Twinderella: A Fractioned Fairy Tale by Corey Rosen Schwartz

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Did you know that Cinderella had a twin sister?  Most people don't, but you should get to know Tinderella, math whiz extraordinaire.  Corey Rosen Schwartz, teamed with Deborah Marcero, has created a sure to be smash hit with Twinderella.  I love Schwartz's signature rhyming style, the words roll of my tongue magnificently, both in rhyme and meter and I can hardly wait to share this in storytime.  Marcero's illustrations, watercolor with India ink, are bright and cheery with just the right amount of detail, enough that you're always discovering new things upon rereading.  I'm also excited about the math language in here.  We know (thank you research*) that girls usually start out deficient in math language, that grown ups are more likely to use math words with boys, rather than girls, so a girl-oriented book about fractions is fantastic!  Overall, this is a cute, funny, important book.  I want to put it in the hands of all the girls who come to storytime.

*See Thirty Million Words: building a child's brain : tune in, talk more, take turns by Dana Suskind

Thank you so much to Corey Rosen Schwartz and G.P. Putnam for the galley!

The Trespasser by Tana French

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I always go into Tana French’s novels with two questions: who’s it gonna be and how’re they gonna get it?  This time it’s Antoinette Conway, the half South American, half Irish, all woman detective with a chip on her shoulder the size of Dublin Castle itself.  When Conway and her partner Moran are partnered with oily senior detective Breslin on what appears to be a routine domestic murder, Conway’s suspicions rise.  There’s something more to this case than the gaffer and Breslin are letting on, but she isn’t sure what.  Could it be a test of her skills?  A gang connection?  Or something more sinister? 

 

The Trespasser didn’t disappoint.  French’s mysteries twist out into directions that I never expect, and I find myself wandering among tangled what-ifs and who-could-ofs until finally when I think that I’m lost beyond all reasoning, I find the answer smack dab in front of me.  Conway was an interesting pick as a protagonist – very different from most of her other previous heroes.  There was one moment in the middle that felt very forced (you’ll know it when you read it), but otherwise the story read smoothly.  (I also always try to pick out who will be the next protagonist, but I’m not positive this time – maybe Breslin, maybe the journalist…) Overall, a good read.  Not her best, in my opinion, but definitely intriguing.

A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen

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How do you write a story when you don't know how to write?  A little helpful advice from big sister jumpstarts our young hero's writing career.  Start with what you know!

It's relatively easy to pick out books that go along with all of the five pre-reading practices from Every Child Ready to Read, EXCEPT for writing.  Finding books that talk about writing or that might inspire writing or feature writing is especially difficult.  Larsen's A Squiggly Story is a good example of a writing focused text.  That being said, the story isn't super intriguing, though I love the illustrations and the graphic novel format of this text.  Just because it didn't knock it out of the park for me though doesn't mean it wouldn't be a valuable addition to a library.  It's a quiet story that will enchant and inspire those littles who dream of being authors.

Life Without Nico by Andrea Maturana

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Maia and Nico are best friends.  They do everything together until Nico's father tells them that the family needs to move away for a while.  Maia isn't sure what to do without Nico, but she finds a new friend and comfort from a kitten.  When Nico comes back, she isn't sure if she'll have room for him in her life.

 

This is an important book.  I don't know of many books off the top of my head that deal well with the loss of a friend.  This one is well written, short, and a good read aloud.  From friends moving away to those who just go to a different school, this situation is one that is common in childhood and not addressed in picture books as often as it should be.  Francisco Javier Olea's illustrations are beautiful and pair well with the text.  I love what he did with the shadows when Maia is feeling empty.  The line drawings combined with the fully painted elements reminds me of Radioactive by Lauren Redness about Marie and Pierre Curie.  

My digital copy courtesy of Kids Can Press and Edelweiss.

The Sword and the Stove by Frank Dormer

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The knights are getting ready for dinner. They pull on their oven mitts, they tie up their aprons, and they open the oven to find....a SWORD?? How did that get there?
 


Dormer has created a wonderfully creative story that turns the typical tale of knights on its head. The paint and pencil drawings and a perfect companion to the silly stories that the knights think up to explain why everything but food is in their oven. The twist at the end is reminiscent ofMr. Wolf's Pancakes and Everyone loves Bacon and sure to leave preschoolers and kindergartners in giggles. Perfect for a storytime about knights.

My digital copy courtesy of Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss

Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars

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How can you resist a title like that? Prison Ramen is a work of love - love of camaraderie and eating good food (or as good as you can make it in prison). Interspersed between creative recipes are little anecdotes about prison life written by various inmates as well as celebrities who've spent time behind bars, including Shia LeBoeuf, Slash, and Danny Trejo. I'll admit that I haven't had the time to make any of the recipes, but they do sound appealing. This would be a great addition to a library cookbook collection. I can see teens and college students picking this up for the recipes. Because really, who doesn't love ramen?