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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
It’s not very often a science fiction book wins the Newbery Award and the Pura Belpré Award but The Last Cuentista did this year. The Last Cuentista is a dystopian story with tales of Mexican folklore woven within. ‘Cuentista’ in Spanish means storyteller and the main character, Petra Peña, is truly the only cuentista left in the world.
This historical fiction novel takes place between 1943 and 1974 beginning in Alexandria, Egypt, and ending in a small English village. It is a well written story told in alternating voices by James, a former RAF pilot and prisoner of WWII, and his wife, Yvette.
The previously unimaginable grief and loss that we face today differs from person to person but collectively weighs on all of us. Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares her experience losing her father in the summer of 2020 and the layers of difficulties of losing a loved one during COVID times. This book expands on a piece originally published in The New Yorker and contains as much grief, sadness, confusion and understanding as 67 pages can hold.
I really liked this straightforward and respectful picture book, originally published "across the pond" in England! Lovingly constructed with inclusive language and engaging, visibly diverse illustrations, you are sure to see some part of your family's experience reflected here. All families are ready for these important conversations at different times--as author Rachel Greener writes, "You and your family are amazing, just as you are!" When you're ready to talk the ways one egg, one sperm, and one womb can come together to create a baby, Making a baby is a great resource!
Lately in my speculative fiction reading (primarily science fiction and fantasy novels) I've been drawn to quiet, sometimes cranky, honorable characters who aren't super flashy, but persist in their quests because it's the right thing to do. Nettle & Bone satisfied that reading niche perfectly. Not only does this describe the heroine protagonist, but it does her male counterpart as well. I loved it.
"This isn't a fairytale where the princess marries a prince. It's the one where she kills him."
John Woodrow Cox's powerful book examines the countless victims of gun violence that are not counted as victims - the classmates, siblings, children, parents, teachers, friends, grand parents , and so on and so on. The book focuses on a 2016 shooting in South Carolina that killed 6-year-old Jacob Hall and the effects on his best friend Ava who was so traumatized that she developed severe PTSD. We get an intimate portrait of how Ava and her family are affected every single day by the PTSD.
For someone with two young children, I can relate to the – sometimes! – grumpy mornings of little ones. In this book, Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer, Penguin is in “a very bad mood.” The rain is falling on Penguin’s yellow hat and jacket. Penguin stomps all the way home and takes off his grumpy coat, grumpy boots, and grumpy socks. He’s still grumpy! In the midst of all his grumpiness, he pauses to take a deep breath and counts – 1, 2, 3. Then he dives into a splashy bathtub.
Expertly researched and timed perfectly to coincide with viewing of The Gilded Age on HBO, Vanderbilt dissects new versus old money and new versus old New York scenarios from that time period in American history. Along the way it leaves the reader baffled at how and why a family fortune was lost in just a few generations.
Booklist puts out many top 10 lists. If you're looking for some new history books to read, then check out Booklist's Top 10 History Books. I know that a number of them are on my to-be-read list.
Piñatas, cakes, rockets, presents, music…what else do you need for a party? Little Lobo and friends are back in this third ¡Vamos! book - winner of this year's Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award - and are headed across the bridge for a big celebration in a city on the other side of the river in another country.
