So, there are a couple of books that I really like that have an odd thing in common. Basically all the books have an animal (or two) that get the upper hand at the end of it. Since I am a librarian, I’m going to talk about them in some sort of order (typically I…
Valiant Sarah McGuire 5 Stars Saville hates working for her father, the tailor. But when they move to a new city Saville’s father suddenly becomes ill. In order to survive she must pretend to be a boy and beg to sew for the king. When court politics and rumors of trouble turn into two giants…
Hidden: a Child’s Story of the Holocaust written by Loic Dauvillier illustrated by Marc Lizano color by Greg Salsedo translated by Alexis Siegel 5 Stars A child wakes up and finds that her grandmother is awake as well. Only her grandmother is awake because of her memories of the Holocaust. The little girl convinces her…
Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny John Himmelman 5 Stars Bunjitsu Bunny is a young rabbit girl named Isabel who is studying bunjitsu. Isabel can do all kinds of things: throwing, hitting, kicking, all sorts of bunjitsu type of things. But she is also very kind and smart. When things don’t go Isabel’s way, she is able…
El Deafo Cece Bell Color by David Lasky 5 Stars When Cece gets spinal meningitis at the age of four, she loses her hearing. She soon gets a hearing aid and can start to understand the world a little bit more. Only Cece feels different because of her hearing loss and the hearing aid. Because…
Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads Bob Shea illustrated by Lane Smith 5 Stars Oh what a happy day when two of my favorite picture book authors/illustrators have come together to make this book. “Drywater Gulch had a toad problem.” And since Drywater Gulch looks like a town nestled in the midst of Goblin Valley…
You Are (Not) Small Anna Kang illustrated by Christopher Weyant 5 Stars Two types of bear-like creatures encounter each other in a grassy area. One bear says the other is small. Then the small one says the other is big. Then comes a grand argument where they both declare that they are not “small” or…
The Princess in Black Shannon Hale and Dean Hale illustrated by LeUyen Pham 5 Stars Princess Magnolia has a secret. She isn’t just a princess. She is also a superhero that saves her kingdom from monsters. But princesses aren’t supposed to do things like that (or wear black) so she has to keep it a…
Shadow and Bone Leigh Bardugo Performed by Lauren Fortgang 5 Stars Alina Starkov is an orphan who’s only wish is to stay close to her best friend (and fellow orphan) Mal. Only when he gets hurt trying to save her she does everything that she can to save him. In the process she discovers that…
Stitching Snow R.C. Lewis 5 Stars Essie keeps her own secrets. She is living on the planet Thanda and fights and fixes drones (stitching computer codes) to survive. Only everything changes once Dane comes and crashes near where she lives in Forty-Two. Suddenly Essie has to figure out how to either stand up and face…