MADreads Reviews

It's school picture day at Brinkley Middle School and Viv decides to shake things up by giving herself a haircut. In the bathroom. While waiting for her turn to have her photo taken. This is brave, bold, and possibly regrettable. But Viv embraces the change. When her mom schedules an emergency appointment at a salon to have her hair "fixed," Viv shares her vision with the stylist and ends up with a cool angled bob. She becomes famous for being true to herself, even though the road was a little bumpy at first.

I felt like shrieking more than a few times while reading The Teacher. Here's the deal: there's a student at Caseham High who was involved with a teacher last year in a way that drew suspicion from parents, other teachers, and administrators at the school. Nobody seems to know what happened, but the teacher resigned in disgrace and the student, Addie, earned a reputation for being troubled. It's not clear if Addie is truly troubled or if she's a victim of circumstance. What is clear is that she's a school pariah and being bullied by mean girls.

Sylvie Cathrall's debut is an epistolary novel - a novelistic style that sometimes works for me and sometimes does not. Here it mostly does. I was immediately drawn in by the dreamy, carefully anxious letter that E. is writing to Scholar Henerey Clel. E. (you'll learn her full name later) lives alone in an underwater abode called The Deep House. She writes to Henerey and her sister Sophy and an array of others to stay in contact with the world. This world is one that is about 99% covered in water and most abodes are on floating islands.

When a young girl moves to a new home, she befriends her elderly neighbor. Together they share a love of crafts and nature. As seasons pass, how will the girl deal with her friend’s failing health? Enjoy the beautiful pictures and backgrounds from award winning illustrator Julie Flett as you settle into this warm story that celebrates inter-generational friendships and finding connection.

A brief glossary and pronunciation guide to Cree-Métis words that appear in the text is provided.

--reviewed by Melissa

Jane's world changes the instant she meets Thalia. Both young women are waiting in line for a bus that will take them to their prestigious Oxford Creative Writing program and for Jane, the experience is heady and intoxicating. Thalia is beautiful and confident. She's smart and talented. She's wealthy and knows how to act. She has everything going for her and is beloved by all. Jane is plain and socially awkward. She's barely scraping by financially and in all aspects of her life.

Last weekend was the celebration of the Lunar New Year and it is now the Year of the Dragon. How cool is that? For those of you who celebrated and those who want to learn a bit more, here are a couple new favorites of mine.

Henry, like many children on the neurodivergent spectrum, loves routine. He likes knowing what to expect and things always being the same. But this week isn’t like always. On Friday, there will be a parade. A parade means a change in schedule, loud music, and no share time like always. Henry’s days this week just feel orange - his least favorite color. This sweet book is full of the small ups and downs of kindergarten life, told through Henry’s unique perspective. Follow Henry as he navigates these changes with the help of this teacher and friends to a reassuring conclusion.

This beautiful picture book tells the story of a family who celebrates two New Years - Rosh Hashanah in the fall and Lunar New Year in the spring.

The simple text details the any differences between these two holidays - for example, one follows the Jewish calendar and one follows the Chinese calendar - as well as some of the similarities - both inspire delicious dishes! Bold colorful illustrations are full of cheerful details, and this is a great book for kids who celebrate these New Years to see themselves represented, or for anyone to learn more about different holidays.

Also available in Spanish as ¿Qué te pasó?

Fox has a problem - their kite is stuck in a tree! And unfortunately, this is the not first time this has happened, as we zoom out to see a forest filled with kites. Fox drags out a giant fan, but that just leads to a problem for Bear, when their house is filled with leaves. Fox's fix for this leads to a problem for Rabbit, and pretty soon all the animals have a problem! Finally, thanks to Elephant, all the problems are resolved and all the friends are happily flying kites. 

Locus Magazine has published their recommended reading list for 2023 titles and wow is there so much goodness to discover. They suggest best novels in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also have best in young adult and first novels (so happy to see To Shape a Dragon's Breath, which I loved).

Winner of the 2024 Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Awards, a 2024 Newbery Honor book, and a 2024 Odyssey Honor Audiobook. Also available in Spanish.

¿Alguna vez te has perdido tanto en un libro que ni te das cuenta de lo que está pasando a tu alrededor?

If reading history books is up your alley, then check out Booklist's newest top 10 list It includes ancient history, life during the US Civil War, the war in Ukraine, American servicewomen in World War II, and much more. Are there any you would add to the list?

This book gave me goosebumps. Setting off on a quest through two different forests, to discover two different, but equally enchanting truths about dragons, a little boy’s adventures come lavishly to life with edge to edge full color ink illustrations. This book is an exploration of Eastern and Western Dragon mythologies, both true and meaningful celebrations of the child’s mixed cultural identities. It is hard to pick a favorite line, a favorite description or depiction in these pages.

How does a child process the loss of a parent or loved one?

An American Story, illustrated by Dare Coulter and written by Kwame Alexander, is the winner of the 2024 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for outstanding illustrations by an African American artist.

In the author's note, Alexander shares that he wrote this book after realizing that his daughter's teacher had a fear of teaching kids about slavery- she had never been taught how.

This American story opens with the question, "How do you tell a story that starts in Africa and ends in horror?"

Maybe you've heard of the Caldecott medal for illustration, one of the highest honors in children's literature, awarded annually by the American Library Association? But did you know that it is named after 19th-century illustrator, Randolph Caldecott? 

An ode to fathers & sons, A Walk in the Woods  by Nikki Grimes, Jerry Pinkney, and Brian Pinkney, wends through trees and wildlife to find a special gift. The boy in the story has recently lost his father. In his grief, he discovers a note – a map!

In Sophia N. Lee’s remarkable picture book, Holding On, we meet a delightful granddaughter and her beloved Lola (the Tagalog word for grandmother). Lola loves to tell her granddaughter “If you want to hold on, you gotta sing your songs”, and Lola’s house is full of music and memories. Along with photos, special objects, favorite foods, and stories, Lola’s songs are how she remembers and shares her life and loved ones.