Kids Nonfiction
MY VERY (VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY) SILLY BOOK OF GAMES by Matt Lucas
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I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
Interspersed with jokes, spirited illustrations, and hilarious commentary, Lucas provides a list of children’s games, both well-known and more obscure, including games from around the world. What sets this book apart from many books of games is not only the humor, but the emphasis on variation and imagination. With many of the games, especially the old standards like “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” Lucas riffs off of the original, suggesting ways to modify the game to make it sillier, and directly invites the readers to come up with their own variations. This is not a book of descriptions and rules, but an invitation to creative play. I’d recommend this one for library collections and for families planning birthday parties–or dreading a long summer with bored kids. My 6-year-old also gave this one her whole-hearted stamp of approval once she stopped laughing long enough to catch her breath.
EL DEAFO by CeCe Bell
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After an illness severely damages her hearing, four year old CeCe must wear hearing aids and learn to read lips. As she goes through elementary school, she sometimes struggles to fit in with her classmates, some of whom treat her differently because of her disability. She constantly wonders what people are thinking about her and feels left out in situations where she can’t understand what others are saying or listening to. But she also knows that her hearing aids let her do some things that the other kids can’t, and someday her classmates will need El Deafo to save the day.
This graphic novel is sure to resonate with all middle grade readers, who will relate to CeCe’s struggles to find true friendship and fit in with her peers. Reader’s with disabilities may find CeCe’s story particularly easy to relate to, while typically-abled readers will get a glimpse into the frustrations of being treated differently and set apart (for example, when CeCe’s friend refers to her as her “deaf friend” rather than just her friend). This novel will both introduce readers to what it is really like to be deaf and remove some misconceptions and other barriers that may have made hearing children hesitant to befriend a deaf classmate. Engaging, educational, and a great story–I highly recommend it!
If you liked El Deafo, you might like Smile by Raina Telgemeier.
BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson
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Jacqueline’s childhood was shaped by the Civil Rights movement, her grandfather’s garden, the kids playing in the streets in Bushwick, and so many other things. She gathers her memories and turns them into poetry in this National Book Award winning memoir. Her story is accessible and beautifully told with vivid imagery and a depth of reflection that inspires similar personal reflection from readers of all ages. A beautiful book. I highly recommend it!
THE ENDLESS STEPPE: GROWING UP IN SIBERIA by Esther Hautzig
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Esther had a beautiful childhood. She shared a large home with her parents and extended family in their Polish town of Vilna. They had beautiful garden that Esther tended with her grandfather, and she attended a wonderful school. But that all ended with the German invasion. As the Polish army fought valiantly against the Germans, the Soviets began to wage war against what they considered to be internal enemies. Labeled as capitalists, Esther, her parents, and her grandparents are shuttled into cattle cars and taken to labor camps in Siberia. From age ten to age fifteen, Esther learns to survive working in the harsh, barren landscape. But as she grows and builds friendships and a life for herself, it becomes difficult to imagine ever leaving.
Esther Hautzig tells her life story in beautiful and evocative prose. Her experiences of joys and hardships are both shocking and accessible; in many ways, childhood in Siberia is no different from childhood anywhere else. There is sadness in this story, as you can imagine, but ultimately, Esther’s story is hopeful. I highly recommend this book to middle grade readers and teens who enjoy historical novels and memoirs and who are interested in hearing a less-often-told side of the Second World War.
SISTERS by Raina Telgemeier
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Sometimes Raina wonders why she ever wanted a little sister. She thought it would be fun to have someone to play with, but instead she wound up crowded into a bedroom with two other siblings, arguing about everything, and trying to hide her stuff so that Amara doesn’t steal it. The snake incident was just about the last straw. But when Raina, Amara, Will and their Mom crowd into the family van for a two week long camping road trip, the nightmare is complete. Is there any way they will make it through the vacation without tearing each other apart?
A companion to her previous memoir, Smile, Telgemeier’s newest book captures the frustrations, rivalries, and deep loving bond of sisterhood. While Sisters is not quite as suspenseful and compelling as Smile, Telgemeier weaves flashbacks to the past into the story of the roadtrip to build a more complete picture of the family dynamic, as well as to create an engaging story arc. The story will resonate with middle grade readers who have siblings and will also appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction and graphic novels.
