Geo Librarian

HARDLY HAUNTED by Jessie Sima Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4170-5 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8  All opinions expressed are solely my own. REVIEW An old broken-down house thinks she might be haunted.  She doesn't want to be haunted, she wants to be a home for some people.  She tries to muffle her creaks and squeaks and groans and is surprisingly successful until a storm strikes.  The wind causes branches to scratch against the house's windows and the lights to flicker and a howl to burst out into the night.  The house finally realizes that she enjoys the noise, but she still wants to be a home, just a haunted one.  Sim's darling illustrations give this falling down house a surprising amount of personality.  The cat who appears throughout the book adds a nice touch to the story, especially when the black cat freaks out a bit at all the noises.  Sim has created a lovely tale that emphasizes themes of ap...

ODD BEASTS: Meet Nature's Weirdest Animals by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Gareth Lucas Abrams Appleseed, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-4197-4222-4 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 2-6 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Barnyard animals—move over!  Odd Beasts  introduces babies and toddlers to more unusual species, including the glass frog with transparent skin and the pangolin—the only mammal with scales! Gentle rhyming verses provide the comforting repetition that little ones crave, even as their minds are opened to new and fascinating creatures from around the world. At the end of the book, readers will find photographs of each animal, along with more detailed factual information. The eight animals featured are the pangolin, ocean sunfish, glass frog, anglerfish, long-horned orb-weaver spider, Eastern snake-necked turtle, bush baby, and giant jumping stick.   COLORING SHEETS Extra! Find coloring sheets for   Odd Beasts  on Laura Gehl’s   website . ABO...

FLUFFY MCWHISKERS CUTENESS EXPLOSION explosions by Stephen W. Martin, cuteness by Dan Tavis Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4145-3 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Friendship is hard for Fluffy, a kitten so precious that anyone who looks at her explodes! Meet Fluffy—an adorable kitten.  So  adorable, in fact, that anyone who sees her will spontaneously explode into balls of sparkles and fireworks. KABOOM! Poof.  Poor Fluffy doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, but everything she tries, even a bad haircut, just makes her cuter! So Fluffy runs away someplace no one can find her. Find out if there’s any hope for Fluffy in this funny and subversive story about self-acceptance and finding friendship in unlikely places. REVIEW Fluffy McWhiskers'   cuteness causes anyone who looks at her to explode.  Naturally this makes it really difficult to find a friend.  Despite Fluffy's numerou...

SKI WEEKEND by Rektok Ross SparkPress, 2021 ISBN: 9781684631094 Source: NetGalley through publisher Ages 14 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Six teens, one dog, a ski trip gone wrong . . . Sam is dreading senior ski weekend and having to watch after her brother and his best friend, Gavin, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. Again. Gavin may be gorgeous, but he and Sam have never gotten along. Now they’re crammed into an SUV with three other classmates and Gavin’s dog, heading on a road trip that can’t go by fast enough. Then their SUV crashes into a snowbank, and Sam and her friends find themselves stranded in the mountains with cell phone coverage long gone and temperatures dropping. When the group gets sick of waiting for rescue, they venture outside to find help—only to have a wilderness accident leave Sam’s brother with a smashed leg and, soon, a raging fever. While the hours turn to days, Sam’s brother gets sicker and sicker, and their fo...

  CRANKY CHICKEN by Katherine Battersby Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-5344-6988-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 6-9 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Narwhal and Jelly meet The Bad Guys in this heartwarming, brightly illustrated, and downright hilarious chapter book about what happens when a very cranky chicken is befriended by a very cheerful worm. Cranky Chicken is, well, cranky. With one cranky eyebrow, cranky eyes, and even cranky, scratchy feet. But then one day, Cranky meets a very friendly worm named Speedy who wants nothing more than to be friends. Young readers will love seeing the mismatched friendship grow over the course of three charming and laugh-out-loud short adventures as Chicken and Speedy become BFFs (Best Feathered Friends) and Speedy shows Chicken how to look on the bright side. REVIEW This delightful graphic novel for early readers follows the friendship between a chicken and a worm.  Chicken is very cranky as de...

SUSIE B. WON'T BACK DOWN by Margaret Finnegan Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-5344-9863-1 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Susie B. has a lot to say. Like how it’s not fair that she has to be called Susie B. instead of plain Susie. Or about how polar bears are endangered. Or how the Usual Geniuses are always getting picked for cool stuff over the kids like her with butterflies in their brain. And it’s because Susie B. has a lot to say about these very important things that she’s running for student council president! If she’s president, she can advocate for the underdogs just like her hero and fellow Susie B., Susan B. Anthony. (And, okay, maybe the chance to give big speeches to the whole school with a microphone is another perk.) But when the most usual of Usual Geniuses also enters the student council race, Susie realizes this may be a harder won fight than she thought. Even worse, Susie discovers that ...

WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE by Renee Watson Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2020 ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Ryan Hart loves to spend time with her friends, loves to invent recipes, and has a lot on her mind—school, self-image, and family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means changes like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Because Ryan is all about trying to see the best. Even when things aren’t all she would wish for—her brother is infuriating, her parents don’t understand, when her recipes don’t turn out right, and when the unexpected occurs—she can find a way forward, with wit and plenty of sunshine. REVIEW Renee Watson introduces readers to a delightful new character in Ways to Make Sunshine .  Ryan Hart tries to live up to the name her parents gave her (Ryan means 'king') to encourag...

YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!  13 Writers for young people talk about censorship, free expression, and the stories they have to tell compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus Candlewick Press, 2021 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9036-6 Source: ARC from publisher for review Ages 12 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK What happens when freedom of expression comes under threat? In frank and wide-ranging interviews, historian and critic Leonard S. Marcus probes the experience of thirteen leading authors of books for young people. A powerful photo essay on transgender teens is called anti-religious and anti-family. A meticulously researched primer on sex education stirs up accusations of pornography and child abuse. Picture books about two mommies (or two penguin daddies) set off a hue and cry. Two hugely popular children's series run afoul of would-be censors, one for its scatological humor, the other because it's deemed too scary. Kids' books that touch on race, sex, LG...