LIS 721 Caskey Reviews

Written by Daniel Nayeri                    Illustrated by Daniel Miyares         Image Source: danielnayeri.com           "The Assassinations of Samir, The Seller of Dreams" begins with twelve year old orphan Omar running away from monks that are trying to stone him. While running for his life, Omar and the monks come upon Samir who negotiates to purchase him as a servant for six bolts of silk. Samir quickly renames the boy "Monkey" and is tasked to help with trade. It does not take Monkey long to catch on to Samir's schemes and tricks. Samir is a liar and cheat who has wronged many people and in fact there are assassins after him, including the mythical figure Cid. Samir's constant joyful demeanor felt similar to that of Don Quixote.          The language in this book is almost lyrical, giving the text a classical type of feel that may be difficult fo...

Written by James Ponti         Image Source: thriftbooks.com           "City Spies" begins by meeting twelve year old Sara, an orphan that was imprisoned for hacking New York City's computers to expose her foster parents. Sara has been offered to join Britain's MI6 a kid agent rather than staying in juvie for the remainder of her sentence. She is joined by a cast of four other kids agents with their own specialties and code names. Kat is the crytographer, Rio is the master at sleight of hand, Paris is the survival specialist, Sydney is the field ops specialist and Sara, code name Brooklyn, is the computer hacker. As for their mission, they must compete in an environmental innovation competition for kids and place in the top 10 so they can protect the sponsor of the competition.         This books is often highly recommended to older elementary students by one of my coworkers at the library so I was eag...

Written by Greg Van Eekhout                         Image Source: Amazon "Weird Kid" is about 12 year old Jake but isn't a normal human being, in fact he is a pile of good that can shapeshifter. His parents found him in the woods and raised him as a human. Jake is starting middle school and needs to keep his true identity a secret but he's having trouble keeping his human shape. Suddenly there are strange things happening in town. Sinkholes filled with goo start appearing all over and people start acting weird. With the help of Agnes, his new found friend, the pair try to figure out what's happening to the people, what the goo is and why Jake can hear humming that no one else can.          The story moves from reality to the imaginative without looking credibility. The story includes the universal theme of identity that is relatable to children, even if they aren't an alien themselves! The story i...

Written by Craig Kofi Farmer         Image Source: Amazon           "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" begins with twelve year old Kwame leaving North Carolina to attend his beloved grandmother's funeral in Ghana. Things take a turn when a monkey steals the dashiki his grandmother had made for him. Kwame and his best friend, Autumn, follow the monkey to a river that ends up being a portal to Asamando, the Ghanian underworld. Here Kwame meets his grandmother, Ama, but she isn't the age that he last saw her, she is a child. Kwame, Autumn, Ama and the monkey Woo work together to fight characters from Ghanian folklore. Ama also informs Kwame that only the living can leave Asamando, so he will have to learn to say goodbye to her for good.          This is a refreshing take on a fantasy story steeped with Ghanian folklore and including Autumn as a Black Korean tween with hearing loss and often signing in ASL. The the...

Written by Jacqueline Woodson         Image Source: Penguin Random House "Remember Us" is set in Bushwick, Brooklyn which becomes known as "The Matchbox" after a series of fires burns down home and home. Sage is a twelve year old girl trying to figure out her place as she struggles to connect with her girl friends and feels more at ease on the basketball court with the guys. Her father was a firefighter and killed in the line of duty. That summer Freddy moves into the neighborhood and he just understands Sage. When a child in the neighborhood is killed in yet another fire, Sage begins to process her own loss.         Woodson's style of writing and dialogue reads almost like a book in verse. Giving it an engaging, fast pace that is easy to follow for a child reader. Sage feels like a creditable character as the story was inspired by Woodson's experience with fires in her own neighborhood as a child. Much of the dialogue is also written in a ...

