Collection Development Top Picks: Juvenile Nonfiction

You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. I purchased 223 juvenile nonfiction titles, 123 of them backlist titles. This is a highlight of the juvenile nonfiction I've purchased this year by Dewey category (graphic nonfiction was included in juvenile graphic novels).

001-300

• Underwater world: Aquatic myths, mysteries and the unexplained 9780744059847
• Wild Thing: Is there anybody out there? 9781419758201
• World Wild Web: What if animals used social media? 9781426373718
• Religion around the world: A curious kid's guide to the world's great faiths 9781506470139
• Legendary Creatures: Mythical Beasts and Spirits from Around the World 9780316331876

300-590

• Money: A Fun, Visual Guide to How Money Works and How to Manage It 9780744034974
• Total garbage: A messy dive into trash, waste, and our world 9781250760388
• Sheet Pan Science: 25 Fun, Simple Science Experiments for the Kitchen Table: Super-easy Setup and Cleanup 9780760375679
• Secret signs of nature 9781419759277
• How to feed backyard birds: A step-by-step guide for kids 9780228104018
• Wonders of the night sky: Astronomy starts with just looking up 9781582708775
• How to Survive in the Age of Dinosaurs: A Handy Guide to Dodging Deadly Predators, Riding Out Mega-monsoons, and Escaping Other Perils of the Prehistoric 9781426372827
• Making more: How life begins 9781324015840
• Unseen jungle: The microbes that secretly control our world 9781536226461

590-600

• World's most ridiculous animals 9780711276451
• It's tough to be tiny: The secret life of small creatures 9781838748531
• Is it ok to pee in the ocean? 9781681195131
• On the hunt with... series by Sandra Markle
• The Adventures of Dr. Sloth: Rebecca Cliffe and Her Quest to Protect Sloths 9781541589391
• Operation Pangolin: Saving the World's Only Scaled Mammal 9781728442952

600-629

• Human Body Learning Lab: Take an Inside Tour of How Your Anatomy Works 9781635864793
• Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws, and Other Weird Bits 9781771647458
• Concrete from the ground up 9781536212501
• How It's Made: The Creation of Everyday Items 9781419753756
• Engineering for curious kids 9781398820180
• How Was That Built?: The Stories Behind Awesome Structures 9781547609291
• Space Activity Lab: Exciting Space Projects for Budding Astronomers 9780744082234

630-800

• Atlas of cats 9788000063546
• Bake, Make & Learn to Cook: Fun & Healthy Recipes for Young Cooks 9781536219364
• Baking Bread With Kids: Trusty Recipes for Magical Homemade Bread 9781984860460
• How to Draw 100 Animals: From Basic Shapes to Amazing Drawings in Super-easy Steps 9781800920354
• Draw 100 Dragons: From Basic Shapes to Amazing Drawings in Super-easy Steps 9781800920903
• 5000 Years of Awesome Objects: A History of Art for Children 9780744061024
• Illustrated sports encyclopedia 9780744081459
• 100 Athletes who shaped sports history 9781728290072
  How to Be an Explorer: Outdoor Skills and Know-how for Young Adventurers 9781787081178
  

800-990

• Christopher Columbus and the Taino People 9780593564264
• Unstoppable: Women With Disabilities 9781772602098
• Famous Finds and Finders: Searching for the Past 9788000069999
• Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code 9781250814203
• Abandon Ship!: The True World War II Story of About the Sinking of the Laconia 9780316401371
• Race Against Death: The Greatest Pow Rescue of World War II 9781338746167
• My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement 9780374390235

365: How to count a year by Miranda Paul and Julien Chung

This unique take on teaching kids the calendar is both a wonderful read-aloud and an instructional guide.

Start with a year. The endpages have those 365 days, oops, wait! The lion has taken off with #365! The brown-skinned child of the cover follows the instructions of the narrator as they count days, nights, mornings, minutes, and seconds. They also count more interesting measurements, like flavors of the day, bulletin board themes, and clean underwear (hopefully 365 of those!).

The narrative builds up to one birthday, and then spirals out into hours, minutes, and seconds, then back to a single year. "1 marvelous collage of 1 year in the life of you. How will you count your year?" A spread of back matter discusses calendars, how we mark time, and explores some other possible ways to count your year, from bathroom visits to hair growth.

Miranda Paul has created a lot of interesting works with different creators and her latest collaboration is no exception. Chung's art is colorful and creative, with interesting perspectives and shapes, going along with the explorative text. There's an almost unending list of ways to use this book; in classrooms it will be useful for learning about calendars and marking time, in celebrating events like 100 days of school or any time of the year, and in a variety of ways while studying math. Libraries can use it as a fun read-aloud in storytime, to go along with changing seasons, to explore math in storytime, and as an alternative to dominant-culture holiday-themed books.

Verdict: Another multi-use, beautifully written title from Miranda Paul with a fresh, exciting collaboration with illustrator Julien Chung. Highly recommended for all collections.

