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Wednesday, June 3, 2020

New Books To Read This Summer (book round-up)


Today I have an awesome list of new and upcoming books to check out this summer...



Books for little readers


Yoga Animals: Playful Poses for Calming Your Wild Ones 
By Paige Towler and National Geographic Kids 
Forward by Tara Stiles 
May 19, 2020 
Nat Geo 
Adorable animal photos and lyrical text guide kids step-by-step through easy animal-inspired yoga poses.  Roar like a lion! Arch like a kitten! Stretch like a cobra! Did you know that many yoga poses were inspired by animals? Let these creatures inspire your young ones to get moving, practice mindfulness, or calm down after a long day. Simple step-by-step instructions explain the kid-friendly moves. Kids will get a kick out of the accompanying photos of animals that mimic each pose, and the sweet poem is sure to delight.  The foreword by Tara Stiles, founder of Strala Yoga, reminds us that we're never too young to start enjoying the health benefits of yoga and mindfulness. Animal Yoga is the perfect intro to this ancient practice--great for engaging (and quieting!) a class, reading aloud one-on-one, or helping restless little ones fall asleep at bedtime or naptime. 

Check out two Yoga Animals how-to videos by yoga expert Tara Stiles: Tuck Like A Bunny and Balance Like A Flamingo 

Darwin’s Rival: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Search for Evolution 
By Christiane Dorian 
Illustrated by Harry Tennant 
March 17, 2020 
Candlewick 
A beautifully illustrated volume follows a lesser-known Victorian naturalist and explorer on his global journeys -- and reveals how he developed his own theory of evolution.  Everyone knows Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist who proposed a theory of evolution. But not everyone knows the story of Alfred Russel Wallace, Darwin's friend and rival who simultaneously discovered the process of natural selection. This sumptuously illustrated book tells Wallace's story, from his humble beginnings to his adventures in the Amazon rain forest and Malay Archipelago, and demonstrates the great contribution he made to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. 

Karate Kids 
By Holly Sterling 
May 5, 2020 
Candlewick 
Gi? Ready! Belt? Ready! Let’s go! It’s karate time. HAI-YAH!  Join Maya and all her friends as they get together at the dojo for their Saturday karate class! There are moves to remember, blocks to practice, and punches to perfect. Maya is a white belt, which means she’s still a beginner, but with focus, balance, and determination — and a little help from her friends — can she show Sensei what she’s got? Written and illustrated by Holly Sterling, a karate champion and teacher, this is a joyful and uplifting celebration of the sport and a must-have primer for any child hoping to be a karate kid one day. 


 Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures 
By Tricia Springstubb 
Illustrated by Elaheh Taherian 
May 12, 2020 
Candlewick 
A sweet friendship spanning age and culture blooms in a shared backyard.  Khalil lives in the upstairs apartment with his family, which is big and busy and noisy. Downstairs lives Mr. Hagerty, who is quiet. Khalil and Mr. Hagerty don’t appear to have a lot in common, but hot summer days have a way of bringing people together. As Khalil looks for buried treasure in the yard, Mr. Hagerty tends to his garden. Both help each other navigate language — whether it be learning new words or remembering those seemingly forgotten. Before long, an unlikely friendship is born, full of treasure, thoughtfulness, and chocolate cake. Through well-cultivated details and vibrant cut-paper collage, author Tricia Springstubb and illustrator Elaheh Taherian nurture a heart-tugging tribute to the love of good neighbors and to the strength of intergenerational and intercultural bonds. 

Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom 
By Carole Boston Weatherford 
Illustrated by Michele Wood 
April 14, 2020 
Candlewick 
In a moving, lyrical tale about the cost and fragility of freedom, a New York Times best-selling author and an acclaimed artist follow the life of a man who courageously shipped himself out of slavery.  What have I to fear? My master broke every promise to me. I lost my beloved wife and our dear children. All, sold South. Neither my time nor my body is mine. The breath of life is all I have to lose. And bondage is suffocating me.  Henry Brown wrote that long before he came to be known as Box, he "entered the world a slave." He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next -- as property. When he was an adult, his wife and children were sold away from him out of spite. Henry Brown watched as his family left bound in chains, headed to the deeper South. What more could be taken from him? But then hope -- and help -- came in the form of the Underground Railroad. Escape!  In stanzas of six lines each, each line representing one side of a box, celebrated poet Carole Boston Weatherford powerfully narrates Henry Brown's story of how he came to send himself in a box from slavery to freedom. Strikingly illustrated in rich hues and patterns by artist Michele Wood, Box is augmented with historical records and an introductory excerpt from Henry's own writing as well as a time line, notes from the author and illustrator, and a bibliography. 