Written by Lisa Yee         Image Source: Lisa Yee           "Maizy Chen's Last Chance" is a story about an eleven year old Chinese American girl names Maizy. Maizy and her mother live in LA and when her Opa suddenly gets sick they pick up and go to Last Chance, Minnesota to help run the family restaurant. Maizy has not seen them since she was eight years old and quickly notices that her mother and Oma do not get along. Maizy beings to learn about the struggle of the family being targeted by racism and the history of her own family. She learns about Lucky Chen, her great-great-grandfather immigrating to the United States and the struggles that the family have been through throughout many generations.          The fast pace and dialogue keep the story engaging with chapters that jump in time as Opa and Oma tell Maizy about her family history. Giving each of her ancestors their own narrative within the story....

Written by Veera Hiranandani         Image Source: The Horn Book "How to Find What You're Not Looking For" is about Ari Goldberg and her family in 1967. Ari's older sister, Leah, falls in love with an Indian boy that is Hindu. The Goldbergs do not approve their daughter marrying an immigrant, who is also not Jewish. Leah elopes and disappears without so much of a word to Ari. Ari is battling the prejudice of her parents toward Raj while also being bullied at school last the only Jew in the sixth grade class. As if having dysgraphia didn't make her school life complicated enough! The Goldbergs are struggling to keep their beloved bakery afloat and Ari desperately wants to find Leah. With the help of Jane, her best friend, Ari secretly begins searching for Leah.         In attempt to check for authentic reflections of the characters I read a review by the Jewish Book Council . Ari's mannerisms felt like a convincing ordinary girl with her...

Written by Hiba Noor Khan         Image Source: Amazon           "Safiyyah's War" is set in Paris during World War II. Safiyyah loves spending time in the library looking at maps and helps an elderly neighbor, Adam Cassian, with errands. Her world changes when word comes that the Nazi's are making their way to Paris. Many of Safiyyah's Jewish peer and teachers begin leaving town without even saying goodbye. Safiyyah wants to do everything she can to help resist against the Nazi's, including Mr. Cassian, a Jewish botanist. She also notices that her father begins acting strange, sneaking off in the middle of the night and locking the door to his office.         Khan stays true to reflecting the historical time as the Grand Mosque of Paris was actually responsible for helping hide and provide false identification for fleeing Jews. This is an important perspective of World War II history that is not often told. This...

Written by Ann Rinaldi          Image Source: socialjusticebooks.org In preparation for historical realism my LIS 721 professor had us read Cynthia Smith's article, Fiction Posing As Truth: A Critical Review of Ann Rinaldi's My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl . I highly recommend you read the article before even considering reading this book. Rinaldi clearly did not do her homework and neither did her publishers. She was not historically accurate, unauthentic, and even appropriated from the headstones of Native children that supposedly "inspired" her. Generally, Rinaldi added to the many stereotypes that are used in materials created about Native peoples. Smith points out that Scholastic is a highly respected publisher and so parents and teachers would not think twice about purchasing or checking out this book. However, Rinaldi's carelessness is unacceptable. After reading this article I of course did not read this book. How...

Written and Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi          Image Source: Scholastic           "Amulet: The Stonekeeper"  is about a family that moves into their great-grandfather's abandoned home after the death of their father. Children, Emily and Navin, end up in their Grandfather's study and find a necklace. Emily decides to take the necklace and then in the middle of the night it begins to speak to her and warns her that her family is in danger. Then their mother is kidnapped by a strange creature in the basement. When Emily and Navin journey into the basement to save their mother, they find themselves in a new world.          The text and illustrations in this book work very well together. Kibuishi does an excellent job of using contrast to help enhance the mood throughout the story. He embraces the darker tones and creates almost a foggy effect while Emily and Navin find themselves in this new world. Kibui...

Written and Illustrated by Matt Faulkner          Image Source: mattfaulkner.com "Gaijen: American Prisoner of War" was inspired by Faulkner's great aunt who was in one of these prisoner camps with her own children during WWII. Koji is half Japanese and after Pearl Harbor is bombed he has to go to a prison camp. Koji is only 13 years old and his American mother goes to plead with the administration that he cannot go alone, so she has to go with him. Throughout the book the reader will see the horrible conditions that the Japanese Americans had to live in on these prisoner camps.          Faulkner's use of unapologetic illustrations and harsh text shows the realities of the conditions Japanese Americans endured. He uses intense colors and lines to show emotions and movements throughout that help drive the stories fast pace. Older children will be able to understand the plot and may even learn about the use of internment camps. (I for one...

