Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, picturebook

Synopsis: Charlie Parker was known for his saxophone skills in the midst of the be bop era.

Review: This book’s narrative is meant to be read as though you were listening to be bop, making it an interesting and almost multi-media read!  That being said, it also might be a little jarring if you’re not expecting this to be such an abstract picturebook!  But Chris Raschka does it again and combines both his incredible illustrations with a stylistic tone of narration.  It’s a celebration of the genre, and of Charlie Parker.  Great for grades K-2.

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: YA lit, realism

Synopsis: Jade has worked hard to get where she is today.  At an elite school, she takes every opportunity given to her–even Women to Women, a program specifically designed for “at risk” black girls.  But what she wants is an opportunity to help instead of be helped.

Review: Oh my god, I love this book.  I feel like this succinctly summed up everything I learned in my ethnic lit classes and everything I’ve learned from my own experiences and studies.  I think those who find themselves dissatisfied with this book are so because this book is very much about an internal journey in which Jade learns to speak up for herself, in which she learns to fully commit to even the opportunities that do not spark joy.

When Jade is recruited for Women to Women, a program for “at risk” black girls, she feels more than uncomfortable.  Is she at risk because she’s poor?  Because she’s black?  Because she’s at this school on a scholarship?  How dare they assume that, especially when she has a 4.0 and takes every single opportunity given to her.  But when she’s paired up with a mentor who doesn’t even show the first night they all get together, she’s rightfully angry.

This book is set in Portland, Oregon, which is such an important setting for this book.  Portland, Oregon is such a neo-liberal city that preaches inclusion and acceptance, but really is one of the most racist cities out there.  Given that, the topic of this book fits in perfectly.  Jade is poor and black, and must learn how to navigate a world she’s never been privvy to, whereas her mentor, Maxine, is black and comes from money, and must learn how to understand how and why her privilege and oppression mix to create an uncomfortable dynamic.

Speaking one’s truth, using one’s voice, and taking a stand for what you believe in are all important themes from this book.  Where The Hate U Give uses the same themes in a very external, community-impacting way, Piecing Me Together uses these themes to make an impact on a personal level.

Overall, this book is so incredibly amazing, and so worth the read.  I highly urge everybody to read it and experience the wonderfulness that this book offers!

Otto and Pio by Marianne Dubuc

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, picturebook, ARC

Synopsis: One morning, Otto wakes up to a small egg on his front porch.  Well, it’s certainly not his!  But when it gets dark, he just doesn’t feel right about letting it remain outdoors…

Review: I love Marianne Dubuc so much–her narratives, her illustrations, they’re just something to behold.  They’re so homely, all about creating friends and families under unlikely circumstances, and Otto and Pio is no exception.  When Otto the squirrel finds a creature unlike any other, he adopts him, but only until the mother is found!  However, as Pio gets bigger and bigger, Otto isn’t so sure he can just keep taking care of him…  Overall, this is just a great, homey and comfortable book that illuminates the beauty of found families and how two is better than one.  Great for grades K-3.

My Heroes, My People: African Americans and Native Americans in the West by Morgan Monceaux and Ruth Katcher

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, nonfiction, biography

Synopsis: This compilation features short biographies and accompanying portraits of African Americans and Native Americans who were significant icons in the west.

Review: I learned so much from this book!  This seems to be a pretty overlooked biography compilation, and I don’t know why–it features many biographies from enslaved people, chiefs, bandits, and sheriffs.  It features figures such as Bass Reeves and Pocahontas, and even goes so far so as to mention lost stories ad narratives that history has (mostly) erased.  It was informative, and I loved that it offered such a wide array of persons.  I’m glad I read it!

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: YA lit, realism, novel in verse

Synopsis: After an unfortunate night with a boy, Chess spends many days and nights as a hospital as the doctors work to diagnose her.  On the other side of the dividing curtain, however, is Shannon, who is vocal about her discomfort.  But the two want the same thing: to go home.

Review: This was a simultaneously interesting and mortifying book that upholds gender conventions.  Mortifying, because Crohn’s disease is all about bowel symptoms, and that’s not exactly a pleasant topic, and interesting because it elaborates upon the good patient/bad patient dichotomy that is so pervasive in nursing ethics.  I think it’s important–if you’re planning on reading this–to really be aware of the fact that these are two women suffering.  Chess gets even skinnier–thank goodness, she thought she’d be fat when she leaves!  And Shannon admits to stopping her medication in the midst of her pregnancy and is now paying the price years later.  Not only that, but Chess wants nothing more than to leave, and she thinks that if she’s compliant–uncomfortable, but compliant–she might leave faster.  But Shannon knows how hospitals usually work, and she knows how they usually discount not only women’s pain, but repeat-patient’s pain.  So she’s loud.  She’s aggressive.  She wants effective treatment, and she wants to know exactly what everybody is doing to her body.

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling also has a really interesting style.  It’s written in verse, with a line straight down the middle to act as a privacy curtain.  On the left is Chess’s narrative, and when Shannon becomes her roommate, the right side is representative of Shannon’s narrative.  When the curtain is drawn back, there is no more line.  Which makes for a really interesting and aesthetically-pleasing means of style.

