Fish in a Tree

Written by: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

First line: It's always there.

Why you should read this book: Ally is smart enough that she's managed to make it all the way to sixth grade without anyone every figuring out her big secret: Ally is illiterate. It's just easier to clown around and get into trouble than to reveal that she can't read or write because the letters always look like they're jumping around on the page, even if it means she never has any real friends, even if it means that she sometimes really hurts people she actually likes. But when Ally's new teacher starts to puzzle out the reason behind her behavior, he offers the kinds of interventions that completely change everything—school, social interactions, even her home life—and help Ally see that there's more to her than the troublemaker she's presented to the world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although it's won awards and gotten on a bunch of recommended lists, this strikes me as one of those books that adults think kids should read, rather than a book that a kid would want to read: Patricia Polacco tells a similar story in a much more accessible format in Thank You, Mr. Falker, but it's unlikely that a kid struggling with dyslexia would find anything but rage and terror in a novel of this length. 

Year in Review, 2018

For me, as for many people 2018 was a difficult year, but it was a good year for reading books. I well exceeded my goal of 100 reviews, read more books for adults, reread some kids books I hadn't looked at in quite some time, and consciously read more books by authors who were not straight, white men. I've also been chipping away at reading the Harry Potter series (out loud) to my stepdaughter; we're almost through Chamber of Secrets. I didn't review as many picture books as in previous years as I did not do kindergarten story time last semester, but I do have something in the works that, if it comes together, will mean I'll get to read even more books in 2019. If it comes together, I'll let you know.

Here's the final tally:

Picture Books: 40
Middle Grade/YA: 29
Non-fiction: 2
Novels: 15
Graphic novels: 18
Short Story Collection: 4
Memoir/Bio: 4

Total: 112 books reviewed!

As always, this list does not reflect the fact that there are certain books that I read over and over. In general, I only blog books once (although I have blogged books that were apparently so unmemorable that I forgot I had already read and reviewed them).

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Written by: Fredrik Backman

First line: Every seven-year-old deserves a superhero.

Why you should read this book: Elsa, an unreliable child narrator with a love of literature like Harry Potter, Spiderman comics, and Wikipedia knows that she's different, and while she suffers at school, she thrives in the love of her rebellious, unconventional, story-telling best friend, her grandmother. When Granny dies, Elsa finds herself cut off from the fairy tale land of her grandmother's invention, which had always sustained her through difficult times. Meanwhile, her grandmother has charged her with a quest of finding and delivering a series of posthumous apologies to people from her past, and Elsa begins to find magic again in her newfound understanding of who her grandmother was, and who she wants to be.

Why you should read this book: You're an educator who discourages imagination in children.

The Book of Gold

Written by: Bob Staake

First line: Isaac Gutenberg wasn't interested in much.

Why you should read this book: It's a perfect story for modern kids, who, in my experience, often are so jaded they can't find any excitement in anything, although the story in this book is about a kid who isn't interested in anything in 1935. Somehow bored to death at the New York Public Library (for shame!) young Isaac only develops a taste for books when an old shopkeeper tells him that somewhere in the world, there is an ordinary-looking book that contains the answers to every question ever asked, and also turns to gold when you open it. Inspired by greed, the protagonist begins opening every book he can get his hands on, and over the course of seventy-five years, eventually develops and interest in the ideas that are found inside the books, becoming a very well-traveled and well-educated human being in the process.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're tired of reshelving all the books that little kids pull out and drop on the floor without reading.

Maisy Goes to the Local Bookstore

Written by: Lucy Cousins

First line: Today Maisy is going to the local bookstore.

Why you should read this book: Exactly what it says on the tin: a popular cartoon mouse visits a hip local bookstore where the bookseller apparently doesn't care if little kids come in and treat the place like a library where they can take all the books down from the shelf and read them in entirety without buying. The bookseller even offers storytime, in case the kids haven't gotten enough free books, and of course there's a café, because you can't spend a day reading new books without tea and pastries. Eventually Maisy actually does buy a book, probably to the bookseller's great relief, which she then gives to her only friend who didn't happen to be in the store with her that day.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're not hanging out with a 3-year-old.

Elphabet: An ABC of Elves

Written by: Jane Yolen and Lauren Mills

First line: A is for Acorn Elf always acrobatic.

Why you should read this book: With brief captions and delightful illustrations, here's an alphabet book for kids who want to see tiny hipster elves doing weird elf behaviors while learning their letters. Can be read straight through or examined page by page, for kids ready to identify the illustrations by their first letters. Cute and attractive.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You already know your letters and you hate cute elves.

2016 Year in Review

Yes, 6 hours to midnight on New Year's Eve is an ideal time to publish my 10th (TENTH!) annual year in review at Dragon's Library. Apparently I just missed my 100-book quota (barely) I'm a bit disappointed in my own habits. I reviewed a lot of picture books (and I read even more, but I don't write new reviews when I reread books) but apparently I devoted far more time to reading junk on the internet than reading novels and adult non-fiction. I'm halfway through a book by Desmond Tutu right now but it will have to get counted among the first books of 2017.

Technically, I am now a contributer at Book Riot, but I'm afraid if I can't be a real reader in the coming year, they might toss me out. I haven't read enough to participate in the discussion lately.

For what it's worth, here it is:

Dragon's Year in Review, 2016

Picture books: 57
Middle grade/YA novels:10
Nonfiction: 3
Adult fiction: 7
Graphic novels: 19
Short story collections: 1
Memoir: 1
Poetry: 1

Total: 99

The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read

Written by: Curtis Manley and Kate Berube

First line: Nick had two cats, Verne and Stevenson.

Why you should read this book: Despite what you probably think, Nick really does teach the cats to read. Irritated that his pets don't enjoy books, Nick sets out to achieve the impossible, easily teaching one cat to read, and then gradually working out the reasons for the second cat's antipathy and crafting a strategy to bring the joy of reading to even the most reluctant cat. The story ends with Nick's decision that he should teach his cats to talk.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think dogs are smarter.

A Child of Books

Written by: Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

First line: I am a child of books.

Why you should read this book: In a short, experimental children's book, a little girl reminds her new friend, and her readers, that books offer transport, through the imagination, to anywhere in this world, or any other. Many of the images--mountain, oceans, monsters--are created from words, and not just any words, but the text of favorite books like Alice in Wonderland  and Grimm's Fairy Tales. A fun read for thoughtful kids.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't trust a bridge of words to hold your weight.

Born to Read

Written by: Judy Sierra

First line: In the town of Sunny Skies/A tiny baby blinked his eyes/At dragons dancing overhead/And letters painted on his bed.

Why you should read this book: In bouncy, attractive rhyme, a young boy finds that every problem can be solved with the knowledge gleaned from books. Even in the case of traumatic and unusual emergency, in which no books list the solution, books are still the solution. Great for love of reading initiatives.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're illiterate.

 

Yoko Learns to Read

Written by: Rosemary Wells

First line: Yoko and her mama loved to read their three books from Japan.

Why you should read this book: Japanese-American kitty cat Yoko's teacher rewards students for every new book that they read, but in Yoko's house there are only three books for children, and they're all in Japanese. To keep up with her classmates, Yoko must venture to the library and learn to recognize individual words. Of course, Yoko soon learns to read well enough that she can help her mother learn to read in English as well.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Brainwashed by anti-immigration rhetoric.