The Weird Sisters: A Robin, a Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower

Written by Mark David Smith

Illustrated by Kari Rust

Owlkids Books

981-1-77147-459-7

93 pp.

Ages 7-10

April 2023

They're back! The Weird Sisters of Mark David Smith's early middle grade series are back in their second book, creating mayhem with their magic and their misinterpretations to solve their newest mystery: who vandalized the local tire swing?

From The Weird Sisters: A Robin, a Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower by Mark David Smith, illus. by Kari Rust

The three sisters, Hildegurp, Yuckmina and Glubbifer, who opened their pet emporium and detective agency in the first book in the series–The Weird Sisters: A Note, a Goat, and a Casserole (2022)–are lamenting their lack of business with their young neighbour Jessica who is missing going to school during the summer holidays. When the girl offers to teach them how to use the tire swing to cheer them up, they discover the rope frayed and the tire useless on the ground. They enlist the help of their friend Officer Nazeri who takes them to see Mayor Ronald Bombast who is desperate to attend another ribbon-cutting ceremony and deputizes the group to solve the crime. But there always seems to be another mystery in Covenly and the sisters and their friend are also drafted to help Chelsea Oh attract her local robin who'd been chased off by the Weird Sisters' cat, Graymalkin.

Following a promising lead involving their neighbour Cosmo Keene, creating a love potion for an unlikely pair, and enhancing the power of a souped-up lawn mower, the Weird Sisters and Jessica get to the bottom of the latest Covenly conundrums.

From The Weird Sisters: A Robin, a Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower by Mark David Smith, illus. by Kari Rust

Young readers who are transitioning from early readers to middle grade will appreciate the humour, the plotting and most definitely the characters in Mark David Smith's The Weird Sisters series. With a trio of wacky sisters who want to do good, a young girl who offers a bit of normalcy (though she does have a pet goat), and all manner of secondary characters who do everything from cook seed cakes for robins and are passionate about cutting ceremonial ribbons, there is much to tickle the funny bone. And, for me, the humour is paramount, especially when it revolves around idioms and the sisters' misinterpretations of them. Idioms are often tough for young children to appreciate so they will laugh at the Weird Sisters' confusion about giving someone a lift (we know superhuman strength is unnecessary), going undercover (blankets also needless) and being blue (which does not involve the colour or dye). Coupling the strong storytelling and amusing voice of Mark David Smith's text with a splattering of Kari Rust's quirky black-and-white illustrations, The Weird Sisters: A Robin, a Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower takes us for a wild and loony ride, with or without the swing or lawn mower for conveyance.

Standing on Neptune

Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB

978-1-77086-687-4

160 pp.

Ages 13+

April 2023

Brooke Wells's story begins with an important line:

…this is about what happened (pg. 1)

But the seventeen-year-old explains that it’s only a moment in her story, not her whole story. It's less than a week, in fact, but a monumental one of a secret, hidden beneath the facade of being a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend and a classmate. It's a moment and one that may, or may not, change her life.

 

x + y = -5 is the equation Brooke envisions for her situation on the Monday of her story. What this means is she and her boyfriend Ryan had sex and now her period is five days late. Standing in Neptune is primarily her story, told in free verse, as she comes to terms with what it means, who to tell, and what to do. While she grapples with the shock and enormity of the possibility of a pregnancy, Brooke is almost frozen in place, telling only Ryan and only in the briefest of terms. She sees his panic, his anger, his fear, and even hope, and, instead of supporting each other, Brooke becomes more aloof and distant. 

Her bestie Emma knows something is up, but Brooke lies, worried that Emma may let her secret slip. Brooke's nine-year-old brother Kevin can also see that she is distracted, but she denies it and lies to him as well. Her thoughts are her only support, though she finds a convenient distraction in a science project on Neptune. As she learns about the frozen planet, she finds parallels to her own situation, like how it was detected mathematically and what is visible and not visible.

Our shared truth, I suspect, is that

it too has secrets, hidden beneath

what can be seen.      (pg.79)

Like Neptune, with so much more to it than the obvious, Brooke is more than her relationships with others. She is more than Ryan's girlfriend or Emma's friend. She is holding in a secret that might impact her whole life. Or will it? The frozen blue planet of Neptune with its orbiting moons is easily recognizable but, like Brooke, there is much beneath the surface that is unknown. And, until she knows the truth, i.e., is she pregnant or not, she is frozen with inaction, with hesitancy to share, and projecting a facade that all is normal.