Written by Claribel A. Ortega                    Illustrated by Rose Bousamra          Image Source: Goodreads "Frizzy" is a moving story about a girl named Marlene and her complicated relationship with her mother and her own hair. Eventually we learn that this complicated relationship with hair has been passed down by generations because of white beauty standards. Marlene is able to learn how to proper care for and embrace her beautiful natural hair with the help of her t í a , Ruby. This is a beautiful graphic novel that highlights the beauty of Marlene embracing being a Black Latina and ignoring white beauty standards.          Ortega's words and Bousamra's illustrations beautifully enhance each other throughout the story. Ortega is able to express the guilt and shame that Marlene feels when she doesn't want to go to the salon and wishes that everyone would just love her and her ...

Written and Illustrated by Bree Paulsen           Image Source: Goodreads "Garlic and the Vampire" is a cozy story about an anxious little Garlic that works in a witches garden with a variety of other vegetable characters. Garlic is often worried that she has upset those around her and worries about everything. One day they see that there is smoke coming from the chimney of the abandoned mansion and the witch tells them it is possible that the vampire that previously lived there is back. After panic on everyone's part, Garlic is volunteered for the job (for obvious reasons). This is such a sweet story to show that often times were worry and have anxiety over something that was perfectly fine to begin with.          The images work well with the text in showing the sarcastic responses that Garlic gets when she begins to worry aloud. The images also do a great job of showing how the characters are feeling, while the text does not expl...

Written and Illustrated by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost          Image Source: Barnes and Noble           "Adventures in Cartooning" is a hilarious graphic novel that explains how to create your own graphic novel. The lessons include how to use panels, word balloons, sound effects and more to make your graphic novel make sense and come alive. This would also be a great introduction to graphic novels and comics to show you how to read a graphic novel (see below). Image Source: page 15           They cleverly use a princess, elf and knight to tell you a story while also explaining the rules to follow while telling your story as a graphic novel. The text and illustrations work extremely well together to show you how the different format choices made with the illustrations can affect the story being told. The drawings are simple enough to show the reader that they can make their o...

Written by David A. Adler                    Illustrated by Sam Ricks         Image Source: thriftbooks.com "Don't Throw it to Mo!"  is a level two beginning reader. This book fulfills many of the requirements: sentences are a little complex with expanded sight words. Suffixes, compound words and more vowel teams are utilized in this book than would be appropriate for a level one beginning reader. There are multisyllabic words, with 4 to 14 words per page that are evenly balanced with illustrations. However, sometimes there is more than 5 words per line.          I would not consider this to be a level three beginning reader because the sentences do not very much in complexity to sound more natural. Adler, David A. Don't Throw it to Mo!. Illustrated by Sam Ricks. Penguin Young Readers, 2015. 32 pages. TR. $14.99, ISBN 978-0-670-01631-0.

Written by Saadia Faruqi                    Illustrated by Hatem Aly         Image Source: thriftbooks.com "Yasmin in Charge"  is also level three book. It fulfills many of the requirements. It has controlled vocabulary, a higher frequency of compound and complex sentences, 8 words per line, it does not succeed 15 lines per page, the text covers three-fourths of the page. However, much like "The Princess in Black" books, the illustrations do appear more than expected for a level three book. There is one to two illustrations per spread.          Again this  beginning readers makes me think that there should be a step between level 3 and transitional books. I think that the "Yasmin" books would be a great stepping stone for a child that is starting to gain confidence in reading and ready to begin simpler chapter books, but not quite ready for something more complex with more ...

 Written by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale                    Illustrated by LeUyen Pham         Image Source: thriftbooks.com "The Princess in Black and the Kitty Catastrophe"  is a level three book. It fulfills many of the requirements. It has controlled vocabulary, a higher frequency of compound and complex sentences, 8 words per line, it does not succeed 15 lines per page, the text covers three-fourths of the page. However, the illustrations do appear more than expected for a level three book. There is one to two illustrations per spread.           This beginning readers makes me think that there should be a step between level 3 and transitional books. I think that "The Princess in Black" books would be a great stepping stone for a child that is starting to gain confidence in reading and ready to begin simpler chapter books, but not quite ready for something more compl...

