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Sunday, March 17, 2024

What Poo Can Do:How Animals Are Fighting the Climate Crisis, written by Yolanda Ridge. Orca Book Publishers, 2024. $21.95 ages 9 and up


"Like wildebeests, gorillas are so important to the health
of the jungle trees and plants that they're often called
gardeners of the forest. They keep tropical forests (which store 40 percent of the world's carbon) healthy by fertilizing plants with their poop and removing brush that could cause fires.
"

I have great admiration for the books included in the Orca Footprints series. Billed as small steps toward big changes, they do exactly that. Their authors have a consuming interest in their subject matter and provide just enough facts that the books hold interest, while providing important information for young readers interested in making our world a better place. Poo is the 28th book in the series, which started publishing by Orca in 2013 with Down to Earth. That is an amazing run, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Many different things have an effect on our lives, and most have worthwhile solutions when we learn as much as we can about them. These books certainly do their part to keep us informed. 

Everyone is affected by climate change. Animals are included, of course. Just as people can play a role in helping to stem the tide of galloping changes to our environment, animals do it quite naturally. The table of contents lets readers know what they can expect. Any book with the word POO in the title is sure to be of great interest. Looking at the listed chapters allows readers to head directly to what attracts their full attention. 

Will it be burping, farting and pooping it out?  I suggest that might be a strong contender. Or, what a load of guano. The chapters talk about whales, wildebeests, dung beetles, and penguins. Each is divided into four or five sections, providing interesting data on how animals help stem climate change and how we can help each species in that fight. End matter includes a glossary, a list of resources, and an index. 

This is another book that provides food for thought, offers pertinent information, and equips interested middle graders with fodder for discussion and research. 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

SEE IT, DREAM IT, DO IT, written by Colleen Nelson and Kathie MacIsaac and illustrated by Scot Ritchie. Pajama Press, 2023. $24.95 ages 11 and up

 


"Community advocacy is about 
speaking up for people who can't do 
it themselves. Ryan supports and gives
a voice to those who have difficulty 
communicating their views and 
feelings to others.

Ryan Beardy is one of the 25 people, featured in this follow-up book to If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It (2022), who found their dream jobs. Ryan had a tough start in life which escalated into gang activity and time spent in juvenile detention. That was when he began to reconnect with traditional Indigenous healing, partnered with a new interest in writing. Much hard work led him to the work he does today as a community advocate/mentor and coordinator. His story will inspire others to 'turn negatives into positives' - to see value in helping young people find a better path. 

In two-page spreads, middle grade readers will meet dream makers, whose hard work and energetic inspiration has led them to find joy in their choices and work that gives meaning to their lives. The people are as diverse as the careers they have chosen to pursue. From fitness trainer to equine therapist, basketball coach to cave microbiologist, and ambassador to park ranger, readers will be intrigued to learn the many choices available to them as they think about their own future and how it might look. 

The design and the writing style are in keeping with the first book. Sidebars, titled Pro Tip, Why Not Try, Spin-Off Jobs, Living the Dream, and Inspiring Individuals attract attention and offer food for thought. Back matter introduces the team who made this book possible, employment experts who support career quests and give guidance to those seeking ideas, and Try It Out ideas for volunteering, questioning, inspiration, and finding a mentor.  An alphabetized glossary and an index are useful. 

Friday, March 15, 2024

Have You Seen An Elephant, written and illustrated by Elina Ellis. Kids Can Press, 2024. $21.99 ages 4 and up

 


"Did you know that elephants
have poor digestive systems? 

That's why they are always full of gas! 

Have a look in my journal."

Wouldn't you think that an elephant would be easy to spot? Apparently not! 

Alex is a young explorer with a penchant for elephants; she knows a great deal about them. Since she has not seen a real one, she is preparing for a search. Backpack full and armed with her elephant journal. she sets off. She is bold in her meetings with a giraffe, meerkats, even a snake while asking for help in spotting an elephant. 

It won't take young readers long before they catch on to the joke being played on Alex. While she is intent on speaking with a rhino, observant readers will be quick to point out that there is an elephant right behind her - and it's walking away into the forest! 

When the rhino appears perplexed with the question, Alex pulls out her journal and offers a look at two pages of highly interesting information about elephants, both African and Asian. Three such spreads are shared as she searches. Moving ever onward, she perches herself in a vulture's nest, not knowing that a herd of elephants is walking beneath her. Nothing stops her in her quest, while all the while elephants can be seen on every spread. 

When she is finally ready to give up, Alex offers a clear hint at what's up next. Since elephants are so hard to find, she tells a monkey that she might just start looking for a tiger. 

"I LOVE TIGERS!

I know everything about them."

Only then does Alex ask an elephant if she has seen a tiger! Kids will be roaring. 

Digital illustrations engage readers with a myriad of details certain to tickle their funny bones. Back matter offers suggestions for creating a journal. Once finished the first, it's easy to start on another. 

Be on the lookout in September for Is This a Tiger? the second book in this promising series. 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Last Zookeeper, by Aaron Becker. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House. 2024. $24.99 ages 6 and up


"Only if we understand, can we care. 
Only if we care, will we help.
Only if we help, shall all be saved. 

                 - JANE GOODALL 

Oh, my! Aaron Becker continues to amaze with his wordless picture books. The enormous zookeeper here is a robot. The world for the animals is desolate. They exist on water-surrounded bits of land that was once a thriving zoo. They are cared for by their robot friend, who supplies them with the food they need to survive as best they can. 

NOA, as described by letters on its arm, is innovative and persistent in the care it gives to all denizens of this threatened space. In preparation for a departure that seems imminent, NOA fashions a small boat to test its usefulness. The rains come, and further flooding requires immediate action. Noa manages to bring all animals to a safe place before gathering the materials needed to build a bigger boat - an ark that will carry them away from where they are to something better.

