Fantasy/Sci-fi and Mystery/Adventure

  

Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. (2016). Algonquin Young Readers. Tr. $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6.  

Once upon a time, there was a witch, a girl, a young man, a monster poet, a tiny dragon, and a mother driven mad with grief. The girl, Luna, was left in the woods as a sacrifice to the witch (who never asked for sacrifices to begin with). Infant Luna is saved by the witch Xan, who mistakenly feeds her moonlight, thus making her enmagicked. Xan takes her in, but power is dangerous, so she seals away Luna’s magic until she turns 13. However, actions have consequences, and Xan is destined to die when Luna’s power is released. There is also the looming threat of the Sorrow Eater, and it will take all of the protagonists working together to stop her.

This story repeatedly invokes oral storytelling, which works in its favor. It gives the reader an understood baseline (see fairy tales) and the suspension of disbelief that comes with it, allowing Barnhill to focus on poetic imagery to convey emotion and beauty without sacrificing credibility. At the same time, Barnhill weaves in original elements that breathe life into the world, making it feel both rooted in folklore and entirely unique.

Part of this originality lies in the many protagonists, whose relation to one another is a mystery at the start. Their stories occasionally conflict, and as the truth gradually emerges, readers are encouraged to consider how stories are shaped, retold, and distorted over time. This narrative structure, while potent, can confuse inexperienced readers. However, those up to the challenge will find the primary themes of love and hope triumphing over tyranny and despair fulfilling staying with the reader long after the book is closed. Ultimately, this unique and powerful fantasy novel is a must-have for every fiction collection, and Barnhill is an author to keep an eye on.

Historical Fiction and Contemporary Realisim

 

Willing McManis, C., & Sorell, T. Indian No More. (2019). Tu Books. Tr. 18.95. ISBN: 978-1620148396.

Regina Petit is an Indian no more, at least according to the US government. This historical fiction novel, told in a memoir style, centers around a family who relocates to Los Angeles after the 1957 Indian Relocation Act. In it Regina recounts her time before relocation while living at the Grand Ronde reservation in Oregon, her family’s decision to move, and the eventual death of her beloved grandmother. The book was loosely based off the experience of the primary author, Charlene Willing McManis, who was part of the Umpqua tribe at the Grand Ronde reservation and relocated to Los Angeles. This is discussed in the authors note in the back matter and lends credence to both the historical and cultural accuracy of the book. However additional research is also mentioned by the coauthor and editor, who finished editing the story after the author’s death.

Overall, the narrative structure works well, as everything is framed as being before or after relocation, building anticipation until it finally arrives. It also ties into one of the central themes: “stories have power.” This phrase is repeated throughout, and is invoked again at the end when Regina tries to tell a story to her dying grandmother. Framing the entire novel as if Regina is telling the audience a story brings the reader directly into this theme. There is also meaningful nuance in the depiction of the darker aspects of the time period. Racism in particular stands out, including overt racism (Regina being called the “n” slur) as well as microaggressions (being asked how to shoot a bow or build a tipi). Equal attention is given to hardships experienced by other races and ethnicities, as well as themes of abuse and poverty. Ultimately, this story does have power and deserves place in any historical fiction collection.

 

 

  

Bruchac, Joseph. Rez Dogs. (2021). Dial Books. Tr. $17.99 ISBN: 978-0593326213

 

It’s lock down during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Malian is stuck on the reservation with her grandparents. Not that she minds, but she does miss her parents. It’s given her time to listen to her grandparent’s stories, watch TV, and even make a new friend: a dog that lives on the reservation who she names Malsum (meaning wolf). However, in response to the George Floyd protests, her language arts teacher is having her class tell their own stories from their own histories and cultures. The problem is, she has no idea what she wants to talk about and what her classmates can handle.

This novel in verse is remarkable in its simplicity. With an easy to follow plot and conversational tone, each short verse line naturally accentuate the text. The mundanity of the circumstances accurately capture the pandemic lock down. However, by weaving traditional stories, stories from Malian’s family’s life, stories of the dark parts of Native American history, and day to day life Bruchac manages to keep things engaging. Despite this, there are some parts of the story that fall flat, in particular the climax. Malian decides to speak about Native American boarding schools, tell a traditional story, and ends with a call to action for people to take care of one another and “bend our knees / and touch the earth”. Behind her on camera are her grandparents and the dog bending down on one knee. This felt very, for lack of a better word, kitsch and dangerously close to the “native environmentalist” trope. Some leeway must be given since the author himself is Abenaki, but the non-native reader may walk away with those stereotypes reinforced. Ultimately, this is a fine book and a good supplement to a fiction collection that needs more native voices stories.

Graphic Novels and Beginning Readers

  

Kibuishi, Kazu. Amulet Book One: The Stonekeeper. Graphix, 2008. Tr. $12.99, ISBN 978-0-439-84681-3.