 Written and Illustrated by Corey R. Tabor         Image Source: thriftbooks.com "Fox has a Problem"  could be a level one book but level two is a better fit. This beginning reader fulfills many of the level one requirements. The sentences are 5 to 7 words, the words used a mainly sight vocabulary and one-syllable words of 5 letters or fewer and 2 to seven lines per page. However, due to the sentences being a little more complex, I would categorize this as a level two beginning reader. There are more complex multisyllabic words: problem, idea, another, animals, elephant. These types of words are more complicated to decode and that does not feel appropriate for a level one reader.          Tabor used pencil, colored pencil and watercolor for the illustrations. The illustrations throughout use a warm color palette.  Tabor does an excellent job of using negative space that helps add to the humor and suspense throughout the book to...

Written by Robie H. Harris                    Illustrated by Michael Emberley         Image Source: Amazon Robie H. Harris wrote  "It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families"  with the help of many different people: professors at Harvard, sexuality educators, pediatricians, teachers and more. Harris clearly did her homework and had many professionals that helped with he content in this book. The scope of the content coverage is broad but organized in a way that it is easy to navigate. The writing style include lots of humor with Bird and Bee that helps keep the content light and relatable for children. Bird and Bee act almost as kid hosts throughout the book to support the idea that questions on bodies and relationships are normal.          There are many reference aids throughout the book. There is a table of contents for the 22 chapters and include...

Written by Carole Boston Weatherford                    Illustrated by Floyd Cooper         Image Source: Amazon           Carole Boston Weatherford is that author of  "Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre" . While there is no bibliography for the information in this informational picture book, there is an acknowledgment on the title verso page thanking the chair of the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial  Commission, Hannibal B. Johnson, for reviewing the text in this book and sharing their own expertise on this tragic event in history. The audience is for younger children and so the scope feels appropriate. She highlights all the wonderful thriving businesses and the beauty that the Greenwood community had built.         Weatherford's wrote this as a story narrative and  uses language like "Once upon a time" repeti...

Written by Traci Sorell                Illustrated by Fran é  Lessac         Image Source: Penguin Random House           Traci Sorell, author of "We Are  Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know" , is a member of the Cherokee Nation. The scope of the content in this informational picture book covers many policies and laws that both hurt and helped Native Nations. Topics covered range from assimilation to self-determination to language revival. Some of the laws or policies are historical and others continue to this day. Due to some of the vocabulary, the language level would be difficult for a young child but with proper preparation and help from the other reference aids included, this would be a great resource for older elementary aged children learning about the Native Nations.          The content is organized approximately i...

 Written by Kelly Yang                    Illustrated by various artists                 Image Source: Penguin Random House Kelly Yang, author of "Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country", talks about why she wanted to write this book in this video . Yang did not see anyone that looked like her writing books and the older she became the more Asian American change makers there were.          The scope of the content covers 2 historical moments and 18 different Asian Americans that have made an impact of change. The first two spreads highlight the importance of the Chinese American immigrants that built the transcontinental  railroad and the discrimination that Asian American immigrants faced. The writing style is very appropriate for young children. Each Asian American includes a very simplified one sentence biography which allows for the rea...

Written by Dina Nayeri                    Photographs by Anna Bosch Miralpeix         Image Source: Amazon           Author, Dina Nayeri, is a a former refugee had some understanding when she went to the Katsikas refugee camp in Greece. Nayeri invited photographer Anna Bosch Miralpeix to document the children in "The Waiting Place" . Nayeri spoke with the children and asked them about their lives in the camp and their hopes and dreams. These interviews show the both the hardships and the resilience of these children.           Nayeri interviews siblings Mobina (11) and Matin (5) about their roles as the older siblings.  We meet several other children as they navigate the conflicts and joys of their friendships in the camp. Nayeri and Miralpeix also interview and photograph a family in camp A. Most of the children live in camp B as the newer arr...

