem-solving suggestions included in the book and the back matter, and kids will see themselves and their friends in the light-hearted story of scientific - and personal - problems. With a diverse, realistic classroom and a main character of color, this book hits all the high points and is sure to be a popular acquisition for your library.

Revisited: The fourth book in this series was published in 2020; I hope that it will continue, as it definitely fills a niche and is still popular at my library.

ISBN: 9781534430433; Published June 2019 by Aladdin; ARC provided by publisher; Purchased for the library

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Nom Nom Nom by Jeffrey Burton, illustrated by Sarah Hwang

This novelty book probably won’t last long, but it’s worth it for the fun little ones will have with it while it does last!

On the left side of the spread is a list of foods and pictures, starting with “human” foods and getting progressively more “animal”. On the right side is an animal whose head lifts up to reveal a gaping mouth and the titular words.

So one spread says “Little Crocodile has a hungry smile. What does she want to eat? Chocolate-dipped donuts, an ice cream float, a bucket of worms that fell of a boat? Then below the pictured delicacies it says “Which would you choose?” and then readers can imagine Little Crocodile nom-nom-noming her treats. It gets progressively sillier until it ends with a purple alien.

The pages are thick cardstock, with the flaps being the same thickness, and the cover is just lightly glued on, another sheet of the same thin cardstock. If it had been made as a board book, with the flaps made from cardstock, you could have reinforced the flaps for a longer-lasting book.

Verdict: The colorful pictures and silly text will make this popular, but the flimsy construction puts it solidly in the “gift” category. I am starting to add more novelty books to my board book collection and will probably add this, but I don’t expect it to last more than a handful of circulations.

ISBN: 9781665900102; Published October 2021 by Little Simon; Review copy provided by publisher

The Walloos' Big Adventure by Anuska Allepuz

  Allepuz' picture book Little Green Donkey was a huge hit with storytimes last year, with my colleague using it with multiple preschool classes as well. So I was quite excited to see another book with her colorful style.

The Walloos are small creatures in shades of pink and orange. Their family consists of Big Walloo, Spotty Walloo, Old Walloo, and Little Walloo. They live an idyllic life, eating plants, building things, and telling stories. Inspired by Old Walloo's stories of tropical islands, they set out on an adventure.

When they land on a beautiful tropical island, Big Walloo is immediately absorbed in building multiple boats while Spotty Walloo starts creating an endless stream of cakes. Old Walloo and Little Walloo think there might be something funny about the island, but nobody is listening to them so they wander and collect seeds.

Then one day the island moves and they make a startling discovery about "their" tropical island and what it truly means to share and protect the bounty they use all around them.

Allepuz' art in this book reminds me of Roger Duvoisin at his most colorful; lush greens, textured blues, and bright spots of pink, orange, yellow, and purple fill the pages as the Walloos explore and travel. Although there's a strong lesson about sharing, conservation, and being mindful of others' needs woven throughout the story, it's also just a fun story with a repetitive rhythm that will hold children's attention and delightful artwork. My only quibble is that some of the text is difficult to read, being placed against textured or dark backgrounds.

Verdict: Another excellent storytime choice from Allepuz, this would make a nice addition to a storytime on sharing or caring for our communities.

ISBN: 9781536215311; Published July 2021 by Candlewick; Review copy provided by publisher

It's Milking Time by Phyllis Alsdurf, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

[Originally published July 2012]

"Every morning, every night, it's milking time."

Alsdurf draws on her own childhood experiences to take readers and listeners on a gentle stroll through her memories of helping to milk the cows. Readers see the cows coming to the barns, being fed, milking machines, and what happens to the milk afterwards.

This is a very simple picture book, with sweet, peaceful language. Most of the facts are woven into the story - there's not description of how a milking machine works, for example, but we see how it's cleaned and attached to the cows.

Johnson and Fancher's illustrations are, as always, warm and glowing. You can see the warmth and love between father and daughter, the peaceful cows, and the beauty of the farm in these paintings.

This is a perfect read-aloud for storytime. It includes a few new vocabulary words (stanchion, suction, trudge) and enough information about the milking process for kids to get interested and for parents to seek out longer nonfiction books on milking and other farm processes. I'm assuming from the author's note that the story is set in her childhood, so some of the processes may have changed a little.

