Review: Anna Hibiscus’ Song

Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia.
Kane Miller, EDC, Tulsa, OK, 2011.
Picture book, 36 pages.
Lexile:  500L  .
AR Level:  2.1 (worth 0.5 points)  .
NOTE: This picture book follows the same characters as the chapter books.

Anna Hibsicus is so happy she could burst!  So what can she do to let some of her happiness out?  Well it turns out there are all kinds of things she could do.

Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia. This book was clearly once published by Kane Miller in the USA, so its sudden disappearance is frustrating.

Finally, I got my hands on one of the Anna Hibiscus picture books!  These are out of print in America, and I cannot figure out why.  They were once available through Kane Miller, which in the US is distributed through Usborne.  I tried to order them the same way I ordered the chapter books, but none of the distributors that I contacted were able to get them.  They were clearly once published through Kane Miller in the USA, since the used copy I purchased in the end has that publication information.

Review: Introducing Teddy

Introducing Teddy: a gentle story about gender and friendship by Jessica Walton, illustrated by Dougal MacPherson.
Bloomsbury, New York, 2016.
Picture book, 32 pages.
Not leveled.
NOTE: This is a work of fiction although I’m not reviewing it on Fiction Friday.

The story of a young child’s imaginary friend who transitions.

I appreciated what this book is trying to do, but we still didn’t like it much.  Picture books are hard to write, and Walton has good moments, but at points her text is too wordy.  Not that the text-to-picture ratio is off, but the dialogue in particular betrays an awkwardness and lack of flow.  Minor character Ava is building a robot that reoccurs and complicates the plot for no reason.

Great illustrations could have compensated and elevated this book into a recommended read.  However, the illustration fell flat.  Tilly (the teddy bear who is deadnamed in the title), is the main character here.  Her emotions are crucial to the story, but barring that we should at least feel some empathy for her.

However, Tilly’s expressions are difficult to read.  I had to go over the story several times before finding any cues about her emotions.  Kids aren’t likely to pick up on these nuances.  In our home, the kids didn’t care about this book, and it didn’t meet our goal.

Graphic Novel Review: Putuguq & Kublu

Putuguq & Kublu by Danny Christopher, illustrated by Astrid Arijanto.
Inhabit Media, Iqualuit, Nunavut, Canada, 2017.
Early reader graphic novel, 40 pages.
Not leveled.

Putuguq and his dog are trying to play a trick on big sister Kublu.  While running across the tundra they meet Grandpa who reminds them to be careful around the inuksuit.  Of course then Putuguq has to try to lift his own stone… but the results aren’t what he expected!

 

This is the first book of a graphic novel series called Putuguq & Kublu.   We had already read the second title (without realizing that it was the second in a series) called Putuguq & Kublu and the Qualupaliit!  I didn’t see any more in this series yet, but would definitely continue to buy them if more are released.

This is the introductory book, which shows us a little about our favorite siblings and their world.  I’m not very familiar with tundra seasons but am guessing that this takes place in the spring or summer, because flowers are shown blooming.

Middle-Grade Reads for Adults

Maybe you just want a short read for the weekend.  Maybe you’re looking for a read-aloud for your family, something to read alongside a child, or a book for your students that might hold your interest too.  Here are five fiction and five nonfiction middle grade books that can hold the interest of an older reader – whether a teen who needs a less challenging read, adult who wants to finish a book quickly, or a family wanting to read together. 

Graphic Novel Review: Putuguq & Kublu & the Qalupalik!

Putuguq & Kublu and the Qalupalik! by Roselynn Akulukjuk and Danny Christopher, illustrated by Astrid Arijanto.
Inhabit Media, Iqualuit, Nunavut, Canada, 2018.
Early reader graphic novel, 40 pages.
Not leveled.
NOTE: This is a work of fiction although I’m not reviewing it on Fiction Friday.

Annoying little brother Putuguq, his dog, and big sister Kublu are on their way to meet her friend Lisa.  On the way they meet Grandpa who tells them a little about Qalupaliit and before they know it they might even meet one…

This is the second book of a graphic novel series called Putuguq & Kublu.  We hadn’t read the first one since I wasn’t aware it existed until the final page of this book, so I can attest that it’s possible to read these out of order!

