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Holly’s Recommendations and Other Notable Books August 2020

Holly’s Recommendations

Picture Books

The Heart of a Whale—Anna Pignataro

Penguin Random House: Hardcover: 17.99

Whale's song is full of happiness, hope, magic and wonder. All of the other sea creatures love the whale's song—it fills their hearts. But the whale's heart is empty. The whale sighs, and his sigh is carried through the ocean until it reaches someone who understands, and she follows the sound of the whale's sigh until it leads her to him. A beautiful watercolor ocean world, full of soft-edged flora and fish, make this book especially endearing

The Favorite Book—Bethanie Deeney Murguia

Candlewick Press: Hardcover: 16.99

There are so many things in the world to love, but how do you choose your favorites? Do you use a logical approach—like measuring—or do you go with your heart? What if you don't want to choose anything, or what if you can't narrow it down to one, and want two or three? With lyrical rhymes and bright illustrations, Murguia shows a busy, happy world-full of possibilities. 

Middle Grade Novels

Here in the Real World—Sara Pennypacker

Harpercollins: Hardcover: 17.99

Ware's grandmother has to go to the hospital, so Ware's plan to spend the summer off in his own world, thanks to his grandmother's lax idea of supervision, is suddenly cut short. His parents are working two jobs each for the summer, in an all-out attempt to buy the house they're renting, and they won't let Ware stay home alone. They insist on signing him up at the recreation center, which Ware hates, because every minute is structured with “meaningful social interaction”. What normal kids are supposed to be able to do. But on one of their around-the-block hikes, Ware finds a tree he can climb, and he drops down on the other side of the wall. There, Ware sees the crumbling remains of a half-demolished church as a great castle, but a girl named Jolene has already claimed the property, and she isn't at all sure she wants to share her space.Jolene wants the lot for planting and planning, and Ware wants the lot for dreaming, so Jolene often scolds him for not living in the “real world”. But when they find out that their safe space is scheduled for demolition, Jolene and Ware decide they can combine their talents to save it. A wonderful story that shows how the children with the fewest social skills are often the ones most worth knowing.

Other Notable Books

Picture Books

Summer Song—Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Greenwillow/Harpercollins: Hardcover: 18.99

"Henkes and Dronzek make the sounds of summer--the lawn mowers, the sprinklers, the birds and the crickets--so vibrant we almost hear colors. Summer has never hummed so brightly. . . . Follow four diverse friends as they lie in meadows, chase fireflies, walk their dogs and look for frogs."-- New York Times Book Review.

After Squidnight—Jonathan Fenske

Penguin: Hardcover: 12.99

When the clock strikes midnight, a squad of squids creeps out of the ocean--and over to your house! Their mission? To leave their inky mark by drawing on walls, the floor, and even your toys. This rhyming tale showcases a crew of creative creatures as they make art (or maybe just a mess) and leave you to deal with the consequences!

Middle Grade Novels

Wink—Rob Harrell

Dial/Penguin: Hardcover: 16.99

After being diagnosed with a rare eye cancer, twelve-year-old Ross discovers how music, art, and true friends can help him survive both treatment and middle school.

Rob Harrell created the Life of Zarf series, the graphic novel Monster on the Hill, and also writes and draws the long-running daily comic strip Adam@Home, which appears in more than 140 papers worldwide. He created and drew the internationally syndicated comic strip Big Top until 2007. He lives with his wife in Indiana.

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs—Leslie Conno

Katherine Tegen/Harpercollins: Hardcover: 16.99

A unique masterpiece about loss, love, and the world's best bad dog, from award winner Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. This novel sings about loss and love and finding joy in new friendships and a loving family, along with the world's best bad dog. An uplifting middle grade novel about recovery featuring strong female characters, an adorable dog, and the girl who comes to love him.

Yes No Maybe So—Becky Albertalli

Balzer and Bray/Harpercollins: Hardcover: 19.99

YES: Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate--as long as he's behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let's face it, speaking at all to almost anyone) Jamie's a choke artist. There's no way he'd ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes...until he meets Maya.

NO: Maya Rehman's having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing--with some awkward dude she hardly knows--is beyond her. 

MAYBE SO: Going door to door isn't exactly glamorous, but maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer--and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural crush of the century is another thing entirely.

Bloom—Kenneth Oppel

Penguin: Hardcover: 16.99

The invasion begins--but not as you'd expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout--overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom--and release toxic pollens. They bloom--and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom--everywhere, unstoppable.Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies--and yet not to these plants. What's their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? They'd better figure it out fast, because it's starting to rain again.