Verdict: This is the kind of easy nonfiction I look for to read aloud in storytime. Beautifully written, with facts woven into the story and a few vocabulary words to practice saying aloud. I also look for farming books and frequently have trouble finding anything for our quasi-rural community, but this is perfect. Highly recommended.

Revisited: This was republished in 2019 by the Minnesota Historical Press and it's a must-have for my library in WI.

ISBN: 9780375869112; Published 2012 by Random House; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library

This week at the library

 Programs

• Paws to Read
• Dungeons & Dragons
• After school outreach visit
• Winter Wigglers
• Outreach visits to 1st and kindergarten at Tibbets (7 sessions)
• Lapsit

I'm still working on finishing updating collections as well as getting started on next year's program planning. I always think the NEXT week is going to be calmer and it never is... several staff were at a conference this week and I took Friday off for some errands and appointments.

Tales of the talented tenth: Robert Smalls by Joel Christian Gill

This is part of an exciting series about Black heroes, based on W.E.B. Dubois’ quote about the “talented tenth” who he predicted would emerge as leaders. This third volume focuses on the story of Robert Smalls.

Born into slavery, he displayed an early determination to be free but it was not until the early days of the Civil War, after he had worked long hours to try and purchase freedom for his wife and children, that he hatched a daring plan of escape. Ignored and trusted by the lazy Confederate soldiers on the boat he worked on, he managed to fool the soldiers, trick a former friend turned enemy, and sail to freedom with his family and the families of his friends.

Back matter explains more of the context of the time period, the story of Robert Smalls, who was briefly successful in not only gaining freedom and a career but being elected to office during the period of Reconstruction when formerly enslaved people were truly free and had opportunities to pursue education and careers. Gill includes references and some thoughtful discussion, shown as the bracketing narrative of two Black men discussing famous Black people in history.

Gill’s art is clear and simple, making it easy for readers to follow the absorbing story. Instead of the N word, he uses a small icon of a stereotyped African man, and the story is not overly graphic, even for the serious subject matter. The publisher’s information and review put this at teen, ages 10+, or middle school, but I would add it to my juvenile, middle grade nonfiction for kids ages 9-13.

Verdict: This would be a wonderful addition to my library’s collection of nonfiction and history graphic novels, but sourcing it is a little tricky. Baker & Taylor has the first and third volumes (Bessie Stringfield and Robert Smalls) available, but purchasing them directly from Chicago Review Press might be the easiest solution. They are more expensive than the average graphic novel, but their unique subject matter and brisk narratives are definitely worth the additional cost.

ISBN: 9781682750667; Published May 2021 by Fulcrum/Chicago Review Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium.

Animal Rescue Friends by Meika Hashimoto and Gina Loveless; illustrated by Genevieve Kote

  Maddie is having trouble making friends; despite her best efforts, the other kids either ignore her or are outright rude. So she's thrilled when she discovers a friendly - and lost - pit bull mix in the park. Through "Boyd" she is introduced to Animal Rescue Friends where, after a rocky start, she begins to make friends with the other volunteers and even, eventually, some of the boys who have been harassing her. Eventually Maddie has to let "Boyd" go back to his real family, but she's made lots of friends along the way and there's a happy ending for all.

A lengthy follow-up explains in detail the process of making a comic and the work of each creator, from author to inker and colorist, with activities for kids to follow along and try themselves. The art of the book is bright and cheerful, fitting into the Telgemeier style that is so popular for realistic comics right now.

The five chapters of the book are loosely connected stories, featuring different kids that Maddie meets. Along the way readers get a glimpse of the financial challenges of Maddie's single parent family, kids struggling against peer pressure, and other kids dealing with various challenges in their life. The episodes are tied up neatly with somewhat simplistic solutions.

Epic! provides ebooks and audiobooks for many schools and has started creating its own content in the past year. While it's not necessarily award-winning literature, it's a pleasant story with a diverse cast and an attractive plot for young readers. There are many more options for beginning chapter readers now, and Epic!'s transitional graphic novels are a great choice, especially for readers who are struggling to move up into more challenging chapter books.

