King and the Dragonflies, written by Kacen Callender, reviewed by Stephanie Wilson

Summary: Grief has overwhelmed King since his brother Khalid died. Sadness has swallowed his family completely. King believes his brother has returned to him as a dragonfly. Khalid appears to him in his dreams. King comforts himself by reading the words Khalid spoke in his sleep. King escapes alone every day after school to the bayou to look for his brother. He can't lean on his best friend, Sandy anymore. Sandy's confession that he's gay shattered their friendship. King secretly struggles with wondering if he is gay, too. Sandy’s sudden appearance at the bayou shakes up everything King thought he knew. Sandy needs his help, but King is worried about the consequences. Callender’s writing is so smooth and fluid that it belies the seriousness of the subjects it tackles. The reader is gently carried along with King on his journey of self-discovery and grief. Khalid is so thoughtfully rendered that he seems almost as alive as King. He lives on in the novel in a nearly dreamlike state through King’s memories and in the journal King keeps. King is dealing with several impossible situations at once but clinging to his memories of Khalid keeps him grounded. Khalid wasn’t perfect and dying doesn’t elevate him to sainthood. King especially struggles with Khalid’s role in his decision to end his friendship with Sandy. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Callender tackles multiple difficult topics with an age-appropriate and gentle touch. King and the Dragonflies has won numerous awards including the National Book Award. It deserves every single one of them. However, not everyone will appreciate that a middle-grade book is tackling the topics of grief, homosexuality, and abuse all in one book. The reality is many students in upper elementary school and middle school are struggling with t

Maya and the Rising Dark, written by Rena Barron, reviewed by Stephanie Wilson

Summary: Maya is a girl who is obsessed with superheroes. She can't wait to attend Comic-Con with her dad. One day, the world suddenly turns gray, and time seems to freeze. Maya tells her friends but not her parents what has happened. Later, a shadowy figure invades her dreams. A terrified Maya finally tells her dad about the strange occurrences. Her father warns her to avoid the Lord of Shadows. Her father's sudden, mysterious disappearance causes Maya to realize her dad's stories aren't just stories. The creatures and the tales are real. Maya and her friends Frankie and Eli decide to attempt a daring rescue. Maya must summon all of her courage to rescue her dad from the clutches of the Lord of the Shadows. If she fails, the life she knows it may be gone forever. Maya and the Rising Dark has all the elements of a great middle-grade fantasy novel. The main characters are brave but not perfect. The monsters are frightening but not too scary. People in the neighborhood are not as they seem. Barron shatters the typical outsider’s view of Maya’s Southside Chicago neighborhood. It’s not a place riddled with gangs and crime, it’s home. Maya is a realistic, strong character with courage and compassion. Barron infuses the novel with struggles relatable to any middle schooler: being stuck after school with a teacher working on math problems, trying to find your place in the world, and parents who hide things from their children for their own protection. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Barron mixes in a hearty dose of humor with the action. Even the minor characters are memorable. Maya and the Rising Dark fills a void in middle-grade fantasy: books with strong, nerdy, superhero-obsessed female characters. This book is a welcome addition to both classroom and school libraries. I highly recommend this book for middle school-aged readers who love fantasy and mythology. Give this book to fans of Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond who are looking for a book recommendation.

Your Mama, written by NoNieqa Ramos, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: Your Mama is a wonderful take on Yo Mama jokes. One example of the twist on the Yo Mama jokes is "Your mama so sweet she could be a bakery." In this book the mama and daughter have a close, fun, interesting and important relationship. The illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantara depict that loving mother-daughter relationship beautifully. Even though "Sometimes your Mama's cray cray" if you "Got math problems? She could solve 'em." "Woman catches all your vibes; must read minds." The text is funny and strong and poignant. The daughter in the book absolutely adores her mama and the mama absolutely adores her daughter. The mutual love and respect comes shining through. This is a glorious story of mothers and daughters. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: A great book about motherhood.

Henry at Home, written by Megan Maynor, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: Henry and Liza are brother and sister and did everything together. They got flu shots together, went to the same parties, knew the same people, played using their imaginations together and spent time at their favorite place - the Twisty Tree. But one day Liza started school so the brother and sister could not spend all of their time together. Henry found this difficult at first and called his sister mean and stomped on her crayons. But then Henry found that he could still build a huge fort, rescue imaginary animals, blast asteroids and still play at the Twisty Tree without his sister. This is a great story of siblings. Young children will see themselves in how siblings interact and how events can change things but sometimes for the better. Henry and Liza have a close sibling relationship but they stay close even when one feels hurt and left out. This book is such a good representation of young siblings that it should be popular. The illustrations by Alea Marley are perfect and convey the sibling relationship perfectly. Highly recommended. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: A great book for conversations on siblings.

