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​BEFORE YOU SLEEP: A BEDTIME BOOK OF GRATITUDE by Annie Cronin Romano

10/10/2018

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Review by Francine Puckly
 
This book pick begins with a disclaimer—all of us at 24 Carrot Writing have been intimately involved with Annie Cronin Romano’s debut picture book, Before You Sleep: A Bedtime Book of Gratitude (Page Street Kids, 2018). This included reading and critiquing numerous drafts as Annie journeyed with this story from rhyme to free-verse and back again. Despite that by the very nature of our involvement we are biased toward this story, this picture book is an enchanting, rhythmic and comforting story about tucking in one’s senses before dropping into the night’s slumber. 
 
Annie gently takes the readers and young listeners of the story through the sounds, scents, tastes, sights, and touches experienced during the day. Ioana Hobai’s soft and luscious illustrations add to the calming effect. Before You Sleep is a perfect way for helping little ones mentally wrap up their day and establishing a bedtime mindset. This book will delight young readers and parents alike! 

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On Writing:
Annie’s voice is lyrical, and she evokes emotion and response with her careful word choice. She shows in this manuscript how important it is to make every word count. In addition to thoughtful, tight text, Annie uses unexpected experiences to highlight these senses, bringing a new experience to her readers.
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HOW THE FINCH GOT HIS COLORS, by Annemarie Riley Guertin

5/16/2018

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​Review by Annie Cronin Romano

I haven’t come across too many newly-published folktales these days, but HOW THE FINCH GOT HIS COLORS (Familius, 2018) is one that hit the shelves earlier this year and is among the bright spots of recent picture book releases. Using a traditional folktale style, author Annemarie Riley Guertin depicts how the world and its creatures transformed from a monotone appearance to a brilliant expanse of color. Guertin mixes magical storytelling with just a touch of a moral in this narrative inspired by a Belgian folktale. The folk-art illustrations, beautifully done by Helena Pérez García, start off the book in muted tones of gray, black, and brown and transform into a brilliant kaleidoscopic palette. Parents and teachers will love this book for working double duty as both an engaging story and a reinforcer of color concepts. HOW THE FINCH GOT HIS COLORS, a fiction picture book for children ages 4-8 years old, is an ideal addition to bookshelves both in the home and the early elementary classroom. 

On Writing
Annemarie Riley Guertin’s story is a solid mentor text for those writers interested in the folktale style. The language is engaging, rich, and vivid yet accessible to younger readers and listeners.
 
To learn more information about Annemarie Guertin’s work, visit her website at www.annemarierileyguertin.com.
For info on Helena Pérez García's work, visit her website at www.helenaperezgarcia.co.uk/.

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SALAMANDER SKY, by Katy Farber

4/17/2018

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Review by Annie Cronin Romano 

I have been reading nonfiction picture books more and more often these days. Most have been biographies, but this week I read a nonfiction science picture book, SALAMANDER SKY (Green Writers Press, 2018), that shares a different kind of experience: the springtime migration of the spotted salamander. Through the eyes of a young girl, the reader sees her excitement about witnessing the salamanders’ night journey and her determination to help keep them safe on their travels.

Author Katy Farber uses a narrative writing style to share information about the spotted salamander and the reason for its migration. These scientific facts are folded neatly into the narrative in a manner easily relatable to children. Using soft, appealing illustrations, illustrator Meg Sodano captures the story-like presentation without sacrificing detail.

​SALAMANDER SKY is an ideal addition to elementary classrooms and complements several areas of the science curriculum. Young ones will be grabbing their flashlights and begging to scout out the spotted salamanders on rainy April nights! And any book that can spark that interest in a child is worthy of a spot on the bookshelf!
 
SALAMANDER SKY is a nonfiction nature picture book for children ages 4-8 years old. 

On Writing
By telling the story from the perspective of a young girl, Katy Farber makes this nature topic appealing to young readers and students. The portrayal of the child helping the salamanders safely navigate back to the water gives children an understanding of the importance of conservation and a knowledge that they can make a positive difference in the lives of nature’s creatures. 
 