#childrensliterature #literature #books #picturebooks #middle grade novels #middlegrade #ya novels #young adult #young adult novels #indie bookstore #bookstore #indiependent bookstore

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Holly’s Recommendations - March 10, 2020

Young Adult Novels

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir [Wordsong, $19.99, hc, 9781629798813] by Nikki Grimes - Nikki survived her childhood with her writing. She and her sister Carol had an alcoholic mother who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and a father who spent more and more time away from home. During one of their mother's crashes, the girls were placed in a foster home. They stole money and escaped, bused across town, and knocked on their grandmother's door, only to be told that they could sleep there temporarily, but they couldn't stay—she didn't feel like raising any more kids. After that the sisters were split up and sent to separate foster homes, one bad and one good, but even in the good home, Nikki often felt totally alone in the world. When she was finally sent back to her mother, the situation wasn't much better. For reasons her mother never explained, her sister wasn't allowed to live with them, and her mother had a live-in boyfriend who thought Nikki was fair game for his desires. But during this time Nikki was also able to rebuild her relationship with her father, who thought he wasn't fit to raise young girls, but still loved his daughters. Thanks to a teacher who wouldn't take anything short of her best efforts, Nikki was able to take her love of writing, which had started as a comfort and an affirmation of who she was, and transform it into prose and poems that reached out to other children in pain. A celebration of the power that words have to lift and sustain.

Picture Book

I Want a Dog [Dial Books, $17.99, hc, 9780525555469] by Jon Agee - At Happydale Animal Shelter there are lots of interesting creatures, but there aren't any dogs. And when the small girl says that a dog is what she wants, the proprietor tries to talk her into an armadillo, a baby baboon, a boa constrictor, and a goldfish. Finally he gets “the dog”, but it's not a dog; it's really a lizard in a dog costume. Will the small girl go home with an empty wagon, or can the proprietor find something she'll like just as well? A cute story with a nice twist at the end.

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Holly’s Recommendations - March 3, 2020

Middle Grade

Genesis Begins Again [Atheneum Books, $17.99, hc, 9781481465809 ] by Alicia D. Williams - Genesis is 13 years old and obsessed with her skin color. Her mother is light-colored, but Genesis got her father's coloring, and she's so dark that even the kids at her mostly-black Detroit school say things like, “She's burnt.” Her Grandmother thinks her coloring is unfortunate, too. The family was dedicated to raising their status by marrying into light-skinned families, that is until her mother blew it and married her dark father. It doesn't help that her father turned out to be an irresponsible alcoholic, who can't manage to keep a job, pay the rent, or stay off the bottle. And when he's drunk, he sometimes blames Genesis for the family's troubles, saying things like, “You were supposed to look like your mother.” Genesis knows deep down that her father's problems are not her fault. It certainly isn't her fault when her family gets evicted yet again. But Genesis' self concept is tied up in her belief that if only she could lighten her skin, her father would love her. After leaving her and her mother at her Grandmother's house once again and disappearing for days, Genesis' father comes back with the promise of a new house he's found--in a good neighborhood, for once. Genesis likes her new school. She has a teacher who's encouraging her love of music, a tutor who's helping her conquer math, and even a best friend. She likes living on a street that's free of trash and beside neighbors who plant flowers. But she's convinced that she's not worth anything while she's still so black. And she's willing to try anything to fix that.

Picture Book

Saturday—[Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, hc, 9780316431279] by Oge Mora - Ava's mother works Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, so Saturdays are their special days. On most Saturdays they start with story time at the library, then new dos at the salon, then a peaceful afternoon at the park. But this Saturday story time at the library has been canceled, and from there the day just seems to get worse. A lovely story about the best thing about spending a day together, which is just that: spending it together.

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Holly’s Reviews - February 25, 2020

Middle Grade

Thief Knot [Clarion Books, $17.99, 9781328466891, hc] by Kate Milford - Marzana and Nialla are longing for adventure. Their parents—everybody's parents in the Liberty—were once infamous adventurers, but none of them seem to want that life for their children. So when Marzana's parents are consulted about a kidnapping, she can't resist the urge to find out more. The kidnapped child is an eleven-year-old girl named Peony, the daughter of a prominent politician. Marzana's parents are assuming that Peony is being kept somewhere outside of the Liberty, since it's so hard for outsiders to get in. But Marzana's convinced that she's close by, and her disappearance has something to do with the disappearance of one of Marzana's teachers. Marzana doesn't think of herself as a leader. In fact she has so much trouble assessing her social interactions that she's always asking Nialla if she was okay. But as the investigation proceeds, the two become three, then five, then six—a whole crew. The crew's members include Meddy, a girl (deceased, but still very active) Marzana met at Greenglass House the previous winter. Having a ghost in their crew is a terrific advantage, but they also have Emily, who's clever at getting information, Nialla, who loves to solve puzzles, J.J. who's a skillful magician, and Ciro, who's an expert decoder. And Marzana? She's beginning to find that, despite her misgivings, she might be a really good leader. And a crew needs a captain. An absorbing mystery with an engaging protagonist and plenty of interesting twists.