Training Day (El Toro & Friends), written by Raul the Third, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: Another fun, humorous book by Raul the Third with more great illustrations by Elaine Bay. Aninteresting dilemma for El Toro! His big wrestling match with The Wall is coming up and he does not feel like training. His trainer, Kooky Dooky, tries everything to get El Toro motivated to train. He makes El Toro breakfast, tries to get him to exercise and even gets him to swing at the spiked pinatas of doom. The text and illustrations are fun and keep the reader's interest. An added feature is that some text is followed by the words and phrases in Spanish. For example, "To teach you patience, you must help the grandmothers, las abuelas, cross the street." Young readers, and listeners, will enjoy the humor in the book but will also learn how to be quick on their feet, how to develop their senses, how to have patience and other life skills. They may learn something helpful like El Toro! 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Another fun book by Raul the Third. Young children will enjoy the steps El Toro goes through to train for a big wrestling match. The illustrations are great too.

Tag Team (El Toro & Friends), written by Raul the Third, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: It is the tag team championship at El Coliseo and El Toro and La Oink Oink are against Danny Dollars and the Bald Aguila. The next day El Coliseo was a mess and the two workers who were supposed to come in to clean the mess left El Toro in the lurch! El Toro, once again, calls on his tag team partner La Oink Oink to help him deal with the messy situation. The illustrations by Elaine Bay are fun, colorful, big and bold and presented in an almost comic book or graphic novel format. The illustrations of El Toro and La Oink Oink cleaning El Coliseo are exciting and make the stars of story look like superheros. The story is about friendship, collaboration, commitment and accomplishing a goal. Young children will enjoy the colorful antics of these bold characters and will get a good dose of what it means to work together. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: A fun book with unique characters. This story is about working together to accomplish, in this case, a huge task.

I'm A Hare, So There! written by Julie Rowan-Zoch, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: This is a great book for young children interested in critters. The story begins with a conversation between a hare and a squirrel. The squirrel mistakes the hare for a rabbit and the hare mistakes the squirrel for a chipmunk. After some back and forth between the hare and the squirrel some comparisons are made between other animals such as sheep and goats are not the same! The hare has a lot to say about what a hare can do like outrun a turtle and jump very far. Children will find the hare's observation, which are often incorrect, funny and they will learn something at the same time. The wise squirrel educates the hare with lines like, "I think you mean tortoise. Turtles don't live anywhere near here." It is a cute, fun and educational book and in the back there is a page of critters who are "similar but not the same." Children will learn and have fun! 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is a cute book for young children and they will learn that animals, and perhaps people, are not the same even if they are similar.

How to Wear a Sari, written by Darshana Khiani, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: This is the fun and lively story of a little girl who wants to grow up so she comes up with a great idea... wear a sari! Since saris are worn by adults the girl knows that her family will take notice. She imagines how wearing a sari will impact everyone around her but first she must find a sari. The story is engaging and so much fun! As she tries to fit into a sari she knows the mechanics but has trouble fitting into it by herself. The illustrations by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff are wonderful. Children will, not only, learn about saris but also that families of different cultures will have similar situations. The girl wears her sari and has a bit of a disaster. Her parents are annoyed but her grandparents are not and enjoy her confidence and see the fun in her eagerness to grow up. The girl's eagerness, along with her confidence, are a winning combination and will engage young children in her story. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book features a confident girl who wants to grow up and tries to do something about it! I like the girl as the lead, the diversity in the characters and the way the author features the children, parents and grandparents. A great look at family.

Tow Truck Joe Makes A Splash, written by June Sobel, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: This cute book by June Sobel with great illustrations by Patrick Corrigan is a lot of fun for children. The rhyming text adds to the fun: "A camper's tire has a flat. Joe can fix it just like that!" The bold, vibrant illustrations are humorous and will be a hit with children who like anything truck, car or bus. The anthropomorphic vehicles and animals driving the vehicles are very cute. The text and illustrations convey so much fun and information that the book will surely be a hit. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: A very cute book for young children. Any child who has watched a Cars movie will love it.

Reuse this Book, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: What a great book about cleaning up our planet for young children. The book has a very sturdy, hard board cover. That is excellent because young readers and listeners are directed to participate in many activities about recycling, reducing waste and reusing materials. Participation includes circling the illustration of the globe, blowing on the flowers like the wind, pressing on seeds, tilting the book like you would a watering can, shaking the book like a compost bin and other activities. The book has beautiful low-tech interactivity with so many great activities but no sounds or items to move or pull. And considering the subjects of the book that is brilliant. The illustrators Emma Morris and Phil Caminiti have designed wonderful pages of what we all can do to recycle, reuse and reduce waste. The book has a positive viewpoint on all of the points made relating to the subjects. This book is highly recommended for young children and will be a great introduction to these important, broad topics that are so important to our planet. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is an excellent "starter" book for young children to learn about recycling, reducing waste and reusing items to save our earth.

