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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
"Every year around 27 January, UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence. The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945.
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, video and audio books for children and young adults, including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards at LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience today.
A list of 2022 award winners follows:
In this beautiful picture book, even the youngest book lovers can appreciate the simple comfort of a satisfying refreshment while on a journey. With vibrant cut-paper collage art, the reader can be transported to a train station stop in Jaipur, India. Part recipe, part sensory experience, this story is based on the author’s remembrances of visits to India as a child. Told with familiar yet descriptive language, children can delight in re-reading this accessible adventure story, while noticing all of the colors, sounds, smells, actions and tastes of this friendly momentary encounter.
Claudia Lin is living a double life. Her mother and siblings think she's still working a low-level corporate job (found for her by her brother). In reality she's quit that job and taken an entry level investigative position with Veracity; a firm that investigates dating app misbehavior (not showing up for dates, cheating, lying, ghosting, etc). The work in her new job is extremely confidential, but that's not a problem for Claudia who is used to keeping secrets.
This is a beautiful, quiet book about grief and friendship and recognizing when the people you love are broken. It's also about the power of sticking with those close to you until they are on the road to healing.
J.D. is this librarian’s new hero. The night before his first day of 3rd grade, his wonderful, well meaning mom gives him a terrible haircut. Facing ridicule and embarrassment at school J.D. takes the clippers into his own hands, practicing on his little brother and then giving himself his own perfect fade. An artist and comic book lover, he is soon transforming the trims of his entire peewee football team, and drawing some unwanted attention from the local barber who is losing business. But J.D. won’t give up his budding business without a fight. Let the great Barber Battle begin!
In the Young Adult book world, there are many new, fresh voices being represented as well as more titles from favorite YA authors. Here are some YA books that have left an impression on me this past year. They made me stay up way too late or were a treat to listen to as I mowed the lawn or drove around town.
A young boy loves to visit with his Abuelo, who plays accordion in a mariachi band. He also loves to listen to his Opa play accordion in his polka band, yodeling along with the music. But, when Opa and Abuelo meet, there is silence between them. They don’t share a language. Happily, the boy discovers they DO share a language, the universal language of music. Each grandfather shares music from their experience and pretty soon, everyone is singing, playing and dancing together as one big family.
A couple of things drew me to this book immediately. One, the cover, yep, I'm shallow like that. And two, the description of the hero/heroine. He's a retired naval captain and she's the put-upon companion to a difficult woman. My favorite Jane Austen novel is Persuasion so this description hit me in my Austen sweet spot. Did it live up to my hopes based on those two enticements? Mostly, though, in ways unexpected.
This is a heist story. It's also an examination of institutional racism in the rarefied world of classical music and of hope and perseverance in a world that doesn't always reward such. Brendan Slocumb, a former principal violinist and concertmaster, manages all of this in a delicate balance of a story that held my attention from first to last pages.
