Prickly Hedgehogs! by Jane McGuinness- ESSENTIAL

McGuinness, Jane. Prickly Hedgehogs!, PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2018. $16.99.  

This informational picture book tells the reader all about hedgehogs. You’ll learn where they live, what they like to eat, how they hunt for food, and how they protect themselves. This book has wonderful, eye-catching illustrations and is set up in the format of a basic story in a picture book, but with facts spread throughout in both the narrative, as well as in subheadings within the pages.  I think young readers will love learning about this cute animal. There is a note at the end of the book about hedgehogs living in North America as pets.

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- ESSENTIAL. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

Let's Explore Gravity by Walt Moon- ADVISABLE

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Moon, Walt K. Let’s Explore Gravity, 24 pages.  NON-FICTION. Lerner Publishing Group, 2018. $18.99.  

This informational book tells readers all about gravity and the forces that occur because of it. Readers are encouraged to think about objects and how they interact with gravity to fully understand it. Scientific vocabulary and photographic images are used to illustrate the concept. This was a strong basic introduction to gravity for younger children. I liked that there were questions throughout the book and good visualizations so that the information would be better understood.

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

The Princess and the Cafe on the Moat by Margie Markarian- OPTIONAL

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Markarian, Margie. The Princess and the Café on the Moat, PICTURE BOOK. Sleeping Bear Press, 2018.  $16.99.

In this giant castle, the princess is bored. All she wants to do is help out and learn new tasks, but no one will let her try anything out. She’s so desperate that she decides to sneak away and find something to occupy herself on her own. She meets an elderly man who needs help reading a letter from his son. She meets a widow who could use some help with her children while she goes to the market. And she helps an injured squire. When the king and queen realize the princess is missing, they send out a search party and find her just outside the castle enjoying her time with her newfound friends. To keep her busy from now on, they set up a café each day at just the same spot where those in need can come and receive help and socialize.

The story is a little unbelievable and I didn’t like that none of the characters were actually named, they were only labeled by their title or position, but the concept of being kind-hearted and helpful was appropriately expressed. It was nice to see a young character with initiative to want to do good things in the world. I really like the simplicity and basic lines of the illustrations.

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

The Seal Garden by Ian McAllister- ADVISABLE

McAllister, Ian. The Seal Garden, PICTURE BOOK. Orca Book Publishers, 2018. $19.95.

Take an underwater tour of a seal garden in the Great Bear Sea, off the coast of Canada. Real photographs show how seals and other marine animals use the tightly constructed sea vegetation to make a refuge from storms and large sea creatures. The seals first escape from a storm and then have to head back into the seal garden to keep from being eaten by waiting orca whales.

This book has really great pictures and will be interesting for readers to learn about a different part of the world, especially one under water. There were a few redundancies in information, but still a worthwhile read for younger children.

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow by Michelle Cuevas- OPTIONAL

Cuevas, Michelle. Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow, PICTURE BOOK. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017. $17.99.

Smoot the shadow is bored with his human. He longs to do something exciting. One day, he suddenly becomes unstuck from the boy! He is so happy to be free. He tries all sorts of things, while his human follows along after him. Other shadows see Smoot and want to explore too. Before things get too out of hand, Smoot corrals the other shadows their things to control them and finds his boy, who has watched Smoot this whole time and is now ready for adventure. Together, they play and dance and sing.  

I liked the premise for this book and the pictures were intriguing enough, but it’s a little clunky. I understand the intended feeling and the message to get out and try new things is definitely there, but it’s missing a bit of detailing to help the story flow together best.  

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell - ADVISABLE

Cornwell, Betsy Forest Queen, 304 pages.  Clarion (Houghton), AUG 2018.  $18.  Language: G; Mature Content: PG (implied rape); Violence: PG (some fighting).

Silvie has lives in the Loughsley mansion with her father and her older brother John all of her life, but her best friend is Bird, the son of the huntmistress and the pair run wild through the woods as often as they can.  Now that Silvie is older and her brother is taking over running everything, she is afraid of her brother and she and Bird decide it is time to run.  On their way they find a village girl hanging from the bridge and they take her with them.  Little by little other refugees find their way into the woods to join them, and soon they have a group large enough to attract the ire of the king – and big enough for John to find and attack.