For more information on Katy Farber’s work, visit her website at www.katyfarber.com.
For info on Meg Sodano’s work, visit her website at www.msodanoillustration.com.








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MARY’S MONSTER: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelly Created FRANKENSTEIN by Lita Judge

4/4/2018

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~ Reviewed by Amanda Smith​
 
Mary’s Monster tells the story of a young girl whose loving home is turned into an oppressive prison by a jealous step-mother. After two years’ exile to Scotland, where she finds love and acceptance, she is called back to London to help in her father’s bookstore. Her mundane home life is interrupted when she meets a charismatic poet. The poet, sixteen-year-old Mary, and her younger step-sister run away together and travel through Europe and eventually back to England.

Mary experiences beauty, freedom, and life. She sees the destruction of man and war. She meets unbearable challenges, heartache, and abuse. And through it all she fights circumstances, society, and mental illness for the right to live with, and love, her poet. Her struggles and darkest moments lead to the discovery of her own voice and her defining work.

Mary’s Monster is the tormenting story of a remarkable young woman. It is also the biography of Mary Shelly, author of the iconic Frankenstein, and wife to poet Percy Bysshe Shelly. Seeped in extensive research, Mary’s Monster leads the reader through the events and places that formed Mary Shelly and gave birth to Frankenstein.

Just as Mary Shelly invented the modern science fiction novel, Lita Judge shatters genre boundaries by bringing us a biography that reads like a YA novel, in free -verse, accompanied by magnificent, haunting illustrations. “Like a picture book, it is a dance between words and art, in which each medium takes a turn telling the story and the two become inseparable,” Judge explained.

Mary’s Monster would serve as an excellent companion text to any high school student studying Frankenstein, but the book is so much more than a biography and educational tool. It is a stirring story, transporting the reader to a different time, yet carrying themes (such as first love, struggles with parents, and mental health issues) with which most young adults can identify today.

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On Writing:
Mary’s Monster is masterfully crafted in so many ways. The structure of the book is tight and purposeful, reflecting the multiple points of view of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. It is divided into nine parts, echoing the nine months it took Mary to write Frankenstein. Quotes by Percy Bysshe Shelly, Mary Wollstonecraft (Mary Shelly’s mother), and Mary herself introduce each part and lend to the authentic voice of the book. There is a mindfulness in every aspect of this book, including the placement of art.

In fact, the amazing interplay between art and text is something never before seen in a biographical novel. The artwork draws the reader in, accentuates the action and emotion in the verses, and adds atmosphere and tone, as well as symbolism. It is just as important a story telling device as the writing.

Lita Judge consistently, yet with subtlety, builds on themes central to Mary’s life and her creation of Frankenstein (such as rejection, love, death, women’s rights) throughout the book. With clever foreshadowing and striking word choice, she leads readers through Mary’s journey of self-discovery.

However, the most brilliant part of this book, is Judge’s decision to weave direct quotes from Mary Shelly’s journals, and from biographies written about her, into the verse. This is done seamlessly and adds authenticity to the voice (The reader may find the quotations when perusing the back-matter.)

Biographies, or the genre that Frankenstein belongs to, might not be every reader’s cup of tea. But the illustrations and human drama of Mary's Monster will compel the biography adverse, non-horror genre reader to grab this book. In doing so, readers will not only learn about Mary Shelly, her life and her challenges, but also about themselves. Mary’s Monster urges readers to reflect deeply on how the world has changed for young women. And the many ways it has not.
 
 
For more information on Lita Judge, visit her website at https://www.litajudge.net/
To learn more about her process in creating Mary’s Monster, and the significance of the art, read https://www.litajudge.net/mm_timeline/
 
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STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS by Jo Knowles

3/6/2018

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~by Amanda Smith

Noah is a pretty typical middle schooler. He attends a small school where everybody knows everybody’s business, and the biggest news is who’s kissing who behind the storage shed. Yet, in Noah’s family, the Thing That Happened silently rules their household and interactions. As Noah’s sister, Emma, becomes increasingly controlling about food, Noah notices signs that The Thing is happening again, but his parents’ denial and efforts to keep Emma from relapsing cause Noah to suppress his own concerns. He frustration grows as his best friends bicker and fall out over, what seems to Noah, insignificant issues, while his family is unraveling.

STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS (2016, Candlewick Press) explores eating disorders and their effect on family members from a sibling’s point of view. Noah’s love and concern for Emma contrasts with his inability to understand why she makes herself sick, and his anger at her for doing so. Knowles illustrates these conflicting emotions in Noah’s response towards Curly, the school cat, who is, like Emma, stressed, frail, vulnerable and adored.

With a gentle touch, spots of bright humor, an interesting cast of secondary characters, and a loveable, believable main character, this thoughtful novel will have readers laughing out loud while reaching for the Kleenex. With empathy, Jo Knowles shows us the devastating effect of depression and eating disorders on families, while emphasizing the importance of relationships (with friends, parents, teachers, and pets) in times of crises.
 
On Writing:
Jo Knowles has a wonderful ability to reveal character in bite-size bits. When she first introduces a new character, she gives a short description, but builds on that description throughout the novel. This mirrors the little-bits-at-a-time way in which we get to know people in the real world, and results in readers feeling as if they’re gaining a circle of new friends.

In STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, Knowles also employs the animal characters in various ways. They are not just pets, but Curly and Captain offer comic relief, evoke empathy, and drive home points about characters and events in the story.

In the same way, food is used throughout the novel to convey emotions, illustrate differences, build tension, amp-up turning points, and reveal aspects of Noah’s character. Using food as a device in a novel about eating disorders is pure Jo Knowles brilliance!

To learn more about Jo Knowles and her books, visit her website www.joknowles.com/
In this video clip, Jo talks about the inspiration for the hilarious chapter titles for STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS.

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CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND, by Rita Williams-Garcia

2/21/2018

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​ Review by Annie Cronin Romano

In CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND, Clayton is devoted to two things: his grandfather and his blues harp (no, it’s not a harmonica!). All Clayton hopes for is a solo with the Bluesmen, the group his grandfather and Clayton perform with in Washington Square Park. So when Clayton’s grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, dies unexpectedly, the soulful melancholy of the blues songs he played becomes all too real. Devastated by his mother’s insistence to rid their lives of all things that remind her of Cool Papa, Clayton takes off in search of the Bluesmen, certain that when he finds them, they’ll take him under their wing and mentor him musically as his grandfather did. And he’ll finally get that solo he’s wanted to play so badly. But life on the run has other plans for Clayton, and his harrowing adventure opens up problems Clayton never dreamed he'd encounter. Throughout the story, Rita Williams-Garcia tenderly and skillfully navigates the emotions Clayton experiences as he struggles with the sudden loss of his grandfather and the resentment he feels towards his mother, who wants to bury Clayton’s love of the blues right along with Cool Papa.

CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND (Amistad, 2017) is a middle grade novel for children ages 8-12. This beautifully written story reads like a blues score with language that captures the very spirit of the music it features. 

On Writing
Rita Williams-Garcia explores the complexity of losing a loved one from the child’s perspective while also depicting the contrasting experiences of the parent. Written in third person, CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND does not shy away from the difficult topic of death; it seamlessly weaves the sadness of loss with the joy of how a person’s impact can keep shining even after he's gone. The characterization is strong, and the wailing tones of a blues melody are captured in every line, making it a laudable example of using linguistic style to elicit the tone of a story. 

Rita Williams-Garcia is the bestselling author of many award-winning books, including One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven. For more information on her work, visit her website at https://rita-williamsgarcia.squarespace.com/. 

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I DISSENT: RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK, by Debbie Levy

10/17/2017

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Review by Annie Cronin Romano

I must admit, I don’t gravitate to the nonfiction shelves of the children’s section very often. But recently, I’ve been checking out an increasing quantity of nonfiction biography children’s books to read as mentor texts for a project. And it has been an amazing journey of discovery!

Why hadn’t I lingered around those children’s nonfiction shelves more in the past? There are some fascinating and well-written books there! It was difficult to choose just one title for my book pick this week.

Fear not! I narrowed it down and selected the inspiring picture book biography I DISSENT: RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016), by Debbie Levy.

