September Picks

Welcome back to school! Below are some new books to check out!


Red: a Crayon's Story, by Michael Hall  (Grades PreK-2)

Step inside the life of a crayon in this funny and poignant picture book. The star of the show is Red, a blue crayon who mistakenly has a red label. His teacher tries to convince him to draw strawberries, but they show up blue. He tries on a red scarf, but it just does not match. His mother suggests he mixes with other colors, but the results are not what he expects. No matter how hard Red tries, his efforts just keep coming out blue. His other crayon friends try to help him reinvent himself, but no matter what they do, Red is still a blue crayon. After much self-doubt and denial, Red makes a new friend, a Berry-colored crayon, who asks him to complete his drawing by adding a blue ocean for his boat. Red gives it a go, and suddenly, he finds his true self and discovers what his other art-supply friends knew all along. The rest of his crayon friends are impressed with his new style, and Red comes to embrace his true identity. Hall's latest picture book is all about staying true to oneself, no matter what others say. The illustrations emulate children's artwork, giving readers a great opportunity to identify colors and new vocabulary. Large, clear text make this perfect for a read-aloud, as well as independent reading. VERDICT Reminiscent of Drew Daywalt's The Day the Crayons Quit (Philomel, 2013), this witty and heartwarming book is sure to become a favorite for children and adults alike.—Natalie Braham, School Library Journal 


Sky Color, by Peter Reynolds (Grades K-2)

Marisol is an enthusiastic artist who doesn't hesitate to share her creations "with the world"-on the refrigerator, through the mail, even on posters. So when the class prepares to paint a mural for the library, she is right there shouting, "I'll paint the sky!" But she is flummoxed when she can't find blue paint. "How am I going to make the sky without blue paint?" The problem gnaws at her until she watches a sunset. That night she dreams she is flying "through a sky swirling with colors," and next day, she mixes paints into "an all-together new [sky] color." Reynolds's familiar fluid drawings, executed in watercolor, ink, and tea, reveal a young girl filled with personality, squiggly hair flying, clothes adorned with contrasting patterns. The burst of color on the front endpaper is the only hint of the delight in store since the artwork to follow is almost devoid of color except for Marisol's creations. Only when readers get to the final spread that reveals the mural with Marisol's dazzling sky as backdrop for the multicolored fish leaping from the water below are they treated to a surprising display of the girl's creativity. This story, along with Reynolds's The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004, both Candlewick), carries the important message that there is an artist inside everyone and that sometimes finding that creative spark means doing the unexpected. In these days of filling in circles on tests, it's an important message to share with youngsters.--Marianne Saccard, School Library Journal


My Bus, by Bryon Barton (Grades PreK-2)

Joe, a bus driver, takes readers on his route through the rolling hills to a little town. Full spreads with minimal text show him picking up dogs or cats at each stop. When the bus is packed with five dogs and five cats, it's time to drop them off at either a boat, train, or plane. Happily, Joe still has one passenger left at the end of the trip: his own dog. The beautiful, bold colors produced in Adobe Photoshop are attractive, while the use of simple, childlike shapes and few words will make it easy for student to concentrate on the new skills of reading and counting. The large, square format is clean and inviting. This book is perfect for independent readers but can also be shared one-on-one or with a group. Parents can encourage youngsters to count the number of pets on or off the different types of transportation.—Diane McCabe, School Library Journal


Hidden: a Child's Story from the Holocaust by Loic Dauvillier (Grades 3-6)

Worried that her grandmother has had a nightmare, a young girl offers to listen to the story, hoping to ease her grandmother’s mind. And for the first time since her own childhood, the grandmother opens up about her life during WWII, the star she had to wear, the disappearance of her parents, and being sent to the country where she had to lie about her name and her beliefs. Every year, more stories set during the Holocaust are released, many for children, and this one is particularly well done. Dauvillier doesn’t sugarcoat the horrors of the Holocaust; instead, he shares them from the perspective of a girl young enough to not quite understand the true scope of the atrocities. Set in occupied France, the story told is honest and direct, and each scene is revealed with care. The frankness of the storytelling is tempered by appealing cartoonlike illustrations that complement the story and add a layer of emotion not found in the narration. A Holocaust experience told as a bedtime story? It sounds crazy, but here it works. --Eva Volin, Booklist  


Nurse, Solider, Spy: the Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero, by Melissa Moss (Grades 3-6)

