Review: Warrior Girl

Title: Warrior Girl

Author: Carmen Tafolla

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Pages: 209

Review Copy: ARC via publisher

Availability: On shelves now

Summary: An insightful novel in verse about the joys and struggles of a Chicana girl who is a warrior for her name, her history, and her right to choose what she celebrates in life. 

Celina and her family are bilingual and follow both Mexican and American traditions. Celina revels in her Mexican heritage, but once she starts school it feels like the world wants her to erase that part of her identity. Fortunately, she’s got an army of family and three fabulous new friends behind her to fight the ignorance. But it’s her Gramma who’s her biggest inspiration, encouraging Celina to build a shield of joy around herself. Because when you’re celebrating, when you find a reason to sing or dance or paint or play or laugh or write, they haven’t taken everything away from you. Of course, it’s not possible to stay in celebration mode when things get dire--like when her dad’s deported and a pandemic hits--but if there is anything Celina’s sure of, it’s that she’ll always live up to her last Guerrera--woman warrior--and that she will use her voice and writing talents to make the world a more beautiful place where all cultures are celebrated.

My Thoughts: From the start, Celina, or Tere as she was called at home, knows that she comes from a courageous and loving people. The poems share the many times when she comes up against people in her schools and elsewhere that don't listen to her or believe that they know her or her name better than she does. With her Gramma and the one teacher that encouraged her and other students to use their voice, Celina is able to keep from having her culture, history, and self be erased. 

Writing is Celina's comfort when she is dealing with difficult things and she doesn't want to burden her family or worry them. So we get to see her inner thoughts as she works through the stresses. When it's not writing or her family, the moon and nature are where she looks for peace.

In middle school, Celina learns much more about poetry and writing and as a teacher I see all kinds of possibilities for using this book in a classroom. There are examples of great writing in the poems, but there are also lessons about poetry. And the lessons are in Celina's voice and style so they aren't super didactic. 

There are interesting conversations about history too like when they discuss who gets to relax on Labor Day, or why Columbus could claim the land that already had people, or that slavery was a reason for the battle at the Alamo though it often isn't framed that way in classrooms. There are many times when Celina asks questions of her friends and teachers and creates space for thinking about things. 

Part of the story happens during the spring of 2020 so events of that time including COVID come into play. The fear of illness or loss of loved ones and the killing of George Floyd are part of Celina's life even as she is still waiting for her father to return after deportation. There's a lot going on, but she has the support of family, friends, and some teachers who care. 

Recommendation: Get it soon. This is a short book that packs in a lot of things to think about around freedom, identity, family, friendship, history, community, and more. 

Review: Pahua and the Soul Stealer

Title: Pahua and the Soul Stealer

Author: Lori M. Lee 

Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

Pages: 432

Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley 

Availability: September 7, 2021 

Summary: Pahua Moua has a bit of a reputation for being a weirdo. A lonely eleven-year-old Hmong girl with the unique ability to see spirits, she spends her summer days babysitting her little brother and playing with her best friend, a cat spirit no one else can see. 

One day Pahua accidentally untethers an angry spirit from the haunted bridge in her neighborhood--whoops. When her brother suddenly falls sick and can't be awoken, Pahua fears that the bridge spirit has stolen his soul. She returns to the scene of the crime with her aunt's old shaman tools, hoping to confront the spirit and demand her brother's return. Instead, she summons a demon.

Thankfully, a warrior shaman with a bit of an attitude problem shows up at the last minute and saves her butt. With the help of this guide, Pahua will have to find her way through the spirit worlds and rescue her brother's soul before it's too late. Little does she know she'll have her own discoveries to make along the way. . . .

My thoughts: I'm so excited for students to get their hands on this book. Like the other Rick Riordan Presents books, this is also jam packed with action and fascinating storytelling. Each book in the imprint is written with inspiration from traditional stories and this one is based on the Hmong stories that Lori M. Lee grew up hearing. 

There are Hmong stories scattered throughout the book and the warrior shaman Pahua meets helps explain a lot of things about Hmong practices and beliefs in between their many adventures. There are also Hmong symbols at the beginning of chapters. Readers unfamiliar with Hmong storytelling and culture may not notice everything, but Hmong readers are sure to recognize the many Hmong symbols, foods, words, and much more. 

The spirit cat and the many other spirits that Pahua encounters are each unique and intriguing. Young readers may find the story to be slightly creepy, but it is not terrifying horror. It seems to be just enough scariness to send shivers up the spine on occasion without overwhelming the typical middle grade reader.