Verdict: Affordable, attractive, and relatable, this will fly off your shelves and kids will clamor for more stories in the series. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781524868062; Published June 2021 by Andrews McMeel; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Mike Delivers: The Big Mix-Up by Dana Regan, illustrated by Berta Maluenda

 This cheerful early reader features a town of anthropomorphic animals and a friendly delivery driver. Mike, the delivery porcupine, is a beloved local figure until he starts showing up with the wrong items. He brings cats instead of hats, pigs instead of wigs, etc. Finally, someone realizes that what he needs are glasses and things go back to normal.

As an adult, one is rather amused by the simplistic view of online shopping - that the delivery person is responsible for choosing and sourcing all the things delivered - but plenty of people do develop a relationship with delivery drivers and it's a nice way to give a call-out to workers who are often in the background. With a Richard Scarry-esque cast of characters and jobs, this is a nice filler early reader that will appeal to fans of Pete the Cat and other simple, rhyming texts.

Verdict: There are two books in this series, and they're a good choice if you're looking for backlist titles to fill in your early reader collection.

ISBN: 9781534489073; Published August 2021 by Simon Spotlight; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Ergo by Alexis Deacon, illustrated by Viviane Schwarz

  Deacon and Schwarz are two of my favorite "quirky" book creators and I was eager to see what they came up with, especially as this title was also promoted by Elizabeth Bird.

The deceptively simple illustrations show a sea of yellow and in the midst of them, two eyes open and a beak twitches. Ergo is awake. Ergo discovers herself, wings, beak, legs. And that is all. "Am I the world? Thought Ergo." The picture zooms out to show the yellow blur of Ergo in a white-rimmed oval and Ergo continues exploring...

Ergo thinks, experiments, explores, and finally determines to break free "The truth is on the other side." Having freed herself from her shell, she can truly discover and explore the world. And what does she find? Well, you'll just have to read the book!

This is a a quirky, thoughtful, intriguing book that will work with a wide variety of audiences. Read it to toddlers and encourage them to explore themselves, stretching their legs, flapping their "wings" and then to look around them at what they can see. Read it to preschoolers who will get the joke of Ergo thinking all that's there is all she can see inside her shell and learn with them about how birds hatch from eggs. Read it with elementary school students and encourage them to imagine the world outside the "shell" of their homes, classrooms, and towns.

Verdict: Funny and illustrated with a surface simplicity that is actually multilayered with meaning, Deacon and Schwarz have created another read-aloud classic that will resonate with children and adults alike as they learn to explore their worlds and see what's on the other side of the shell.

ISBN: 9781536217803; Published August 2021 by Candlewick; Review copy provided by publisher

Be a tree! by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Felicita Sala

 A poetic, exuberant celebration of trees, comparing them to human bonds and communities.

The endpages are decorated with delicate green tracings of a variety of leaves and the title page features the growth cycle of a deciduous tree, from the seed planted by a curly-haired, dark-skinned child to a young tree, its roots spreading throughout the ground.

The pages explore the similarities between trees and people, encouraging readers to "Be a tree" by stretching to the sky, spreading their roots deeply, and absorbing sun and rain. As well as these comparisons are more scientific comparisons of bodies, such as a spread showing the tracery of nerves and veins in a body compared to the cells and structure inside a tree and the accompanying text reads "In your heart's center/is your pith, keeper of nutrients/when you were a sapling."

The book continues the analogy until it compares "immigrant trees" to a lonely man with a bag, hunched on a bench in a park with illustrations in dull greens and browns.. Open out the pages to a joyous spread of springtime and the man is joined by a woman with a headscarf and two curly-haired children while the park fills with a diverse array of people, many of them previously pictured in the book, and the trees and flowers burst into bloom. The book goes on to compare the interconnected community of trees with a diverse array of a community of people, "So, be a tree./For together,/we are a forest."

An author's note talks about the science behind the book and the many benefits of trees. There are suggestions for supporting the forest, including recycling paper products, planting native trees, and fundraising for organizations. There are also suggestions for building the forest of human community, a detailed diagram of a tree, further reading, and a list of websites. The community building suggestions are where I have a real problem; or, rather, in my opinion publishing has a real problem. It shows most clearly in books that support environmentalism, conservation efforts, and community building. I've talked elsewhere about the problems with reducing complex and widespread environmental damage to a few simple (and not always scientifically-backed) things for people to do, but this I see as a serious privilege issue in publishing.

