The Canyon's Edge - an audiobook review

The Canyon's Edge

By Dusti Bowling

Read by Casey Holloway

Hachette Audio

Narrator Casey Holloway keeps you on the edge of your seat as Eleanor works through her present danger and her tragic past in this novel-in-verse adventure.

I reviewed this audiobook for AudioFile Magazine. Click the link for my complete review.

 https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/185023/the-canyons-edge-by-dusti-bowling-read-by-casey-holloway/

Struttin' with Some Barbecue - a review

Struttin' with Some Barbecue: Lil Hardin Armstrong becomes the First Lady of Jazz 
by Patricia Hruby Powell
Illustrated by Rachel Himes 
Charlesbridge, 2018

Almost everyone has heard of jazz trumpet player Louis Armstrong, but what of his wife, Lil Hardin? In this illustrated,  novel-in-verse, Patricia Hruby Powell introduces us to the the talented piano player and composer, Lil Hardin. She was Louis Armstrong's wife, his early manager, and the composer of several famous jazz hits of the day, including "Struttin' with Some Barbecue." With or without her famous husband, Lil Hardin was destined to be a star.

Short chapters in chronological order start with Liz's upbringing with her strict mother—a staunch foe of "race music," as jazz was called at the time.  However, Liz's talent, drive, and ability to make money, finally won over her disapproving mother.  Lil began dating the shy Louis Armstrong in 1922. Together they played music, married, and rose to the top,

Lil and Louis
were struttin' high on the hog
right there in Chicago,
up from the South,
makin'
raw and raucous
rompin', rollickin'
music.

Dang, they were musical royalty—
inventing
a new kind of sound—
makin'
jazz.

After reading Struttin' with Some Barbecue, you won't be able to look up a recording of Lil's music fast enough.  I've saved you the trouble.  Listen to "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" below.

In addition to a glossary, bibliography, index, etc., back matter includes additional information on Lil, jazz, and racial conditions of the era.

• Read an excerpt of Struttin' with Some Barbecue
• Look inside Struttin' with Some Barbecue 
• Junior Library Guild selection 

My copy of Struttin' with Some Barbecue was provided by the publisher.

See more posts at Nonfiction Monday

Brown Girl Dreaming

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin.

Despite the title, Brown Girl Dreaming is most certainly not just a book for brown girls or girls.  Jacqueline Woodson's memoir-in-verse relates her journey to discover her passion for writing. Her story is framed by her large, loving family within the confines of the turbulent Civil Rights Era.

Sometimes a book is so well-received, so popular, that it seems that enough has been said (and said well); anything else would just be noise. Rather than add another Brown Girl Dreaming review to the hundreds of glowing ones already in print and cyberspace, I offer you links to other sites, interviews and reviews related to Brown Girl Dreaming.  And, I'll pose a question on memoirs in children's literature.

First, the links:

• Brown Girl Dreaming is a National Book Award Finalist in the Young People's Literature category. 
• Jacqueline Woodson was interviewed on NPR regarding Brown Girl Dreaming.
• Read an excerpt from Brown Girl Dreaming here.
• Even the prestigious Christian Science Monitor carried a review of Brown Girl Dreaming - the review written by award-winning author, Augusta Scattergood.
• Elizabeth Bird's "Fuse 8" review of Brown Girl Dreaming - thoughtful and insightful, as always
• AudioFile Magazine's review of Brown Girl Dreaming and an excerpt - read by Jacqueline Woodson herself
• New York Times Sunday Book Review of Brown Girl Dreaming

And now something to ponder:

As a librarian who often helps students in choosing books for school assignments, I have written many times about the dreaded biography assignment - excessive page requirements,  narrow specifications, etc.

Obviously, a best choice for a children's book is one written by a noted children's author. Sadly, many (by no means all!) biographies are formula-driven, series-type books that are not nearly as engaging as ones written by the best authors.  Rare is the author of young people's literature who writes an autobiography for children as Ms. Woodson has done.  When such books exist, they are usually memoirs focusing only on the author's childhood years.  This is perfectly appropriate because the reader can relate to that specified period of a person's lifetime.  Jon Sciezska wrote one of my favorite memoirs for children, Knucklehead, and Gary Paulsen's, How Angel Peterson Got his Name also comes to mind as a stellar example.  These books, however, don't often fit the formula required to answer common student assignment questions, i.e., birth, schooling, employment, marriages, accomplishments, children, death. Students are reluctant to choose a book that will leave them with a blank space(s) on an assignment.