ISBN: 9781665904407; Published September 2023 by Beach Lane Books; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Browsing the beginning chapter books: The Unbelievable Oliver and the four jokers by Pseudonymous Bosch, illustrated by Shane Pangburn

Genre: Humor; Magical realism

Protagonists: Jewish male

Reading level: 600s

Series: Complete with two titles

Originally reviewed in 2019

Review: In my opinion, this is really a young middle grade book. It's just under 200 pages and illustrated, but it has fairly complex vocabulary and I'd promote it primarily to fluent 2nd and 3rd grade readers. However, I put it into my beginning chapter book collection.

Bosch is (was?) a very popular chapter book author. My library only has the first book of his best-known series, The name of this book is secret and although I've considered more titles, I've never gotten enough interest from the kids to purchase more, since they're all available in my consortium. I was interested in this book because I'm looking for younger middle grade and because the magician theme is usually a popular one.

Oliver, an under-sized Jewish eight-year-old, dreams of being a great magician. But with a deck of cards that's incomplete and a lack of, well, magic, that has even his best friends, twins Beatriz (Bea) and Martina (Teenie) unimpressed, he's ready to give up. Then the twins get him invited to the most popular (and nasty) third grader's birthday party - as the star entertainment! Oliver is desperate and begs his cousin, who works in a magic shop, for help. But all he gets is a moldy old hat. A hat with... a talking rabbit inside?

When Oliver arrives at the party, he soon finds out he has more problems than his lack of magic, a bunny on the lam who thinks they're in Vegas, and some mean kids. Bea and Teenie's present for the birthday boy, a robot cat their dads helped them buy, has disappeared and Oliver is accused of being the thief! Can he switch from magician to detective and solve the mystery?

The pages are decorated with frequent line drawings in shades of grey and purple. There are occasional speech bubbles, but I would call this an illustrated chapter book or at most a graphic blend, not a notebook novel or graphic novel.

I wasn't very taken with the book. Benny the bunny talks about a lot of "professional magic" that includes gambling, running from the police for undisclosed reasons, and lots of jokes that I think will pass over most of my readers' heads. There's not really any reason given for the sudden transition from magic tricks and a talking rabbit to solving a mystery; even when it is solved, although the solution is given in the form of a magic trick, it feels forced and the culprit doesn't make any sense. The bullies are over the top, "mean rich kids" and overall the humor felt forced. However, I'm not the audience for this and the real question is, will fluent second graders and third graders enjoy it? I think the answer is yes.

Verdict: I prefer Kate Egan's Magic Shop series, but I admit they don't have a high circulation in my library - not enough pictures would be my guess. I think this will circulate more, especially due to the more extensive graphics. While I don't see it having the staying power of humorous illustrated titles like Dragonbreath, it's certainly a perfectly acceptable filler book for kids in that transitional chapter book phase and features a diverse cast.

Revisited: This never really took off, but it circulates enough to justify keeping it on the shelf. If you don't already own it, I probably wouldn't go back and purchase it though.

ISBN: 9780525552321; Published May 2019 by Dial; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library

Collection Development Top Picks: Juvenile Graphics

You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. This is a highlight of the juvenile graphics I purchased this year, fiction and nonfiction.

Graphic nonfiction

• The Deep!: Wild Life at the Ocean's Darkest Depths 9780593521687
• Beware the Burmese pythons 9781525304460
• Replay 9781419760235
• Survival Scout: Lost in the mountains 9781250790460

Graphic Fantasy

• Unfinished corner 9781638490111
• Clementine Fox and the great island adventure 9781338356250
• Dog Knight 9781250756718

Graphic Fiction

• Squished 9781338568943
• Lo & Behold 9780593179635
• Four eyes 9781338574975
• Parachute kids 9781338832693
• Hoops 9781536201369

Other Graphics

• Frights from Feral 1: Welcome to Feral Little Town. Big Scares! 9780823448654
• Nayra and the Djinn 9780593117118
• Jurassic Jeff 1: Space Invader 9780593565391
• Prunella and the cursed skull ring 9781250162618
• Officer Clawsome 1: Lobster Cop 9780063136366

Read 'n' Play: Sneak! by Beatriz Gimenez de Ory, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, English text by Lisa Rosinsky

Over the years I've relaxed somewhat on what I add to my board book collection, including more novelty/toy books, holiday titles, media tie-ins, etc. However, I still feel there are books that, although traditionally thought of as part of the board book section, are not board books at all! These I put in my circulating kits, but even the simplest of pop-ups tends to have a very short shelf-life. I can't imagine how quickly they'd disintegrate if set within easy reach of small fingers.

This title is definitely a novelty/play item and not a board book. It's ingeniously created, with thick cardstock pages and a die-cut hole on each page. When you turn the page, a strap at the spine of the book pulls back strips of paper, revealing a new picture. The front cover, turned, slides back the paper strips to reveal a chameleon.

After this first page, There is a free verse poem identifying different characteristics and asking the reader to guess the animal. Turn the page, and it slides back across the circle to reveal the animal. A leopard, sea dragon, owl butterfly, leaf insect, arctic fox, and potoo are revealed in their habitats. There are many other details to notice and the last spread adds more information about each animal with a note on camouflage.

This book is actually fairly sturdy, as long as you turn the pages slowly and carefully. I think we all know that not many kids will do that though! However, as pop-up books go, the construction is clever, especially in the sliding tab moving naturally with the turn of the page, rather than a child pushing or pulling something.