The suggestions for building community are to visit people at a nursing home, which is fine. Then it suggests "Set up a buddy system with the special needs program at your school." Then it suggests making care kits for homeless shelter residents, having a supply drive for a local animal shelter, sending cards to soldiers overseas, and planting native flowers in "your garden and neighborhood."

Stop and think about this. Approximately 13% of children in the United States have health-related special needs. Approximately 2.5 million children are homeless each year in the United States. 16% of children in the US live in poverty. These suggestions "other" those children and show just how much of an ivory tower publishing still remains. How would you feel if you were a child with special needs, a homeless child, a child living in poverty, and read these suggestions which essentially place you, the reader, as an "other" and a project to be helping in the community?

I'd like to see more acknowledgement that not all children are privileged, that children with special needs are not a separate species to be kind to, that environmental issues are complex and can't be resolved by a few simple tips. I would rather see open-ended suggestions or ideas for brainstorming than these specific suggestions that other large groups of the population. My only consolation is that most kids are unlikely to get to the back of the book and read the back matter.

Verdict: A beautiful exploration of trees and the building and growth of community. Although I am frustrated and disappointed by the back matter, I don't particularly blame the author, I think it's an endemic issue to the publishing industry as a whole and something that it may take generations to change and resolve. I would like to see book creators thinking more about their own privilege and whether these kinds of suggestions "other" people in their communities though.

ISBN: 9781419744228; Published March by Harry N. Abrams; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

This week at the library

Someone gave us a paper wasp nest. I felt it was
appropriate to display it this week.

Programs

• Paws to Read
• An evening with GLAS
• Pokemon Club
• Outreach storytimes (4 sessions)
• Family storytime
• After school STEM program
• Lapsit
• Outreach storytimes (4 sessions)
• Double Digit Gamers
• Kohls Wild Theater (2 sessions)

Projects and meetings

• Recataloging Spanish and separating out Bilingual titles
• Meeting with retired director and volunteer re. the landscaping and gardens
• Circulation meeting to discuss institutional/teacher cards
• Programming meetings with staff and collaborators

Monday was our rescheduled telescope program - the skies were finally clear. We decided after Pokemon Club that we should increase the sessions to twice monthly. There was a miscommunication about an event on Wednesday via the school, so I popped in and did storytime. The garden meeting ran over, and then I took Ozobots out for the kids, which also ran late. They love this, but it's exhausting. Most of them aren't capable of the fine motor skills to draw the lines and codes (I'm not sure I'M capable of this either) and none of them have the listening skills for me to explain it. They enjoyed themselves though. Also, I should probably apologize to their school librarians who are now going to get constant requests for Ozobots. I was also fortunate our new adult services librarian picked up one of the outreach storytimes for an associate when we had a scheduling conflict. Thursday there were no programs that I was responsible for. So I had several programming meetings, desk time, and tried to catch up on my cataloging projects. Friday I had to be at work at the ungodly hour of 8am to be prepared for Kohls Wild Theater. I arranged one session for a four year old kindergarten (they have enough kids to make it worth it and they are one of only two centers taking Covid precautions, so I wanted to accommodate that) and then a session for the public. Unfortunately, their bus died and they had to get a jumpstart and so the first session ran really late. However, the KWT folks were wonderful and we had a large (if wiggly) group for the second session. I did manage to go home a little early this day. And finish the rest of the work from home. Oh well.

American Horse Tales: The Dust Bowl by Michelle Jabes Corpora

This is the first in a series featuring, so far, white girls and horses. Ginny is a tomboy during the Dust Bowl with a beloved horse. When her father decides to sell Thimble, to keep their family farm running, she runs away with her horse, planning to go to California and send money back to help the family. She's also had her feelings hurt by some of her father's comments that make her feel like a problem or a burden. 

Soon after she leaves, she meets Silvio Hernandez, a Hispanic boy her own age who is heading to California to work and send money back to his family and a friendly man named Mr. Bennett. Both encourage her to return home; Silvio's own father is dead and Mr. Bennett treats her in a kindly and fatherly manner. The ending is very much along the lines of wish-fulfillment, rather than following the more realistic history of the time period; Ginny returns home, survives "dust pneumonia" and her father agrees to keep her horse, as well as his own dream of refusing to leave their family farm. However, all is well because Mr. Bennett appears and turns out to be from the government and there to help everyone. The story ends with a fireside chat from Franklin Roosevelt and much hope for the future.