Picture Book

Motor Mouse [Beach Lane Books, $17.99, 9781481491280, hc] by Cynthia Rylant and Arthur Howard - Mouse spends the week making deliveries in his little motorcar, but after work is over, he and his friend, Telly, always celebrate at the cake shop. But then one Friday afternoon, the cake shop says “shut”. And it's just not worth getting through the whole week with no cake! Whatever will they do? This and two other cute adventures introduce the reader to a plucky little mouse and his friends.

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Holly’s Recommendations - February 18, 2020

Middle Grade

I Can Make This Promise [Quill Tree Books, $16.99, hc, 9780062871992] by Christine Day - Edie gets the question, “Where are you from?”, a lot, even though she and her family have always lived in Seattle. Edie's mom is half Native American, and Edie looks very Native, too, even though her father is Caucasian. She's always dismissed the question before, until one day when she finds a box in the attic. In the box are pictures of a beautiful young woman who looks very much like Edie, and she even has her name: Edith. But Edie's mother was adopted by a Caucasian couple and claims to know nothing about any of her relatives. How could Edie's mom not know about this woman for whom she was obviously named? There are letters, too, and as Edie reads them, she's introduced to a person who had dreams of becoming a movie star and who had the gumption to try to follow them. But Edith soon found that the 1970's movie industry had little use for Native American stars. Most of the parts she got were background characters in Westerns. Finally Edith gave up and headed back to Seattle, to her family. She also told her family that she was bringing home a “bun”; she was pregnant. Edie is almost certain that the expected baby was her mother, but then why was her mother adopted? And why had her mother kept all this a secret? A poignant story about one of the many injustices perpetrated on Native Americans and a brave girl who insists on embracing her heritage.

Picture Book

Fly! [Beach Lane Books, $17.99, hc, 9781534451285] by Mark Teague - A baby bird enjoys being fed worms while he sits snug in his nest. But then one day his mother wants him to venture out of it. He balks and then tumbles to the earth. The baby and his mother both try to think of ways to make flight easier (in imaginative picture bubbles), and then the mother bird tries to tempt the baby to fly with visions of their migratory trip to Florida. A fresh look at the child who's reluctant to leave the nest—and really digs his talons in!

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Holly’s Recommendations - February 11, 2020

Middle Grade

The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA [Nancy Paulsen Books, $16.99, hc] by Brenda Woods - Gabriel got a new bike for his twelfth birthday, but wanting to show it off to his best friend, Patrick, got Gabriel so distracted that he didn't see the oncoming car. He found himself jerked out of the way at the last second, and when he looked up to see who had saved him, he found it was a colored man. Mr. Meriwether Hunter not only saved Gabriel, he fixed his mangled bike, almost good as new. Gabriel had never really gotten to know any of the colored folks who lived on the Other Side of town. In 1946, the whites and the colored in the southern states kept as much as possible to their own kind. But Gabriel's parents had always told him that all people were created equal, so he didn't see any reason why he and Mr. Hunter couldn't be friends. Gabriel's dad needed another mechanic for his car dealership/garage, and since Mr. Hunter mentioned that he was also good at fixing motors, Gabriel suggested Mr. Hunter for the job. That was fine with Gabriel's dad, but a resentful white man, Lucas, who already worked there, seemed determined to make trouble. And when the town had a parade celebrating their heroes from the recent war, Gabriel learned that there were also colored heroes overseas, but none of them were celebrated; they didn't even dare to admit that they had been soldiers, for fear of reprisal. One of these unsung heroes was Mr. Hunter. A thoughtful picture of the prejudice that is still all too common in the southern USA.

Picture Book

The Underhills: A Tooth Fairy Story [Candlewick Press, $16.99, hc] by Bob Graham - April and Esme, and their baby brother, Vincent, are going to stay at Grandma and Grandad's teapot house near the airport while Mom and Dad work on a difficult job. But while they're there, another job comes in: a little girl in a red coat, called Akuba, is coming all the way from Ghana, and she's just lost a baby tooth. Since April and Esme are so near the airport, they get the job. But once they get to the terminal, they realize that they've forgotten to bring a coin to exchange for the tooth. What can they do to find a coin quickly? A beautifully illustrated story of yet another day for an ordinary family—ordinary, that is, if it's a family of tooth fairies.

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Holly’s Recommendations - February 10, 2020

Middle Grade

All the Impossible Things—[Roaring Brook Press, $16.99, hc] by Lindsay Lackey - Ruby's mom called her “Red”, so she's insisted on being “Red” at all of the foster homes where she's lived, and this one isn't going to be any different. Her mother gets out of jail soon, and then she'll come and get Red, and they'll be a family together. Never mind that Red's grandmother was the one who mostly raised her, since her mother could never get off the pills. Never mind that Celine and Jackson and their Groovy Zoo are kind of wonderful. And never mind that just next door lives Martin and his family, who are the best friends anyone could ask for. No one else would understand how she and her mother are connected by a sort-of magical ability with wind. Red remembers a time when her mother's wind was kind and gentle, a small breeze that lifted autumn leaves to make Red laugh. But by the time Red's wind developed, she was perpetually angry, so her wind is fierce, and it's all she can do to keep it from turning destructive. Then Red finds out that her mother is out of jail already and hasn't bothered to contact her. At that, Red's wind does get loose, and Red almost loses Tuck, the giant tortoise who's been such a comfort to her. Red desperately wants to believe that her mother loves her enough to do the impossible thing, and become a good mom, but is her belief blinding her to the fact that the people–and animals—around her are the ones who really love her? A subtly constructed story where the magic is both real and a metaphor for the characters' emotions.