I wonder what teachers, other librarians and parents think about this. Must the biography assignment be a traditional biography, or can a memoir (be it in verse, prose, or graphic format) be just as acceptable?  I hate to see students turn away from a great book because it doesn't fit the mold.  If we want students to be critical thinkers, it's time to think outside the box and make room for a more varied, more diverse selection of books.

Words with Wings - a review

Below is my review from the August, 2014, edition of School Library Journal.

GRIMES, Nikki. Words with Wings. 1 CD. 41 min. Recorded
Books. 2014. $15.75. ISBN 9781490609676. Playaway, digital
download.

Gr 3–5— Gabriella is a dreamer, more like the father she visits than the mother she lives with every day. Since her parents separated, Gabby and her mother have moved, and she has enrolled in a new school. Always the class daydreamer, she's prepared for the teasing that she knows will come. Mention the word "butterfly," and her thoughts may soar out the classroom window on the imagined wings of a beautiful creature. Other words create thoughts that are more pensive. Sometimes it's easier to retreat into her imagination than to face her circumstances. Gabby's expectations for her new school are low, but her teacher and a quiet boy in the back of the room offer some hope in her new surroundings. With encouragement, perhaps a pen and paper can anchor the "words with wings" that set Gabby's mind adrift. Mutiyat Ade-Salu is perfectly cast for this story in verse, told in the first person in the present tense story. Her voice is youthful and likable, and as Gabriella's thoughts soar, plummet, and wander, so too does the voice of Ade-Salu. A perfect book for poets, dreamers, and reluctant readers.


Copyright © 2014 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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Read excerpts from Words with Wings on the author's website.

Caminar - a review

Brown, Skila. 2014. Caminar. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.


While many other families in Carlos' rural Guatemalan village are large and boisterous, he and his mother live alone.  He's not yet a man.  He's afraid of the dark. He listens to his mother.

Guerilla Rain

They came
in rain,
the end
of wet
season, when
rain was
no longer
welcome.

          Yet
it beat
our roof,
turned floor
to mud,
washed off
the army
camp.
          Guerillas.

they came
in rain.
We huddled
inside, waited
for earth
to stop
its          slide.

They came,
sacks          empty
bellies         empty
guns            full.

          Rebels.

They marched
right through
our town,
made their
way into
the jungle.

And when
the last
of them
had been
sucked in
by thick
green arms,

the rain
stopped.

       
 
After the rebels pass, his mother knows that the soldiers will be back, and she tells him,

"You
 will
 run."

Unsure of who is the enemy, the rebels or the army's soldiers, Carlos heads for the place where he is most comfortable, the trees. In the cover of the trees, he makes his way up the mountain toward his grandmother's village.  When he meets up with guerilla fighters, he must make the biggest choice of his life.

A debut novel in verse, Caminar is a rural boy's perception of a sad time in 1981, when the fighting between Guatemalan rebels and soldiers (which, according to the author's note claimed 200,000 lives over the course of time), disrupted his village of  Chopán forever. In Carlos' fictional Chopán, where the people still speak indigenous languages, there is disagreement.  Are the guerilla fighters Communists, rebels, freedom fighters? Are the Guatemalan soldiers oppressors, liberators, defenders?  To non-Spanish-speaking, non land-owning villagers, it matters not.  In the end, they are both the enemy.

Featuring different types of poetry, including one styled after Marilyn Singer's unique "reverso" poems, Skila Brown often employs "concrete" effects, using spacing to punctuate a feeling or mood.  Poetry is an excellent vehicle for delivering a complex and nuanced book on a disturbing topic to a young audience. Brown deliberately leaves space for reflection between the leaves.

A Note from the Author, Glossary, Q&A with the Author, and Acknowledgments help to round out the historical aspects of the story. Best for middle-grade readers.

Review copy supplied by the publisher.  Due on shelves in March, 2014.

Shark Girl and Formerly Shark Girl - audiobook reviews

My reviews of Shark Girl and Formerly Shark Girl, as they appeared in the November, 2013 issue of School Library Journal.














Shark Girl. By Kelly Bingham. 3 CDs 3:06 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 9781469274997. $54.97.