The New Libearian, written by Alison Donald, reviewed by Bethany Brathey

Summary: The kids are waiting patiently for storytime, but the librarian, Mrs. Merryweather, is missing. They travel through the library, which is alive with adventures spilling out of the books (space aliens, pirate ships, airport runways), to find paw prints and honey spills. Behind Mrs. Merryweather’s desk is a bear wearing a “Librarian” name tag, who dutifully follows the children back to the Kid’s Corner to read their book. Just as the New Librarian is getting engaged in reading the children a scary story about bears, complete with growls, roars, and stomps, Mrs. Merryweather returns, fresh from cleaning up a lava spill in the Ancient History section. It turns out that the New Librarian is a recent escapee from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, along with another character who makes a cheeky appearance on the last page. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This lovely picture book, set in a bright and colorful library complete with festive posters on every wall, has both a spirit of adventure and a vibe that radiates comfort. Children who have experienced the joy of a good storytime will relate to the diverse array of kids in the story as they anticipate the event, and subsequently become impatient for it to start. The book includes many humorous components, like the lava spill, and the bear trying to eat several of the library books, though many of these moments are not discussed and are simply included in the images. The amount of text per page and age of the children depicted suggests that this book is best suited to pr
eschool aged children, though older kids who have enjoyed storytimes in the past are likely to enjoy the book as well, and may spot more of the visual cues than younger children. https://libresbooksmi.blogspot.com The inclusion of a non-threatening bear, delightfully dubbed the “LiBEARian”, will add an element of excitement without any fear, and the twist at the end, if noticed, will leave kids wanting to read the book again immediately. An easy addition to a read-aloud collection for preschoolers or young elementary students.

Cut Off, written by Adrianne Finlay, reviewed by Stephanie Wilson

Summary: Cut Off combines elements of reality TV, mystery, action, adventure, virtual reality and science fiction into a compelling tale. The story follows River, Cam, Liza and Trip who are contestants on a reality show called "Cut Off." Expensive high tech gadgets allow viewers at home to experience what the contestants do in real time. Each contestant has a reason for wanting to win. River wants to escape being sent to military school. He is a survivalist and the person best suited for the rough terrain of the island. Trip is the inventor of the hottest new app. He wants to win to cement his place as the newest high tech genius. Cam needs the money to buy the ticket to a better life for herself and her brother Benji. Liza is mysterious and not who she pretends to be.The show’s failsafe is an opt out button called a tap-out button, that the contestant can press. It triggers their immediate rescue and exit from the show. The contestants come together for the first time after the earthquake hits the island. They soon realize something has gone hopelessly wrong. Their tap-out buttons aren't working and they are utterly alone. No one is coming to save them. They will have to band together in order to save themselves. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: The novel’s perspective shifts between the three main characters. Finlay does an excellent job of letting the reader see what is going on inside each character’s head, what makes them tick and what motivates them. The novel includes some sidebar sections which serve as background information about the contestants. Cam’s interviews are the funniest of the bunch. She manipulates the process and puts the interviewer under pressure. Like Cam, Finlay twists the plot and provides surprises where the reader least suspects them. The ending is broad enough that it could be the set up for a series or simply an intentionally vague ending. The novel contains elements of a romance between River and Cam though the scenes mostly consist of kissing and cuddling. Trip is an openly gay character. There are scenes of underage drinking and scenes where the characters strip down to their underwear. The novel is not recommended for younger teen readers.

Playing Possum, written by Jennifer Black Reinhardt, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: Alfred the Possum had a nervous nature so he did not like to be the center of attention. He did not do well at school or at sports and the thought of making friends terrified him. But one day Alfred noticed Sofia an armadillo. When an armadillo is nervous it curls into a ball and when a possum is nervous it plays dead. So, upon their meeting, Alfred played dead and Sofia curled up into a ball. The story progresses with these two characters feeling more comfortable with each other. If Alfred froze, Sofia waited. If Sofia curled up into a ball, Alfred waited. Children may identify with Alfred and Sofia who both felt afraid at times. Then Alfred and Sofia decided to help others who may be afraid like a cow, a skunk and an armadillo. It took patience and forgiveness to make friends but it worked. The story of friendship using animals with nervous characteristics that are real is fun and will resonate with children. And the illustrations of Alfred and Sofia working through their friendship with one another and with others are perfect. This book of friendship and overcoming situations that make us nervous is perfect for young children. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is a great book about friendship for young children. If there are children who get nervous in situations or who have a hard time making friends this book will be helpful in teaching them that it happens to others and can be overcome.