Our featured review for this autumn Wednesday looks at Young Adult Speculative Fiction nominee Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger: Ellie (short for Elatsoe) and her ghost-dog Kirby seek answers to a cousin’s mysterious death in a car accident on a lonely rural road. Using her Lipan Apache tribal wisdom and lore, with assists from her deceased ancestors and living family …
REVIEW: Ways to Make Sunshine
We dipped into our reservoir of Middle Grade Fiction nominees for today’s review, featuring Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson: The scenes in the book are set up to showcase the particular joys and problems of growing up Black, but the story should be enjoyable for all kids, person of color or not. And Ryan is growing up in …
REVIEW: Love Is Powerful
Our featured review for today looks at Fiction Picture Book nominee Love Is Powerful written by Heather Dean Brewer and illustrated by LeUyen Pham: This very empowering story is a reminder that every voice matters, that each individual counts, and that change happens slowly but DOES happen. The full review was posted on Goodreads by Round 1 judge Sandy Brehl, …
REVIEW: Embassy of the Dead
We know, we know–Halloween was last weekend–but we could resist posting a featured review of spooky Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction nominee Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt, illustrated by Taryn Knight: The Embassy of the Dead is an interesting organization whose primary purpose is to keep the living of the Earthly Plane and the dead from the Afterworld protected …
REVIEW: Furia
Happy November! YA fiction nominee Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez stars in today’s featured review: I enjoy a good sports movie (think: Remember the Titans, Hoosiers) or book. This one has a good combination of a bit of sports descriptions (but certainly not too much) and life and it’s really the life that is the star of this book. You …
REVIEW: Clean Getaway
This year, one of our nominees in the Middle Grade Fiction category is from well-known YA author Nic Stone. In Clean Getaway, Stone presents readers with a middle grade road trip story featuring a mixed race kid: A road trip across the south, one unconventional Grandma (G’ma), plus plenty of secrets/mystery make this a fun (and funny) middle grade read …
REVIEW: Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots
Fiction Picture Book nominee Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots by Michael Rex talks to young readers about the differences between facts and opinions–an important topic in teaching information literacy: This is the book that both kids and adults alike should take the time to read. It’s a fun, interactive, and informative way to learn the difference between what is a …
REVIEW: Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe
Our featured review for today looks at Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction nominee Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez: Sal and Gabi are back! Sal’s father is worried about the holes in the universe that Sal made in the first book, accidentally and on purpose pulling things like his mother from other universes. Now his machine to repair …
REVIEW: Come In, Zip!
Welcome to our first blogger review of the 2020 Cybils season! Starting off in the Easy Readers category, nominated title Come In, Zip! (The Adventures of Zip) by David Milgrim is great for kids who are just beginning to read: Zip and his mom are from outer space. And Zip can do magical things. Off he goes in a spaceship. …
REVIEW: Patron Saints of Nothing
Our final review for the season (yay!) is of Young Adult Fiction finalist On The Come Up (Amazon, IndieBound). And because it’s the last one, here’s a review I did on my blog Book Nut. I wrote: Thomas is a talented writer, telling stories that not only are representative for the world around her and accessible to her target audience, but …