Gr 6–10— In her hometown of Santa Clarita, California, 15-year-old Jane Arrowood's life changes in just a few moments when a shark attacks her. Near death, she's rescued by her older brother and spends months in the hospital—first in a coma and then undergoing painful operations and therapy to deal with the amputation of her drawing arm. Peppered with letters, text messages, and newspaper clippings, this first person account offers themes of fate and rebirth as Jane, a talented artist, strives toward recovery and self discovery. The callous nature of social media is a subtext, as the shark attack was filmed by a beachgoer and went viral on the Internet and in newscasts. A young amputee helps Jane as she battles doubts and depression. Listeners will not likely recognize that this is a novel in verse because Kate Reinders's reading does not reflect the poetic structure of the text; instead, it comes across as a stream of consciousness. Reinders's vocal dynamics guide listeners easily in the frequent transition between spoken word and thought. Though it has obvious similarities to Bethany Hamilton's nonfiction memoir, Soul Surfer (Paw Prints, 2008), Bringham's novel (Candlewick, 2007) is bursting with raw emotion and is a powerful story in its own right. Short and affecting, this would be a great choice for a book discussion group.



Formerly Shark Girl. By Kelly Bingham. 5 CDs. 5:06 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 9781468274911. $54.97.

Gr 6–10— It's been a year since the shark attack that cost Jane Arrowood her right arm. Now, as she returns to school with her new prosthesis, she adds the more mundane problems of a high school senior to her recovery regimen. While suffering frequent and debilitating nerve pain, she must find a date for the prom, boost her grades, and struggle with the fact that her mother may be secretly dating. Her biggest dilemma is choosing a school. She had always planned to go to art school, but her drawing hand was lost in the shark attack, and her artistic endeavors with her left hand have not measured up. The alternative is to enroll in nursing school to learn a profession for which she has a great deal of admiration since her accident. A new boyfriend adds another wrinkle to an increasingly complicated life, as does the possibility of another surgery. Like Shark Girl (2007), this sequel (2013, both Candlewick) is told in present tense verse, though listeners will not likely notice the pattern of poetry. Instead, they will hear the poems as very short, titled chapters. Kate Reinders turns in an excellent characterization of Jane, using inflection to highlight the difference between Jane's utterances and her frequent unspoken thoughts. Her youthful voice is well-suited for the part. Listeners who made a connection with Jane in Shark Girl will enjoy the sequel, but it lacks the raw simplicity and emotional punch of the first book.

##

Copyright © 2013 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Listen to a sample here

May B. A Novel - a review

Rose, Caroline Starr. 2012. May B. New York: Random House.

(booktalk)

In Kansas' early days as a state, there is no help in the prairie schools for a child with what will later become known as dyslexia.  Nor is there help for a farmer whose spring wheat crop has failed.

So it is neither unforeseen, nor unusual when the parents of Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, May B., literally "farm her out" as hired help to a prairie neighbor.  Hiram, the Betterly's son, will stay at home, he, being of more use to the frontier family.

The closest homestead is 15 miles away, a full day's journey by wagon.  Young May Betterly passes the long hours to the Oblinger's simple, sod house that will be her home until Christmas,

I play a game inside my head,
counting plum trees that dot a creek bed,
rabbits that scatter at the sound of wagon wheels,
clouds that skirt the sky.
For hours, that is all,
and grass,
always grass,
in different shades and textures
like the braids in a rag rug.

Miss Sanders told us that lines never end,
and numbers go on forever.
Here,
in short-grass country,
I understand infinity.

When Mrs, Oblinger takes a horse and deserts her new husband to return east, Mr. Oblinger goes off in pursuit.

"Don't worry about supper," he says.  "I could be gone some time."

"Some time" will be longer than May could ever have dreamed. It will take all of her courage, strength and perseverance to survive.

I am afraid
in the dark
all alone
I am afraid

 ######

In similar style to Karen Hesse's Newbery-winning, Out of the Dust, and Witness, Caroline Starr Rose's novel in verse is deeply affecting.  May's honesty in assessing her shortcomings is balanced by her inner optimism that she may yet overcome her situation - against all odds.

We all share that struggle.  May B. gives voice and hope to us all.

Teacher's Study Guide for May B.



Note:
The librarians of the NJLA's Children's Services Section will likely be discussing this book in the upcoming months on our new mock award blog, Newbery Blueberry Mockery Pie.  Please join us.