[CASL-L] Notes from the Horn Book - May 2014

[IRENE KWIDZINSKI]

FYI



On Wednesday, May 14, 2014 2:01 PM, The Horn Book <Hbook at email.hbook.com> wrote:
 
Notes from the Horn Book 
 
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Hbook.com | Review of the Week  | Interviews | Read Roger | Out of the Box | Lolly's Classroom | Books in this issue | Subscribe  
MAY 2014 
	* Five questions for Sophie Blackall
	* Sassy siblings
	* Funny business
	* Digital fun and learning
	* Bummer summer
	* From the Editor 

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 Five questions for Sophie Blackall
by Kitty Flynn

Sophie Blackall's many children's book illustration credits include Annie Barrows's Ivy + Bean chapter books (Chronicle, 6–9 years), Matthew Olshan's The Mighty LaLouche (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 5–7 years), and the 2011 Boston Globe–Horn Book Picture Book Honor–winning Pecan Pie Baby written by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 3–6 years; watch their award acceptance here). A book for adults, Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found (Workman), features illustrations inspired by such personal ads as: "Saw you sailing up Jay Street around 4pm on the most glorious golden bike. I think I'm in love." If any of those "Missed Connection" couples end up connecting, Blackall's newest picture book, The Baby Tree (Penguin/Paulsen, 3–6 years), might come in handy. Her loose, fanciful illustrations lend humor to a young boy's interpretations of grown-up dodges to the question: "Where do babies come from?"

1. When the narrator receives "the news" from his parents that he's going to be a big brother, he has lots of questions, "but the only one that comes out is: Are there any more cocopops?" Were you consciously trying to take the edge off the subject matter with humor, or were you hoping to appeal directly to your audience's love of sugar cereals?

SB: As a child in 1977, when our parents calmly told us they were getting divorced, my brother's first question was famously, "Can we have afternoon tea now?" Everyone knows you need to get the urgent matters of cocopops and cookies out of the way before you can focus on the more profound ones of life and death and birth and love. Read More...
  

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 Sassy siblings
by Elissa Gershowitz

There's nothing like a sibling when it comes to trouble-making, attention-seeking, and one-upping. Also: support, companionship, and giggle-sharing. These four new picture books feature brothers and sisters doing what siblings do best.

The star of Kelly DiPucchio's Gaston looms over his poodle sisters Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, and Ooh-La-La. At the park, they meet a family like theirs but in reverse: bulldogs Rocky, Ricky, and Bruno and their petite sister Antoinette. Were Gaston and Antoinette switched at birth? Should they trade families? It seems like the right thing to do until they try it, only to discover that what looks right doesn't always feel right. Christian Robinson's expressive paintings elegantly illustrate this different-types-of-families story. (Atheneum, 3–6 years) Read More...   
    

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 Funny business
by Shara Hardeson

Cockamamie mysteries, confectionary disasters, well-meaning primates, and oddball friendships. All of the above abound in the following fantastically funny chapter book series entries.

Elise Broach's new early chapter book series Masterpiece Adventures extends the antics of Marvin (a beetle) and James (a boy) from Broach's middle grade book Masterpiece (Holt/Ottaviano, 8–11 years). In The Miniature World of Marvin & James, Marvin helps James pack for a trip to the beach. Then, with James away, Marvin has some adventures inside the house. The comical tone, relatable characters, and Kelly Murphy's lively pen-and-ink illustrations in a brown and gray palette combine with short sentences to make the book perfect for younger readers. (Holt/Ottaviano, 5–8 years) Read More... 

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 Digital fun and learning
by Katie Bircher

Nonfiction apps and e-books can be excellent tools to supplement classroom learning or independent research. These four interactive offerings — three science, one poetry — engage young users as they educate.

Cute kid Sloan Graham, the bear-suit-clad main character of I Love Mountains, has a passionate interest in the titular landforms. Over nineteen interactive pages, she shares fascinating geological facts including the three different types of mountains, how plate tectonics form them over time, the largest mountains on Earth and Mars, and various flora and fauna found within mountain ecosystems. The simplicity of Amanda Joyce Bishop's textured collage art adds a playful sense of wonder to the scientific discussion. Basic animations (i.e. snow falling, clouds moving) and easy touchscreen activities push the app forward at the user's pace. (Forest Giant, 4–7 years) Read More... 

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 Bummer summer
by Martha V. Parravano

Who says summer reads have to be all beaches and rainbows? Four emotionally resonant YA novels explore love and grief, families and friendships.

Cadence Sinclair Eastman, eldest grandchild of a wealthy but dysfunctional clan, tells readers about an accident that happened during her fifteenth summer on her family's private island, leaving her with debilitating migraines and memory loss. As the story in E. Lockhart's We Were Liars unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that the emotionally fragile Cady is also an unreliable narrator. The book's ultimate reveal is shocking both for its tragedy and for the how-could-I-have-not-suspected-that? feeling it leaves readers experiencing. (Delacorte, 14–17 years) Read More...    

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FROM THE EDITOR 

This week marks the debut of our new publication The Horn Book Herald, which will arrive in your inbox no more than four times a year. The first issue is devoted to our choices for the best summer reading and includes a link to a handy PDF you can take along to the library or bookstore. As a subscriber to Notes from the Horn Book, you should have received it; if it didn't come, you can find the complete list of recommendations at hbook.com/summer-reading-2014.

And of you are attending BEA this year, be among the first to hear the news: I will be announcing the winners of the 2014 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards on Saturday, May 31st at the Librarians Lounge, booth number 663 in the Javits Center, NYC. The judges (Claire Gross, Amy Pattee, chair Nina Lindsay) are meeting in Boston later this month to make their decisions, and we are all busy speculating on What Will Win. Check out HornBook on Twitter, The Horn Book on Facebook, and hbook.com Saturday afternoon to find out how it all went down.


Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

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