I flew through the story at a fast pace in a hurry to see what would come next. Traveling through the spirit realm with Pahua was quite a ride and I was very happy to be on the journey.

Recommendation: Pahua and her companions are sure to entertain and delight middle grade readers as they attempt to finish their quest. This will be a winner with readers who love fantasy and lots of action. There is also plenty of humor too. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with my students and hope that many readers get a chance to meet Pahua. 

Extra: Schedule of Virtual Events with the Author

Review: American as Paneer Pie

Title: American as Paneer Pie
Author: Supriya Kelkar
Publisher: Aladdin
Pages: 320
Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: As the only Indian American kid in her small town, Lekha Divekar feels like she has two versions of herself: Home Lekha, who loves watching Bollywood movies and eating Indian food, and School Lekha, who pins her hair over her bindi birthmark and avoids confrontation at all costs, especially when someone teases her for being Indian.

When a girl Lekha’s age moves in across the street, Lekha is excited to hear that her name is Avantika and she’s Desi, too! Finally, there will be someone else around who gets it. But as soon as Avantika speaks, Lekha realizes she has an accent. She’s new to this country, and not at all like Lekha.

To Lekha’s surprise, Avantika does not feel the same way as Lekha about having two separate lives or about the bullying at school. Avantika doesn’t take the bullying quietly. And she proudly displays her culture no matter where she is: at home or at school.

When a racist incident rocks Lekha’s community, Lekha realizes she must make a choice: continue to remain silent or find her voice before it’s too late.

My review:  Lekha is struggling with her identity in some ways. She loves many aspects of her culture, but she feels like she needs to be one person at school and another at home. She tries to keep her worlds from colliding because she doesn't want to give anyone more reasons to see her as other. With Avantika standing up to bullies, Lekha starts to take a hard look at how she is moving through life.

This is a very relatable middle grade novel. Bullies can be anywhere and will look for any difference or weakness so readers will likely have experienced something similar even if they are not part of an immigrant family. For those who are an immigrant or whose family has immigrated in this generation or the previous one, I'm sure they will see themselves or other family members here in the pages.

Beyond Lekha's personal identity questions, there are also some fairly serious questions in the community. A politician is running a campaign with the major point being that immigrants are stealing jobs and need to go back to where they came from. This hateful rhetoric is making Lekha and others unsafe in their own community.

Beyond that, it's a book about friendship, family, and oh my goodness - the food. There are so many descriptions and mentions of food. I was so hungry while reading. I was hoping for a recipe and was not disappointed. A recipe for the Paneer Pie mentioned in the title is included at the end. Books with recipes are a particular favorite of mine. 

Recommendation: This is a lovely middle grade book that I highly recommend. It deals with some particularly difficult topics, but not in an overwhelming way. The friendship and love are comforting while they still face tough situations that are unfortunately very timely.

Review: Letters from Heaven/Cartas del cielo

Title: Letters From Heaven/Cartas del cielo

Author: Lydia Gil
Illustrator: Leonardo Mora

Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Publico Press

Pages: 116
Availability: On shelves now

Review Copy: Final copy via publisher

Summary: Celeste is heartbroken when her grandmother dies. But everything changes when a letter mysteriously comes in the mail—from Grandma! “I know you miss me as much as I miss you. Don’t be sad. Where there is love, there is no sadness.” As letters continue to arrive from the beyond, each with a recipe of a favorite food her grandmother used to prepare, Celeste consoles herself by learning how to cook the dishes. Meanwhile, without Grandma’s social security check, Mami needs to get a second job to make ends meet. Celeste has to quit dance lessons, and a bully at school gloats that she will replace Celeste as the star in the upcoming recital. To top things off, her friends think that she’s gone crazy; dead people can’t send letters! When a final letter arrives, Celeste realizes that all the recipes combined make an entire meal: café con leche, guava and cheese croissants, congrí, plantain chips, ropa vieja and flan. Can she really make a Cuban feast to celebrate her cherished grandmother’s life?

A tender story of family and friendship, Letters from Heaven / Cartas del cielo celebrates Latino traditions, especially those of the Spanish Caribbean. This entertaining novel is written in ten brief chapters for children ages 8-12 and includes six traditional Cuban recipes with easy-to-follow instructions.

Review: I am a complete sucker for books that include recipes and this one has me itching to get in the kitchen. There are six recipes that together create a complete meal if one is brave enough. The description above says they are easy-to-follow, but the flan looks a bit tough to do. I will probably give it a try though.