Verdict: This is a charming and clever book, with delightful illustrations and text that begs to be read aloud. It is, however, expensive - almost $20 even with a discount - and most librarians will balk at spending this much on a novelty book, no matter how sturdy. If you have the funds and a collection that includes pop-up and movable books, this would be a great addition. I would recommend using it with elementary-aged children and possibly preschoolers.

ISBN: 9798888590195; Published October 2023 by Barefoot Books; Review copy provided by the publisher

The Rescues: Finding Home by Tommy and Charlie Greenwald, illustrated by Shiho Pate

Moose, a scruffy brown pup with one eye, lives alone in an animal shelter. When new dog Bear, a small white dog with three legs and a mohawk, comes to live there too, the two become friends. They have a goofy conversation about their names and end up being rescued by Cathy, a plump, smiling lady with brown skin and dark curls. In their second adventure, Cathy has a fence built to keep them safe, but the two decide to venture outside it. When they return, they meet a new friend named Tiger, a shy stray cat. Cathy takes Tiger in as well and the three settle in together for a cozy evening in their third and final adventure. The simple art, in soft, pastel hues, varies from spot art to full and half pages.

There are always new books about pets, especially rescue animals. It's a perennial topic that kids love and there is always a plethora of titles to choose from (unlike, shall we say, books about sports, although Greenwald also has a new chapter series on sports available...) However, when choosing which titles I'll add to my library, I look not only at the content of the books, for diversity, a twist or hook that differentiates them from other series, and to see what they can add to my collection, but also, and most importantly, I look at the potential audience. Early readers and beginning chapters are a huge part of my collection and I spend a lot of time curating these collections and making sure I have a wide variety of offerings available - not just in content, but in word count, reading difficulty, and illustration. My most recent overhaul of these areas including creating a transitional chapters section and I am currently looking specifically for titles to fill in this area between early readers and beginning chapters.

This new series is the perfect fit with easy reader-style chunks of dialogue, spot art, and a slightly larger layout than a typical 6x9 easy reader size. A lot of my transitional chapters are graphic novels and while this doesn't fit into that category, it is similar enough to be very accessible to young readers.

Verdict: If you are looking for nontraditional, or nonleveled easy readers, for transitional chapters, and for gentle reads for young listeners and readers, this will be a just right choice. There are no signs of a sequel yet, but the book appears to be the first in a series.

ISBN: 9781636550763; Published September 2023 by Red Comet Press; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Mine! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

Fleming and Rohmann's distinct styles blend to create a new storytime classic in their latest work.

Rohmann's thick black lines and sharp colors start the story with a generous helping of white space and a single, red apple. Fleming jumps in with a tongue-twisting but irresistible rhyme, "In a tall, tall tree/at the tip-tippy top,/hung a single red apple,/just about to drop." The story continues with a succession of animals, from a tiny mouse to a big bear, all imagining the delight when the apple falls and it is theirs to devour. When the apple finally drops, the animals leap out of their hiding places only to become embroiled in an angry fight over the treat. The apple rolls away and a happy bystander is the winner of the treat, one who is more than willing to share!

There's a mild lesson about sharing and not being greedy, but the real fun of this story is the simple, bold illustrations, cheerful rhymes, and engaging wordplay with compound words like "waggety-dashed" "lumbered" "morsel" and "bolted."

Verdict: There are a lot of picture books coming out now and the bulk of them seem to be designed for older listeners and readers with more complex themes, elaborate art, and layers of meaning. It's a delight to go back to a simpler time with an engaging story that's fun to read aloud and will engage the attention of our littlest listeners. Sure to be a storytime classic, this is a must-have for any library that services toddlers and preschoolers.

ISBN: 9780593181669; Published August 2023 by Schwartz & Wade; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Browsing the beginning chapter books: Dear Beast by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry

Genre: Animals; Humor; Epistolary
Protagonists: Animals (male)
Reading level: 500s
Series: 4 titles, last published in 2022
Originally reviewed in September 2020

Review: I was very excited when I realized Dori Hillestad Butler had a completely new series out! My readers have loved all the work she's done so far, and I was interested to see what she would try next.

She's kept the animal theme, present in many of her previous books, and added a very realistic situation with a kid who's learning to deal with his parents' separation and living in two homes. This is seen through the eyes of Simon, a black cat, who has always taken care of Andy and is not pleased that Andy has a DOG at his father's house now!

Simon begins writing letters to this BEAST, explaining that he, Simon, is the only pet Andy needs and suggesting that the dog leave. The dog, Baxter, replies in poorly-spelled notes scribbled in crayon that he is perfectly happy where he is, he and Andy picked each other, and why can't they all be friends?

Things escalate, involving a goldfish, wild animals including a skunk, and the revelation of Simon's past deeds, until Baxter really does leave - and Simon realizes that Andy needs both of them, however uncouth this beast named Baxter may be.

Atteberry's cartoons show a sleek and villainous cat, who really does care about Andy but maybe cares about his own comfort just a little bit more, an enthusiastic and messy puppy, and a host of other animals, all with opinions of their own.