Picture Book

Pokko and the Drum—[Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, $17.99, hc] by Matthew Forsythe - Pokko's parents give her a drum. BIG mistake! Pokko beats her drum all the time, and she beats it loudly. To rest their ears, her parents ask Pokko to take her drum outside, but when she starts to tap it, a curious thing happens. First a raccoon with a banjo starts to follow her, then a rabbit with a trumpet. Then a wolf who likes the music follows along, but he eats the rabbit. However, he says he' s sorry, so the band members let him stay. A wonderful story about the irrepressible urge to make music.

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Holly’s Recommendations - January 28, 2020

Middle Grade

Village of Scoundrels [Amulet Books, $16.99, hc, 9781419708978] by Margi Preus - In the hills of southern France there was a village that was only accessible by a slow little train and a single winding road. It was a pretty village, and it had several guest houses for the tourists and even a hotel. But during WWII there weren't a lot of tourists, or even many travelers, so what the village turned to was rescuing and hiding Jews, especially Jewish children. Their pastors had told the villagers that what God wanted in the face of evil was quiet but steadfast resistance, and that's what the villagers set out to do. All of them. So when the Germans appointed a young policeman, nominally to keep the peace, but in reality to uncover and arrest the lawbreakers, he couldn't seem to make any headway. No one would admit that there were Jews in the village; the villagers smiled at him, shrugged, and said that all they had here were people. Meanwhile, a young forger was producing hundreds of forged documents, a teen with sewing skills was outfitting escapees as French boy scouts, and one of those boy scouts was escorting people on the Nazi's kill lists to the Swiss border. All of the students who resided in the guest houses were ready to gather up their Jewish companions at a moment's notice and take them up the mountain into the forest, to avoid the raids. And this is all based on a true story. Many brave people stood up to the Nazis, but Le Chambon was unique in the fact that every last one of the villagers was in on it—all of them scoundrels.

Picture Book

Almond [Scholastic Press, $18.99, hc, 9781338300376 ] by Allen Say - The new girl at school plays the violin so well that Almond can see The Flight of the Bumblebee winding through the flowers. Almond loves the music, but it also makes her sad. She feels that she has no talent of her own; all anyone praises her for is her pretty hair. Her mother says that it takes time to find a talent. When Almond gets a part in the class play, she doesn't think she can be an actress, but the new girl points out that Almond is good at pretending, and that's what an actress does. A heartfelt story about the journey to self-discovery.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - January 21, 2020

Mock Printz

Pet [Make Me a World, $17.99, hc] by Akwaeke Emezi - Jam and her best friend, Redemption, were never supposed to know a monster. The founders of Lucille did everything they could to eradicate all evil, so that their children could grow up in a safe, wholesome community. The heroes who founded Lucille are even called “angels”, but that doesn't mean that they dragged up the limitations of the old religion. Jam is a girl by choice, with an estrogen implant in her arm, Redemption has three parents, and their lives have been happy. Then a creature of feathers, metal, and fur that Jam's mother has been forming in her latest painting tears its way out of its canvas and tells Jam that it has come to hunt a monster, and it needs Jam's help. Jam is terrified; couldn't this righteous beast be a monster, itself? How can she be certain? When all the monsters have been banished, how does one know what a monster looks like? Furthermore, the creature believes that the monster is in Redemption's house. So to help find the monster this creature has come to hunt, Jam must walk a fine line between protecting her friend and uncovering the truth. A totally engaging story with the apocalyptic proportions of Paradise Lost.

Mock Caldecott

Camp Tiger [G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, $17.99, hc] by Susan Choi and John Rocco - A young boy arrives at his family's favorite camping site hoping the vacation will never end—he has to start first grade when they get back home. But Mirror Lake is so peaceful and grand that he soon forgets his worries about school and starts to explore. That's when he meets a tiger—a tiger who asks his family if they have an extra tent he can use and moves right in. A spellbinding story that captures the magic of both the natural world and a very unusual friendship.