The story itself has a little bit of everything. Celeste is grieving after the death of her grandmother, but she also has a good adult support system. There is also a friendship and bullying component. And of course, food plays a very important role. Lydia Gil provides characters and situations that are believable and interesting too. Overall, it's a story of family love and how that can be expressed and celebrated in and around food.

Early readers of chapter books will find this story to be both quick and engaging. They will likely want to try some of the recipes too. All of the recipes involve cooking so adult supervision will be necessary. Some of the recipes, like the flan, may seem a bit intimidating, but they all look like they lead to deliciousness.

As the title implies, this book has text in both Spanish and English. It's a flip book so the texts are kept separate though there are a few italicized Spanish words in the English portion. For readers who don't know Spanish, the words are almost always easily understood through context, but even if they aren't, major plot comprehension issues won't be likely.

This is a great early chapter book for any young readers. I definitely recommend it especially for libraries looking to include books from a variety of cultures.

Review: The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker

Title: The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker: A Mickey Rangel Mystery/El misterio del malvado marcador: Coleccion Mickey Rangel, detective privado
Author: René Saldaña, Jr.
Translator:  Carolina Villarroel
Publisher: Piñata Books
Pages: 38
Format: Paperback Bilingual Flip Book
Review Copy: Final version from publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Review: This is the third book in the Mickey Rangel series and it has convinced me that I need to find the other two. Mickey is a fifth grade detective. The book opens with Mickey sitting in the principal's office with no knowledge of why he is there. This creates quite a bit of stress for him as he wonders what she is going to say. He soon finds out that someone has been putting graffiti on school property and the principal would like Mickey to help her figure out who is doing it.

Mickey gets right to work to find out who has been leaving the graffiti messages. He's observant and also thinks up excellent questions as he digs for clues. I appreciated his sense of humor too. He tells about one Halloween when he dressed as a giant stool and his brother was a pigeon so they could be a stool pigeon. I am not certain that young readers will get that joke, but there are other reasons to smile.

Mickey also gets a little help in his work. There is a character he calls his "angel" that sometimes provides clues or prompts him with questions. This angel was in the other books too. I am curious to know if readers will ever find out the identity of this secretive angel.

I am always looking for interesting mystery books for younger readers. This is a series that would work well for readers who are ready to tackle a chapter book, but aren't ready for hundreds of pages. Another plus is that if you flip it one way, the text is in English and if you flip it the other, the text is in Spanish. I will be sure to find the other books in the series to read more about Mickey and his cases.

Review: The Secret Hum of a Daisy

Title: The Secret Hum of a Daisy
Author: Tracy Holczer
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 312
Review Copy: ARC from publisher
Available: May 2014

Summary: Twelve-year-old Grace and her mother have always been their own family, traveling from place to place like gypsies. But Grace wants to finally have a home all their own. Just when she thinks she's found it her mother says it's time to move again. Grace summons the courage to tell her mother how she really feels and will always regret that her last words to her were angry ones.

After her mother's sudden death, Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she's never met. She can't imagine her mother would want her to stay with this stranger. Then Grace finds clues in a mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on. Maybe it is her mother, showing her the way to her true home.

Lyrical, poignant and fresh, The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a beautifully told middle grade tale with a great deal of heart. -- Cover image and summary via IndieBound

Review: Lyrical is precisely the word to use for this book. There are so many sentences that are poetry within the prose. Aside from the richness of Holczer's words, we also are treated to samplings of Robert Frost. Grace grew up listening to or reading Frost on a daily basis. She is also a writer herself. Her mother encouraged her writing and Grace has words buzzing and bubbling up inside her trying to escape onto paper every day. Grace's mother was an artist and so is Grace. She can sketch, but her medium is generally words. I enjoyed spending time with Grace and seeing the magic she had with the written word.

As you can see from the summary though, the book is about a lot more than writing. Grace has just lost her mother and is coping with grief and learning to live with a grandmother who is a virtual stranger. Grace struggles so much and slowly finds her way through the challenges she is facing.

I appreciated that the characters had many layers. I especially loved the depth of the grandmother. She is not without fault and idiosyncrasies, but she is also doing her best to be patient and caring as Grace adjusts and grieves even as she herself grieves her daughter and the years they lost.

This is a book full of emotion, love and hope. Grace has many caring adults and friends in the book to help her through this time, but she also draws on her own strengths. Readers who appreciate realistic fiction, especially tear jerkers, will likely love this one as I did.