Verdict: Perfect for beginning chapter readers, this may even inspire a little letter-writing of their own. I've got a large fan base for Butler's work and this gently humorous story about jealousy, sharing, and learning to adapt to a blended family is perfect for my young readers. Recommended.

Revisited: This series continues to be popular, with a fun blend of humor and more serious issues. A must-have for most beginning chapter collections.

ISBN: 9780823444922; Published April 2020 by Holiday House; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library

Collection Development Top Picks: Juvenile Fiction

You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. I purchased 480 juvenile fiction titles, 261 of them backlist. This is a highlight of the juvenile fiction (not including graphics) I've purchased this year.

Adventure/Speculative fiction

• Moongarden 9781645951261
• Nothing interesting ever happens to Ethan Fairmont 9781454945574
• Dogs of the Deadlands 9780861543199
• Wilder boys 9781481432634

Fantasy

• Harmony and Heart 9780063069398
• Mihi ever after 9781250814319
• Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies 9781368074803
• Creatures of the in between 9780063064799
• Chupacarter 9780593465974
• Guardian test 9781338759150
• Juniper Harvey and the missing kingdom 9780316706780

Realistic Fiction

• Sister split 9780593568682
• This is how I roll 9781338785562
• Absolutely positively Natty 9780063062726
• Superteacher project 9780063032798
• Work in progress 9781665905152
• Time to roll 9781665918596

Notebook novels/Graphic blends

• World's worst time machine 9781524884130
• Welcome to Stubtoe Elementary 9780593425718
• New school skirmish 9780593465783

Historical fiction

• Lost year 9781250313607
• Iceberg 9781338795028
• Hope's path to glory 9781665924719

Sports

• Select 9780593567234
• Grip 9781665916141

Funny stories

• Audrey Covington breaks the rules 9780316340427
• Cookies of chaos 9780593433003

Animal fiction

• Dogtown 9781250811608
• Bunny bonanza 9781338783483
• Phantom Stallion: Wild one 9781665916325
• Home away from home 9781338726114
• Horse named sky 9780062995957
• Violet and Jobie in the wild 9780062499691

Classics

• Eight cousins 9781534497535
• Under the lilacs 9781665926256
• Family Sabbatical 9781477829981
• Family Grandstand 9781477830291
• Moffats (set of 5 titles) 9780152025410
• Flood Friday 9781453258415
• Strawberry girl 9780064405850

Juvenile Popular Series and Favorite Characters

• Girls Survive
• Essie and the March on Selma 9781669014645
• True adventures
• The flag never touched the ground 9781782693055
• I am America
• Brave Bird at Wounded Knee 9781631636851
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Behold! A search and find adventure 9780063137554

Collection Development Top Picks: Juvenile Beginning Chapters

   You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. I purchased 380 beginning chapter titles, 210 of them backlist. The bulk of this was purchasing backlist to fill in Heidi Heckelbeck, Henry Heckelbeck, Mia Mayhem, and Jake Maddox books. This is a highlight of the juvenile beginning chapters I've purchased this year.

Individual Titles

• Henry like always 9781797213897
• Free kid to a good home 9781776574421
• When Dad's hair took off 9781776575206

New Series

• A to Z Animal Mysteries 9780593488997
• Acorn: Rainbow days 9781338805963
• Challenge Island 9781513289533
• Dragon Storm 9780593479544
• Future Hero 9781338790320
• Gnome and Rat 9780593487822
• Guardians of Horsa 9781665931571
• Football Mysteries (purchased on Amazon) 9781959378037
• Mini Mermaid Tales 9781534489257
• Nguyen Kids 9781773217161
• Good sports 9781419763656

Zooni Tales: Keep it up, plucky pup by Vikram Madan

I've had mixed feelings about Vikram Madan's previous easy readers/graphic novels. I've purchased their Owl and Penguin comics for the easy reader section, but they don't have a huge following. I didn't have high expectations about this new series, but it turned out to be delightful and just what I'm looking for to build up my new transitional chapters collection.

The titular hero, Zooni, is based on the author's dog, a small, scruffy pup that smiles happily at readers from a cameo appearance on the title page, placed over the literary Zooni who has whisps of fur on their head and flipped out to the side as ears and wears a kurta-style tunic in bright yellow over blue shorts. The story begins with three pink creatures wearing striped blue shorts making off with Zooni's blue shoe. Five short chapters range from a 4 to 40 pages and present Zooni in a series of simple adventures.

In Seuss-like rhymes, "We saw some shrews run with a shoe!/They dropped this as they ran! Hoo-hoo!" Zooni tracks down the thieves of their shoe, has an underground adventure, makes delicious pancakes, and has an adventure at sea. Each story rhymes throughout the simple dialogue balloons and features quirky little twists in the story, like the use of Zooni's single shoe at the end of the first chapter or the solution for their ocean disaster.

The cheerful colors lean towards blues, pinks, and purples, with smiling cartoon creatures that include an elephant, pig, sheep, ox, monkeys, and shrews. Most backgrounds are simple colors or patterns, but some show slightly more detailed landscapes, like a sparsely-populated beach or splashy ocean. There are arrows to help beginning readers follow the action in the larger and more involved panels, and speech bubbles have colors that help readers attach them to the speakers. A variety of pronouns are used, including they/them for Zooni.

Verdict: This makes both a fun read-aloud and a delightful transitional chapter for young readers. The simple text and adventures, bright colors and rhymes, will attract beginning readers and will be accessible to readers at a variety of points on their reading journey. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780823453573; Published October 2023 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library

Who's afraid of the light? by Anna McGregor

Dive deep into the dark and meet a very special creature!

The bright, flashy cover makes way for a peaceful scene on the ocean, with two cool seagulls directed readers down, down, down to the bottom of the ocean. Go deeper and deeper past the titles pages until you finally come to first spread, where it's completely black. The narrator's words stand out in bright white and a rainbow-colored speech bubble introduces an unseen deep-sea creature - Fergus! "Oh, hello! What a thrill to meet a real deep-sea creature."

Fergus isn't scared of the dark - the dark is safe! But the narrator wants to see Fergus and as the mysterious creature drops clues, a picture starts to be created. Meanwhile, bioluminescent creatures approach, much to the apparent dismay of Fergus. An anglerfish, a spookfish, and vampire squid. But each time they disappear, much to Fergus's relief. Where are they going? And will we ever get to meet Fergus?

Turns out the narrator has a camera with a flash... is Fergus the cute little fish we expected? Or does Fergus know what happened to all those other creatures...

A simple page of back matter adds information about each creature, including Fergus, the gulper eel, and some aspects of deep sea life.

Verdict: Bright, colorful (possibly glow-in-the-dark but I did not test this) art and a light-hearted storyline make this informational book a sure winner for storytime or classroom read-alouds.

ISBN: 9781957363431; Published 2023 by Scribble; Purchased for the library

Browsing the beginning chapter books: Peanut, Butter, and Crackers: Puppy Problems by Paige Braddock

Genre: Humor; Animals; Comic
Protagonists: Animals (male dogs, female cat)
Reading level: 400s
Series: Appears to be complete with three titles
Originally reviewed in October 2020

Review: Crackers, a perky blue dog who goes "crackers" when squirrels appear on HIS porch and Butter, a plump marmalade cat with a penchant for licking butter, have a good life. Until a puppy named Peanut shows up!

Crackers is not too thrilled with this know-nothing puppy that has shown up. He doesn't like sharing his water bowl, toys, or backyard and Peanut is noisy and needy and not house-trained! Butter is mostly indifferent - she is, after all, a cat, but even she can't take much more of Peanut's annoying habits. So one night, when Peanut is being more annoying than usual, she leaves a gate open. Problem solved, no more Peanut. But Crackers has second thoughts. After all, he and Butter were once scared and alone, with no family. Maybe Peanut is annoying, but he needs a family too, just like they did - and they set out to bring a lost, lonely puppy back to a real home.

I am thrilled to see a new, easy graphic novel from Paige Braddock, although it doesn't quite hit the high notes of humor and science in Stinky Cecil, which will remain my favorite. An author's note at the end talks about family pets and her love of Peanuts comics, which she now writes. Her art does have a little of a Peanuts look to it, but it's all her own. This one is in blues and purples, with orange and green highlights. The night scenes are dark purple and the action focuses on the animals, with the occasional outside animal or pair of human hands.

Verdict: Readers moving on from Elephant and Piggie now have a wide and delightful range of choices and this is another that is sure to please readers. This would be just right for kids who aren't quite ready for Bad Kitty yet. Recommended.

Revisited: These are available in hardcover or paperback and they are reliably popular with young readers. A staple for library shelves.

ISBN: 9780593117439; Published September 2020 by Viking; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

This week at the library; Last week of programs

Programs

• Family Storytime
• All ages fandom (Pokemon Club)
• Autism presentation (EASD)
• Holiday cookie party (EASD)
• Teen D&D (hosting)
• Girl Scouts (hosting)
• Family Storytime
• Homeschool group (hosting)

Notes

  I came back half-time this week. It was our last week of programs, storytimes etc. although we have a few random outreach things still left. I gave us a long break because I didn't know how long I'd need to recover, because we're all tired, and because we have a lot of work to do for our big program in January.

  Starting next week, I'll go back to work full-time and really jump into the projects I have saved up. These include weeding the juvenile nonfiction, writing descriptions for all the winter/spring programming, writing content for the kids' section of the website, putting together a presentation for the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference, planning and prepping for programs, including our big Land of Stories event on January 13/15, end of year reports, data, budgeting, scheduling, etc. and a myriad of misc. tasks like cleaning and checking all our sewing machines. I also had an unexpected project dropped on my plate, pulling data for a long list of challenged books.

A reminder that this blog is my personal property and does not reflect the views of my employer. My policy stated here. 

The school district where I work was hit by a book challenge and has pulled over 400 titles from the middle and high school libraries pending review. The documents are open record and can be seen here. Of particular concern to me (and any other professional librarian or teacher) is this section of the public announcement "Principals have been directed that when evaluating a challenged book for grade level appropriateness, they use Common Sense Media, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com for age-level ratings."

