The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: how Maria Merian's art changed science by Joyce Sidman. 240 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, February, 2018. 9780544717138. (Review from purchased copy.)
Scientists in the late 1600s had little to no formal training and were nearly exclusively male. Indeed, a woman who expressed an interest in science and the natural world could be persecuted as a witch. Maria Merian's father died when she was three. Her mother then married an still life artist and young Maria was his assistant. He would send her into the garden to collect insects and inquisitive Maria would wonder where they came from. She also needed to learn skills from her mother about running a household. Still, she managed her chores for both parents and still found time to meticulously observe and record her insect collections.
This informative biography is gorgeous in every way from its design through its illustration and writing. The book has heft. The cover and end-pages are lovely. Each page includes at least one illustration, whether Merian's art, engravings and other paintings from the time, maps or photographs. Each chapter is named for a phase in of insect development and there is a poem written by the author to introduce each chapter.
Back-matter is extensive and includes a timeline, author's note, quote sources, a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, image credits and an index.
Maria Merian's story is absolutely fascinating. This biography is a first-purchase for any library.
We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins. unpgd. Disney/ Hyperion, June, 2018. 9781368003551. (Review from purchased finished copy.)
It's no secret that I am a fan of Ryan T. Higgins. I expected nothing less than being utterly entertained by We Don't Eat Our Classmates. Really, how can one resist that absolutely adorable cover or the title? End-pages are decorated with dino-centric kid art hung on a clothesline with clothes pins. On the title page, Penelope assures readers that they will never be eaten by a T-Rex.
Penelope is nervous about starting school. It appears that she has been practicing her alphabet with her little dino stuffies, but despite her mother's calm assurances, she is still worried. There are some highlights - she has a new backpack with ponies on it and her father packed three hundred tuna sandwiches in her pony lunchbox.
The spread where Penelope enters the classroom and discovers it filled with CHILDREN is hysterical but the page-turn revealing the fact that she ate them because, "children are delicious," is pure comic gold; as is the following spread featuring saliva-covered unhappy classmates that were dutifully spat out onto the rug per Penelope's unflappable teacher's instructions.
The visual humor in the spreads depicting her attempts at making friends are hilarious. The mood shifts a bit as Penelope suffers the consequences of her actions and no one wants to be her friend. Except Walter the goldfish.
Higgins' graphite, ink and photoshop art is just delightful. Filled with visual humor and small details, like the named cubbies and their contents, that just warm the heart. Penelope's expressive face, her little pink overalls, and, well, just about everything about her are just so endearing.
We Don't Eat Our Classmates belongs in every school, public and elementary classroom library. In a world where back-to-school books are a dime a dozen, this one stands head and shoulders above them all. This is one you won't mind reading repeatedly and, your students will love you for it.
The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake. 192 p. Jump at the Sun/ Hyperion, October, 1998. 9780786804443. (Own)
#tbt features a book that I have not read yet. I recently saw online that Disney/ Hyperion is issuing a twentieth anniversary edition of The Skin I'm In. This was Sharon Flake's debut novel and won her a John Steptoe Award for New Talent. The Skin I'm In is the story of seventh grader, Maleeka, who is teased for the dark color of her skin, her brains and the way she dresses. When a new teacher arrives at school and Maleeka sees that she has a white birthmark on her face, she fears things will not go well for the newbie.
Dork Diaries 13: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday by Rachel Renée Russell. 304 p. Aladdin/ Simon & Schuster, October 16, 2018. 9781534426382.
Publisher synopsis: It’s Nikki Maxwell’s birthday!! Will it be a blast or a bust? Find out in Nikki’s newest diary, the thirteenth installment in the #1 New York Times blockbuster bestselling Dork Diaries series!
This series is every bit as popular as Wimpy Kid.
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider. Unabridged downloaded audiobook. Eight hours, seven minutes. Read by Khristine Hvam and James Fouhey. HarperAudio, 2015.
Seventeen-year-old Lane had his life mapped out. He's number two in his graduating class and planning on applying early action to Stanford. Then drug-resistant tuberculosis derails his plans. Instead of attending his AP classes, he's at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens with the disease. He thinks he can keep up with his studies and become well enough to leave. He's also captivated by Sadie and her group of cool friends. He knew Sadie from summer camp when they were thirteen but he was too shy to talk to her.
Sadie remembers Lane alright and is still furious with him for standing her up at a camp dance. Sadie has been at Latham House for over a year. She's not getting better but she's not getting worse. She has cultivated her cool persona very carefully and is a bit terrified of getting well enough to return to the real world, where she was definitely not cool.
This dual narrative makes its way down a predictable path but, the characters are interesting and the idea of a TB epidemic among teens is intriguing. The narrative doesn't go into the hows and whys of it though. Khristine Hvam is one of my favorite narrators and James Fouhey is new to me. They did a good job and sounded appropriately young.
This story should appeal to teen fans of tragic romance like The Fault in Our Stars.
I downloaded this book from Audiobooksync's Free Summer Audiobook program. If you don't already know about it, check it out for next summer! The "summer" is already over (it starts in May), but they post links to download two audiobooks each week for thirteen weeks.
Everland by Wendy Spinale. Everland series #1. Unabridged downloaded audiobook, 8 hours, 56 minutes. Read by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West. Scholastic Audio, May, 2016.
I just adore fairy tale retellings/ reimaginings! This steampunk Peter Pan story was just superb!
England has been invaded by Germany. More specifically, Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer (HOOK) has taken London and driven out the queen. The wrinkle to his complete and utter conquest is that his bombing blitzkrieg unleashed a deadly virus (which had been sent by Germany earlier). It has killed most of the surviving adults and female children. The human race is in danger of extinction, except there may be one human female who is immune to the virus.
Gwen Darling is trying to keep her siblings, Johanna and Mikey safe and hidden. But Hook and his troops are closing in. She is rescued by Pete and Bella while out scavenging; but Johanna, who has been left behind with Mikey is not so lucky. She has been captured by Hook's men. Gwen and Mikey join Pete and the Lost Boys in their underground hideout, but she really wants to rescue her sister, which means venturing into Hook's lair.
Debut author Spinale has created a world that is at once familiar and brand new. Readers familiar with J.M. Barrie's work will recognize some of the quotes rolled into this incredible new twist.
Hardingham and West are favorite narrators of mine. Together they narrate the spectacular fantasy series, Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Hardingham narrated Puck's part in Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. The majority of the book is from Gwen's POV. Hardingham's clear and musical voice lends urgency and desperation to Gwen's story.
I cannot wait to read the second and third installments in the series, which blend other stories. Give this to fans of fantasy, steampunk fans or any reader looking for terrific worldbuilding.
Who Eats Orange? by Dianne White. Illustrated by Robin Page. unpgd. Beach Lane Books/ Simon & Schuster, August 14, 2018. 9781534404083. (Review from finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)
Happy book birthday tomorrow to Who Eats Orange? This vibrant book invites young readers to consider color, food and animals. They may even think a bit about what colors they like to eat.
The Q& A format follows a fun pattern of three animals which do eat the color in question. The fourth...doesn't, but does eat a different color. The color that is being eaten may be a fruit, vegetable, an animal or even flowers. Most are recognizable, but a few puzzled. Never fear, the text is followed by a two-page spread identifying the animals as well as the foods they eat.
The illustrations are textured and set on a white background allowing each animal to pop off the page. I found the bear, marmot and reindeer particularly appealing because the fur was especially fuzzy and inviting. And those eyes on that bear!
This book will have a variety of uses from teaching colors to expanding palates with young readers.