I do have an issue with the summary above though. I am disappointed that the publishers or whoever wrote up the summary used the term gypsies when talking about their many moves. I thought that was a term with negative connotations about the Romani people and that it wouldn't be used any more around children's lit. Here is a post that explains why it's a negative. I don't think it was in the text itself though - at least I don't remember reading it there. I would have changed that about the book, but nothing else.

Review: Bird

Title: Bird
Author: Crystal Chan
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304
Availability: January 28, 2014
Review Copy: Edelweiss Digital ARC

Summary: Entrenched secrets, mysterious spirits, and an astonishing friendship weave together in this extraordinary and haunting debut. "Nothing matters. Only Bird matters. And he flew away."

Jewel never knew her brother Bird, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Her parents blame Grandpa for the tragedy of their family's past; they say that Grandpa attracted a malevolent spirit--a duppy--into their home. Grandpa hasn't spoken a word since. Now Jewel is twelve, and she lives in a house full of secrets and impenetrable silence. Jewel is sure that no one will ever love her like they loved Bird, until the night that she meets a mysterious boy in a tree. Grandpa is convinced that the boy is a duppy, but Jewel knows that he is something more. And that maybe--just maybe--the time has come to break through the stagnant silence of the past. -- Cover image and summary via IndieBound

Review: Bird punched me in the gut on the very first page. Within the first few pages the reader sees a bit of the pain that Jewel's family is struggling through. As the story continues, it becomes evident that the family may be struggling, but it seems they are losing the battle. Jewel meets a mysterious boy though and she starts changing. It's hard to tell whether the change is a good thing. Crystal Chan manages to keep the reader wondering about a lot of things. Is Jewel changing for the better or the worse? Is the boy a duppy or just what he claims? What keeps Grandpa silent? All of this wondering kept me reading at a fast clip.

Much of the book takes place outside. Jewel and her family have a garden, but she is also out climbing trees, walking in the rain, climbing and examining rocks and spending time at a cliff. Another character loves space, so there is also a healthy dose of star gazing. Jewel's home is an uncomfortable place to be so it made sense that she would be away from it as much as possible.

The book slowed down a bit in the middle, but what kept me interested was the conflict and relationship between Jewel and her grandfather who was withdrawn and silent. Jewel's grandfather seemed more than just detached. He even seemed a bit hostile. I wanted to puzzle that out and I had hope for some change. In addition to the family issues, Jewel and her new friend both seem to be dealing with how they fit in with their families, but also in the wider community. Jewel's father is Jamaican and her mother is Mexican which is pretty unusual in small town Iowa. Race isn't the central issue of the book, but does come up and I am glad to find a middle grade book happening in the mid-west with such a situation. There are young people here in the mid-west that need to see that they are not alone as a mixed-race child.

There is just enough mystery to keep the reader off-balance and interested in the solution and the relationships are what won me over. The word duppies might have been a factor too. I love learning fun new words. This would be a nice addition to an elementary library.

Extras:

Interview/Discussion with Caroline Rose Starr

Read part of the book here (I don't know how many pages are available) 

Review: Written in Stone

Title: Written in Stone
Author: Rosanne Parry
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: 208
Genre: Historical Fiction
Review Copy: Netgalley ARC & Library Copy
Release Date: June 25, 2013

Summary: Pearl has always dreamed of hunting whales, just like her father. Of taking to the sea in their eight-man canoe, standing at the prow with a harpoon, and waiting for a whale to lift its barnacle-speckled head as it offers its life for the life of the tribe. But now that can never be. Pearl's father was lost on the last hunt, and the whales hide from the great steam-powered ships carrying harpoon cannons, which harvest not one but dozens of whales from the ocean. With the whales gone, Pearl's people, the Makah, struggle to survive as Pearl searches for ways to preserve their stories and skills.  -- cover image and summary via Goodreads

Review: A few years ago, I was lucky enough to travel to the Olympic Penninsula. I loved seeing it again through Written in Stone. Parry painted a picture of the landscape and I almost felt the fog roll in as I read. It is interesting to see the land, but also the time frame. There aren't that many middle grade books set in the 20s.

More than the setting though, the relationships in the story appealed to me. Pearl has lost both her parents and her sister, but she is surrounding by a caring extended family. Pearl's Aunt Susi works in town and lives on her own. She is a role model and a mentor who stands by Pearl, but also holds her accountable for her actions. Susi brings out the best in Pearl. More than anything else, this is a story of family and the strength that family can inspire.