In addition, the school had no current policy or procedure in place for dealing with challenges. The challenges were received on November 30, the school pulled books during teacher in-service on Monday, December 4, and families were not informed until Tuesday, December 5.

My personal statement regarding this ongoing event

I am deeply disappointed by the school district's handling of the recent challenges. First, that they had no policy and procedure in place, despite the obvious trend towards weaponizing materials challenges nation-wide, and the clear implications that such a challenge was coming. Secondly, that they have denied their own traditions of academic excellence, professionalism, and rigorous instruction to respond to the challenges with biased and for-profit sources. They have, essentially, stated that they will be doing their own research on Wikipedia and YouTube! Thirdly, that the lack of preparation ended in them accepting this challenge at all.

Having reviewed the paperwork, I note that, first of all, the forms are faked to look like official school paperwork - they are riddled with misspellings, obviously biased, and clearly cut and pasted from the internet. Secondly, the content of the "challenges" is again an obvious cut-and-paste job. There is no evidence that the person in question has ever read the books challenged and many of the challenges are incoherent and illogical, some being almost completely blank with a smattering of positive reviews and no actual reason given for challenging the books. It is clearly an effort to disrupt the functioning of the school district by burying them in paperwork.

This is a complete abrogation of the district's own commitments to academic rigor and student success, allowing a single parent, clearly working as a spokesperson for an organization outside our community, to remove resources from students, disrupt their education, and render them and the community powerless. It's an extremely negative example to give the students, showing them that one spiteful and illiterate adult, spewing hateful rhetoric, can exert a vast amount of control over their lives and the community without recourse to either the district's own promises or the civil liberties of our state and country.

Collection Development Top Picks: Picture Books

  You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. This is a highlight of picture books I've added this year. I added a total of 596 picture books, 281 of which were backlist titles. 26 were added to our classics/favorites section, 137 to the animals neighborhood, 78 to the community neighborhood, 141 to the general/fun neighborhood, 27 to the things that go neighborhood, 53 to the nature neighborhood, 100 to the ourselves neighborhood, and 32 to the tales neighborhood. I haven't highlighted anything from the GO neighborhood, because, contrary to the generally accepted idea that there are a gazillion car/train books published each year, I find this is not the case and will basically buy pretty much anything.

Highlighted new animal picture books

• Nonfiction and informational (*storytime picks)
• Exploring dinosaurs 9780593568194
• Do bears poop in the woods 9780500652763
• *Grub 9781922539267
• I am the shark 9780525645283
• Narwhal 9781536225129
• Night creatures 9781541581296
• Wild horses 9780593109113
• *Line up 9781682633229
• T. Rex meets his match 9780744085341
• One tiny treefrog 9781536219487
• *Just a worm 9780063212565
• *You are a honeybee 9780593529690
• *Cicada symphony 9780807511619
• Deep end 9780063224551
• Butt or face 9781728271170
• Fiction
• Crocodile hungry 9780735267879
• Poopsie gets lost 9780593324172
• How dinosaurs went extinct 9780316593298
• I am a great friend 9781665918336
• Benny the bananasaurus rex 9781772274424
• I am cat 9780593520864
• Henry the snail 9788000067933
• Boop 9780063214804
• Don't worry Wuddles 9781665916769

Highlighted new community picture books

• Community
• Bitsy Bat, School Star 9781534112711
• Crane Jane 9780823451586
• Farm boots 9781948898119
• I am a meadow mermaid 9780735271371
• May's brave day 9781547602902
• History
• Tiny Jumper 9781499813944
• Who ate what 9781838666903

Highlighted new fun picture books

• General fun stories
• Busy feet 9781951784102
• Blurp's book of manners 9781250810359
• Wheels, no wheels 9780735270374
• Somewhere in the bayou 9781324015932
• This book is my best friend 9781665906814
• Great cookie kerfuffle 9781681527536
• Best/Worst poet ever 9781534446281
• Bedtime stories
• Problem with pajamas 9781534493438
• Star fishing 9781419751004
• Arts and creativity
• Me and the boss 9780593310670
• Sports
• Basketball dreams 9781250810038
• Courage in her cleats 9781645676294
• I am darn tough 9780884487807
• Obioma plays football 9781913175375
• Together we swim 9781797212494
• STEM
• Beulah has a hunch 9781665903639
• Friends beyond measure 9780063210523
• Jerry changed the game 9781665919081
• Lia and Luis: Puzzled 9781623543228

Highlighted new nature picture books

• Apple pie picnic 9781636550619
• We planted a pumpkin 9781912650385
• Cat's seasons 9781786286246
• Cold turkey 9780316430111
• It's time for berries 9781772274653
• Let's go puddling 9781536228496

Highlighted new picture books about ourselves, social-emotional learning, etc.

• Cooler than lemonade 9781728254296
• Day with no words 9781736949795
• Outside Amelia's window 9781542027854
• Wants vs. Needs vs. Robots 9780593530092
• Papa's magical water jug clock 9781662651045
• Great Grrrr 9781636550565
• Ode to a bad day 9781797210803

Highlighted new tales picture books

• 100 mighty dragons all named broccoli 9780525555445
• Truth about dragons 9781250820587
• Witch and wombat 9780593569634
• Three little guinea pigs 9780374390044
• Cinderella and a mouse called Fred 9780593480038

Shiver-by-the-Sea: Bella and the vampire by Erin Dionne, illustrated by Jenn Harney

I've read and purchased some of Dionne's work in the past, but I don't recall how this ended up on my to-be-read list. I had planned to just quickly skim through it, and didn't think I'd get into the story because it looked very "quirky" but for some reason it really clicked for me.

After a brief first chapter, showing a group of teen boys having a mildly spooky encounter at the abandoned movie theater with a "under new management" sign, the story begins in chapter two with the arrival of the "new management." Bella Gosi and her mom have moved from New York to live with her uncle Van and renovate and reopen the movie theater. Bella misses her former life and worries she won't make any friends, but is reluctantly helping her mom when Cooper (younger brother of one of the teen boys) shows up. They are getting along together when they open an old box and discover... a bat.

Which turns into a young vampire. Bram drinks sugar, not blood, and while he doesn't like the sun he doesn't burst into flames. More importantly, he's lost. Like Bella, his family recently moved, but from much farther away. Bella and Cooper try to work together to help Bram get back home, but after a series of disasters, some funnier than others, they'll need to get some grown-up help - and they'll also discover there's real magic in Shiver-by-the-Sea.

This is more goofy than scary, with some heartfelt moments and an amusing trickle of magic winding through. It's a quick read, at under 200 pages, with black and white illustrations, but doesn't feel like a beginning chapter to me. There's an underlying plot of the small town overshadowed by development as well as the theme of home and family.

Verdict: Hand this to kids who like gentle stories with just a frisson of spooky and magic. It's funny, sweet, and should appeal to fans of the Megabat series.

ISBN: 9781645951674; Published August 2023 by Pixel and Ink; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Winter: A solstice story by Kelsey E. Gross, illustrated by Renata Liwska

This debut picture book is a good option for those in the northern hemisphere looking for non-Christmas winter books for storytime.

An owl, speckled with soft browns and whites, invites all the little woodland creatures to prepare for the winter solstice, helping to "shine the light." Each one brings something different to decorate a tree, from nuts to berries, feathers to grasses. The pages fold out to show a pine tree crusted with snow, decorated with treats, and topped with the owl, wings outspread, against the softly glowing moon. As the animals celebrate around the tree, they are joined by a bear carrying a lantern and their initial fear is quickly soothed as the owl welcomes the furry creature to their circle.

Liwska's art, with pastel tones and gentle, furry outlines, is a nice match for this debut author's simple story. There's no nonfiction or realistic aspect to this book, just anthropomorphic animals celebrating the arrival of winter together. The text is a little awkward, with somewhat clonky rhymes "Let every creature see our tree!/It's splendor is a gift of light/and hope for all/this winter's night." but it's no better or worse than any other holiday book and it definitely fills a niche for seasonal titles.

Verdict: My personal preference is for nonfiction or informational titles when looking for seasonal themes, but this will find a ready audience among parents, teachers, and librarians looking for books with a holiday feel to them but no overt religious symbolism. Of course, you can't please everybody, and someone is sure to say solstice is a "pagan" holiday or the tree is really a "Christmas" tree, but it's about as neutral as you're going to get. Liwska's illustrations are adorable and this is a strong addition to any library's holiday or seasonal collection. A companion summer solstice book is scheduled to be released this coming summer.

ISBN: 9781665908139; Published October 2023 by Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library.

Browsing the beginning chapter books: Kung Pow Chicken: Jurassic Peck by Cyndi Marko

Genre: Humor; Superheroes; Comic

Protagonists: Animals (male)

Reading level: M-N

Series: Four titles originally; a fifth title was added in 2020.

Originally reviewed in December 2020

Review: Kung Pow Chicken was one of the earliest Branches series, published in 2014, and a popular choice for many of my transitional readers. There were lots of disappointed kids when I told them it looked like the series had ended a few years later in 2016. However, I was delighted to see another one pop out this summer!

Gordon Blue, after falling into the classic vat of toxic waste, now has the ability to become Kung Pow Chicken! In the first four books, he acquired a sidekick, Egg Drop (aka Benny, his little brother) and a sometimes partner, superhero Beak Girl (his best friend Annie Beakly, unknown to Gordon). With the aid of Gordon's Uncle Quack and his various gadgets, they all fight crime together.

In this new adventure, a trip to the museum goes wrong when Uncle Quack makes a mistake and accidentally sends the heroes back in time. However, it turns out that's just where they need to be, since the sinister scientist at the museum, Dr. Strangebok, is up to no good in dinosaur times! Will Kung Pow Chicken admit he needs help and work with Beak Girl and Egg Drop to save the day, and the dinosaurs, from Dr. Strangebok?

Colorful pictures look like colored pencil drawings and have a stick-figure, child drawing effect. Puns and sound effects abound, speech bubbles, although in a smaller font and somewhat wordy, have an accessible reading level. If you use a leveling system, this will come in higher because of the made-up words (Fowladelphia) and dinosaur terms, but most readers will breeze right through them.

Verdict: Time to promote this series again! The original fans are teenagers now, but a whole new generation can discover egg-related puns. Recommend to fans of Lunch Lady, Inspector Flytrap, and other goofy and colorful graphic mysteries.