Perhaps I am simply frozen in place, afraid of

facing things, of

getting it wrong.      (pg. 99)

Novels in free verse are one of my favourite genres, packing so much emotion and storytelling in few but well-chosen words, structured for meaning. Valerie Sherrard, whose earlier novel in verse Counting Back from Nine (2013) was nominated for a Governor General's Literature Award for children's text, knows how to use the genre to tell gripping stories. She takes us into the thoughts of teens as they contend with issues of teen pregnancy, shaky friendships, blended families, insecurities, and self-awareness. There's a lot going on in Brooke's head, more than she reveals to others, and Valerie Sherrard lets us hear Brooke's thoughts. Though Ryan's point of view is occasionally shared in excerpts of prose, it is Brooke we hear. It's her perspective that is paramount in Standing on Neptune. Whether she is pregnant or not, or right or wrong in her choices is irrelevant. They are hers. And as she studies Neptune and sees herself as a lone planet with moons that orbit her, perhaps someday being torn apart by her gravitational force, Brooke still knows she's part of something far greater.

Afikomen

Written by Tziporah Cohen

Illustrated by Yaara Eshet

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-606-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

March 2023

 

Soon the Jewish community will be celebrating Passover (April 5-13 this year) and many non-Jews know little of the traditions or stories that accompany the holiday. With no words, Afikomen invites us to attend a Passover Seder and witness Tziporah Cohen's family's traditions, but it also transports readers to ancient Egypt via time slip to witness Moses' beginnings.

From Afikomen by Tziporah Cohen, illus. by Yaara Eshet

As the family gathers at the table to read the Haggadah, the guidebook to the Passover Seder, i.e., the Passover religious service and dinner, the three matzah breads rest in front of the host. He takes the middle one, breaks it in half, and places the larger piece in a special bag to become the afikomen. The afikomen will be the last food eaten at the seder meal but, depending on the traditions of the family, the afikomen will play a big role before that end. In this family, the children "steal" the afikomen, and will return it for small gifts. First, though, these three children and their dog, hide beneath the table skirt and are transported to ancient Egypt.

From Afikomen by Tziporah Cohen, illus. by Yaara Eshet

 

There they become part of the Jewish story of the Exodus from Egypt, the basis for Passover. As Pharaoh had decreed that all Jewish baby boys were to be killed, Moses' mother saved him by placing him in a wicker basket and sending him down the Nile. The contemporary children witness this, and like Moses' sister who watches over him as he travels down the river, they ensure that he is safe from calamity like getting stuck in the reeds, taken by playing Egyptian boys, or accosted by a crocodile, so that he might be found by the Pharaoh's daughter and saved. It is only at this point that the children return to their own time and deliver the afikomen–with an unexpected twist–to end the Seder.

From Afikomen by Tziporah Cohen, illus. by Yaara Eshet

I knew so little of the story of Passover and nothing of the afikomen, so I am grateful to Toronto's Tziporah Cohen for giving us a wordless story and an extensive Author's Note to help educate. While a time slip story is unusual for a picture book and especially one with a non-fiction element, Tziporah Cohen makes it work. Not only did I learn about the afikomen and the Passover Seder, but I also learned that Jews of different origins, e.g., Ashkenazic and Sephardic, may differ in their traditions regarding the afikomen. 

 

Moreover,  I learned that even a holy celebration with a sombre history can have joy, and even playfulness. That comes through in Yaara Eshet's watercolour and ink illustrations which show us family who come together. The table laden with wine, the Seder plates, and texts, and the extended family members of varying ages makes for a colourful and textured display. With the expressive kids and dog, registering both the fun of stealing the afikomen and their surprise once dropped in ancient Egypt, as well as the bright landscapes of flowing water, golden sand, and lush riparian vegetation, Yaara Eshet gives a richness to the wordless story. Tziporah Cohen may give us story without words, but Yaara Eshet gives the content colour and texture, and together they give us a visual narrative that teaches and captivates.

A Star Explodes: The Story of Supernova 1054

Written by James Gladstone

Illustrated by Yaara Eshet

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-498-6

32 pp. 

Ages 8-12

March 2023 

It all started with a big bang. Not the big bang, but just the explosion of a star thousands of years ago and whose light finally appeared to those on Earth in 1054. For astronomers, the appearance of what the Chinese called a guest star was cause for awe. But in time, the light of the guest star faded and, though the ancients might not have known it, a nebula was formed in its stead.

From A Star Explodes by James Gladstone, illus. by Yaara Eshet

That nebula, a cloud of gas and dust, would at last be visible with an 19th century telescope and lead to its naming as the Crab Nebula, which still grows today.

