Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross - OPTIONAL

Cross, Sarah  Tear You Apart, 370 pgs.  Egmont, 2015.  $17.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (55 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.   

Viv has known that she has the Snow White fairy-tale curse, but she just found out that her best friend/ boyfriend Henley is supposed to be her huntsman.  She has always been able to trust Henley when her step-mom has made her life hard, but now Viv doesn’t know who to trust.  One night she gets an invitation to go to the underworld (where the 12 Dancing Princesses go) and she meets Jasper, who is supposed to be the prince that wakes her up from her sleeping curse.  Torn between her love for Henley and the pull of the curse that places her with Jasper, Viv has to learn to trust herself and break her curse.   

This book is full of creative ideas and has interesting combinations of fairy-tales that make for an action-filled plot.  Viv can be hard to like because she isn’t very loyal to Henley or Jasper and can be whiny.  The sexual innuendos and crude humor make it hard to recommend for middle school, which I think was the intended audience.  The violence is cutting out hearts and one character dies a horrible burning death.  

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Mama Seeton's Whistle by Jerry Spinelli - ADVISABLE

Spinelli, Jerry Mama Seeton’s Whistle, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. PICTURE BOOK. 40 pgs. Little Brown and Company, 2015. $17.00. Content: G.  

The first time Mama Seeton comes outside to call her boy to dinner, she can’t find him, so she whistles.  It isn’t loud, it isn’t fancy, but she gets his attention and he comes running.  This evening tradition continues as each of her children play further from home, somehow, no matter where they are in the town, the sound of her whistle reaches them and they come running.  Eventually the children grow and move away and Mama Seeton is lonely with no one to whistle for.  

This book is so nostalgic!  Spinelli is a masterful storyteller and the illustrations complement and enhance it perfectly.  Follow mama’s whistle to each of her children and see what they are doing.  This is a great bedtime story. Adults will love the old fashioned look of the illustrations, and the heartwarming story.  

EL  (K-3) - ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

Winnie & Waldorf by Kati Hites - ADVISABLE

Hites, Kati Winnie & Waldorf, PICTURE BOOK 40 pgs. HarperCollins, 2015. $17.99 Content: G.  

Winnie thinks her dog Waldorf is well behaved and perfect.  He will do whatever she wants him to. But when they get caught in Winnie’s sister’s “off-limits” room, and Waldorf gets blamed for the broken violin string, someone suggests he be traded in for a cat.  

This is a cute story where the words say one thing and the pictures say another.  Children will like looking for the “proof” that Winnie is wrong when she says Waldorf is a good dog.  A fun read aloud, that also lends itself to cause/effect and fact/opinion discussions.  

EL  (K-3)- ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

My Name is Truth : The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

Turner, Ann My Name is Truth : The Life of Sojourner Truth, illustrated by James Ransome. PICTURE BOOK 40 pgs. Harper Collins, 2015. $17.99. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.  

Born on a dutch farm in the late 1700s to slaves, Isabella was sold at the age of 9, and then again as she grew older.  Eventually escaping with her infant child, she is protected by kind friends.  Isabella discovers that she has great power in her ability to speak, and changes her name to Sojourner Truth and travels all over preaching about God.  

This beautiful picture book tells the gripping story of the life of this abolitionist and women’s rights activist.  While the mistreatment of slaves is addressed, it’s confined to beatings, and is not on page.  Well written and artfully illustrated, this is a great introduction to Sojourner Truth and a fine addition to your picture book biography collection.  

EL - ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens - OPTIONAL

Nolan, Nina Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens, illustrated by John Holyfield. PICTURE BOOK  32 pgs. Amistad, 2015. $17.99.  

This is the story of Jazz singer Mahalia Jackson.  She grew up poor, was passed around through family members but always sang in the choir.  As she grew up, she vowed never to sing in a night club. Instead, she focused her talents on gospel music and performing in concerts and on the radio, and eventually on TV.  She sang just before Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a Dream" Speech.  

Short and sweet, vibrantly illustrated. Buy this if you are collecting; there are certainly a lot out right now, but the content isn’t very thorough, it’s designed to be read by a young audience.  The timeline at the end is a good resource for further study. 

EL - OPTIONAL  Lisa Librarian

Three Bird Summer by Sara St. Antoine - ADVISABLE

St. Antoine, Sara Three Bird Summer, 246 p, Candlewick Press, c2014. $16.99 Language: G; Mature content: G; Violence: G;

  Adam and his recently divorced mother, spend the summers at his grandmother’s cabin in the woods. This summer is a defining visit to see if “grandma” is healthy enough to continue living year round isolated on Three Bird Lake. A “new” family has bought the property next to grandma’s and they have a girl Adam’s age, Alice. Together Adam and Alice explore nature native to the lake and solve a treasure map that has eluded grandma since her first love over 50 years before.

This was a realistic fiction that soothes the soul. I encountered no messy family issues, no drugs, no sex, no violence, just comfortable reading. St. Antoine developed characters true to life, a daughter worried about her aging mother, a tween boy coming of age, a feisty grandma who is committed to her independence. Nature is painted in detail from the brightness of the stars to a pair of mink silently moving in the dusk. 

EL, MS – ADVISABLE.  Sandra Doehler, MLIS, Oquirrh Hills Middle School, Riverton, UT

Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers - ESSENTIAL

Jeffers, Oliver, Once Upon an Alphabet, PICTURE BOOK. Penguin Group, LLC. 2014. $.

Once Upon an Alphabet’s prologue reads (yes, this picture books has a prologue), “If words make up stories, and letters make up words, then stories are made of letters. In this menagerie we have stories made of words MADE FOR all the LETTERS.” And so they have. Each letter of the alphabet has a unique story written just for it. A is about an astronaut, B is about Bob and Bernard who quarrel on opposite sides of a bridge, V is about Victor plotting his vengeance, and of course, Y is about a Yeti, a Yak, and a Yo-Yo.

This is such a cool book! I was instantly drawn to the idea of the book, and each mini story makes me smile. I will admit that a few have actually made me laugh out loud. Plus, the illustrations are so clever and so funny! The illustrations really help make each letter’s story come alive. This definitely is for a little older reader. A reader who is familiar with the alphabet and who will enjoy Jeffer’s quirky humor will get a kick out of this book.

PRE K, EL (K-3) and EL-- ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Rebecca H.

Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata - OPTIONAL

Kadohata, Cynthia Half a World Away, 225 p. Antheneum Books for Young Readers, c2014. $16.99 Language: 0 swears; Mature Content:PG ; Violence:PG

It’s hard to give love if you hadn’t been given it. Jaden was given away at age 4, and lived in foster homes until he was 8, in his native Romania. Penni & Steve flew from the United States to adopt him 4 years ago. Jaden has been a handful, to say the least, but when he started lighting fires in the house, psychiatrists became involved. Now at 12 he questions why his adoptive parents have to fly to Kazakhstan to adopt a baby brother? While Steve & Penni bond with the baby, Jaden does his own bonding with a 3-year old disabled boy.

The theme and setting in this book leads one to place it a tad above a G-rating. One of the characters smokes, the babies being adopted are not healthy normal ones, a toddler is left out in the cold all alone. There is a chapter describing an eagle capturing a hare and eating it alive. Having experienced Kazakhstan through my husband’s 6 month working experience there, I would say that the descriptions of people, buildings and law are very true. The plot itself is very slow.

EL, MS – OPTIONAL.  Sandra Doehler, MLIS, Oquirrh Hills Middle School