I’m always excited to find early readers and early chapter books with diverse characters.  It’s particularly important to me that a variety of indigenous cultures are represented in our family’s library because our kids will have the opportunity to interact with people from every continent and most ethnicities.  They know many people from the LGBT community, differently abled kids and adults, and people with a variety of religious beliefs.

But even though we actively seek out opportunities for our children to learn about our area’s indigenous culture and those of other regions we travel to, realistically there are some areas we may never visit.  I’d prefer that as much as possible, we learn about those areas through #ownvoices representation rather than through white people’s books.

Which is a long winded way of saying books like this, or Shark King, are so important.

Review: Reading Lolita in Tehran

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi.
Random House, New York, my edition 2004, originally published 2003.
Adult memoir, 358 pages including reading group guide.
Lexile: not yet leveled
AR Level:  8.4 (worth 25.0 points)  .
NOTE: Despite the reading level, this is an adult book not recommended for children.

As the title states, a memoir of the author’s career in Tehran told through the lens of various literature she read and taught.

Review: Worm Loves Worm

Worm Loves Worm by J. J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato.
Balzer + Bray imprint, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2016.
Picture book, 28 pages.
Lexile:  not yet leveled
AR Level:  2.0 (worth 0.5 points) .

Worm loves Worm.  So Worm proposes.  They want to be married.  But then Cricket and Beetle and the rest all have their own ideas about what a wedding should look like.  Will Worm and Worm ever be able to just be married?

This book got a lot of attention while marriage equality was still in the news, but the buzz has died down.  Although immigration has replaced marriage equality as the hot topic of the moment, Worm Loves Worm is still a valuable addition to your library.

Review: The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
Anchor Books, Penguin Random House, New York, 2016.
Adult fiction, 313 pages.
Lexile:  890L  .
AR Level: not yet leveled

Cora is a young woman on a Georgia plantation when a new arrival asks her to run away with him.  Only one slave has ever successfully escaped the Randall plantation, but Caesar believes that if they run together, they’ll make it to the elusive Underground Railroad.

It took me a good while to get to this one.  I’d seen a lot of mixed reviews, and in general I’m not a fan of magical realism (which is what most people were calling this).  Finally I saw this at Target and decided to use it as one of my targetpicks selections.

Going into the read with low expectations definitely helped this novel blow me away.  It’s a very difficult book to classify.  Whitehead uses elements of many different genres, including historical fiction, adventure, science fiction, magical realism, and realistic fiction.

Discussion: Problematic Authors

So…  I’ve read, enjoyed, and highly recommended one Sherman Alexie novel.  As you can see on my 100 Indigenous Books challenge page, I’ve purchased two others, one of which I’ve since read (my page needs some updating) and the other I DNF’d but was attempting to re-read.  That’s two reviews that would have gone up later this year.

I’ve been a bit behind on reading blogs so I was very grateful this issue was highlighted on BookToss.  If you want more info, AICL has an exhaustive list of the best articles and commentary about the topic.  If you are looking for alternative books to read, both have lists (note especially these two), or you can check out my reviews.

However, this all leaves me with a bit of a dilemma.  While I don’t plan to buy any more Alexie books, I have a review and a half to go up, and one already up.  When this post goes live, I intend to edit my previous review with a link and comment about this new development and how it’s changed my opinion of Alexie.  But what about the other books?  I have a review ready, and another book that wasn’t going to get a very favorable review anyway.  It takes a lot of time and effort to read and review books, but I don’t want to promote a problematic author either!  Right now I’m leaning towards just giving up on those two reviews, but I’m curious what others think.

What would you do when an author you have scheduled reviews for turns out to be problematic?

2017 Favorites – Fiction

Yup, I’m not posting this until well into 2018.  In 2017 I reviewed 98 books (plus 10 board books) and so many of them were so good.  It took me a month just to narrow it down this far…  I just love all the books!