The Cool Bean [HarperCollins, $18.99, hc] by Jory John and Pete Oswald - The little bean was worried that he was just uncool. He used to have friends, but somehow his friends became cool beans, and he didn't. Then one day he dropped his lunch all over his shoes, and one of the cool beans helped him clean it up. Then he scraped his knee on the playground, and one of the cool beans bandaged it. Maybe being a cool bean wasn't so much how you looked or who you hung around with, thought the little bean. A thoughtful message about who the cool kids really are.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - January 14, 2020

Mock Printz

The Red Scrolls of Magic: The Eldest Curses [Margaret K. McElderry Books, $24.99, hc] by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu - Can a descendant of the demons and a descendant of the angels ever hope to become an item? Magnus Bane is hoping so, and that's why he's arranged a lavish European vacation for himself and his new love, Alex Lightwood, his former enemy and newest boyfriend. An odd couple, to be sure, and in Magnus' long, immortal life, he's had countless lovers, but somehow he thinks that Alex may turn out to be "the one". That's why he's particularly annoyed when their enjoyment of Paris is interrupted by an old friend with news of a demon-worshiping cult that might, ironically, be gunning for Magnus. The Crimson Hand is leaving a trail of chaos across the world, and Magnus realizes that he may be key to finding and stopping them because, even more ironically, he may have accidentally founded the cult himself. As a joke. When he was very drunk. So in the middle of building the trust a successful relationship depends on, Magnus suddenly finds that there are secrets he doesn't dare tell his young love—the first being the fact that he's not just demon spawn, but the son of the devil, Asmodeus, himself. The same Asmodeus the Crimson Hand worships. Alex is a Shadowhunter. His life has been dedicated to hunting demons, and he has a skill set that can't be beat. While it's becoming harder for Magnus to tell friend from foe, he's going to need Alex by his side and on his side. Both a sizzling romance and an action-packed adventure from Clare's Mortal Instruments world.

Mock Caldecott

River [Orchard Books, $18.99, hc] by Elisha Cooper - A woman has planned a 300 mile trip down the Hudson River, and now she's about to set out. She's brought her sketchbook, and supplies to cook and sleep on the shore. She experiences all kinds of water and weather, sees ducks, dragonflies, and otters, and tree-lined hills, farms, and towns. Sometimes she has to maneuver around rapids and through locks, and sometimes she has to stop and wait for rough waves to quiet. A detailed account of a brave adventure, with Cooper's lovely, detailed pictures.

Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist [Schwartz & Wade Books, $17.99, hc] by Julie Leung and Chris Sasaki - Tyrus begin his journey to America as a boy named Wong Geng Yeo. On the long voyage he carried a bundle of papers, not the drawing paper he loved to decorate with monkeys, but the answers to the questions the men at immigration would ask him. Geng Yeo's father had been to America before, but Geng Yeo hadn't, so he was detained for weeks and weeks in a dirty barrack, where he recited the important answers to himself so that he could enter America, go to art school, and become the artist who painted the beautiful backgrounds for the beloved movie, Bambi.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - January 7, 2020

Mock Newbery

Bone Talk [David Fickling Books, $18.99, hc] by Candy Gourlay - Samkad is ten years old, and he thinks it's high time he became a man. The ceremony is painful, but Samkad thinks he can be brave. He's also sure he knows everything a man needs to know. He knows everyone in his village, he knows the terraced rice paddies and the mountains of his home, and he knows that the Mangili headhunters have always been his people's enemy, and that when he becomes a man and a warrior, he will take their heads. Samkad also knows that the spirits of the land and the spirits of his ancestors guide and direct the lives of the people in the village, so when a snake appears right before his manhood ceremony and his father impulsively kills it, the elders consult the spirits, and the ceremony is abruptly canceled. The spirits say that Samkad must wait for Kinyo to return. But Kinyo was taken as an orphaned baby to his aunt in the lowlands ten years ago. His father goes to fetch Kinyo, but when he returns, everything begins to go wrong. The lowland village where Kinyo and his aunt have been living has been destroyed by a people the village had never heard of before: Americans. And what's more, they've brought an American with them, a giant with dead-white skin and short, straw-colored hair. A riveting story of the Philippines in 1899 from the point of view of a native boy whose coming-of-age included major and unexpected changes in perspective.

Mock Caldecott

Little Tigers [Peachtree Publishing Company, $17.95, hc] by Jo Weaver - Puli and Sera want to play, but Mother Tiger is worried. She can smell men and dogs on the paths near their lair; the jungle may not be safe anymore. Sera thinks she knows a safe place, so the tiger family follows her. It's a cave behind a waterfall—okay for frogs, but too wet for tigers. Puli thinks she knows a safe place, too. It's a strong tree limb—okay for monkeys, but too high for tigers. Then finally the tiger family finds the perfect place. A beautiful story about the need for a warm, safe home.