Levy not only highlights the life events and remarkable career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but she also brings light to the importance of fighting for equality and pursuing your passions in life no matter the odds. Told in relatable language, which include some of Ginsburg’s school-aged experiences and feelings that most children are sure to relate to, Levy shares with energy and light humor the story of the first Jewish woman (and second woman overall) to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court. Elizabeth Baddeley’s spirited illustrations and bold use of text illuminate I DISSENT in a manner certain to draw in young readers. The writing and the illustrations work together to convey the vital message that disagreement doesn’t have to be mean-spirited, and voicing your own beliefs can lead to worthwhile outcomes. 
 
I DISSENT: RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK is picture book biography for children ages 4-8 years old. 

On Writing
With I DISSENT, Debbie Levy has written a strong, inspiring biography which is accessible and interesting to young readers. Far more than a timeline or string of factual events, I DISSENT tells Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s story with heart and personality. This makes the biography relatable, especially to children who may feel their dreams are beyond possibility. For writers, it is a strong mentor text for picture book biographies as Levy covers the the major events and shaping influences of Ginsburg's life without the story feeling watered down, and she tackles sensitive topics in a kid-appropriate manner.  
 
For more information on Debbie Levy’s work, visit her website at http://debbielevybooks.com.
For more infomation on Elizabeth Baddeley’s work, visit her website at http://ebaddeley.com.

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IT'S NOT JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, by Josh Funk

9/19/2017

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Review by Annie Cronin Romano

If your children enjoy adventure and a hearty laugh, then get your hands on IT’S NOT JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (Two Lions, 2017) for a new twist on the classic fairy tale. In this latest picture book by Josh Funk, Jack questions the narrator at every turn, challenging the storyline and often going off-script. In the process, the narrator’s attempt to tell the traditional version of the story is turned upside down by the feisty and strong-willed boy. These twists, and the sassy interactions that ensue, create a funny, high-energy story that children will want to hear (or read) again and again. Edwardian Taylor’s bright, lively illustrations paired with fun cartoon speech bubbles capture the spunk of the story and add humor beyond the text. The perfect read-aloud, IT'S NOT JACK AND THE BEANSTALK will engage young readers with vibrant images and clever storytelling.
 
IT’S NOT JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is picture book for children ages 4-8. Pick up this witty story for guaranteed giggles!

On Writing
IT’S NOT JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is a strong mentor text for fractured fairy tales and meta-fiction (breaking the fourth wall). Funk blends the traditional story with modern attitude and language to create an amusing clash between the narrator and the main character.
 
For more information on Josh Funk’s work, visit his website at www.joshfunkbooks.com. 
For info on Edwardian Taylor’s work, visit his website at www.edwardiantaylor.com.

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THE HIDDEN MEMORY OF OBJECTS by Danielle Mages Amato

4/18/2017

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Review by Annie Cronin Romano
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In THE HIDDEN MEMORY OF OBJECTS, Danielle Mages Amato’s debut young adult novel, fifteen-year-old Megan Brown’s brother has just died, supposedly from a drug overdose. Megan is confused and angry, insisting the Tyler she knew never would have taken his own life, let alone used drugs. When the police start digging further into the circumstances surrounding Tyler’s death, Megan sees the memory of the brother she adored being defaced before her eyes. A talented collage artist, she turns to Tyler’s possessions to find comfort. In the process, she discovers she has an ability to “see” the memories held in those objects. It is a talent that causes Megan much upheaval and pain—literally—and takes her and two friends, Eric and Nathan, on a journey which generates more questions than answers about her brother’s life.

Megan’s devotion to the brother she loved clashes abruptly with the betrayal she feels as she uncovers a side of her brother she never knew existed. In her attempt to makes sense of her newfound visions, Megan enlists the assistance of an artifact historian, Dr. Brightman, who specializes in "murderabilia"—and may have a few secrets of his own. As she seeks the truth about Tyler’s death, Megan learns there is far more to people than can be seen on the surface, even those she thought she knew the best.  