From A Star Explodes by James Gladstone, illus. by Yaara Eshet

James Gladstone may refer to the supernova of 1054 as an example, but his intent is to educate about supernovas (= star blasts) and nebulas (= clouds of gas and dust) and the astronomical phenomena associated with both. Young readers will learn how supernovas scatter their remains across the universe and become part of new worlds. It's a big story for a big explosion, and that's why James Gladstone tells it both in narrative and information notes. He gives it the beauty of the prodigious, of the cosmic, of the mysterious, especially as it was witnessed in historical times. (Several timelines clarify the evolution of the supernova and the nebula.) But James Gladstone, whose earlier books include Turtle Pond (2018), Earthrise (2018) and When Planet Earth Was New (2017), always blends the elegance of the scientific world with the factual, providing story with appending notes about what a supernova is, the supernova of 1054, and the Crab Nebula.

From A Star Explodes by James Gladstone, illus. by Yaara Eshet

But, because this is more than a non-fiction text, Yaara Eshet's watercolour and ink illustrations lend that storytelling element. She takes us into the heavens, into history, and into glorious landscapes across our world. There's colour and life, but also the curiosity that comes with the real but still curious.

 

I love when non-fiction is presented as an illustrated story, and with A Star Explodes: The Story of Supernova 1054 by James Gladstone and Yaara Eshet, you'll be heading to the stars and the past for a brief lesson in science and history both.

I Love My City

Written by France Desmarais and Richard Adam

Illustrated by Yves Dumont

Translated by Nicholas Aumais

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-283-7

56 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2023

From issues of transportation and land use, to balancing human needs with environmental stewardship and sustainability, urban studies are an important part of the school curricula from Grades 3 upwards. But focusing on cities in all their nuances, from their histories to their economies, politics, services, and cultures, is a tall order. Still, France Desmarais gives us that big picture because of Richard Adam's background in urban studies, architecture, and public administration. And so, the story of cities is told.

From I Love My City by France Desmarais and Richard Adam, illus. by Yves Dumont

In a well-organized and comprehensive story, France Desmarais and Richard Adam explain how and where cities were first established. They cover the different types of cities across the globe, from favelas to megacities. They also look within those cities for those who manage cities, from City Halls to urban planners and all the services needed to ensure functioning hubs. Water filtration, wastewater systems, renewable and non-renewable sources of energy, and transportation are all covered in some depth but never so expansive that the reader will bore or get lost. Beyond the information, which usefully includes bolded words for emphasis, including demonym, funicular and hydroelectricity, there are anecdotes from around the world to add interest and demonstrate relevance. From the Zabbaleen of Cairo and the invention of the traffic lights and the underground reservoirs of Montreal, young readers will visit cities of the world and look deep into their infrastructures and their efforts to balance populations with environment.

From I Love My City by France Desmarais and Richard Adam, illus. by Yves Dumont

Beyond the content, though, are Yves Dumont's illustrations that show the breadth of cities through time and space. Whether it's the plans of cities to integrate all housing, transport and services, or stylized depictions of power plants, or busy couriers on bikes and commuters on public transport, Montreal's Yves Dumont brings cities to life. He gives them colour and motion, purpose and serenity. He makes them everything to everyone, just as are the cities which have evolved in our world.

From I Love My City by France Desmarais and Richard Adam, illus. by Yves Dumont

Teachers don't need to wait until World Cities Day (October 31) to use I Love My City in their classrooms. With discussions from history and civics, architecture and energy, I Love My City will be a useful teaching tool and readable book of non-fiction for young readers every day of the year.

Echoes and Empires

 

Written by Morgan Rhodes

Razorbill

978-0-593351659

400 pp.

Ages 12-18

2022 

Reviewed from audiobook (978-0-593502839)

Josslyn Drake has always led a privileged life as the First Daughter of the Regarian prime minister. Of course, things changed drastically when her father was assassinated by the warlock Lord Zarek Banyon at last year's Queen's Gala. Still, Queen Isadora, a close family friend, has allowed her to stay in the PM's residence, now home to Prime Minister Ambrose and Celina, his daughter and Joss's best friend, as well as providing Joss with a generous allowance.

But a year after her father's murder at the annual Queen's Gala, Joss's life is again turned around. First, she learns that Celina is now betrothed to Joss's own crush Viktor, a commander in the Queensguard. Then, when she goes to view the stolen artifacts retrieved from Banyon's residence, she interrupts the theft of an ornate box from which a golden smoke is released and enters Joss. The next day, the young thief, Jericho Nox, finds her and reveals that memory magic is now in Joss and he must get it back for his employer, the witch Valery. Having been indoctrinated to believe that all magic is evil and uncontrollable, and the source of all illness, violence and cruelty, Joss wants the magic out of her as much as Jericho wants to get it back. This is especially true because the memories Joss sees as echoes are those of her father's killer, Lord Banyon.