Roseanne Parry taught on the Quinault Indian reservation. In this text, she has worked hard to respectfully portray the Quinault and Makah people and their history. She explained that she wanted to create a story that would let her students see characters like them. She shared some aspects of the culture, but was careful not to appropriate their stories. She alluded to several characters from stories, but did not explain out of respect. This was a difficult balancing act of utilizing the history to create something new without using the stories of the people because as she wrote in the author's note, "they are not mine to tell." I appreciated that she didn't just make up tales to go along with her narrative but let it stand on its own.

I would recommend Written in Stone. It provides a look into a time, place and culture that many children would not otherwise experience. For a little taste of the story, you may watch the trailer below.

Roseanne Parry's Pinterest Board related to the book

Teacher Resources

Review: The Boy on the Porch

Title: The Boy on the Porch

Author: Sharon Creech

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 160 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Review Copy: Digital ARC from Edelweiss

Release Date: September 3, 2013

Summary: One day a young couple wakes to find a boy asleep on their porch. Unable to speak, the boy cannot explain his history. What kind of person would leave their child with strangers? All they know is that they have been chosen to care for this boy. And as their connection to him grows, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family, and John and Marta and the boy begin to see the world in brand-new ways. Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech delivers a poignant story of finding family when you least expect it.

My thoughts: With brief chapters, this sweet middle grade novel just flew by. I was completely charmed by John and Marta. They are so unsure of themselves, but dive right into caring for this boy who dropped into their lives. They are still learning how to be with each other and adding a random child into the mix flusters them, but heir interactions are adorable. 

Where the boy came from, why he doesn't speak, why someone doesn't come back for him, these are all questions that rumbled through my head. Some of them are answered, but even more questions popped up as I was reading. This book is rather short on answers though. I guess that is like life. We don't always know why things happen. This may simply be the "realistic" element of the story, but it also seemed that possibly Sharon Creech was writing this way to inspire wondering and thinking on the part of the reader. In some ways I appreciated that, but I think as readers we have expectations from the author. When there is no way to know an answer, we accept that, but in this story, the answers are possible, we just don't get them. That was a bit frustrating.

The boy in the story doesn't speak and this certainly adds to the mystery. It also makes the boy more interesting. The wondering starts. It is also intriguing to see the many ways that he does communicate without the use of his voice. He has a way to "talk" with the animals and he speaks through art and music too.

This is a beautiful story of family and making the world a better place for others. In spite of some of the hardships in the book, I felt a warm glow while reading. There aren't as many jokes, but it did remind me of Creech's earlier book Ruby Holler as we see one more way that a loving family can be made. 

Reivew: Gum Girl! (Chews Your Destiny #1)

Title: Gum Girl! Chews Your Destiny #1
Author: Rhode Montijo
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Copy: Netgalley
Release Date: June 4, 2013

Summary: Gabby Gomez loves to chew bubble gum even though her mother has warned her against it. It's not like she will turn into gum...except, that's exactly what happens! With her new, stretch-tastic powers Gabby can help save the day, but she will have to keep her gummy alter-ego a secret from her mother or else she'll find herself in a really sticky situation. [cover image and summary via IndieBound]

Review: Gum Girl! is a light-hearted and fun middle grade comic. I am happy to find books like this that are simple enough for beginning chapter book readers, but are more interesting than a controlled vocabulary reading practice book. The format of the book is a combination of narrative paragraphs mixed with comics. It reminds me of the Frankie Pickle series in that way. The first page technically has three paragraphs, but then the next eight pages only have four sentences all together. For the student just venturing in to the chapter book section, it is a little less intimidating because it has 130 pages, but the comic type illustrations break up the text. 

The premise of the story is interesting, but not developed very much. Gabby's super-powers are used, but the situations where they are required are all very short episodes. This book seems to be laying the groundwork for more in-depth capers in the future. 

Some of the pictures are pretty hilarious like the scene in the barbershop where Gabby continues to blow her bubblegum in spite of the flurry of hair. These types of illustrations make the book a lot of fun. I also appreciated the inclusion of some Spanish. It is done in a very natural way and there are plenty of context clues so readers won't miss out on what is being said. The book was unique, but not overwhelmingly so. I think students will enjoy it, but the future stories will need to be more developed with specific "bad guys" or crimes to solve, or the series won't last. 

#NF10for10 Part Two

Okay, here was my dilemma. As I gathered titles for the Non-fiction Picture Book #10for10, I passed by sooooo many excellent non-fiction books that were too long to go in the collection. But it was almost painful to leave them out of my list. Therefore, I am going to give them a little shout out too.

Here are some of the middle-grade and YA non-fiction picture books that I am happy to have found. Also, I couldn't keep myself to just 10. No self-control today.