Dancing Hands [Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $17.99, hc] by Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez - Teresa Carreno learned to play from her father. By the age of six she was a much better player than he was, and she even composed her own music. However, war meant that Teresa and her family had to leave her beloved Venezuela. New York didn't seem a good place for her happy songs and dancing hands. The United States weren't very united anymore; they were in the midst of a bitter Civil War. But Teresa played her happy songs anyway, and the audiences must have loved them, because when she was ten, she was even invited to play at the White House for President Lincoln. A beautifully illustrated biography of a spirited young musician.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - December 31, 2019

Mock Printz

The Bootlace Magician [Dial Books, $17.99, hc] by Cassie Beasley - Before Micah's beloved grandfather dies, he arranges for a guardian for Micah—the Lightbender at the Circus Mirandus. Long ago, his grandfather had offered a fish that had swum into his boot for his ticket when he first visited the circus, and Fish is still there, since he's not really a fish at all, but the magical embodiment of a world-changing idea. Micah can do some magic, too, but so far his magic seems to be limited to tying and untying knots. He also has a way with animals, though, so he's put in charge of the circus' baby unicorn, Terpsichore, who won't eat for anyone except Micah. And though Micah spends most of his time with Fish and Terp, he hears the uncomfortable rumors about his grandmother, Victoria, the Bird Woman, who left the circus after she made the birds she controlled hurt each other and the members of the audience. It looks like Victoria is making trouble again. Reports are coming in of villages and towns where a flock of birds suddenly seems to go mad and attack each other or innocent bystanders. Moreover, Victoria seems to be looking for a drakling, a baby dragon, a creature who will never develop wings and dragon fire unless it's fed magical creatures. Magical creatures like all of the animals at the circus. Especially Terpsichore. Everyone at the circus wonders if Victoria is gathering her resources for revenge against the circus. And if she is, how can Micah help defend the people and the animals he loves--with just knots.

Mock Caldecott

Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf [Running Press Kids, $17.99, hc] by Troy Wilson and Ilaria Campana - Little Red knows what to do if you meet a wolf in the woods. She even knows what to do if you meet a wolf disguised as your grandma. But she doesn't know what to do if the wolf grabs the book you made for your grandma out of the goody bag and begs you to read it to him. However, she does know that you can't judge a book by it's cover. A delightful spin off of the Red Riding Hood story.

Lottie and Walter [Clarion Books, $17.99, hc] by Anna Walker

Lottie has no intention of swimming in the local swimming pool. She knows there's a shark in the water. So how come the shark isn't eating all the other girls and boys? It's because the shark only wants to eat her. But then Walter arrived, and somehow Walter made her feel better about almost everything. But could Walter also make her feel better about the swimming pool? A lovely story about a very unusual friend.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - December 24, 2019

Mock Printz

Butterfly Yellow [HarperCollins, $17.99, hc] by Thanhha Lai - As the last transports are leaving Vietnam, Hang pushes through the crowd, hoping to convince the Americans that she and her brother, Linh, are war orphans. But she doesn't realize that they are only taking babies until an American minister grabs her brother. The plane takes off, and Hang has no choice but to return home and confess to her family that she gave away Linh. From that day on, her grandmother does everything she can to ensure that she, her mother, and Hang can escape to America and find Linh. It takes six years of deprivation and near starvation, and when the time comes, Ba is too sick with cancer to go. Hang and her mother set out on a small boat, but by the time Hang finally arrives in America, she is too traumatized by the horrors of the trip—a trip her mother didn't survive—to even let herself remember it. However, she is still determined to find her brother. With only a crumbled, barely readable business card and the name of a town, Amarillo, she sets out, and is soon thrown in with the most unlikely of heroes: a pale-skinned, overweight, fancy-dressed wanna-be-cowboy who's idea of a summer vacation is to follow his rodeo hero across the west. But LeeRoy gets Hang to the ranch where her brother lives, and when Linh, now called David, refuses to remember Hang or have anything to do with her, LeeRoy sticks with Hang, taking jobs with a neighboring rancher to stay close to Linh. LeeRoy can see why David didn't take to Hang right away—she's as prickly as a cactus—but somehow she's won his heart. A powerful story of how regret can become the fuel to go on, against the most insurmountable odds.

Mock Caldecott

Can Cat and Bird be Friends? [HarperCollins, $17.99, hc] by Coll Muir - When Cat meets Bird, the first thing Cat says is, “I must eat you.” But bird asks, “Why?” And Cat doesn't really know; that's just the way it's always been. Then Bird precedes to show Cat all the ways in which they could be good friends. Bird knows about a fun box, a tall tree, and a good car to hide under. And Cat knows about a good wire to sit on, a pile of twigs for nests, and a supply of juicy worms. But they worry that they have nothing they both like to do together. Limited colors and simple shapes—until the end—convey the thoughtful tone of the discussion.

