Readers

Hale, Shannon. The Princess in Black. Illus. LeUyen Pham. Candlewick Press, 2014. 89 pages. PLB $14.99, ISBN 978-0-7636-6510-4

Princess Magnolia has a secret identity –– she’s the Princess in Black! When the monsters of the nearby Monster Land escape to cause chaos and steal goats, she and her faithful horse are on the job with a ring of her trusty monster alarm ring. One afternoon while she’s enjoying a tea with Duchess Wigtower, the monster alarm goes off. Donning her disguise, Princess Magnolia nimbly hurries off dodging discovery. At the scene, she employs her ninja skills to defeat the blue monster, rescuing Duff’s goats. Back at the castle, nosy Wigtower could be closing in on her secret if the Princess in Black doesn’t make it back in time. Unbeknownst to Magnolia, Duff who dreams of helping her, might also be onto her. Rich, full color water color and ink illustrations complete with sound effect words during action sequences accompany the text. For the observant kids, there are often little, humorous details to be found in the illustrations. The type is still relatively large, with a variety of page lengths from full page to single sentence. Full page illustrations alternate with full text pages, and partial text pages contain illustrations. The language is still controlled and occasionally sing-songy, but the fast paced action and humor carry the story well. The characters and setting are well-laid out for continuing adventures. For beginning completely independent readers with a taste for action and adventure, The Princess in Black offers humor-filled super hero tale. Gr. K-3, Level 3 to transitional.

Butler, Dori Hillestad. King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth. Illus. by Nancy Meyers. Peachtree, 2018. 47 pages. Hardcover $14.95, ISBN 978-1-56145-880-6

King the dog and his human, young, black Kayla are best friends and solve mysteries together. The mystery today? Kayla’s missing tooth. Kayla’s pretty sure she put her lost tooth back in the tooth fairy pillow on her way home from school, but when she goes to take a look it’s nowhere to be found. Now it’s up to King, Kayla, and Kayla’s friend Mason to crack the case so that she can get her tooth to the tooth fairy. King the dog narrates with a suitably silly and enthusiastic voice describing the clues he sniffs out. Sweet, full digitally colored pencil illustrations with lots of white negative space accompany medium type text. Short simple sentences with limited vocabulary tell the story in a mix of full and partial text coverage pages. Newly independent readers with a love of dogs and mysteries will enjoy following along with King & Kayla. Gr. K-3, Level 3.

Keller, Laurie. We are Growing! Illus. by Laurie Keller. Hyperion Books for Children, 2016. 49 pages. Hardcover $9.99, ISBN 978-1-4847-2635-8

Eight blades of grass are growing together, each in their own special way: curly, silly, tall, pointy, crunchy, etc. The eighth blade is the only one who doesn’t know what kind of grass it is and time is running short for it to figure it all out; the lawnmower is headed for the grass! It’s only after the lawnmower gives all of the blades a haircut that the small confused blade figures out who it is; the neatest! After the cut, the blades of grass assure each other that they will grow again, emphasizing perseverance. To aid the reader, each blade of grass has its own special color of speech bubble. Exaggerated actions and images carry humor throughout the title pairing with the subverted expectations of the lawnmower’s appearance. The entire story is told with speech bubbles and sound effects in large and super large type chock full of sight words, a style familiar to readers of Elephant & Piggie. Scenes of Elephant and Piggie introduce and close out the book, commenting on its contents and adding their own humor. A silly and charming story of perseverance and finding out who you are for early readers. Gr. K-1, Level 1.

Fiction Reviews pt 1

Heidicker, Christian McKay. Scary Stories for Young Foxes. Illus. by Junyi Wu. Henry Holt & Company, 2018. 314 pages. Hardcover $16.99, ISBN 978-1-250-18142-8

Seven fox kits are hungry for stories –– scary stories, the scarier the better. Their mother is fresh out, so they seek out the old storyteller of Bog Cavern. The storyteller agrees to tell the kits stories but warns them that the stories they will hear may terrify them so badly that they may need to leave. The stories follow the lives of fox kits Mia and Uly, and the dangers they face: cursed yellow stench (rabies), cruel foxes, the human world, dangerous creatures in the woods and more. Each story is a cautionary tale for the young foxes about the dangers of the world. Tension and horror build as Mia’s siblings and beloved teacher are taken by the stench, Uly’s cruel family attempt to kill him, and the kits meet a human –– Beatrix Potter who plans to stuff the captured Mia when she’s done studying her. Rich and vivid descriptions from a fox’s perspective make the violence of animal traps, humans, rabies, and territorial disputes large and frightening, deftly turning the banal into horror. The text is complemented by black and white pencil drawings filled with long shadows. At the finish of each tale, one of the fox kits in the audience runs off home, too frightened. Heidicker skillfully twists the tales together leading to a surprising conclusion. Middle grade readers with a taste for horror and a love of animals will be on the edge of their seats, with a little chill as they follow along. Ages 9+

Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War That Saved My Life. Puffin Books, 2015. 316 pages. Paperback $8.99, ISBN 978-0-14-751048-9; Hardcover $17.99, 978-0-8037-4081-5

It's 1939 and war has broken out across Europe, bringing destruction in its wake. It offers freedom for 10-year-old Ada and her little brother Jaime. Ada’s spent her entire young life in pain, unable to walk, and trapped in her mother’s squalid flat, kept from medical care and education, and left the victim of cruel, ableist abuse. Until she discovers a programme relocating children of London to the countryside, the only bit of hope that Ada has is Jaime. The relocation scheme is their one ticket out and the siblings take the opportunity eagerly. In the countryside they are begrudgingly taken in by queer-coded spinster Miss Smith who is firm but kind and wrestling with her own trauma and grief. Ada's sensitive and realistically portrayed, though at times frustrating to watch trauma keeps her unable to understand or accept the kindness that her new guardian offers. Miss Smith, Ada, and Jamie help each other heal under the looming threat of war, building a new family, all while knowing that the children's mother could return and separate them. Brubaker deals sensitively with Ada's disability and internalized ableism, though period appropriate language around disability (cripple) is frequently used. Refreshingly, this isn't a magically cured disability story; instead, Ada is given proper medical care and support which gives her freedom and agency and allows her to live with her disability. Depictions of Ada's trigger responses, disassociation, and trauma response are realistic and at times difficult to watch.

Unusually for a WWII historical fiction title, the war itself is only a backdrop adding rich layers to a story about themes of grief, abuse, ableism, and the building of families of choice. Many elements of Ada's story could be moved to a different time and still ring true. An excellent, compelling, engaging and at times harrowing story of trauma, grief, prejudice, healing, and the building of family of choice during a time of war that refuses to shy away from the emotional repercussions of abuse, neglect, poverty, prejudice. Sure to be a hit with children who are into civilian (and child) focused WWII historical fiction. Ages 9+