 

Still, getting the magic out of her becomes even more complicated after they are betrayed and imprisoned in the walled prison known as the Queen's Keep. So now, not only do they need to get the magic out of her and quickly, as Valery is causing Jericho much pain through the marks by which she has bonded him to her, but they must find a way out of the Keep, which only seems possible by making a dangerous deal with the Overlord, Vander Lazos, once magical advisor to the Queen and a former friend of Banyon's. But that deal requires Jericho, who possesses death magic, to destroy a creature that torments the Keep, and even that does not ensure their escape from the walled community or the removal of the magic from Joss.

Morgan Rhodes has created another complex fantasy of magic in which an unlikely pair of brash young people must work to together–and maybe fall in love–to get what they both want. Unfortunately, they are both at the dictates of those who have and will deceive them before they offer any assistance, and the two must rely on each other rather than those who have always appeared to be in their corners. Some readers may find seventeen-year-old Joss unlikable as the privileged child of the empire, accustomed to wealth and recognition, and typically showing contempt for those less than herself but with whom she must ally herself. Jericho, on the other hand, is just a hard shell of a young man of nineteen, having suffered numerous tragedies from the deaths of his parents and now bondage to a treacherous but powerful witch who chooses to use him as a tool of lawlessness. They are very different but still connected through a bit of magic and a whole lot of misadventure. 

But, beyond her wealth of characters, and Joss and Jericho are but the main ones, Morgan Rhodes gives us a new world of fantasy, in which magic is manipulated and cursed, in which secrets are used to control and protect, and affection is a commodity of both innocence and might. With each step of their mission to remove the magic from Joss and deliver it to Valery, the two teens grow and become more than they had been and more than they'd expected to be. From objects of compliance with social norms and their manipulators, Joss and Jericho start to see beyond that which is presented to them. They're starting to see the world as it truly is.

Everything Morgan Rhodes (a.k.a. Michelle Rowen for adult readers) writes is gold. She weaves characters and stories together into rich fabrics, complex with the depth of the connections of their plights and natures. She makes us laugh with their foibles and sarcasm, and has us cheering for them when they endure and even conquer. And she makes us swoon when the unlikeliest of characters find soulmates. Echoes and Empires delivers all that and more, and there will be many a reader, including this one, anticipating the sequel, Legends and Liars, which comes out in June.

 

• • • • • •

When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left

Art by Peter H. Reynolds

Words by Marc Colagiovanni

Orchard Books

978-1-338-83118-4

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

March 2023

 

Of course, things don't always go right. That's life. But how we handle it when things don't go right makes for a good story when we get back on track.

From When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds

In Rhode Island's Marc Colagiovanni's debut picture book, a child is burdened by a box of worries, a sack of doubts, a suitcase of fears and a knapsack of frustrations. He wants to try something that has frustrated him, worried him, scared him, and made him doubt himself. It's a pool with a diving board.

From When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds

He'd attempted a dive once and had been unsuccessful, and now considers another attempt. Ah, but there are those doubts and those fears and more. Worse yet, as he attempts to leave them behind, one encumbrance at a time, the annoying creatures shout back at him. Can he make them manageable or leave them behind to take control?

From When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds

The message that it's okay to put down your burdens is an important one for all of us who sometimes feel we need to power through everything and anything. Marc Colagiovanni obviously knows this and, by using an example of a child attempting something that both scares and frustrates him, he reminds us that not everything is going to go right or be easy. It could be trying a formidable dive or making a new friend or overlooking those pesky demons that cause us stress and worry. We all have them, and we all need to find coping strategies to get beyond them. The message is meaningful, but the medium is everything.

From When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds

The artwork from Peter H. Reynolds takes When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left from social emotional advice to a visualization for coping. Though some may see a child attempting a dive as trivial, to that child those burdens of worry and fear are great. They are heavy loads of disquiet and cannot be diminished because others might seem them as negligible. Peter H. Reynolds makes us feel the weight of those burdens in the child's face and body language and, most clearly, in the palette of the art. From the grey blues and purples of the child's troubled steps, through the times of lighter oranges and pinks, until his world is bright and sunny yellow, this child feels everything, and so do we. 

Peter H. Reynolds's books are always a treat of messaging and graphics, and his collaboration with Marc Colagiovanni reminds us again that we have the capacity to make things better for ourselves while inspiring all of us to do our best.

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When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni and Peter H. Reynolds | BOOK TRAILER

Uploaded by Scholastic to YouTube on February 222, 2023.