There is a note of diversity in the inclusion of Silvio, and the prejudice he faces is mentioned briefly, but this is otherwise a very typical white-focused historical fiction title. For more inclusive and realistic perspectives, I would recommend the I am America series from Jolly Fish Press. However, there is definitely a market for beginning chapters focused on horse and a dearth of historical fiction for this age group, so this is sure to find an audience, despite its approach to the subject.

Verdict: Whether or not you purchase this will depend on your library audience; if you have a lot of patrons who like traditional, "easy" views of history and young readers looking for horse stories, have already purchased more inclusive and realistic titles to balance your collection, and are looking to make additional purchases, this might be a reasonable choice for your library.

ISBN: 9780593225257; Published June 2021 by Penguin Workshop; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Fridge and Oven’s Big Job by Steven Weinberg

I was interested enough in checking out this little series of board books to purchase one myself. The book is shaped like a chunky L, with the fridge standing tall on the spine and the oven next to it. The cover is an extra thick layer of pressed cardboard, with googly eyes embedded in the appliances.

The book is an illustrated story similar to Weinberg’s humorous beginning chapter book, The Middle Kid. White text and arrows show how the two work together to help an anonymous pair of brown hands mix up and bake a pan of cookies. Readers can “look inside” the red-hot oven, with little exclamations of “hot!” coming from each cookie, and count down until the cookies are done. The penultimate spread revisits the ingredients from the beginning, while the end pops two Black children into the picture, ready to share their cookies.

Verdict: This is a novelty, but a sturdy one that will delight kids who are especially tactile and those who love to investigate how things work. The accompanying titles on the dishwasher, and washer and dryer are sure to be popular as well.

ISBN: 9781250753250; Published August 2021 by Roaring Brook Press; Purchased and donated to the library

It fell from the sky by the Fan Brothers

  The unique and lovely art of the Fan Brothers is turned towards the tiny world of grass and insects and a strange, precious object that falls into their black and white world.

A variety of insects, shown in soft grays and blacks, many with tiny hats ranging from top hats to straw hats, travel across the short, gray grass and between delicate dandelions to gather around a strange marvel that has fallen from the sky. A smooth, hard ball, inside are twined ribbons of yellow, green, and blue. As the creatures investigate, discuss, and argue over the strange object, night falls. The next morning, the giant spider, until now only seen crouched in the background, has claimed the object, after all it's in his web.

"Nobody remembered the web being there the day before, but, in fairness, nobody remembered it not being there either."

The four-eyed spider, covered with black fur and sporting a white-dotted bow tie, quickly starts charging the creatures leaves for seeing the "Wonder from the Sky" and eventually builds a whole amusement park-style display. But then... the creatures leave and all the spider's new wealth can't save him when a five-legged creature from the sky takes the marvel and crushes WonderVille. The spider, alone, reflects on what he did and comes to a decision. He patiently spins more webs to catch more wonders from the sky - and this time, freely shares them with the other creatures, in a penultimate colorful spread. A plump green caterpillar with a top hat examines a round, red wonder, a grasshopper with a monocle examines a strange purple object, a weevil pokes a strange blue square with a cane, and a roly-poly smoking a pipe and wearing a bowler hat examines an odd wooden contraption. On the last page, the spider, joined by a sparkling fuschia jewel, solemnly touches his hat to readers.

This is a slower-paced and somewhat text-heavy story, but kindergarteners and older listeners will appreciate the delicate and evocative art, as well as the sense of being "in" on the joke, as they recognize the "wonders" as various toys dropped in the grass and the five-legged beast as a hand.

Verdict: If you are looking for classrooms or book club reads, this book is ideal with lots to discuss and a gentle sense of humor as well as memorable illustrations.