ONE DEAD SPY: THE LIFE, TIMES, AND LAST WORDS OF NATHAN HALE, AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS SPY by Nathan Hale
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Revolutionary Captain Nathan Hale is about to be executed for spying on the British. While the British officer is fetching the hanging orders, the jovial hangman helps Nathan brainstorm some awesome Last Words. But when Nathan says “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country,” he is immediately swallowed by a giant book. It turns out those Last Words were so awesome that Nathan Hale made history! And his brief visit to the history book gives him a glimpse of some fascinating events that happen in the future. When the British officer returns, Nathan Hale delays his hanging by telling the story of the Revolutionary War and its outcome. And he promises to delay his hanging even further by telling about other dramatic historical events as the series of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales continues.
This graphic novel series is great! Author/Artist Nathan Hale (illustrator of Rapunzel’s Revenge) brings American history to life with his artwork and infuses it with humor through the great framing story of the character Nathan Hale, the pompous British officer, and the comedic hangman. One Dead Spy is currently on the NYT Bestselling Graphic Novels list. Two sequels have been published so far (Big Bad Ironclad! and Donner Dinner Party). A fourth (Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood) comes out next month.
TITANIC: VOICES FROM THE DISASTER by Deborah Hopkinson
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On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, resulting in the deaths almost 1500 people (over 2/3 of those on board). Deborah Hopkinson brings the Titanic’s tragic story to life by focusing on the stories of individual survivors. Using their memories and words, she reconstructs the narrative of the Titanic from its initial departure to its sinking and the aftermath for the 700 survivors—most of them women and children whose husbands and fathers perished in the wreck. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster is engaging, horrifying, and informative. Although the book is marketed to upper-elementary school-aged children, I highly recommend it to anyone (children, teen, or adult) who is interested in learning more about the Titanic or who enjoys survival stories.
If you liked Titanic: Voices From the Disaster, you might also like Revenge of the Whale.
WRITTEN IN BONE: BURIED LIVES OF JAMESTOWN AND COLONIAL MARYLAND by Sally M. Walker
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Skeletons speak to forensic anthropologists, the scientists who study the bones found in archaeological digs. Simply from looking at bones which have spent hundreds of years buried underground, forensic anthropologists can determine the age, sex, race, and sometimes even profession of the person to whom they belonged. By comparing to historical records the information gleaned from the bones, they may even be able to pinpoint the skeleton’s name.
Sally M. Walker describes archaeological digs in Colonial Virginia and Maryland that uncovered a number of graves from the 17th and 18th centuries. She frames her story almost as a mystery, as the scientists seek to uncover the identity of the person whose bones they have rediscovered, and she describes both the science and the history that surround their process. Written in Bone is a fascinating and engaging nonfiction story. I highly recommend this book to middle grade and teen readers who enjoy science and/or history.
If you liked Written in Bone, you might like Phineas Gage: a Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science or Extreme Scientists.
GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!: VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE by Laura Amy Schlitz
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What was life like for children growing up in Medieval times? Some were peasants, tied to the land they farmed, so poor they had to trick and steal from their lords and masters just to make sure they had food to eat. Others were apprenticed to tradesmen in the village, working as blacksmiths or falconers. And others were children of the lords living in luxury inside their palace halls.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! tells the stories of over twenty Medieval children and their variety of dreams, fears, pranks, mistakes, and achievements. The stories are written as monologues and dialogues which could be read aloud as a play. They can also be read silently as short first-person narratives. The monologues are interspersed with more information about each of the time periods to keep readers informed about the history and culture surrounding the characters. A Newbery Award winner, these plays are a fun read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. If you would like a more dramatic experience, listen to the audio book which has each character read aloud by a different actor!
If you liked Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! you might like Crispin by Avi.
SMILE by Raina Telgemeier
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Raina was already dreading getting braces–particularly since correcting her overbite would require her to wear headgear! Even if she only had to wear it at night, it was still a social nightmare. But when she tripped and accidentally knocked out her two front teeth, the nightmare got even worse. Raina had to endure a series of painful operations and start middle school with a set of fake teeth that she was sure everyone would notice. In the format of a graphic novel, Raina tells the story of her experience growing up with braces, as well as dealing with friendship troubles, trying not let her crushes know she likes them (but secretly hoping they’ll find out!), making decisions about her dreams and goals for the future, and trying to keep her self-esteem high despite the metal in her mouth.
This graphic-memoir is a great book for girls who are going into middle school and/or getting braces. It touches on all of the friendship and self-esteem issues that are typical for tween and teen girls and normalizes a lot of the challenges of growing up. Plus, Raina’s story is engaging and fun to read. It will likely appeal to girls who like realistic fiction books like Dork Diaries, Babymouse, Dumped by Popular Demand, or Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf.
If you liked Smile, you might also like El Deafo by CeCe Bell.
Susan the Librarian 