Edited by Miranda Paul                    Illustrated by Marlena Myles         Image Source: thriftbooks.com           The purpose of this collection of poems in, "Thanku: Poems of Gratitude" is right in the title. The purpose can also be found on the front flap: "This anthology brings together a diverse group of poets who express gratitude for everything from a puppy to hot cocoa to the sky itself." The intended audience is children, however, this would be a great resource for anyone learning about the different poetry forms.          There are 31 different poems, each written by a different author of something to be grateful for. There are many different forms of poetry. Every poem has a notation of the format at the bottom of each page. The forms range from didactic, epistle, concrete, silo, tanka and more. Again, I believe that this collection of poems w...

Written by Joy Harjo                    Illustrated by Michaela  Goode                   The purpose of the poem "Remember" , turned picture book, is best explained in the author's note. "'Remember' came into the world to remind me who I am as a human being living on this generous earth. We all need to be reminded to remember." As a member of the Mvskoke Nation, Harjo is qualified to adequately fulfill the purpose she intended. The intended audience is children but is also a powerful message for anyone to hear at any age. This poem is best used when paired with this picture book, as the illustrations help enhance the language Harjo uses.          Harjo uses repetition in this poem. The word, remember, appears on almost every spread. This repetition really drives home the importance of remembering where you came from and honoring those before you. T...

Selected by Paul B. Janeczko                    Illustrated by Melissa Sweet          Image Source: Amazon           The purpose of the collection is found in the title. It is a collection of very short poems throughout the year. According to the front flap the selector, Paul B. Janeczko, is a poet which makes him qualified selector for this collection. He did succeed in selecting very short poems with the longest poem being only 10 lines long. The audience is children and I think that the combination of selecting short poems and the illustrations does make it appropriate for children. Some children really struggle with the literary language and or symbolism. These bite-sized poems paired with the childlike illustrations helps children explore their meanings.          All 36 poems are written by 36 different authors. According to the acknowledgments, 32 ...

Written by Gwendolyn Brooks                    Illustrated by Faith Ringgold         Image Source: Thriftbooks.com           The purpose of this collection of poems is found in the about page in the back of the book: "Gwendolyn Brooks created a collection of poems that celebrated the joy, beauty, imagination, and freedom of childhood. She reminded us that whether we live in the Bronzeville section of Chicago or any other neighborhood, childhood is universal in its richness of emotions and experiences." The intended audience for "Bronzeville Boys and Girls" are children, more specifically Black children. All of the poems were written by Brooks and introduce us to the boy and girls that live in Bronzeville. The poems vary in tone and rhythm. While "Timmy and Tawanda" gives us a regular rhyme that children are more likely to be familiar with, there are also repetition like in "Cha...

Selected by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak                   Illustrated by Maurice Sendak          Image Source: betterworldbooks.com           The purpose of the collection is not clearly stated in the opening section. They just make a note about the translations that Lore Segal did for the texts. The implied purpose of the collection is housing the work of the brothers Grimm in two volumes (I only looked at the first volume). In "A Note on the Translations" Segal does mention which translations she used from Randall Jarrell's traslations. She also thanks Paul Stern for helping her with the translations from German to English. This is the only reference in the book that shows that Segal was paying attention to authenticity with the translations.         The narrative style is preserved in these tales. The tales could easily be read aloud or read silently to ...

 Told by Virginia Hamilton                    Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon     Image Source: thriftbooks.com          The purpose of "The People Could Fly: America Black Folktales" is found in the introduction: "The tales in this collection are in four sections that represent the main body of black folktales" (pg xi). After each folktale Hamilton provides information on where it came from, the dialect, other variants of the folktale and a general explanation when available. The narrative style is preserved, however, like Hamilton says in the introduction, it is better when read aloud. This read aloud of the picture book version of "The People Could Fly" folktale was a great way to hear the narrative in its true form. Based off of the folktales I read, the intended audience is to be read or told to children by an adult storyteller. The format does allow for it to be read allowed to a gr...