The Climbing Tree [POW!, $17.99, hc] by John Stith and Yuliya Pieletskaya - When Big Brother first climbs up the lowest branches of the tree, Little Brother is still too small to climb at all. He desperately want to pretend to be a bird, like his brother, and see how different the world looks. But by the time Little Brother is big enough for the lowest branches of the tree, Big Brother has climbed to the middle. A touching story of how hard it is to never be the biggest, with lyrical, imaginative illustrations.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - December 17, 2019

Mock Newbery

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks [Atheneum Books, $17.99, hc] by Jason Reynolds - Ten short stories are connected by a school bus falling from the sky that no one sees and by the fact that all of the young protagonists are walking home from the same school and live in the same ten blocks. There's the pickpocket, stealing change from the unsuspecting to buy candy for . . . not what you'd expect. There's the girl who's on her skateboard even before she hits the doors, watchful for the rough kids who knocked her sister off her board. There's the big guy who gives the little guy who won't let go of his blue ball piggyback rides. There's the girl who rehearses jokes all the way home to tell to her grandfather, since he can't come up with his own jokes anymore. There's the boy who makes escape plans to quiet his fear of getting bit by his neighbor's new dog. There's the boy who's in love, and walking in a different direction today, to tell the girl of his dreams how he feels. By looking at a walk home from school through the eyes of ten different but interconnected young protagonists, Reynolds paints a rich picture of what life is like in those ten blocks—for those who care to look at it in more than one way.

Mock Caldecott

Love and the Rocking Chair [Blue Sky Press (AZ), $18.99, hc] by Leo and Diane Dillon - When they were expecting a new little person, a young couple bought a rocking chair for the baby's room. When the child, a boy, was born, his mother rocked him to sleep in that chair, and later he rocked himself, pretending to ride a wild horse across the plains. The boy grew up, and the chair went to the attic to gather dust. But then he came home with the woman he loved, and soon they were expecting a new person, and the rocking chair came down to the nursery once more. A sweet last collaboration by two stellar artists and storytellers.

The Fate of Fausto: A Painted Fable [Philomel Books, $24.99, hc] by Oliver Jeffers - Fausto likes to own things. He goes around telling flowers and sheep and trees, “You are mine!” From the flowers and sheep and trees, he doesn't get much resistance, but when he gets to a lake, it doesn't even bother to acknowledge him. So Fausto yells and stomps until it agrees. The things Fausto wants to own get bigger and bigger, until he finally he wants the sea. But he should have known better; no one can own the sea, no matter how much they yell and stomp. A nicely illustrated, clever commentary.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - December 10, 2019

Mock Newbery

Stay [Katherine Tegen Books, $16.99, hc] by Bobbie Pyron - Piper had a home and two parents who both had jobs, and her biggest problem was her annoying little brother, Dylan. Then her brother nearly died of an asthma attack, the medical bills were overwhelming, and now she and her family are walking the streets of a strange city, looking for the emergency shelter. Life in the shelter is hard. Dad has to stay in another shelter for men, and they all have to line up at a charity kitchen for dinner. But in the line Piper sees an old woman with a small dog. The woman's name is Jewel, and the dog's name is Baby, and there's a man at the door who won't let Jewel bring Baby in, so she leaves with no food. Piper worries about Jewel and Baby, and even when she and her family finally get a place in a family shelter, Piper wants to be sure they're okay. She discovers that there's a whole community of homeless people who would rather sleep in doorways then give up their pets. Then Jewel disappears, and her friends finally find out that she's been taken to the hospital with pneumonia. Baby tries to get to Jewel, and ends up in the pound. Now Piper feels that she has to help them, and to help them, she needs Jewel's story—what happened to her that left her here with only her little dog, homeless and confused. Both an empathetic dog story and an unflinching look at the problems of homelessness, and how much good can be done, even by a single troop of Firefly Girls.

Mock Caldecott

A Big Bed for Little Snow [ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, hc] by Grace Lin - When winter began, Little Snow's mommy made him a big new bed. The big new bed, she reminded him, was for sleeping on, not for jumping on. But the big new bed was so bouncy-looking Little Snow couldn't resist. He jumped and jumped and jumped. But when his mommy peeked in on him, Little Snow flopped back down on his bed and pretended he'd been sleeping. But his mommy knew what he's been up to, because whenever Little Snow jumped, feathers (snowflakes) escaped from his bed and fell through the sky. A lovely creation story and a good companion for A Big Mooncake for Little Star.