THE HIDDEN MEMORY OF OBJECTS, a contemporary young adult novel with a dose of paranormal, grabbed me from chapter one. Megan was a believable, likeable character, and her relationships with Eric, a close classmate, and Nathan, a friend of her brother’s whom she doesn’t recall meeting, add nice dimension to the plot. THE HIDDEN MEMORY OF OBJECTS blends family bonds, mystery, a touch of romance, betrayal, corruption, paranormal abilities, and history into an engaging, multifaceted journey. This beautifully written story kept me turning the pages long after I should have turned out the lights! 

On Writing
Amato’s character development is strong, as she skillfully uses her characters' dialogue and actions to build their personalities for the reader. There is no info dumping here. She delves into the complex emotions that can arise with the tragic, unexpected loss of a loved one and portrays them in a believable manner throughout the story. Contemporary and paranormal genres are blended seamlessly, and every scene and character contribute to the movement of the tightly woven narrative. 

For more information on Danielle Mages Amato’s work, visit her website at www.daniellemagesamato.com. 

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MS. BIXBY’S LAST DAY  by John David Anderson

3/28/2017

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~ Review by Amanda Smith

Some books blink on writers’ radars long before they become common knowledge.  These books show up in a plethora of kidlit groups; in Harold Underdown’s posts with comment threads as long as my arm; and on agents’ wish lists. MS. BIXBY’S LAST DAY (2016, Walden Pond Press) is one of those books, and so, when it finally appeared on my library shelf, I expected literary greatness. I expected my need for boxes and boxes of Kleenex. It absolutely exceeded those expectations. What I did not expect was the laugh-out-loud humor. I’m not talking a giggle or a guffaw here. More than once I exasperated my family with outbursts of knee-slapping laughter. John David Anderson’s sharp humor is exactly what this book needed to balance the heart-wrenching story.

Ms. Bixby is that one teacher, that if you were really lucky, you had the honor of knowing. A Good One. The teacher who really sees you, the one for whom you want to be your very best, the one who makes even the boring stuff fun. And Ms. Bixby has cancer. In fact, she is so sick that she cannot even make her Last Day party at school.

But Brand, one of her sixth graders, still has something important left to say to her. He enlists his friends, Steve and Topher, to help him follow through on his plan to give her the perfect last day, not realizing that both his friends need to see to her as much as he does. Because, just as she saw him, she saw each one of them.

Told in three alternating first person narratives, the voices of the three boys, Anderson takes us along on their mission. Snippets of information about each character are carefully unpacked through what these characters show of themselves, and what they know (and don’t know) about their two friends. We get to know their strengths, insecurities, family life and what Ms. Bixby means to each of them, both from the character’s own point of view, and the others’ points of view. We see how they individually, but with the help of their friends, overcome their respective major obstacles, making it possible for them to bid Ms. Bixby goodbye.

MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY left some hilarious images burned in my mind forever – I will never look at cheesecake the same way. It has given my son and me some precious shared quotes like “I was in the basement, eating a body”… “Biscotti”. But more than that, MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY reminded me to see my children and my students; to recognize everyone has a back story, or a struggle; and to see things through no matter what.

On Writing:
John David Anderson is masterful at showing instead of telling. He never tells the reader outright what the characters’ struggles are, but he meticulously unfurls each character until the reader has a complete picture of Band, Steve, Topher, Ms. Bixby and the supporting cast.

MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY is also a study in voice. Anderson provides an engaging introduction of each character, their voices so distinct, that at the end of each character’s first paragraph, the reader already has a strong sense of each kid’s personality.
“Rebecca Roudabush has cooties, I’m not making this up. We’ve run tests. She came up positive on the cootometer, all red, off the charts.” (Topher, the creative boy with a vivid imagination)
“We found out on Tuesday. I was wearing a red sweater. Not bright red. More of a maroon, like the color of cherries – real cherries, not the ones you find in canned fruit that tastes a little like medicine.” (Steve, the detail-oriented, analytical stats-wizard)
“You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. That’s something my dad told me. Turns out … not entirely true.” (Brand, the rough-around-the-edges tough guy who idolizes his dad.)

Don’t you already love these three boys? By the end of the book you will be completely won over, cheering them on to succeed. In true Ms. Bixby fashion. 


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