Geo Librarian

CLICK, CLACK, PEEP! Ready*to*Read, Level 2 by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin Simon Spotlight, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-5344-1386-3 Ages 4-6 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK New York Times bestselling duo Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin’s beloved story about a noisy duckling is now available as a Level 2 Ready-to-Read! There’s more trouble on the farm, but Duck has nothing to do with it, for once. This time the trouble is a four-ounce puff of fluff who just won’t go to sleep, and whose play-with-me “peeps” are keeping the whole barnyard awake with him. Peep! Peep! Peep! How do you get a baby duck to hit the hay? Poor Farmer Brown will find out—and Duck might just find himself in trouble after all… REVIEW Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin have a magical partnership when it comes to the Farmer Brown/Click, Clack books.  The books are light and fun to read with lots of humor.  The illustrations are just as ap...

THE WISHBREAKER Wishmaker #2 by Tyler Whitesides Harper, 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-256834-2 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Middle grade speculative/fantasy All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Ace and Ridge are back to save their friend—and the world—in this sequel to The Wishmakers, which Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, praised as a “fantastically fast-paced and funny read.” Being a Wishmaker may be more trouble than it’s worth. Sure, you get a genie who can grant an unlimited number of wishes, but for each one you make you have to accept an awful consequence in return. Not to mention that you’re also given an impossible quest and only seven days to fulfill it! Despite all that, Ace and his genie, Ridge, managed to complete their last mission—but they couldn’t save their friend Tina from being abducted by a rogue genie who’s bent on using his limitless power to rule the world. ...

HELLO, I'M HERE! by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder Candlewick Press, 2019 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9858-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 Picture Book Poetry/Nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A poetic text and wonderfully intimate photographs follow a newborn sandhill crane as it takes its first steps into the world. Will my legs hold me? What if I fall? Peek in as a sandhill crane hatchling makes its first wobbly stand and takes its first steps alongside its brother. With their parents close by, they flap their wings and dance before enjoying a buggy treat. Someday they will fly with the majestic cranes overhead, but for now, Mama's soft feathers beckon. With a lyrical narrative and lovely photo illustrations, this latest venture from an acclaimed creative team makes a perfect new baby gift -- and will appeal to bird lovers, too. REVIEW Helen Frost and Rick Lieder have created another beautifully poetic ode to the won...

FROM TREE TO SEA words by Shelley Moore Thomas, Art by Christopher Silas Neal Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019 ISBN: 9781481495313 Ages 4-8 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK From the edge of the sea to a high mountain top, everything has its place in the world and all living things are connected. The world around us has a lot to tell us if we take the time to look and listen. This tender and comforting picture book celebrates the wisdom in many of the things great and small that make up our wonderful world. REVIEW This wonderful book takes the reader on a journey through some of the beautiful scenery that nature offers us.  The natural world has much to teach us if we are willing to listen and pay attention.  The author shares the things that she sees when she looks at the world around her.  For example, she points out that bees can teach us the value of wo...

GENESIS BEGINS AGAIN by Alicia D. Williams S&S/Atheneum, 2019 ISBN: 978-1481465809 Middle grade contemporary/issue Source: publisher for review Ages 9-14 All opinions expressed are solely my own.  ABOUT THE BOOK This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who is filled with self-loathing and must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself. There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplant—even her own family. And #61: Because her family is always being put out of their house, belongings laid out on the sidewalk for the world to see. When your dad is a gambling addict and loses the rent money every month, eviction is a regular occurrence. What’s not so regular is that this time they all don’t have a place to crash, so Genesi...

YOU ARE LIGHT by Aaron Becker Candlewick Studio, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0115-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK With a wondrously simple die-cut book, the Caldecott Honor-winning creator of the Journey trilogy brings his talents further into the light. This is the light that brings the day. Open this beautiful book to find a graphic yellow sun surrounded by a halo of bright die-cut circles. Now hold the page up to the light and enjoy the transformation as the colors in those circles glow. In an elegant, sparely narrated ode to the phenomenon of light, Aaron Becker follows as light reflects off the earth to warm our faces, draws up the sea to make the rain, feeds all the things that grow, and helps to create all the brilliant wonders of the world, including ourselves. REVIEW This rather unusual picture is all about the power of light and it´s connection to life.  The beauty of the simple text high...

THEN EVERYTHING WENT WRONG HiLo #5 by Judd Winick Random House, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-5247-1496-3 Ages 9-12 Middle grade graphic novel (Fantasy/Scifi) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK MORE ACTION! MORE FUN! MORE LAUGHS! MORE ROBOTS! What REALLY happened in Hilo's world before he came to Earth? D.J. and our favorite space boy, Hilo, take a DANGEROUS trip to Hilo's home planet to find out! But everything Hilo thinks he knows about his past is about to be turned inside out and UPSIDE DOWN! Hilo was supposed to save everyone...but what happens if it's Hilo that needs saving?! Is ANYONE who we think they are? Can Hilo and his friends figure out how all the pieces fit...before it's too late?! REVIEW Another exciting book in an appealing, standout graphic novel series for middle grade readers.  In this 5th of 6 books, the tension builds to a crescendo as HiLo and D.J. set out to discover the remaining missing pieces of HiLo...