Geo Librarian

CHILDREN OF THE BLACK GLASS by Anthony Peckham Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-6659-1313-3 Ages 12-14 Middle grade dystopian fantasy All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. Interview arranged through the publisher. REVIEW Brother and sister, Wren and Tell, descend from their mountain home in an effort to save their father's life. After cutting a magnificent piece of black glass from the village mine, the children's father ends up blinded. According to village custom he will be abandoned to die on the local glacier unless a cure can be found to help him heal.  Unwilling to be forced to live with other villages, Tell determines to take the black glass belonging to his father and try to sell it for a cure for his father and enough supplies to last them through the winter.  After his sister, Wren sneakily joins him, the two children and their stubborn mule, Rumble leave the mountain.   But neither Wren n...

BORDER CROSSINGS by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Howard Gray Charlesbridge, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-62354-238-2 Source: publisher for review Ages 6-10 Picture book nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW A young male ocelot is deprived of the chance to find a new territory and a mate by a wall built along a human created border. Whatever one's politics or beliefs about such walls, the impact goes far beyond the people it's intended to stop. In this picture book, Collard and Gray highlight the ecosystems that cross the border and some of the animals that live in the area.  Some parts of the border aren't shut off yet and the story follows a young female ocelot who does manage to cross the border to find a new territory and mate. The effects of the wall on the environment are highlighted but the focus is on the remarkable animals and ecosystems that existed long before any border. Back matter include...

THE LOUD LIBRARIAN written by Jenna Beatrice, illustrated by Erika Lynne Jones Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-6659-1054-5 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW So often librarians are stereotyped as older women wearing cardigans and glasses. Now sometimes they look like that but just as often we don't. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Penelope who wants to be a librarian but has a hard time following directions. Despite her preparation (alphabetizing the pantry at home, pushing a laundry cart on a skateboard, and due date sticking her brother's coloring book), things don't go well for Penelope. Penelope's loud voice tends to cause chaos as she knocks books on the floor and disturbs young readers in the library. Penelope's heartbroken when it appears that she just isn't right for the library. Or is she? Is there a way for Penelope to follow her...

ICEBERG by Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic Press, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-338-79502-8 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Middle grade historical fiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW Blending historical details with a compelling story makes writing historical fiction a unique challenge. You need enough details to put the reader into the time and place so they can understand what's happening, but you don't want so much detail that readers get bogged down or lose interest. Jennifer Nielsen's newest historical fiction story takes on a well-known, popular topic and interweaves a fresh, intriguing story with it.   Hazel Rothbury stows away on the Titanic after discovering she doesn't have enough money to buy a ticket the way she planned. Full of questions, Hazel hopes to be a journalist one day, but as she is traveling to the US to work in a factory to support her family, her dream seems impossible.  But with the he...

I came across these two picture books about Yoshi, a sea turtle rescued and cared for for twenty years before being returned to the ocean. I enjoyed comparing the two books, both of which are excellent. Each tells Yoshi's story but include slightly different details. Comparing the two would make for a great literacy activity for home or school.  Here are my thoughts about each book. YOSHI AND THE OCEAN A Sea Turtle's Incredible Journey Home by Lindsay Moore Greenwillow Books, 2022 ISBN: 978-0-06-306098-2 Source: purchased Ages 6 and up Picture book nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW The highlight of Yoshi and the Ocean is the beautiful artwork created using graphite, watercolor, drawing inks, Conte crayon, and color pencils. Beginning on the endpapers with an illustration of a mother turtle making her way back to the ocean, the story imagines what Yoshi's beginning was like before jumping to he...

  OUTSIDE AMELIA'S WINDOW by Caroline Castro, illustrated by Anna Sands Budisan Two Lions, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-5420-2785-4 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & illustrations provided by Blue Slip Media. ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR Caroline Nastro was born and raised in New York City. Her first picture book, The Bear Who Couldn’t Sleep, illustrated by Vanya Nastanlieva, has been translated into three languages and was chosen as a Bank Street Best Picture Book of the Year in Spanish. Outside Amelia’s Window is Anca Sandu Budisan and Caroline Nastro’s second collaboration. Their first book, Fly, Little Bird, Fly!, was published in 2021. Caroline attended the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, and has a master’s degree in theater from Stanford University. She is an award-winning theater director and playwright. Learn more about the author at www.carolinenastro.com . Anca Sandu Budisan was born in Romania and studied children’s ill...

TOO SMALL TOLA AND THE THREE FINE GIRLS by Atinute, illustrated by Onyinye Iwo Candlewick Press, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-5362-2517-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 6-9 Realistic fiction (global fiction) All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW Too Small Tola lives with her Grandmommy, her sister, Moji, and her brother, Dapo, in a rundown apartment in Lagos, Nigeria. She loves to go to school and has an affinity for math. The book is divided into three chapters.  In each chapter, Tola deals with a different challenge.  In Tola Saves the Day , Grandmommy's precious earrings get lost when Moji and Dapo mess around instead of helping Tola clean the rice. Tola's small size proves to be a boon when one of the earrings proves to be especially illusive. In the second story, Tola Takes Control , Grandmommy gets malaria and Tola and Dapo must sell ground nuts in her place, but Dapo isn't much help as he prefers to hang out w...