Two years ago Emily was in a car accident along with her mother and father. Only her and her mother lived. Tight on cash, Emily along with her mother and her brother, Navin, move to her eccentric grandfather's abandoned house. While cleaning she finds a magical amulet which begins speaking to her after her mother is kidnapped by a monster and leads her to a place known as Alledia. She meets her (presumed dead) grandfather and goes on a quest to save her mother. 

Kibuishi does a remarkable job of crafting a narrative that, while from the perspective of a child, ultimately feels timeless. The death, danger, and dubious intentions of much of the cast gives the narrative a, for lack of a better word, "real" factor for younger audiences. It's not guaranteed that everyone will make it out okay in the end, for example Emily's mother, who ends the book poisoned despite the promise of the amulet that she would be saved.

The illustrations do much to convey the world and emotions of the characters. For example: 

 

Here there is a visual parallel, the example on the left from the beginning of the book, showing Emily's mother loosing her grip while trying to keep her husband from falling on the cliff in the car. On the right, Emily loosing her grip on her mother's hand while trying to save her. It conveys much of the emotional stakes to the reader in just two short frames. The action scenes are also well conveyed:

 

However, time and space are also given when needed to let the reader take in the world:

 

Amulet is remarkable example of the intensity that can be reached with visual novels, and as such deserves a place in every collection. 

Nonfiction

  

Jennings, Jazz. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. Crown, 2016. 272 pages. Tr. 12.99 ISBN 978-0399554674.

Written at age 15, this memoir of prominent transgender teen activist Jazz Jennings is worth examining. Through a series of anecdotes Jennings recounts of her experiences with identity including: coming out  at a young age, social and medical transition, activism, and navigating school policies, sports participation, harassment, and national attention. The back matter includes family interviews, booklists, and online resources for trans youth.

Before critiquing the content, it is important to note that Jazz’s experiences are her own and critique does not seek to invalidate them. Additionally, the book was written in 2016 by a 15-year-old, so some contextual grace is warranted. Nonetheless, a modern critique is necessary for contemporary readers.

The primary concerns lie in three areas: outdated terminology, transmedicalism, and reliance on the gender binary. Jennings relies heavily on the outdated trope of "a girl born in a boys body" which excludes intersex people and reinforces the rigid binary of what makes a “girl” body and a “boy” body. More care is needed to ensure that this experience is not presented as universal beyond the few throwaway lines when she discusses her own medical transition. 

There is also a dangerous level of pathologizing the trans experience, with discussions about medical theories on why people are transgender, which is a eugenics mine field. Additionally, exclusively using he/she instead of they and an over reliance on defining activities and dress as either for “boys” or “girls” excludes non-binary people and reinforces the false ideology of the gender binary. 

Despite its flaws, Being Jazz is singular as one of the few trans memoirs available for this age demographic and needs to be included in every non-fiction section. However, care needs to be taken to make sure that it is not the only title on the trans experience in the collection. 

Folktales and Poetry

 

 

Hamilton, V. (1993). The people could fly: American Black Folktales. Illus. Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

"They didn't sing. They rose on the air. They flew in a flock that was black against the heavenly blue. Black crows or black shadows. It didn't matter, they were up so high. Way above the plantation, way over the slavery land. Say they flew away to Free-dom" 

This quote comes from the titular, and final, story in this collection of twenty-four folk tales. The tales themselves cover a range of styles: animal tales, "fanciful" tales (what would read akin to fairy tales to some), tall tales, supernatural tales, and slave tales. Additionally, stories vary in language style, as Hamilton takes great effort to preserve the feel of the dialects many of these stories are translated from. This can potentially lead to some difficulty for young readers, however many of the stories still scan well enough to the modern eye. In the hands of an experienced teller willing to put in some legwork this would not present much of an issue. 

Hamilton provides short source/historical context notes after each tale however direct sourcing is not present. In her introduction she provides context for this deficiency as she discussed how slaves were forbidden to read and write, therefore collection of these tales is difficult to track. She does, however, make sure to mention variations of tales and where the origins of those variations are from. 

The illustrations included are beautiful and expressive, helping to make up for the body language and tone that is lost when reading a story that is meant to be told. Ultimately this collection is a fine addition to any folk tale collection and given the variety of stories in its pages, there is likely to be something for any lover of folk tales.  

A picture is worth a thousand words

 

Cordell, M. (2017). Wolf in the Snow. Macmillan.

This book is rather interesting when considering it for evaluation in that, barring onomatopoeia, there is no text. So this evaluation will instead focus entirely on the art, as it its the means of telling the story.  There is a lot of intentionality in regard to direction that is seen in the beginning as our two protagonists come to meet one another.

Heading home after school 

Wolf pack on the move

It continues in this way as the two move closer and closer together in a way that builds the tension and anticipation of what will happen when they do meet. Let's also talk about line and definition. In the images above the humans in this story lack definition and detail, making them feel soft and fragile, almost an abstraction of a human. The wolves on the other hand are very realistically drawn, those teeth and the lolling tongue as their hot breath condenses in the air just exudes danger. Their fur is sketch-like, with wild tufts and tray ink lines giving them a sharp appearance when compared to the soft yellow loops of the background. We see this much more starkly later in the story, when the lost wolf pup and child meet the rest of the wolf pack.  

Eyes lock, danger is felt, who will move first?

 Here, at the climax of the story we zero in, the rough circles bringing our focus directly to the eyes of these two characters. The child looks vulnerable, scared, but unwavering. The wolf is a wild animal. It was a strong choice to present the danger of this situation so predominantly, wolves are wild animals after all. A lesser story may have decided to soften this, but it's what makes the protagonist's bravery and compassion compelling, something that is eventually rewarded when the wolves help their family find them huddled up and cold. 

There are many aspects of this story that could be considered, as it has a whole lot to say despite having no words. The art is compelling, rich, emotive, and the choices made are self-evidently deliberate. Perhaps, one day, I will write a very long evaluation of that work, but alas, I do not have the space for it today.

Board Book Roundup!

 123s of Kindness at Bedtime - by Patricia Hegarty, illus. Summer Macon, ISBN: 9798217120475

 

 

 This simple and sweet counting book combines the concepts of bedtime, counting, SEL,  and engineered books all into one. Each page contains half of a rhyming couplet, using only perfect rhymes as it guides you through each number. The pastel color palette is soothing and the simple cartoon art style is inviting. The touch and feel aspect does feel like it misses some opportunities. In the case of 7 there are 7 textured bubbles for the child to touch and count but this is the only page where the number of textured elements matches the number counted on the page. The kindness aspect is a bit more subdued, limited only to a couple pages that showing the little animals helping each other out, but this is likely for the better since too many concepts all at once could potentially be overwhelming. 

ABCs of Kindness - by Patricia Hegarty, illus. Summer Macon, ISBN: 9780593123072

 

Another book by the same Patricia Hegarty and Summer Macon, here Macon's art really stands out as supporting the learning outcomes of the book much more than 123 did by providing providing direct examples of what the text is talking about while keeping with the inviting style and soothing color palette. There are some issues with the text, primarily with confusing kindness with positivity i,e : "B is for believing things will be okay in the end", "T is for trying - don't give up till you're done", "W is for worries and keeping them at bay", and  "Y is for yes you can - there's nothing you can't do". All perfectly fine concepts for this style of book, just not directly related to kindness per se. There is also "X is for kisses for loved ones every day", which is referencing xoxo as short hand for kisses and hugs, but is a bad example for trying to teach what letters make what sounds. There are times where the rhyming couplets really work "K is for kindness - treat everyone with care. L is for love- a thing we all can share" which makes it feel rougher when it sometimes stumbles when it is read out loud "M is for making time for everyone. N is for nobody missing out on fun" (the problem here, if it's not obvious, is that making time is a turn of phrase so you want to say them close together, as opposed to stopping on the word making as previously established, additionally making being a two syllable word as opposed to nobody at three syllables making it feel clumsy). Ultimately a fine book, but not outstanding.  

Farmyard Beat - by Lindsey Craig, illus. Marc Brown, ISBN: 9780307930828 

 

A personal storytime favorite of mine the rhythmic text begs to be done in a call and response and always leaves my toes tapping. The mix of paper and cardboard for the art style at times makes clever use of the lines in cardboard to draw the eye to the text or the next page  (see above). Also the it ends up being almost abstract in a way that gives the art a dream like quality which plays well with the narrative of animals waking up in the middle of the night to dance. The text consists largely of repeated phrases i.e. "Chicks can't sleep, chicks can't sleep, chicks can't sleep cause they got that beat" replacing chicks for each animal in the farm and then rhythmic phrases that have to do with the sounds that animal makes. A delight to read both in group settings at at home, one to definitely check out.

Knock Knock Who's There? by Rob Hodgson, illus. Rob Hodgson, ISBN: 9781419771330 

 

This engineered book consists of a series of knock knock jokes where a grumpy cat is interrupted from his nap by a variety of visitors, ultimately leading to a T-Rex showing up and everyone running away. The googly eyes are a fun inclusion and reminds me of Go Away Big Green Monster. While this could be read to a younger child, I think it has the opportunity to shine once the child is of speaking age, as the knock knock joke structure really invites interactivity (with the child being the one who says "who's there"). The mixed media art (at least I presume that is what is going on here) makes every guest at the house feel distinct in their own amount of chaos they bring to the house. Hodgson also uses comic book style speech bubbles which can also be used with slightly older kids to indicate who is speaking and can introduce them to the concept. Overall, it's a fun book, even if it feels like it should be read to children out of board book range in order for the jokes to land.