Overall, this was a really intriguing novel which analyzes the way in which diseases and dis/abilities can be invisible, and how they don’t have to be one’s entire identity upon diagnosis.  Not only that, but how are the diseases gendered post-diagnosis?  What is the “right” way to be a patient when you have to advocate for yourself?  A great, quick read that leaves a lot to be interpreted.

Big Jabe by Jerdine Nolan, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, picturebook

Synopsis: When Addy rescues Jabe from a river, he does all he can to repay her.  But when the plantation owner and supervisors realize he’s creating a plantation dynamic, Big Jabe does what he can to remedy the situation.

Review: Big Jabe is larger than life–he’s almost a mythical creature, having been found in a river and causing all the fish to land in Addy’s basket.  As he grows older, he gains the strength of many men, can complete day-long tasks in just one morning, and begins to create an unrest for the plantation owners–and when the plantation owners begin to get angry, Jabe creates a solution that is as believable as it is not.  Nolan’s narrative is folkloric, and Nelson’s illustrations are realistic, creating a jarring blend between what might be real and what might not be.  It’s a beautiful book filled with power, community, and salvation.  I think this is an oft-overlooked book, and it needs to be brought closer to the forefront.

Good Night, Baddies by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Juli Kangas

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, picturebook

Synopsis: After a long day of poisoning, scaring, and haunting, baddies like to settle down and eat dinner together.

Review: This is such a fun book!  Deborah Underwood knows just how to spin fairy and folktales into a fun, new, and fresh manner.  This book is told in verse, filled with adorable cuteness and means of deconstructing what it means to be a baddie.  What exactly do they do when the day is done, when the tormenting is over for the time being?  They relax, get some food, and a good night’s rest.  Honestly?  Iconic.  This book is good for ALL ages, hear me out–don’t miss this.

Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: YA lit, realism

Synopsis: Ben has cerebral palsy, and rarely interacts with people.  He lives with his grandmother, and his mother has up and left.  But his life changes when Colleen, local stoner, lays her head on his shoulder.  Thus creates an unexpected friendship that forces both of them to think about their lives and how they became themselves.

Review: This was a book that I unexpectedly really enjoyed.  I didn’t realize how few books about disability narratives I’ve read.  And this one was pretty dang good.  Ben has CP, which has significantly affected his life.  But one day, when he’s at a movie, the local stoner Colleen lays her head against his shoulder–and thus a friendship is born.  She treats him as a person, and openly discusses his CP rather than denying its existence or ignoring it.

AND we as the reader get to experience Ben having his first sexual experience–which seems weird to say, except for the fact that it is SO important that disabled characters are allowed sexuality.

This book is funny, shocking, and at times heartbreaking.  Many events happen off-page, which make it just the more realistic.  Well, hopefully–I’m able-bodied, so I’m not exactly one to gauge how realistic this novel is, but coming from that standpoint, it seemed realistic and entertaining while being respectful at the same time.

Overall, this was an interesting book which delves into how those with CP live their lives and how much different their lives both are and aren’t depending on their own selves and the actions of those around them.

The Hound from the Pound by Jessica Swain, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Children’s lit, picturebook

Synopsis: A young woman wants a four-pawed companion, but when her new adopted dog calls all his friends from the pound, she realizes she must do what’s best–and adopt all of them!

Review: This book takes a rhyming scheme to a whole new level with its adorable illustrations of dogs!  It’s well-timed, the rhymes work well, and it’s overall a creative book.  Though it has a pretty heterosexual conclusion , it still remains cute and lovable.  This is perfect for a dog parent, or for the child getting ready to be responsible for a four-legged friend.  Perfect for grades 1-3!

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Fantasy, YA lit, retellings, magical realism

Synopsis: Blanca and Roja are the del Cisne girls.  Once they’ve both turned 15, the swans will decide what girl to keep and what girl can continue living as a human.  The girls refute this, extend their time, become as similar to each other as possible.  Along the way, they meet Yearling and Page, two lost boys who may be able to help them–but by then will it be too late?

Review: This was an interesting read that melds Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, and Swan Lake together in a beautiful and jarring narrative where the characters realize that they might–or might not–be able to break free from their archetypes.

Roja always knew that she’d be the one chosen by the swans–Blanca was too pure, too sweet, too demure for anything bad to happen to her.  But when Blanca begins conspiring to save her sister’s life, Roja believes that Blanca is trying to just save her own skin.  Literally.

And while these two sisters, estranged from the world, deal with their impending fate, two boys appear in the woods as though they hadn’t been missing for years.  What spawned their reappearance?  Why have they returned?  What if they want to go back?

This book flits between all of their perspectives, leaving much to be gleaned and interpreted as the narrative continues.  Though it makes for an interesting narration style, it at times left me a little confused, especially as so many portions of this book were dependent on their ambiguity.  But the ambiguity, overall, really works.  It works in terms of gender, in terms of narrative, and in terms of archetypes.

Overall this book really pushes the boundaries of fairy tale retellings as well as the boundaries of what it means to be family.  A very good read, and I’m glad to have read it.