The Camping Trip 
By Jennifer K. Mann 
May 5, 2020 
Candlewick 
Ernestine has never been camping before, but she’s sure it will be lots of fun . . . won’t it? An endearing story about a girl’s first experience with the great outdoors.  My aunt Jackie invited me to go camping with her and my cousin Samantha this weekend. I’ve never been camping before, but I know I will love it.  Ernestine is beyond excited to go camping. She follows the packing list carefully (new sleeping bag! new flashlight! special trail mix made with Dad!) so she knows she is ready when the weekend arrives. But she quickly realizes that nothing could have prepared her for how hard it is to set up a tent, never mind fall asleep in it, or that swimming in a lake means that there will be fish — eep! Will Ernestine be able to enjoy the wilderness, or will it prove to be a bit too far out of her comfort zone? In an energetic illustrated story about a first sleepover under the stars, acclaimed author-illustrator Jennifer K. Mann reminds us that opening your mind to new experiences, no matter how challenging, can lead to great memories (and a newfound taste for s’mores). 

The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity: A Tale of Genius Ramanujan 
By Amy Alznauer 
Illustrated by Daniel Miyares 
April 14, 2020 
Candlewick 
A young mathematical genius from India searches for the secrets hidden inside numbers -- and for someone who understands him -- in this gorgeous picture-book biography.  A mango . . . is just one thing. But if I chop it in two, then chop the half in two, and keep on chopping, I get more and more bits, on and on, endlessly, to an infinity I could never ever reach.  In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor. "What is small?" he wonders. "What is big?" Head in the clouds, Ramanujan struggles in school -- but his mother knows that her son and his ideas have a purpose. As he grows up, Ramanujan reinvents much of modern mathematics, but where in the world could he find someone to understand what he has conceived?  Author Amy Alznauer gently introduces young readers to math concepts while Daniel Miyares's illustrations bring the wonder of Ramanujan's world to life in the inspiring real-life story of a boy who changed mathematics and science forever. Back matter includes a bibliography and an author's note recounting more of Ramanujan's life and accomplishments, as well as the author's father's remarkable discovery of Ramanujan's Lost Notebook. 

Sandcastle 
By Einat Tsarfati 
May 5, 2020 
Candlewick 
Step inside a sumptuous sandcastle packed with amazing and amusing visual details for a beach day that's fit for royalty.  A young girl loves building sandcastles. But not just any sandcastles. She builds one so big and grand and lovely that all the royals of the world come to visit. There are banquets and balls and tournaments, a greenhouse for cacti, a staircase for skateboarding, and ice cream around the clock. Everyone seems to be having fun, until they discover sand in the royal almond strudel . . . and the fig milk bath . . . and everywhere! With a keen eye for the absurd, author-illustrator Einat Tsarfati invites readers beyond the crocodile moat to explore the intricately detailed, increasingly wild festivities that echo the arc of a day at the beach, from euphoria to gritty discomfort. The diverse cast of regal guests, from a Rapunzel-esque princess in pj's and unicorn slippers to a pair of knights playing badminton, is just as inspired. A visual treat of a tale, Sandcastle opens the doors to a world by the sea where wit and imagination reign. 


A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin 
By Michael J. Rosen 
Illustrated by Matt Tavares 
March 17, 2020 
Candlewick 
A rousing biography from Michael J. Rosen and Matt Tavares reveals how Benjamin Franklin's boyhood shaped his amazingly multifaceted life.  Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won't hear of it. The other trades he tries -- candle maker, joiner, boot closer, turner -- bore him through and through. Curious and inventive, Ben prefers to read, swim, fly his kite, and fly his kite while swimming. But each time he fails to find a profession, he takes some important bit of knowledge with him. That tendency is exactly what leads him to become the astonishingly versatile genius we remember today. Inspired by The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Michael J. Rosen's wry tale captures Ben's spirit in evocative yet playful language, while illustrations by Matt Tavares follow Ben from the workbench to the water in vivid detail. A love story to the value of variety, A Ben of All Trades sheds light on an unconventional path to greatness and humanizes a towering figure in American history. 