I Wonder [Random House Books for Young Readers, $17.99, hc] by K. A. Holt and Kenard Pak - What do you wonder about the world? When you look at the sun, do you wonder if it's really a big kite? When you unpack your lunch at school, do you wonder if your sandwich gets mad when you bite it? When you ride home in dad's car, do you wonder of the cars can talk to the trucks? Do they speak the same language? And when you sit on the front steps, do you wonder what the clouds taste like? With soft pictures that seem to be wondering, too, this collection of wonderings shows how wonder-ful we are.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - December 3, 2019

Mock Newbery

Lalani of the Distant Sea [Greenwillow Books, $16.99, hc] by Erin Entrada Kelly - When her father didn't come back from the latest sailing expedition, Lalani's Uncle Drum married her mother, and he and his grown son have moved in and made life miserable. Now Lalani's mother is sick. She stuck herself with her needle, and when a mender sticks herself, she usually dies. The menyoro, the village's official healer, can do nothing to save her, and Lalani's friend, Veyda, who heals people in secret, has run out of medicines, as the valley's long drought has killed most of the plants. It's forbidden to go up the sides of Mount Kahna, where the plants are still green, but one day Lalani finds herself doing just that, chasing after a runaway shek. The villagers all fear the wrath of the mountain, and when the rains come suddenly and so fiercely that that valley floods and the mountain sends down great sheets of mud, Lalani knows she'll be blamed. There are rumors of an island beyond the mists, where life is paradise, but none of the expeditions sent out to locate it have ever been successful. However, Lalani feels she has no choice. She steals an apprentice-made scouting boat and sets out for the island, taking comfort from the tale of Ziva, a village maiden who also tried to escape to the sea. And perhaps it's Ziva's spirit that helps Lalani through the disorienting fog that has killed so many other sailors. A wonderful story about all the kinds of courage it takes to make your home a little more like the paradise you envision elsewhere.

Mock Caldecott

The Bravest Man in the World [Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, $17.99, hc] by Patricia Polacco - One of the most notable heroes in the Titanic disaster was Wallace Hartley, the brave violin player who led his little orchestra in a rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee” as the ship plunged into the dark water. Polacco tells the story from the point of view of an accidental stowaway, who hides in an outgoing mailbag to get away from the thugs who are after him on the Dublin docks. Young Jonathan had learned to play the violin from a sprooker, and had been playing for coins to keep body and soul together after his mother died. Because of Hartley, Jonathan gets to a lifeboat when the Titanic sinks and gets a new family and a music school education in America, so Hartley is his personal hero.

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City [Disney-Hyperion, $17.99, hc] by Tara Lazar and Ross MacDonald - All the capital letters have vanished, and Private I is on the case. He's especially worried about his friend, B, who is a waitress in the Cafe Uno (now the _afe _no). Little B, B's little sister, hands Private I the last order slip from B's pad, and it's covered with stars. Is this a clue? A clever story told totally in the same kind of double-talk (now alphabetical instead of numerical) as Lazar's 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story.

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Holly’s Mock Recommendations - November 26, 2019

Mock Newbery

The Dark Lord Clementine [Algonquin Young Readers, $17.95, hc] by Sarah Jean Horwitz - Clementine Morcerous is heir to Dark Lord Elithor's estate on the edge of the Seven Sisters Mountains. But she doesn't know if she'll ever be ready to be a Dark Lord. The Council of Least Esteemed Evil Overlords expect a regular quota of dastardly deeds from its Dark Lords, and Clementine isn't very good at dastardly deeds. However, she may have to get ready to take over more quickly than she expected, since her father has been cursed by a Whittle Witch and is literally whittling away. Other things seem to be going wrong on the estate, too. The magically enslaved castle cook has absconded with her freedom, a handful of magic beans, and two weeks' grocery money. The fire-breathing chickens have burned down their fire-proof fence, and the black sheep has begun to talk. Clementine's father isn't the most supportive or communicative of fathers, but he's all the father Clementine has, and she loves him and intends to save him. And saving him may involve breaking one of his most adamant rules and getting outside help. There's a boy in the village who has always wanted to be a knight and wants Clementine to be his lady-in-distress. There's a huntress who bears a nasty scar a huge grudge, but who feels sorry for Clementine and takes her under her wing. And there's a coven of Good Witches who save Clementine from the forest's wrath and who think she may be more skilled with light magic than she is with dark magic. But in the end it's Clementine who must decide who gets to be-or-not-to-be who they truly are. A delightfully twisted fantasy with an entirely lovable (sorry, Clem) heroine.

Mock Caldecott

Sulwe [Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $17.99, hc] by Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison - Sulwe didn't look like anyone else in her family. Her mother is the color of dawn, her father the color of dusk, and her sister the color of noon. Sulwe is the color of darkest night. Everyone at school tells her sister she's beautiful, and she makes friends easily. No one at school tells Sulwe she's beautiful, and she keeps to herself. But Sulwe's mother knows she's beautiful, and she reminds her daughter that this was why she'd named her “star”. Then Sulwe has a wonderful dream. Lyrical prose and verse and stunning pictures tell a lovely story about finding beauty in diversity.

Come Next Season [Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr), $17.99, hc] by Kim Norman and Daniel Miyares - Each season holds delights in this cadenced and softly illustrated story. Come summer, the children visit the lake and cannonball through the clouds. Come fall, there's the tire swing and piles of leaves to dive into. Come winter, there are both clear days beside the fire with a puzzle and snow days outside. Come spring, there's Uncle Dean's farm and a new puppy, and won't she love the lake, come summer?