Cornwell written a lovely twist on the Robin Hood legend.   The familiar characters are different in interesting ways, without losing the appeal and thread of the original.  Silvie is not Maid Marian, nor is she Robin Hood, but her character is still well-worth reading about.  You might be able to hand this to students who like John Flanagan; I wish a wider array of knight-based books were still popular, though.  This is only advisable because of popularity; quality-wise, this is essential.

MS, HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Look Out! It’s a Dragon! by Jonny Lambert - ESSENTIAL

Lambert, Jonny Look Out! It’s a Dragon!  PICURE BOOK.  Tiger Tales, 2018.  $17.  9781680100815.

Sapphire the dragon is searching for a happier home than a rocky gorge with a life crushing castles.  She thinks she has found a perfect place, but the inhabitants don’t want her – especially after she accidentally scorches some feathers and wrecks some homes.  But when real danger arrives, Sapphire proves her worth.

I need some more Jonny Lambert books in my life!  His illustrations are eye-catching and dreamy!  And the story is a perfect fit.  I will have fun reading this one to little friends!

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Zelda's Big Adventure by Marie Alafaci- OPTIONAL

Alafaci, Marie. Zelda’s Big Adventure, PICTURE BOOK. Clarion Books, 2016. $16.99.

Zelda has a plan to be the first chicken in space. She asks her farmyard buddies for help, but they all turn her down. She decides that if she is going to get something done, she is going to do it herself. She builds the rocket, sews her space suit, and blasts off all on her own. When she returns, she decides that space travel turned out to be pretty lonely, so next time, she is going to make it so her friends can come along. This book did not appeal to me. All of Zelda’s friends were really unhelpful. Zelda is made out to be somewhat unintelligent (so how did she build a rocket all on her own?!). The construction of the rocket and preparations for space are completely omitted and you’d think that would be an intriguing part of the book.

The thing that irritated me most was that when Zelda returned home, her friends all take credit for her work. I thought maybe it would turn out to be a Chicken Little type of situation, but she ends up wanting to bring them with her next time anyway. There wasn’t much that was logical about the story and the build up/climax felt all wrong. I think young readers will be very aware of the weaknesses in the story.

PRE-K, EL (K-3)- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

This Is Not A Love Letter by Kim Purcell - OPTIONAL

Purcell, Kim This Is Not A Love Letter, 356 pages. Hyperion, 2018. $18. Language: R (100+ swears, 30 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13.

Jessie’s boyfriend, Chris, has gone missing after running late one night by the river. It is one week before graduation and Jessie and Chris were taking a break before making life-changing decisions. Chris had gone running before at that spot and been beaten badly by a group of boys angry about his race and his baseball scholarship that he earned. Jessie is worried that it happened again but this time with more deadly consequences. Everyone starts to look for Chris with more and more information coming to light on what happened. Jessie is writing letters to Chris to describe what is going on in the hunt for him.

I found this book hard to read because of the language and random tangents at times that took away from the story. It contained a lot of hard content that is tough to deal with from drinking, drug use, nudity, teen sex, racism, and mental illness which just seemed too much for one book all at once. The main character, Jesse, was also hard to connect with and the style was hard to stay connected with the book. It was a sad book that dealt with hard topics and made me tear up but only at the end. I would say the second half of the book was much easier and more engaging to read.

HS - OPTIONAL, AlleeLS

Small Things by Mel Tregonning - ESSENTIAL

Tregonning, Mel Small Things.  PICTURE BOOK.  Pajama Press, 2018.  $19.  9781772780420.

As a boy sinks into a funk at school, small creatures start to tear away his confidence in himself.  Cracks start to appear and small pieces of him seem to fall away.  That is until someone else shows him that they also have their own cracks and small pieces missing.  Then he is able to see that everyone around him has their own cracks and missing pieces and maybe by reaching out with kindness we all can slowly heal. 

Tregonning has written a wordless picture book, that is almost dense enough to be a graphic novel – at least a graphic short story.  I would love for this to be discovered by upper elementary and middle school students.  If it was reformatted into a novel format, it would be an instant purchase for even up the high school.

EL – ESSENTIAL.  MS, HS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher