What's New? Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

For review: I received a box of goodies from Penguin but aside from pulling out the picture book fngs, haven't had time to really examine the spring titles. 

Purchased: Well, I spent the last of my Amazon gift cards last week and my purchases arrived:

Image: Abrams

Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14. 218 p. Amulet Books/ Abrams, November, 2019. 9781419739033.

Publisher synopsis: As if it needs one! An unexpected inheritance gives Greg Heffley’s family a chance to make big changes to their house. But they soon find that home improvement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Once the walls come down, all sorts of problems start to crop up. Rotten wood, toxic mold, unwelcome critters, and something even more sinister all make Greg and his family wonder if the renovations are worth the trouble. When the dust finally settles, will the Heffleys be able to stay . . . or will they need to get out of town?

Image: Yen Press

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova. 230 p. Berrybrook Middle School series #3. JY/ Yen Press, October, 2018. 9780316363235.

Publisher synopsis: Jorge seems to have it all together. He's big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he's also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl... But when the group dynamic among the boys starts to shift, will Jorge be able to balance what his friends expect of him versus what he actually wants?

Image: Penguin Random House

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. Unabridged full-cast audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep. 240 minutes. Listening Library, October, 2019. 9781984843258.

Publisher synopsis: Brought to life by Meryl Streep and a full cast, this beloved book by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children’s literature that is “just about perfect.”*

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte’s Web, high up in Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spider web tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White’s Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.

Includes an appreciation written and read by Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, the cover artist of this edition and author/illustrator of Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White.

Readers of this blog know that I don't usually love full-cast audiobooks. They might also know that I hold dear E. B. White's narration. So I approach listening to this cautiously optimistic as some of my favorite narrators are involved in the project...

What's new with you?

If you leave a comment, I will definitely stop by and try to comment back - unless commenters have to sign onto Discus or Wordpress or FB or anything that makes commenting difficult and gives my data to miners. But, I will definitely check your stack!

Friday Memes: Anthem by Deborah Wiles

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

Image: Scholastic

Anthem by Deborah Wiles. Sixties Trilogy #3. 480 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., October, 2019. 9781338497458. 

Publisher synopsis: It's 1969.

Molly is a girl who's not sure she can feel anything anymore, because life sometimes hurts way too much. Her brother Barry ran away after having a fight with their father over the war in Vietnam. Now Barry's been drafted into that war — and Molly's mother tells her she has to travel across the country in an old schoolbus to find Barry and bring him home.

Norman is Molly's slightly older cousin, who drives the old schoolbus. He's a drummer who wants to find his own music out in the world — because then he might not be the "normal Norman" that he fears he's become. He's not sure about this trip across the country . . . but his own mother makes it clear he doesn't have a choice.

Molly and Norman get on the bus — and end up seeing a lot more of America that they'd ever imagined. From protests and parades to roaring races and rock n' roll, the cousins make their way to Barry in San Francisco, not really knowing what they'll find when they get there.

As she did in her other epic novels Countdown and Revolution, two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles takes the pulse of an era . . . and finds the multitude of heartbeats that lie beneath it.

First Line: As she did in the first two books of these "documentary" novels, the first "line" is an image. Indeed, the first fifty-five pages are images that capture the essence of the sixties.

Page 56: The first line of the book actually appears on page 55:

It's been so long since I felt something.



I highly recommend this trilogy. I am halfway through this one and don't want it to end. Here's a link to my review of Countdown. I didn't get to write a review of Revolution.

Fact Friday: I Have the Right To: a high school survivor's story of sexual assault, justice and hope by Chessy Prout with Jenn Abelson

Image: Simon & Schuster

I Have the Right To: a high school survivor's story of sexual assault, justice and hope by Chessy Prout with Jenn Abelson. Unabridged e-audiobook. ~11 hours. Read by the author. Simon & Schuster Audio, March, 2018.  9781508246046. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library. Own hc.)

Fact Friday features a tough but important read for mature teens. I Have the Right to is Chessy Prout's autobiography. She recounts her happy childhood living in Japan with her loving parents and her two sisters - one older and one younger. She was thrilled to be accepted to St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. It was the boarding school her father attended when he was young. Her sister would be a senior when she arrived for her freshman year. The year went fairly well- Chessy made the volleyball team, she was managing her anxiety, she was fitting in and she was dealing with the sometimes unwanted attention of the boys on campus. There was a not-so-secret competition among the upperclassmen. In the final week of her freshman year, Chessy was assaulted by a popular senior. With the support of her family, she decided to press charges only to have school officials attempt to shame her into silence. Chessy's memoir is searing and honest. She recounts her attack in detail. She faced her attacker in court. She also endured backlash and sometimes feared for her life. 

Mature teen readers, both boys and girls, who have read Speak or SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson will want to read this and contemplate consent and boundaries. It's an uncomfortable but important conversation to have both at home and at school.

Chessy Prout narrates her work. It must have been painful to constantly revisit her attack, not only through testimony but also through the writing process. And then, to read it aloud! Her emotion is authentic. So is her resolve. She is a brave young woman.

November is Picture Book Month! Review: How Many? A different kind of counting book by Christopher Danielson

Image: Charlesbridge

How Many? A different kind of counting book by Christopher Danielson. 39 p. Charlesbridge, September, 2019. 9781580899437. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

I learned from the author's earlier book, Which One Doesn't Belong? that he makes math accessible and fun. This counting book has no rules and no particular order - just crisp, clear pictures of mostly food items and the invitation to count - anything. So, cool!

After a short introduction explaining the open-ended nature of this inviting book, the verso pages merely ask, "How many?" while the recto pages depict the items. There seems to be no agenda and any answer a child gives is correct. There's also a standing invitation to return to find other things to count. Counting will make you hungry though. The food looks amazing!

How Many? is certainly a different kind of counting book and one that belongs in all collections. Highly recommended!

#tbt: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Image: Penguin Random House

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. His Dark Materials trilogy #1. 399 p. Alfred A. Knopf/ Random House Children's Books, April, 1996. 9780670879242. (Own.)

In honor of the premier of the HBO series, #tbt features The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Originally published in the UK in 1995 with the title, Northern Lights, Pullman's first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy was published in 1996 as The Golden Compass. The book won the Carnegie Medal, which is the British equivalent of the Newbery Award. 

The Golden Compass is a fantasy set in an alternate universe where orphan, Lyra Belacqua lives at Jordan College, Oxford and basically runs wild with her daemon, Pantalaimon. All humans have daemons in this world, but the daemon of a child can shift until the child matures. Lyra's best friend, Roger, has disappeared and she's worried that the Gobblers have kidnapped him. She is intent on rescuing him despite the obstacles thrown in her path. 

November is Picture Book Month! Review: Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo & Diane Dillon

Image: Scholastic Inc. 

Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo & Diane Dillon. Unpgd. The Blue Sky Press/ Scholastic Inc., October 2019. 9781338332650. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Our family has a rocking chair that has spanned generations. Does yours? This book is a favorite for all sorts of reasons both sentimental and objective. According to the jacket information, Love and the Rocking Chair is the Dillons' final collaboration. And a fitting one it is. 

It's a lovely story, sparely told, about a young, interracial couple who are expecting their first child and shopping for the perfect chair. They find it, have the baby and the chair is perfect - for rocking, for reading, for playing and finally for holding cast-off belongings. Then it is packed away and forgotten about until...

The muted palette and the Dillons' signature style draw the eye and invite lingering over each scene. Pull a young one into your lap and share this book! Highly recommended! It's the perfect gift for new parents. 

ETA November 9, 2019: I had the book on the kitchen counter to send with my husband when he visited my son, d-i-l and grand-daughter today. As he often does with my book droppings all over the house, he paused to read the book. I busied myself at the kitchen table and didn't look up when he said, "Nice book." A beat later, I turned to see him wiping his eyes with a tissue. I asked, "What's wrong with your eye?" He responded, "I'm crying! That book was beautiful!" We've been together for 35 years and I think I can count how many times he has openly wept on one hand.

Waiting on Wednesday: Blue Daisy by Helen Frost

Image: Holiday House

Blue Daisy by Helen Frost. 96 p. Margaret Ferguson Books/ Holiday House, March 20, 2020. 9780823444144.

Publisher synopsis: Sam and Katie find a stray dog and make a big mistake, but it’s hard to make amends–how can you apologize to a dog?

A dirty, skinny, dog shows up in Sam and Katie’s neighborhood. They start to follow it, and they don’t like what they see: The Wilson sisters yell at it because it goes in their garden and the Tracy twins chase it on their bikes and throw things at it.

Sam and Katie want the dog to know they’ll be its friends. They think it should have a name. Most of all, they want it to like them. But then they do something thoughtless, and after that, it’s hard to make things right, especially because the dog now won’t come near them.

How they earn the dog’s trust, help it find its place in their town and how it gets its name, makes for a heartwarming story told in two voices using prose and poetry. Blue Daisy is illustrated with 20 black-and-white illustrations and includes recipes for dog biscuits and snickerdoodles.

I'm a real fan of Frost's work and am super-excited to read this.