ISBN: 9781534457621; Published September 2021 by Simon & Schuster; Review copy provided by publisher

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's life with the chimps by Jeannette Winter

[Originally published in 2011]

The Text: In simple language and short sentences, Winter tells the story of Jane Goodall. She begins with her childhood, when Jane excelled at listening and watching animals and moves on to her first trip to Africa, to Kenya. There she met Louis Leakey and travelled to Gombe in Tanzania, which would become the heart of her research. Jane Goodall waited and watched and gradually the chimps in Gombe accepted her. As she watched and watched, she learned things about chimps no one had ever discovered. Eventually, Jane left to become an advocate for the chimpanzees and their disappearing habitat.

The Illustrations: Jeannette Winter's simple illustrations add depth to the lyrical text and show Jane as a child, in her first year's of research, and as an older woman traveling around the world. She shows the vast landscapes and the individual behavior of the various chimpanzees with simple colors and shapes.

Extras: An author's note explains how the author refined Jane Goodall's life to the basic essentials in order to introduce her story to young children, adds some details about Goodall, and mentions some further resources. A note at the beginning of the story says the quotes within the text were taken from Goodall's autobiographies.

Verdict: This is a perfect picture book biography. Simple enough in text and illustration to be read aloud to children, but containing plenty of facts and information. There are few truly readable nonfiction picture books for younger children and this is a stellar example and one I look forward to reading aloud in storytime.

Revisited: This title is still in print and an excellent choice.

ISBN: 978-0375867743; Published April 2011 by Schwartz & Wade; Borrowed from the library

This week at the library

treasure boxes at Bookaneers

Programs

• Paws to Read
• Aquanauts
• Family storytime
• Breakout room
• Lapsit
• Bookaneers

Projects

• Managers' meeting
• Social media meeting
• Recording for ballet studio

Notes

  It was a very busy week. I got caught up on cataloging, did an overview of the garden and landscaping that I will deal with later, figured out a new system for cataloging our Spanish and bilingual materials, ran a number of programs, and dealt with many things. For some reason, my to-do list is just as long as when I started though!

No one returns from the Enchanted Forest by Robin Robinson

Several years ago Robin Robinson created art for Mairghread Scott's The City on the Other Side and now she has created her own original graphic novel fantasy.

The story opens in the underground home of the goblins, a race of small, multicolored creatures with pointed noses and a cheerful multiplicity of personalities. Two sisters are the focus of the story, Bix, the older sister, always anxious and worrying over the future and the wild antics of Pella, whom she's cared for since the death of their parents. She has reason to fret; the goblins must leave their home because of the increasing frequency of violent earthquakes and Pella decides to run away to the Enchanted Forest to give the, possibly mythical, Earth Queen a piece of her mind.

The story alternates between the adventures of the sisters; Pella confronts danger and discovers her habit of rushing headlong into things may not always be the solution. Bix faces her fears and anxiety and learns she can be brave and speak up when her sister is in trouble. Both meet new friends and fantastical creatures and in the end they change their world for the better. Humor and magical details abound, from Bix's yarn that saves many a situation to the creatures, both small and powerful, who inhabit the world outside their caverns.

Verdict: A charming story with an underlying message that will resonate with readers long after they've enjoyed the magical details of the sisters' journey. A great choice for fans of fantasy adventure graphic novels like Hilda, Lightfall, or Sand Warriors. Here's hoping we see more from this creator in the near future.

ISBN: 9781250211521; Published May 2021 by First Second; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Shelby & Watts: Tide Pool Troubles by Ashlyn Anstee

A new pair of characters joins the parade of beginning chapter graphic novels, with a fun STEM twist. Shelby is a red fox and she loves to solve mysteries. Watts is a badger and he likes science. Together, the two make a great mystery-solving team and when they get a letter from Fred Crab asking for help, they set out to solve The Mystery of the Missing Seashells! As they investigate along the beach, they learn about tide pools and the creatures that live in them, especially hermit crabs.

With Shelby’s deductive skills and Watts’ collection of facts and clues, the two solve the mystery, helping out all the crabs on the beach, and end their debut with some friendly tips on helping out the earth - and the ocean.

Cheerful colors show the pair riding the bus, exploring the beach, living a happy life in a village of anthropomorphic animals. New characters are introduced with a full page explaining their personalities and interests, and the simple panels and text are interspersed with facts about the beach and animals that live there, taken from Watts’ notebook of facts and clues.

