Reviews
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
“Based on her childhood experiences, Na Liu and her husband have created a rich, multilayered memoir, incorporating history, geography, language, culture, and mythology into eight short stories; then weaving them together to create an exquisite tapestry of life in China during the… View →
Lights Out Shabbat
“Celebrate Shabbat the Southern way with this charming episodic adventure that underlines the true meaning of this weekly holiday—family love and devotion. When a young boy goes to visit his grandparents in Atlanta for a sleepover, a surprise snowstorm hits the area, causing a… View →
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
“These experimental, unedited short stories showcase the many faces of horror—goth, faerie, ghostly, grotesque, lyrical, vengeful, and nasty-cool… The presentation here is innovative, incorporating critique comments, hand-written marginalia describing the writer’s… View →
Brazilian Jiujitsu: Ground-Fighting Combat
“This compact volume, heavily illustrated with photographs of participants in many poses, also covers the history of the sport, its relationship to a peaceful and harmonious life, the founders of Brazilian jiujitsu, and the spread of its popularity.” —Booklist View →
Shadow of Doubt
“Readers who prefer their mysteries spun around affairs of the heart and finished off with a neat package of confessions and explications will enjoy this latest episode and look forward to the next.” —Booklist View →
Infinity and Me
“Swiatkowska’s Victorian-style drawings are vaguely reminiscent of Edward Gorey, and Hosford effectively reflects the ways in which young children might grapple with, and come to some understanding of, such an impenetrable notion.” —The New York Times Book… View →
“Retold by a master storyteller, this new version of a classic tale is an all-around delight. Woven together with the joys of Sabbath celebrations are themes of generosity, hospitality, and the true meaning of wealth. The engaging prose and vibrant, colorful illustrations create a… View →
Oopsy, Teacher!
http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/blog/BlogSinglePost/reading-today-online/2012/08/22/back-to-school-book-reviewsMr. Bungles is having a bad day just like he did in Calmenson’s earlier book about Mr. Bungles, Late for School (2008). He… View →
Speak Up, Tommy!
“What to expect: Mean behavior in a school setting; immigration; foreign languages; lessons about compassion and utility. Speak Up, Tommy! tells the story of a little boy who’s in a new school in a new country and feels out of place. Tommy has to learn a new language,… View →
A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
“Abirached’s readers will instantly empathize with those who do not readily have access to simple luxuries many take for granted—running water, electricity or the simple return of our loved ones from an outing—and this may perhaps spur them to re-examine what they may have… View →
Dino-Football
“Gott’s high-energy cartoons place readers right in the football action, with dinosaur tackles, touchdowns, and a rousing halftime show.” —Publishers Weekly View →
The Twelve-Fingered Boy
“A fast-paced, ferocious nightmare of a story—gritty, magical, and surprisingly tender.” –Brenna Yovanoff, New York Times Bestselling author of The Replacement View →
The Day Louis Got Eaten
“The hilariously preposterous chase unfolds quickly in Fardell’s panel illustrations, and Sarah shows bravery, ingenuity, and determination every step of the way.” —Publisher’s Weekly View →
The Apple Tree's Discovery
“A little apple tree wants to be like the other trees in the oak forest. It particularly longs to have stars, since the other trees have stars that dangle and shimmer on their branches at night. The tree asks God for stars, and in response, God tries to let the tree know how many… View →
Sadie and the Big Mountain
“Sadie loves everything about school. But when Morah Sarah tells the class that they will mark Shavuot with a hike, like Moses did when he climbed Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, Sadie is very worried that she won’t be able to complete the trek. Each day that week the teacher… View →
A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
“Abirached’s b&w inks offer a stark contrast in hard, geometric patterns that make images at once abstract and fully representative of her childhood memories. The characters, despite their cartoonish nature, show a variety of emotions, and Abirached’s gift for… View →
Fly, Chick, Fly!
“Unlike the signature, comedic style of cartooning Ross uses in the Horrid Henry and Little Princess books, his textural pastel illustrations in this story about a baby barn owl are delicate and quiet, an excellent match for Willis’s lyrical text…. A conventional but… View →
Peace and Quiet: Book 4
“Speech balloons, endearing illustrations of the characters, well-paced panels and lots of action from scene to scene will keep young readers invested in this story… A welcome addition to shelves of graphic novels for new readers.”—Kirkus Reviews View →
“It is evident Hiti comes from the comic-book world. The text is pared down to essential declarations, exclamations and gleeful sound effects in this rapidly paced title. In settings of mostly teal, deep red, white, black and gray, Waga stands out as a brilliantly orange phenom… View →
“Episodic enough to dip in and out, this New Zealand import charms in small bites.” —Kirkus Reviews View →
A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
“As she puts an accessible face on a foreign culture through her characters, Abirached also distinguishes her piece with striking and unique design work. Her use of heavily contrasted black-and-white spaces, as well as elegant flourishes like crowding an anxious room with ticks and View →
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
“If you have a yen for dark, yearning, challenging yarns that often have a delightfully ambiguous, fairy-tale ambiance, there is plenty here to sate your curiosity… The inventive idea is fresh enough to draw plenty of interest on its own. But add in three high-wattage YA… View →
From Cocoa Bean to Chocolate
“Each book contains a table of contents with the steps listed in the food production. Each spread is clearly organized by the introduction of a specific step and then followed by short sentences to provide additional explanations. A color photograph on the opposite page offers… View →