In ink-and-wash illustrations, Hendrix again displays his knack for visual narrative. The aerial view of Edmonds approaching the Confederate camp is particularly effective. This large-format picture book illustrates Edmonds’ courage and determination while conveying a good deal of information in a highly readable way. –Booklist




Cow Boy: a and His Horse, by Nate Cosby (Grades 3-6)

Ten-year-old Boyd Linney is a bounty hunter, primarily focused on bringing righteous law and consequences to his various family members gone wrong. His hobbyhorse morphs into a double-barreled shotgun when needed, and Boyd demonstrates an unforgiving will that begins as satirical but changing into something grimmer and unresolved. Five short interstitial stories appear between chapters of Boyd's ongoing story, and these are truly comic, brief sketches with unambiguous punch lines. Eliopoulos's art is slightly less clean than his work in the "Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius" (Marvel) series, but it suits the excellent color and design work he's done to make the book feel scruffy, textured, and temporally appropriate. The spare, essentialist facial cartooning is still able to convey subtlety of emotion, but the linework and loose layouts fully support any sense of dramatic tension in the enjoyably ludicrous action sequences. The closing chapter in which Boyd is able to stop being so serious and relate to his grandfather like an ordinary kid is the most successful, but it also highlights the strange morality at the heart of the narrative. --Benjamin Russell, School Library Journal


Stella by Starlight, by Sharon M. Draper (Grades 4-6)

Coretta Scott King Award winner Draper draws inspiration from her grandmother's journal to tell the absorbing story of a young girl growing up in Depression-era, segregated North Carolina. One frightening night Stella and her brother Jojo witness a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan, practically in their own backyard. This meeting is the signal of trouble to come to the black community of Bumblebee. The townspeople must come together to find strength and protection to face the injustices all around them. This is an engrossing historical fiction novel with an amiable and humble heroine who does not recognize her own bravery or the power of her words. She provides inspiration not only to her fellow characters but also to readers who will relate to her and her situation. Storytelling at its finest.—Tiffany Davis, School Library Journal 


Fort, by Cynthia DeFelice (Grades 5-6)

Two best friends build a fort in the woods and defend it from bullies in this fun, old-fashioned story that manages to be fresh and familiar. Wyatt is enjoying the freedom of a summer with his dad in upstate New York. His friend Augie lives there year-round and has many useful skills that include killing squirrels with a slingshot and cooking them over a fire. There are the expected bullies, two older boys named J.R. and Morrie, and an unexpected friend named Gerard, a socially isolated teenager with developmental disabilities. The two friends spend rapturous days building their fort, looking at a car company's girlie calendar, and other country-boy activities unimpeded by smartphones or YouTube, since Wyatt's father doesn't want him plugged into a screen all day. In a low-stakes climax, the two bullies try to destroy the boys' fort but are foiled by an ingenious series of booby-traps. The moral center of the novel revolves around Wyatt and Augie discovering how J.R. and Morrie are mistreating Gerard and how after some hesitation, they find in him a valuable ally. There is a touch of burgeoning sexuality, mostly as Wyatt notices and appreciates Augie's aunt's figure, but otherwise the tone of the novel is remarkably innocent without being cloying or unrealistic. There is a good balance of action and description and well-developed characters, though the bullies are a tad two-dimensional. VERDICT A boy-centered adventure with heart, appealing to a variety of readers.—Kyle Lukoff, School Library Journal 


Listen, Slowly, by Thanhha Lai (Grades 5-6)

 The summer before she turns 13, Mai is planning to spend her time going to the beach and finally talking to her secret crush. She's less than thrilled when her parents make her escort her grandmother to Vietnam instead. New information may have surfaced about her long lost grandfather, who disappeared over 40 years ago in "THE WAR." Mai doesn't know the culture or speak the language, and everything she knows about Vietnam is from a PBS documentary on the Fall of Saigon. While her parents are excited for her to learn more about her roots, the teen doesn't even know the details of her own parents' escape because "random roots are encouraged, but specific roots are off-limits." Stuck in a village with limited internet access, a sulky Mai slowly makes friends due to lack of better things to do and bonds with her grandmother, with whom she was very close as a small child. Mai's character growth is slow and believable, coming in small increments and occasionally backsliding. The sights, smells, and tastes of Vietnam's cities and villages come alive on the page, without overwhelming a story filled with a summers-worth of touching and hilarious moments, grand adventure, and lazy afternoons. With a contemporary time setting, this compelling novel shows the lingering effects of war through generations and how the secrets our parents keep can shape us.—Jennifer Rothschild, School Library Journal