Verdict: This is a fun addition to beginning chapter graphic novels and will be of special interest to young readers who enjoy STEM and mysteries. Pair with Paige Braddock’s Stinky Cecil and the new Haylee and Comet for more STEM-filled adventures.

ISBN: 9780593205310; Published September 2021 by Viking; Review copy provided by publisher

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Melville by Paul Schmid

Paul Schmid, known for his sweet and cute characters, brings a new undersea creation to toddlers: Melvin, a lilac balloon of an octopus. Melvin zips away from his big, pink mama, looking for adventure. He travels into a pale yellow spread, looking for “a place for just me.” But each place he finds isn’t quite right. He encounters schools of sea creatures, a scary shark, a pirate ship, and, finally, tired of his adventures, finds the perfect place in his mother’s arms.

The art is all in pastels and the storyline is suggested, not explicit. So when Melvin encounters a school of silvery fish, all swimming together, he says “A place where I can be myself!” but the reader and/or listener will need to intuit the problem with this place, that the fish are all alike. Some comments are more vague, as when he drifts down an undersea slope, by a wrecked pirate ship, thinking “It might take a while…”

The pale colors and generic text are not ideal for the average board book audience, but caregivers will be attracted by the classic “Runaway Bunny” message and if one sets aside the text as written, it would work well in a storytime, finding and counting the different sea creatures.

Verdict: A fun, additional purchase for board book collections, especially where Schmid’s work is popular or you have a lot of ocean creature fans.

ISBN: 9781524865146; Published October 2021 by Andrews McMeel; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Turtle in a tree by Neesha Hudson

 Two dogs get in an argument in this slyly humorous story.

Across the white space of the pages, a greyhound in a natty striped orange sweater walks across a bare field to approach a single tree with a mysterious rustle. A small dog, with perky ears, smushed nose, and a blue tie, walks up and asks "What do you see?" and the first dog replies, "A turtle in a tree."

And that's where all the trouble starts. With variations on these sentences, the two get more and more argumentative, while grey-green leaves flutter down from the tree and a few small, big-eyed black birds hop onto the scene. They argue, they explain, they grumble, and finally they yell... and then the whole discussion is resolved. Who was right? Was it a turtle or a squirrel? Is it possible they both could be right?

The soft, pastel illustrations let the dogs' color-coded argument in speech bubbles take center stage and it will remind readers of similar books on perspective, like the classic Duck! Rabbit! or You are small (No I am not). The pale illustrations make this less than ideal for storytime, especially since so much of the story is expressed through dialogue, but older readers and listeners who have a quirky sense of humor will enjoy this silly story with a, possible, moral.

Verdict: While it's inevitable that adults will apply this to the many disagreements and arguments going on in the world today, ultimately it's really just a silly story about being willing to be wrong - and seeing the whole picture. Purchase where there are fans of Klassen or Barnett's similar, subtle humor.

ISBN: 9780593323311; Published June 2021 by Dial Books for Young Readers; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors inspired by nature by Kristen Nordstrom, illustrated by Paul Boston

  I've seen several other books about biomimicry, but I really like the presentation and information in this one.

Bright, colorful illustrations and small chunks of text present various recent inventions inspired by nature. Readers first see a spread with the invention in action, like rice growing in poor conditions with the help of a fungus, then on the following spread the inventors and researchers are introduced with a short overview of their work. The inventions include the redesign of a bullet train based on kingfishers, solar panels based on leaves, sharkskin-inspired coatings for ships and submarines, and much more.

Backmatter introduces each of the inventors with a thumbnail photograph and their credentials and current position. Of the ten inventors profiled, four are white males, four are male POC, one is a white woman and one is an Asian woman. There are notes about the author's research, more information about biomimicry, and suggestions for kids to try their own biomimicry experiments. There are also sources, bibliography, and more resources.

This is one I'd use with elementary kids, either as a read-aloud or as the center of a class discussion and experiment. It would make a cool STEM program or just to spark ideas to think and talk about. Younger kids can grasp the concepts and ideas included as well, although they may be too wiggly for the longer text and it may be better taken in bite-sized chunks.

Verdict: An excellent addition to most school libraries and public libraries that have an interested in STEM for elementary readers.

ISBN: 9781580899475; Published July 2021 by Charlesbridge; Borrowed from another library in my consortium