Alphonse, There’s Mud On The Ceiling 
By Daisy Hunt 
May 5, 2020 
Candlewick 
Lovably rambunctious monster siblings Natalie and Alphonse are excited to go camping in the wilds of nature — without leaving their apartment.  Most of the time, Natalie and Alphonse like living in an apartment on the seventh floor. They have bunk beds to drive, a big green chair to hide behind and yell “Raaaar!,” sunflowers on the balcony to water, and almost enough hallway space for tumbling. But when they pretend to be wiggly worms crawling across the jungle . . . SHFLWUMP! Ow! That is not a good game for indoors! How can they explore the joys of nature in the middle of the city? In a playful ode to cooperation and imagination, award-winning picture-book creator Daisy Hirst presents a third adventure starring two relatable — and resourceful — siblings. 


Books for older readers

We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World 
By Todd Hasak-Lowy 
April 7, 2020 
Abrams BFYR 
A stirring look at nonviolent activism, from American suffragists to Civil Rights to the Climate Change Movement   We Are Power brings to light the incredible individuals who have used nonviolent activism to change the world. The book explores questions such as what is nonviolent resistance and how does it work? In an age when armies are stronger than ever before, when guns seem to be everywhere, how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves? Through key international movements as well as people such as Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, and Václav Havel, this book discusses the components of nonviolent resistance. It answers the question “Why nonviolence?” by showing how nonviolent movements have succeeded again and again in a variety of ways, in all sorts of places, and always in the face of overwhelming odds. The book includes endnotes, a bibliography, and an index. 

Deeplight 
By Frances Hardinge 
April 14, 2020 
Amulet Books 
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea meets Frankenstein in Frances Hardinge’s latest fantasy adventure   The gods are dead. Decades ago, they turned on one another and tore each other apart. Nobody knows why. But are they really gone forever? When 15-year-old Hark finds the still-beating heart of a terrifying deity, he risks everything to keep it out of the hands of smugglers, military scientists, and a secret fanatical cult so that he can use it to save the life of his best friend, Jelt. But with the heart, Jelt gradually and eerily transforms. How long should Hark stay loyal to his friend when he’s becoming a monster—and what is Hark willing to sacrifice to save him? 

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed 
By Laurie Halse Anderson 
Illustrated by Leila Duca 
June 2, 2020 
DC Comics 
New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson (SpeakShout) and artist Leila del Duca reimagine Wonder Woman's origins in this timely story about the refugee experience, teenage activism, and finding the love and strength to create change. 
 Princess Diana believes that her 16th birthday will be one of new beginnings--namely acceptance into the warrior tribe of Amazons. The celebrations are cut short, however, when rafts of refugees break through the Themysciran barrier. Diana tries to help them, but she is swept away by the sea--and from her home--thus becoming a refugee herself.  Now Diana must survive in the world outside of Themyscira for the first time; the world that is filled with danger and injustice. She must redefine what it means to belong, to be an Amazon, and to make a difference.  Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed is a story about growing into your strength, battling for justice, and the power of friendship. 

You Brought Me The Ocean 
By Alex Sanchez 
Illustrated by Julie Maroh 
June 9, 2020 
DC Comics 
Jake Hyde doesn’t swim––not since his father drowned. Luckily, he lives in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, which is in the middle of the desert, yet he yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown for a college on the coast. But his best friend, Maria, wants nothing more than to make a home in the desert, and Jake’s mother encourages him to always play it safe. There’s nothing “safe” about Jake’s future—not when he’s attracted to Kenny Liu, swim team captain and rebel against conformity. And certainly not when he secretly applies to Miami University. Jake’s life begins to outpace his small town’s namesake, which doesn’t make it any easier to come out to his mom, or Maria, or the world. 
 But Jake is full of secrets, including the strange blue markings on his skin that glow when in contact with water. What power will he find when he searches for his identity, and will he turn his back to the current or dive headfirst into the waves? 


Disclaimer: I received copies of the titles above from Candlewick, DC Comics, Abrams, Amulet Books, and National Geographic for review/feature purposes. All reviews, thoughts, or opinions are my own. 


1 comment:

  1. I really enjoyed A Face Like Glass and Cuckoo Song so I will be looking for Deeplight.

    ReplyDelete

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After much thought and only recently being introduced to blog awards and blogger tagging, I'm going to have to declare this an award/tag free blog. I'm honored, humbled, and so very grateful for simply being considered for an award, but I simply do not have the time to return the favor. If I could, I'd award y'all with dozens of yummy cupcakes ;) Thanks for understanding.