Revisited: This is a staple of the Branches series and still available in paperback and prebind. It's worth following Cyndi Marko as she's created several other one-off or series comics like her current Sloth Sleuth.

ISBN: 9781338596649; Published September 2020 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library

Collection Development top picks: Early Readers

 You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. This is a highlight of early readers I've added this year. Out of 160 titles added, 71 were backlist and 89 were published in 2023. 6 were added to the instructional section and 16 were added to the transitional chapters. This is a bit off, because I reorganized these sections in the fall and moved a lot of currently cataloged things there. 25 titles were nonfiction. More than half of what I purchased this year were replacements and continuations of popular series.

Transitional chapters and early graphic novels

• Arfy and the stinky smell 9780593643716
• Autumn of Mister Grumpf 9781951719258
• Banana fox and the book-eating robot 9781713770442
• Owl and penguin: best day ever 9780823451517
• Big cheese 9781665914529
• Boom! 9780823448579
• Ty's travels: Camp out 9780063083660
• Caterpillars 9781662665080
• Chi-Chi and Pey-Pey in school day drama 9781665931892
• Crazy for coconuts 9780823452347
• Hoggy at bat 9780823451494
• Let's go 9780823446520
• Love stinks 9780593488461
• Peach and Plum rule at school 9780316306300
• See the ghost 9781536219821
• Styx and Scones in the sticky wand 9781665935371
• There might be a kazoo emergency 9781665920049
• Worm and caterpillar are friends 9781665920018

Stand-out new leveled readers

• Beetle mania 9780593519950
• Big bub small tub 9781665928458
• Cat sees snow 9781665920407
• Nat the cat takes a nap 9781665918916
• Oslo learns to swim 9781665926485
• Tow on the go mambo rescue 9781665920070

Collection development top picks: Board Books

You can see a more or less complete record of everything I purchased or added to the collection on this spreadsheet and a selection on our Pinterest page. This is a highlight of board books I've added this year. Out of 112 titles added, 47 were backlist or replacement titles, 65 were published in 2023. 19 were holiday themed and 12 had moving pieces or flaps.

• Board books specifically appropriate for infants
• Animals 9781524862688
• Big or Small 9781524862541
• Colors 9780823449644
• It's tummy time 9780316394710
• Diversity - illustrations featuring POC, disabilities, non-mainstream faiths, etc.
• Baby Cakes 9781772782349
• Baby sleepy baby 9781536229905
• Beautiful house for birds 9781623543471
• Colors 9780823449644
• I made this! Snacks 9781646386598
• Lake life with you 9781665935142
• Leo at the park 9781623543402
• Little Umar's search 9780860378433
• Me and the family tree 9781728242491
• My first book about Salah 9780860378525
• Snow 9781846436819
• Soup day 9781250127723
• Where are the eggs 9781623543464
• Christian titles
• All the colors of Christmas 9780593579640
• Bedtime in the barnyard 9781496461629
• First words for Catholic kids 9781640608542
• Most popular titles, based on my observation and not any particular data and excluding media and specific holidays (Bluey etc.)
• Barn in winter 9781646388851
• Big bulldozers 9780753476352
• Corgi loves 9781338654868
• Eight little planets 9781492671244
• I take care of my kitten 9781797205274
• Let's go camping 9780593569023
• What dwells in the deep 9781777081799

It's time for berries by Ceporah Mearns and Jeremy Debicki, illustrated by Tindur Peturs

As shown by the giant gap on my picture book shelf in the nature/seasons neighborhood, I simply cannot get enough seasonal books, specifically those that focus on fall. Every single preschool and elementary school class seems to be focused on the fall season, even as climate change is making the traditional fall season in the midwest look radically different from the past. No, I am NOT happy that it is NINETY DEGREES in September. Anyhow.

This celebration of Inuit culture and seasons makes a great read-aloud for any season, but will definitely fit my community's constant demands for fall-themed books. Siasi and Siloah, a blonde and brunette, visit their ningiuq, a smiling, grey-haired woman with brown skin. Each season has different experiences for them to share; In the spring they drive the snowmobile out and go fishing, in the summer it's time to dig clams. Each season the girls ask eagerly if it's time for berries yet, but Ningiuq says they're not ready yet and takes them on a different expedition. Finally, it's time to pick berries!

They climb the mountain and start picking. Through wind and rain, in the dark and the snow, "Ninqiuq will stop at nothing to get berries!" Finally, berry-picking season is over and it's time to bake and make jam with all their berries. The girls smile happily as they share the treats - and their love of berries.

Brief notes from the creators explain that the story is based on their own daughters and their life in Alaska. There is also a general guide to pronunciation with a resource for more accurate pronunciation included.

Verdict: While this is a great read-aloud for any season and children from many different cultures and backgrounds can enjoy the experiences of harvesting and collecting food with family, it's also a vitally important book for the culture it represents, to give them books that reflect their children's specific experiences. A must-have for most libraries, a book that is an exemplar of a window and a mirror.

ISBN: 9781772274653; Published September 2023 by Inhabit Media Inc.; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library