Once construction is complete, they set off. All is peaceful and uplifting, until an oncoming violent storm provides a very real threat to their safety and destroys their tranquil voyage. They are soon shipwrecked in another bleak space. With help from the animals, NOA is revived. Helpless and alone, they stare in awe as another robot approaches and climbs down from the wooden basket of a hot air balloon. Introductions are made before the two load the animals aboard the airship and sail through cloudy skies to a lush tropical island of great promise. Friendship and tranquility are beautifully evident in the final frame. 

No words are needed when the watercolor and pen and ink artwork is so rich and meaningful; when numerous fine details beg readers to stop in wonder at seeing something new every time they revisit its pages; and when a storyteller as talented as Aaron Becker graces us with yet another triumph. Bravo!                                                                                   


https://youtu.be/OiuEmynKaD4?si=bXyiyh0WUU4djRIl 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Simon Sort of Says, written by Erin Bow. Scholastic, 2023. $21.99 ages 10 and up

 


"By the time the police walked me out of 
Eagle Crest Elementary that day, it had 
already been forty-seven minutes. 
I know the exact number because the 
Omaha World Herald published a big 
timeline and I memorized it. Every bit 
of it, from the school secretary phoning 
911 at 9:56 to when the police got the 
whole place swept and finished taking 
the kids out at 10:43. 
So, when me and two of the officers 
scuttled out the back door with somebody's
body armor heavy and flapping around me, 
the media was already there.

This was my book to read while I was riding my stationary bike as part of my recuperation from knee replacement surgery. It was very hard to stop reading when it was time to stop cycling. To that end, it took me a little longer to read than I wanted. It is a compelling story, written with a sense of mystery as the story begins. 

Simon's narrative voice is sarcastic at times, as well as poignant, angry, humorous, empathetic, and fearful. Simon has good reason for every one of those emotions as readers eventually learn his full story. He and his parents have just moved to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska ... a town that is awash with huge radio telescopes. Living in this scientific community means you agree to live without televisions, cell phones, microwaves, and internet. 

Grin and Bear It provides work for both his mother (funeral director) and his father (church deacon), and it is perfect for Simon as he doesn't want anyone knowing what has happened with him over the past year. It takes some time for readers to learn that Simon was the lone survivor of a school shooting in Omaha. It has been a long year in which Simon was homeschooled and attended many therapy sessions to help him deal with the notoriety and the trauma of his experience. 

He just wants to be a normal kid in a new school in a new town. What he does is make new friends, help to train a service puppy, and eventually learn that it's impossible to escape your past, no matter how hard you try. In telling his story, he introduces us to a wonderful, humane cast of characters. The story's core is in the past; its lingering trauma is evident on many levels. Erin Bow's adept and sensitive text allows readers to live with the terrifying feelings that continue to plague Simon in various situations. It also gives such tremendous value to friendship and understanding, empathy and support. 

It is deserving of every accolade it has received since its publication last year. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Beatrice and Barb, written by Kate Jenks Landry and illustrated by Vivian Mineker. Kids Can Press, 2023. $23.99 ages 4 and up


"Despite all of Beatrice's love and care,
Barb seemed unhappy. Her beautiful 
pink color faded. Her leaves withered
and dropped. 

Beatrice wondered if perhaps Barb was 
lonely. She asked her friend Leo to bring 
his dog, Lucy, over for a playdate.
"

Beatrice, like almost any other kid you may know, wanted a pet. Asking her mother for a dog, cat, hedgehog, or small horse resulted in the same negative reply. Her mother was willing to make a compromise. Beatrice could have a plant. 

If you had a lot of guesses, I'm not sure you would come close to guessing what Beatrice feels is a worthy choice. Barb was not anything like what she had imagined; I mean who would choose a Venus flytrap as a pet? That is just what Beatrice did. 

Beatrice cared for Barb to the best of her ability, and in all the best possible ways. Still, Barb began to fail. Lucy didn't know how to help. The vet didn't know how to help, being the animal specialist that she was. She did suggest new soil and fertilizer. That only made things worse. Only when Beatrice noticed that the vet had left another solution in the event of an emergency, did she try something new. 

Beatrice quickly biked Barb to a plant shop where she was given the exact advice she needed to help her very unusual and discriminating pet. Knowing how truly special a Venus flytrap was only upped Beatrice's pride in Barb. 

Bright digital artwork matches the book's tone of warmth and concern for all living things. 

Monday, March 11, 2024

I'm Afraid, Said the Leaf, written by Daneille Daniel and illustrated by Matt James. tundra, Penguin Random House, 2024. $24.99 ages 3 and up

 


"I'm so thirsty, said the skunk.

Have a drink, 
said the stream. 

I'm so lonely, said the crab. 

Come and join us, said the fish."

As the sun rises, a small girl plays in sand on the beach. A lone leaf floats nearby, expressing fear at its predicament. A tree reminds the leaf it is not alone. As the child takes note of all that is happening around her, other statements are made by one thing and allayed by another. The wind will lift a tiny bird afraid of flight. The sun will warm a chilly horse. A nut will feed a hungry squirrel. 

The call and response format offers assurance for young readers that things are going to be okay. Matt James uses bold colors and powerful spreads, created with his signature acrylic paints, to further enhance those feelings. The child is ever-present, discovering the many ways that nature is a generous companion. The worries are real, the needs are obvious, the solutions are quite lovely. 

After a long day of observation and travel, the child has a concern of her own; she is very tired. The moon offers solace. What are you doing for others? 

In an author's note, Ms. Daniel explains that we all 'need each other for support and survival'. 

"We are better and stronger together, which is why
it's important we take care of our planet and each 
other. We are all one big family.
"