Using simple, exaggerated drawings and clear, unembellished writing, Hernandez tells the stories of: a kitchen maid v. a seven headed dragon; a woman who marries a mouse; and a slacker who has leaf cutter ants do all his work.
Category: Bookshelf
Browse through our most recent reviews. For an A-Z history of our reviews, click here.
Review: Marching with Aunt Susan (Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage)
So why am I so thoroughly disappointed in this book? It comes down to a few choices made to erase Anthony’s racism in the supplemental materials included in the back of the book.
While it is actively noted that Anthony and her friend/fellow activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton started the suffrage movement in conjunction with their involvement in the abolition movement, there is no mention of the subsequent rift between the two movements over Anthony’s bitterness that the Fifteenth Amendment was making greater headway than women’s suffrage. No mention of the racist speeches Anthony made, or her chosen alliances with George Train (“Woman first and negro last.”), or avowed white supremacists like Belle Kearney.
OFF THE SHELF REVIEW: The Little Witch’s Book of Spells
Spells and activities include Best Friends Forever Spell, Jump Rope Protection Spell, Get Well Soon Elixir, Blanket Fort Magical Fortress Spell, How to Make a Magical Fairy Garden, and Mermaid Bath Spell.
Review: Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
I would steer the book away from Middle Grade readers and put it squarely in the hands of a Young Adult audience and above. The themes are strong, the writing is strong, and although very funny at times, things can get pretty intense:
Review: The Heart of Mi Familia
In her book, The Heart of Mi Familia, Lara seamlessly weaves a story of what it is like to be not only bilingual, but also bicultural, and she does so in a sweet story of a little girl that effortlessly moves between two cultures.
Review: Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From
In this rich and poignant coming-of-age novel, Jennifer De Leon tackles some ripped-from-the-headlines topics through an engaging young narrator with an authentic voice. I loved it, my teenager loved it, and I think you will too.
Review: Julián at the Wedding
This book is visually stunning, as should be expected from Love. There is enough detail in her gorgeously rendered pages to get swept away in the melodies of her drawings. There is a grace to her artwork that draws beauty from the line between detail and abstraction. No finer example is found than the “mermaid tree” where our pair are ultimately found.
Review: Into the Tall Tall Grass
Succinctly, this story is about the journey our biracial heroine embarks on with her sister and two friends across a mysterious grass-forest that springs up on the family property, just as Wela (Yolanda’s Grandmother) needs to make it to a special tree to set things right.
Review: Caravan to the North
In Jorge Argueta’s haunting novel in verse, Caravan to the North: Misael’s Long Walk, Misael and his family can no longer live in their home, El Salvador, which they love.