December Picks

After putting one Caldecott contender in my blog last month I wanted to research a multitude of new and noteworthy books being considered for awards in the children's literature world. Here is a list of books that are being talked about! Take some time to come down to the library and check them out. Who knows, some of them may have a very famous sticker on them soon!



Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Grades 4-6) National Book Award, Newbury Contender

After  her father has been missing in action for nine years during the Vietnam War, 10-year-old Hà flees with her mother and three older brothers. Traveling first by boat, the family reaches a tent city in Guam, moves on to Florida, and is finally connected with sponsors in Alabama, where Hà finds refuge but also cruel rejection, especially from mean classmates. Based on Lai’s personal experience, this first novel captures a child-refugee’s struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free-verse poems, Hà’s immediate narrative describes her mistakes—both humorous and heartbreaking—with grammar, customs, and dress (she wears a flannel nightgown to school, for example); and readers will be moved by Hà’s sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast who spends lunchtime hiding in the bathroom. Eventually, Hà does get back at the sneering kids who bully her at school, and she finds help adjusting to her new life from a kind teacher who lost a son in Vietnam. The elemental details of Hà’s struggle dramatize a foreigner’s experience of alienation. And even as she begins to shape a new life, there is no easy comfort: her father is still gone. ~Hazel Rochman from Booklist 

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill (Grades 3-6) Amazon's Best Book of the Month, Newbury Contender 

Jack had always been invisible. Not literally, though it often felt that way even around his family. When Jack arrives in Hazelwood, Iowa, to spend the summer with his unusual relatives he suddenly finds himself getting noticed…a lot. In fact, people seem to know all about him, especially Mr. Avery, the wealthiest man in town who inexplicably hates Jack on sight. In The Mostly True Story of Jack a keenly perceptive boy, a fearsome girl, and her damaged twin brother, help Jack discover who he is--unearthing deeply rooted secrets in the process. Twists and turns abound as more is revealed in this strange town where nature, magic, love, and sacrifice, are deeply entwined with the extraordinary power of belonging. --Seira Wilson from Amazon 

A Nation's Hope: the Story of Boxing legend Joe Louis by Matt De La Pena (Grades 1-6) Caldecott Contender 

Sometimes a boxing match is just that, a sport played out on the fists and jaws of two determined contenders. But sometimes it is so much more, as in the 1938 bout between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. This spectacularly illustrated, smoothly cadenced picture book sets up the historic fight- son of a black sharecropper against Hitler's master race -black and white Americans together against the rule of Nazi hate- and then quickly traces Louis rise from a quiet boy in Jim Crow America to a magnificent fighter and national hero. Nelson, who's incapable of even a mediocre painting, flexes his artistic muscle here, varying his always effective blue-sky-backed, leveled-gaze portraits with dizzying and dramatic angles, both in and out of the ring. The full weight of the fight's import may need some additional historical context for young readers, but the message rings through in any case: that this was a unifying and triumphant moment of national pride, for all Americans, and that sports can capture people's hearts for more reasons than just winning. ~Ian Chipman from Booklist

 Small Person with Wings by Ellen Booraem (Grades 5-6) Newbury Contender 

As a child, Mellie’s best friend, a Small Person with Wings (not a fairy) named Fidius, became furious with her and disappeared the day she suggested taking him to school. Mellie’s allegiance to Fidius made her the butt of jokes, so she became determined to focus on reality: facts, history, science. But when the family moves into her grandfather’s dilapidated inn, it is so overrun with Small Persons (or Parvi) that their existence is undeniable. Parvi are a curious bunch, enamored with their glitz and glamour and whiskey, but mostly good-hearted. They plead with the family to return a powerful stone that will allow them to regain the true magic they lost centuries ago—but a Parvi faction prefers their Magica Artificia and uses it to play devious tricks. Together with her parents and Timmo, the nosy neighbor kid, Mellie’s odd predicament is to return to the world of the fanciful by facing what is real. This clever tale also wraps a story of acceptance, both of self and family, in the fairy dressing. ~ Heather Booth from Booklist

Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg (Grades 2-6) Caldecott Contender 

Any kid who has beheld Niagara Falls—or even taken a good look at pictures of it—will be suitably gobsmacked by the true story of charm-school teacher Annie Edson Taylor, who, at age 62, decided on a whim to fund her golden years by being the first person over the falls. At first, local barrel makers turned her away in horror, but her determination was convincing, and on October 24, 1901, the reinforced and padded 160-pound vessel was dropped into the water in front of thousands of nervous spectators. Van Allsburg’s trademark framed illustrations have the unnerving stillness of old-timey photos, though they struggle for a while with settings unconducive to excitement. Once Taylor hits the water, though, Van Allsburg’s restraint becomes a master class in tension, keeping his drawings of the barrel’s interior small enough to communicate claustrophobia. Van Allsburg’s telling of the rest of the tale—Taylor’s failure to parlay her adventure into cash—is especially affecting, and readers will embrace her resolve. ~ Daniel Kraus from Booklist 

Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett (Grades K-3) 2010 Caldecott Contender

Billy Twitters's parents don't mess around when doling out punishments. When the boy fails to clean his room, brush his teeth, and finish his baked peas, they buy him a blue whale. It arrives via FedUp (motto: "Delivering Punishment Worldwide"), and it's up to Billy to take care of it. Rex's goofy illustrations blend the realistic with the fantastic, as in a giant wordless spread of Billy pedaling furiously on his bike, towing the whale behind on a skateboard as the beast's bulk takes out telephone poles and traffic lights. At school, things don't improve; a teacher gives a whale lecture instead of showing a promised cowboy movie, and Billy is uninvited from a pool party when the hostess learns he would have to bring the cetacean. And he soon finds that gathering thousands of krill for its dinner is tough work. At last, after cleaning out the whale's stinky mouth, Billy decides that it's a pretty peaceful place, and he decides to move in. That's a strange ending for an odd story, but young readers will likely enjoy the ridiculous premise, and the many whale facts worked seamlessly into the tale.~ Kathleen Kelly MacMillan

 Neville by Norton Juster (Grades K-3) Amazon Best Book of the Month, Caldecott Contender

Neville puts an inspired twist on the age-old challenge of making new friends.  Author Norton Juster, best known for The Phantom Tollbooth, uses a minimum of text to great effect. Neville begins with a boy sent by his mother out into their new neighborhood to "take a little walk down the block."  He’s not at all happy about the situation, but comes up with a brilliant idea that soon has all the neighborhood children rallied around him.  The enthusiasm and joy of their undertaking and the ease in which a unified effort can forge childhood friendships are spot-on.  The surprise ending invites gales of laughter and--fortunately--Neville is a book that can be read over and over again without losing the fun. ~Seira Wilson from Amazon 

Perfect Square by Michael Hall (Grades K-3) Caldecott Contender 

A perfect square is transformed in this adventure story that will transport you far beyond the four equal sides of this square book. Michael Hall is the creator of the critically acclaimed and nationally best-selling picture book My Heart Is Like a Zoo. He is also an award-winning graphic designer whose work has been widely recognized for its simple and engaging approach. ~Amazon